LOS ANGELES

AFFORDABLE HOUSING-As we head deeper into 2021, renters in California and across the nation should never forget the small but powerful group of corporate landlords who shelled out a staggering $66.5 million to kill the expansion of rent control in the Golden State.

PLANNING WATCH-In recent weeks, many CityWatch columns have discussed the worsening housing crisis, not just in LA, but across this large country.

MY TURN--In sentencing former Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch Englander to fourteen (14) months in prison, federal judge John F. Walter said,

GELFAND’S WORLD-Donald Trump did a lot of damage through the four years of his presidency, and some of it was directed right at California. Here is one example -- but a fixable problem -- that most of us haven't even been thinking about. 

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS-A government’s budget is more than just allocating income and expenses. In selecting what our tax dollars are spent on, what to prioritize, it becomes a declaration of its (and our) values. 

EASTSIDER-Ever since the Times Mirror Square property was sold by Tribune Media (4.5 acres) to Omni Group, the ultimate fate of the property has been grinding though the City of Los Angeles “Planning Department.”

@THE GUSS REPORT-Is there a crisis management doctor in the house? 

THE DOCTOR IS IN--While it's quite evident that we know and can do a bit more for the Virus That Changed the World than a year ago, our knowledge is frightfully limited (almost pathetically so) for a variety of reasons: 

RANTZ & RAVES-There have been many Presidential elections in America over the past 244 years --  some more interesting and exciting than others.

RENTER PROTECTION--With eviction protections set to expire state officials scrambled to put in place a plan to extend these protections. 

OTHER WORDS-President Biden recently became the first president to condemn white supremacy by name in an inaugural address. Then some Republicans got mad because, they say, it’s an attack on them.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING-Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has made one thing alarmingly clear: middle- and working-class Americans need long-term solutions for major problems that have long impacted them.

VOICES-Call it the postage stamp that could tank a ceasefire, or peace agreement. 

GUEST WORDS-In one of the most politically fraught eras in the history of the United States since the Civil War, many Americans last week turned their thoughts to commemorating the life and work of civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

GUEST WORDS-It seems the veterans of the Great Capitol Insurrection, high and low, are not faring well.

GELFAND’S WORLD--The new argument on the right is that it would be unconstitutional to impeach Donald J Trump now that he is out of office.

WHY BLACK LIVES MATTER-Racial profiling often seems like some kind of perverse rite of passage that young Black people have to go through in America (and likely, everywhere else in the world where Black people exist) as a part of growing up. 

ANOTHER SHOE FALLS-Disgraced former LA City Councilmember Mitch Englander received 14 months in prison during a two-hour Zoom sentencing hearing on Monday morning for his role in an ongoing corruption probe of LA City Hall.

GUEST WORDS-The lure of easy money has a powerful appeal. What is easier money than Taxpayer money?

THE DOCTOR’S IN-Fair is fair--if Governor Newsom or any other pol screws up, or succeeds, that politician deserves any credit or scorn he/she deserves.

@THE GUSS REPORT-"The worm has turned" is a phrase that dates back more than 500 years and suggests, among other things, that a situation can change quickly and that if pushed too far, even meek beings may strike back at their antagonist.