LOS ANGELES

RANTZ & RAVES-There have been many Presidential elections in America over the past 244 years --  some more interesting and exciting than others.

RENTER PROTECTION--With eviction protections set to expire state officials scrambled to put in place a plan to extend these protections. 

OTHER WORDS-President Biden recently became the first president to condemn white supremacy by name in an inaugural address. Then some Republicans got mad because, they say, it’s an attack on them.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING-Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has made one thing alarmingly clear: middle- and working-class Americans need long-term solutions for major problems that have long impacted them.

VOICES-Call it the postage stamp that could tank a ceasefire, or peace agreement. 

GUEST WORDS-In one of the most politically fraught eras in the history of the United States since the Civil War, many Americans last week turned their thoughts to commemorating the life and work of civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

GUEST WORDS-It seems the veterans of the Great Capitol Insurrection, high and low, are not faring well.

GELFAND’S WORLD--The new argument on the right is that it would be unconstitutional to impeach Donald J Trump now that he is out of office.

WHY BLACK LIVES MATTER-Racial profiling often seems like some kind of perverse rite of passage that young Black people have to go through in America (and likely, everywhere else in the world where Black people exist) as a part of growing up. 

ANOTHER SHOE FALLS-Disgraced former LA City Councilmember Mitch Englander received 14 months in prison during a two-hour Zoom sentencing hearing on Monday morning for his role in an ongoing corruption probe of LA City Hall.

GUEST WORDS-The lure of easy money has a powerful appeal. What is easier money than Taxpayer money?

THE DOCTOR’S IN-Fair is fair--if Governor Newsom or any other pol screws up, or succeeds, that politician deserves any credit or scorn he/she deserves.

@THE GUSS REPORT-"The worm has turned" is a phrase that dates back more than 500 years and suggests, among other things, that a situation can change quickly and that if pushed too far, even meek beings may strike back at their antagonist. 

PERSPECTIVE-Schrodinger’s Cat is a thought experiment designed to show people how they misunderstood quantum physics but ended up locking people into that very misunderstanding.

CLIMATE POLITICS-Throughout the world, scientists are speaking out like never before.

OPEN LETTER-To the Honorable John F. Walter:  

AT LENGTH-For those who were waiting for Mr. Donald J. Trump to become “presidential” or at least change his tone while he was in office, you can now rest assured.

GELFAND’S WORLD--An attempt at an opening paragraph: 

GUEST COMMENTARY-Some people like attention. But remember the old adage: Fools’ names and fools’ faces often appear in public places. 

PLANNING WATCH-Last week I explained why LA’s updated General Plan Housing Element (i.e., chapter) was a big bamboozle, a cavalier exercise to reverse engineer zone changes that further enrich real estate speculators already profiting from a housing boom. 

CORONA POLITICS-While most companies claim they put customer service ahead of everything, those of us who spend hours trying to resolve issues with our banks, our health insurers, our telephone companies, know that's not true.