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Bill Boyarsky
Opinion: What’s in a name?
When Morrie Stanley Mosk decided on a political career, he began referring to himself as M. Stanley Mosk and then Stanley Mosk. It was the 1940s and ’50s, and anti-Semitism was much more virulent than it is today. Mosk feared his Jewish name would hurt his chances of being elected.
Save the Academic Decathlon
In a city where some of the very rich are willing to pay $1 billion-plus for the bankrupt Dodgers baseball team, why can’t anyone spare $500,000 to support an Academic Decathlon program that brings luster to the often criticized Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)?
Voters vs. Sherman, Berman
Always interested in the gritty and unpredictable side of participatory politics, I dropped in on Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman, both of whom are vying to represent the newly reconfigured 30th congressional district, as they each hosted community meetings at San Fernando Valley schools last week.
Opinion: Iran an issue for valley’s 30th district voters
No doubt Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman will be confronted with questions about Iran as they campaign in the new West San Fernando Valley 30th Congressional District. Iran is likely to come up as they speak at meetings and debates and through the online messages and mailings that will besiege voters in the expensive, high-profile battle between these two candidates with remarkable similarities in their views and even their names.
Taking the pro-Israel pulse of GOP candidates
The race for the “Who Loves Israel Most” title has been one of the most interesting developments in the Republican presidential election. It’s skewed the contest in a way that turns every vote for a candidate into a vote for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party.
Opinion: L.A. Sukkah sit-in shows Jews' passion for politics
As I stopped at the sukkah in the Occupy L.A. encampment outside City Hall, I thought of the Jews’ role in the upcoming presidential election, which will be taking place amid a recession and doubts about President Barack Obama’s attitude toward Israel.
Opinion: Obama’s numbers could swing 30th district race
Rep. Brad Sherman doesn’t intend to follow Rep. Henry Waxman’s advice to give up his San Fernando Valley congressional race against Rep. Howard Berman.
Opinion: Prep for costly fight as Berman, Sherman keep gloves on
The Howard Berman-Brad Sherman story is loaded with angles — Jewish, Latino and, what may be most important, financial.
Bill Boyarsky: LAUSD reaches out to middle class
Los Angeles’ new school superintendent, John Deasy, says one of his top goals is to persuade middle-class families, including Jewish parents, to return to the Los Angeles public schools. “It’s one of the major projects I have to deliver,” he said.
School Is in Session for Villaraigosa’s Critics
“A great school is an anchor for a neighborhood,” Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. “A great school district is an anchor for a great city.”
Galatzan’s Concern for Public Schools Is Personal, Too
Much of the recent history of the Los Angeles Unified School District is also part of the past of Tamar Galatzan, who now sits on the governing board of that giant bureaucracy of a school district.
Yaroslavsky observes Nigeria’s democratic process
Zev Yaroslavsky’s latest nation-building assignment wasn’t easy. Dispatched to Nigeria as part of an international corps of election observers, he checked on polling places during elections this month in a nation better known for ethnic violence and corruption than orderly changes in government.
State budget crisis calls for action
If there was ever a time for Jewish parents to fight for Los Angeles public schools, this is it.
Public libraries face crucial funding vote
When Susan Kent was a child in Westchester County, N.Y., she read her way through the public library children’s section and then headed over to the adult books. When the librarian told Kent they were for adults only, she called in her father. “My father came to the library and said, ‘She can read anything she wants,’ ” Kent recalled.
‘Value-added’ teacher ratings add little value
The teacher evaluations recently posted on the Los AngelesTimes Web site deserve acareful but skeptical reading.
New school to honor legacy of Jewish justice Stanley Mosk
In 1947, Stanley Mosk, then a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, was confronted with a case that divided the city. Three African American families had moved into the all-white Mid-Wilshire district, and the neighbors were trying to run them out, invoking restrictive covenants banning blacks from the area.
Unemployment and Its Effects Linger
When this recession is a memory, the Jewish community’s unemployed and their children — just like the rest of the country — will still feel the psychic impact of prolonged, desperate days of job hunting and scraping for house payments or rent. Making it worse will be the injury to their pride, as people with a distinct work ethic face the humbling experience of explaining their plight to family and friends.
An Advocate for Jewish Interests in L.A.’s Diverse Public Schools
What’s the place of Jewish life in the multiethnic mixing bowl of the Los Angeles public schools? It’s a complex question in a district where young people from Mexican, Central American, African American, Armenian, Persian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Syrian homes, among others, bring their traditions, religions, sensitivities and prejudices to the classroom and school yard.
Pursuit of Justice
I’ve covered the ugly side of race relations in Los Angeles for many years. Among my memories are the Watts Riots, the 1992 riot, the public school desegregation
fight and the breakup of the Tom Bradley black-Jewish political coalition.
Parent Power
“Raw power, an unabashed transfer of political power to parents.”
Give Innovation a Chance
Looking for clues to help save public schools, I visited teacher Ellie Herman’s drama class at Animo Pat Brown Charter High School.
A Different Kind of Fighter for 5th District
L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz hustled into his fourth-floor office suite followed by two aides, just after he finished a long council session. I followed him into a back office to interview this City Hall newcomer, the latest person to represent the difficult 5th District.
Returning to Public Schools is a Mitzvah
Recently, I talked to new Los Angeles school board member Steve Zimmer about convincing middle-class parents to send their children to public schools.
Unite, Take Over the Schools
Los Angeles Schools Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines has a strong message to Jewish parents and others nervously considering public school education for their children — unite and take over the schools.
A Time for Action
Karen Bass, speaker of the California Assembly, looked remarkably calm, considering that she’d just arrived to speak at The Jewish Federation in mid-Wilshire following a freeway trip from the airport. At the Capitol, she had just taken part in another fruitless budget meeting with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other legislative leaders, an experience as difficult as riding the freeways.
