What's Next, Los Angeles? with Mike Bonin

When Nury Martinez resigned from the City Council in October, it left 270,000 residents of the east San Fernando Valley without representation.  The special election to fill the seat is April 4, and Mike is talking one-on-one with each of the candidates. In this episode, he talks with Isaac Kim. Kim's family hails from the Valley. The first time candidate runs an online men’s grooming and ski...

When Nury Martinez resigned from the City Council in October, it left 270,000 residents of the east San Fernando Valley without representation.  The special election to fill the seat is April 4, and Mike is talking one-on-one with each of the candidates. In this episode, he talks with Antoinette Scully. She describes herself on her website as  Queer Black feminist, activist, writer, community orga...

When Nury Martinez resigned from the City Council in October, it left 270,000 residents of the east San Fernando Valley without representation.  The special election to fill the seat is April 4, and Mike is talking one-on-one with each of the candidates. In this episode, he talks with Imelda Padilla -- a lifelong valley resident who has worked for Pacoima Beautiful, LAANE, the LA City Council . Sh...

When Nury Martinez resigned from the City Council in October, it left 270,000 residents of the east San Fernando Valley without representation.  The special election to fill the seat is April 4, and Mike is talking one-on-one with each of the candidates. In this episode, he talks with Marco Santana, director of engagement LA Family Housing , a nonprofit that provides housing and supportive service...

 When Nury Martinez resigned from the City Council in October, it left 270,000 residents of the east San Fernando Valley without representation.  The special election to fill the seat is April 4, and Mike is talking one-on-one with each of the candidates. In this episode, he talks with Marisa Alcaraz,   an environmental policy director and deputy chief of staff to City Council member Curren Price...

Mayor Karen Bass has made homelessness her top priority. She has declared a state of emergency, secured federal funds, and started moving people from encampments into motels. Asd she he has named a new head of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to coordinate all of it. I talk – in depth – with Dr, Valecia Adams Kellum, the new head of LAHSA<on this edition of What's Next, Los Ange...

The election is finally over, and the vote count continues for a couple very key races. But we know a lot about most races. What are the most important things we see in the election results? Alissa Walker and Scott Frasier of LA Podcast join Mike to hash it all out. They talk about the mayor's and supervisor's race, the significance of Villanueva's defeat, City Council results, and...

You haven’t voted yet??? Time is running out. If you need help figuring out how to vote on this very crowded ballot, we've got you covered on this weeks's edition of What's Next, Los Angeles. Xanthe Scheps joins Mike to talk about his endorsements of progressive candidates and ballot measures in the City and County of Los Angeles, as well as some recommendations for key state races....

Who should you vote for for Los Angeles County Supervisor? That's an easy one. If you care about ending homelessness or combating climate change, if you care about transportation and public safety, and protecting a woman's right to choose, the right choice is Lindsey Horvath. A member of the West Hollywood City Council endorsed by the Democratic Party, the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood...

Do you know where your city tax dollars go? You might be surprised to find out. City Controller candidate Kenneth Mejia has been pulling back the curtain of city government and he’s here to join me to talk about his candidacy and about “7 Things About LA City Government That Will Make You Shake Your Head” – on this week’s edition of What’s Next Los Angeles. Kenneth Mejia website: https://mejiaforc...

Who has the power to end homelessness in Los Angeles? You do – by voting for Measure ULA on the November ballot. We discuss 5 Ways ULA Will Help End Homelessness” on this week’s edition of What’s Next, Los Angeles? My guests are Laura Raymond, co-chair of the ULA campaign and is executive director of ACT-LA, and Maria Patiño Gutierrez, director of Policy and Research/Equitable Development for SAJE...

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is LA’s top cop. He runs the largest county sheriff’s office in the United States and manages one of the world’s largest jail systems. With an annual budget of $3.6 billion dollars, the Sheriff oversees thousands of deputies who patrol California’s largest county, with a population of more than 10 million people. And he is downright dangerous. He is threa...

As we emerge from the COVID pandemic, renters could be at risk of eviction and of big rent hikes. What can we do to stop that?  In this episode, we discuss 7 Things Los Angeles Can Do To Protect Renters and Prevent Homelessness with guest Greg Bonett, Senior Staff Attorney with Public Counsel, a pro bono law firm representing tenants, and a keep organizational partner in the Keep LA Housed Coaliti...

