In the News
Not So Fast! Know the Side Effects of Marijuana Legalization before You Vote
DEEGAN ON CALIFORNIA-In California, smoke is in the air, along with a warm glow of anticipation, as voters are asked to legalize weed statewide by voting “yes” on Prop 64, the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative.
From the “Golde…
The Late Great Los Angeles
REQUIEM FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS IN LA-Golden ages fade and the glory that was Rome is no more. When did Romans first realize that their fate h…
Why LA’s City Council Members have Such Full Dance Cards
READ EM AND WEEP--These two bulletins from the City News Service are real and edited only for space.
October 14, 2016, City News Service …
Change the World … One LA Council Seat at a Time
RISEMBERG FOR THE RECORD--“Duty Now for the Future” was the title of a Devo album from way back in ’79, and of course it was redolent of th…
Top 5 Reasons! … You Must Vote No on the “Not Affordable Housing” Measure JJJ on Nov. 8
EXPOSING THE LOOPHOLES, BACK DOORS, TRAP DOORS AND CROSSED FINGERS--In nearly every election in California, there's a ballot measure that u…
Public Pension Plans: Musical Chairs and Retirement
PLAYTIME AT CALPERS (Part 2)-- Back in the day, CalPERS had a national reputation as the best run, most socially conscious pension fund in…
Municipal Deregulation = Inequality! Here’s How.
PLATKIN ON PLANNING-Deregulation, the elimination of governmental review of private investments, many of them speculative, has benefited a…
Legalizing Recreational Pot: All Eyes on California
SPECIAL REPORT--Public support for the legalization of recreational marijuana in the U.S. is at a historic high—so to speak—of 60 percent…
LAUSD Loses Over 6000 Students to Charters in One Vote - Some Charters Get Slapped, Too
EDUCATION POLITICS-I was at the Los Angeles school board meeting for 10 hours yesterday. I missed the morning session, figuring that since…
LA’s P22 – The Cat that Changed America
ANIMAL WATCH--This week is Urban Wildlife Week, culminating with ‘P22 Day’ on Saturday October 22nd, a day-long celebration of Los Angeles’…
LA’s Archer School Opponents Take Their Fight to San Francisco
CONSTRUCTION POLLUTION-The Sunset Coalition is hoping a San Francisco appeals court ruling will soon validate a health standard for protect…
Help Save LA’s Hillside Wildlife and Built Environments: Vote ‘Yes” on Props FF and GG
DEEGAN ON LA-Just think of Bambi, and you have a pretty searing image of what can happen to wildlife when our tinder-dry hillsides ignite w…
Election 2016: On ‘Law and Order’ Props, Listen to Law Enforcement!
ALPERN AT LARGE-In the past few CityWatch articles, I focused mainly on the money measures/propositions, and to summarize my $.02:
1) Vot…
Action of LA’s Police Commission is a Crime
RANTZ & RAVEZ--Recent news reports and conservations with Los Angeles patrol officers illustrate just how far out of touch the leaders…
The War on Outrageous Drug Prices is Underway and Old Warrior Bernie Sanders is Leading the Way
TRUTHDIG--Though the 400 to 500 women and men awaiting Bernie Sanders in the parking lot of the American Federation of Musicians in Hollywo…
WTWF: It Really SOX
WELLS FARGO SCANDAL--As the Wells Fargo scandal unfolded, in the back of my mind was just how the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, e…
Two Cheers for NIMBYism
WHAT KIND OF CALIFORNIA DO WE WANT?--Politicians, housing advocates, planners and developers often blame the NIMBY — “not in my backyard” —…
The Big Ballot Measure Question is: Do You Trust Government to Spend Your Money?
ELECTION 2016--This election cycle has been filled with thrills, chills, and media spills. Ugh, double ugh, and triple ugh. If ever there…
Prop M: No Representative Planning, No Vote
TRANSPORTATION POLITICS-Proposition M brings out many conflicting views held in the LA Basin communities and in many suburban areas -- view…
Popular Talking Head Secretly Paid by Developers to Kill the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative
VOX POP--On October 11, at a Los Angeles City Council meeting, Christopher Thornberg, the founding partner of Beacon Economics and a popula…
