LOS ANGELES

HOUSING POLITICS--Early this year State Senator Scott Wiener held a press conference to present an amended version of his controversial bill, SB 50. Wiener's proposed legislation would override local planning authority to allow residential projects up to a half mile away from a major transit stop to receive waivers from limits on density and height.

DEEGAN ON LA-That sucking sound you may hear coming from City Hall could be the deep inhales from politicos hoping that when they exhale the results of the annual homeless count will be better than last year -- a time when the very bad news was an increase of 12%.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Martin Luther King encapsulated what so many of us dream when he stated his own dream of his children living in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. 

OUTSIDE THE BOX -The Houston Astros cheated, got caught, and got slapped on the wrists. No one is happy with the verdict, so now what? Play. It. Again. 

GELFAND’S WORLD--I’ll just refer to her as Sheryl, because she has a right to retain as much dignity as the jackals in city government have left her. And they are not trying to leave her much. 

VOICES-McKinsey & Co., a development consultant firm, has made the claim that California must build 3.5 million housing units by 2025.

LETTER TO THE SENATE--To the Honorable Members and Staff of the California State Senate:

ENVIRONMENT POLITICS -- The Alliance of River Communities (ARC) held its monthly public meeting on December 16 at El Rio de Los Angeles State Park in Cypress Park to hear the most current updates on LA River projects.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-Question: What is it called when a 79-year-old widow is forced to wash linens make beds, clean two entire houses with nine bedrooms and sweep the patios and sidewalks and then Judge Lippitt steals 150% of the widow’s wages? Answer: Business as usual in LA County’s Conservancy (Probate) court. 

PERSPECTIVE--The lawsuit recently filed by City Attorney Mike Feuer against the FAA and supported by LA council members Paul Krekorian, David Ryu and Paul Koretz, all of whom are voting members of the Burbank Airport Noise Task Force, is demanding that all departure paths from Burbank return to pre-Next Generation flight tracks.

GUEST WORDS--You don’t know me, but I’ve been a defense attorney in LA for almost 25 years. 

@THE GUSS REPORT-As the Tuesday morning celebration for City Council’s new president Nury Martinez died-down, she walked up the steps to the raised podium where the most influential lawmaker in the City of LA sits during meetings.

PLANNING WATCH-It almost seems normal that most of our national political leaders are marching us over a cliff to fossil fuel driven extinction. So no one should be too surprised when state and local leaders respond to immediate issues, like housing, with similar self-defeating approaches.

OTHER WORDS-As we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., it’s natural to remember his courageous advocacy for racial equity. But before he was assassinated, King had also begun to broaden his efforts to unify around economic justice. 

FOSSIL FUEL POLITICS-Late last year, The Washington Post reported a remarkable poll finding: Nearly half of American adults — 46 percent — believe the U.S. needs to “drastically reduce” fossil fuel use in the near future to address the climate crisis. Another 41 percent favor a more gradual reduction.

EASTSIDER-Remember those Monsters Commercials for Spectrum? At one time there were something like 13 of them, and they live on in YouTube.

ALPERN AT LARGE-Since many who read and write for CityWatch are caught up in the President's actions or antics, and blame President Trump for the killing of Iran's General Soleimani, and as well for the downing of the passenger jet to Ukraine, the question of "who is to blame" for violence is a good one.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-Most of the honest, law-abiding Los Angeles residents have run out of patience, understanding and compassion when dealing with the expanding homeless population.

HOUSING POLITICS--Housing Is A Human Right has released today a special report about Big Tech, California YIMBY, and State Sen. Scott Wiener, all of whom push a troubling “trickle-down” housing agenda that fuels gentrification. That includes SB 50 — California’s controversial, land-use deregulation bill. As the SB 50 battle unfolds, this revealing investigation connects the dots about the relationships and money ties between Big Tech, California YIMBY, and Wiener. 

GUEST COMMENTARY--Why is Los Angeles City Cannabis policy and implementation the largest most bungled failure in the United States? 

DEEGAN ON LA---In the mid-sixties movie “The Graduate”, a confused recent graduate, played by Dustin Horrman as Ben, is pulled into the corner by a family friend to be ordained with the secret of the future: “It’s plastics”, the man confidentially whispers into Ben’s ear.