LOS ANGELES

TRANSIT TALK-Los Angeles is looked upon by the rest of the nation as off its rocker for its independence of thought and lifestyle.

RANTZ & RAVEZ--From time to time, it is interesting to review recent HEADLINES and examine where we are going as a society. 

RANDOM LENGTHS-Actions by the Biden administration, in refusing to share the U.S. government owned patent of the coronavirus vaccine, ensures the profits of the rich who own the giant for-profit pharmaceutical and medical insurance monopolies.

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS-The last few years have been difficult for the Office of the City Attorney (OCA) headed by Mike Feuer, as evidenced by a series of embarrassing and ethically challenged developments that also, directly or indirectly, have a potentially serious impact on the City’s budget. 

GUEST COMMENTARY--A homeless encampment on North Berendo Street—at Hollywood Boulevard—in Los Feliz has been taken over by a street gang that is listed among the top 10 in Los Angeles as most dangerous.

MY TURN-There was a lot of optimism on November 9, 2019, as dozens of candidates diligently filed paperwork and took historic pictures or videos as they kicked off campaigns to save the City.  

GELFAND’S WORLD-As reported in two previous columns, there has been a continuing uncertainty over the planning and administration of the neighborhood council congress, an annual event in which nearly a thousand neighborhood council participants come together to discuss their mutual issues and interests. 

STANDARDS FOR WHAT WE EAT--Imagine a food so filthy that it requires chemical disinfection prior to packaging and sale.

PENSION POLITICS--Environmental organizers across the country are converging in Northern Minnesota in support of Indigenous Water Protectors, to stop the construction of the Line 3 pipeline expansion.

@THE GUSS REPORT-In the past 20 years, nowhere in Los Angeles has quality of life fallen harder than in Venice.

THE DOCTOR IS IN--Vaccines aren't perfect, and the requirement of getting vaccinated does not exist in a free society.

DESPERATE MIGRATIONS-Thousands of desperate migrants, mostly from Central America, are stuck at the U.S.-Mexico border. Most are families and unaccompanied children. 

HEALTH RIGHTS--I (Leslie) am a clinician and have been for many years. I’ve been Black for many more years, all my life. 

VIEW FROM HERE--When the Mad Tweeter was assaulting us each morning with his insane rantings, we never got around to discussing macro-economics and the national welfare.

DC DISPATCH-As she surveys the sea of planes at Montgomery County’s Fixed Base Operator, Ashley King knows she is a lucky woman: 

LIVING WAGE DEBATE-Missing from the Congressional debate over raising the $7.25 federal minimum wage to $15 an hour is any acknowledgement that poverty-level wages are integral to a class system that rewards the rich and punishes the poor.

GETTING ON THE BALLOT-Georgia is the new Florida, but California is ole Miss. Ken Chenault, the former CEO of American Express, was one of the Black executives who organized a public letter opposing the Georgia law.

DIEDRA’S LA-Former assembly member Sydney Kamlager-Dove eased through a victory to occupy former Senator Mitchell’s seat, leaving her assembly seat up for grabs.

PLANNING WATCH-Los Angeles is a city of neighborhoods, and the Los Angeles Times has mapped 114 separate communities.

JOBS POLITICS--Faced with the closing of five stores in the Los Angeles area, including South Los Angeles in predominantly Black neighborhoods and two in Long Beach, unions, community groups, seniors and shoppers rallied April 3 at the Slauson Avenue Ralphs grocery store.

EASTSIDER-I think the headline says it all. Recently, there are signs the LA City Council may be headed in the right direction, but it’s on a small scale and the question is whether the developers who own the Council can allow a good thing to thrive.