LOS ANGELES

PLANNING WATCH-Like Woodie Allen’s imaginary character, Zelig, who could change his physical appearance to ingratiate himself to those around him, Eric Garcetti skillfully changes his political exterior to placate those who contest his policies.

GELFAND’S WORLD--The past couple of weeks have been a moment for catching up.

PERSPECTIVE--On June 1, President Trump threatened to deploy active-duty U.S. military forces against peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters in cities across America.

EASTSIDER-The rumor mill is cranked up over DONE deploying staff to try and force a single set of Bylaws on Neighborhood Councils, while the General Manager gives interviews. 

AFFORDABLE HOUSING-Big Real Estate continues to shell out major cash to political committees that oppose the Rental Affordability Act, the November ballot measure that expands rent control in California. Equity Residential and Essex Property Trust, two of the largest corporate landlords in the U.S., are among the top contributors.

ALPERN AT LARGE--I'm dedicating this piece to Greg Nelson, who came up with the idea of turning this nightmarish week of riots--not protests that bring out the best of us, but riots that tear everyone and everything apart. 

DOWNTOWN LA-Members of the Minneapolis Police Department recently killed an unarmed Black man named George Floyd.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-As a 50-plus-year sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department, which is recognized as one of the most professional law enforcement agencies in the world;

ONE MAN’S OPINION-Judicial oppression has three legs: lack of transparency, lack of accountability, and judicial myths. 

DEEGAN ON LA-What started out as a commemorative event to both honor the dead, and protest his manner of dying, turned into a cashless shopping spree seasoned with pepper spray.

COMMENTARY-It feels like we are in a time warp, reliving the 1992 riots, like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, only worse.

GELFAND’S WORLD--White backlash. An ugly term, and a thing that I have witnessed for most of my adult life.

POLICE POLITICS--Police officers take position to shoot tear gas at the demonstrators in Downtown Los Angeles on May 30, 2020 in protest against the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while while being arrested and pinned to the ground by the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.

EDUCATION POLITICS--On January 21, 2019, Erika Jones pulled an all-nighter in Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s press office.

ALPERN AT LARGE--There are some of us (most of us, I guess) who favor and respect the police, and both understand what they go through to give them the benefit of the doubt...but who abhor a criminal who gets away with blatant murder because he/she wears a badge.

@THE GUSS REPORT-Maya Angelou wrote, “the first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.” 

ANIMAL RIGHTS-As reported by CityWatch on May 29, 2020, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture released the latest version of the Directory of Genetic Resources of Livestock and Poultry.

\ONE MAN’S OPINION-Question: “Why are the rich and guilty treated better than the poor and innocent,” asked California Governor Gavin Newsom at his June 5, 2020 news conference. 

ANIMAL RIGHTS-In April, CityWatch reported that the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture issued draft guidelines declaring that dogs are pets, not to be eaten. See “Chinese May Declare Dogs Are Pets and Not for Eating – Let Them Know You Agree.”  

VOICES-August of 2019 marked 400 years since Africans were brought to this country on slave ships.

EASTSIDER-I’ve been through this scene twice, and our current protests/looting seem like a bad dope dream where nothing ever changes. This time it must.