LOS ANGELES

PLANNING WATCH-When I started this column, I devoted many critical articles to McMansions. My Beverly Grove neighborhood was and still is an epicenter of mansionization.

OTHER WORDS-What is it about billionaires and multimillionaires that make them so clueless about the impacts of their greed? 

NEW GEOGRAPHY-California’s coastal urban centers, once the ultimate land of opportunity, suffer notorious traffic congestion, unaffordable housing, and a social chasm defined by a shrinking middle class, a small wealthy sector, and a sizable population seemingly locked in poverty.

GUEST WORDS--On the second day of Trump's impeachment trial Wednesday, a parade of eloquent, impassioned Democrats showed chilling video, told harrowing stories, cited ever-damning tweets, and offered "definitive proof that what broke into the Capitol last month was a hunting party.

GELFAND’S WORLD--The Republicans in the U.S. Senate are in kind of a lose-lose situation.

PEACE VOICE-Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

EASTSIDER-We know that enough ink and electrons have been spent arguing about what the Ralph M. Brown Act means for Neighborhood Councils to fill a small library.

RAISING THE WAGE-If it’s passed by Congress, President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 relief proposal would do a lot more than fund relief payments and vaccine rollouts.

MY TURN--There is no gainsaying that Rep. Ramin (Jamie) Ben Raskin’s (D-Maryland) Tuesday, February 9, 2021 presentation was masterfully brilliant. 

SOUTH OF THE 10-Inglewood Treasurer Wanda Brown has filed a $10 million claim against the city of Inglewood, Mayor James T. Butts Jr., and all members of the city council for retaliation, emotional distress and wrongful discharge. 

GELFAND’S WORLD--Among the bigger stories of the new year, certainly the biggest so far has been the ability of the Democratic caucus in the U.S. Senate to maintain its unity.

HUMAN RIGHTS-“It is long past time for. . .a sea change in the United States’ approach to national and human security. . .” 

@THE GUSS REPORT-For an agency that deals continuously in alibis, the Los Angeles Police Department has difficulty remembering those it tells on behalf of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.

SAME WAY JESUS WOULD HAVE HANDLED IT--White conservative America sure had a lot to say about Rev. Jeremiah Wright—and by extension, the Black church—and his “God damn America” sermon

DEAR JUSTICE THOMAS: You are in your thirtieth year on the Court. You are now its longest serving member.

THE DOCTOR IS IN--I just got my second Moderna vaccination shot yesterday (2/6/2020), and frankly I couldn't wait to get it fast enough.

CALBUZZ-A few months ago, when the Coronavirus pandemic was just getting real, a majority of Californians thought Gov. Gavin Newsom was doing a good job of managing the crisis. 

MY TURN--On Monday, February 1, 2021, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Monday rebuked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling the Georgia Republican as a "cancer" for the GOP party.

THE BLACK VOTE-The point at which California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party should really be worried about the recall is if Black women decide to send a reminder to them both that they still need us.  

AT LENGTH--The California GOP, after having no majority in the state legislature and none of the statewide offices for the last decade on top of the embarrassing defeat of their dear fascist leader for president, they return to a very old ploy — blame everything on the Democrats. 

PLANNING WATCH-In California Democrats hold a super majority in the State Legislature and LA’s City Hall.