LOS ANGELES

EASTSIDER-The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment’s (DONE) handling of the Neighborhood Councils recently reminds me of what happens when the first stage of a space rocket fails to ignite. They are so gloriously incompetent that the whole shebang is going BOOM even as DONE marches forward toward the 2019 Neighborhood Council Elections. 

URBAN PERSPECTIVE-Actor Jussie Smollett may well have lied, committed mail fraud, paid off accomplices, and, of course, staged a fake racist, anti-gay attack on himself.

CAL MATTERS --Rudy Torres had no idea that he’s among the most influential Republicans in California.

THE COLOR OF DODGER BALL--On opening day of the 2019 season, March 28, one of the most multicultural fan bases in Major League Baseball will once again fill Chavez Ravine to cheer on their Dodgers.

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-Last week the City Council’s Energy, Climate Change and Environmental Justice Committee (ECCEJ) moved forward in establishing a Los Angeles Climate Emergency Mobilization Department.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-People tell themselves that they base their decisions on facts and logic because it’s a myth that makes them feel good. For almost everyone, major life decisions are based on feelings. 

SURFER POLITICS--Women surfers scored a big win in California last year when an obscure government commission decided it would only lease a public beach to the Mavericks global surf competition if men and women were awarded the same amount of prize money.

ANIMAL WATCH-On Tuesday morning, March 19, a Clearlake, CA, police officer requested immediate assistance from Animal Care and Control to capture two loose aggressive Pit Bulls that had threatened a pedestrian and bitten another. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--As I wrote in my previous article, they want us GONE. "Us" of course, being those reading this who work hard, help others, and have given it our all in the hopes of an affordable, rules-abiding, sustainable California. 

IMPACT--This report takes a close look at the impact of California’s very high residential prices on the ability of construction workers — the very people who build our homes — to afford to live within the markets where they are work.

AT LENGTH-There seems to be a very good argument going around these days that says, “You can’t stop the advancement of new technology.” The history of civilization seems to bear this out.

@THE GUSS REPORT-The familiar young woman with a young child strapped to her chest wandered around the LA subway car going from passenger to passenger soliciting donations with a sign indicating she has two children and no job.

DEEGAN ON LA-The wheels are grinding slowly on Frank Gehry’s 8150 Sunset Boulevard project as he moves forward to create his vision for the eastern gateway to West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip at Sunset and Crescent Heights.

420 FILE-So here we are: cannabis has been legal in our state for a while, yet more than 500 illegal shops continue to operate in the City of Los Angeles. WITH NO END IN SIGHT. And LAPD says they have no overtime to help close the stores. 

GELFAND’S WORLD--The Trump administration and the right wing are falling all over themselves in crowing about Trump's exoneration by Robert Mueller as handed down by Attorney General William Barr through his four-page letter. 

ONE MAN’S OPINION-Neither political party shows any respect for the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution. Both the GOP and the Dems find money and power in killing off the individual inalienable rights including Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness in favor of Group Rights.

SKIP THE SLIP-Paper receipts are a habitual end to retail transactions. But their usefulness is questionable — they can be tossed out within minutes of being printed or go on to line the bottoms of our bags and wallets. 

DROUGHT WATCH--For the first time in eight years, California is drought-free. According to the United States Drought Monitor, which uses data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, parts of the most northern and southern counties are still "abnormally dry," but the state has no drought conditions to show.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Looking at the outgoing flight of Californians to other states (particularly the middle class, and of all political and racial and socioeconomic backgrounds), and how both Sacramento, Downtown Los Angeles (and other major city counterparts in San Francisco, San Diego and elsewhere) are doubling down on stupid, silly, untenable ideas that make no environmental sense ... 

RANTZ & RAVEZ-I find many things wrong with the political leadership in California, especially in the greater Los Angeles region where I have spent my entire life.

EASTSIDER-A number of people corrected my first post on the recent Assembly District Delegate Elections, and they are right. But I’m just an ordinary democrat who wanted to participate in the elections, not a Party Insider who knew that the State Party, not the Local Party, controls local elections. So...