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AN ANGRY ANGELENO - Remember when the LA Times used to be a must-read. You know, before Patrick Soon-Shiong took over the paper. Excuse me...DOCTOR Patrick Soon-Shiong. Good at medicine, but HORRIBLE at owning the Biggest, actually almost the only, Newspaper for a Major American City. Really, these days, with the prevalence of free FRESH digital ad-supported national, political, business, and sports news on the Internet, including hyper-local news on Twitter (or X), the LA Times really just has to get the California section and their Editorial/Endorsements right. But they can't manage it.
It's really a family affair for the Soon-Shiong family. His young daughter Nika, a political activist in West Hollywood (google the Wehoville.com articles about her time on the WeHo Public Safety Commission) has meddled with the paper. I don't get it. Billionaire Dr Soon-Shiong seems like a good Capitalist to me with all his business acquisitions and all his Estates in Brentwood, Malibu, and Orange County (assuming he still owns them; assuming he hasn't bought more). I'm sure he wouldn't want to use his Multi-Million Dollar Compounds to house the homeless. I doubt he would want homeless uses placed on expensive real estate next door to his Multi Million Dollar COMPOUNDS (kinda like what Katy Yaroslavsky, Zev's daughter-in-law, is doing at Pico-Midvale). So why would he push that on us?? His paper has a Very Obvious Agenda...Strongly in favor of the Multi-Billion Dollar Homeless Industrial Complex (supporting MANY relatively young drug zombies from the OTHER 49 STATES and Other Parts of California on our tax dime) and SOFT ON CRIME. Why would he make the City DANGEROUS by his paper recently endorsing THREE Members of the “Gang of 4” (I stole that expression from a Nithya Raman Recall Supporter on Twitter), NEW City Council Members Katy Yaroslavsky, Hugo Soto-Martinez (who wanted to ELIMINATE 41.18, the law that creates no-camping zones for public safety), and Eunisses Hernandez (a defund-the-police extremist), an ACTUAL member of the Democratic SOCIALISTS of America! Nika Soon-Shiong was supporting Erin Darling, a Mike Bonin Clone, for Council District 11. Thankfully, Attorney Traci Park won that race, and she's quickly cleaning up the mess that Bonin left her in Venice. Bonin DESTROYED Venice. Who did the LA Times endorse?? Nika's pick Erin Darling. Absolutely shameful, Dr Soon-Shiong. And the LA Times endorsed Lindsey Horvath for LA County Supervisor and she WON in a very close runoff. So we have Soon-Shiong's paper to thank for that...a HORRIBLE young West Hollywood extremist got PROMOTED to be one of the 5 LA County Supervisors. She also now sits on the LA Metro Board, as do all the Supervisors. The LA Times did NOT disclose in its endorsement that Horvath and Nika were buddies. Totally unethical. It did not disclose in its endorsement that Horvath put Nika on the WeHo Public Safety Commission. Totally Unethical. It did not disclose that Horvath (like Nika) favored cutting Law Enforcement funding, a controversial position that LA Times Readers suffering from crime, especially Homeless Crime, care about and that would have lost Horvath votes...AGAIN...Totally Unethical.
Dr Soon-Shiong's paper recently used what I perceived as ruthless capitalist negotiating tactics by laying off workers while negotiating with the LA Times Guild (I didn't hear a peep out of Nika about that...if you did, feel free to leave a comment below this article), the LA Times Employee Union. But they laid off the little hard-working people like web people and photographers. I was wondering why they didn't lay off the Editorial Board. That Editorial Board has DESTROYED Los Angeles.
Recent cr-p in the California Section of the LA Times...off the top of my head (I'm sure you can come up with your own examples of Must-NOT-Read LA Times cr-p): “LA County Could Have 1.7 Million Fewer People...It's Not Only Because Residents Are Leaving” about LA's population decreasing by 17% by 2060, by Terry Castleman. Now, ready for the LA Times Spin Machine?? Starts with seeking the wisdom of a 28-year-old affordable housing DEVELOPER who lives in Long Beach!! I'm not kidding. He thinks it's good people are leaving because there will be less traffic! Also, better for housing costs! Later in the article, they talk to the Executive Director of SCAG, you know, the organization that puts out those ridiculous projections of huge population growth and demands accompanying housing production from cities. SCAG is a “Developer Tool”...that's really all you need to know. SCAG disagrees with the State's projections...big surprise there! They think the population will grow! Article ends by going BACK TO the 28 yr old affordable housing Developer from Long Beach...couldn't find more people to interview?? (they did interview somebody good from the State in the middle, but got to spin before and spin after that) More brilliance from this guy? “Less strain on...infrastructure”, lower rents, less traffic, and he'll be able to get closer to a hypothetical Dodgers World Series Parade. OK. Surprised this wasn't written by Liam Dillon...maybe he was too busy writing yet another story about ADU's...oh, does the LA Times Developer Cheerleader get excited about the destruction of Single Family Home Zoning.
