Alan Cranston may not have been the only retired congressman who wanted to save the world. But he was the only one I ever met who spent his last years trying to do it. Born at the beginning of World War I, he died on the literal eve of the new millennium for which, he […]
Month: July 2018
Power to the People
I haven‘t heard back from the mayor yet about whether he’s going to fire David Freeman, the head of L.A.‘s Department of Water and Power (DWP) and the man most responsible for Los Angeles’ preposterously fortunate position during the California electrical debacle. But I read and hear that Mayor Richard Riordan is surprisingly upset with […]
Cross of Gold
TwitteremailPrint ArticleAASACRAMENTO — It was good guys vs. bad guys, heroes vs. villains and gold standard vs. silver at the California Air Resources Board (CARB) last week, but I‘m still not sure who won. The arguments were technical, but the cognitive conflict at the 11-hour-marathon hearing was as primeval as Cain and Abel’s.You really had […]
Role Call
The little gray man in the red tie came to the LAPD Rampart Station to bury Police Commission President Gerry Chaleff, but he didn’t have the guts to tell us that on Friday. Instead he talked about a new pension plan, a higher LAPD entry salary (already in excess of what LAUSD teachers receive, but […]
1 Person, 0 Vote
The Los Angeles City Council voted against both the letter and the spirit of the new city charter last week. The issue was whether to appoint a temporary 13th District City Council replacement, as the charter requires.By their vote, council members declared the vacancy to be no big deal. Nor is the ACLU‘s pending federal […]
Pacoima Reality Check
Wrong but Romantic; Right but Repulsive. This is the way we were taught, in the border state of Missouri, to view the respectively Southern and Northern sides in the Civil War. Back before we realized that the conflict had more to do with the future of African-Americans in this nation.We were then taught that the […]
The Hollywood 10-plus
This, the most varied Los Angeles City Council district, has predictably attracted one of the most diverse collections of council candidates ever to run. Yes, there are 13 distinct contenders in the 13th District, which includes not only the Hollywood entertainment capital, but just about every known aspect of Southland culture, population and geography except […]
Willie Williams Rerun?
It is hard to remember a local reputation fading as rapidly as LAPD Chief Bernard Parks’.For more than a year, Parks‘ aloof pride — or was it hubris? — insulated him from the Rampart scandal and the ensuing municipal crisis. Parks stood apart from the apparent double failure of the LAPD: first, to reform itself, […]
Take Me to the River
It is not yet a done deal. But if Governor Gray Davis authorizes a hard-sought $30 million state-parks grant, downtown Los Angeles will soon have its first serious new green space since the City Hall lawn opened in 1928.We are talking of the Chinatown Yard Settlement agreement here, resulting from an amazing, surprise deal last […]
The Yes Man & the No Man
Joel Wachs likes to say no. For instance, while discussing the Belmont Learning Complex with the Weekly’s editorial board, he grants a glimpse into how his mind sometimes works toward the negative. He’s just said that he’d strongly oppose using the costly, controversial L.A. Unified site for education unless it could be proven that it […]