The buttoned-up and supposedly boring vice presidential candidates turned in a ripper of a debate last night, yet another fascinating twist in a wholly unpredictable campaign. Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence clashed early and often in Farmville, Va., battling to be heard over one another as they let loose with attacks against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Here … Read More
Greenberg Calls Culver City an Ethical Desert
City Atty. Carol Schwab is flanked by former councilman Andy Weissman, right, and former councilman Mehaul O'Leary.
Culver City is an ethical desert due to lack of state-mandated ethics training and City Atty. Carol Schwab’s lax attitude toward ethics. In matters involving factual determinations, the City Council is legally required to be a “reasonably impartial, noninvolved reviewer.” Politics and common law bias—“an interest … of such importance [] that it could have influenced [] judgment”—are verboten. At … Read More
Can Caruso Make It Work?
Rendering of Mr. Caruso’s dream. Graphic, Rosalie Wayne.
Deegan on L.A. — Rick Caruso has a long and sentimental history with his property at 333 S. La Cienega Blvd., (currently the site of the shuttered Loehmann’s department store.) It’s the first property he owned. It’s where he washed cars as a kid at his dad’s dollar-a-day car rental business. And, it’s where he dreams of building his newest … Read More
If Only Garcetti Were Serious About the Homeless
L.A. Watchdog — Mayor Garcetti and the Herb Wesson-led City Council are using the homeless issue to pick our pockets for almost $2 billion over the next 30 years. The reason: To cover up their abject failure to make this unfortunate situation a priority in the city’s budget over the last four years. If Prop. HHH (Homeless Reduction and Prevention, … Read More
Unions Flop on Police on Campuses
Police on campus – right or wrong? Photo, Getty Images
The Dignity in Schools Campaign, a coalition of more than 100 civil rights groups, has called for the removal of all law enforcement officers from the nation’s public schools. “The presence of police in schools has escalated dramatically in the last several decades, and the figures on arrests and referrals to law enforcement show disproportionate targeting of black and Latino … Read More
Immigrant Loves America Because Everything Is Free
Third in a series. Re: “My Sad Surprise En Route to the Beach” As my friend and I were walking on the warm sands at Santa Monica beach, my friendwas telling me about her recent trip to Iran. I listened patiently. I wanted to learn. This is what sociologist researchers do. Finally, though, my patience ended. I couldn’t take more. … Read More
Replay That Tune with a Latin Beat
Mr. Elias
As California enters the heart of an election year where the Top Two primary system has saddled the state’s Republican Party with new problems at several political and governmental levels, the GOP still clings to one big pipe dream: Despite the anti-immigrant, anti-Mexican rhetoric of presidential nominee Donald Trump, the GOP persists in hoping to cut into the gigantic majorities … Read More
After Screaming, Look at the Numbers
Graphic: Associated Press
While liberals heatedly debate whether climate change or fossil fuels will erase all homo sapiens from the earth first, another favored crowd of Los Angeles extremists spawned this screaming headline: “Hate Crimes Surge in Los Angeles County in 2015.” Hide the women. Send the children to live with distant relatives. Is it safe to be outdoors after lunch? Has North … Read More
Hahn Logic Tastes of Pretzels
Ms. Hahn
The Guss Report –In any political campaign, there are legions of highly paid professionals who know every nuanced rule about campaign finance, and it is their job to maximize that knowledge for their clients. Sometimes, this political set makes patently absurd interpretations of those rules to give their clients an unfair and sometimes illegal advantage. When they do, the local … Read More
Building a Better Little House
A typical sukkah, where Jews eat (and some sleep) during the week-long holiday that starts Oct. 16. four days after Yom Kippur. Photo: beliefnet.com
My passion this week is building a better little house in the backyard. Each year around this time, for the past 40 years, I have built a variety of temporary little houses in the backyard. The houses, or sukkahs, were built to commemorate the 40-year wanderings of the Israelites in the desert. It is with some excitement that in this, … Read More