LOS ANGELES

ALPERN AT LARGE--A sad and outraged nation is all up in arms and shocked (Shocked, I tell you, just shocked!) that Empire actor Jussie Smollett--an actor and Trump-hater extraordinaire--is guilty of a phony, made-up hoax to either keep his job, get more money, and perhaps just a continuation of a mentally-ill modus operandi that this man has done before. 

RANTZ & RAVEZ-The current situation at Los Angeles City Hall is interesting, very suspicious, possibly criminal and an overall embarrassment for many of LA’s elected officials, as well as for those of us who pay to keep City Hall running: the taxpayers. 

CAL MATTERS--In his two years on the job, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has crafted an image as a progressive warrior, suing the Trump Administration dozens of times and delivering the Democrats’ Spanish-language rebuttal to the President’s State of the Union speech.

EASTSIDER-There are two amazing things about our very own Ken Draper. One is that it is just possible that he is older than I am. The other is that way, way back when the Charter Amendment creating the Neighborhood Council System was passed, Ken Draper and Greg Nelson were there advocating and nurturing the new system. Making sure it would work.

OTHER WORDS-As the sister of a brother lost to an opioid overdose, Trump’s claim that we need a border wall in order to keep drugs out is offensive to me on multiple levels. Fact checkers also report that his claims are not true — a border wall would not keep drugs out of our country. 

JOBS AND ENVIRONMENT PACKAGE (VIDEO)-The City Council Voted unanimously this week to officially support the ambitious and necessary goals of the #GreenNewDeal. 

CANNABIS WATCH-The City of Los Angeles has long endured questions surrounding its elusive Phase 3 licensing process for cannabis businesses.

MY TURN-If you think Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is new to the political scene, you are only half correct. “AOC” as she is known on social media pages is part of what is being called “fauxgressives” who have been carefully planning a takeover of the Democratic Party for a few years.

ANIMAL WATCH-Based upon the Best Friends Animal Society announcement last year that LA Animal Services' shelters were almost "no kill" and the entire U.S. is moving toward that same goal by 2025, veterinarians should be anticipating a positive future with increased clientele and revenue and a growing demand for quality pet care.

BCK FILE--California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has become one of President Trump’s most formidable legal opponents since Trump took office and he does not appear to be slowing down.

ALPERN AT LARGE--I was, still am, and always will be a promoter of high-speed rail, if not higher-speed rail, when it works and makes cost-effective sense.

TRANSIT TALK-The excuse is given repeatedly: some will not ride buses or trains because they do not feel safe. They are afraid. Yet, they seem to have no second-thoughts about driving. 

VOICES-There are plenty of people in LA who want to see housing costs come down. Anybody who's renting an apartment or looking to buy a home in the area has felt the sting of sky-high prices.

HUNTINGTON BEACH RIDES WAVE OF HATE AND LITIGATION--Who says you can’t build anything in California? Huntington Beach is busy constructing a wall of denial around whatever is left of its soul. (Photo above--Four people cooling off at Huntington Beach on a hot summer day.)

GELFAND’S WORLD--It's a national disgrace that two unrepresentative states -- Iowa and New Hampshire -- once again get to lead the way in deciding who will be the next president of the United States.

@THE GUSS REPORT-While Eric Garcetti, LA’s lame duck Mayor, keeps foolishly Tweeting #MayorsGetThingsDone, the phrase does fit if the subject is LA’s booming homelessness across the city and literally at the front doors of City Hall, imperiling the health and safety of thousands of people who work, visit or pass by the complex each weekday. 

URBAN PERSPECTIVE-When I visited the African American Civil War Museum in Washington, D.C., a volunteer docent asked the following question: “Who freed the slaves after the Civil War?” 

ALPERN AT LARGE--Wow! Is Governor Gavin Newsom's brain insane as he pulls the High-Speed Rail train funding down the drain? 

OVER-DEVELOPMENT ON THE WAY-Developers got an awesome gift on Christmas Day 2013 when the Warner Center 2035 Specific Plan went into effect.

CORRUPTION WATCH-Capitalism’s birth date is often designated as 1776 when Adam Smith published Wealth of Nations.  No doubt the signing of the Declaration of Independence that same year has re-enforced using 1776 as a pivotal year.

CLIMATE POLITICS--Capitalism not only owns global warming, there’s a big red mitigation arrow pointed at the heart of today’s rampant capitalism, which is eerily like the loosie goosie version of the Roaring Twenties, but with a high-tech twist.