Welcome to Los Angeles! It's great that the Huffington Post's LA blog has arrived. I know that many of your readers and contributors have been in Southern California all along, and HuffPost itself has strong local ties.
But let's face it: up to now, much of the focus of Huffington Post's innovative online experiment in new journalism and opinion has been eastward and outward, far beyond L.A., looking at events in Washington, Wall Street and beyond.
You've been pondering sweeping national and international issues such as last year's elections, health care reform, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, financial services re-regulation, and fixing our economy. And when Los Angeles does get national attention, it's often because of celebrity scandal, our prowess at political fundraising, or both.
But the truth is that our City of Angeles is so much more than a company town or a candidate's ATM. With 4 million people living in 469 square miles, we're diverse and complicated, innovative and storied. We could be considered a modern city-state and our collective successes or failures represent the promise or peril of our nation.
My job on the Los Angeles City Council has given me the opportunity to meet so many Angelenos, to learn about their lives, and to partner with them to make this a better place. My hope is that this new blog will be a forum where I can share some of their stories and ideas with readers around the country who may find these experiences interesting or useful.
Like public servants in other American cities, we in Los Angeles have spent the past year or so focused on the street-level policy development and implementation that addresses the needs of our residents suffering through the economic recession. From providing help for residents facing foreclosure to recruiting green businesses that will create good local jobs, our city is directly assisting the people, organizations, and businesses that are part of our national recovery.
In addition, we are struggling with the difficulties of balancing our own budget and providing the same level of neighborhood services -- public safety, trash pick-up, street repair -- that our residents expect. Earlier this year, city workers including librarians, janitors, recreation facility managers, and street pavers agreed to major concessions to help close a $400 million budget gap.
In future posts, I'll write more about some of these economic and other challenges we're facing -- the trends and impacts we're seeing, the dialogue we're having, and the initiatives we're implementing and their outcomes. I'm also looking forward to sharing stories about the triumphs and everyday life in this city that I've always been proud to call my home.
So, welcome to the neighborhood, HuffPost. We're glad you're here.
Leighton Woodhouse: The Destruction Of The Inland Empire
Endless miles of exurban sprawl in the Inland Empire have become manicured ghost towns, with big plastic padlocks on every door and mosquito larvae hatching in every stagnant swimming pool.
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