Category Archives: City Hall

Why Government Robs You Blind: Because It Can — They Make and Enforce the Laws and Frighten You into Submission

Posted on June 10, 2013 by

Between pass-throughs and rate hikes and surcharges and transfers to other uses, you might have noticed your bills for water and power have been soaring for years. You ain’t seen nothing yet — utilities are the certain cash cow for … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, DWP, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

My Sunday Column: Giving into IBEW Blackmail or Fighting It — With Rates Soaring, the Moment of Truth Is Near

Posted on June 8, 2013 by

In Glendale, utility workers found their paychecks a little smaller last week — the price of the inability of their union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18, to negotiate an initial contract two years after winning the right … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, DWP, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | 10 Comments

The Antonio to Eric Handoff: LA’s Quality of Life Disaster — Deregulating Planning, Zoning and Building Code Enforcement

Posted on June 3, 2013 by

EDITOR’S NOTE: Former LA City Planner Dick Platkin, now Adjunct Instructor of City Planning at USC’s Price School of Social Policy, originally wrote this article on the devastating impact of the merger of LA Planning and Building and Safety Department … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 LA Elections, City Hall, Development/CRA, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , , | 43 Comments

My Sunday Column: The Valley’s Missed Opportunity

Posted on June 1, 2013 by

The meeting started late and it started badly, with a 10-minute argument about approving the minutes of the last meeting. Then it headed downhill. Issues that were raised were sent to committees for further study, though no one was quite … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Community Activists, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics, LA County, Los Angeles, The Valley | Tagged | 11 Comments

My Sunday Column: Memorial Day’s Lost Meaning Relevant Again — Healing the Wounds of a Nation Divided Against Itself

Posted on May 25, 2013 by

In the dismal Los Angeles election cycle that mercifully concluded on May 21, much was made about the lack of women in high places if Wendy Greuel didn’t win the mayor’s race. Greuel herself played the gender card over and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Election, 2013 LA Elections, City Hall, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | 30 Comments

Happy Days Are Here Again in This Temple of Democracy

Posted on May 22, 2013 by

Sunshine peeks through the clouds, the cynics with all their money and power vanish to their private enclaves, double-dipping Dennis Zine roars off on his Harley to his posh desert hideaway never to be seen again — the costliest, most tediously painful, anti-climactic … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Election, 2013 LA Elections, City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , | 43 Comments

This Is Matrix City — Blue Pill or Red Pill: The Choice Is Yours

Posted on May 21, 2013 by

  It really doesn’t matter how you vote today, whether you vote for a pixie like Wendy or a pixie like Eric, a user like Feuer or a mooch like Nuch, a swine like Zine or a right Ron named … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Election, 2013 LA Elections, City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

My Sunday Column: Brains, talent, too much ambition — Paul Krekorian Angers Many in Little Armenia by Role in CD 13 Race

Posted on May 19, 2013 by

In the costliest and most vicious City Council race of the Los Angeles election season, the battle for Hollywood has shattered beliefs about Armenian solidarity, with Paul Krekorian‘s role seen as causing deep rifts in the community. Little Armenia in … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Election, 2013 LA Elections, City Hall, Community Activists, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Elect Mike Feuer as City Attorney — Who Better Than a Crook as L.A.’s Chief Prosecutor and Law Enforcement Officer

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

Putting weaklings without courage like Greuel or Garcetti into the mayor’s office is a problem, a big problem. Putting a two-faced scoundrel like Zine in the controller’s office as the public’s watchdog when he’s nothing but a yapping Chihuahua is … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Election, 2013 LA Elections, City Hall, Community Activists, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments

The Right Choice Is The Only Choice: Eric Garcetti for Mayor

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

I don’t know how there can be any question about who is the best person to be mayor of LA, given the choice between easiest to manipulate and easiest to intimidate. Maybe as supporters – it would be incorrect to … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Election, 2013 LA Elections, City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | 30 Comments