LOS ANGELES

ALPERN AT LARGE--Let me start this article that I remain an unswerving, unrepentant law-and-order kind of guy. Don't want prisoner abuse, don't want to see innocent people get prosecuted, don't want to short-change rehab programs...

EASTSIDER-A recent Community meeting in Glassell Park highlighted the twin joys of being the next great gentrification target and having no oversight to control the three Council Districts (CD1, CD13, and CD 14) that get to divvy up the spoils. 

PERSPECTIVE-The second Burbank Airport Noise Task Force forum was held this past Wednesday, September 11.

OTHER WORDS-I’ll be honest: Writing a weekly opinion column about the environment during the Trump era is depressing — and boring.

GUEST COMMENTARY--Even if US intelligence decisively shows that some of the drones and cruise missiles used in the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields originated in Iran, a decision to go to war with Iran would be inexcusable and insupportable.

Planning Watch: The record of California Democrats on the housing crisis, including those who run city governments, like Los Angeles, is not good.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-The road to Hell is paved by the law of unintended consequences. Can one change horses in mid-stream because there was no stitch in time to save nine?

THE CITY-On Sep 11, 2019, stakeholders from Greater Echo Park filled the John Ferraro Council Chambers to stop the LA City Council from approving Item 28, Report with Recommendations, that starts the process for Affordable Housing Opportunities at “1140 N. Glendale Boulevard.”

AT LENGTH-From Long Beach’s rising Gerald Desmond bridge to the growing skyline of Los Angeles and out to the edge of Venice’s “Silicon Beach” the development cycle is booming with ever increasing intensity.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Congratulations, California--not only have you made this a one-party state (kind of like Alabama, but on the other side of the political spectrum), but you've now allowed the Golden State to become an environmental nightmare.

DEEGAN ON LA-Eureka! Oil was discovered! And with it came tar and the resulting “tar pits” that have captured samples of an age that continues to be discovered in the “gateway back to the Ice Age, right in the heart of LA.”  

VOICES-In the last few years, the Brentwood Community Council (BCC) has devolved into an autocratic fiefdom.

@THE GUSS REPORT-Politics in Los Angeles, at both the City and County level, is so insular that the people who we trust to run it honestly are often saturated with corruption, craziness or both because there are virtually no consequences for their being either.

NEW GEOGRAPHY--In our system of government, the public sector is, well, supposed to serve the public.

CLIMATE POLITICS--Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which experienced three massive meltdowns in 2011, is running out of room to store radioactive water. No surprise! But now, what to do about phosphorescent water?

BCK FILE--Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani sentenced Felicity Huffman to 14 days in prison, along with 250 hours of community service and a $30,000 fine. The actress had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud in May. 

GELFAND’S WORLD- On the evening of Monday, September 16, I expect I will be voting against motherhood and apple pie.

CITY COUNCIL POLITICS--Last week, Los Angeles City Councilmember, Gil Cedillo, unwittingly said out loud that which must not be said and showed there's good reason why "unwritten rules" remain that way. 

ENVIRONMENT POLITICS-“Let the sunshine in” is in reference to our California State Sunshine laws. It is what guides the public process.

CALBUZZ--As the Democratic candidates for president gather Thursday night in Houston for another “debate” – the first in which the top three contenders will share the stage – the race still hinges on one key question: Who among the candidates can defeat President Donald Trump in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania?

OTHERWORDS--A few years ago, I had a cupcake problem. I’d go to the cupcake store almost daily and I’d eat at least one cupcake, sometimes more.