Will recession fuel a return to public schools?
Throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District, the recession is prompting middle-class parents to take a look at public middle and high schools they have long disdained.
Waxman will play key role in putting Obama agenda into action
As chair of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, Waxman is poised to play a leading role in putting the Obama agenda into law, particularly in health care and in pushing the auto industry into manufacturing energy-efficient and minimally polluting cars.
Proposed USC-Dubai journalism school concerns faculty and community
Faculty members at the USC Annenberg School for Communications are deep into a controversy that should be of interest to the Jewish community.
It concerns a proposal from USC for a $3 million contract for Annenberg to work with the American University in Dubai to create a journalism and communications school in the Middle Eastern nation.
Ed Guthman leaves legacy of fighting injustice
When Ed Guthman died Aug. 30 at the age of 89, the Los Angeles Jewish community lost one of its most distinguished members
No ‘pushovers’ on Zukin’s Ethics Commission
Zukin is particularly interested in an important issue that places the ethics commission at odds with the city council -- the future of the neighborhood councils
Don’t underestimate the power of the Jewish newspaper
Sophisticated Los Angeles Jews don't have to turn to a Jewish newspaper for political advice or for guidance through the pitfalls of American society.
Bill Boyarsky: Calculating the value of Villaraigosa’s trip
One criticism of Villaraigosa's predecessor, Jim Hahn, was that he didn't understand the importance of symbolism, that he was too desk bound, too reluctant to make the grand gestures important in a sprawling city of many diverse communities.
A doctor’s visit
A visit with Dr. Eugene Gettelman, who celebrates his 100th birthday on June 17, shows how much medicine has gained and lost in the last half century
City Voice: Yaroslavsky takes on developers in push for affordable housing
In defending middle-class neighborhoods, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky is taking on an issue that reaches to the heart of Los Angeles' ethnic, political and class divide
City Voice: The perfect combination
An evening at Shomrei Torah Synagogue got me thinking about Barack Obama and how much the San Fernando Valley has changed since I first roamed there in 1970.
It's an odd combination of thoughts, I know. Or, perhaps not. The more I thought about it, the combination made perfect sense to me.
City Voice: Keep education in the spotlight
I write about education a lot because it's important for the Jewish community to have a strong public school system. Education is part of the Jewish culture. Many Jews can't afford private schools, and their kids deserve an education good enough to send them to college. Moreover, strong public schools are good for everybody, Jews and non-Jews.
What makes a good politico?
What makes a good politician? What makes a good Jewish politician? Zev Yaroslavsky, Henry Waxman and Laura Chick each, in his or her own way, illustrates how the values of Jewish life can be carried over into the secular obligations of public affairs. They have set an example for a new generation that will make sure our community is deeply involved in Los Angeles civic life.
Middle schools are a tough sell
The meeting at Daniel Webster Middle School, in the heart of the Westside, embodied all the difficulties of convincing parents that their children will be safe when they leave the cocoon of the public elementary school for the unknown world of middle school.
The downside of upscale growth
I've been following the Los Angeles housing story for a few months because of its special relevance to the Jewish community.
City Voice: Condo conversions cause casualties
In Jewish communities in Los Angeles, tenants are uneasily contemplating a fate increasingly familiar to renters - the conversion of their building to condominiums.
City Voice: The Mayor is cheating ... on L.A.
Breaking the commandment against adultery shouldn't disqualify you for public office. Still, I don't think the adulterer should expect cheers from the Jewish community. This is especially true when the official is Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has made his family and his life story a big part of his persona.
‘Reboot’-ing Gen Y
She was absolutely right. Movements don't start with specifics or 10-point plans. They start with people meeting up and talking. Ideas are generated, plans are made and one day, action is taken. It's a slow process. This is where Reboot is now. Perhaps from this generation -- prompted by leaders like Levin -- an articulate minority will emerge and point the Jewish community in a fresh direction, just as Heschel and Herzl did many years ago.
Presidential hopefuls scrutinized on Israel
The Democratic presidential candidates' attitude toward Israel is undergoing the same sort of word-by-word examination that was such an important feature of the 2004 campaign.
City Voice: Will condo threat inspire unity among seniors?
More than 25 years ago, Los Angeles' senior Jewish renters joined with young progressives and persuaded a reluctant city government to adopt rent control.
Sam Zell is one tough Jew
Happily for them, most of the old-time Los Angeles anti-Semites who used to hang out at the downtown California Club are either dead or too old to care that a Jew is on the verge of owning the L.A. Times.
City Voice: We’re not who we think we are
There is a preconceived notion about the Los Angeles Jewish community being affluent, increasingly conservative and preoccupied with Israel to the exclusion of other issues.
The Times, it is a-changin’
Times are changing, and the Times, with circulation and advertising dropping, can no longer afford to be so high and mighty. At long last, the paper is going to juice up its Web site, and community input like your synagogue discussion meeting and your opinions and activities may be a big part of it.
Need for good schools should unite Jews and Latinos
In contrast to the 1960s, when the fabled and overblown black-Jewish alliance was obsessively chronicled and debated by Jewish academics, journalists, essayists and community leaders, the rise of the Latino population has not seemed to capture much Jewish interest, either pro or con. That is especially true now, when so many activist Jews are focused only on Israel.
City Voice: L.A. Times faces tough job
One day at lunch with a group of reporters and editors, Dave Laventhol, then the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, was musing that journalists had become elitist,
separated from their communities, maybe even too educated.
Radical right resents judges and juries
These days no judge is safe from the assault of the religious right, anti-government crusaders and law and order zealots.
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