Getting back to the LA Times and the Soon-Shiong family, Dr Soon-Shiong's son graduated from Harvard Westlake, and my opinion is that that is why the newspaper has sat on negative stories about the most prestigious private school in the City. The school's River Park project just got approved by LA City's CPC (City Planning Commission). I didn't think the project was a big deal, but my CityWatch colleague Eric Preven obviously disagrees with me. (I do think it's horrible that we lost Northridge Skateland...for a homeless use; shame on you, Councilman John Lee...and that we'll ultimately lose all of Sportsmen's Lodge...shame on you, Paul Krekorian) I do think the PREVIOUS project that the school proposed, the pedestrian bridge over Coldwater, shooting into the hillside across the street and completely disrespecting the school's neighbors across the street was a HORRIBLE project. THIS project at a golf/tennis facility site should be a slam dunk compared to that monstrosity. The fact it's been so difficult...and other things going on at the school...suggest that the Headmaster might need to be replaced.
What the school SHOULD have done was suggest THIS choice to the neighbors: either what we're proposing or you get a Munger Dormzilla (google it) Homeless Use on the site instead. See how quickly the community chooses River Park. Or if Katy Yaroslavsky's residents in Benedict Canyon were given the choice between the Bulgari Hotel or a homeless use...how quickly would they support the hotel?? NOBODY (at least nobody in their right mind) wants their family next to a homeless use. But Katy's not gonna dump on ulta-rich people that can and will fund a Recall Effort against her...so she selectively dumps on Pico-Midvale instead, which, coincidentally, was eminent domained by her father-in-law Zev many years ago because the community needed parking (and it doesn't need parking now? kinda doubt that)...it used to be a restaurant. Maybe you should put the homeless use next door to Zev's house, Katy? Or next to your family...but then you wouldn't be a hypocrite. But the big question: Is Zev gonna have a new chapter in the 2nd edition of the memoir he's peddling about how Katy, his son's wife, destroyed the hood he used to rep. Zev's family and friends. We just finished THREE LONG TERMS of Paul Koretz, who used to work for Zev. Koretz' last mailer before a very close city council election result against Vahedi many years ago had YAROSLAVSKY's endorsement in ALL CAPS. Thanks Zev...thanks for sticking us with these horrible council members. Keep up the good work. Do you have a memoir chapter about Koretz and how horrible he was...because that's part of your legacy too!
Getting back to Dr Soon-Shiong's Legacy at the LA Times, the LA CPC just came out with their decision on Harvard Westlake's River Park Project and both City News Service (the City's wire service) and the Daily News covered the fact that BOTH Samantha Millman, the President of the Commission, and Caroline Choe, Vice President, who are BOTH Harvard Westlake Alums (chosen for the CPC by former Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is also a HW Alum) REFUSED to RECUSE themselves! So the River Park project doesn't bother me...not gonna be a jerk and show up to meetings about a Valley project when I don't live next to the proposed use...like the YIMBY/Abundant Housing “Westside For Everyone” jerks being welcomed by Katy Yaroslavsky to her Pico-Midvale Homeless Use meeting...easy for outsiders to support a nuisance use that will not negatively impact them. Why don't you pack more meetings with outside jerks to make fun of the scared neighbors, Katy?
You save up your whole life to buy a home, put all your money in the world into it, your children live in safety, and then your council member (figuratively...CityWatch lawyers told me to add that) stabs you in the back and dumps this on you. But I'm sure Katy's developer backers are pleased as punch. Everybody will sell, everybody will run away, residents will leave, businesses will leave, both mom- and-pop residential and commercial owners will sell cheap and then the developers will swoop in, tear everything down, and build monstrosities. And then Katy can pick her next victims...she has that luxury. Don't think that it stops with Pico-Midvale !! Your hood could be next!
