Former LA Chief & Councilmember Bernard C. Parks Re. Mark Ridley-Thomas’ Trial and City Hall Corruptionhttps://www.citywatchla.com/voices/27513-former-la-chief-councilmember-bernard-c-parks-re-mark-ridley-thomas-trial-and-city-hall-corruption

August 28 2023 EXCLUSIVE Q & A WITH CHIEF PARKS - Interviewer: How are you doing, Chief?… or is it Councilmember? Which do you prefer? BP: Either works fine. I’ve been called worse. So, either works fine. Interviewer:(laughs) Let’s get right into it. A couple weeks...

• Type: Article
• Author: CItyWatch
• Category: VOICES

Feral Hogs and the Deadly 2023 Hawaii Fire?https://www.citywatchla.com/animal-watch/27442-feral-hogs-and-the-deadly-2023-hawaii-fire

August 14 2023 ANIMAL WATCH - After a week of unfathomable suffering and anguish by residents and visitors on the Hawaiian island of Maui, the current count at this writing is 93 people confirmed dead and over 1,000 still missing in the inferno that destroyed homes,...

• Type: Article
• Author: Phyllis M Daugherty
• Category: ANIMAL WATCH

LAHSA’s Service Contracts: What Do We Get for the Money?https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/26868-lahsa-s-service-contracts-what-do-we-get-for-the-money

May 01 2023 BY THE NUMBERS - In my last opinion piece, I reviewed Los Angeles’ costs of homelessness interventions; the city spends approximately $31,700 per homeless person. This week, I get more granular and look at LAHSA’s service contracts. As a public sector...

• Type: Article
• Author: Tim Campbell
• Category: LOS ANGELES

TV Writers Flex Their Union Powerhttps://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/26838-tv-writers-flex-their-union-power

April 24 2023 WRITER’S STRIKE - Television has been experiencing a boom in the United States, the likes of which has never been seen before. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there were 532 scripted TV shows that were broadcast or streamed the year before—an...

• Type: Article
• Author: Sonali Kolhatkar
• Category: LOS ANGELES

California Science and Engineering Fair:  The Best and the Brightesthttps://www.citywatchla.com/gelfand-s-world/26780-california-science-and-engineering-fair-the-best-and-the-brightest

April 13 2023 GELFAND’S WORLD - It's something of a nasty cliche among professional cynics that our schools don't teach, and our students don't learn. I see it as exactly the opposite, but I'm coming from a different perspective. Each year for the past 20, I have...

• Type: Article
• Author: Bob Gelfand
• Category: GELFAND'S WORLD

CAYimby: The Company They Keephttps://www.citywatchla.com/voices/26314-cayimby-the-company-they-keep

January 22 2023 GUEST COMMENTARY - The juxtaposition of two recent tweets from M. Nolan Gray, CAYimby director of research, are rather revealing. The first was a retweet of an MLK-Day blurb attempting to tie MLK’s legacy to zoning, using the loaded and misleading term...

• Type: Article
• Author: John Mirisch
• Category: VOICES

2022 – The Year of the Liehttps://www.citywatchla.com/gelfand-s-world/26187-2022-the-year-of-the-lie

December 26 2022 GELFAND’S WORLD - In considering the year in retrospect, it's certainly the year of the January 6 Committee, which we will consider below. But as much as anything else, on a national and worldwide basis, it's the year of the liar. And the reason it's...

• Type: Article
• Author: Bob Gelfand
• Category: GELFAND'S WORLD

Into the WIMBY Echo Chamberhttps://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/26183-into-the-wimby-echo-chamber

December 26 2022 DENSIFICATION LA - This past October, I attended the UCLA Lewis Center symposium, called California’s Housing Crossroads. The conference took place at UCLA’s “Bruin Woods” facility in Lake Arrowhead. Attended by elected officials, academics, planners,...

• Type: Article
• Author: John Mirisch
• Category: LOS ANGELES

The Absurdity of The Israel-Hamas Relationshiphttps://www.citywatchla.com/world-watch/25809-the-absurdity-of-the-israel-hamas-relationship

October 27 2022 MIDDLE EAST POLITICS - Given that Israel and Hamas collaborate both publicly and tacitly on multiple fronts, one would think they would finally realize that they are stuck and neither can escape the other. It’s time for both to come to terms with their...

• Type: Article
• Author: Dr. Alon Ben-Meir
• Category: WORLD WATCH

On Second Thought, GFYhttps://www.citywatchla.com/eric-preven-s-notebook/25805-on-second-thought-gfy

October 24 2022 ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - A well-regarded Oaxacan public speaker said, “I’m dark brown and I'm short. It’s not only racist, it's colorist. Thank you.” He was addressing the horrible comments by the trio of LA's most powerful Latino leaders, Nury...

