LOS ANGELES

RANTZ & RAVEZ-The Westfield “Village” at Victory and Topanga Canyon in the West San Fernando Valley has turned into a place to walk your dog and pay for parking (some validate) to do business with local vendors that remain open for business despite the poor foot traffic and slow sales in the area. More and more of the businesses in the “Village” are experiencing financial difficulties; sales have not been what was expected. 

GELFAND’S WORLD--In the Hollywood Fringe festival as in other parts of life, we wander along, ignoring the mediocre, enjoying the pretty good, and hoping to find that diamond in the rough that is effective and affecting. I think we've got one here. 

CORRUPTION WATCH-What if Angelenos had a City Council that maximized our quality of life instead of aggrandizing the profits of a handful of real estate developers?

DEEGAN ON LA-“Neighborhood Councils were slighted … they were not given a chance to speak at a public hearing,” alleges Robin Greenberg, President of the Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council which advocates for more than 27,000 residents representing hillside communities stretching from Laurel Canyon to Sepulveda Boulevard, and from Sunset Boulevard to Mulholland Drive. It also speaks for 35 residential associations, local schools, businesses, and faith-based institutions. 

ANIMAL WATCH-Before his re-election in March 2017, Mayor Eric Garcetti was accused of being silent on LA’s rising crime.  Opponents claimed Garcetti was hiding and suppressing 2016 crime statistics that showed a 10 percent increase in violent crime in the city and ignoring the need to hire more police officers. The Mayor's political ambitions may have also been the reason he and Animal Services GM Brenda Barnette made no public comments about two tragic Pit Bull attacks in Los Angeles in early 2017. 

THE PREVEN REPORT-For matters requiring urgent attention, the City Council of Los Angeles has the power to convene a Special Meeting, whereby the amount of advanced notice it is required to give the public before taking action is reduced from three days to one. 

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--If you wish to inspect the frontlines of the conflict between Donald Trump and California, head for San Diego.

THIS IS WHAT I KNOW--On Friday, behemoth retailer Amazon announced a $13.7 Billion-value purchase of Whole Foods, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. The purchase has sent other grocery stocks tumbling, opening publicly held grocery companies ripe for takeovers, as well. 

TRANSIT WATCH--It's interesting ... and maybe a little sad ... that while the transit advocates behind the Expo Line revolution (who then turned their sights to the LAX/Metro Rail, Wilshire Subway, Downtown Light Rail Connector) have to some degree separated and gone on to other issues, venues, and their own personal lives, some battles still remain, and are just not going away. 

VOICES – (This article was first posted in CityWatch in 2013. Considering the political and social division and voter apathy Los Angeles is experiencing in 2017, it seemed appropriate to post it again.)

EDUCATION POLITICS--Large school districts are often less responsive to the needs of students and the hopes of parents than smaller districts. Public educational behemoths – such as Los Angeles Unified – are more likely to fall under the influence of well-organized interest groups such as teachers’ unions. By breaking up large districts into smaller ones, parents can achieve greater accountability. Although California makes school district secessions difficult, groups in Malibu and Walnut Creek are making impressive strides. 

VOICES--As someone who has been critical of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation over the years for being stuck in the past, I am delighted to see them putting in more bike lanes, even if it means taking lanes out for other traffic. These bike lanes make it safer for the many people who depend on bicycles to get around for their daily needs. They also encourage more to ride for transportation and recreation. This is good for us. 

EASTSIDER-It was supposed to be the equivalent of show and tell with a predetermined outcome. Then hundreds and hundreds of people showed up for the hearing. The Council Chamber quickly filled up, there was another overflow room that overflowed, and ultimately a large crowd wound up outside City Hall on the adjacent lawn. All this before the 2 p.m. start time. I heard estimates of something like 500, give or take, and the PLUM Committee was obviously not ready for the sheer magnitude of their audience. 

PENSION BRINKMANSHIP-Governor Brown’s proposal to fund CalPERS with borrowed money parallels a similar move by Puerto Rico in 2008. Borrowing to meet pension obligations can work under certain circumstances, but it is a risky policy. It backfired in Puerto Rico and can do so here. 

GUEST COMMENTARY-The false testimony given by Kim McGill of the Youth Justice Coalition during recent testimony before the Senate Public Safety Committee is greatly disturbing. As detailed in a blog by Michele Hanisee and Eric Siddall, Ms. McGill gave her testimony before the Senate Public Safety Committee to attempt to "humanize" overturning California law adding mandatory prison time for using a gun in a crime. Several Senators specifically cited her testimony as their reason to support the bill. 

POLITICS--As Trump and the Republicans work to eliminate Obamacare and “replace” it with an economic unicorn that would wipe out health insurance for tens of millions Americans, some politicians in California are pushing for a single-payer healthcare system in the Golden State.

NEW GEOGRAPHY--California is widely celebrated as the fount of technical, cultural and political innovation. Now we seem primed to outdo even ourselves, creating a new kind of socialism that, in the end, more resembles feudalism than social democracy. 

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-When you are hammer, the whole world looks like a nail, or in the case of the City of Los Angeles, when you are totally wedded to real estate speculation, you only have one hammer, up-zoning to fix all urban ills/nails. 

GELFAND’S WORLD--In the movie Invictus (above), Nelson Mandela is hoping to create a bond with South Africa's white population He invites the captain of the country's largely white rugby team to visit him at the presidential palace. 

SENATE SEXISM ALIVE AND WELL--For the second time in as many weeks, Kamala Harris was cut off by her Republican colleagues while posing questions at a Senate intelligence committee hearing. To most, seeing yet another example of a woman silenced by male senators only reinforces the reality that there are different rules for the different genders, but many on the right remain stubbornly unwilling to acknowledge that a male-dominated government led by a pussy-grabbing misogynist would exhibit sexist attitudes toward women.

BILLBOARD WATCH-Public safety, aesthetics, and the will of the people continue to get short shrift at the City Council Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee, as it caves to the powerful billboard lobby. After years of hearings and reports, the committee on May 31 gave instructions to the City Attorney to finally draft a new Citywide Sign Ordinance that will govern billboards, known legally as off-site signs (Council File 11-1705). We should all enjoy the dark night skies while we can, because if this bill becomes a law, digital billboards will be going up in all kinds of new places, flashing messages in our faces every 8 seconds.