FINALLY … THE MUELLER REPORT-- “Oh my God,” President Donald Trump said. “This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m fucked.”

PERSPECTIVE--We on the Portland Peace Team were invited out the other day to provide some nonviolent public safety for the local demonstration of perhaps 250 people calling for the unredacted release of the Mueller Report to Congress and to the American people.

EASTSIDER-In the upcoming May 14 runoff election for LAUSD District 5, it is fascinating how Jackie Goldberg’s (photo above) opponent Heather Repenning and her supporters try to finesse the issue of Heather being another Charter School vote on the Board. Well, good luck with that. She would be. 

LA WATCHDOG--Mayor Eric Garcetti’s proposed budget for next year shows a significant increase in revenues which eliminates the previously projected $160 million deficit and funds the raises for the City’s civilian employees.

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-Time to debunk the five tall tales crammed into the two short sentences below to lobby for Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 50, legislation whose not-so-well-hidden-agenda is to boost profits from commercial and residential real estate. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--First things first: Thank you LA City Council for unanimously rejecting SB 50 (the Wiener Bill). 

But ... what's next? 

ELECTION 2020-It’d be difficult to advise a former vice-president to not run for the presidency, to tell them how they’d likely lose, that they should just sit this one out, particularly when so many others in their position did succeed at eventually occupying the Oval Office.

EDUCATION POLITICS--The actress Felicity Huffman—along with 13 other parents charged in the college admissions scandal—entered plea deals last week, putting pressure on actress Lori Laughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, to do the same.

OTHERWORDS--Every year around Earth Day, I’m reminded of papers I graded in an environmental sociology class.

420 FILE--The confectionery industry indulges consumers’ desires for sweets. They are typically classified by the basic ingredients of chocolate, sugar or flour. Within these categories are a wide variety of products, including hard candies, mints, toffees, truffles, and pastries. They are offered in a vast range of flavors, including chocolate, vanilla, peppermint and cinnamon. Many fruit flavors also are used. 

DISABILITY PERSPECTIVE-Side gigs have become increasingly popular ways for many Americans to make extra money, and they’re perfect for parents who need something that will fit around their schedules.

LA WATCHDOG--United Teachers Los Angeles, the union that represents over 30,000 teachers, is spending millions to seize control of the Los Angeles Unified School District.  If UTLA is successful, the union will use its influence to eviscerate charter and magnet schools, adversely impacting approximately 200,000 students. 

LA WATCHDOG--On Wednesday afternoon, April 17, Mayor Eric Garcetti will deliver his sixth State of the City Address at Abraham Lincoln High School in Montecito Heights.  

DEEGAN ON LA-Dodger Stadium has many sounds -- the cheering of fans, the hawking of hot dogs by vendors, the dramatic exhortations from umpires on close calls, the crack of the bat and, more recently, the crack of a skull. 

MY TURN-If you have the stomach for it, you need only visit a few of the pro-trump social media sites to get an idea of how far gone these people are.