Oy Vey L.A.

June 29, 2023: Jon Regardie, who writes about politics and other happenings in the city for Los Angeles magazine and the website Crosstown LA., rejoins the podcast to talk about the latest city council indictments, Mayor Bass and the homelessness issue, and all things Los Angeles (and even statewide).

Carol Schatz joins the podcast to talk about all things downtown Los Angeles.  When Carol took the helm of Central City Association (CCA), downtown Los Angeles was full of half-empty office buildings; a place where people came to work Monday through Friday 9am-5pm and then left. Occasionally, Angelenos may have traveled downtown to go to the theater or a Dodger game, but it was not a place people went, or stayed for very long. Under Carol's steady and steadfast leadership, downtown Los Angeles transformed into a vibrant city that GQ Magazine once called “America's Next Great City.” Carol was one of the principal leaders driving this transformation who articulated a vision of a 24/7 neighborhood in America's second largest city, and then pushed policies and projects that made it a reality. This work earned her the title, “queen of downtown Los Angeles” and to honor her work the City of Los Angeles christened the intersection of Hope Street and Wilshire Blvd. “Carol Schatz Square."

Oy Vey L.A. is back for our first episode in 2023!  Today we veer from discussing politics and current events to talk with two important thought leaders, both of whom lead long-running reading/literary series in Los Angeles, Susan Hayden and David Rocklin. Susan founded and curates the monthly Library Girl series in Santa Monica; David started and runs the monthly Roar Shack series in Echo Park. More about Susan and David: Susan Hayden is a poet, playwright. novelist and essayist. Her plays have been performed live on KPFK's Pacifica Performance Showcase and produced at the Met Theatre, Padua Playwrights, The Lost Studio and elsewhere. Her poems and stories have been published in numerous anthologies, including Beat Not Beat (Moon Tide Press), The Black Body(Seven Stories Press) and in the bestselling Los Angeles In the 1970s/Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine (Rare Bird Books). She was a Finalist in the Inaugural Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award with Penguin Press for her unpublished novel, Cat Stevens Saved My Life. Hayden is the creator and producer of Library Girl, a monthly words and music series now in its 14th year at Ruskin Group Theatre. She lives in Santa Monica, California with her husband, music journalist Steve Hochman. Now You Are A Missing Person, a hybrid memoir, is her first published book. David Rocklin is a novelist living in L.A. His previous two novels were The Luminist (published in the U.S and Italy) and Foreword LGBTQIA award-winning The Night Language. He also hosts and created Roar Shack, a long-running L.A. reading series that has given him high visibility in the lit community and a wonderful platform from which to promote his work. He's recently written The Write Formula, a writing craft book that will be available in 2023 as part of a virtual and physical retreat that he's establishing, the latter to take place in Idyllwild, CA. 

Land use attorney Dave Rand joins the Oy Vey L.A. podcast to talk about all things housing and housing law in California, including "the Builder's Remedy". Don't know what that is? Tune in! About Dave: Dave Rand specializes in land use law and governmental regulatory matters. His expertise includes various aspects of the planning and entitlement process and navigating residential, industrial and commercial clients through the often difficult and cumbersome local land use approval and California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) compliance process. Dave's practice has grown in recent years with a strong focus on mixed use and multi-family housing development. Dave has used his knowledge of constantly changing state and local housing regulations, including density bonus law, SB 35, SB 330, the Housing Accountability Act, and the City of Los Angeles' Transit Oriented Communities program, to lead his clients' housing projects through the dense regulatory thicket. Dave has obtained governmental approvals for thousands of market rate and affordable housing units throughout Southern California. Dave can be reached at www.rpnllp.com

Our election predictions for 2022! Josh and Chris tell you who they think will win, nationally and locally. And we now have listener email!

Principal Los Angeles City Planner and author Ken Bernstein joins the podcast to talk about all things historic preservation. Who decides what is historic? How does the desire for historic preservation get balanced with the need for new development, particularly housing? Ken also talks about some memorable historic preservation battles, discusses the differences between historic preservation laws in Los Angeles compared to other big cities, and also chats about his new book "Preserving Los Angeles: How Historic Places Can Transform America's Cities." Ken is donating the proceeds from Preserving Los Angeles to support three organizations that are dedicated to enhancing representation and inclusion in historic preservation: * Latinos in Heritage Conservation* Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation (APIAHiP)* The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation 

Los Angeles Magazine political writer Jon Regardie rejoins the Oy Vey L.A. podcast to discuss the "golden age" in Los Angeles (our current situation)...unfortunately, not the good type of golden age.  Racism, corruption, and our municipal elections are the topics we discuss with Jon, as we try to make sense of things that simply don't. Take a listen!

