LOS ANGELES

BETRAYAL--An advocacy group representing more than four million American retirees warned Thursday that President Donald Trump took a dangerous step toward "single-handedly" dismantling Social Security by announcing he plans to sign an executive order suspending collection of the payroll tax as early as Friday afternoon.

GELFAND’S WORLD--In a recent edition of CityWatch, there was a piece suggesting that the protesters in Portland were no better than Palestinian terrorists.

PLANNING WATCH-According to the medieval Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, Hell has nine levels.

@THE GUSS REPORT-It is restorative to watch LA City Council and its political peers twist like pretzels to disingenuously distance themselves from corrupt pals seemingly headed toward federal prison. 

GUEST WORDS--Los Angeles County Democrats are heading into what many believe to be the most consequential national election of our lifetime. 

GUEST WORDS-As the Coronavirus rages on with cases and deaths skyrocketing, mass evictions now threaten to make health, racial justice, and economic issues so much more challenging. 

RANTZ & RAVEZ-Some of us have witnessed an elected LA City official sworn-in to serve the public, either in person or via the media.

EASTSIDER-A couple of weeks ago, I wrote how the actual structure and framework of DONE is crumbling. Here’s what I wrote in my takeaway to the piece: 

ALPERN AT LARGE-So here we are in the Westside, like so many other Angelenos, in the middle of a Community Plan Update for the Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey region.

GUEST WORDS-If I could sum up my financial life in one phrase, it would be “thank goodness for no-qualifying loans.”

TRUTH DIG-When Congress passed the CARES Act earlier this year, lawmakers gave some low-wage Americans who lost their jobs an income they’ve been demanding for years:

ONE MAN’S OPINION--In addition to taxes and death, two things which are certain in Los Angeles Courts are the railroading of minorities defendants into long prison terms and the financial rape of the elderly. 

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--Can South Los Angeles teach America how to lead?

BE WARNED!--Six months into a global pandemic, the US economy just took its most grievous hit on record, while Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook only added wealth.  

GELFAND’S WORLD--The Covid-19 pandemic came out of China in late 2019 and early 2020, but the United States was mostly spared for a couple of months.

@THE GUSS REPORT-You are not living your best life if you look at a corrupt, arrogant felon like former LA City Councilmember Mitch Englander, who is staring down the barrel at a statutory maximum 5 years in federal prison, and think to yourself, “jeez, I wish I was that guy!” 

NEW GEOGRAPHY-No state wears its multicultural veneer more ostentatiously than California.

DIEDRA’S LA-Homelessness: The increase in unemployment will in fact increase the homeless population.

VOICES-In a stunning new poll, 1 in 4 Americans say they do not plan on retiring, with money cited as one of the critical aspects of this determination.

ONE MAN’S OPINION--Trumpy is a problem, but he is not The Problem.

ALPERN AT LARGE--So much of City of Los Angeles politics and commentary is focused on the negative, and rightfully so.