LOS ANGELES

ALPERN AT LARGE--For those of us who remember the Cold War, the influence of Western civilization was supposed to crack the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall with the messages of freedom of speech and religion, capitalism, entrepreneurism, and the plight of the ordinary man or woman.

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA-Bring back Topgun! By that, I do not mean Top Gun, the cliché-ridden, late-Cold War Tom Cruise film about speed-crazy Naval fighter pilots that still defines San Diego in the public imagination.

EASTSIDER-In a less rowdy but still very well attended GPNC meeting, it became increasingly clear that the City’s (and County Public Health) proposed rules regarding street vending are simply not ready for prime time.  

PLANNING WATCH-When even the Los Angeles Times questions Eric Garcetti ‘s high profile international role on climate change, you know that there is a mystery afoot.

WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH--Mazel Tov! We made it to Trump’s 1,000th year day!

SCOTUS POLITICS-In recent years the legitimacy of the Supreme Court has come under question as Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Senate Republicans have bent the nomination process for their own political gain.

‘WE HAVE SEEN THE ENEMY’--Freedom (to lie) isn’t free. For the campaign to re-elect Donald Trump it costs $1.5 million a week. And that’s just last week’s tab. 

ONE MAN’S OPINION-In the 1950s, we knew where we stood as a nation and where we were going.

MY TURN-There is a rather grotesque irony that exists when it comes to the present-day reporting of the news.

AT LENGTH-As the House of Representatives quickly moves forward on its impeachment inquiry — an inquiry that is gaining public support as it reaches 52 percent and disapproval ratings for the president drops to 41.7 percent — Donald Trump’s campaign has launched a $10-million television ad-buy that paints the impeachment push as an effort by the Democrats to “steal” the election. 

@THE GUSS REPORT-It’s October again and that means Columbus Day, which in LA means Indigenous Peoples Day.

NEW GEOGRAPHY--In the ever-intensifying battle between red and blue, the consultants, fixers and self-serving media thrive, but America suffers.

“I THINK HE’S STILL MY PERSONAL LAWYER’--Rudy Giuliani speaks to members of the media during a White House Sports and Fitness Day at the South Lawn of the White House May 30, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

CLIMATE POLITICS-Global warming is on speed, especially in northern latitudes where an international team of scientists led by Igor Semiletov of Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia’s oldest technical institution, recently made a startling discovery aboard the Academic Mstislav Keldysh (photo above), the kind of discovery that sends chills down the spine, i.e., “methane bubbles boiling in water.” 

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--Immigrants are already essential to health care in California. But they will become even more important in the future.

GUEST WORDS-Trump is a master at speaking in codes. Certainly not Code Pink but codes that Nazis, white supremacists, Ku Klux Klaners anxiously await.

PERSPECTIVE-Familiarize yourself with the hashtag #OutNow, it is refusefacism.org’s message: “In the name of humanity we refuse to accept a fascist America!”

ALPERN AT LARGE--The old adage, repeatedly forgotten, remains true: "Point one finger at someone else, and four others are pointing right back at you." Kind of like that other old adage about "he who lives in glass houses shouldn't be throwing stones."

GUEST COMMENTARY--The PG&E Blackout Con is all about threatening the judge in the PG&E bankruptcy case. The victims have joined with the bondholders to eliminate the equity of the stockholders who deserve nothing.

DEEGAN ON LA-Raw sewage has entered the calculus at the site of a New York developer’s dream of high-end housing, restaurants and retail called “Casitas Lofts,”  a project he hopes to situate along a stretch of the Los Angeles River near Atwater Village and Glassell Park.

THE REAL LA HOUSING CRISIS-It can be stressful being a tenant in LA these days. Don't take my word for it. Just ask the people living at 1719 Whitley in Hollywood (photo above).