LOS ANGELES

PLANNING WATCH-LA’s boosters still control City Hall’s political process, but they have run into a serious barrier:

VOICES-I am writing to express my concerns regarding the participation of Ms. Leonora Camner on the Santa Monica Housing Commission. 

VIEW FROM HERE--The fact that Donald J Trump told more blatant falsehoods than any other US President should not blind us to the fact that lying has become a way of life for both the Right and the Left.

OTHER WORDS-After getting vaccinated, I eagerly returned to some parts of normal life, expecting the essential workers I interacted with would be already vaccinated.

POT POLITICS-The majority of self-identified Republican voters — as do most Americans of all political persuasions — support legalizing marijuana. But you wouldn’t know that by observing the actions of their elected officials. 

AFFORDABLE HOUSING-Trickle-down housing policy, pushed by the real estate industry and politicians, has been a colossal failure.

BITCOIN WATCH-When thinking of trading with Bitcoin, many people just resort to reading all of the processes that power this cryptocurrency, getting educated on how trading works, and after all of that is done, they think that they are ready to dive into this world and earn money. 

VOICES--I am a physician in Los Angeles. I am contacting you about a case that I reported recently to the LA Country DA.  

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS-When people think infrastructure, they rarely think to look below them on perhaps the most critical piece of a major city’s growth: its sanitary sewer system.

GELFAND’S WORLD--It seems that we've been ignoring the needs of 60% of Los Angeles residents as we try to prepare the population for a major earthquake.

PLANNING HIJACKS-On March 30, the Department of City Planning released a memo signed by the Director of Planning, Vince Bertoni.

GUEST WORDS-I am writing to express my concerns regarding the participation of Ms. Leonora Camner (photo, above left) on the Santa Monica Housing Commission. 

WORLD WATCH-No one should have the illusion that once a ceasefire is established, Israel and the Palestinians should or can negotiate a peace agreement.

THE CITY-In LA county approximately 15 percent of the nearly 11 million residents live in poverty, but COVID has caused that number to rise.  

VIEW FROM HERE-(1) We could wave a gigantic magic wand and poof make all the homeless disappear. Who has the magic wand? Anyone? Speak up!  Who has the magic wand?

LEANING RIGHT--When Newsweek allows an op-ed about the Media calling Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot a Racist because she will not allow white journalists and reporters any interviews, while the media ignores that terrible truth, we've got a Racism problem in America. 

HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE REPORT-This article references the Office of the City Administrative Officer (CAO) Reports of 2/23/21 and 3/18/21,

CLIMATE POLITICS-Like the mythical Phoenix, Chernobyl rises from the ashes.

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--The most head-scratching political puzzle in California has only one solution:

GUEST COMMENTARY-In a Citylab article advocating the elimination of all parking requirements for both housing and commercial developments, California state assemblyperson Laura Friedman and urban planning professor Donald Shoup riff off of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.”

Planning Watch:  After President Harry Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur, the general gave a farewell speech to Congress that is remembered for its closing line, ”Old soldiers never dies, they just fade away.”