LOS ANGELES

SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATION - While newly revealed Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen appeared before a U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday morning, longtime critics of the social media behemoth elevated calls for legislative and regulatory action to break up Big Tech, outlaw tech giants' surveillance capitalist business model, and fight for a digital environment that respects rights and benefits democracy.

ENVIRONMENT - A little more than a year before an underwater pipeline leaked 144,480 gallons of crude oil, tarring Southern California beaches and killing fish and wildlife, the city of Long Beach signed a lease with Houston-based Amplify Energy that could extend the pipeline’s life through 2040, according to government records.

PLANNING WATCH-In recent decades LA’s economy has been in the doldrums. According to Zocalo Public Square commentator Joe Mathews: 

THE DOCTOR IS IN - Yes, you and I get these e-mails and public statements from Mike Bonin and his cronies--er, allies--about how those "right wingers" are trying to get him just like they tried to get Gavin Newsom. 

THE VIEW FROM HERE - City of Los Angeles councilmembers are as financially dependent upon never-ending construction as Afghan war lords are on the opium production.

TOXIC LAW SUIT - Sued last year by the state for its role as an owner and operator during the 1970s of a notoriously dirty lead-acid battery recycling facility in Vernon, east of Los Angeles, NL Industries has filed a counterclaim arguing that property owners and other parties, including businesses, are to blame for area lead levels that have triggered one of the largest toxic cleanups in the state’s history. 

CAPITAL AND MAIN-As actress and opera singer Janice Lynde returned to her West Hollywood apartment after back-to-back lung surgeries, construction in her building was shaking her rent-controlled unit so vigorously that pictures jumped from walls, statues toppled and lost their limbs, and crystal and china shattered inside her cupboards. 

AT LENGTH-The Arizona recount is over eight months after it started, and bizarrely enough, the ex-president lost by even a larger margin with the advantage going to President Joe Biden.

THE VIEW FROM HERE - The season for 2022 Los Angeles Mayoral Race is open. Let the lying commence. 

SOUTH OF THE 10 - n our previous article, we incorrectly attached Rams owner Stan Kroenke, to rumors circulating amongst the city’s three gated communities, that they would be offer buy-outs, to ease parking constraints related to SoFi Stadium and the Clippers Arena.

SEX TRAFFICKING - I was raised not to revel in the misfortune of others, but I can’t think of a better reason to make an exception to that rule than in the case of R&B icon R. Kelly.

LA POLITICS - How does one apply the very campaign tactics of former President Donald Trump on one hand, and claim to be a “progressive” on the other?

GOVERNMENT FUNDING - As lawmakers scramble to finalize a historic jobs and infrastructure package, huge fights are underway to figure out how to fund it.

RICH GETTING RICHER - Professional sports teams, massive luxury-car collections, 216-foot yachts, multi-million-dollar mansions.

THE WORKPLACE - For months, corporate hegemons, real estate brokers and their media acolytes have insisted that a return to “normalcy,” that is, to the office, was imminent.

USPS WOES - Defenders of the U.S. Postal Service are urgently renewing their calls for the ouster of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy as his 10-year plan to overhaul the cherished government institution is set to take effect Friday, ushering in permanently slower mail delivery while hiking prices for consumers.

EASTSIDER - Like Antonio Villaraigosa before him, Kevin De León had a plan. Run for City Council, and two years in become Mayor of the City of Los Angeles. Then along came Karen Bass and it all went to hell. 

PLANNING WATCH-My Neighborhood Congress Presentation: In my weekly Planning Watch columns I often debunk shady claims that trickle-down housing policies -- inspired by Reaganomics -- can fix LA’s housing crisis.

THE DOCTOR IS IN - Unfortunately, the lack of balance between Republicans and Democrats in this state, and the rise of the Woke New Generation, is destroying our economy, our environment, and our quality of life,

FIRE WATCH - One year after its aging equipment sparked a wildfire that killed four people in Northern California, Pacific Gas & Electric on Friday was hit with 31 charges, including 11 felonies, by a county prosecutor who cited the formerly bankrupt utility giant's "repeated pattern" of causing such conflagrations.

A VIEW FROM HERE - Lawyers use legalese which confuses most people, but judges use JudicialSpeak which can be harder to understand.