LOS ANGELES

ONE MAN’S OPINION-Abe Lincoln spoke in loftier terms than back-stabbing when he gave his House Divided Speech in 1858. Although the nation was headed toward a civil war, people still cared about the principles on which the nation was founded. Not so in 2019.

NEW GEOGRAPHY--We usually associate rebellions with the rise of the desperate. But increasingly we are seeing large protests in comparatively wealthy countries that are led not by working class sans-culottes or starving peasants, but what was once the stable middle class.

GUEST WORDS-I supported Trump in 2016. I will not be supporting him in 2020.

PERSPECTIVE-If we hope to improve public health, impeach Donald Trump. What is the evidence for such an assertion? There is a great deal, including but hardly limited to these examples:

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--California is stuck in the gray zone.

@THE GUSS REPORT-On Wednesday, the LA times published a “news” story about a nearly two-decade-old and long-debunked rape allegation against LA City Councilmember David Ryu. 

PLANNING WATCH-Despite their high-octane quibbling, when it comes to the local and statewide housing crisis, the White House and California Democratic officials are mostly two peas in a pod.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Rarely have I seen greater consensus for Parking Demand Studies from stakeholders (of all socioeconomic, ethnic, and apartment/homeowners status), and rarely have I seen a greater collective "let them eat cake" response from City governmental leaders and bureaucrats who are responsible to their constituents. 

CHRISTMAS CHEER-For many years, Giovanna De La Rosa enjoyed working at Toys ‘R’ Us — especially during the holiday shopping season.

ALPERN AT LARGE--First and foremost, congratulations to Councilmember Nury Martinez for becoming the future City Council President of Los Angeles.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS-In mid-November, the Alliance of River Communities (ARC) hosted a long overdue meeting in Elysian Valley where LA City Bureau of Engineering (BOE) briefly presented a summary on the status of the contaminated Taylor Yard Parcel G2 (Parcel G2), discussed its second EPA₂ Brownfields Cleanup grant application, and the City goal to “activate” the parcel’s river frontage.

AT LENGTH-The era that we have come to know as the 60s actually started much earlier — 1955 to be exact.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-Trump constantly lies for two reasons: (1) He suffers from a Histrionic Personality Disorder, which makes him mentally incapable of telling the truth; (2) No one really cares that Trump lies. 

ANIMAL RIGHTS-According to the websites for the Jakarta Post, South China Morning Post, and World Animals Voice,  the Indonesian province of Central Java has banned eating dog meat. 

CLIMATE POLITICS-For tens of thousands of years, the Arctic’s carbon sink has been a powerful dynamic in functionality of the Earth System.

TRANSIT LA-Here’s some information from the Carbon Tax website: A carbon tax is a fee imposed on the burning of carbon-based fuels (coal, oil, gas).

SOUTH OF THE 10-Inglewood Councilman Eloy Morales Jr. is required to complete annual statements of economic interests known as Form 700s.

@THE GUSS REPORT-While the official hand-off of the LA City Council presidency from Herb Wesson to Nury Martinez doesn’t officially take place until January, it is effectively already underway. Wesson is supposed to represent Council District 10 until the end of this term, but now leaves meetings early, if he shows up at all. 

PERSPECTIVE--Krekorian, Koretz and Ryu: The Flying Circus caucus of the Burbank Airport Noise Task Force. Never confuse them with the Wright brothers or Chuck Yeager.

GELFAND’S WORLD--It’s sobering to consider that we’ve now reached a milestone in this twenty-first century. We are at the one-fifth point of the 2000s.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT--Last month, I joined fellow faith leaders on the steps of the Hall of Justice to deliver a letter urging Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey to stop seeking the death penalty.