LOS ANGELES

TURNED DOWN AND OUT--Did Antonio Villaraigosa make a horrendous political mistake when he chose not to run for California's open U.S. Senate seat two years ago, when the presidential election voter turnout was certainly greater than it was Tuesday? 

ALPERN AT LARGE--In short, the Top Two priorities of the next governor are as follows:

BCK FILE-The June 5 primary is a doozy in California, with top-two primaries for the gubernatorial and Senate race, as well as primaries for a slew of state offices, from Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State to Controller, State Treasurer, Attorney General, and Insurance Commissioner up for grabs and numerous propositions. 

ANIMAL WATCH-The enigmatic campaign which began with "Ban Pit Bulls" flyers and "Pit Bull Facts," posted widely in Los Angeles, California, and Boca Raton, Florida, in April caught Pit Bull advocates by surprise, and was reported in CityWatch on April 23. 

ELECTION WATCH--On Tuesday, voters in the district that stretches from Anaheim to Chino Hills will decide whether to fire Newman halfway through his first term in the Legislature.

VOICES--As Californians up and down the state cast ballots in the primary election, some incumbent lawmakers in Sacramento may have hoped their decisions on a pair of renter protections fell below voters’ radar.

@THE GUSS REPORT-The best thing one could say about former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is that he always looked camera-ready and got good mileage on shallow qualifications and minimal accomplishments in the political jobs he held along the way to this week’s California primary, where he is struggling against a little-known Republican named John Cox, in order to face off against an equally shallow Gavin Newsom to be California’s next Governor. 

AT LENGTH-Where there is no vision, the people perish. -Proverbs 29:18, King James Version.

DEEGAN ON LA-Here’s a “New York” idea that has nothing to do with what is derisively called “the Manhattanization of Los Angeles.”

CAPITAL & MAIN-Cole Morgan is a 21-year-old student at Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, California and lives with his parents in nearby San Clemente.

CORRUPTION WATCH-We, the Sheeple, in order to be further deceived and fleeced by the billionaires do hereby declare Tuesday, June 5, to be the new Fools’ Day previously known as Election Day. 

CAL BUZZ--Tom Steyer, the billionaire entrepreneur and Democratic activist, is right that the only way to get rid of President Donald Trump is to impeach him.

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-The City Council’s latest stopgap measure to deal with the most extreme aspect of the housing crisis, rampant homelessness and the emergence of homeless encampments throughout Los Angeles, has set neighbors against each other.

THE CHAPMAN REPORT-This was bad. Very bad. We were on our way to the Cinemark-owned Century theaters in Napa to celebrate Jennifer’s birthday. Dinner was on tap afterward at the new sports bar. We were in spectacular moods on a gorgeous, wind-whipped day. 

BELL VIEW--Last week I went to Chicago to help my mom downsize her living situation. Her next-door neighbor kindly agreed to take a couple extra-large couches off our hands. Nice guy. As I helped him carry the couches across the expanse of lawn separating his house from my mom’s, he mentioned that he used to live in Southern California back in the 90’s.

@THE GUSS REPORT-As if the problems weren’t already bad enough at the LA Times and its parent company Tronc, as of last Friday, the content of both entities could no longer be accessed by nearly 800 million people in Europe, by its own choice, raising the issue of why the Times has been virtually silent on it. 

EASTSIDER-First of all, hats off to the EAPD (East Area Progressive Democrats) Club who scooped everyone in Los Angeles when they caught the LAUSD Board doing the down and dirty, secretly hiring Austin Beutner in a closed session that was not agendized or disclosed. 

GUEST WORDS--Despite the heartfelt support of Los Angeles residents to house the homeless with their votes for Proposition HHH and Measure H, the math and housing model underpinning the city’s plans will leave over 20,000 people on Los Angeles’ streets for the next ten years.

PERSPECTIVE--Residents of Koreatown are outraged over Councilmember Herb Wesson's insistence on creating a temporary homeless shelter on a City-owned parking lot on Vermont near Wilshire.  To be clear, the community is not saying they refuse to accept a homeless shelter in Koreatown.

ALPERN AT LARGE--With all the mental and psychological jujitsu we're supposed to play with the "top two" primary system we imposed on ourselves, the governor's race is probably simpler than most might think: 

CORRUPTION WATCH-The genius of Weinstein Game Plan was simple: (1) abuse people, and (2) use your power to silence your victims. Perhaps, it’s more accurate to call Weinstein’s plan The Standard Operating Procedure for America’s Powerful.