LOS ANGELES

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.

EDUCATION POLITICS---I am in tears right now after reading the article about how our teacher’s union, made up of everyday teachers would do anything to hurt or harm the education of children.  

GELFAND’S WORLD--By now, the Mueller report has been discussed to death. There isn't anything left to say about Trump or his staff. What I have to say goes to the rest of the Republicans who are left trying to defend them. It's on you now. 

PERSPECTIVE--As a species, we seem to be in a period of considerable uncertainty, where familiar features of the political landscape are disappearing, and it is not clear what will replace them. Will NATO and the European Union be around in five or 10 years, and in anything like their present form?

DEEGAN ON LA-The Mayor, City Hall politicos, and land use developers have a serious “Not in My Charter City” threat breathing down their necks -- a looming problem in their own backyard and it includes all of LA.

MY TURN-If you have the stomach for it, you need only visit a few of the pro-trump social media sites to get an idea of how far gone these people are.

DISABILITY PERSPECTIVE-Side gigs have become increasingly popular ways for many Americans to make extra money, and they’re perfect for parents who need something that will fit around their schedules.

ALPERN AT LARGE--First things first: Thank you LA City Council for unanimously rejecting SB 50 (the Wiener Bill). 

But ... what's next? 

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-Time to debunk the five tall tales crammed into the two short sentences below to lobby for Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 50, legislation whose not-so-well-hidden-agenda is to boost profits from commercial and residential real estate. 

EASTSIDER-In the upcoming May 14 runoff election for LAUSD District 5, it is fascinating how Jackie Goldberg’s (photo above) opponent Heather Repenning and her supporters try to finesse the issue of Heather being another Charter School vote on the Board. Well, good luck with that. She would be. 

ONE MAN’S OPINION-American Jews have a Trump problem. When Trump appeared unsteady in support of the State of Israel, it was easier for them to oppose Trump’s vilifying strangers in a strange land, e.g. rousing up hatred of Mexicans from the “three Mexican countries,” per Fox News, by calling the Mexicans, “drug dealers, criminals and rapists.” 

ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS-When I think of Los Angeles County, and this is not a complete map of Los Angeles, I think of everything in our environment that potentially impacts public health.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-As Pesach nears, we Jews have to deal with four sons, three questions, two prongs, and one goal. 

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--A few months ago, the new mayor of South Pasadena appointed 18 people to the voluntary local commissions that advise the council in the San Gabriel Valley city.

ANTIBIOTIC NIGHTMARE-Public health experts have been warning for decades that overuse of antibiotics reduces the effectiveness of drugs that cure bacterial infections. At least 2,000,000 Americans get antibiotic-resistant infections per year. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--There is NO "binary choice" between appropriate development and OVER-development, but there IS a fundamental choice to ask ourselves: do we want Sacramento to run roughshod over the cities and counties of Los Angeles?  

BCK FILE--On Sunday, President Trump, who seems to have no love for California, tweeted

SPORTS POLITICS--This year’s basketball season, with the collapse of the Lakers and the surprising rise of the Clippers, poses a metaphor for the region.

GELFAND’S WORLD--The last time I wrote about the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), I was musing over the fact that it had spent ten million dollars to move a piece of rock from a hillside to the back lot of the museum. 

@THE GUSS REPORT-A while back I challenged myself to find something undeniably good going on at LA City Council.

DEEGAN ON LA-Dodger Stadium has many sounds -- the cheering of fans, the hawking of hot dogs by vendors, the dramatic exhortations from umpires on close calls, the crack of the bat and, more recently, the crack of a skull.