• Type: Article
• Author: Eric Preven
• Category: ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK

Monthly Parking in Los Angeles Just Became Easierhttps://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/25719-monthly-parking-in-los-angeles-just-became-easier

October 12 2022 Los Angeles is a massive city. It is the second largest city in the United States, with a metro area population of over 12.4 million. Unlike some big cities around the world, LA does not have a robust rail transport system, so most residents move...

• Type: Article
• Author: CityWatch
• Category: LOS ANGELES

Prop 30 & AB 2097 - Trojan Horses for Corporationshttps://www.citywatchla.com/voices/25701-prop-30-ab-2097-trojan-horses-for-corporations

October 10 2022 GUEST COMMENTARY - Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2097, which prohibits cities from imposing parking minimums on either commercial or residential buildings built “close to transit,” which essentially means there needs to be a bus within a...

• Type: Article
• Author: John Mirisch
• Category: VOICES

A Shorter Leash For County Probationhttps://www.citywatchla.com/eric-preven-s-notebook/25606-a-shorter-leash-for-county-probation

September 29 2022 ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - There was a lot of sloganeering on and off agenda at Tuesday's six plus hour board meeting: "You can't get well in a cell" and “Take Pride, Share the Ride” (for ridesharing month) were battling in out for predominance before...

• Type: Article
• Author: Eric Preven
• Category: ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK

Who Are the Trump Supporters, and Who is their next Cult Leader?https://www.citywatchla.com/gelfand-s-world/25335-who-are-the-trump-supporters-and-who-is-their-next-cult-leader

August 22 2022 GELFAND’S WORLD - Many people have said that Donald Trump is merely the symptom of an underlying malady, that the problems were there when he decided to take advantage of them and will continue to exist if he retires or is otherwise rendered incapable...

• Type: Article
• Author: Bob Gelfand
• Category: GELFAND'S WORLD

Mehmet Oz, Inept Grocery-Shopping Man of the People: Let Them Eat Cruditéshttps://www.citywatchla.com/say-what/25320-mehmet-oz-inept-grocery-shopping-man-of-the-people-let-them-eat-crudites

August 18 2022 SAY WHAT? - So....Given his hapless, tone-deaf, kamikaze campaign ads, maybe millionaire carpetbagger, quack huckster of magic-cure-everything pills, and "ridiculous performance artist that is Mehmet Oz" doesn't want to beat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman to...

• Type: Article
• Author: Abby Zimet
• Category: SAY WHAT?

Your Excellencyhttps://www.citywatchla.com/eric-preven-s-notebook/25315-your-excellency

August 18 2022 ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - At city hall this week there was an item to provide a donation of surplus equipment including surplus ballistic helmets, 378 surplus ballistic vests, and 1,830 surplus chemical suits at below market value ($1.00). One speaker...

• Type: Article
• Author: Eric Preven
• Category: ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK

Beware of Booking.comhttps://www.citywatchla.com/voices/25271-beware-of-booking-com

August 11 2022 THE VIEW FROM HERE - Similar to how we call all tissues, Kleenex, and all acetylsalicylic acid Aspirin, we tend to call all short-term rental agencies Airbnb. Many companies make tissues and several manufacture acetylsalicylic acid and more than one...

• Type: Article
• Author: Richard Lee Abrams
• Category: VOICES

A Radical Thought On The Abortion Issuehttps://www.citywatchla.com/gelfand-s-world/25099-a-radical-thought-on-the-abortion-issue-and-doing-a-reverse-newt

July 18 2022 GELFAND’S WORLD - In the congress, Republicans have violated taboos, traditions, and principles in order to prevent the Democrats from achieving legislative success, and out of all their skullduggery, we have the current Supreme Court. And from that...

• Type: Article
• Author: Bob Gelfand
• Category: GELFAND'S WORLD

40 Reasons the GOP is a Clear and Present Danger to US Democracyhttps://www.citywatchla.com/voices/24937-40-reasons-the-gop-is-a-clear-and-present-danger-to-us-democracy

June 27 2022 GUEST COMMENTARY - "Trump and his allies are a clear and present danger to American democracy."—the Honorable J. Michael Luttig Speaking slowly but powerfully, Judge Michael Luttig last week may have handed Democrats what has so far eluded them: a...

• Type: Article
• Author: Mark Green
• Category: VOICES

Collateral Damage From Nonprofits Privatizing Educationhttps://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/24709-collateral-damage-from-nonprofits-privatizing-education

May 30 2022 REDQUEENINLA - One candidate for LA Unified’s District 2 board seat (LAUSD2) is fond of asserting she is not “for charter schools” (CS). That is Maria Brenes, the candidate instead from the Nonprofit Industrial Complex (NPIC). Because there is no...

