Joel Epstein
Recent Posts
A Review of Streetfight by Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Solomonow
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Janette Sadik-Khan’s new book Streetfight comes out next Tuesday March 8. Sadik-Khan will be in L.A. speaking and signing books on March 16 at the Hammer Museum and March 17 at Gensler in downtown Los Angeles. Congratulations to Erik Griswold who won Streetfight during SBLA’s pledge drive last week, and to Luke Klipp who won Gabe […]
Not Your Parents’ LADOT
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One of the nice things about shopping for food and eating in France is that the quality is assured by rigorous government regulation. While some boulangeries are better than others, in general, consumers can find a good quality baguette in any bakery. Refreshingly, the same might be said about the Westside Urban Forum‘s (WUF) monthly […]
Why I Am Voting for Eric Garcetti
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(Note: To help Streetsblog readers decide how best to cast their vote in the election, we asked two regular writers not on staff to write their recommendations in the election. Today, current Board Member and 2009 Streetsie Writer of the Year Joel Epstein takes his turn writing about his support for Eric Garcetti. Yesterday, Founding Board Member Emeritus […]
Measure J and the future of [transit in] L.A.
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(This is the third of four op/eds on Measure J that Streetsblog will publish this week. Monday, Gloria Ohland of Move L.A. made the case for Measure J, yesterday the BRU made their case for a no vote. – DN) I am writing this quickly as I pack for a return trip to the land of aggressive […]
Los Angeles and the Case for Transit Oriented Development: Building and Funding TOD
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This is the third part of a three part series on Transit Oriented Development written by Joel Epstein. Part I ran on Wednesday and introduced the series and looked at Metro’s current role. Part II ran yesterday and focused on the TOD history of L.A. since construction of the Red Line. The series was originally […]
Los Angeles and the Case for Transit Oriented Development: TOD Since the Red Line
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This is the second in a three-part series on Transit Oriented Development and Los Angeles by Joel Epstein. Yesterday’s piece was an introduction and a look at Metro’s role. Today, Epstein looks at the history of TOD on the Red Line. Tomorrow, he examines what L.A. has to do to embrace true Transit Oriented Development. […]
Los Angeles and the Case for Transit-Oriented Development (Part 1 of 3)
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This is the first in a three-part series on Transit Oriented Development and Los Angeles. Today’s piece is an introduction and a look at Metro’s role. Tomorrow looks at the history of TOD on the Red Line. Friday examines what L.A. has to do to embrace true Transit Oriented Development. For those of us who […]
A Food Desert By Any Other Name
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What is the real story behind food deserts? New research from the Public Policy Institute of California comes to the same conclusion that researchers from the California Center for Public Health Advocacy came to five years ago. I guess the confirmation of these findings is cause for a low calorie celebration. Or perhaps a victory lap around the Staples Center, […]
Shilling for the Soda Industry
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You get what you pay for. Or at least that is what the soda industry thought when it hired a University of Alabama “scientist” to do its bidding, questioning the incontrovertible link between soda and obesity. I thought being a scientist meant abiding by an ethical code to interpret research data objectively and free of bias. Apparently I was wrong. Just […]
The Food Desert & The Real Thing
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What’s a food desert? When I hear the term I think of old Road Runner cartoons or a barren landscape of rocks and sun with a Joshua tree or cactus off in the distance. It’s not the landscape many Angelenos are currently seeing of green hills, lush full trees and wildflowers blooming after a winter […]
Epstein Extra: Metro is for All Angelenos!
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In a cover story I penned for this week Jewish Journal entitled, “All Aboard the Case for an All-Pervasive Metro,” I argue that mass transit in LA has finally arrived at the door of the Jewish community. Thanks to the region’s population growth, as well as Metro’s considerable expansion over the past twenty years and […]