Brian Doherty
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Our new/old Governor Jerry Brown is inaugurated into a job that promises to be more trouble than even this old pol can skillfully navigate.
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The 20-year struggle to get a shopping center built at Slauson and Central reveals long-standing problems with the politics of development in L.A.
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Despite a staggering economy, the number of murders in L.A. has fallen to 1967 levels--which given our 30 percent population rise since then, a murder rate even lower than that.
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Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner wants to streamline L.A.'s planning process through "simultaneous processing," developers still complain that getting something built in L.A. can take twice as long as in other cities, and will even if Beutner gets his way.
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Trish Ploehn loses her job as head of L.A. County's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) because of the agency's troubles--but settles into another county job at over a quarter million a year salary.
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Downtown giant AEG plans to either get a downtown football stadium moving, or give up, within months. But experts doubt whether that plan will guarantee anything good for downtown's economic health as a whole.
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Since Prop. 19 failed to fully legalize adult possession, use, and small growth, Obama's Department of Justice is showing an increased desire to interfere with the state medical system.
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A state Senate investigation finds over 100 members of the state Office of Inspector General, charged with investigating state prisons, armed and perked as full-fledged "peace officers" for no apparent good reason.
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The City Council after much repetition and last-minute changes approves 10 ballot measures for L.A. voter approval in March.
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While votes remain to be counted, after weeks of uncertainty our County D.A. Steve Cooley has conceded the victory in the statewide Attorney General race to San Francisco's Kamala Harris.
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A new plan pushed through the City Council could end citizen and Neighborhood Councils ability to speak up during the city planning process.
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L.A. imposes a midnight-5 a.m. curfew on its beaches, but the state Coastal Commission has told the city they can't do that.
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Seven city council seats--the most valuable city wide public office in America!--are up for grabs in March (one with no incumbent), and L.A Unified School District and L.A. Community College District seats are in contention as well. The full candidate slates are now official.
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Students rebel against a 8 percent tuition hike to overcome some short-time budget shortfalls; meanwhile, the University of California system faces a truly daunting nearly $30 billion in unfunded pension and health care liabilities.
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In a little more than month, the state of California lost over $6 billion in ground on its latest budget. With the deficit now thought to be $25.4 billion, Gov. Schwarzenegger calls a special session of the legislature.
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As control of state government switches hands, some old problems continue to haunt: for one, a likely $16 billion in debt to the federal government by 2012, from whom California is borrowing to make unemployment benefit payouts.
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California is still the same place, if unseasonably hot; but pot is still illegal for non-patients, our greenhouse gas legislation is still in place, Barbara Boxer is still our senator, and Jerry Brown is still our governor (after that nearly 20 year gap in which he wasn't...) and someone will be our new Attorney General as current one Brown returns to his old job, but we're not sure who yet.
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Californians bring a blessed end to this year's election season today, and voters get a chance to surprise in what the Los Angeles Times calls "the closest California campaigns in decades."
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Pro- and anti-Proposition 19 forces plan a final ad blitz for Tuesday's election, though polls show the formerly strong adult marijuana legalization measure (which will allow localities to tax and regulate it as they please) losing support.
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In the wake of a new indictment of a Vernon city official, the tiny (pop. 90), corruption-prone city south of downtown L.A. is facing an attack from L.A. County D.A. (and Republican state Attorney General candidate) Steve Cooley on its very existence as a city.
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Facing a crushing pension obligation problem, Mayor Villaraigosa tries to save the city's future by suggesting a mild reform of pension outlays for future police and firefighter hires.
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I was recently annoyed to find another block of Hollywood's nightlife area (at Cahuenga between Sunset and Hollywood) barred from nighttime parking entirely, part of a long-continuing tightening of legal or affordable parking in that area that depends on a flow of humans for its economic health. But UCLA urban planning professor Donald Shoup argues raising the cost of parking is good for cities.
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As Proposition 23, which would overturn California's 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, is being outspent nearly two to one by its environmentalist enemies.
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The "Downtown 2020" summit presented of an L.A. downtown denser with people and culture and entertainment options. But who would pay, and who would profit, from this vision?
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California's governing classes finally pass the latest state; it leaves a spending deficit of at least $10 billion that will probably grow to a lot more.
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When firing teachers in the L.A. school system goes by strict seniority-based "last hired, first fired," they can disporportionately effect schools whose teaching bodies are made up of newer teachers. A new court settlement will violate strict seniority rules in firing in those cases, and the teachers unions are threatening to sue to protect seniority
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An L.A. Times investigation finds rampant waste and crony dealings and not nearly enough affordable housing in California city redevelopment agencies allegedly dedicated to the latter goal.
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Posted Schwarzenegger Signs Pot Decriminalization Bill, But Vetoes Lifesaving Measures Regarding Other Drugs
in VoicesGov. Schwarzenegger signs bill reducing possession of less than an ounce of marijuana to a mere infraction (less than a misdemeanor) punishable by merely fines up to $100, and no jail time. But he vetoed various bills related to other illegal drugs, such as to liberalize access to needles or reduce the legal risk of reporting overdoses to authorities. -
Gubernatorial candidates Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman held their first public debate last night at UC-Davis.
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Public relations chaos haunts the very popular downtown Artwalk, as it is apparently killed and then revived over the course of the weekend.
Recent Actions from Brian Doherty
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Our new/old Governor Jerry Brown is inaugurated into a job that promises to be more trouble than even this old pol can skillfully navigate.
-
The 20-year struggle to get a shopping center built at Slauson and Central reveals long-standing problems with the politics of development in L.A.
-
Despite a staggering economy, the number of murders in L.A. has fallen to 1967 levels--which given our 30 percent population rise since then, a murder rate even lower than that.
-
Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner wants to streamline L.A.'s planning process through "simultaneous processing," developers still complain that getting something built in L.A. can take twice as long as in other cities, and will even if Beutner gets his way.
-
Trish Ploehn loses her job as head of L.A. County's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) because of the agency's troubles--but settles into another county job at over a quarter million a year salary.
-
Downtown giant AEG plans to either get a downtown football stadium moving, or give up, within months. But experts doubt whether that plan will guarantee anything good for downtown's economic health as a whole.
-
Since Prop. 19 failed to fully legalize adult possession, use, and small growth, Obama's Department of Justice is showing an increased desire to interfere with the state medical system.
-
A state Senate investigation finds over 100 members of the state Office of Inspector General, charged with investigating state prisons, armed and perked as full-fledged "peace officers" for no apparent good reason.
-
The City Council after much repetition and last-minute changes approves 10 ballot measures for L.A. voter approval in March.
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While votes remain to be counted, after weeks of uncertainty our County D.A. Steve Cooley has conceded the victory in the statewide Attorney General race to San Francisco's Kamala Harris.
