LOS ANGELES

THE DOCTOR IS IN--I've got a few e-mails (and I truly COMMEND those who've sent them!) asking me what I would do, or what Governor Gavin Newsom should have done, differently during this pandemic which will result in health and economic devastation well in 2021, and likely into 2022.

MY TURN-Reading tea leaves if a difficult job, especially if they may be mixed with coffee grounds.  After all, who really knows what’s going on in Washington DC? 

NON-VIOLENT DISSENT-The right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in the Bill of Rights because it is critically important. Indeed, research has shown that peaceful protests and nonviolent tactics are the most effective tools in making social change, even including overthrowing dictators. 

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA-It was tricky to get out of the house while the state was under the latest stay-at-home order, much less to find public places that offered both ample social distance and community.

LA GOVERNMENT … SHORT ON TRANSPARENCY--According to the Congressional Research Service, as we’ve noted before, the U.S. House of Representatives has met behind closed doors four times during the past 190 years—in 1979, 1980, 1983, and 2008.

GELFAND’S WORLD--So now there is going to be a designated protest zone at Dodger Stadium so that the anti-vaccine people and Covid-19 deniers can get together and try to convince others not to get a shot.

PERSPECTIVE-Every week, millions of us walk into a Walgreens drugstore without giving it a second thought. 

@THE GUSS REPORT-Like a broken clock that is right twice a day, even LA's corrupt and inept governments get things right from time to time. 

CLIMATE POLITICS-The rapid rise of Covid-19 has spawned a renaissance in socio-economic thinking about the best way to face the future, as mayors of cities throughout the world search for answers in the face of declining revenues while society demands more urgent help. 

THE DOCTOR IS IN--Before I start on any update on the several vaccines we have, and those we will have, I want to make something clear: 

MY TURN--Governing from the center does not mean Bipartisanship, which is a horrid idea foisted upon Americans by the power mongers in both parties.

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.