LOS ANGELES

EASTSIDER - It’s getting boring to say that I couldn’t make this up, but it’s true. LADOT is going to build a traffic circle at 50^th and Meridian, by the York Park, even though it’s the wrong place.

PLANNING WATCH-After four years (2018-2021) of endless City Council motions, reports, hearings, debates, and votes, Los Angeles finally has a Climate Emergency Mobilization Office (CEMO). 

ERIC PREVEN"S NOTEBOOK - Holiday: The Board has shamefully cancelled more meetings for Aug. 17 & 24; the next public board meeting will be on Aug. 31, 2021 (Pls check the fine print.) 

CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS - Before the novel coronavirus reached the U.S. early last year, teachers, administrators and parents in most K-12 school districts could fairly quickly answer a few basic questions:

RECALL POLITICS - California gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner is back into the swing of her campaign after spending weeks filming a reality show in Australia, and it appears she’s desperately trying to make up for lost time.

SOUTH OF THE 10 - Compton Councilman Isaac Galvan was arrested for allegedly rigging recent elections which saw him win by a single vote in the June General Election.  During the primary he was behind his opponent by 20 votes.

RECALL WATCH-The recall election aimed at Gov. Gavin Newsom is close enough to ponder what would happen if, in fact, he is forced out of office a few weeks hence. 

Things looked bad for renters on July 31. The rent moratorium had expired, so millions faced eviction and homelessness.

WORKER SHORTAGE-3.9 million people quit their jobs in June. “We’re seeing the craziest counter-offers I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” says a recruiter. 

PEACE VOICE-If negotiations in Congress open a path to citizenship this year for the roughly 10.2 million undocumented immigrants in America, the U.S. economy will grow by as much as $1.7 trillion over ten years, according to a joint Study conducted by the Center for American Progress and the University of California, Davis’s Global Migration Center. 

THE DOCTOR IS IN - You, me, the folks behind that tree, the mainstream media, social media, and even Hollywood can all hate on the Presidential Administration that resided at 1600 Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2021...

RECALL UPDATE - Gov. Gavin Newsom is happy to talk about Larry Elder.

VIEW FROM HERE - No government can function without social messaging.  To the extent the government replies on power, however, facts and transparency are not tools for communication.

BEING WATCHED - Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. continues to rule the city with an iron fist.  Despite the COVID pandemic continuing to wreak havoc on the world, Butts openly defies mask mandates, and continues to remove the public from participating in the weekly council meetings.

ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Pocket Full of Posers: The Chief Legislative Analyst's (CLA) report on what to do about Public Comment was simply not harsh enough for Paul Krekorian. 

National Socialism, Maoism and Marxism-Leninism all have one thing in common: they boil down human experience to one aspect, such as race or class, and diminish the struggles and achievements of much of humanity.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-I recently attended the League of California Cities and Board of Directors Installation Ceremony and Dinner at the Calabasas Civic Center.

PLANNING WATCH - By August 16, 2021, the California State Legislature may have approved two pieces of contentious legislation, Senate Bills (SB) 9 and 10.

STASHING THE CASH - Based on a review of more than 100 money-laundering cases, a new study finds that the U.S. has become a preferred destination for those looking to stash illicit funds through property. 

HOMELESS POLITICS-Los Angeles City Council Members Joe Buscaino and Paul Koretz have entered a motion for the city to withdraw from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA.

EASTSIDER - After all of the General Managers we’ve had at  the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE), both good and bad, never has anyone risen to the forefront with a move which jeopardizes the entire system. Not until “She Who Must Be Obeyed,” the current General Manager Raquel Beltrán.