LOS ANGELES

PLANNING WATCH-In previous Planning Watch columns I debunked the claims of YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard) groups.

MY TURN--RICO stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 1961–1968) and was designed to stop the Mafia, La Costa Nostra, wise-guys, etc. 

OTHER WORDS-President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is more than just a response to the coronavirus. It’s also one of the largest anti-poverty measures in U.S. history. 

AMERICAN WAR MACHINE-So wrote Stephen Zunes, in the wake of Joe Biden’s first act of murder as president. . .excuse me, his first act of defensive military action: bombing a border post in Syria last week, killing 22 of our enemies.

PEACE VOICE-As the Biden administration settles in, let’s pause to take stock of where American politics now stands. It’s not a pretty picture, but it has the potential for improvement. Here goes: 

GELFAND’S WORLD--The $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill passed by the Senate as the American Rescue Plan Act is a big deal.

NEED MORE THAN SUBURBS--Anybody who pays attention to the news knows that there’s a heated, ongoing debate in LA, and across California, about how to solve our housing problems.

MY TURN--Sometimes, one waits for the other shoe to drop, but in the Erika Jayne - Tom Girardi saga of lust, power and greed, there’s a whole closet full of designer shoes to stumble forth. 

@THE GUSS REPORT-Largely unknown to most people before the pandemic, Zoom is the video chat service now ingrained in daily life around the planet, keeping colleagues, schoolmates, congregations, and families in contact at a safe social distance.

HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT-Since 2018, when Proposition 10 sought to expand rent control in California, rent control movements have only gained momentum throughout the United States.

CLIMATE POLITICS-A recent UN Assessment, as of February 26, 2021, regarding progress or lack thereof by the 195 nations to the 2015 Paris climate agreement is starting to look like a big bust. 

TOM’S DISPATCH--The Four Horsemen of our media apocalypse — Rush Limbaugh, Roger Ailes, Rupert Murdoch, and Donald Trump — have ridden roughshod over us this past half-century leaving their hoofprints on our politics, our culture, and our lives.

LA REAL ESTATE--The property Jordan Mazer bought in December is the classic Venice beach house in more ways than one. 

PERSPECTIVE-On Tuesday, March 2, SPUR hosted an hourlong online conversation with Assembly members Phil Ting and David Chiu (above right) and State Senator Scott Wiener (above left).

GUEST WORDS--It's no secret - marginalized communities in Los Angeles are in constant threat for falling victim to displacement and gentrification.

THE DOCTOR IS IN--Anyone who thinks that the "doom and gloom" and lockdown-lifestyle we have, and all the economic misery, mask-wearing, and social distancing that go with it, is a courageous, patriotic challenge for us all to get through together too often misses the mark. 

EASTSIDER-Today’s tale involves a stakeholder named Richard Hopp.

GUEST WORDS--Around midnight on March 3, 1991, four Los Angeles police officers stopped Rodney King, a 25-year-old black man, for speeding or driving drunk or a minor traffic violation or maybe just for being black, and savagely kicked, tasered, and beat him with batons over 56 times.

PLANNING WATCH-The Los Angeles Times has changed ownership several times in recent decades, but its support for speculative real estate bubbles has never wavered. 

RANTZ & RAVEZ-In February 2021, Mark Cuban, the owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, made a huge mistake by directing his NBA team to stop singing the National Anthem at the start of basketball games.  

MY TURN--How we think about events determines what actions we take.