LOS ANGELES

ALPERN AT LARGE--Being homeless is NOT a crime, but it is a sad state of human affairs, and really has no place in a modern, civilized nation such as ours. That said, urinating and defecating and breaking into a person's yard and/or home certainly IS. 

NEW GEOGRAPHY--The decisions by Amazon and Google to expand into the New York area have led some pundits to claim that the nation’s high-tech economic future will be shaped in dense urban areas.

FIRST PERSON-The collusive settlement of the UTLA-LAUSD strike just announced on the morning of January 22 by LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner, UTLA's President Alex Caputo-Pearl, and LA Mayor Eric Garcetti predictably fails to consider the real reasons for LAUSD's longstanding failure to educate its predominantly minority and still segregated student population.

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-The current FBI investigations of City Hall corruption are over due.  Hopefully, the FBI will now reach past the low hanging fruit of sweetheart pay-to-play deals to uncover hard facts and produce indictments of higher levels of corruption. 

EASTSIDER-Are Charter Schools really public schools like they claim? It depends on your definition. And the recent UTLA strike isn’t going to resolve the issue. 

OTHER WORDS--The Supreme Court just paved the way for Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military to move ahead, at least pending other court challenges.

@THE GUSS REPORT-Cue the music: Here she comes to save the day! On Tuesday, Jan Perry, a former Los Angeles City Councilmember, threw her hat into the race to replace Mark Ridley-Thomas as the Los Angeles County Supervisor from its Second District.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-If one could explain how America went from the United States of America to the present mess, it is unlikely anyone would take the time to listen. 

DIVIDED ON THE BORDER-There are things that go unquestioned in the national discussion.

RELIGION VS. THE LAW--Four women were found guilty of misdemeanors and are facing possible prison time for leaving jugs of water and canned food in the Arizona desert for migrants braving the scorching triple-digit temperatures during the summer of 2017.

CAL MATTERS REPORT--When Sheila Kuehl of Santa Monica became California’s first openly gay or lesbian legislator in 1994, a cartoonist depicted the occasion.

EDUCATION POLITICS--I walked the line in ’89.  I was a teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District when the teachers’ union (UTLA) led the last teachers’ strike.

GELFAND’S WORLD-It's more important for Democrats in congress to appear intransigent for a few more days than to be seen as willing to deal.

@THE GUSS REPORT-Will the chain-smoking habit of Los Angeles City Council president Herb Wesson lead to his eventual downfall?

BCK FILE--An estimated 200,000 demonstrators gathered in Pershing Square on January 19 for the 3rd Annual Women’s March.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-If the FBI were standing on the Santa Monica pier, it couldn’t find the Pacific Ocean.

DISABILITY PERSPECTIVE-Preparing for a new baby takes a lot of work and planning, and it often comes with lots of stress and a little anxiety, as well.

FIRST PERSON--While class sizes are too large at LAUSD, which is problematic to say the least, this is not the biggest factor as to what makes it impossible for teachers to be effective.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-2019 is finally here and we begin the new year with lots of emerging situations including a new Governor with an interesting political history, an expanding FBI investigation into suspected corruption at Los Angeles City Hall, a teachers’ strike at the LAUSD and lots of rain and snow and traffic collisions on LA roadways.

CORRUPTION WATCH--Before the FBI's widening corruption probe of L.A. leaders erupted, Los Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu tried two years ago to cripple the undue influence of developers at City Hall -- by banning campaign cash developers give to the City Council. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--The other shoe has dropped. After more than a year of Mar Vistans asking, begging, and sending motion after motion for data, open houses, the ability to address the issues, it was announced in a very private meeting with the leaders of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) and a few key CD11 staffers that the Venice Blvd. Reconfiguration is FINAL.