In the News
Tom Brady’s Jersey, Nury Martinez’s Pants and Other LA Observations
The subject isn’t the NFL’s Tom Brady, but NFL Hall-of-Famer Johnny Unitas, who was Brady before Brady was born. But why mention Unitas so many years after he passed precisely one year after 9/11?
Because Brady, who led the New England…
The Two Middle Classes
NEW GEOGRAPHY-Politicians across the Western world like to speak fondly of the “middle class” as if it is one large constituency with commo…
Do the Dems Deserve to Win in 2020?
ONE MAN’S OPINION-With a certified crazy man in the White House, one would think that the Dems’ taking over in 2020 would be a no-brainer…
‘I Am Proud to Be A Socialist’
WORLD WATCH--It is sad, appalling, and outrageous that much of what Bernie Sanders is advocating is denigratingly labeled as socialist, as…
‘Update the Community Plans’ is City Hall’s Version of ‘Let’s Meet for Lunch’
PLANNING WATCH-We could easily balance our budgets if we were paid each time an official or municipal pundit called for updating LA’s 35 Co…
Stop Calling Harmful Bigotry ‘Religious Freedom’
OTHER WORDS--The Supreme Court is considering a case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, that once again pits LGBTQ rights against so-called r…
Generic Drug Execs are Still Killing It … and Us!
ALPERN AT LARGE--The cost of health care can and should remain a high priority for this nation's upcoming election cycle, although those ru…
Here Come the Judges, and No One Knows Who They Are
EASTSIDER-It’s a sad truth. Every year I look at the races for LA County Superior Court and feel guilty, because I have no idea what I’m do…
‘What We’ve Got Here is a Failure to Communicate’
VOICES-Shades of the famous quote from the movie “Cool Hand Luke,” the City of Los Angeles is shutting down Wilshire Boulevard from Fairfax…
Election Season is Upon Us – and it’s Getting Hotter Every Day
RANTZ & RAVEZ-I wrote in a previous column that the Election Commercials on TV were going to bombard you to the point of nausea.
Pay-for-Play Wesson Makes AQMD Suddenly Silent
@THE GUSS REPORT-Well, that was quick. The South Coast AQMD, an important agency doing valuable environmental work, was eager to speak with…
George Gascon: Lies, Distortions and Mis-Truths.
LOS ANGELES-George Gascon is an advocate for Criminal Justice Reform,. But what is criminal justice reform?
Voting, Transparency, Democracy Go Hand-in-Hand
GUEST WORDS--Super Tuesday is just a few days away and I’ve been thinking a lot about the turnout for this election.
Do Americans Want Socialism?
ONE MAN’S OPINION-Socialism is “a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distri…
Unconscionable: Fury as Federal Appeals Court Upholds Trump's Anti-Women, Anti-Choice "Gag Rule"
WOMEN’S RIGHTS--Reproductive rights advocates criticized a federal court's ruling on Monday upholding the Trump administration's Title X ru…
Murdering a Mountain Lion Provokes Outrage
DEEGAN ON LA-A recent state-sanctioned murder of a mountain lion known as P-56 (photo above), in the Santa Monica Mountains, has sparked co…
The Coronavirus: To Panic or Not to Panic, That is the Question
GELFAND’S WORLD--It’s hard to know whether to join the people of Costa Mesa in panicking over the new version of coronavirus or whether to…
The Not-So-Secret Secret: Greed-Laced Planners are Killing Transportation Infrastructure
ALPERN AT LARGE:-The rightful analogy of LA City (and County, and by extension the State) Planning to Transportation is one where the earne…
Sanders Would Be Wise to Consider Booker for VP
VIEW FROM HERE-In a Nov 27, 2018 blog, I argued that a Biden-Booker ticket looked unbeatable. I was completely wrong about Joe Biden.
How Herb Wesson Cheated LA, Part 2
@THE GUSS REPORT-In “How Herb Wesson Cheated LA, Part 1,” this column updated how the LA City Councilmember manipulated (read: lied) about…
