Business and economy

News and observations on the economy, business, real estate, aerospace, tech, wealth, poverty and more.
 
Incorporating LA Biz Observed.

Across from Disney Hall

LAO_HomelessBy-DisneyHall-.jpg Spotted downtown near Disney Hall.

SB 50: It will be a fight to remember

bill-300.jpg As explained by a team of Los Angeles Times Community News reporters, Senate Bill 50 touches the sanctity of a home and the independence of local officials by allowing high rise apartments next to single family dwellings. Nowhere is this clearer than in the Orange County suburbs explored by the reporters.

Supervisor Barger worries about the homeless

kathryn-barger-hersite.jpg County Supervisor Kathryn Barger shares mixed feelings of many officials as they contemplate public reaction to growing number of homeless on the streets

Galperin's numbers fall short of telling homeless story

bill-300.jpg Larry Mantle, host of KPCC's AirTalk, expressed the frustration of almost everyone dealing with homelessness when he interviewed City Controller Ron Galperin: "Trying to get one's arm around this thing, very challenging, Ron."

Feuer tackles homeless frustrations

wilshire-homeless-camp.jpg City Atty. Mike Feuer was his usual knowledgeable self as he explained what he'd been doing to combat Los Angeles' seemingly incurable affliction of homelessness.

Poverty shapes the schools dispute

lasud-kids.jpg No matter how the dispute between the teachers union and the Los Angeles school district ends, poverty, the root cause of failure in L.A. schools, won't go away.

Solis jabs at homeless agency

hilda-solis-at-board.jpg Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis agrees with critics of the Los Angeles County Homeless Services Authority.

Garcetti and Koreatown's homeless

bill-300.jpg "There are people who shoot up and there are people who are mentally ill," said Koreatown activist and attorney Grace Yoo. "How do we ensure the safety for the homeless and the people nearby?"

Rights and wronged

copyright settlement2 5-18 - Copy.JPG It took 13 years, but publishers finally paid the writers they had ripped off.

Kaleb Havins

LAO__SkidRow_Break_Fast.jpg Kaleb Havins ends his Skid Row hunger strike.

Skid Row hunger strike

LAO__SkidRowHungerStrike_Day43.jpg Kaleb Havins on hunger strike near 6th and Gladys.

We need everyone in to get everyone in homes

wilshire-homeless-camp (2).jpg Elise Buik is president of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Mark Ridley-Thomas is the Los Angeles County supervisor from the 2nd district.

Garcetti wants all L.A. to welcome homeless housing

bill-300.jpg Under fire from his hometown paper, Mayor Eric Garcetti says he will work on a plan for every Los Angeles community to agree to accept housing for the homeless.

Downtown

LAO__homeless.jpg Take My Picture Gary Leonard runs each week at LA Observed.

Housing-homeless up to Garcetti, Ridley-Thomas

wilshire-homeless-camp.jpg Pressure will be heavy on Mayor Eric Garcetti and County supervisors board chairman Mark Ridley-Thomas to show much more progress with the so-far insoluble housing-homeless problem.

Bonin: emergency action needed for homeless

bill-300.jpg Homelessness is an emergency, says Councilman Mike Bonin, and requires a response equal to what the federal disaster agency does when a hurricane strikes

Homeless housing to be spread around city

bill-300.jpg The first batch of homeless housing to be built by last year's $1.2 billion bond is to be scattered around Los Angeles instead of being concentrated in Skid Row.

'Human Flow' is beautiful and devastating to watch

Human-Flow_Dadaab-Camp_Kenya.jpg Ai Weiwei, the Chinese dissident and artist, has added his very personal perspective on the global refugee crisis.

Eli Broad retiring from public life 'right now'

eli-edythe-broad.jpg Broad chooses the New York Times for announcement that he wants to spend more time with his family and "catch up on my reading."

What I learned from my trip to the solar eclipse

eclipse-iris-stars.jpg Failing to plan is planning to fail. Don't hurry home. Be grateful you made the effort.

