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# CityWatch Today: Not What You Thought
June 05 2017
Written by Ken Draper.
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DISCOVERING REALITY—Most of us are inclined to base our conclusions on our own experiences. It comes as a shock when we discover facts that contradict what made so much sense to us. Our country is going through that kind of shock these days. Certainty splintered into tiny pieces when we discover things are not what we thought. So shocking that it’s hard for us to absorb. To make sense of it. Leaves us wondering, “What happened?”
There’s a lot of that going on in CityWatch today. Ideas different enough from your own that you need to take a deep breath and reread what’s in front of you. ‘Did I read that right?’
**Julie Butcher**, in the CityWatch lead today, offers a reasonable argument for keeping **Billy the** **Elephant** at his happy home in the LA Zoo. What she writes makes sense, but we’ve heard the angry and passionate case for moving Billy to a sanctuary so long and so loud it may take a second reading to see the truth.
**Richard Lee Abrams** says we won’t need all the trains and buses we’re investing in. Not really the future of LA. That is, he says, because of **driverless cars**. He makes a good case. But since that’s not the marketing line coming out of City Hall … since it’s not what we thought … it may take a reading or two … to accept the facts.
The outcome of the recent LA School Board election has been overwhelmingly attributed to the big bucks … outside the city bucks that is … on getting Nick Melvoin elected. **Karen Wolfe** offers a different … and convincing … perspective. **Wasn’t the money**, she says. A shock to many of us brainwashed to believe it was all about the dollars. Shock is what happens when we discover reality and it conflicts with what we ‘knew for sure.’
Check out **Today’s CityWatch**. Approach it with an open mind. Enjoy a taste of reality. **Get smart.** You’ll be glad you did.
Ken Draper-Editor, CityWatch
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