LOS ANGELES

DEEGAN ON LA-How do you make Los Angeles less strange for strangers who are visiting?

@THE GUSS REPORT-It was an overdue yet stunning admission by LA City Councilmember Nury Martinez as she publicly apologized last week for a profanity-laced tirade by a regular City Council critic a few moments earlier in which the F-bomb was the least blush-worthy word choice. 

CORRUPTION WATCH-The Kavanaugh hearings present us with a complex mix of forest and trees.

TOXIC POLITICS-As a student of history and someone who’s correct designation politically would be a social libertarian, I’m aware of the historical injustices done to women and people of color in this country and have been a lifelong advocate of helping people understand this history and working to rectify it. 

JUST SAYIN’--When I was growing up in Brooklyn it was clear that college was not for everyone. 

MY TURN--September 27, 2018 was another moment in our history that demonstrated that our country has not progressed past the gender bias that much of the rest of the world has accomplished.

PERSPECTIVE-There’s an air war brewing over the southeast San Fernando Valley.

BCK FILE--The path to what had appeared to be a shoe-in confirmation for Brett Kavanaugh has elicited significant responses from both sides of the aisle.

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-For each unanswered question about this real estate scheme, two more are piling up.

CORRUPTION WATCH-Whether or not Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh ever engaged in any questionable sexual activity, his recent behavior proves that he is worse than unqualified. 

RANTZ & RAVEZ-Los Angeles voters have answered the call from politicians and voted for additional taxes and fees to address the homeless crisis throughout the city.

GUEST COMMENTARY--After decades of neglecting and ignoring the homeless issue in Los Angeles, this City Council is working on solutions. 

EASTSIDER-Does anyone actually know what all these numbers about economic growth and low jobless rates really mean? Well, here’s a clue. Don’t bend over. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--For anyone trying to buy a home, or who has given up trying to buy a home, it's not hard to conclude that affordable housing is a crisis that's miserable and virtually inescapable.

GELFAND’S WORLD--It's a curious observation that among the American right wing, there is a juxtaposition between financial and sexual conservatism.

BELL VIEW-A recent NPR poll showed that 54% of Republicans believe Brett Kavanaugh should be seated on the Supreme Court even if he did things he’s accused of doing.

FIRST PERSON-The most compelling, yet ignored argument supporting the claim that Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford and other women is that these actions are consistent with his uncontested male chauvinist upbringing and consequent development of his legal opposition against women's birth control. 

CAL MATTERS--In one of the first legal challenges since the #MeToo movement forced the California Legislature to confront its history of dismissing sexual misconduct in its own workplace, the Senate is trying to fend off a former employee’s lawsuit with arguments that she’s not covered by new whistleblower protections and that the Capitol, as part of the public sector, isn’t covered by state labor laws.

AT LENGTH-Nothing gets done these days unless you have a study or a report.

ALPERN AT LARGE--We're really in a fix, aren't we?

GUEST COMMENTARY--Fascinating as a David and Goliath struggle in itself - the multi-year effort to restore the South-Central Farm at 41st/Alameda in South Central Los Angeles also highlights significant development issues that could apply to all of LA.