LOS ANGELES

@TheGussReport – In recent weeks, this column documented LA City Council president Nury Martinez’s struggle to embrace the tedium of her leadership role as one of the most powerful local lawmakers in the United States.

CLIMATE POLITICS-Stop cutting down trees for biomass. . .STOP WOODY BIOMASS!

AN ONGOING SERIES--Twice in recent years the LACERS Board has rejected the recommendation of its expert, longtime actuary to lower its annual investment earning assumption to 7.00%. 

ONE MAN’S OPINION-The SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is the name of the virus, while Covid-19 is the name given to the disease.

AT LENGTH-The thing about a crisis is that it brings out both the best and the worst in people.

INSIDER REPORT--I wasn’t at all surprised when former LA City Councilman Mitchell Englander was caught up in a City Hall corruption probe and pleaded guilty to a charge that will almost certainly lead to a prison term.  

DEATH WATCH-Los Angeles reports that its county’s low-income COVID deaths are triple the number of those of wealthier neighborhoods.

PLANNING WATCH-The modern lesson of the story of the Trojan horse is to be wary of unexpected gifts, knowing that Greek forces at war with Troy gave the city a faux peace offering, a hollowed out horse statue secretly filled with their troops.

SOUTH OF THE 10--The city of Inglewood has reached 311 positive COVID-19 cases on April 29th.  

EASTSIDER-Ineptitude is too kind a word for DONE’s actions ever since they canceled all Neighborhood Council meetings and thus disempowered the thousands of NC stakeholders and Board members from doing the very tasks they are in a unique position to help with. 

AN ONGOING SERIES-Immediately after my appointment as General Manager was confirmed by the City Council, several of the Councilmembers kindly congratulated me.

CLIMATE POLITICS-Celebrating 50 years of Earth Day, Michael Moore, executive producer and the director Jeff Gibbs re-released their daunting and alarming documentary about the heart and soul of America’s Green Movement in a compelling film: “Planet of the Humans” (2019).

ONE MAN’S OPINION-I am not a medical doctor, nor do I play one on television, but I do watch a lot of TV. My favorites shows are Cuomo Live from New York, the Garcetti-Barger-Ferrer News Hour plus Dateline Newsom. 

TRAVEL IN THE TIME OF COVID-A month ago, I was enjoying one of my “bucket list” trips – visiting Antarctica – when Mayor Garcetti shut down Los Angeles.

GELFAND’S WORLD--We keep waiting for that moment when even the right wing decides it’s had enough of Trump’s mentality.

FIRST PERSON--This is the first time in my blessedly long life that I have been asked to sacrifice for the greater good of my fellow compatriots. This sacrifice entails staying at home.

CAPITAL AND MAIN-By February 26, when a woman in Northern California’s Solano County was identified as the first known U.S. coronavirus case contracted from community transmission — that is, through an unknown source — the virus was already spreading quickly throughout the Bay Area.

GUEST COMMENTARY-For all the die-hard Trump supporters, you have to be a little skeptical when he comes out and says ingest disinfectant to cure Coronavirus. 

CRUDE POLITICS--The smell of crude oil pervaded the air. “Sandbags, and a cleanup crew actively power-washed the oil off Court Street for over 24 hours,” said a resident. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--It is doubtful that the "density warriors" and the "YIMBY's" and all those who confuse development with overdevelopment will reconsider their thinking during or after the Coronavirus pandemic, because...why confuse facts with rightful indignation? Why confuse logical debate with screaming activism.

PERSPECTIVE--The prompt: “you have been muted” said it all.