LOS ANGELES

VOICES-McKinsey & Co., a development consultant firm, has made the claim that California must build 3.5 million housing units by 2025.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Martin Luther King encapsulated what so many of us dream when he stated his own dream of his children living in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. 

ELECTION POLITICS--With thousands of residents of Porter Ranch still suffering serious health effects from the devastating Aliso Canyon gas leak of 2016, it would seem tone-deaf for any Democratic candidate in L.A. County to accept campaign donations from oil and gas corporations. 

@THE GUSS REPORT-As the Tuesday morning celebration for City Council’s new president Nury Martinez died-down, she walked up the steps to the raised podium where the most influential lawmaker in the City of LA sits during meetings.

GELFAND’S WORLD--I’ll just refer to her as Sheryl, because she has a right to retain as much dignity as the jackals in city government have left her. And they are not trying to leave her much. 

DEEGAN ON LA-That sucking sound you may hear coming from City Hall could be the deep inhales from politicos hoping that when they exhale the results of the annual homeless count will be better than last year -- a time when the very bad news was an increase of 12%.

GUEST WORDS--You don’t know me, but I’ve been a defense attorney in LA for almost 25 years. 

PLANNING WATCH-It almost seems normal that most of our national political leaders are marching us over a cliff to fossil fuel driven extinction. So no one should be too surprised when state and local leaders respond to immediate issues, like housing, with similar self-defeating approaches.

OUTSIDE THE BOX -The Houston Astros cheated, got caught, and got slapped on the wrists. No one is happy with the verdict, so now what? Play. It. Again. 

HOUSING POLITICS--Early this year State Senator Scott Wiener held a press conference to present an amended version of his controversial bill, SB 50. Wiener's proposed legislation would override local planning authority to allow residential projects up to a half mile away from a major transit stop to receive waivers from limits on density and height.

PERSPECTIVE--The lawsuit recently filed by City Attorney Mike Feuer against the FAA and supported by LA council members Paul Krekorian, David Ryu and Paul Koretz, all of whom are voting members of the Burbank Airport Noise Task Force, is demanding that all departure paths from Burbank return to pre-Next Generation flight tracks.

OTHER WORDS-As we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., it’s natural to remember his courageous advocacy for racial equity. But before he was assassinated, King had also begun to broaden his efforts to unify around economic justice.