GUEST COMMENTARY - Historic preservation can get ugly. In the constant push-and-pull between protecting the past and building the future, there are bound to be disagreements, and sometimes the arguments get heated.
LOS ANGELES
Vahedi Is A Natural To Replace Galperin
LA POLITICS - Ron Galperin redefined the position of LA City Controller.
Another Los Angeles Uprising? Two-thirds of Angelenos Expect It.
PLANNING WATCH - The 30th anniversary of L.A.’s historic 1992 uprising ushered in long overdue press coverage of this nearly forgotten event.
LA Activists Submit Ballot Signatures for $8 Billion Mega-Mansion Tax
HOUSING WATCH - A Los Angeles coalition that wants to increase the tax on the sale of mega-mansions and other high-value real estate to fund programs for the homeless says it has enough signatures to put the proposal on the ballot in November.
The Homeless: Fix Their Heads Or Give Them Beds?
DEEGAN ON LA—The right answer is “both”—but, first triage their mental health needs, and then tuck them into a warm bed. But, how?
Planned LA Housing: Affordable, Attainable, or Impossible?
HOUSING CRISIS - It's been said that everything starts in California.
Dodger Stadium: 60 Years Ago. Diverse, Inclusive and Affordable
YESTERDAY LA - When Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley opened Dodger Stadium on April 10, 1962, his ticket price structure was simple, straightforward, and inexpensive:
The Exiled Musicians Who Escaped Fascism For La La Land
ESSAY ON LA IMMIGRANTS - Generations ago, in the parenthesis of years between Hitler’s 1933 rise to power and the end of World War II, a deluge of European artists and intellectuals came to the U.S., seeking refuge from the rising tide of fascism.
Homeless Crisis. Why Do The Pols Pursue Planning Policies That Make It Worse?
PLANNING WATCH - To the surprise of virtually no one, the homeless crisis in California is getting worse, despite – or more likely because of – the programs rolled out by elected officials and the policy wonks who work for them.
It’s Time For A City-County Divorce
OP/ED - For years, Los Angeles “leaders” have debated crises in affordability, homelessness, crime, the pandemic, and more. And as with seemingly everything, they have accomplished nothing.
30 Years Later: The Unsettled Business of the 1992 Rodney King Uprising
REVISITING LA UPRISING - Thirty years ago this week, four Los Angeles Police Department officers (Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, Officer Theodore J. Briseno, Officer Timothy E. Wind and Officer Laurence Powell) were acquitted of brutally beating a Black man by the name of Rodney King.
What's It Like Being an LAPD Officer on Patrol In The San Fernando Valley
RantZ and RaveZ - The annual Baker to Las Vegas Law Enforcement relay race was held the first weekend in April.
Can LA's Neighborhood Councils Prep Candidates For Higher Office?
DEEGAN ON LA—-Is there a leg up for several first-time candidates running for city council seats in the June 7 Primary Election?
Will Rick Caruso Be Elected LA’s Mayor on June 7?
THE VIEW FROM HERE - June 7, 2022 may be the only election for Los Angeles Mayor. Although it is called a primary, the two top vote getters do not necessary face each other in the November 2022 general election.
The Death of Los Angeles’ Middle Class
THE VIEW FROM HERE - Whether one believes that the economy is capitalist or socialist, the government’s role should be the same – to protect the Price System.
SoCal Grocery Workers: Biggest Raise in Years
UNION AGREEMENT - For two years as the pandemic consumed day-to-day life, supermarket workers literally risked their lives to keep shelves stocked and customers fed.
Corps and Landlords Try to Destroy Rent Control, Tenants Unite
TENANTS RIGHTS - The promising new tool in the fight to preserve affordable housing: a coalition of tenant unions.
The Deceased Eli Broad's Plan is Far From Defunct
EDUCATION WATCH - Poverty has increased in LAUSD post-covid. And in two board districts the late Eli Broad’s plan to transfer half of LAUSD into “charter school seats” is nearly fulfilled.
LA’s Lobbying Laws: It’s Your Turn To Speak Up
LA GOVERNMENT - Does the City of LA need to update its Municipal Lobbying Ordinance (MLO)? The Ethics Commission thinks so, and they’re proposing a number of amendments to the LA Municipal Code.
This Mayoral Candidate Can’t Lose
DEEGAN ON LA - Alex Gruenenfelder Smith is a big-tent, practical, Progressive running for Mayor, staking out room on the left-leaning spectrum for thoughtful reforms; preaching progress through supportable change, not by radically retooling how the city is managed.
Wrong Again Joe
LA POLITICS - You can always count on Buscaino to take advantage of somebody else’s misery.