California
Commentary: From the scene of South L.A.’s erupting sidewalks, 5 questions for Bass and Raman
OK, I’ll admit it. I’m going to miss Spencer Pratt.
I had never heard of the former reality TV star before he said God wanted him to be mayor of Los Angeles. And now that he’s out of the race, he’s still serving up lazy fastballs down the middle of the plate, calling the top two vote-getters — Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman — dummies and morons.
Quick question for Pratt: If you’re on record claiming that 9/11 was an inside job and the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax, and you run for office in a deep blue city with President Trump’s backing but not much of a plan or even a clue as to what a mayor can or can’t do, should you be calling other people morons?
And yet the pouting Pratt pulled more than 200,000 votes. So sore loser or not, he tapped into a lack of faith in elected officials and simmering frustration with City Hall, which happen to be the essence of today’s column.
I have five questions for Bass and Raman. They’re somewhat inter-related and have to do with matters I hear about regularly from readers:
Infrastructure (sidewalks, streets, etc).
Homelessness (billions of dollars spent, and a long way to go).
Parks (L.A.’s national ranking for quality and accessibility just dropped again).
Trash and blight (no explanation needed, right?).
And focus. (Do the candidates have a clear set of goals and a plan for achieving them?)
We’ve got five months to visit and revisit these topics, and today I’m going to focus on the first, so here we go.
Infrastructure:
A few days ago, I met with Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable. Hutchinson is a longtime community activist and commentator, and he had just launched a torpedo in the direction of City Hall.
“There are hundreds of busted, dangerous sidewalks in South L A that have gone unrepaired for years,” he wrote to his network of followers. “They cause hundreds of injuries, and have resulted in massive numbers of claims and payouts in settlements. LA City Officials must act now to jumpstart a crash program to fix these sidewalks.”
On my way to meet Hutchinson, I traveled west along Florence Avenue and saw dozens of typical rough patches on the street and sidewalks. But if there were a contest to identify the all-time worst sidewalks in Los Angeles, Hutchinson’s discovery of the one at 71st Street and 11th Avenue would be a Hall of Fame contender.
For starters, it’s got the classic uplift, and the villain is the usual suspect — ficus tree roots. A 20-foot slab of sidewalk is pitched sharply, as if designed by trip-and-fall lawsuit lawyers. Way back in 2014, in my early days on sidewalk patrol, I was able to crawl under a similarly ruptured sidewalk in West L.A., and I could’ve done the same at 71st and 11th.
But I thought better of it after Hutchinson peered into the opening and said it looked like a comfy home for rats and other vermin.
The homeowner, Sharon Kelly, can’t use her front gate because of the lopsided sidewalk. She let me borrow her tape measure, which revealed a 16-inch rise in the pavement.
“It keeps rising,” Kelly said. “But it was already lifted when we came here.”
That was in 1997. I asked if she’s called the city for help.
“Several times,” she said, and the only response was a slapdash temporary asphalt patch.
Hutchinson said residents have responded in force to his call for emergency sidewalks repairs, just as they did when he crusaded for a crackdown on widespread illegal dumping.
“Dozens of residents have come out of the woodwork, and here’s what they all say: ‘We have called our city council person and various city departments repeatedly, over and over again.’”
And the response?
“Nothing,” Hutchinson said.
While we were talking, two people with walkers steered clear of the worst spot near Kelly’s property. Charles McQuarn, 77, said traversing the neighborhood means zigzagging around all the hazards.
“I gotta come out into the streets, too,” he said.
When he was a teenager, McQuarn said, he worked for a community group that fixed sidewalks. I mentioned that Councilmember Monica Rodriguez has been using Conservation Corps youths to do the same, but it’s time to scale up that program and come up with other remedies to speed the process.
The city is fixing about 600 sidewalks each year, the backlog of requested repairs stands at about 30,000 and if you get onto the waiting list, you’re looking at about 10 years before help arrives.
When we were done on 71st Street, Hutchinson led me over to a nearby stretch of Florence where, for blocks and blocks, it appears as if there have been volcanic eruptions around the trees. Large chunks of cracked sidewalk form mounds, one after another. The Hutchinson Himalayas are a site to behold — a mile-long museum of municipal neglect.
And it’s been like this, Hutchinson said, “for years.”
