IS CALIFORNIA SAVABLE? IS IT WORTH SAVING?

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From Dana Williamson, who was outgoing Governor Newsom’s former Chief of Staff, to California’s own Attorney General Rob Bonta, to Oakland’s Ex-Mayor Sheng Thao, to Orange County’s Andrew Do, the last couple of weeks since the passage of Prop 50 have seen a number of corruption cases brought forward against state officials in California.

Plus, back in the Southland, a new report shows that from Pacific Palisades to Altadena, myriad officials in L.A. County absolutely failed their duty to the residents of L.A. County as wildfire tore through these communities. This was also the case even after the 2018 Woolsey fire was supposed to serve as an inflection point for L.A. County to better prepare for “natural disasters.”

You can read the McChrystal Group’s full report for yourself here.

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J.T.

VOTING IN CALIFORNIA IS EASY. FINDING A JOB, NOT SO MUCH!

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Prop 50 HAS PASSED. Now, could Gavin Newsom tell us about just why California has the second highest rate of unemployment in the nation, behind only Washington D.C?

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J.T.

ON PROP 50: SEEING EYE TO EYE WITH REPUBLICANS IN CALIFORNIA??

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PROP 50: “Requires temporary use of new congressional district maps through 2030. Directs independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to resume enacting congressional district maps in 2031. Establishes policy supporting nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide. Fiscal Impact: One-time costs to counties of up to a few million dollars statewide to update election materials to reflect new congressional district maps.”

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To support a Local Vendor Buyout campaign for East Hollywood, Virgil Village and Silver Lake, please do so via Quien Es Tu Vecindario.

J.T.

STREAMERS WAKE UP: IT’S TIME TO DO BETTER

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At this critical juncture for creators and our online community, it’s time to make some changes to how we do it.

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To support a Local Vendor Buyout campaign for East Hollywood, Virgil Village and Silver Lake, please do so via Quien Es Tu Vecindario.

J.T.

grayscale photography of chessboard game

To Chess Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, now Blitzing Across the Stars

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Chess is a game in which perfection is strived for, only for mistakes or inaccuracies to steal the show. This is because to be human is not to be perfect, but to be flawed and yet still capable of brilliance.

A human chess player makes imperfect play something not only still capable of brilliance but even more magical to observe because of how finding our way, then losing it, only to fight our way back isn’t just what it means to be human, but what it means to be truly alive.



There’s still more to learn about just how GM Daniel Naroditsky passed away, but one thing that’s clear to any and everyone who followed his work was that his compassion, which is defined as “Suffering together with another, participation in suffering; fellow-feeling, sympathy,” was extended to anyone and everyone who loved chess, not to mention to all who were just learning the game.



In this moment of mourning, then, I think Naroditsky would ask for compassion not only for his friends and the countless people he inspired and now leaves behind, but for the entire online chess community, however more imperfect we may be in wake of his sudden unavailability to guide us through it anymore.



Indeed, I think Naroditsky, as someone who strove to advance the game with every fiber in his being, would love to see more unity across generations, and despite the borders or other allegiances between us, so we can model for the world how to settle our differences, especially in light of this technologically game-changing moment, honorably and in the interest of every future generation.

J.T.