LA

Guns.Weapons. Prison Industrial Complex. Community Disenfrachisement.

Low Turnout expected in CA June Primary

By Dan Walters, Sac Bee

One consequence of the state’s first February presidential primary election will almost certainly be an extraordinarily low voter turnout for the June 3 regular primary. Primary elections generally see subpar turnouts, in part because independents have almost no motivation to vote.

But June’s election will be especially devoid of motivation – no presidential contest or any other statewide candidate duel, only a handful of meaningful legislative or congressional primaries and just two statewide ballot measures, both of which deal with the very arcane issue of property seizures by local governments.

We’ll have 15-plus million Californians registered to vote in June. But given the low turnouts of past primaries and the lack of motivating contests this year, it wouldn’t be surprising if as few as 5 million of them actually cast ballots. And that will mean that even more than usual, the electorate will be dominated by hyper-partisans on the left and right – folks who view politics with almost religious fervor.

The primaries in 34 legislative districts whose incumbents are being forced out due to term limits will be decided by the most liberal voters in the Democratic districts and the most conservative ones in the Republican districts. That, if anything, will bring even more ideological polarization to the Capitol.

Predatory Lending Verdict

Federal prosecutors name 20 suspects in an alleged nationwide scam that left financially troubled homeowners without title to their houses or without the equity they had built up. Read More

Boyle Heights

The release of a 100-foot mural by artist Sandow Birk has sparked outrage amongst some residents of Boyle Heights, the infamous East LA barrio that was the site of the Chicano Power movement. The homogenouse nature of the Latino community, a portrait that elected officials and the media like to portray, is an invalid description of the multi-ethnic and multi-generational barrio. In Birk’s mural, Latinos are portrayed near a cop car, selling illegal goods, and in ‘unhealthy’ body types. Many people are outraged, claiming that the mural presents a stigmatized portrait of Latinos and moreover does not represent the Boyle Heights community.

First off, the artist is a non-Latino/non-person of Color who ‘lives/lived’ in the community. At first glance its a classic case of the outside looking in and defining the other. However, a deeper look at the protests’ talking points reveal a larger paradigm, Boyle Heights is a heterogenous, mixed-income, multi-generational community. It always has been. Since the Japanese American Museum currated an impressive exhibit about the region, tagging it as the first immigrant community. Boyle Heights was home to Russians, Mexicans, Japanese, Italians, and other ethnic communities. Moreover, the community was strong, united, even during the horrid internment of their Japansese neighbors and peers.

This is still true today. Albeit Latinos themselves encompass a diverse range of geographic locations, linguistic tongues, and more, the increased migration of Asians into the community have made it even more diverse. Also, for decades Boyle Heights has been the hub of Chicano families, many of whom have owned their properties for generations, intensifying the factions of economic class within the neighborhood. The instances of race, class, and intersectionality make the protests agains Birk’s mural valid and believable. Boyle Heights is not a community that is easily defined, and in the 21st century it is definately not defined by street vendors, overweight brown faces, or criminalization.

 Public art must be inclusive, accessible, and culturally compentant to all community members. This is not to say an artist’s vision must follow these parameters, but it is to say dissent and oppositional discourse is allowed and cultural criticism by community members is valid. Afterall, Boyle Heights has the largest concentration of murals in the entire city; Birk’s mural isn’t anything new.

The ‘Natural’ Changes in Echo Park

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Dubai to ‘Hook-Up’ Grand Avenue

With $100 million from a Dubai fund, construction of the massive mixed-use development in downtown Los Angeles will begin next month, officials say.

Budget Cuts and Public School Teachers

With the 14 billion California state deficit and the Governor’s proposed budget plan that ravages all public institutions except the department of corrections and the department of transportation, public schools are hurting. A good amount of school districts have resorted to laying off teachers. Rewind 5 minutes ago; I thought public schools throughout the country and especially in LA county needed qualified, certified, and committed teachers to educate the growing adolescent population? Nevermind the needs, bring on the problems. Read here about how public school teachers are being courted by the booming charter school operation. I can only hope that people get on the same page and revert back to the initial success of California’s master plan for education, where everyone in the state was promised access to furthering their aptitude in world-class facilities.

UCLA Basketball

Why does the LA Times always have to juxtapose USC and UCLA…for basketball. I clearly remember a time before Henry Bibby came and performed magic, that die-hard USC fans shunned the idea that their beloved school had a basketball team. Real talk. Now, in the town of John Wooden, UCLA has always ruled the court, and the 1995 NCAA championship was a special time in LA. As UCLA comes back to the up and up, one can only wonder when Pauley Pavilion will get a much-deserved renovation. I mean, with the Sports Arena down the street, USC still clinched all the dough out of its alumni’s pockets to build the Galen Center. What gives, can the Pac-10 champs get some new wood on the floor and a front page that doesn’t have any remnants of cardinal and gold?

RIP King’s BBQ

Within a matter of days, the infamous King’s BBQ on the corner of Sunset and Figueroa has been leveled by tractors owned by the Orsini apartments across the street. King’s has long been a favorite bbq joint in LA, with its big bouncer for the kinds, huge big screen tv inside, and tasty delicacies that no one else could replicate on this side of town. RIP King’s, long live originality, small business, and community. For those that occupy the orsini, where will you eat in the concrete jungle filled with dense housing and overpopulated streets?

Spatial Location: US Border