Category Archives: The Valley

Why Do We Leave It to Gadflies to Speak for Us? Because THEY (Our Officials) Don’t Give a Damn about What WE want?

Posted on June 3, 2012 by

This is part three of an extensive interview on the issues that face us and what we must do if we want government at all levels to serve us and not special interests. Go to Leslie Dutton’s Full Disclosure Network … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012 Election, 2013 Election, 2013 LA Elections, City Hall, Community Activists, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics, LA County, Los Angeles, The Valley | 2 Comments

What’s in a Name? City Hall By Any Other Name Would Still Be Just as Corrupt

Posted on February 27, 2012 by

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was written for Nina Royal’s North Valley Reporter. In days of yore, public buildings were named for the dead, people who had lived distinguished lives and deserved in some small way to be remembered and honored. … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles, The Valley | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

The Trouble with Charlie: Murders Are Up, Cop Attacks Are Up, the Politicians Own Him

Posted on December 20, 2011 by

Charlie Beck fits the bill of what this mayor looks for in a top manager: Speed and obedience to the will of corrupt politicians like himself and his colleagues in other city offices. What makes it so difficult for Beck … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles, The Valley | Tagged , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

LA’s Perpetual Gerrymander and the Preservation of Political Failure

Posted on August 23, 2011 by

Gerrymander: 1812, Gerry + (sala)mander. Elbridge Gerry, governor of Massachusetts, was lampooned when his party redistricted the state in a blatant bid to preserve an Anti-federalist majority. One Essex County district resembled a salamander, and a newspaper editor dubbed it Gerrymander.  It was 1992 … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Community Activists, Hot Topics, LAUSD, Los Angeles, The Valley | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

They Corrupted Reform, Beat Secession, Rejected Fair Elections — Maybe Boroughs Could Save L.A.

Posted on July 27, 2011 by

The one idea that keeps coming back through all the efforts to solve the fundamental political disconnect preventing L.A. from realizing its greatness is Boroughs — the diffusion of power from City Hall to the communities in a way that … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Community Activists, Hot Topics, The Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 21 Comments

Antonio’s Exit Strategy: Countdown to Midnight June 30, 2013

Posted on May 24, 2011 by

With one foot in a cast and the other in the political grave, Antonio Villaraigosa hobbled into the lion’s den of San Fernando Valley unrest Monday night and offered a little song, a little dance and a lot of seltzer … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Community Activists, Hot Topics, Los Angeles, The Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Power, Money and the Trashing of LA’s Neighbohroods — Targeting Woodland Hills

Posted on October 4, 2010 by

He likes to call himself the “Z-man” and even “Super-Z” — a traffic cop who’s become a City Councilman who is seen by many of his colleagues and constituents as a double-talking and two-faced servant of unions, developers and other … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Community Activists, Development/CRA, Hot Topics, Los Angeles, The Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Systemic Failure: Why Billions for Public Transit Hasn’t Worked

Posted on July 23, 2010 by

In the city of Bell, residents finally rose up and threw out the bums who were ripping them off. In Venice and Eagle Rock, residents mutter about what so many in the San Fernando Valley still yearn for: Seceding from … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Community Activists, DWP, Hot Topics, LA Clean Sweep, Los Angeles, The Valley | Tagged , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Do the Seven Community Candidates Stand a Chance Tuesday in CD2?

Posted on September 19, 2009 by

CHELSEA CODYOurLA News and Information Director I first met Michael McCue at a coffee shop in Studio City. He was rifling through a thick folder of paperwork, his glasses perched at the tip of his nose. His signature navy blue … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Community Activists, Los Angeles, The Valley | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Hills are on Fire: A first-person account

Posted on October 18, 2008 by

Editor’s Note: Two North Valley mobile home parks were engulfed by this week’s brush fires. At Sky Terrace Mobile Lodge, where residents already were under siege from a developer, dozens of homes were destroyed. Down the raod at Blue Star … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Activists, The Valley | 7 Comments