'Staggering' new homeless count in Los Angeles County

wilshire-homeless-camp.jpg The total jumped 23 percent over last year despite many more homeless people being moved into housing. So it could have been even worse.

Help for the homeless a phone call away?

wilshire-homeless-camp.jpg A homeless encampment appears under a freeway or in a park near you. You’re a public spirited Angeleno. Who do you call?

Garcetti says: 'Homelessness is the moral issue of our time'

garcetti-sotc-2017.jpg "As Mayor, there’s no issue I spend more time on," Garcetti says in his annual state of the city speech.

Homeless help begins soon

Mark_Ridley-Thomas_wikipedia.jpg After the surprising victory of Measure H, county and city officials and non-profit organizations are planning to move quickly to put its money to work.

Measure H: Maybe government works

bill-300.jpg It’s something of a miracle that Measure H, the Los Angeles County tax increase to improve services for the homeless, may be near voter approval.

Weekend chaos at LAX over Trump bans

lax-protest-herbst.jpg Trump's orders to block refugees and travelers from Muslim countries - even U.S. legal residents - caught Homeland Security by surprise. Protesters and lawyers flooded the airport.

FAA agrees to 2028 close of Santa Monica Airport

spirit-of-santa-monica.jpg Hard to imagine a bigger change to the infrastructure and environment of the Westside.

LAX as you have never seen it

lax-image-atlantic.jpg The mega airport is such a vital and vulnerable piece of our infrastructure that it employs two anti-terrorism experts with top-secret clearances.



Mark Lacter and LA Biz Observed
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006 and posted until his death on Nov. 13, 2013. His 10,000-plus posts are archived here.
KCET control room
kcet-rehearsal-control.jpgA peek inside the TV station's Burbank studios.
Whitt's Wood Yard
whitts-wood-yard.jpgElon Musk wants to drill here at Pico and Sepulveda.
BCAM
bcam-stairs.jpgThe Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA.
David Hockney at LACMA
hockney-arrives-lacma.jpgThe artist arrives to open his latest exhibit.
Mountain lion family
mountain-lion-family-martinez.jpgFrom Robert Martinez's trail cam in the San Gabriels.
The power of 'pluribus' plays
Allegiance-9-(1).jpgDon Shirley on theater in LA
Macy's winds down
mannequin-graveyard-macys.jpgThe store in Westside Pavilion has closed down.
Streetscape: Westwood
westwood-sky-lao.jpgWestwood Boulevard looking north and a little bit skyward.
Streetscape: East LA
la-luz-del-mundo.jpg Iglesia La Luz del Mundo, East 1st Street.
Sign from LA's past
loves-bbq-valley-relics.jpg Sign from an old Love's BBQ restaurant at the Valley Relics Museum in Chatsworth.
Visiting her old ballet costumes
melissa-barak-cost-iris.jpg Melissa Barak at LACMA Chagall exhibit with the artist's memorable designs.
Engine Co. 17
engine-co-17-side.jpg Inside the long-closed Arts District fire station on Santa Fe Avenue.
Wilshire Grand Center lobby
wilshire-grand-lobby-wall.jpg Visitors check out the wall-mounted sculpture by artist Do Ho Suh.
Barnsdall Park
barnsdall-park-trees.jpg Under the trees.
Inside Hollyhock House
hollyhock-columns.jpgPhoto taking was allowed for one weekend. So we did.
Streetscape: Lincoln Heights
el-milagro-market.jpgProductos Mexicanos at El Milagro Market on Avenue 18.
June 6, 1968
rfk-hearse-wide-lapl.jpgThe body of Robert F. Kennedy leaves Good Samaritan hospital. More pics
Streetscape: DTLA
spring-street-bike-lane.jpgSpring Street bike lane.
Palm weeds of Santa Susana
santa-susana-palm-weeds.jpgOak trees, sandstone ridges and fan palms? Ugh. More
Streetscape: West LA
405-at-smblvd.jpg405 North at Santa Monica Boulevard.
Hills turning brown
grman1.jpgThe hills above Gorman.
Arcana Books
arcana-books.jpgIn the Helms Bakery complex in Culver City.