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December 3, 2021 - Smoke signals from health and political officials point to closings and lockdowns in the coming weeks and months over fear of the new Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that was (unsurprisingly) detected in Los Angeles County on Thursday. Our local Health and Fear Czar, Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health, stated in a press release yesterday that "we have always known there would be more mutations, resulting in the possibility of a...

For the last year, District Attorney George Gascon has pursued two related goals. First, send as few people to prison or jail as possible. Also first, let as many people out of jail or prison as quickly as possible. When you view his first year in office through this lens, everything suddenly makes sense: his staffing picks; his permissive sentencing directives; his let-'em-out-now, ask-questions-later approach to re-sentencing and post-conviction litigation; his reckless...

December 7, 2021 - In response to a direct media request, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released information about the number of Covid-19 cases among vaccinated residents that throw into doubt the rationale for vaccine mandates. Over the span between November 15 and November 27, there were more Covid cases among the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. 64.9% of cases were in vaccinated individuals. The November 27 statistics from LACDPH show: Total...

We have all gone through collective trauma as a result of COVID. In August the SMMUSD School Board approved the COVID Surveillance Program that included the required weekly PCR test along with the indoor and outdoor masking of our children in order for them to receive in person public education. Many parents felt coerced to consent to the PCR test in order to have their children return to in-person schools. The Covid Surveillance Program was put together quickly to address...

December 7, 2021 - Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon proudly announced yesterday the charging of a Los Angeles man with the murder of Jacqueline Avant. This particular press release was a vast departure for the "criminal justice reform" DA, whose press releases rarely involve boasts about catching violent criminals. His more recent press releases include information about a restorative justice project, an anti-racism initiative, and moves to reform juvenile...

The following letter was sent to the entire city council, the city manager, and police chief. Chief Batista and City Manager White both replied with thanks to the author. A. SHORT TERM (IMMEDIATE) Objective: Stabilize safety 1) Update the current requirement of property and/or business owners having to renew the NO SITTING OR LYING IN THE ENTRANCE NOTICE from every 30 to 45 days, to INDEFINITELY. This would immediately create a uniform enforcement environment which would...

December 6, 2021 - The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced today they have discovered a second individual in the area who is infected with the new Omicron variant (B.1.1.529). The infected individual is a college student returning from holiday travel to the East Coast. This person is fully vaccinated and experiencing mild symptoms. County officials have concluded, "based on travel history," that it is "likely" the infection was acquired outside of Los Ange...

UPDATE:The Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) is offering a $20,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer of twelve-year-old Alexander Alvarado who was shot and killed in Wilmington on Monday. Los Angeles (CA) Yesterday, a young boy was shot and killed, and a 4th-grade girl and a 20-year-old woman were shot in Los Angeles in the same incident. This is the just the latest example of the rampant gun violence gripping our city. Despite the...

December 7, 2021 - The third case of Omicron infection has been detected in Los Angeles County, according to health officials. We predict they will stop telling us about each new case detected by the beginning of next week because there will be too many of them. This particular case is in a person who recently traveled in West Africa. The individual is fully vaccinated, as were the other two Omicron cases in the county. Mild symptoms are reported. Of the other two cases, one...

Los Angeles and San Francisco have been hammered by a brazen crime trend: the "smash-and-grab" robbery. A pack of thieves, armed with sledgehammers, smash their way into a high-end store, grab tens of tens of thousands of dollars of merchandise, and flee with the loot. Retailers are doing what they can to protect themselves and their customers. They have hired extra security, put up barriers, and created "checkpoints" to regulate access. Some people have blamed this crisis on...

Artist Ed Massey's statue titled "In the Image," of a seven-foot-tall homeless homeless man was knocked down by vandals around November 30, almost exactly three years after the supposedly temporary statue was erected at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and 26th Street. The artwork took the place of a sculpture of a family of mother, father, and children dancing in a fountain, a work that stood for decades in front of the one-time bank building on that corner. Mayor Lou Ellen...

When the World Health Organization held a press conference regarding the latest variant of concern, Omicron, on November 26, every health department in the country knew they had to issue a response to the most recent panic trigger. Los Angeles County's Department of Public Health was no exception. Like every other official health organization, their reaction is irrational, based on nothing more than the preservation of their reputations and power. "We have uncertainty about...

November 17, 2021 - On Monday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health allowed the public one of its sporadic looks at the data regarding Covid-19 infections and deaths among the fully vaccinated. This extremely relevant data is not on the health department's otherwise transparent and extensive Covid data dashboard. The last time such data was released was 10 days ago. As of November 15, 2021, the statistics from the LA County Department of Public Health show:...

