LOS ANGELES

POLICE POLITICS--Police officers take position to shoot tear gas at the demonstrators in Downtown Los Angeles on May 30, 2020 in protest against the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while while being arrested and pinned to the ground by the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.

EDUCATION POLITICS--On January 21, 2019, Erika Jones pulled an all-nighter in Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s press office.

ALPERN AT LARGE--There are some of us (most of us, I guess) who favor and respect the police, and both understand what they go through to give them the benefit of the doubt...but who abhor a criminal who gets away with blatant murder because he/she wears a badge.

@THE GUSS REPORT-Maya Angelou wrote, “the first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.” 

ANIMAL RIGHTS-As reported by CityWatch on May 29, 2020, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture released the latest version of the Directory of Genetic Resources of Livestock and Poultry.

\ONE MAN’S OPINION-Question: “Why are the rich and guilty treated better than the poor and innocent,” asked California Governor Gavin Newsom at his June 5, 2020 news conference. 

ANIMAL RIGHTS-In April, CityWatch reported that the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture issued draft guidelines declaring that dogs are pets, not to be eaten. See “Chinese May Declare Dogs Are Pets and Not for Eating – Let Them Know You Agree.”  

VOICES-August of 2019 marked 400 years since Africans were brought to this country on slave ships.

EASTSIDER-I’ve been through this scene twice, and our current protests/looting seem like a bad dope dream where nothing ever changes. This time it must. 

GUEST WORDS--We live in an Orwellian era, in which working-class people pilfering convenience store goods is called “looting.” Rich people stealing hundreds of billions of dollars, on the other hand, is just well-functioning “public policy.” 

PLANNING WATCH-The Los Angeles Department of City Planning prominently placed two self-congratulatory awards on its web site. Other than promoting eye-rolling and head scratching, what else is going on? 

POLITICS NEIGHBORHOOD-The Bureau of Street Services (BSS) is the department responsible for 23,000 lane miles and 800 miles of alleys that link homes and businesses in Los Angeles.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-It all started as another case of police abuse against an African American caught on video.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Taking a knee is usually a sign of respect ... but it can also be a sign of submission.

GUEST COMMENTARY--What happened in Minneapolis was criminal. What is happening in Los Angeles is just as criminal. 

ONE MAN’S OPINION-America’s most predatory, racist institution is its judiciary.

PART OF A CONTINUING SERIES-Among other things, the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS) Board is charged with investing $18 billion to help ensure the retirement security of over 46,000 active and retired City employees.

GELFAND’S WORLD--Curiously, the weekend’s rioting forces us to admit that there is validity in the conservative viewpoint.

GUEST COMMENTARY--This was the statement released on the slaying of Louisville Businessman David McAtee (photo above) by Louisville police and national guard.

GUEST COMMENTARY-As I sit here writing, all surrounding cities have declared a 4 pm curfew. Los Angeles is still at 6 pm! 

GUEST COMMENTARY--It is painful to be an American today. Our hearts are broken by the senseless & needless death of George Floyd and the subsequent civil unrest of the past few days.