LOS ANGELES

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-Just when you think a stake has been driven through the heart of another Los Angeles real estate scam, LA City Planning is resurrecting its Purple Line Extension “transit neighborhood plan” (TNP).

EASTSIDER-I know everyone likes to beat up on the Department of Water and Power, especially since recent accusations about the City Attorney and DWP “fixing” lawsuits over the billing debacle.

ALPERN AT LARGE--I realize that most people reading this find it booooooring, and imagine how those who never read, care about, or know of CityWatch feel, but the Policies and Procedures Chapter 1A is a grand document that most mere mortals, including the City Council, would never try to read. 

CLIMATE POLITICS-Greenland is one of the biggest targets for global warming, in part, because it’s so big it’s hard to miss.

WORLD WATCH-Within 13 hours, two mass shooting took place—in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio—killing 31 innocent people and injuring twice as many.

ONE MAN’S OPINION- Trumpolosi’s deadly attacks on America are coming on fast and furious. Two hundred and fifty such shootings this year and the Trumpolosi murder express has no intention of stopping its push for more violence. More violence equals more votes. 

INSIDE THE LAUSD BOARD-“Thanks for your participation in yesterday evening’s meeting with Nick Melvoin. For reference, I attached my notes and next steps from our discussion. Please do not share these notes outside of this group.”  -- Jason J. Rudolph, CCSA 

FIRST PERSON-If what we do and what we say can continue to be ignored with impunity, then it is not worth doing.

NEED TO READ--In 2014 Venice, Los Angeles, California, and in Barcelona, Spain, tenants were being evicted, rents were raised, and the apartments turned into Airbanb sites for tourists in both cities.

VIEW FROM HERE-I'm a Bernie guy. I think that Sanders has been, over the past three years, a transcendent political force in American politics.

@THE GUSS REPORT-The last two members of my family to read the print edition of the LA Times, the largest newspaper west of wherever, were born when Calvin Coolidge was POTUS 30 and FDR was POTUS 32.

DEEGAN ON LA-The Supreme Court recently struck down a federal law that had banned commercial sports betting in most states, with the notable exception of Nevada where it has been legal since 1949.

ALPERN AT LARGE--In this day and age of social media and false narratives, the response to the nightmarish and universally-condemned bloodbaths in El Paso, Gilroy, and Dayton are almost as predictable as they are unhelpful ... including the reality that social media and false narratives are as much to blame as anything for these unspeakable acts of barbarism. 

MY TURN--There are some things we should not have to discuss with our kids. Ever.

BCK FILE—Murder Math:

251 mass shootings in 219 days. 

33,028 total shooting incidents as of Sunday, August 4

GELFAND’S WORLD--If you look at the mass shooting totals since 1982 in Mother Jones (click on the link for the downloadable file) you will find that the total of dead and wounded has now surpassed the death toll from the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Admittedly the death total (more than 900) is lower, but when you add the number of wounded (more than 2200) the total surpasses the 3000 mark. 

OTHER WORDS-The Trump administration has proposed a rule that will cut an estimated 3 million eligible people off food stamps while depriving half a million eligible children of school lunch.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-If the Dems want to retake the Presidency, they need to impeach Nancy Pelosi.

GUEST WORDS--As I stepped inside the Cannon House Office Building on a Tuesday in July, I felt like I was taking a step towards a more just world.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Believe it or not, those "activists" who have all sorts of time on their hands to attend meetings and scream at lawmakers under pressure to, you know, make and enforce the laws that allow us to be civilized, do NOT have more rights than the rest of us. 

RANTZ & RAVEZ-I have often written about the homeless population and their anti-social lifestyle.