The question for Bass and Raman: What will you do to speed the repairs?
Homelessness:
Voters have been generous when it comes to repeatedly taxing themselves more, and more, to address homelessness. There’s been Measure H, Measure A, Measure ULA and Proposition HHH.
Yet although billions of dollars have been spent and tens of thousands of people have been helped and housed, more than 40,000 people are homeless in the city and roughly 70,000 in the county. In her primary victory speech, Bass said families shouldn’t have to step around encampments, and Raman has said greater urgency is needed.
Questions for Bass and Raman: Why haven’t taxpayers gotten more for their money with the two of you at the helm, what are you going to do to speed progress and create more accountability, and what distinguishes you from each other?
Parks:
In the annual rankings by the National Trust for Public Lands, Los Angeles has dropped from 90th to a tie for 93rd in park investment and accessibility among the nation’s 100 most populous cities.
The City Council is about to consider a motion to increase park funding through charter reform (with dozens of community groups in support), and progress is ridiculously slow on an agreement to use schools as after-hours playgrounds.
Question for Bass and Raman: Do you support the charter reform, and what else are you going to do to address the sad state of the city’s parks?
Trash and blight:
In downtown L.A., vandalism, shuttered storefronts and post-COVID abandonment have crippled what was a vibrant, revenue-generating economy that benefited the whole city.
In Hollywood, a resident hired her housekeeper to help report illegal dumping of goods that are often used to construct more homeless encampments, leading to all sorts of problems.
On the south lawn of City Hall, a graffiti-tagged monument and fountain have been out of commission for most of the last six decades.
Question for Bass and Raman: At the very least, can you fix the fountain?
Focus:
Like any big city with great assets and unlimited challenges, many residents have a love-hate relationship with L.A. But years ago, someone told me he loves Los Angeles because it’s a messy, multi-cultural work in progress, set on a dramatic landscape between mountain and sea, trying to figure out what it wants to be.
Question for Bass and Raman: Whether in the realm of basic services or grand visions, what three or four primary objectives do you have over the next four years?
In other words, what do you want L.A. to be?
steve.lopez@latimes.com
Activists are pushing for Black English to be legitimized in preschool as a way to build children’s literacy skills in California.
The Black Californians United for Early Care & Education (BlackECE) is part of a movement to challenge “harmful language hierarchies and affirm Black English as a legitimate, rule-governed language rooted in Black history, culture, and community.”
The movement also seeks to “address how language bias shows up in early learning spaces–and how it can be dismantled.”
“I don’t want my son to walk into any room and feel like his voice is not valued or his perspective can’t be heard because he’s not saying it one way or the other,” the co-founder of BlackECE Ashley Williams told PBS.
She also remembered how speaking Black English is full of slangs and grammatical errors so it came with a lot of embarrassment.
BlackECE is a nonprofit organization centered around a 10-point policy plan that seeks to gain reparations and help Black children, families, and workers.
California released a plan promoting early dual language learning and calling on the state’s education system to support bilingual children in their development in 2020, but the advocacy group believes that Black vernacular should be included.
“We talk about multilinguals, but we don’t include Black children who may be African-American English speakers,” the Director of the Children’s Equity Project Xigrid Soto-Boykin said.
Williams also recalled her experiences in having to “talk white” and talking in her comfortable English and feeling insecure.
Around 20% of American children and 44% of five to seventeen year-olds in California are considered to be bilingual, according to the National Library of Medicine’s research in 2020.
However, only 89% of African-Americans solely speak English at home.
California
Jackie and Shadow fled during Big Bear fireworks but returned to nest and eaglets the next day
Fireworks can frighten animals and send them scattering, but Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets apparently are made of sterner stuff.
Chicks Luna and Sandy were seen safe and sound Sunday morning around 6 a.m. on the popular livestream nest cam aimed at their Big Bear pine tree, snacking on fish in the family aerie.
Mom and Dad did fly off when the nearby Fourth of July holiday show promoted by tourism organization Visit Big Bear began on Saturday night, Big Bear Valley media and website manager Jennifer Voisard told the Orange County Register on Sunday morning.
But both bald eagles flew back to their nest Sunday morning to care for their eaglets, who had remained around the nest during the show.
The fireworks show has faced controversy regarding the famous avians, spawning a Change.org petition to move the festivities farther away or switch to an environmentally friendlier drone show.
