LOS ANGELES

@THE GUSS REPORT-I believe in the phrase when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

LA, THE CORRUPTION CAPITAL-Big Real Estate is up to its dirty tricks again.

ECONOMIC FAIRNESS-The Covid-19 crisis has both exposed and exacerbated racial and wealth inequality in the United States.

NEW GEOGRAPHY-In the soft warmth of spring the swallows famously return to Capistrano, but in recent years they are followed by what seems inevitable summer power outages and fires.

GELFAND’S WORLD--On the eve of Donald J. Trump’s acceptance speech to run for reelection as President of the United States of America, it is fitting that we consider his performance as a whole.

FIRST PERSON-The systematic corruption of the Los Angeles Planning process has just taken another leap forward with motions from LA Council President Nury Martinez.

PLANNING WATCH-If you ever feel like the fictional newscaster Howard Beale in Network, who screamed at his television audience, “I just can’t take it anymore,” I have a simple remedy for you.

PANDEMIC HOUSING CRISIS-With more than 16 million people in the U.S. out of work, Americans are having to stretch financially to keep the roof over their heads.

EASTSIDER-Last week, the LA City Attorney’s Office made it official -- they will not engage with NC Stakeholders any more than they engage with NC Boards. Nor will they voluntarily share any legal advice to BONC or DONE -- like how they allowed a patent violation of the Brown Act to be voted on by BONC. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--If a tree falls in the forest, and there's no one around to hear it, does it still make a sound? 

VOICES--I first heard about Donald Trump like most of us from our generation…I read his book “The Art of the Deal”. 

OTHER WORDS-Rory McVeigh wrote The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan, a study of the KKK in the 1920s, in 2009 -- long before Donald Trump became president. But it could almost be about Trump today. 

HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT-On the evening of June 1, in Washington D.C., Rahul Dubey could see trouble brewing outside his home.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-In case you have not noticed it, both political parties are grooming you just like pedophiles groom their young victims. 

RELIGION AND THE PANDEMIC-Repeatedly, health officials, scientists and medical experts plead with us that to slow down the spread of COVID-19 we must wear a face mask to stop droplets spewing from our mouth, and at times nose, when we speak, cough, sneeze.

GELFAND’S WORLD--A few decades ago, I attended a presentation that was held in the biology research building at the institution where I worked.

GUEST WORDS--The state’s heat waves, blackouts, and fires—amid a pandemic—offer a warning of our fossil-fuel future.

@THE GUSS REPORT-This column has received two unsolicited telephone calls from the same LAPD Detective asking the same question about the same subject. . .a year apart. 

FIRST PERSON-The elephant in the room when it comes to increased density in California is FAILING INFRASTRUCTURE.

GUEST WORDS--We applaud the Los Angeles Police Department for expanding its community policing program known as the Community Safety Partnership and appointing now-Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides to lead it. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--In a year with an impeachment, a pandemic, civil unrest involving the police and minority rights, and a bitterly divisive election season, it isn't hard to conclude there will be fighting.