LOS ANGELES

THE GENTRIFIERS--The Miami-based developer that owns Wyvernwood Apartments has secured a $155 million loan to refinance the 1,175-unit complex it plans to raze and rebuild in Boyle Heights. 

CAL BUZZ--Democratic State Sen. Kevin de León, 51, has one argument in his race to unseat U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 85: she’s too old.

PLATKIN ON PLANNING- Mayor Quimby shows us how City Hall collusion works.

GELFAND’S WORLD--The city of Los Angeles has created a strange appendage to its governmental system referred to as the commissions.

GUEST COMMENTARY-A recent headline told us,“Starbucks Gets Rid of Plastic Straws.” SO WHAT? 

GUEST WORDS--Talk about a tale of two people.

VIEW FROM HERE--It’s so crazy that you could mistake it for a fictional Hollywood disaster movie script titled “Firenado!”

CORRUPTION WATCH-The problem with “Integrity” is that it lacks a true antonym.

BCK FILE--If we’ve learned a thing or two about Donald Trump, we know his perception of loyalty lies along the spectrum of fawning fealty.

HEARTLESS EVICTIONS-Billionaire and former LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling has found himself front and center in a controversy over his eviction of veterans and low-income families who are receiving government subsidies and vouchers. 

@THE GUSS REPORT-Truth and page count are as thin at the LA Timesthese days as the broth at the local soup kitchen.

NEW GEOGRAPHY--“If my thought dreams could be seen …They’d probably put my head in a guillotine” — Bob Dylan, “It’s All Right Ma”, 1965

JUSTICE THROUGH UNITY-The people of the County of Los Angeles and beyond need to understand that spending $3.5 billion on new jails instead of focusing on local services that could prevent mostly black and brown people from ending up behind bars in the first place is in the best interest of all of us—and not just black and brown people. 

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-The “Purple Line Transit Neighborhood Plan” is nothing more than a deceptively misnamed specific plan, so please allow me a deep planning dive into this latest City Hall sting operation.

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--Do you know what time it is, California?

JOBS VS. UNION CASH-Prior to June 2016 janitorial services at the California Health Care Facility, a California State prison Facility located in Stockton, were provided by the individuals who were SEIU #1000 union members.

CORRUPTION WATCH-The parameters of judicial corruption appear rather straight forward within the system as a whole.

FIRST PERSON-Recently, I've had the pleasure of re-connecting with the talented award-winning filmmaker Linda Yellen.

ALPERN AT LARGE--I doubt I'm the only fifty-something that enjoys both family-friendly and cynical humor, and that I can both love "South Park", "Family Guy", and "Rick and Morty"... as well as a wonderful, family-friendly show like "Stuck In The Middle". 

CAL MATTERS--When phone bank worker Melissa Mendez, age 26, felt financially squeezed a few months ago—“I was short on cash and needed to pay rent”—she walked into a Cash 1 storefront in Sacramento and took out a payday loan. The annual interest rate: 460 percent.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-First, a personal note: When it all began: It was August 1 when a little boy was born into the loving arms of Alice and Phillip Zine. While both Mom and Dad have passed onto Heaven, I will always remember the love and attention they showed me over the many years of my childhood and into adulthood.