LOS ANGELES

BELL VIEW--Last week I went to Chicago to help my mom downsize her living situation. Her next-door neighbor kindly agreed to take a couple extra-large couches off our hands. Nice guy. As I helped him carry the couches across the expanse of lawn separating his house from my mom’s, he mentioned that he used to live in Southern California back in the 90’s.

@THE GUSS REPORT-As if the problems weren’t already bad enough at the LA Times and its parent company Tronc, as of last Friday, the content of both entities could no longer be accessed by nearly 800 million people in Europe, by its own choice, raising the issue of why the Times has been virtually silent on it. 

EASTSIDER-First of all, hats off to the EAPD (East Area Progressive Democrats) Club who scooped everyone in Los Angeles when they caught the LAUSD Board doing the down and dirty, secretly hiring Austin Beutner in a closed session that was not agendized or disclosed. 

GUEST WORDS--Despite the heartfelt support of Los Angeles residents to house the homeless with their votes for Proposition HHH and Measure H, the math and housing model underpinning the city’s plans will leave over 20,000 people on Los Angeles’ streets for the next ten years.

PERSPECTIVE--Residents of Koreatown are outraged over Councilmember Herb Wesson's insistence on creating a temporary homeless shelter on a City-owned parking lot on Vermont near Wilshire.  To be clear, the community is not saying they refuse to accept a homeless shelter in Koreatown.

ALPERN AT LARGE--With all the mental and psychological jujitsu we're supposed to play with the "top two" primary system we imposed on ourselves, the governor's race is probably simpler than most might think: 

CORRUPTION WATCH-The genius of Weinstein Game Plan was simple: (1) abuse people, and (2) use your power to silence your victims. Perhaps, it’s more accurate to call Weinstein’s plan The Standard Operating Procedure for America’s Powerful.

BULLETIN-The nine colleges of the Los Angeles Community College District are managed by a Board of Trustees with seven positions elected District-wide by the electorate, and a Student Trustee elected by the students of the District. A Trustee position that has become vacant (Seat No. 3) will be filled by the remaining Trustees who will appoint a qualified person to serve through December 14, 2020.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Perhaps the greatest (but not always the most obvious) thing about America to remember on Memorial Day is not the debates and divisions in America, but that we're allowed to have them.

MY TURN--Every single day, liberals wake up to hear and see some of the worst behavior, lies and misleading claims that have ever existed in our government.

GELFAND’S WORLD--To great fanfare, the mayor and assembled officials rolled out their plan for something called Resilient Los Angelesa couple of months ago.

ERODING LOCAL AUTONOMY-As the California State Legislature continues to concoct new bills that remove local control over land use it is probably a good time to remember that cities have police powers that cannot be completely ignored.

BCK FILE--The laid-back South Bay community perhaps best known for beach volleyball and bike rides along The Strand has become an epicenter of activism, thanks to a group of local moms, including Jen Jenkins Dohner who founded Postcards for Progress, a cottage industry of artisan postcards to use to contact not only legislators but also for Get Out the Vote drives throughout the country, run through the Georgia-based group Postcards to Voters.  

CA PRIMARY WATCH--In his year-and-a-half as California’s attorney general, Democrat Xavier Becerra has made a full-time job of fighting the Trump Administration—filing more than 30 lawsuits to defend the environment, immigrants, birth control access and more.

THE GREENAWAY WAY--On May 3, 2018, a communication was released from Los Angeles Community College District regarding the “Option to fill Board Vacancy” in lieu of former Trustee/Board President Sydney Kamlager’s new elective office to the California State Assembly.

MY TURN-According to federal data, California is the fifth largest economy in the world ahead of the United Kingdom and therefore, the fiscal responsibility that is shown by our next state governor is crucial. 

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA-No Californian inspires me more than Austin Beutner. Haven’t heard of this Los Angeles investment banker? Your loss. Because following his example could change your life. 

KEEPING THE ELECTIONS FAIR-We have highlighted in previous blogs the attempt to bypass the legislative and initiative process through the installation of elected Deputy District Attorneys who promise to ignore criminal statutes with which they disagree.

SPORTS POLITICS--In what has to rank among the worst ideas in the history of the National Football League—alongside decisions to cover up concussion research and ignore the issue of violence against women—NFL owners have come up with a new proposal to deal with players who protest police violence and racial inequity during the National Anthem.

THE CITY HALL STALL-As of this writing, the City of Los Angeles still has only issued 147 permits for pre-prop D marijuana dispensaries. This number has not changed in over a week.

ALPERN AT LARGE--For those of us not too busy with our families, jobs, hobbies, Trump-hating, Trump-loving, Stormy Daniels, obsessions with North Korea or NFL kneeling protests, and for those of us not too distracted by the new Avengers or Deadpool movies, we've got these state ballot initiatives to vote for.