Am traveling right now (to attend my father’s retirement party – 43 years teaching at RPI!) so am going to keep this brief. Santa Monica is close to passing a law that would effectively ban sh0rt-term rentals where the owner of the property is not present. So, basically, you can rent out a room in … Continue reading “Santa Monica’s dumb anti-AirBnB legislation”
Category: City government
Some thoughts on homelessness
Yesterday’s LA Times had a piece about advocates for the homeless challenging LA’s ban on sleeping on the beach. This got me thinking about the situation in Venice and around Skid Row downtown, where thousands of homeless people sleep outside, on public property. As a repositioner of apartment buildings, I have a special obligation to … Continue reading “Some thoughts on homelessness”
An intriguing article about murder in LA
The LA Times has an interesting article today about the release of a study recently completed on the nature of homicide in LA. Characteristically, the Times buries the ledes: Of the 260 homicides in LA during 2014, 62% of all homicides in LA are gang-related. While gangsters occasionally kill non-gangsters, the vast majority of gang-related killings … Continue reading “An intriguing article about murder in LA”
Norms is a historical landmark? Really?
There’s a big argument going on about whether the Norms Restaurant on La Cienega ought to be landmarked. The argument illustrates everything that is wrong with the manner in which historical preservation is carried out in LA. In LA, historical preservation is basically reactive. In other words, the community waits for a developer to pull … Continue reading “Norms is a historical landmark? Really?”
Termites, housing and LAHD
You might be wondering how termites and the Housing Department intersect. I’m going to tell you. First, a bit about termites: In Southern California, most structures are constructed from wood. This is because wood is cheap, durable, and holds up well in earthquakes (because it’s flexible). The main downside to wood construction, which is that wood … Continue reading “Termites, housing and LAHD”