Recently in Commentary
Commentary:
In fighting to protect redevelopment, cities may have created a worse problem.
Commentary:
At a time when people are struggling to feed and care for themselves, should we be worried about whether the walls look pretty?
Commentary:
Claiming "carbon neutrality" for a massive construction project that will have a usable life measured in decades is beyond the ability of good science (and common sense), but it sounds good in press briefings.
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Is the project worthwhile? At $1.5 billion, the price tag for the second phase of the project is nothing to sneeze at.
Commentary:
Farmers Field and Ed Roski's competing stadium proposal are bad for you because they have been used to accelerate a game-changing shift in land use authority.
Commentary:
The industry that helped put L.A. on the map is now asking our state legislators to extend tax credits for producing low- and moderate-budget television shows and films in California.
Commentary:
Disasters are highly educational, but it's not clear if the instruction offered by the disaster that is Vernon will be of any use, either to cities or the democratic process.
Commentary:
The consequences of what unites us also befuddles us.
Commentary:
Not the mayoralty that Villaraigosa imagined: The mayor has a new chief of staff - Gaye Williams, once a deputy mayor for Intergovernmental Relations in the long-ago Riordan administration. Like the several chiefs of staff before her, Williams has...
LA Vitamin Report:
A bike sharing is on the table in Los Angeles. Let's not stick with the conventional wisdom.
Commentary:
Vernon has been so corrupt for so long that, were it not for the gross malfeasance of Bell city officials, Vernon would be the dictionary definition of a city without legitimacy.
Commentary:
The last time mayoral candidates ran for an open seat was 2001. In that race six candidates spent slightly over $20 million. Even in a bad economy, we could easily see similar, if not higher, spending for the 2013 election.
Commentary:
The politics of taxation in California make it almost impossible to raise general revenues for the common good. The alternatives are fees and fines, including tougher parking enforcement, new code violation fines, new sign fees, new ambulance fees, and new fire department cost recovery fees.
LA Vitamin Report:
Norman Advertising's bus bench contract expired nearly two years ago. Why is the city council just getting around to dealing with it now?
Commentary:
Just when you thought we were almost done talking about redistricting, it's time to refuel and prepare for another round of discussions about legislative line drawing - this time on the local level.
Commentary:
The Los Angeles City Council and the County Board of Supervisors both held meetings on Tuesday, with outcomes that could be described as game changing:
Commentary:
Forever young. Los Angeles still sells itself to the world with that increasingly ironic branding. Yet for most of the 20th century, it was true. Because our urbanization began only in the late 1880s, Los Angeles was still youthful...
Commentary:
The current deal to bring a football stadium to downtown L.A. is better than the bad one AEG asked the city council to accept uncritically six months ago. But it's not as good a deal as Los Angeles deserves.
Commentary:
After committing ethical violations, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa raised private funds to cover the fines.
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