Anthony Samad: Villaraigosa said the unions are “one unwavering roadblock to reform.” He is right on that point. They have been and will be. But he is wrong to have waited so long to speak.
Enthusiasm Gap? What Enthusiasm Gap?
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Sylvia Moore: Sometimes the ones we love need understanding and time to make things right. Obama has only had less than two years to turn around an economy and society that took the GOP 30 years to destroy. And, he is hamstrung by an archaic, corrupt and dysfunctional political system that desperately needs fundamental structural reform.
It’s Time To Remember Tom Bradley
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Michael Sigman: It’s disheartening to see our current mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa ferociously pursue the elitist corporate emphasis of Bradley’s later years without the bravery and creativity of Bradley’s earlier service.
Why So Few Progressive Mayors?
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Randy Shaw: Progressive candidates develop a laundry list of public programs that energize the progressive base. But this agenda is seen as economically unrealistic by the business community and more moderate voters, who are then easily persuaded that the progressive mayoral candidate will increase their taxes to achieve their goals.
California Assembly Outdoes the LAUSD and City of L.A. in Sending Mixed Message with AB 1832
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Jasmyne A. Cannick: While Californians were fixated on Tiger Woods and the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor Monday, the State Assembly took a unified step in stifling the voice of the People to bring about change
The Living Wage, Affordable Housing, Subsidies, Public Works, and the Myth of Job Creation
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Ron Kaye: Antonio Villaraigosa once held the promise of being the leader who could bring us to this promised land. Maybe he still can but not as long as keeps on looking to enrich his friends and allies at the expense of others, not as long as keeps looking for his next job, not as long as travels the world rather than attending to his duties, not as long as he keeps thinking the people are fools who will fall for hollow promises.
Arnold: Aid for Rape Victims Costs Too Much
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Despite Shriver’s political agenda, and amid a raft of budget cuts affecting women and children – including $16 million from domestic violence programs and $50 million from Healthy Families – the rape kit veto underscored the message that women in California count for less in the Schwarzenegger regime.
No Villaraigosa for Governor: LA Needs a Full-Time Mayor
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It’s been a while since I’ve been on the same page at the same time with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. As one of the few black stakeholders who backed his losing bid in 2001, and returned to support him in 2005, only to have to bash him for engaging in token reciprocity with the [...]
Judging Mister Mayor: Los Angeles Magazine’s Rip of Antonio Villaraigosa Put in Perspective
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Los Angeles magazine slapped the word “Failure” across a photo of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the cover of its June issue. This was not only a cheap shot, meant to grab attention and sell magazines, but also a misleading assessment of Villaraigosa’s track record after one term. The article expressed disappointment, even bitterness, that [...]
Antonio’s State of the City: Can’t We All Get Along — It’s Now or Never
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Here’s my favorite line from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s “State of the City” speech Tuesday: “When challenges seem daunting, it’s always helpful to recall the old Japanese proverb: ‘Adversity is the foundation of virtue.’ ” My personal favorite proverb comes from my mother: “Actions speak louder than words.” I’ve been struggling since last night to put [...]
A Year Without a Newspaper — The Best Year of My Life
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Exactly one year ago Saturday I was fired as Editor of the Daily News, the newspaper I devoted 23 years of my life to, and like everybody else who worked there during that time, endured just about everything imaginable to be able to keep my job and put out the best newspaper I could for [...]
Do Democrats Have a Plan for California?
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California is not doing very well. It has the largest budget deficit of any state, and its funding of schools, health care, transportation and other basic services is held hostage by far right-wing Republicans. Yet California is staunchly Democratic in presidential and U.S. Senate races, and produced the greatest number of Obama volunteers of any [...]
LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer Speaks After Ouster
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In his first public appearance since his contract was bought out by the Los Angeles Board of Education, Superintendent David Brewer said his ouster will only make a bad situation worse
Mayor Villaraigosa, Please Help Our Neighbors
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In Los Angeles Zipcode 90042, there are 385 families that may be evicted before the holidays. Of these, 211 live in bank-owned properties, 59 have homes that up for auction, and 115 have homes in foreclosure. We encourage you to sign Motion 07-2438-69, which was proposed by City Council President Eric Garcetti, seconded by Councilmember [...]
Superintendent David Brewer’s Report Card: It’s the LA Times That Fails to Make the Grade
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The Los Angeles Times has rarely offered a fair and balanced portrayal of the black community. It usually was (is) a strategic player in the witch hunt to depose black leaders, no matter who they were (are). Whether it was former Lt Governor Mervyn Dymally, the late Mayor Tom Bradley, former Police Chief Willie Williams, [...]
Where Is California’s Barack Obama?
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Fresh off a thrilling presidential campaign, California Democrats face a Governor’s race without a candidate that can rally a multi-racial, class-crossing grassroots base. The three most talked about candidates — Dianne Feinstein, Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom — neither offer a sharply new direction nor provide the transformational message that was at the heart of [...]
Keeping Hope – and Housing – Alive in LA
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Wall Street is in meltdown. Banks are collapsing. Developers can’t get loans to build homes. Housing values are plummeting. Millions of Americans are facing foreclosure.
South Central Community Farm: Not Dead Yet
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When I lived in New York City, I used to marvel at the weeds that would force their way up through sidewalk cracks. What a will to live, I thought: From clumps of dirt crammed between concrete slabs, these vigorous shoots fended off the hard, slapping heels of a thousand rushing city dwellers, just to [...]
Will A Black President Dispel the Need For Diversity?
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The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States will be viewed by many as accomplishing racial diversity’s last frontier. The politics of diversity carries a heavy stigma, particularly in the post-affirmative action era.
Expo Line: Different Strokes for Different Folks?
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“Building Safe and Community Responsive Rail Lines: An Expo Line Update” was the topic of this month’s Urban Issues Breakfast Forum held at the Staples Center Lexus lounge this week. Usually held on the fourth Friday of each month, the forum gives community activists, politicians, local residents, and business owners a chance to break bread [...]
It’s Not Just McArthur Park
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Violent May Day Immigration Rights Rally rganized as a peaceful May Day March and immigration rights rally, the events held at MacArthur Park last week turned violent when members of the Los Angeles Police stormed into the mostly peaceful crowd of workers, activists, media, and immigrants at the Los Angeles rally. Today’s technology facilitated the [...]
Gunfire Down Below
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Gang Violence in Highland Park When my husband Dick and I moved into our hilltop home in the Mount Washington community of Los Angeles, we were thrilled. Looking north across Highland Park, Glendale, Eagle Rock, and Pasadena, it has a spectacular view to the San Gabriel Mountains beyond. It took a week or so to [...]
Battling Gang Violence
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Despite decades of governmental and grassroots efforts, a drumbeat of gang-related killings over the past several years, some apparently racially motivated, has driven gang violence to epidemic proportions here in Los Angeles. With gang crime rising 15.7% last year even as other types of serious crime fell, Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa has proposed appointing a gang [...]
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