But what DOES bother me is this lack of basic ethics by HW Alums! I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but IF I were fighting this decision, that would be at the heart of my argument. CPC decision should be voided because Prez and VP of CPC refused to recuse themselves. Many years ago, I became an activist by fighting land use battles. So I have some fun anecdotes. One time, I basically threatened the CPC because they grew their “premeetings”, private prep meetings, from 2 members to 4 members (out of 9 members, probably to control the outcome in private before their public meetings)...if that doesn't violate the Brown Act, it sure violates its spirit. That was while Garcetti was Mayor, of course. I also had a situation where the Planning Department LIED, sent Planning Director's Determination Letters for SB1818 cases to the folks across the street, and then told them IN BOLD that only the people next door to (“abutting”) the project could appeal. Wondered why we got the mailing if we couldn't appeal, looked up the law, and, sure enough, we got the determination because we could appeal (BOTH abutting and across-the-street could appeal). The City Planning Department was SO Pro-Developer (check out how many developers are on the CPC) that somewhere along the way they wrote A LIE IN BOLD PRINT into their template. The Planning Department changed their template because of me. At that meeting, I also argued that tenants next door couldn't exercise their appeal rights because they had not been notified. A lawyer member of the CPC actually argued (to his fellow commissioners...and I could not respond) that the City had no way of notifying tenants. I thought of reporting him to the State Bar for that. Of course, the City notifies tenants all the time about alcohol uses by sending it to “RESIDENT” at each apartment address. After the Planning Department changed the template, they didn't go back and void other decisions (across-the-street owners were lied to and told they could not fight projects; also, all the abutting tenants that were not notified). I was following the destruction of the Westside YMCA, which I was very upset about. The owner across the street got a director's determination letter saying in bold that they could not appeal the decision...SO wrong!
Of course, Garcetti's Planning Director, Michael LoGrande, had an Ethics Scandal...google it...it made the papers. LA City Hall was an Ethics DISASTER while Eric Garcetti was Mayor, including plenty of Corruption. LA DWP General Manager, Garcetti's Deputy Mayor, multiple council members, even the City Attorney's Office...that's just off the top of my head...commissioners too, I'm sure. City Ethics Commission was led by Heather Holt (google the articles about her)...who still works there as Number 2. But Heather Holt could get an article of her own. Hey, MAYOR BASS. If you're reading this, you need to START cleaning up City Hall by FIRING Heather Holt. THEN, get rid of other Top Garcetti people...Samantha Millman, change your General Managers (unfortunately, you already renewed the Police Chief), Larry Gross, the President of the Board of Animal Services Commissioners. Gross is a TENANT ACTIVIST...put him on a commission that deals with tenants or housing. He's Garcetti's guy...been on there for ALMOST TEN HORRIBLE YEARS. Instead of getting rid of him, you let him advise you on who to pick as the next GM of the Department of Animal Services? WTF Can you PLEASE get rid of all these horrible Garcetti holdover people...PLEASE! You're looking like a THIRD GARCETTI TERM, Karen Bass. Really.
So, I'm looking for the most recent LA Times coverage of the HW River Park Project and I find a July 16 article by ERIC SONDHEIMER, sports writer...WTF. Should be David Zahniser...somebody like that. So Sondheimer's piece is cursory, super cozy with HW, like that of a sports guy who covers HW Sports A LOT. And HW is a Sports Juggernaut/Powerhouse. That may be part of the problem at Harvard Westlake. Interestingly enough, the guy that turned HW into Too Much Sports is former longtime Headmaster Thomas Hudnut (whose son was a bigtime water polo player). And guess who wrote an absolutely glowing one-sided “Thomas Hudnut Leaves a Legacy of Excellence at HW” for the LA Times when Hudnut retired in 2013 ? Eric Sondheimer. I love this quote: “One of [Hudnut's] most important contributions was letting his student journalists be journalists. He never once censored a story from the school newspaper even though they wrote stories that would have made any principal shut their door and scream in horror.” Very professional, Eric. Very professional. How do you know that? Were you there for all those years at the school newspaper? Or did Hudnut tell you that? Maybe the most softball “article” I have ever read.
Speaking of student journalists, I did recently peruse the HW Chronicle online, and was concerned that the merging of three HW student journalist operations (upper school, middle school, and video/tv) might be an effort to gain control over articles like “School searches for suspects after FIFTH antisemitic vandalism incident” (which was NOT reported on by the LA Times) from February of this year. [emphasis added] If you go to the HW Chronicle website online, you will come across a list of the Top 5 Trending Articles: 1) School Responds After 2nd Student Death (Jonah Anschell, 12th Grade, in April), 2) Remembering Jordan Park (10th Grade, in March), and 4) Remembering Jameson McMullen (who graduated in 2019 and was in College when he passed)...those are all suicides, as is the new top story on the site, the loss of Donald “Trey” Brown III, only 16 years old, on June 30. Los Angeles Magazine just wrote up the suicides at Harvard Westlake. And the LA Times is STILL sitting on the story.
(“An Angry Angeleno” is Yuval Kremer, a former ballot candidate for both LA County Supervisor and LA Mayor, who is also a HW Alum. The views expressed by Mr. Kremer are his alone and not necessarily those of CityWatchLA.com.)
