LOS ANGELES

PRESERVE LA--“Getting It Right,” a stunning report by Berkeley Law and Columbia University researchers, drives a stake in claims by Gov. Brown and legislators that the California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, has worsened the housing crisis.

SUPPLY-SIDE SHENANIGANS-The real estate research firm CoStar caused a stir in 2017 when it reported a 12.4% residential vacancy rate in Downtown LA. But Steven Sharp published a piece in the LA Times saying that the rate has subsequently dropped considerably. ("Downtown has a high apartment vacancy rate? The rest of LA should be so lucky." LAT, 2/13/2018) Sharp notes that CoStar's data showed a drop to 10.3% in January 2018. He also states the vacancy rate has since declined further to 8.1%, and 4.7% for buildings that have been open for one year or more. 

@THE GUSS REPORT-In a move that could ultimately backfire on the city’s ongoing legal efforts to keep boisterous critics away from Los Angeles City Council meetings, its president Herb Wesson was caught on video – twice – verbally and physically taunting one of his loudest ones. 

CORRUPTION WATCH-In 1962 when Hannah Arendt wrote about the Jerusalem trial of Adolf Eichmann, she pointed out that great evil can flow from banal, everyday activities, e.g. repetitions of small lies. The Banality of Evil does not deny the individual’s sadistic nature, but rather shows how others fail to see the potential enormity of the evil lurking behind everyday actions. 

MARCH WITH FLORIDA’S KIDS--I am ashamed of My LAUSD! 

FIRST PERSON-If you want to stop the criminal behavior by those running the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and other sabotaged public school districts like it around the country, I think you will need to consult sections of the California Penal Code as well as the belated enforcement of criminal felonies described therein against LAUSD administrators. LAUSD Board member Dr. Ref Rodriguez’ illegal behavior at LAUSDis not an isolated case. In fact, he is small potatoes when compared with other felonious actions systematically carried out throughout the District. 

RANTZ & RAVES--The City of Los Angeles and its Department of Transportation has for many years neglected to follow the law when it comes to surveying the thousands of miles of city streets for radar speed enforcement.  The law in California requires all cities to routinely survey streets in order for the police to use radar when enforcing speed laws.  

CORRUPTION WATCH-The sorry saga of the Hollywood Target store continues. Rather than allow Target to construct its store, Eric Garcetti has pushed Target into eternal litigation. On February 21, 2018, Target filed its opening brief in the current round of appellate cases case (# B283480 Target v CCLA). 

ALPERN AT LARGE--As mentioned in my last CityWatch piece, California and its cities have grabbed a lot of money from its taxpayers, thrown away laws that it finds inconvenient, and ranks last in a few metrics as a state that has a nice quality of life.

BELL VIEW-One of the continuing sources of bafflement for my liberal friends involves the persistence of support for Donald Trump among his hard-core supporters. Have you had enough yet? They seem to ask with every snarky tweet. Here he is separating children from their mothers. Here, he’s taking healthcare away from millions of Americans. 

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-It is a major achievement to politically unite Angelenos across all demographic categories: the rich, poor, and those in between; those who live in the Valley, East LA, South LA, and Westside; all major racial and ethnic groups; and finally, those who live in houses, duplexes, four-plexes, and apartments. But, hats off to Senator Scott Wiener for this impressive political feat.

EASTSIDER-I couldn’t resist the title. The content has to do with the NRA and the ACLU -- and some things they have in common. Actually, there is a blog called “God, Guns and Liberty,” but throwing in God seemed a bit over the top, even for me.

GUEST WORDS--Scott and Erica Rothenberg thought the years of scrimping and saving had finally paid off.

GELFAND’S WORLD--News sources tell us that Nikolas Cruz … admitted Parkland shooter … is willing to plead guilty to his seventeen murders, provided that the DA takes the death penalty off the table. This is pretty close to that classic definition of chutzpah -- the guy who kills both of his parents and then pleads for mercy on the grounds that he is an orphan. I mean, what business does Cruz have in bargaining for preserving his own life after taking so many others? Is he suggesting somehow that his life is worth more than those of the people he killed? 

DEEGAN ON LA-Neither side really won a full victory in a dispute between the Koreatown community and a major K’Town developer that had turned ugly. But a calmer vibe could now emerge as both sides acknowledge that they may need to work with each other on any development of Liberty Park. This came as a result of two important votes this week involving Beneficial Plaza and Liberty Park. 

CAL MATTERS--After the newly created Citizen Redistricting Commission redrew congressional and legislative districts in 2011, Republicans complained that the new maps were tilted in favor of Democrats.

TRUTH WATCH-Riddle me this: In what part of life does anyone get the right to demand that they get their way and throw everyone else out that has variations of opinion? 

RANTZ AND RAVEZ-California State Assemblyman Matt Dababneh recently resigned from office leaving the 45^th Assembly District seat open for a Special Election. The 45^th District covers a major portion of the West San Fernando Valley and the Bell Canyon, Hidden Hills and Calabasas communities.  

FIRST PERSON-Why is what might be the most effective way of dealing with epidemic levels of school gun violence never even considered? The all too predictable Left-Right polemics on the issue have ignored an otherwise obvious third way forsolving the school shooting insanity.

CORRUPTION WATCH-The massive multi-billion-dollar fraud behind Los Angeles’ homeless crisis has taken a gigantic leap forward with the LA Times’ multi-part editorial which has one basic solution: give billions more dollars to real estate developers. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--Maybe the business journals are right, and maybe they're wrong, but if California does have the worst quality of life in the 50 US states, then we can either stop digging the hole we've dug ourselves into, or double down and dig ever faster.