LOS ANGELES

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-Traffic congestion in car-oriented Los Angeles is notoriously bad, and due to many separate decisions by City Hall, METRO, and the California State legislature, it will get worse. 

GUEST COMMENTARY-Dear Mr. Bertoni (photo above): As noted in my letter to the Mid-Wilshire Community, I have heard many concerns from the communities I serve regarding the current process and content of the Purple Line Transit Neighborhood Plan (“Plan”). I am sending this letter to start a transparent and open dialogue about my concerns and vision regarding the Plan process and outcomes. 

ONE MAN’S OPINION-As we look at the ocean of memes surrounding us, we might feel like the ancient mariner in the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Emotional memes are to political health as salt water is to a sailor: They look good, but only a fool would drink them. 

FILM: The Advocates, a documentary film by Remi Kessler, is a sweeping look at the history and causes of Los Angeles’ homeless crisis through the eyes of tireless advocates working to improve the lives of their homeless clients.

@THEGUSSREPORT--With the Mueller report now released, nobody named Trump facing charges, and no Russia-related prosecutions, the Democrats are in panic mode, seeking the fully un-redacted version of the report.

NEW GEOGRAPHY--Given his consistently poor approval ratings, and growing concern about the polarization that he has exacerbated, Democrats should have little trouble ousting President Trump next year. But instead, with a series of outlandish and often deeply unpopular proposals, they have morphed effectively into the Committee to Re-Elect the President.

EDUCATION POLITICS---I am in tears right now after reading the article about how our teacher’s union, made up of everyday teachers would do anything to hurt or harm the education of children.  

GELFAND’S WORLD--By now, the Mueller report has been discussed to death. There isn't anything left to say about Trump or his staff. What I have to say goes to the rest of the Republicans who are left trying to defend them. It's on you now. 

PERSPECTIVE--As a species, we seem to be in a period of considerable uncertainty, where familiar features of the political landscape are disappearing, and it is not clear what will replace them. Will NATO and the European Union be around in five or 10 years, and in anything like their present form?

DEEGAN ON LA-The Mayor, City Hall politicos, and land use developers have a serious “Not in My Charter City” threat breathing down their necks -- a looming problem in their own backyard and it includes all of LA.

MY TURN-If you have the stomach for it, you need only visit a few of the pro-trump social media sites to get an idea of how far gone these people are.

DISABILITY PERSPECTIVE-Side gigs have become increasingly popular ways for many Americans to make extra money, and they’re perfect for parents who need something that will fit around their schedules.

ALPERN AT LARGE--First things first: Thank you LA City Council for unanimously rejecting SB 50 (the Wiener Bill). 

But ... what's next? 

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-Time to debunk the five tall tales crammed into the two short sentences below to lobby for Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 50, legislation whose not-so-well-hidden-agenda is to boost profits from commercial and residential real estate. 

EASTSIDER-In the upcoming May 14 runoff election for LAUSD District 5, it is fascinating how Jackie Goldberg’s (photo above) opponent Heather Repenning and her supporters try to finesse the issue of Heather being another Charter School vote on the Board. Well, good luck with that. She would be. 

ONE MAN’S OPINION-American Jews have a Trump problem. When Trump appeared unsteady in support of the State of Israel, it was easier for them to oppose Trump’s vilifying strangers in a strange land, e.g. rousing up hatred of Mexicans from the “three Mexican countries,” per Fox News, by calling the Mexicans, “drug dealers, criminals and rapists.” 

ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS-When I think of Los Angeles County, and this is not a complete map of Los Angeles, I think of everything in our environment that potentially impacts public health.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-As Pesach nears, we Jews have to deal with four sons, three questions, two prongs, and one goal. 

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--A few months ago, the new mayor of South Pasadena appointed 18 people to the voluntary local commissions that advise the council in the San Gabriel Valley city.

ANTIBIOTIC NIGHTMARE-Public health experts have been warning for decades that overuse of antibiotics reduces the effectiveness of drugs that cure bacterial infections. At least 2,000,000 Americans get antibiotic-resistant infections per year. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--There is NO "binary choice" between appropriate development and OVER-development, but there IS a fundamental choice to ask ourselves: do we want Sacramento to run roughshod over the cities and counties of Los Angeles?