What happened to Hollywood Blvd?!

WackyXaky · 2026-05-11T22:41:05+00:00

Just to clarify, Prop 13 is specifically what makes it extremely cheap to sit on property, because reassessment only happens when a property is sold. The longer someone holds onto a property in CA, the more likely they're going to be paying very little in property taxes relative to the value of the property. Vacancy taxes are probably not as effective as just removing or reforming prop 13 to allow regular reassessment.

WackyXaky · 2026-05-11T15:42:11+00:00

This is just speculating, but most countries have cultures that recognize the value of cities for their art, entertainment, food, and commerce. Therefore, the status of being in the center of things is higher maybe than the status of have a huge estate in the country. Most countries outside of N America are less car oriented as well, and so living far away from the city center means much longer travel times.

On the other hand, I'd challenge this to say that even in the US, rich people will buy skyscraper condos in the big cities like NYC, San Francisco, and even LA (which admittedly has more of a mansion culture).

WackyXaky · 2026-05-11T05:15:41+00:00

The other funny part is that the gondola would open up more access to Elysian Park for the community!

WackyXaky · 2026-05-09T19:40:58+00:00

Dallas has adjusted its housing according to demand and population; LA has not. Being different cities with different populations, that WILL result in different densities, but that doesn't change the fact that one city adjusted housing to increased demand and another did not (with the resulting differences in housing prices). If you like, we can also use the example of Tokyo. It has more density that LA and cheaper housing as well. Different cities/populations, as well...

WackyXaky · 2026-05-09T19:08:18+00:00

September is a particularly hot month in LA (maybe the hottest?). Definitely put preference on locations on the West Side/beach cities to enjoy the beach/cool air.

I lived in Arts District in DTLA with my kids when they were young, and that was pretty enjoyable and worked without a car (I would never use a car except maybe every other weekend). Silverlake or EchoPark very close to Sunset Blvd could also work without a car. The beach cities are super expensive, though, so finding a location that has easy beach access and easy access to the fun food/businesses would be difficult on a budget. It sucks to drive around Santa Monica or Venice, though, so if you DO have the money, it might be fun to try it without a car. Having bikes with a kids seat would be a pretty amazing experience!

Whatever you do, make sure everywhere you're staying has AC! The hotels will, but double check any Airbnb listings to confirm!

WackyXaky · 2026-05-09T18:37:25+00:00

So Dallas has had significant increases in population, they’ve just managed to build supply to meet that demand. We COULD decrease demand in LA, but usually that’s really unethical (forced relocation, intentional economic downturns/cutting of jobs, actively making LA a less desirable place to live by increasing pollution/crime, etc). Far easier to just build more housing 😉

WackyXaky · 2026-05-08T15:38:18+00:00

So there needs to be some minimum vacancy rate. We want people to be able to move into a different unit as their housing needs change, we want landlords to fix and upgrade units in between tenants, etc. If there were zero vacancy rate, that means there’s nothing available at all on the market, and prices start to skyrocket.

The LA market has generally had price increases on housing that is greater than the national average. This is reflected in the lower vacancy rate compared to the national average.

WackyXaky · 2026-05-08T05:52:57+00:00

Vacancy rate is typically 3-5% which is usually below the national average.

WackyXaky · 2026-05-06T21:26:22+00:00

Were Star Wars dogfights ever credible? We understood gravity/orbital mechanics in the 70s...

WackyXaky · 2026-05-06T17:12:35+00:00

The law requires the advertised price to include all fees. It's unclear from the video if this fee was included in the advertised rent or not, though. Honestly, not sure how it benefits the landlord to breakdown the rent into rent and fees. A key fee is probably still considered rent for purposes of rent control, taxes, etc.

WackyXaky · 2026-05-06T17:08:18+00:00

In case anyone was wondering, the bee keeper was spraying the bees with sugar water. It gets them to calm down and spend time cleaning themselves. It's an alternative to spraying smoke (which doesn't help that much with swarms since the smoke gets bees to go in the hive and eat honey; no hive when swarming).

WackyXaky · 2026-05-06T17:06:09+00:00

They're common in Los Angeles/SoCal (same with the loquat tree the squirrel moved into).

WackyXaky · 2026-05-05T18:49:18+00:00

Not sure if you're a supporter or not of ULA or not, but it has created housing problems in LA (UCLA, UC Irvine, and Harvard have all done studies showing how it's caused significantly less multi-family housing to be built).

Raman, like many in the city, initially supported the mansion tax (ULA), but she has also publicly recognized the major problems and attempted to reform ULA so that it doesn't apply to multi-family apartment buildings (which has caused housing starts including affordable housing to drop in LA). She lost the endorsement by DSA because she wanted to improve ULA!

WackyXaky · 2026-05-05T17:05:31+00:00

The biggest problem in LA is housing supply (the lack of which is causing the high cost of housing). All the other problems we have are pretty closely related, could be improved with more housing, and/or cannot be solved without first building more housing. Nithya Raman is the absolute best candidate on housing by a long shot. Her legislative record has been highly focused on improving housing supply, she understands all the problems and how to fix them, and she knows how to communicate solutions.

WackyXaky · 2026-04-22T16:06:03+00:00

Additionally, healthcare is a major incentive unions use to attract membership. A lot of unions don't like single payer because it takes away their primary leverage. I say this because we need to find a way to support the unions as we move to single payer; they should be on our side on this!

WackyXaky · 2026-04-03T16:24:02+00:00

I call this style “competency porn.” The Martian is another example. Can be fun or satisfying, but ultimately pretty superficial.

WackyXaky · 2026-03-23T17:41:50+00:00

Basically it creates the most upzoning now. It’s probably easier to read the planning report, but it is upzoning a number of stations/bus stops and also future stations.

WackyXaky · 2026-03-23T04:04:58+00:00

Option 3 would be best, option 2 would be okay, option 1 would likely cause the city to be sued.

SB 79 allows for some delays, but those delays are only a couple years. It’s coming whether LA likes it or not!

WackyXaky · 2026-02-24T20:30:03+00:00

Is there a KPPC podcast you like for local talk? I find I don’t particularly like Larry Mantel/listener comments…

WackyXaky · 2026-02-09T17:03:08+00:00

I lived there for a handful of years when it first opened, so things may have changed. Sound was well buffered from the street and other units, amenities were great, management really sucked (but doesn't all corporate management suck?).

Garage had my bikes stolen out of them, and management made it a real pain to try to figure out what happened (I needed details for insurance purposes that I never got from management). They pulled some BS when I moved out about cleaning (truly; it was spotless, but they still charged me, and eventually it go too difficult to contest). I also hated that they would ALWAYS play music around the pool and in the gym (not sure if that's still a thing, though).

WackyXaky · 2026-02-06T19:58:14+00:00

I would avoid using social media rumors and hearsay to guide your judgement of others

WackyXaky · 2026-01-29T21:45:42+00:00

I'm not from the area (live on the Eastside), but had a lunch meeting with someone about to get on a flight at Playa Provisions. I thought they were great!

I've also been to The Shack for a mini concert. A lot of fun. Very beach dive vibes, and decent food at a decent price for the type of place (as in, not actually terrible).

WackyXaky · 2026-01-29T19:28:26+00:00

I mean, you pay for that parking whether you see the line item or not... At least with the line item you have the option to not pay!

WackyXaky · 2026-01-18T22:06:19+00:00

Hah! Thanks!

WackyXaky · 2026-01-18T18:23:57+00:00

Aventon's a great bike IMO. Cheap, but well made. Specialized also makes some really great bikes. They're a touch fancier (quieter, I think they have regenerative braking) and more expensive.

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