Eli Lipmen, Executive Director of Move LA,  joins the Oy Vey L.A. podcast to talk about the current state of mass transit in the Los Angeles region, the role of Move LA in improving mobility options for all citizens, and what our citizens can look forward to in the coming years. For more information about Move LA, or to support their work, go to movela.org

Richard (Rick) Keating of Keating Architecture joins this episode of the Oy Vey L.A. podcast. Rick talks about his start in architecture, and what he saw when he came to  Los Angeles back in the 1980's and what he sees now. He also discusses affordable housing and homelessness,  opines on form versus function, and offers his take on what L.A. might look like twenty years from today. More information on Rick can be found at https://www.keatingarchitecture.com/ *Producer's Note:  The co-hosts of this show are currently working with this guest on a project in the City of Los Angeles.*

Jessica Lall of the L.A. Central City Association joins the Oy Vey L.A. podcast to talk about her mayoral run and her thoughts on the June primary election. Jessica also opines on how to successfully address the homelessness problems facing Los Angeles. Jessica Lall is the President and CEO of Central City Association (CCA), a premier advocacy organization committed to enhancing Downtown Los Angeles' vibrancy and increasing opportunity in the region. CCA members include large employers, cultural institutions, housing developers and service providers. Prior to leading CCA, Jessica was Executive Director for the South Park Business Improvement District in Downtown L.A. and served as Senior Policy Director for former Mayor Villaraigosa. Active in the civic community, Jessica ran for Mayor of Los Angeles in 2021, focusing her campaign on proactive solutions to homelessness. Jessica was named the Barbara Boxer Fellow for USC's Center for the Political Future where she will teach a course called Local Leadership & Community Systems Change in Fall 2022. Jessica is a graduate of USC and the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs. She lives in L.A. with her husband and their two-year-old daughter.  ***For the Record: In this episode, during the introduction of our guest, we mentioned that Jessica Lall was the first woman to serve as USC student body president. That statement was incorrect; there were other women who served in that role before Jessica. We apologize for the error.***

Jon Regardie re-joins the Oy Vey L.A. podcast to give us his thoughts on voter turnout, Bass versus Caruso, and five key Los Angeles City Council races. Jon Regardie covers local politics for Los Angeles Magazine and its website, LAmag.com

Josh and Chris give their predictions on Tuesday's City of Los Angeles mayoral elections, discuss a handful of city council races, and opine on the future of Gavin Newsom and his presidential aspirations.

Today's show focuses on one of the reasons it's so hard to build new housing in California. It's a four-letter word. CEQA. That's an acronym that stands for the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA for short. CEQA was signed in 1970 into law by then-Governor Ronald Reagan. And, in short, the law requires California's public agencies and local governments to measure the environmental impacts of development projects -- like housing -- or other major land use decisions, and to limit or avoid those impacts when possible. Few other laws have shaped the development landscape of California so dramatically. Today's show examines one of the most recent and most high-profile stories about CEQA and housing that garnered national attention. It's the UC Berkeley case where a neighborhood group called "Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods" successfully sued UC Berkeley's CEQA document saying the university did not adequately address environmental issues related to increasing student enrollment. A judge agreed and ordered an enrollment cap and, to comply with the judge's order, the university sent thousands of applicants letters saying the university may have to cut enrollment by about 3,050 seats because of this issue. Joining us on the podcast to discuss the court case and the legislation that ensued  is one of the best legal minds in California, Alex DeGood of the firm Cox, Castle and Nicholson. Alex is a land use attorney who handles zoning matters, environmental compliance, and litigation. He represents real estate developers before planning commissions and city councils, advises on permits and regulations, and works with public agency staff and elected officials. Alex has litigated land use cases on behalf of developers and property owners, negotiated settlements in environmental matters, and structured complex land use entitlement projects for industrial, commercial, and educational clients.

David Zahniser of the Los Angeles Times joins the Oy Vey L.A. podcast to give his insights on the mayor's race.  David discusses Bass vs. Caruso, offers some observations about Kevin de Leon's candidacy, and opines on the possible vulnerabilities of Mike Feuer.   This episode is produced by AJ. Joseph.

Our special guest Jon Regardie joins the Oy Vey L.A. podcast to talk about all aspects of the upcoming primary election for mayor of the City of L.A.; the City Council race for Council District 5; and Jon also opines on the Huizar criminal matter, the status of Eric Garcetti's pending appointment to be Ambassador to India, and the fiasco of CD 10 in which an indicted council member has been temporarily replaced by a former councilman, the appointment of which is now embroiled in a lawsuit. Jon Regardie is a veteran Los Angeles journalist who has contributed news, politics, business and entertainment stories to dozens of print and online publications. He regularly writes for Los Angeles magazine, and is the former editor of the Los Angeles Downtown News. He has received numerous journalism awards and frequently discusses political and other matters on local radio and TV stations. He lives in Highland Park with his wife and two children. Jon can be reached at jregardie@gmail.com, and can also be found on twitter: @JonRegardie A compendium of Jon's work at Los Angeles Magazine can be found at : https://www.lamag.com/author/jon-regardie/

We all want a better, more livable Los Angeles. But what does that mean, exactly? And how do we get there? Join Josh Gertler and Chris Joseph – two native Angelenos – on our new podcast “Oy Vey L.A.” as we interview informed citizens, politicians (and wanna' be politicians), as well as thought leaders and members of the local media. We'll take you on a journey discussing such subjects as local politics, livability issues, housing (affordable and otherwise), and local corruption, a journey that will hopefully illuminate, stimulate and provoke thoughts and solutions.