At SCOPE, a big part of our message is, and has always been, simply this: as residents of South LA, we are the ones who will make the change we seek. And we disseminate that message—throughout our community, to our city government, to businesses wanting to set up shop in our region—through the foundation of…
Continue ReadingBreaking Down Political Jargon
Breaking Down Political Jargon Earlier this month, SCOPE spent a week with students enrolled in Antioch University’s urban sustainability program to explore the history of taxes, the L.A. City budget, economic justice issues in South L.A., and the important work of making the political process accessible to members of our communities. I interviewed…
Continue Reading"Renters Make LA Work. It's Time to Make LA Work for Renters."
“Renters Make LA Work. It’s Time to Make LA Work for Renters.” Within a day after Mayor Eric Garcetti presented his plans for revitalizing Los Angeles during his first term, media coverage of affordable housing issues—a topic conspicuously left out of his agenda—spread across news outlets. “Californians can’t afford their rents,” read the first line…
Continue ReadingWhat's Missing From the Mayor's Agenda?
What’s Missing From the Mayor’s Agenda? On April 10, Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered his first State of the City address at the California Science Center, which focused on defining his “back to basics” agenda in Los Angeles. This is a talking point he’s used since before taking office last year—a phrase that suggests a strong…
Continue ReadingRestoring Equity to the City Budget
Restoring Equity to the City Budget With two weeks to go before Mayor Eric Garcetti releases his proposed city budget for the next fiscal year, community members and representatives of nearly 18 Los Angeles organizations gathered on the steps of City Hall on March 21 to voice their concerns about the sluggish economy, and to…
Continue ReadingThe Corrections Budget: Where’s the Empathy for Those Who Need it Most?
The Corrections Budget: Where’s the Empathy? At the recent California Budget Project’s Raising the Bar Conference, an annual meeting of progressive leaders held in Sacramento, attendees worked to shape a policy agenda that creates shared prosperity in California. With an eye on the recent hard-won revenue increases and growing inequality across the state, the conference…
Continue ReadingAn Experiment 20 Years in the Making
An Experiment 20 Years in the Making “When we started AGENDA back in 1993, we characterized it as an experiment. Because we kind of knew where we wanted to go, but how to get there was less clear to us. This is still true today as we continue to build the movement for social justice.”…
Continue ReadingCalifornia's Prisons: Are They Fighting Crime, or Causing It?
California’s Prisons: Fighting Crime, or Causing It? In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California’s prisons were so overcrowded that the state was actually violating the 8th Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The ruling was based on the prison system subjecting inmates to the physical and psychological harm that arises when people…
Continue ReadingWhat Police Should Be Doing For Us—Not to Us
What Police Should Be Doing For Us—Not to Us Last week Vincent Warren, executive director of the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, put the practice of Stop and Frisk in perspective: Speaking to Los Angeles residents gathered at Community Coalition’s headquarters on South Vermont Avenue, he invoked the memory of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed…
Continue ReadingL.A.’s New Budget: Who’s in the Driver’s Seat?
L.A.’s New Budget: Who’s in the Driver’s Seat? At the beginning of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s first of three presentations on the future of city budgeting last Thursday, Rick Cole, Deputy Mayor of Budgeting and Innovation, compared Los Angeles to a luxury vehicle—to make a point about the administration’s new approach to allocating funding. Taking a…
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