LOS ANGELES

THE POWER OF BIG PHARMA-The opioid epidemic has left no part of the country untouched, yet California can be considered one of the luckier states. Close to 115 Americans die each day of an opioid-related overdose, but California’s death rates have begun to taper off. Public experts surmise that a diverse demographic makeup and the type of heroin available in the area have contributed to the stabilization. But, this is only one barely shining light at the end of a long tunnel. 

FIRST PERSON-For quite a while now I have believed that the longstanding, preprogrammed and well-orchestrated failure of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) (along with other public school districts like it around the state and country) can only be changed for the better by a radical restructuring of its openly entrenched self-serving bureaucracy. It is a system that, by its very nature, has put the interests of its vendors before those of its students, teachers, families, and communities. 

VOICES--In nearly every corner of Los Angeles, there are homeless encampments — collections of flimsy tents, usually within mere feet of a school, a park, a business, or someone’s home. Their presence invariably sparks a neighborhood debate, with loud voices proclaiming that “those people” are there by choice.

@THE GUSS REPORT-In the nearly three years he has been a Los Angeles City Councilmember, David Ryu has been silent on the issue of inhumane living conditions at thousands of South Korean dog meat farms, where the terrified and tortured animals are eventually killed and eaten. 

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-According to the San Jose Mercury News, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti conditionally supports Senator Scott Wiener’s proposed Senate Bill 827, which has been amply pilloried – for good reasons – at CityWatchLA. The mayor’s one condition is that an amendment to this real estate bill should protect existing rent stabilized apartments from demolition. 

CORRUPTION WATCH-We are ignoring the mechanism by which a predatory society brings incessant violence upon itself. The United States is one of the most abusive, predatory societies on the planet. Whether a person is sane or not, a person’s national culture is the major factor in whether he or she murders masses of people. These shootings arise from our nature. 

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH Y OUR MEASURE HHH DOLLARS?--City Council President Herb Wesson, who has watched Mayor Eric Garcetti drag his feet for more than a year, building NO units of housing to shelter the homeless with voter-approved “Measure HHH” homeless funds, tweeted out a catchy PR campaign today that in no way moves the dime.

BCK FILE--Politics is big business -- and the impact of hefty campaign contributions on policy is problematic, whether the issue is meaningful gun control, environmental policy or closer to home, approval for development projects. 

DEEGAN ON LA- “Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water” was the chilling slogan for the movie “Jaws” many years ago. But just as locals at the beach thought they had their shark problem fixed, yet another swimmer was pulled out of the surf with half her body turned into a shark’s dinner.  A few days ago the LA Times announced in its headline, “LA County's Homeless Problem Is Worsening Despite Billions From Tax Measures.” This was less than one week after the City Council approved a plan to house 60 of the area’s estimated 58,000 homeless in a city parking lot. 

GELFAND’S WORLD--Last week saw the exodus of several major American corporations from their previous relationships with the National Rifle Association. We can expect the trend to continue. This is both the effect of and will further contribute to delegitimizing the NRA in American politics. There is a direct analogy to the movement to get Rush Limbaugh removed from major radio stations, a tactic which worked surprisingly well. 

CAL MATTERS--As California’s Democrats wrapped up their party’s annual convention Sunday, they left San Diego as they arrived: a party still fraying at the seams after the 2016 election, held together by one strong bond—a unifying dislike of President Donald Trump.(Photo above Billionaire activist Tom Steyer at Dems convention.)

POLITICS--The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in December, asking that a citizenship question be added to the 2020 Census because citizenship data was needed to protect minority populations from “racial discrimination in voting.”

ALPERN AT LARGE--There are just too many people, on all sides of the political spectrum, who just won't let racism die.  Racism is stupid, divisive, and just so morally wrong that decrying racism should be a nonstarter.  Maybe the next generation can do better. 

GELFAND’S WORLD--A few days ago, I wrote about an intriguing idea for a ballot initiative that just barely failed to make the ballot. It was a novel approach taken from a conservative point of view that had the potential to reduce the role of money in state legislative races.

CORRUPTIONISM-Accounting Control Fraud occurs when people in high positions such as a CEO and other company executives or a mayor and a city council subvert the organization and commit fraud for personal gain. With the help of Judge Richard Fruin, the City of Los Angeles is being looted by a group of criminals who are engaged in this activity. 

GUEST COMMENTARY --On Feb. 13, 2018, a fire demolished the last standing structure at the corner of 84th and Vermont. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but this was far from the first time this lot owned by Sassony Commercial Development has been a public nuisance. Blighted for 26 years, it has been an ongoing source of embarrassment for residents and a daily reminder of how difficult it has been to rebuild the spirit and wealth of South Los Angeles since the Civil Unrest. 

BELL VIEW--Turns out 3% of the American population own 50% of the guns. On average, these “gun enthusiasts” own 17 guns a piece. Talk about your self-defense! We also know that fewer than 2% of Americans killed by guns die in the types of mass shootings like we saw in Florida last week. So, it’s not as if every one of these patriotic defenders of the right to bear arms is a threat to society. I have gun-nut friends, and none of them is likely to walk into a school and start shooting anytime soon.

EASTSIDER-After an overdose of Republicans vs Democrats, uncivil debate, and the gutting of the economic underpinnings of our society, I thought it was time to take a pause and look at the issues that define all of us, not just our deeply flawed political parties. 

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-As a frequent critic of Senator Scott Wiener’s free market, trickle-down, deregulatory approach to city planning in my CityWatchLA columns, I welcomed a recent Streetsblog LA article, “Senate Bill 827, Equity, and the Need for Coalition Building in the YIMBY movement.” Jason Islas’ analysis is clearly more nuanced that than typical YIMBY sermons about the imminent, all-encompassing benefits of scuttling planning, zoning, and environmental laws. In their view, Senator Wiener’s unfettered supply-side approach to planning will cure California’s growing and overlapping housing, transit, and environmental crises. 

CAL MATTERS--The essence of California’s pension crisis was on display last week when the California Public Employees Retirement System made a relatively small change in its amortization policy.