Political Gumbo: Motown, Word Gentrification and Recovery

I broke out the vinyl and the record player this weekend. For my money, “Just My Imagination” by the Temptations is probably the greatest song ever written and it’s performed by the greatest group of all time.

Motown all the way.

Yeah, I know the people in the back are screaming the Beatles and Led Zeppelin.

I can’t hear you. I just turned up the volume on “Papa was a Rolling Stone.”

It comes back to soul.

Send me your Pandemic soundtrack. Thanks for all the suggestions for TV shows. My favorite show of all time, “The Wire” was the most recommended.

What’s in the Pot: Mentioning pot, the Planning Commission is tentatively scheduled to meet soon, which means weed will be back soon.

I still think don’t think anybody else is going to get a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to sell weed. Matter of fact, the remaining dispensaries should sell CUP’s. They would make more money. I know that’s illegal. Just like it once was illegal to sell weed. Then of course they legalized it and started calling it cannabis.

You have to love word gentrification. When I was growing up and you couldn’t leave you were on lockdown. Now it’s called a Safer at Home order. Then again, I was Safer at Home when I was on lockdown, because if I left when I was on lockdown …

Bad News: Sad to hear about the L.A. Times shuttering community papers in Glendale, La Cañada and the Burbank News Press. I hope all involved find their way to greener pastures.

No Brainer: Since some of our commissions are scheduled to restart soon, it’s a good time to say it: Yes, parts of the Brown Act have been waived but only the parts dealing with teleconferencing, the city still must post adequate notice before the meeting begins. Transparency is an essential business.

Another No Brainer: The money you pay for trash removal can only be used for waste-related expenditures. To answer the critics, the City Manager cannot use money from that fund to fight the Coronavirus outbreak. So to answer the question, why would he pay for trash trucks during a pandemic? That’s what you paid for when you paid your trash bill.

The City Council: Not for or against prayer at a City Council meeting. As for a moment of silence, see my answer about prayer.

More Council: City Manager Steve Mermell will not be remembered for how he handled the start of the Coronavirus outbreak. Instead, he will be remembered for how he handles the city’s economic recovery.

Oh, and About Recovery: A lot of scientists and doctors have started qualifying their answers before responding to questions about antibodies and immunities after catching the Coronavirus. Makes you worry.

Have you noticed how fresh the air is? It’s nice. Too bad when this is all over the real virus on the planet will go back to doing what it does best … people do a lot of damage.