LOS ANGELES

BCK FILE--Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has pointed an angry finger at the National Enquirer’s David J. Pecker, accusing the American Media Inc. chairman and CEO of  blackmail and extortion. 

LAUSD OVERPAYMENT DEBACLE--One would think the Los Angeles Unified School District would want to keep a low profile regarding illegal acts that might draw media attention, but apparently corruption is addictive. As one former drug dealer admitted, “The only thing more addictive than taking drugs is selling them.” Plus, LAUSD has the added hubris of having LA County “judges” on their side providing the District with the comfort of being able to do as it will. 

ONE MAN’S OPINION-When extremism is tearing apart the nation, the time is ripe for us to coalesce around our founding principles.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-As we leave January and enter February, we are blessed with lots of water in our lakes and reservoirs and huge amounts of snow in the mountains throughout California. Unlike the many dry years we have experienced for long periods of time in the past, the heavy rains and snow that have caused numerous winter storm alerts and warnings will provide us with plenty of water for the upcoming summer months. We are reminded that our fragile natural resources are not constant and that we must not waste what God has sent from above for us to enjoy throughout the year. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--As stated before in my previous CityWatch articles (but this is NOT my idea, just state and federal standards for infrastructure projects), major New Starts for infrastructure is something Americans will pay for regardless of where you live. But big projects require Consensus, Planning and Funding...in that order.  

VOICES--City Hall is supposed to play by the rules.  Our elected officials, City employees and City commissioners have a legal duty to uphold the law.  When they knowingly fail to execute that duty, they need to be held accountable. 

EASTSIDER-Even as we debate whether Charter Schools at LAUSD are public schools or not, the Trump appointed NLRB is deciding whether or not to exempt them from unionization altogether. No kidding. 

AFFORDABLE HOUSING, STUDENT VIEW--The Agora (rendering above), a proposed private 16-story apartment complex, came to town in November, claiming to offer affordable student housing in Westwood.

URBAN PERSPECTIVE--How many times have we seen this act? A woman claims that a prominent African-American celebrity or politician has engaged in sexual misconduct with her. I mean the names of the men who have been hit with the charge can fill up a small telephone book. Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin E. Fairfax is just the latest in the long list of these men. 

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-Curbed LA reported this week that METRO’s transit ridership has continued to decline. METRO not only has long-term declining bus ridership, but also declining rail ridership. These trends are not good, but METRO’s assessment of this situation makes partial sense, even if it continues to ignore its own policies, while promoting LA City land use policies that further undermine ridership.  

SOLUTIONS--Last week, Pacific Gas & Electric, the beleaguered gas and electric provider for some 16 million residents across the state of California, formally filed for bankruptcy protection. It's a move that's long been anticipated:

ONE MAN’S OPINION-Perhaps the worst evil that flows from Group Rights is the belief that extremism in pursuit of ideological purity is laudable. It results in the burning of witches at the stake, expulsion of Jews from one European country after another, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust and a gazillion individual evils like the crucifying of Matthew Shepard on a windy hill top in Wyoming, not to mention Trump’s cowardly attack upon Transgender individuals in his belief that they are weak and he can trample them into the dust. 

ANIMAL WATCH-Well-known Los Angeles art gallery owner Rosamund Felsen (photo above) was arraigned in Glendale Superior Court on January 23, 2019, on a criminal “vicious dog” complaint resulting from the bite history of her Staffordshire Terrier (pit bull), named Bobby. 

DEEGAN ON LA-“If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re probably on the menu,” according to Senator Elizabeth Warren. This familiar political aphorism has relevance no matter what level of politics you exist in, from the local community level to a city, state or the national level. 

BCK FILE---It’s doesn’t come as much of a surprise that President Trump picked the Patriots to win Super Bowl LIII. This is much larger than football. California has been a target for the president’s animus since he took office. 

GELFAND’S WORLD--I seem to be among the few who found the Super Bowl at least mildly entertaining.

@THE GUSS REPORT-Did disgraced Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar tip his hand on one way that alleged land development corruption may work between himself, City Council president Herb Wesson and those seeking to buy their favor with campaign cash, trips to Las Vegas and sundry other favors? 

STUDENT HOUSING CONTROVERSY-Westwood community members oppose a proposed housing project because they think it will replace existing affordable housing and cause traffic congestion. 

EDUCATION POLITICS--Instead of meeting with United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) in the days leading up to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) strike, Superintendent Austin Beutner and Board President Monica Garcia were in Sacramento in an effort to “drum up lawmaker opposition to the teachers strike.”

ONE MAN’S OPINION-While Americans are tweeting their irrational, hyper-emotional memes, the GOP and the Dems are de-constructing the U.S. Constitution for fun and profit – their fun and their profit.

CALBUZZ--With uncharacteristic restraint, Calbuzz balks when people around the country ask us whether Kamala Harris is for real, or just the flavor of the week.