In the News
LA’s Sweet New Expo Ride and LA Times Sour Coverage
TRANSIT TALK--Why is the Los Angeles Times so negative towards the Expo Line? The Times does some worthy reporting: they have an international bureau with needed reporting on the Middle East catastrophes, they believe in the threats of glo…
LA: Just a Matter of Time before No One is Safe
JUSTICE INTERUPTED--Just before 9 pm on Friday, May 13, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Hollenbeck Gang Enforcement Unit shot and kill…
Has LA Lost Its Confidence?
NEW GEOGRAPHY--Throughout the recession and the decidedly uneven recovery, Southern California has tended to lag behind, particularly in co…
California Back in Big Oil's Crosshairs: Feds Quietly OK Offshore Fracking
ENVIRONMENT POLITICS--"This move paves the way for offshore fracking permits that were previously frozen and the dumping of toxic wastewate…
Who’s In Charge at LA’s City Planning, the Queen of Hearts?
PLATKIN ON PLANNING--Queen of Hearts: Now... are you ready for your sentence? Alice: Sentence? But there has to be a verdict first... Queen…
Sanders to Trump: ‘Game On’… Let's Debate in 'Biggest Stadium Possible'
TRUMP DOUBLE’S DOWN--Donald Trump has doubled down on his challenge to debate Bernie Sanders, telling reporters in Bismarck, North Dakota o…
Pit Bull Poll: Should Animal Services GM be Fired for Condoning the Adoption of a Pit Bull with a Violent History?
ANIMAL WATCH-A Pit Bull named Sammy with a prior record of repeated aggression and who had just bitten a Los Angeles Animal Services kennel…
November Ballot: LA’s Proposed Transit Tax Doesn’t Add Up
TRANSIT PERSPECTIVE--Math is a funny thing.
Take averaging, for example. Mark Twain observed that if you have one foot in a bucket of ice…
Los Angeles: Mayor’s Data Analyst Inspires with ‘Believe in Yourself’ Toastmaster Speech
POLITICAL PROFILES-Inspirational speaker, Juan Vasquez, a Data Analyst for the Mayor’s Office, competed in the District 52 Toastmasters Int…
Hey, Butt Out of California, Chicago!
CONNECTING CALIFORNIA—Dear Chicago … Would you kindly remove your thick, stubby hands from my beautiful state?
C’mon -- don’t try to look…
Good News, LA!
BUTCHER ON LA--“The final story, the final chapter of western man, I believe, lies in Los Angeles.” – Phil Ochs
When we bought our first…
Don’t be Fooled: Councilman Trying to Score Billions for His Developer Buddies and You are Paying for It
HOMELESSNESS POLITICS--Councilmember Huizar’s call to give $1 billion to real estate developers should surprise no one. As reported here an…
Dateline Sacramento: Ballot Measures Like Weeds in the Nov Election Turf
HERE’S WHAT I KNOW-My column last week detailed Prop. 50 and the slew of initiatives possibly headed for the November ballot. Election offi…
Are LA Politicians Selling Off Our Neighborhoods for Campaign Contributions?
PAY FOR PLAY-Since 2000, the real-estate industry, which includes deep-pocketed developers, has shelled out at least $6 million in campaign…
TSA Canines are Just a ‘Dog and Pony’ Show … Focus should be on Screening
SECURITY POLITICS-The reason Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security lines across the country have become excruciatingly long…
Whistleblower: City Cooked the Books to Attract the Rams
SPORTS POLITICS--Another lawsuit has emerged in the aftermath of the NFL's decision to move the Rams franchise from St. Louis to Los Angele…
Want to Win the Poverty and Homelessness Battle? More Jobs … Fewer Tax Hikes
SHOCKING STUDY--In 2007, about a year before the economy crashed, the Gallup Poll found that 28 percent of Americans had at some point worr…
Save Valley Village: Living Room Activism in Action
THIS IS WHAT I KNOW-This past week, I was honored to be invited to a meeting of some of the core members of Save Valley Village, a group th…
Our Vets and the Price of Racism at Brentwood School
VOICE FOR OUR VETS--Brentwood School, the private elitist school for children of the wealthy and powerful ($37,000 tuition) has made nation…
LA’s Streets Are No Work of Art
TALKIN’ TRASH--It was only Tuesday but it was shaping up to be another great week in LA. The transformational LA happening, CicLAvia Southe…
