LOS ANGELES

CLIMATE POLITICS-It’s no surprise that first prize, or the blue ribbon, for exceeding 2°C above baseline goes to the Arctic with permafrost that covers 25% of the Northern Hemisphere.

ONE MAN’S OPINION--Because so many Americans believe that the United States is a democracy, most scholars have given up explaining, “No, it is a Republic.” 

ALPERN AT LARGE-Let me state this article was written at the request of several of my patients (and their parents) who desperately want to go back to school, and have been socially and psychologically hurt (their words, not mine) by not being able to go to school.

RANTZ & RAVEZ--It really does not matter if you like or dislike President Trump or Former Vice - President Joe Biden. 

GELFAND’S WORLD--Have we finally gotten to that point that others warned about right after Trump’s election?

GUEST WORDS--In two weeks, my partner and I were supposed to leave San Francisco for Reno, Nevada, where we’d be spending the next three months focused on the 2020 presidential election.

SHOCKER--Opponents said today that two new seismic studies by separate government agencies are “bombshells” that together warn that the proposed giant Millennium project in Hollywood, if built, would sit atop a site crossed by at least four active earthquake fault lines. 

PLANNING WATCH-Since its first baby steps in March 2020, the Covid-19 Pandemic and its deepening recession have taught us four important lessons. 

EASTSIDER-Every once in a while, there is a moment in political history, an inflection point, where the choice between two candidates can actually make a huge difference in the lives of Angelenos.

GUEST COMMENTARY--As the COVID-19 virus spreads, and our Mayor and the greedy council keep beaches and services open, the city is sending out fines to small businesses who are struggling to survive fining them $356.00 for "Illegal Banners" that are telling the locals that  the business is open. 

HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT-Big Real Estate keeps pumping millions into campaigns that oppose Proposition 21, the November ballot measure that expands rent control in California.

MY TURN-Integrating and raising the academic levels of our schools -- public and private -- is all the reparations we need as a people for this country to finally reach its potential, benefitting ALL our people.

ONE MAN’S OPINION--Garcetti and his horde of corrupt developers worked long and hard to turn the city into a place run by corruptionism.

KEVIN’S CORNER-“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” wrote Shakespeare.

GELFAND’S WORLD--One of the advantages of living in the big city is that services are available, and among the most important are emergency services. It turns out that we have a problem. 

GUEST WORDS-The unfolding prosecution of councilman Jose Huizar for felony corruption is just the tip of the iceberg of scandalous behavior that is rampant in Los Angeles city hall.  

GUEST COMMENTARY--Yes, all 4 have bowed to the almighty dollar instead of protecting the lives of the citizens they represent. 

GUEST WORDS-As COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and positivity rates have soared across most of California in the last few weeks, political and public health leaders have sounded the alarm with increasingly dire warnings.

ALPERN AT LARGE--There's plenty of blame going around for the current rise in crime, chaos, and the new rise of COVID-19.

@THE GUSS REPORT-The year 2020 is playing out as a worst-case scenario for police everywhere, including at the LAPD and its peers in neighboring communities, as nationwide George Floyd protests became riots that begot the defund the police movement. 

CULTURAL PRESERVATION-On June 29, 2020, the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board held a “Special Meeting” via the ZOOM platform. The item on this agenda of importance to me was Agenda Item 6b: