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ALPERN AT LARGE - Welcome to the self-induced dystopia that Los Angeles is plunging into…and it is indeed self-induced and brought about by a litany of unforced errors, and no doubt a lack of action by the intelligent human beings who are supposed to run our region better for the sake of ourselves and for future generations.
Still, hope springs eternal, and here are a few wishes for our City and County of the Angels to do better:
1) A better understanding that low-income housing is best achieved through a combination of urban planning and transportation planning that encourages density along major thoroughfares, and not hither and yon to screw up our traffic and mobility.
2) A better understanding of what environmentalism really means, and that making a few politically-collected “experts” and consultants wealthy does not result in better outcomes for clean water, air, and soil.
3) A better understanding on how to claim more water in reservoirs established in the outlying areas of L.A. County to encourage more housing—affordable, and for the middle class—where it can logically be established (kind of like what we did in the rest of California, which was originally a desert).
4) A better understanding of how stores needing to lock up everything essential to our existence, in order to prevent rampant shoplifting now made legal for some bizarre series of ridiculous social paradigms, is NOT acceptable in a law-abiding and civilized society.
5) A better understanding of how our sidewalks being overrun by homeless encampments reduces mobility for pedestrians and bicyclists.
6) A better understanding of how encouraging and rewarding the rest of the nation’s homeless and disaffected to come to Los Angeles is NOT acceptable.
7) A better understanding of how our Neighborhood Councils once flourished and thrived, and how they enhance democracy while diminishing tyranny from City Hall.
8) A better understanding that poor voter turnout and voting for the same ol’, same ol’ results in a vicious cycle of leading to poor voter turnout, and then re-electing the same ol’, same ol’, and then poor voter turnout, etc.
9) A better understanding that throwing money to create a few low-income housing units is NOT the same as results-oriented efforts to get the homeless encampments off our streets…be it through aggressive movement of the homeless and the establishment of tent cities or other low-cost housing units to allow the homeless to be housed.
10) A better understanding of what powers the City of Los Angeles really has, and what instead the forgotten County government has to make the right politicians responsive to our needs, and throw out the jackass our county has running the District Attorney’s office in 2024.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