• Type: Article
• Author: Sara Roos
• Category: LOS ANGELES

Putin and Mad Coward Diseasehttps://www.citywatchla.com/voices/24032-putin-and-mad-coward-disease

March 09 2022 UNDERSTANDING PUTIN - It’s Women’s History Month and in an act of unthinkable atrocity, Mad Vlad Putin is indiscriminately killing women and children across Ukraine. Men, too, of course. Some Kremlin watchers say he is “no longer in his right...

• Type: Article
• Author: Rob Okun
• Category: VOICES

How the Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy Drives Housing Inequalityhttps://www.citywatchla.com/state-watch/23916-how-the-federal-reserve-s-monetary-policy-drives-housing-inequality

February 23 2022 HOUSING CRISIS - I work and live in California, the poster child of the national housing crisis. Here the median home price is $800,000, but prices are much higher in coastal metropolitan areas, with the median home price in the San Francisco Bay Area...

• Type: Article
• Author: Nico Calavita
• Category: STATE WATCH

When The Public Interest In Non-Disclosure Clearly Outweighs Disclosurehttps://www.citywatchla.com/eric-preven-s-notebook/23875-when-the-public-interest-in-non-disclosure-clearly-outweighs-disclosure

February 20 2022 ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - At the last poorly attended LA City Ethics Commission meeting a typo was discovered misidentifying the law firm that the county recently hired to help with evidence suppression related to the indictment of Mark Ridley-Thomas....

• Type: Article
• Author: Eric Preven
• Category: ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK

C'mon, Kroenke, Don't Be So Cranky! https://www.citywatchla.com/eric-preven-s-notebook/23763-c-mon-kroenke-don-t-be-so-cranky

February 06 2022 ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Nithya Raman and Bob Blumenfield have a nice rapport. There were eight items on the Information, Technology, and General Services Committee agenda including, Motion (Krekorian - O'Farrell) relative to negotiating a purchase and...

• Type: Article
• Author: Eric Preven
• Category: ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK

Parental Control Apps Are Outing Kids To Their Parents & Blocking Them From LGBTQ Resourceshttps://www.citywatchla.com/lgbtq/23598-parental-control-apps-are-outing-kids-to-their-parents-blocking-them-from-lgbtq-resources

January 20 2022 LGBTQ NATION - A recent study has found that 92% of parental control apps over-block websites, with the most commonly blocked content being those related to LGBTQ identities and sexual health. The study, from Top10VPN, examined some of the most popular...

• Type: Article
• Author: Molly Sprayregen
• Category: LGBTQ

The Power is in Just Showing Uphttps://www.citywatchla.com/eric-preven-s-notebook/23548-tail-heavy

January 12 2022 ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Ezra Klein had the opinion in the New York Times, that to protect democracy, Democrats have to win more elections. And to do that, they need to make sure the country’s local electoral machinery isn’t corrupted. He was referring...

• Type: Article
• Author: Eric Preven
• Category: ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK

US Drone Strikes: Possibly Thousands More Civilian Deaths Uncoveredhttps://www.citywatchla.com/important-reads/23378-us-drone-strikes-possibly-thousands-more-civilian-deaths-uncovered

December 23 2021 WAR MACHINE - The NYTimes’ recent series of articles exposing the civilian cost of the U.S. wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan should prompt public fury. Hundreds of pages of previously unpublished Pentagon documents refute claims by military planners...

• Type: Article
• Author: Stephen F. Eisenman
• Category: IMPORTANT READS

In That Case, Hire A Lawyer. And, Do Bans Work?https://www.citywatchla.com/eric-preven-s-notebook/23053-sister-cities-say-my-name

November 15 2021 ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK - We were discussing the benefits of a chiropractor -- a cousin told a story of a friend who went in for an adjustment and had her neck broken. I told her straight up, in that case, "I'd hire a lawyer." Adjustments: This is one...

• Type: Article
• Author: Eric Preven
• Category: ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK

The New Face of Autocracyhttps://www.citywatchla.com/important-reads/22768-the-new-face-of-autocracy

October 13 2021 OPINION - A former Facebook employee hailed by the media as a whistleblower testified this week on Capitol Hill about the social media giant's algorithm, and how it harms children and democracy. Frances Haugen told the the Senate Commerce, Science and...

• Type: Article
• Author: Joel Kotkin
• Category: IMPORTANT READS

Can California Turn Into Florida? https://www.citywatchla.com/gelfand-s-world/22446-can-california-turn-into-florida

August 30 2021 GELFAND’S WORLD - The Republicans want to turn California into Florida. The first way is to turn us into a Covid-19 pesthole. We're speaking of Larry Elder, who promises to abolish vaccine and mask requirements. Next, we're talking about Kevin...

• Type: Article
• Author: Bob Gelfand
• Category: GELFAND'S WORLD