EASTSIDER-When LA City passed term limits in 1991 and the last of the old guard had termed out around 2001, the nature of money and politics changed in Northeast LA forever. 

NEW GEOGRAPHY--In launching their now successful protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s gas hike, the French gilets jaunes (yellow jackets) have revived their country’s reputation for rebelling against monarchial rule.

LA WATCHDOG--For true blue Dodger fans, the off season is one of great anticipation. The team is building its roster for the upcoming season to make another run at the elusive goal of winning the World Series. 

USE YOUR VOICE-Our city of Los Angeles oversees dozens of departments which provide services to over four million people. 

MONEY IN POLITICS-Despite being urged by a coalition of 52 local, state, and national organizations to amend proposed changes to Los Angeles's small donor matching funds system, the Los Angeles City Council passed without discussion a recommendation by the City Rules Committee to codify the package with only a minor change.

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-The old Urban Renewal. Urban renewal was the grand strategy of the Federal Government in the post-WWII war era to reconstruct large sections of American cities through local agencies, such as California’s Community Redevelopment Agencies.

WHAT LA THINKS00 (SHPOA Board Members, SAFE Coalition leaders and other community leaders have had extensive contact with all elected officials in the northeast San Fernando Valley over the past four years related to the high-speed train project. We represent you.

TRANSIT TALK-The Global Climate Action Summit was held September 12-14, 2018, in San Francisco. The summit was led by its Co-Chair, California Governor Jerry Brown. From the summit’s website: 

ALPERN AT LARGE--There have been and will be those who cannot divorce politics from health care--and they're probably part of the problem.

BCK FILE--When the new legislation session opened last week in Sacramento, legislators introduced bills for the 2019-2020 session. Two of those bills address a California Supreme Court decision that made a strong statement about the “gig economy.” 

MILLENNIAL VOICE--The other morning, I woke to a bombardment of millennial tropes. They came from my timelines and news feeds, my inbox and the small square TV that I was watching on the treadmill at the gym. Like little catapulted rocks:

FUTURE SHOCKER-I attended Donald Trump’s funeral today in a half-empty Washington Cathedral, curious to learn how the 45th president, who of course resigned in disgrace in 2019, would be remembered by those who came to mourn him.

ANIMAL WATCH-Los Angeles Councilman Paul Koretz discussed cow farts on KFI radio earlier this week to justify his December 5 motion that, among other City venues, all movie theaters and major entertainment centers in the city of Los Angeles be required to have "at a minimum one vegan protein entree food option on their menus."  

VIEW FROM HERE-Whether his opponents are willing to recognize it or not, President George Herbert Walker Bush lived an extraordinary life.

ESSAY-On a muggy summer day, I happened upon two twentysomething Chinese men bickering over the best angle for a selfie in front of the memorial wall at the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.