Robert StGenis Voice empowered

Downtown Los Angeles is a "district" which is rather small, only encompassing shy of 6 square miles of the 503 square mile city boundaries. Basically, a little more than 1%. When I first moved to Los Angeles in the late 90s I would joke with visitors that the skyscrapers in Downtown were there as a stage set really so that you could have an easily identifiable location shot. Unless you needed city hall, had to go to court or went to see the opera (and some theatre), there was little other reason to go there unless your job was there. You might have well packed your own lunch or nosh as restaurants were hard to come by as well. Then, as LA moved into the 21st Century and the city adapted some new laws to allow repurposing of abandoned buildings that had been sitting for decades, things began to change.  The 2000 Census found that 27,849 people lived in Downtown. City estimates that the population grew to about 35,000 in 2008. Census data moved that number to over 40,000 by 201...

Midtown Atlanta I am making this a "sub-series" within the series on my Love/Hate  series  of Los Angeles.  I descended back into the City of Angels on December 29 after being in Atlanta since December 1. While Los Angeles went further and further into lockdown, I was able to eat indoors in restaurants, and go to bars, go to the gyms indoors and sit in a hot tub or sauna while in Georgia. I couldn't go to the movies, a museum or theatre. There were restrictions in medical offices, some greater than here, which I learned as I took my father to a number of appointments. Some schools were completely open, others hybrids, others yet online only. I went and looked at properties to purchase with an agent, albeit socially distancing and with masks on. I attended open houses with limits on numbers of people in the property, social distancing and again masks. But all in all, life was as normal as it could be with a pandemic never seen in our history. On occasion, I found plac...

Los Angeles had been beaten and battered in the few years leading up to my arrival. Starting in 1991, the Los Angeles basin shed over 200,000 jobs, primarily in the aerospace industry. Military bases were closed throughout Southern California. I've later learned much more about how this largely changed Southern California's "landscape" and diminished our middle class. The  Northridge earthquake of 1994  was one of the most costly natural disasters in US history.  I remember watching coverage on television. While there are cracks and shifts in buildings from the earthquake to this day and I remember noting some minor damage on trips to LA in 1996 prior to my moving, in reflection I have to say it was amazing how quickly things overall were repaired. But, it's impact did contribute to people leaving the region and a decline in prices. The earthquake occurred less than 2 years following the  1992 Los Angeles riots , which arguably was far more devastating to ...

The weekend after Tony had left our place he sent me a text message saying he needed to come by in the next "day or two" to pick up some "important document" he needed for something. I wasn't really sure what he did or did not have at our place. I know that he had very limited possessions in general. He seems to have had things stolen constantly, and people whom he stays with ultimately lock him out and keep his property. I have read and heard of many stories of problems with theft for those on the streets. While I could see some 'one' being vindictive enough to hold or discard his property I can't imagine why people would want his things. Canned tuna? Ragged jeans and tee shirts? Is there some gratification in throwing away another's belongings that I don't appreciate? He was at the library in Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) and he would only have access to the internet until 1 pm. He would then have "spotty" access and let me know ...

I used to serve on Victory Campaign Board of Victory Fund. The  Victory Fund  is much like Emily's List with it's objective being in increasing the presence of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government throughout the US. Now, they, or at least their nonprofit institute, is reaching beyond the US, at least at training people to run for office. It was taking their Campaign & Candidate training, which was some of the more memorable, intense 3 days of training I may have ever taken, that not only brought me into the Victory Fund, but also led me to leave my career in Real Estate and become a political consultant, starting as a Campaign Manager for a state assembly candidate who was a Mayor of a Southern California town and on my team in the training. I still maintain friendships from my time with the organization and may well get involved again at some juncture. It is a commitment, but it always proved to be rewarding. I think it was the first year I was ser...

Their husbands have some things very much in common. Neither are helpful with caring for the children or helping at home. They find ways to take months, even years to finish a household project that I know my Dad (probably involuntarily bringing in my brother and myself) have done in a weekend.  Neither have a particularly good relationship with their children. Both Father's have been verbally abusive to the children; one psychically abusive. While the one the one Father still seems to hold a fairly strong bond with his kids, the other has children far less interested in his relationship at this juncture. These men have hardly been lovers to their wives. I am not sure at least one, if not both, perhaps may have wanted to want to be but incapable. They may have made some efforts in some ways, at some times, but aren't best friends. They have used sexual demands with leverage. They have humiliated and belittled these women for years. Yet children and rings kept these smart, ed...