Wed05162012
Last update11:37:33 AM GMT
LOS ANGELES Wednesday, May 16th 2012 10:20
We’re Still Here, Still Golden
05.14.2012
CALIFORNIANS AREN’T FLEEING - California, you might think, is a terrible place that people are fleeing from. One reason you might think so is that a cottage industry of pundits, business lobbyists, and politicians has been dedicated to convincing the world that California is and will remain a failure until our prevailing cultural and political climate changes. In this game, demographics are treated like a football. But the people of California are the demographics, and they may not like being tossed about.The doomsayer narrative presupposes that any place not booming with growth must be a failure. But any change can be taken as a sign of doom. If the number or proportion of white residents is declining, doomsayers cry “flight,” which is bad.
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Who Is Going to Represent Us?
05.14.2012
LA WATCHDOG -On Friday, May 4, at the invitation of City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee, 12 representatives of the Coalition of LA City Unions made an unprecedented presentation to this committee in an attempt to avert the layoff of 231 City employees.And while this informative two hour presentation was designed to provoke further dialogue and negotiations with the Mayor and the City Council, what was also interesting is what was not discussed on the floor of the City Council. The well prepared union representatives rightfully claimed that the proposed layoffs would result in an even further lessening of City services. Even wannabe-mayor Controller Wendy Greuel intervened with a four minute speech saying that layoffs were not the solution, once again invoking her old standby line of waste, fraud, and abuse.
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Will Poll Tax Cast a Pall Over NC Elections?
05.14.2012
RETHINKING LA - Last week’s decision by LA’s City Council to forge ahead with Neighborhood Council Elections was a bittersweet victory for proponents of participatory democracy, sweet because the elections are finally authorized, bitter because the Education & Neighborhoods Committee is considering a proposal to charge each council $5,000 for the cost of the elections.
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AEG’s Football Stadium EIR is In: The Public Needs More Time to Review It and Here’s Why
05.14.2012
STADIUM POLITICS - AEG’s 10,000 page Environmental Impact Report is four times the size of the Obama Administration’s health care bill, and eight times the size of War and Peace. If built, some believe Farmers Field would be constructed in 2013 while others are not sure when construction would begin. If Farmers Field is built it would be a part of our skyline for over 40 years. But residents are only being allowed 45 days – just over six weeks – to review what AEG claims to be the most "thorough environmental impact report in history."
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Don’t Decapitate CD 8: An LA Redistricting Open Letter to the Mayor
05.14.2012
DEAR MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA: I have lost confidence in the fair political process of Los Angeles. The LA Redistricting process and maps have proven to constituents of Council District 8 (CD 8 ) that political and economic injustices continue to persist in our City; and that our voices have been diminished to quiet whispers.
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LA on Edge of Bankruptcy … What Happened to the Daylight?
05.14.2012
PERSPECTIVE - Every career politician currently serving in City Hall will deny that bankruptcy is an option for the City of Los Angeles.Don’t get me wrong – bankruptcy is something I would like to see the city avoid, but if our present officials do not deal with growing cost of retirement and health benefits, we will head down that path.
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I’m Not Quitting the Church
05.14.2012
RELIGION AND POLITICS - Recently, a group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation ran a full-page ad in The Washington Post cast as an “open letter to ‘liberal’ and ‘nominal’ Catholics.” Its headline commanded: “It’s Time to Quit the Catholic Church.”
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MostWatched
- Who Is Going to Represent Us?
- AEG’s Football Stadium EIR is In: The Public Needs More Time to Review It and Here’s Why
- We’re Still Here, Still Golden
- Jerry Brown Pulls a Nixon
- Will Poll Tax Cast a Pall Over NC Elections?
- Opera Reigns on LA in May
- Don’t Decapitate CD 8: An LA Redistricting Open Letter to the Mayor
- LA on Edge of Bankruptcy … What Happened to the Daylight?
- ‘Ticket ‘em’ Tony’s Increased Parking Fines Punish the Poor More
- I’m Not Quitting the Church
LA Weather
WE'RE WORKING FOR L.A.!
