LOS ANGELES

NEW GEOGRAPHY--It’s far too early to predict which party will win next year’s election, but not too early to announce the national media as a clear loser in terms of national influence and prestige.

CLIMATE POLITICS--I have a saying: it attempts to describe a part of the human condition, that seemingly human beings always know how to screw things up royally, it goes like this: there is no problem too great or too small that can’t be made worse by the proper application of the human mind.

AS WE ALL WATCHED--I read recently that America was added to the list of countries most dangerous in the world for journalists.

INCOME INEQUALITY-Editor’s note: This piece originally ran in April 2018. It’s been adapted for re-publication in April 2019. 

REMEMBERING THE MISSION-UCLA is an institution with many moving parts. Something that goes under the radar, though: its side business ventures that don’t directly relate to its educational mission. In this series, staff columnist Mariah Furtek looks at how the blue-and-gold laden university’s often questionable cash grabs affect the campus and local community.

@THE GUSS REPORT-The University of Southern California (USC) is struggling with how to present itself in these early innings of the college admissions scandal that grabbed so many recent national news headlines. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--Welcome to hell, everybody!

A young man who hated Jews, and who hated President Trump's pro-Jewish/Israel efforts, and who was likely inspired by the recent slaughter of Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, just shot up a Poway synagogue on the last day of Passover. One dead, others wounded, and everyone in the area, if not the country, is understandably shook up.

BCK FILE--Saturday, congregants in Poway, California’s Congregation Chabad, north of San Diego, gathered to celebrate the last day of Passover, the Jewish Festival of Freedom.

POLITICS-Those who are “City Watchers” will understand two key issues – the importance of our upcoming elections and the need for candidates in all City races to be educated on a number of issues. 

RANTZ & RAVEZ- As the unreliable Los Angeles Homeless Count numbers are currently being tabulated from the last Homeless Count and scheduled to be released to the public at a later date, millions of dollars for homeless programs are piling up from voter approved tax measures along with dollars from Sacramento.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Fighting for both mobility and affordable housing (to say nothing of quality of life) means having to find realistic goals and innovative ideas that WORK. Pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking isn't to be decried, and neither is sticking to the tried-and-true, but as things change the need to be FOR something is both difficult AND essential.

Enter the Zip Car.

MY TURN-Much of the discussion on social media pages and mainstream media from liberals have been involving the topics of impeachment versus voting Trump out in 2020.

EASTSIDER-Elizabeth Warren doesn’t talk like a typical politician. Elizabeth Warren doesn’t dress like a typical politician. It’s because Elizabeth Warren is not a typical politician. And maybe that’s a good thing. 

GENDER POLITICS--Four states announced this past week that they will join California in not imposing the transgender military ban on their National Guards. 

CALCULATING THE RISKS-Is impeachment the next step? In economics, there is a concept called “moral hazard.”

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-Traffic congestion in car-oriented Los Angeles is notoriously bad, and due to many separate decisions by City Hall, METRO, and the California State legislature, it will get worse. 

GUEST COMMENTARY-Dear Mr. Bertoni (photo above): As noted in my letter to the Mid-Wilshire Community, I have heard many concerns from the communities I serve regarding the current process and content of the Purple Line Transit Neighborhood Plan (“Plan”). I am sending this letter to start a transparent and open dialogue about my concerns and vision regarding the Plan process and outcomes. 

ONE MAN’S OPINION-As we look at the ocean of memes surrounding us, we might feel like the ancient mariner in the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Emotional memes are to political health as salt water is to a sailor: They look good, but only a fool would drink them. 

FILM: The Advocates, a documentary film by Remi Kessler, is a sweeping look at the history and causes of Los Angeles’ homeless crisis through the eyes of tireless advocates working to improve the lives of their homeless clients.

@THEGUSSREPORT--With the Mueller report now released, nobody named Trump facing charges, and no Russia-related prosecutions, the Democrats are in panic mode, seeking the fully un-redacted version of the report.

NEW GEOGRAPHY--Given his consistently poor approval ratings, and growing concern about the polarization that he has exacerbated, Democrats should have little trouble ousting President Trump next year. But instead, with a series of outlandish and often deeply unpopular proposals, they have morphed effectively into the Committee to Re-Elect the President.