LOS ANGELES

AFFORDABLE HOUSING, STUDENT VIEW--The Agora (rendering above), a proposed private 16-story apartment complex, came to town in November, claiming to offer affordable student housing in Westwood.

URBAN PERSPECTIVE--How many times have we seen this act? A woman claims that a prominent African-American celebrity or politician has engaged in sexual misconduct with her. I mean the names of the men who have been hit with the charge can fill up a small telephone book. Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin E. Fairfax is just the latest in the long list of these men. 

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-Curbed LA reported this week that METRO’s transit ridership has continued to decline. METRO not only has long-term declining bus ridership, but also declining rail ridership. These trends are not good, but METRO’s assessment of this situation makes partial sense, even if it continues to ignore its own policies, while promoting LA City land use policies that further undermine ridership.  

SOLUTIONS--Last week, Pacific Gas & Electric, the beleaguered gas and electric provider for some 16 million residents across the state of California, formally filed for bankruptcy protection. It's a move that's long been anticipated:

ONE MAN’S OPINION-Perhaps the worst evil that flows from Group Rights is the belief that extremism in pursuit of ideological purity is laudable. It results in the burning of witches at the stake, expulsion of Jews from one European country after another, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust and a gazillion individual evils like the crucifying of Matthew Shepard on a windy hill top in Wyoming, not to mention Trump’s cowardly attack upon Transgender individuals in his belief that they are weak and he can trample them into the dust. 

ANIMAL WATCH-Well-known Los Angeles art gallery owner Rosamund Felsen (photo above) was arraigned in Glendale Superior Court on January 23, 2019, on a criminal “vicious dog” complaint resulting from the bite history of her Staffordshire Terrier (pit bull), named Bobby. 

DEEGAN ON LA-“If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re probably on the menu,” according to Senator Elizabeth Warren. This familiar political aphorism has relevance no matter what level of politics you exist in, from the local community level to a city, state or the national level. 

BCK FILE---It’s doesn’t come as much of a surprise that President Trump picked the Patriots to win Super Bowl LIII. This is much larger than football. California has been a target for the president’s animus since he took office. 

GELFAND’S WORLD--I seem to be among the few who found the Super Bowl at least mildly entertaining.

@THE GUSS REPORT-Did disgraced Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar tip his hand on one way that alleged land development corruption may work between himself, City Council president Herb Wesson and those seeking to buy their favor with campaign cash, trips to Las Vegas and sundry other favors? 

STUDENT HOUSING CONTROVERSY-Westwood community members oppose a proposed housing project because they think it will replace existing affordable housing and cause traffic congestion. 

EDUCATION POLITICS--Instead of meeting with United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) in the days leading up to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) strike, Superintendent Austin Beutner and Board President Monica Garcia were in Sacramento in an effort to “drum up lawmaker opposition to the teachers strike.”

ONE MAN’S OPINION-While Americans are tweeting their irrational, hyper-emotional memes, the GOP and the Dems are de-constructing the U.S. Constitution for fun and profit – their fun and their profit.

CALBUZZ--With uncharacteristic restraint, Calbuzz balks when people around the country ask us whether Kamala Harris is for real, or just the flavor of the week.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Last night was a blast from the past--wonderful people like Darrell Clarke, Jody Litvak, and Cory Zelmer, some of the greatest "transit heroes" I've ever met, were at the kickoff of three meetings of what I've referred to as "the Holy Grail" of our transit system which is the north-south transit line from the San Fernando Valley to LAX...starting with the San Fernando Valley to the Expo Line/Westside. 

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-“So, here we are, on a rainy day, in the richest country in the world, in the richest state in the country, in a state as blue as it can be, and in a city rife with millionaires, where teachers have to go on strike to get the basics for our students.

OTHER WORDS--Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz just announced he may run for president as an independent centrist candidate in 2020.

GELFAND’S WORLD--In my previous CityWatch column, I discussed the lessons of the Woolsey Fire. For that analysis, I used the reports of the City Manager of Malibu, the former mayor of Malibu, and an official from Bell Canyon, all of whom spoke at a meeting of the Neighborhood Council Emergency Preparedness Alliance.  The major lessons I took from those reports were the following: 

@THE GUSS REPORT-On Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti woke up, put on his Captain Obvious hat and announced that he is not going to run for the Democratic nomination to seek the White House in 2020. 

EASTSIDER-I like Gavin Newsom. Even though I initially supported John Chiang, it was pretty clear that Gavin was the best/most likely to succeed candidate in the pack. Lack of name recognition in Southern California aside.

CORRUPTION WATCH-While everyone is all atwitter about the FBI’s investigation of Councilmember Jose Huizar and few Chinese, let’s take some time to ponder the FBI’s possible end games. Who thinks that after all these years, the FBI intends to stop Los Angeles corruptionism?