Interviewing Andy Weissman can be like picking up your favorite newspaper and reading the lead story.

You need not grope for substance or context.

After good morning, he writes your story. Broadly and straight down the center aisle, he grasps issues.

Explaining issues with practiced clarity, he is equally comfortable defining hopelessly muddied matters and single-steppers.

No matter his age or current status around City Hall, he always has been the papa-type whom all were drawn to because his knowledge runs deep, and you can hold your breath as he compactly answers a thorny challenge.

Mr. Weissman has served on more civic commissions than anyone since Julie Caesar.

It has not escaped the attention of important persons that the two-term City Councilman, term-limited a year ago April, is eligible to run next year.

The changing fabric of the Inglewood Oil Field, Culver City’s sub-10 percent slice, is the blue ribbon story of the moment.

City Hall has spent the last 2½ years determining how to prevent or reduce allegedly problematic odors from the oil field.

“The whole purpose of the environmental impact process,” Mr. Weissman said, “is to create a set of oil drilling regulations that provide maximum protection of the health, welfare and safety of community.

“The reason the city is releasing documents now is because of a failure on the part of the oil company and city to reach agreement on how to jointly move forward.

“They may or may not be releasing the draft oil drilling regulations at the same time.”

Sentinel Peak Resources set off alarm bells last week at 6 a.m. on the day of a heavily promoted special showdown meeting with the City Council over the smoothest path to regulations both sides could accept.

Immediately insoluble confusion erupted.

Why did the oil company quit negotiations a dozen hours ahead of a public showdown?

Mr. Weissman tackles that mammoth, cloudy task next.

(To be continued)