The future is happening in Los Angeles today. From cutting-edge engineering and technical innovation (rockets, cars, and medical research) to complex public-policy issues (affordable housing, congestion, and inequality). These opportunities and challenges are as broad and diverse as the region’s population, placing Los Angeles at the forefront of a global economy that must find ways to generate economic growth, quality jobs, and a sustainable planet.
Op-Eds
Now is California’s Watershed Moment
It is now safe to say that El Niño will not solve California’s drought. Though this should have been obvious from the start, there is a silver lining – it has bought the state more time to put better policies in place to create a sustainable water supply for years to come for all Californians.
Channeling the Spirit of Dorothy Buffum Chandler to Catalyze Change in Los Angeles
Philanthropist and arts activist Dorothy Buffum Chandler graced Time’s cover in December 1964. The article stated that she embodied “perhaps the most impressive display of virtuoso money-raising and civic citizenship in the history of U.S. womanhood.”
What Los Angeles Can Learn From the Warner Bros.
In 1917, Jack Warner was summoned to Los Angeles by one of his older brothers, Sam, to create a foothold in the fledgling movie-making business. The Warner brothers – Albert, Harry, Sam, and Jack – were already well established in the movie exhibition business but saw the real opportunity in producing movies.
Op-Ed: Would Howard Hughes Invest in Los Angeles Today?
Howard Hughes, Jr. moved to Los Angeles from Texas in 1925 to leverage his diverse talents and knack for invention. That he did and more. By September 1945, the end of WWII, Hughes Aircraft Company employed 80,000 workers designing and building planes, making Hughes the largest employer in the region.
Op-Ed: Would Albert Einstein Come to Los Angeles Today?
On New Year’s Day 1931, Albert Einstein arrived in Pasadena to take up a winter appointment as a Visiting Fellow at the California Institute of Technology. What drew him here were the theories of a Caltech professor, mathematical physicist Richard Chase Tolman, and a local astronomer Edwin Hubble.
California needs to reinvest in public higher education
“From our perspectives in the world of private research universities, we have been watching with mounting alarm the general disinvestment by states in public higher education. This is painfully true in California, and we are especially concerned about the impact on the University of California and what it bodes for our state’s future.”
City Has Work to Do on Jobs – L.A. Business Journal
For the past two decades, California’s most populous city has not been creating jobs fast enough for all of its working-age residents. With its population expected to increase by more than 800,000 by the year 2020, the city needs to accelerate a pro-jobs strategy in 2014 to support growth opportunities for the region’s most competitive industries…
A City in Decline? Not L.A.
Six years ago this month at a City Hall news conference with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, I delivered a report crafted by an outstanding and diverse team of L.A. leaders. This mayor’s commission – the Los Angeles Economy and Jobs Committee – made 100 specific recommendations to foster the growth of the economy of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles – On the Way Up
Six years ago this month at a City Hall news conference with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, I delivered a report crafted by an outstanding and diverse team of L.A. leaders. This mayor’s commission – the Los Angeles Economy and Jobs Committee – made 100 specific recommendations to foster the growth of the economy of Los Angeles. Six years later, there is still plenty that needs to be done, as a recent report from the 2020 Commission correctly reminded us.