November 17, 2021 - On Saturday, two patrons of Dagwoods Pizza were robbed during the lunch hour by a man claiming to have a gun. The two men were seated on the outdoor patio of the restaurant located just east of Lincoln Boulevard on Wilshire when they were approached by what the surveillance video shows to be a heavyset black man with a backpack. The man, later identified as Jamar Daniels, 39, allegedly told the two men he had a gun. After robbing them of an undisclosed...

Public seating has been removed from the Third Street Promenade from Monday through Thursday. The chairs are replaced over the weekend when more actual shoppers arrive to spend time there. "Unhoused individuals...appeared to be monopolizing the chairs," Downtown Santa Monica Inc spokesperson Kevin Herrerra reportedly told The Santa Monica Sun. The move was suggested originally by business and property owners along the Promenade, according to property owner John Alle. "The...

Saving the United States Postal Service and stopping disingenuous forces from dismantling and privatizing it must be a national priority. We have witnessed the destruction of our post office and that must end, service levels must be restored and expanded, postage rates reduced; PO box rental prices slashed and new PO boxes added, local post offices re-opened, mail boxes that this postmaster general blatantly confiscated weeks before a national election must all be returned;...

As of November 2021, a majority of developing countries have vaccinated less than a quarter of their populations. The Biden administration needs to immediately convene an accelerated global vaccination campaign to stop the delta variant in its tracks. At this time last year, many people thought it would be years until the world had effective shots. But not only have companies invented multiple inoculations, they've pulled out all the stops to maximize production. For...

November 8, 2021 - On Friday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released more data regarding Covid-19 infections and deaths among the fully vaccinated. Such data is only released sporadically and is not on the LACDPH Covid data dashboard. The numbers reveal a small increase in the number of fully vaccinated people catching Covid and a slightly larger percent of them dying of it, once infected. As of November 5, 2021, the statistics from the LA County...

November 4, 2021 The West Hollywood City Council voted on Wednesday to pass an ordinance to raise the minimum wage in their municipality to $17.64 per hour. The wage increase would go first to hotel workers, who would start earning the extra money on January 1, 2022. Everyone else would get their increase beginning July 1, 2022. The odd-sounding wage rate matches the minimum wage for hotel workers in the City of Los Angeles for hotels with 150 or more rooms - a rate that Santa...

Being an outstanding City Attorney is a serious job that needs to be taken seriously. We (our City Council acting on our behalf and in our best interests) need to be serious in selecting our next City Attorney. And so the following are some important requirements of our next City Attorney. Abiding loyalty to and deep understanding of and respect for the Constitutions of the United States and California, as well as Government Codes. This includes open meetings and public...

On October 21st, a letter was submitted to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 23 Members of Congress, protesting NIAID's "costly, cruel and unnecessary tax-payer funded experiments on dogs." This latest scandal involving Dr. Fauci has come to be known as "Beaglegate," because experiments recently brought to light by the investigative group, White Coat Waste, were conducted on a group of 44 beagle puppies....

Covid-19 was a trailing third in causes of death in the United States in 2020 according to "The Leading Causes of Death in the US for 2020" by Farida Ahmad and Robert Anderson in the medical journal, JAMA Network. With 345,323 deaths attributed to Covid-19, the disease caused only a little over half as many deaths as the two top killers: cancer with 598,932 deaths and the winner, heart disease, with 690,882 deaths. Yet the public response to Covid, led by public health and...

To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to express my concerns regarding the news of the State of California Bar appointing George Cardona as Chief Trial Counsel. Since the California State Bar is currently undergoing much awaited reforms, it is particularly important that the new Chief Trial Counsel is highly skilled and has a history of ethical and professional conduct. This communication is being submitted to the California Bar in the form of an open letter because the Bar...

September 24, 2021 - Garth Brooks just canceled all of his big concerts, citing public health concerns regarding Covid-19. Synagogues required proof of vaccination or negative Covid tests for attendance at High Holiday services this month. All over the region, events are getting canceled or moving online. When the Covid vaccines became available late in 2020, many hoped they could return to their normal lives. The vaccine was supposed to be safe and incredibly effective....

September 20, 2021 - In an email to constituents, Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin suggested the city buy up motels and even office buildings to turn them into "housing with services." Bonin went on to claim it would be a good idea for the city to become a major land and property owner, creating what he calls "social housing." Bonin believes government landlordship is merely an "expansion," a logical next step from the initiative taken over the summer to give motel...