Sokolsky
| So What Message DO Californians Want To Hear? Ken Alpern / 05.14.2012  ALPERN AT LARGE - After a weekend of camping at the beautiful and wonderful San Clemente State Park with my family, I came home to blaring headlines of how—despite recent cuts—California’s defic [ ... ] |
| Gay Marriage – A Supreme Issue Lou Siegel / 05.14.2012  VOICES - Full marriage equality will not be achieved without the vote of five justices of the United States Supreme Court. |
| Opera Reigns on LA in May Bob Gelfand / 05.14.2012  PERFORMING ARTS WATCH - There's something for everyone this month, at least everyone who is an opera lover. There is La Boheme at LA Opera, there's a fairly new piece at Long Beach Opera called Ainada [ ... ] |
| Why a Planning Dept Compliance Unit is a Must and How You Can Make It Happen Paul Koretz / 05.10.2012  COMMUNITY ADVOCACY MAKES A DIFFERENCE - Right now, we’re in the midst of what may be the toughest and most important time of year for Los Angeles city government. It’s our annual budget deliberati [ ... ] |
| Will Mitt Throw Condi at Barack? David A. Love / 05.10.2012  POLITICS - Condi Rice for vice-president? At least Juan Williams thinks it’s a good idea. With former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney now emerging as the presumptive Republican nominee for presid [ ... ] |
| The Hollywood Community Plan is for Buildings Not People … Here are 4 Inexpensive Ways to Change That Dick Platkin / 05.10.2012  THE CITY - Unless it is chastened by serious legal challenges, the Los Angeles City Council will soon adopt the Update to the Hollywood Community Plan. This is the first of 11 Updates, with 24 more [ ... ] |
| Indignant Over Incumbents Ken Alpern / 05.10.2012  ALPERN AT LARGE - At home and abroad, a change in leadership continues to be the trend. Pro-economic austerity French President Nicolas Sarkozy is replaced by Socialist Francois Hollande. Longstan [ ... ] |
| A States' Rights Revolt Led by ... California? Michael J. Petrilli / 05.10.2012  EDUCATION POLITICS - Three cheers for California's governor, state superintendent, and state board chair, for applying for a waiver from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (aka No Child Left B [ ... ] |
Neighborhood Politics - The City
| Community Celebrates City Hall Redistricting Victory Jane Gilman / 05.12.2012  LARCHMONT CHRONICLE - A celebratory mood permeated the art salon at The Ebell of Los Angeles when some 100 residents and civic officials marked the successful conclusion of the months-long city redist [ ... ] |
| LaBonge Traffic Meeting Short on Solutions, Long on Complaints Jesus Sanchez / 05.02.2012  THE EASTSIDER - Silver Lake residents gathered Monday to discuss possible solutions to make Rowena Avenue and nearby streets safer in the wake of a fatal traffic accident and a maze of construction de [ ... ] |
| LA Armenians Demand Genocide Acknowledgement Josh Premako / 05.02.2012  PARK LA BREA NEWS-Protesters from the Los Angeles Armenian community crowded the sidewalk and spilled into the street outside the Turkish Consulate for more than two hours to commemorate the deaths of [ ... ] |
| Controversy Spirals on Sunset Gordon Project Aaron Blevins / 05.12.2012  PARK LABREA NEWS-According to representatives of CIM Group, recent allegations that the Sunset Gordon project in Hollywood was re-assessed to benefit a county assessor campaign contributor and his cli [ ... ] |
| NC ACTION ALERT: Community Care Law Due for Vote … Take a Position Now! Mitchell Englander / 05.14.2012  LA NEIGHBORHOODS - The peace and safety of your neighborhood is the single most important measure of quality of life in our community, and my top priority is to help preserve and protect it. The City [ ... ] |
| ‘Ticket ‘em’ Tony’s Increased Parking Fines Punish the Poor More Lisa Cerda / 05.14.2012  VOICES - Los Angeles may be facing a $238-million budget shortfall, but it’s no excuse for Mayor Antonio “Ticket ‘em” Villaraigosa to suggest a sixth hike in parking ticket fines in seven year [ ... ] |
| Abortion Politics William A. Collins / 05.14.2012  OTHERWORDS - You have to hand it to the Catholic bishops. They not only define abortion, but also birth control, as murder. And they're willing to pin the very future of their Church to this arcane be [ ... ] |
| Jerry Brown Pulls a Nixon Chriss Street / 05.14.2012  CALIFORNIA FINANCIALS - “Only Nixon could go to China” is a political metaphor referring to the ability of a politician with an unassailable reputation among his supporters for staunchly represent [ ... ] |
| What Does the Ratepayer Advocate Do? Ken Draper / 05.10.2012  CITYWATCH COMMENTARY - Bill Rosendahl got it right. He told our newly minted Ratepayer Advocate that he “needs to be aware of how the public views his job.” We agree. |
| Radical Chic at the LA Philharmonic Joseph Mailander / 05.10.2012  MANIPULATING PERCEPTIONS & POLITICS AT THE PHIL - When the LA Philharmonic’s wunkerkind maestro Gustavo Dudamel honored the Venezuela of President Hugo Chávez with not only concerts but state [ ... ] |
| Community Care Facilities Ordinance: Shameful, Wasteful, Not Good for LA Janet Denise Kelly / 05.10.2012  URBAN PERSPECTIVE - I have been a housing advocate for years. My early professional career was spent in fair housing. In all the housing cases and policies I have seen over the years, the Community Ca [ ... ] |
| Let My People Vote! Stephen Box / 05.10.2012  NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS - LA’s City Council voted unanimously to authorize and direct the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment to conduct Neighborhood Council board member elections on a temporary b [ ... ] |
Neighborhood Politics - The Valley
| Police Shouldn’t be Confused with Security Pros Vikki Flam Vikki Flam / 05.12.2012 SHERMANOAKS.PATCH - I need to vent about police who come out after you report a burglary and then pretend to advise you on security. |
| Home Sales: Not the Best of Times. Not the Worst of Times. Paul Marks / 05.02.2012  NORTHRIDGE-CHATSWORTH PATCH - Last week, April 27th to be exact, the Wall Street Journal published a story entitled, “Stunned Home Buyers Find the Bidding Wars are Back”. The story indicated tha [ ... ] |
| Berman & Sherman, Reed & Shelley Debate Video / 05.02.2012  NORTHHOLLYWOOD.PATCH - The debate Monday night between candidates for the 30th Congressional District seat was sponsored by the Associated Students of California State University, Northridge. |
| Feds Raid Pan City Clinic Suspected of Illegally Selling Pills NorthHollywood.Patch.com / 05.12.2012  EAST SAN FERNANDO VALLEY - Nearly 70 people, including physicians, were detained after local, state and federal investigators raided a Panorama City clinic suspected of selling prescriptions for the a [ ... ] |
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| Sat Jun 09, 2012 @09:00 - 2012 RELAY FOR LIFE OF RESEDA |
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