By Joseph P. Charney If you want to get the answer to a simple math problem, inject the right numbers in the right places. “Solving” is a notion that is associated with a problem that has “an answer”. Most challenges of government involve tradeoffs. Where math requires specificity of inputs…

By Joseph P. Charney On August 19th, Federal Judge Dean Pregerson called up the matter of the United States of America versus Los Angeles County. The case concerns the County’s obligation under a 2015 Consent Decree to provide constitutional care and housing for thousands of inmates suffering serious mental illness…

By Joseph P. Charney At the beginning of the 17th century, the idea that the earth revolved around the sun was a theory. Galileo looked through his telescope and turned theory into fact upending church dogma with observation. Fast forward 400 years to LA County where tens of thousands live…

By Joseph P. Charney If insanity is doing the same thing expecting a different result then California’s leadership’s continued support of California’s High Speed Railway Authority (HSRA) bullet train project is insane. In 2008, Governor Jerry Brown promised Californians a 500 mile high-speed railroad running from Sacramento to Los Angeles…

By Joseph P. Charney In a recent op-ed, LA District Attorney George Gascon emphasized the need to increase financial support for victims of violent crimes. He says he wants more money for therapy, medical support, burial expenses and other needs — to enable victims and their families to “heal”. Good…

By Joseph P. Charney Should the phrase “law and order” continue to be associated with oppression, when its opposite, “lawlessness” and “disorder”, are threats to a free society — especially the low income? …

By Joseph P. Charney African-Americans make up 9% of LA City’s population but constitute 36 percent of its homicide victims. This contrasts with the City’s white population, where thirty percent of the population comprises eight percent of homicide victims. In light of this disparity shouldn’t we expect our County District…

By Joseph P. Charney When the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors votes this Tuesday to expedite the leveling of Men’s Central Jail (MCJ) with the intent not to replace it with one that could adequately treat inmates with mental illness, it continues on a reckless path that ignores justice for…

By Joseph P. Charney It was a blatant daylight robbery. Two Rollin ’30s gang members walked into an Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills on March 4th and robbed a diner at gunpoint of his $500,000 wristwatch. When a struggle ensued over the gun, a patron was accidentally wounded. In the…