Approaching 80, I Learned to Speak Millennial-ese
Ready for anything at the age of 78, I sold my home on the edge of Ventura County and moved into a downtown Los Angeles high-rise full of millennials and dogs. A demographic poster child for DTLA I’m not, given that my neighbors are in their 30s. And 80 percent of them work downtown, making […]
Some Changes to Expect Under a Trump Administration
As the Trump team contemplates relocation to Washington it isn’t too early to look ahead to some of the changes he would institute. While it is not possible to foresee all of them since the programs and solutions under a Trump Administration have yet to be revealed, and a few might not survive constitutional challenge, […]
Same Publication, Different Headlines on Prop 13
The Los Angeles Times ran columnist Michael Hiltzik’s story on the Legislative Analyst’s Office new report on Proposition 13 Monday but someone glancing at the print headline as opposed to the online headline would come away with a different impression. The print headline read: Prop 13’s effects remain unclear. The digital headline read: Four decades later, […]
A Very Dark U.S. Senate Debate
In saying the one and only scheduled debate of our Democrat-on-Democrat U.S Senate contest was dark, I’m not talking about the rhetoric or the visions of the future. I’m literally talking about TV picture. The debate took place on the lovely hillside campus of Cal State Los Angeles, a place with many beautiful event spaces. […]
Rent Control: The Failed Concept is Rearing its Ugly Head, Again
In response to California’s housing crisis, housing advocates are calling for price controls – specifically a cap on rents. It’s a popular reprise: “Blame it on the landlords” and hold them responsible. The critics of high rents say those who provide the housing are guilty of manipulating circumstances and are lining their pockets. Indeed, the […]
Janet Napolitano Rebukes Speech Police on College Campuses
With a single op-ed, UC chief Janet Napolitano has become an unlikely ally of conservative and traditionalist critics of the speech-policing movement among campus crusaders nationwide. In a Boston Globe op-ed entitled “It’s time to free speech on campus again,” Napolitano unburdened herself of judgments she appeared to have been forming over the past several years in […]
Virtual landlord unlocks campaign websites—for a fee
Andrew Naylor was working at a digital advertising firm in Silicon Valley when the “a-ha” moment struck. It was 2008, and money—more than $83 million—was gushing into the advertising world as Californians prepared to vote on Prop. 8, the measure to limit marriage to heterosexual couples (later ruled unconstitutional.) “I saw what was happening with […]
Post-Veep Debate Wisdom (Not Much)
There was no knockout in the Vice Presidential debate. It didn’t move the electoral needle much—if at all. GOP nominee Governor Mike Pence scored the most points on style, but Senator Tim Kaine probably edged him on substance points. However, from the start, this campaign has been more about style than substance. Governor Pence’s performance […]
Reading Ballot Initiatives –You, Too, Can Be Attorney General
No need to bother with appointing an attorney general to replace Kamala Harris once she’s elected to the U.S. Senate. There’s already big money behind several campaigns to give me the job. And it’s not just me. Rich Californians and interest groups want to give you the power of the attorney general, too. This desire […]