As homelessness continues to increase nationally and locally, we need fast, urgent, and cost-effective solutions. Shared housing is a model where homeless people live together as a group, often in a single-family home, sharing a bedroom with a roommate.  It does not require long waits for government-approved vouchers, and it does not require a ton of staff or bureaucracy. And it does not require n...

Can a federal court make LA solve homelessness? That's the key question in LA Alliance for Human Rights vs. the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles , a provocative federal lawsuit overseen by Judge David O. Carter. In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Mike (who has called for greater court intervention to solve homelessness) talks with Elizabeth Mitchell , the lawyer for the LA Allia...

Can a federal court make LA solve homelessness? That's the key question in LA Alliance for Human Rights vs. the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles , a provocative federal lawsuit overseen by Judge David O. Carter. In Part 2 of this two-part episode, Mike (who has called for greater court intervention to solve homelessness) talks with with Pete White of LACAN , and Shayla Myers of L...

What do transit riders think of LA Metro ? And what do they think the regional transit agency thinks of THEM? Councilmember Mike Bonin , a member of the Metro board, talks about the bus system, service cuts, transit policing, fare free transit and more with Metro passengers and transit advocates:  Scarlett De Leon of ACT-LA , Oscar Zarate of SAJE , and  Scott Frasier of LA Podcast and Investing in...

The COVID pandemic has given birth to a brutal recession. A new report from the Economic Roundtable predicts job loss from this recession will cause homelessness in Los Angeles to skyrocket. How bad could it get? Who will it hurt? And most importantly, how can we prevent it?  Mike talks about that with the report’s author, Dan Flaming, this week on What’s Next, Los Angeles.  (Plus, Mike shares a f...

Riding a wave of public support for criminal justice reform,  George Gascón won election as Los Angeles County District Attorney last fall. When he took office in December, he announced  a package of sweeping reforms to remake the criminal justice system in Los Angeles. In this edition of What's Next Los Angeles, Mike Bonin talks with Gascón, who explains why he’s getting rid of cash bail,  r...

With hundreds of thousands of households in Los Angeles at risk of eviction, local housing justice advocates are pushing a big proposal to cancel rent and mortgages -- relieving renters, homeowners and "mom and pop" landlords from financial obligations they cannot possibly meet. On this week's "What's Next, Los Angeles," Mike Bonin speaks with three of the leaders beh...

Los Angeles is the largest urban oilfield in the country, and oil drilling happens near homes, schools, parks and hospitals. It mostly happens in low-income, African-American and Latinx communities, and it is making people sick. A dedicated coalition of residents has been fighting to stop drilling where they are living.  On this episode of "What's Next, Los Angeles," Mike Bonin talk...

In this episode of "What's Next, Angeles?" Mike Bonin talks about reimagining public safety with Ben Adam Climer of CAHOOTS , the successful mobile crisis intervention teams that handle non-violent emergency calls in Eugene, Oregon, in lieu of armed police response. It has become a national model. Mike and Ben discuss how it works in Oregon, and how it can work in Los Angeles. Plus:...

Tens of thousands of people are living -- and many of them are dying -- on our streets. Homelessness is an epic humanitarian crisis, and we are not going to solve it unless we hear from people who are living it. In this episode, Mike talks with: Theo Henderson, a former schoolteacher who has been unhoused for 7 years, and hosts the " We the Unhoused " podcast; Sage Johnson, who has unhou...

What do state and local election results mean for Los Angeles? We have a discussion about how local progressive grassroots energy shook things up this week — with special guests Manuel Pastor , Eunisses Hernandez , and guest co-host Christen Hebrard . Plus: Mike’s thoughts on how a proposed City ordinance represents a failed approach to homelessness, how police unions lost big in the elections, an...

One of the most significant issues on the ballot here in Los Angeles County is Measure J -- also known as the Reimagine LA initiative. The official ballot argument for Measure J states it will “address the disproportionate impact of racial injustice by prioritizing health, housing, youth development, and jobs in low-income and underserved communities - with a particular focus on Black, Brown and l...