In the News
Developer in Dispute with Community Stakeholders Warns, ‘I’ll Use My AR-15’
It’s a microcosm of two entirely different worlds: the community stakeholders say they have a protest message; he says he has an AR-15 assault weapon. They say they will fight. He says he will shoot.
These community members are concerned…
California Unions Prepare to Lose in the Courthouse and Strike Back in the Statehouse
CAL MATTERS-The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on a high-profile case that could slash the power of public-employee unions. But Cal…
How Silicon Valley Went from ‘Don’t be Evil’ to Doing Evil
NEW GEOGRAPHY--Once seen as the saviors of America’s economy, Silicon Valley is turning into something more of an emerging axis of evil. “B…
TV Writers: Cliches vs. Reality
GELFAND’S WORLD--Have you ever noticed that when a suspect in a TV crime show says "I swear" to the detectives, it is a subliminal signal t…
To Understand City Hall Politics, You Need to Understand LA’s Current Building Boom
PLATKIN ON PLANNING-The column hopefully begins to examine the connections between City Hall and real estate investments pouring into Los A…
The Curious Case of Kevin de Leon
EASTSIDER-The news media is all over their headline that Kevin De Leon and “progressive dems” at the Democratic Convention in San Diego thi…
Tenants Say Room-For-Rent Scam Left Them Facing Eviction … Predatory Slumlord Disappears
MY TURN—(Jasmyne Cannick is an LA writer and a contributor to CityWatch.) If you ask Vincent Cook about the first 56 years of his life he’d…
Los Angeles: Do We Really Want To Reduce Violence, Traffic, and Homelessness? Nah ... I Didn't Think So!
ALPERN AT LARGE--Increasingly, ours is a society who acts based on emotions and "feel-good" politics instead of smart, outcomes-based and t…
LAUSD: Don’t Punish Students and Teachers for Joining #NeverAgain Resistance!
RESISTANCE WATCH-High school students have courageously led a national conversation about ending gun violence after the mass shooting in Pa…
Don’t Let the NRA Take Away Our Right to Life
TRUMP WATCH-Leave it to Donald Trump to parrot the most demented proposal out there to try and finally respond, even in some small way, to…
‘Chain Migration’ Is a Nasty Canard
OTHER WORDS--Let’s do a mental exercise.
Imagine that Jose moves to the United States from El Salvador. He comes here legally — he applied…
CA Oil Regulator wants More Money … Question is, is This Working?
CAL MATTERS-Early in 2011, Bill Allayaud was so fed up with what he saw as dereliction of duty by California’s oil and gas regulator that h…
CA Dems Unifying Principle: Tack Left and Boo Trump
CAL MATTERS--As California’s Democrats wrapped up their party’s annual convention Sunday, they left San Diego as they arrived: a party stil…
Beyond Bullshit
BELL VIEW--Can America pay attention long enough to do anything to save itself from destruction? The massacre in Florida already feels like…
$600,000 in Millionaire Developer’s Bribes: Who Knew?
CORRUPTION WATCH-The crime of bribery has two sides – the bribe payer and the city officials who accept the money. On Friday, February 23…
Despite Opioid Lawsuits, Drug Companies Will Still Come Out on Top
THE POWER OF BIG PHARMA-The opioid epidemic has left no part of the country untouched, yet California can be considered one of the luckier…
Why I Should Be the Next Superintendent of LA’s Schools
FIRST PERSON-For quite a while now I have believed that the longstanding, preprogrammed and well-orchestrated failure of the Los Angeles Un…
Homeless By Choice?
VOICES--In nearly every corner of Los Angeles, there are homeless encampments — collections of flimsy tents, usually within mere feet of a…
U.S. Olympian Rescues Pup from Korean Dog Meat Farm … LA Councilman Ryu is Still Silent
@THE GUSS REPORT-In the nearly three years he has been a Los Angeles City Councilmember, David Ryu has been silent on the issue of inhumane…
