GUEST WORDS--You don’t know me, but I’ve been a defense attorney in LA for almost 25 years. 

LA WATCHDOG--At her first meeting as President of the Los Angeles City Council, Nury Martinez discussed her Families First agenda that is based in no small part to her experiences as the daughter of hard working immigrants from the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas who valued family, education, and a better life for their children. 

PLANNING WATCH-It almost seems normal that most of our national political leaders are marching us over a cliff to fossil fuel driven extinction. So no one should be too surprised when state and local leaders respond to immediate issues, like housing, with similar self-defeating approaches.

OTHER WORDS-As we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., it’s natural to remember his courageous advocacy for racial equity. But before he was assassinated, King had also begun to broaden his efforts to unify around economic justice. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFRONT-In violation of the separation of church and state, American tax dollars are funneled to fundamentalist private schools teaching crackpot absurdities – such as a claim that Noah probably took two baby dinosaurs onto his ark. 

FOSSIL FUEL POLITICS-Late last year, The Washington Post reported a remarkable poll finding: Nearly half of American adults — 46 percent — believe the U.S. needs to “drastically reduce” fossil fuel use in the near future to address the climate crisis. Another 41 percent favor a more gradual reduction.

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS-According to a 2002 U.S. Geographical Survey, one-third of the water consumed by the four million residents in the central and west coast portions of the Los Angeles basin is ground water. 

EASTSIDER-Remember those Monsters Commercials for Spectrum? At one time there were something like 13 of them, and they live on in YouTube.

ALPERN AT LARGE-Since many who read and write for CityWatch are caught up in the President's actions or antics, and blame President Trump for the killing of Iran's General Soleimani, and as well for the downing of the passenger jet to Ukraine, the question of "who is to blame" for violence is a good one.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-Most of the honest, law-abiding Los Angeles residents have run out of patience, understanding and compassion when dealing with the expanding homeless population.

@THE GUSS REPORT-As the Tuesday morning celebration for City Council’s new president Nury Martinez died-down, she walked up the steps to the raised podium where the most influential lawmaker in the City of LA sits during meetings.

HOUSING POLITICS--Housing Is A Human Right has released today a special report about Big Tech, California YIMBY, and State Sen. Scott Wiener, all of whom push a troubling “trickle-down” housing agenda that fuels gentrification. That includes SB 50 — California’s controversial, land-use deregulation bill. As the SB 50 battle unfolds, this revealing investigation connects the dots about the relationships and money ties between Big Tech, California YIMBY, and Wiener. 

GUEST COMMENTARY--Why is Los Angeles City Cannabis policy and implementation the largest most bungled failure in the United States? 

REICH DIARY--If climate change, nuclear standoffs, assault weapons, hate crimes, mass killings, Russian trolls, near-record inequality, kids locked in cages at our border, and Donald Trump in the White House don’t occasionally cause you feelings of impending doom, you’re not human.

WORLD WATCH-Trump’s order to kill General Soleimani is one of the most reckless acts taken by a president, who once again has put his personal political interest above the nation’s security.