LOS ANGELES

NEW GEOGRAPHY--Gov. Gavin Newsom has committed himself to look for ways of “unlocking the enormous potential” of the Central Valley, but in reality he seems more interested in slamming the door to its prosperity behind him.

TRANSIT LA--An insert into my recent home delivery of Los Angeles Times was the Fall 2019 issue of Mobility Road | Rail |Transit, from the folks we entrust for our mobility around Southern California: Metro. It is a large sheet, folded, glossy paper, full color, two-sided, twenty-four-page pamphlet telling, what?

ALPERN AT LARGE--Every once in a while, the denizens of Planet Stupid show up on Planet Earth to bless us with their willful ignorance, false narratives, and racist/classist sentiments. 

RANTZ & RAVEZ-It wasn’t long ago that California -- especially Southern California -- had a great reputation as the place to live, work and play. We were a state with a moderate climate, a great educational system and many quiet residential communities with affordable housing and plenty of places to shop at local retail centers. 

EASTSIDER-During our recent fires that seemed to consume most of California, one utility company stood out. LA City’s Department of Water & Power kept our lights on. 

GUEST WORDS--Over the past few months President Trump has unilaterally by Tweet and telephone begun to dismantle the U.S. military’s involvement in the Middle East.

2020-Republicans are less likely to win elections when voter turnout is high. It’s true: Four of the five states with the highest voter turnout voted blue in the last presidential and midterm elections. All are crucial swing states. 

VETERANS DAY-If you’re looking for a way to honor veterans, here’s one: protect the U.S. Postal Service.

CAL MATTERS-Legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom primarily aimed at requiring Donald Trump to disclose his tax returns before being placed on the March 3 primary ballot appears to be in jeopardy. 

PLANNING WATCH-An old joke describes LA’s four seasons as fires, floods, earthquakes, and civil disturbances.

POLITICS LOS ANGELES--As the race to replace Councilman Jose Huizar in CD 14 heats up, rumblings about possible candidate residency fraud are circulating.  

WORLD WATCH-There is a new political day dawning in Kosovo -- the newest, but a troubled country in Europe.

ANIMAL RIGHTS-On October 26, Mayor Park Won-soon of Seoul, South Korea announced that all dog meat slaughterhouses in the city would be closed by October 31, 2019.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-Before we can arrive at truth, we need facts.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Some of us care a great deal about history and science, and demand debate with multiple points of view, and some of us demand unity and "purity" of thought to the extent that there will be punishment and ostracism for those who don't agree with the "correct" point of view. 

OTHER WORDS-Right now, thousands of Californians are fleeing raging wildfires, while millions sit in the dark. And for-profit utilities may be to blame.

LA LABOR --A few days ago, Dolores Huerta, the indefatigable, 89-year-old labor union and civil rights activist, wanted to share her wisdom.

ARCHETECHTURE POLITICS-This Wednesday, the LA County Museum of Art’s proposal to build a bridge across Wilshire Boulevard will face its first hurdle in city government. 

CHARTER WARS-The astroturf groups Parent Revolution and SpeakUp are flooding social media of late with their PR-honed contention that opposing LAUSD charter-advocacy-backed members Nick Melvoin’s and Kelly Gonez’ School Performance Framework (“SPF”), is “hiding” data from parents.

@THE GUSS REPORT-Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey is eating her words lately, resulting in a bad case of Gascón, as it were, as in George Gascón, the San Francisco District Attorney and former LAPD copper, who announced his return to LA to run against Lacey to helm the largest local prosecutorial office in the United States. 

POWER GAMES-We Californians are watching our state burn. Our houses are literally on fire, and yet we should not be surprised.