LOS ANGELES

VOICES-In the last few years, the Brentwood Community Council (BCC) has devolved into an autocratic fiefdom.

@THE GUSS REPORT-Politics in Los Angeles, at both the City and County level, is so insular that the people who we trust to run it honestly are often saturated with corruption, craziness or both because there are virtually no consequences for their being either.

NEW GEOGRAPHY--In our system of government, the public sector is, well, supposed to serve the public.

CLIMATE POLITICS--Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which experienced three massive meltdowns in 2011, is running out of room to store radioactive water. No surprise! But now, what to do about phosphorescent water?

BCK FILE--Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani sentenced Felicity Huffman to 14 days in prison, along with 250 hours of community service and a $30,000 fine. The actress had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud in May. 

GELFAND’S WORLD- On the evening of Monday, September 16, I expect I will be voting against motherhood and apple pie.

CITY COUNCIL POLITICS--Last week, Los Angeles City Councilmember, Gil Cedillo, unwittingly said out loud that which must not be said and showed there's good reason why "unwritten rules" remain that way. 

ENVIRONMENT POLITICS-“Let the sunshine in” is in reference to our California State Sunshine laws. It is what guides the public process.

CALBUZZ--As the Democratic candidates for president gather Thursday night in Houston for another “debate” – the first in which the top three contenders will share the stage – the race still hinges on one key question: Who among the candidates can defeat President Donald Trump in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania?

OTHERWORDS--A few years ago, I had a cupcake problem. I’d go to the cupcake store almost daily and I’d eat at least one cupcake, sometimes more. 

WORLD WATCH--I am getting sick and tired of the raging violent conflicts overseas and the political mess here at home which is consuming us day in and day out.

VIEW FROM HERE-I know that World Trade Center Building 7 was not brought down by office fires.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-September 11, 2001 is a day I will never forget. It was in the early morning hours.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-We are now constructing a huge infrastructure of homeless services.

ALPERN AT LARGE--A very enthusiastic crowd of Mar Vista residents showed up in force to address potential situations to the homeless issue and to confront a developer who was developing an oversized project that was significantly different than the one at that site previously approved by the Mar Vista Community Council.

EASTSIDER-Back in May, our very own Jack Humphreville submitted an open letter to Mayor Garcetti signed by a litany of Neighborhood Council leaders, asking for input in selecting Grayce Liu’s successor as DONE’s GM. We now have the answer, and it’s no surprise.

PERSPECTIVE--California has a shocking 18.2 poverty rate -- the second highest in the nation, according to a recent article in the Sacramento Bee.

GETTING THERE FROM HERE-Bus ridership in Los Angeles is plummeting, says the Wall Street Journal, but LA Metro CEO Phil Washington thinks he has the solution.

BRINGING DOWN DICTATORS-In the eyes of the law there are differences in lies. While it is wrong to deceive, deception with the intent to cause injury or damage is especially bad.

PLANNING WATCH-In 2016-17, Measure S, the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, scared the bejeezus out of Big Real Estate and its cronies.

BUSINESS POLITICS--In 2015, Waheed Etimad immigrated with his wife and their children to the United States from Afghanistan, where he’d been a translator for the U.S. Army.