More than 45,000 people signed the petition. But the show went on for the sake of the local economy.
There was particular anxiety this year among environmental advocates as the eaglets were on the cusp of flying as the event was planned. The pair took their first flights just days beforehand. They had been spotted in nearby trees but didn’t immediately return to the nest.
The nonprofit that operates the webcam, Friends of Big Bear Valley, wrote a letter to officials warning that, “whether they are still in the nest or newly fledged, they will depend on Jackie and Shadow to care for them.”
“If, as in the past, Jackie and Shadow were to flee the habitat area for a few days, this could put the eaglets in danger at this important time of their lives.”
To the relief of their fans, the parents did return.
The fireworks event is an important economic driver in a year when Big Bear saw less snow than usual during its peak winter months, the travel organization said.
“The fireworks show is a long-standing community tradition and an important economic driver for Big Bear’s local businesses, workers, restaurants, lodging properties, recreation providers, and families. That context is especially important this year after another low-to-no snow winter, which directly impacted many of our neighbors, employees, and small businesses,” Visit Big Bear said in a statement.
It said the show happens about two miles away from Jackie and Shadow’s nest and lasted only about 30 minutes.
The eagles — and occasionally their chicks — could be seen on Friends of Big Bear Valley’s livestream heading into Sunday evening.
© PeopleImages / Shutterstock.com
California’s median household income landed at $100,600 in 2024, according to Census data compiled by the St. Louis Fed. That is the number a portfolio has to replace to hand a Golden State family the same paycheck without anyone clocking in. The wrinkle: California’s 2024 regional price parity was 110.7, meaning prices were about 10.7% above the national average. Replacing that income with dividends carries a built-in purchasing-power headwind.
The core equation: income target divided by yield equals the capital required before taxes. What changes across yield tiers is the risk, growth trajectory, tax treatment, and whether the check keeps up with California living costs over the next decade.
The Sleep-At-Night Tier: 3.5% to 4%
At a 3.5% blended yield, replacing $100,600 requires roughly $2,874,000 in invested capital. This is the dividend growth lane. PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP | PEP Price Prediction) yields about 4% and just raised its payout for the 54th consecutive year, with a $1.48 quarterly dividend up from $1.4225. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) yields a leaner 2% but just delivered its 64th consecutive annual raise to $1.34 quarterly.
The tradeoff is capital-heavy but growth-rich. PepsiCo’s annual dividend climbed from $4.02 in 2020 to $5.62 in 2025, roughly a 40% raise in five years. That is how this tier beats the California cost-of-living treadmill.
The Middle Path: 5% to 6.5%
At a 5% blend, the required capital drops to roughly $2,012,000. Push to 6.5% and the number falls to about $1,548,000. This tier is where net-lease REITs, gaming REITs, and pipeline partnerships live.
Realty Income (NYSE:O) yields about 5%, pays monthly, and just declared its 114th consecutive quarterly increase at an annualized $3.246 per share. Portfolio occupancy sits at 99%. VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI) yields almost 7% off a $1.783 payout backed by triple-net leases on Caesars Palace and MGM properties with 100% occupancy. Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) yields near 6% on a $2.20 annualized distribution, though its K-1 tax form adds filing complexity in a high-tax state.
The tradeoff: growth slows. VICI’s quarterly dividend rose from $0.4325 to $0.45 over the past year, a mid-single-digit bump. Realty Income’s payout grew about 3% to 3.7% per its 2026 AFFO guide. That still edges past inflation, barely.
The High-Yield Tier: 8% and Above
At 8.3%, the required capital collapses to roughly $1,212,000. Main Street Capital (NYSE:MAIN) is the archetype. Its regular monthly payout of $0.26 annualizes to $3.12, and four $0.30 supplementals per year add another $1.20, for a total of roughly $4.32 per share. Against a $52 stock price, that is a total yield near 8.3%.
The catch: BDC supplementals are tied to net investment income and portfolio performance, not contractual. Non-accruals sat at about 1% of the portfolio at fair value at quarter-end, which is healthy, but the extras can shrink in a credit downturn. The 10-year Treasury yields about 4.5% for comparison, so an 8% equity yield is nearly double the risk-free rate for a reason.
Why the Cheapest Portfolio Is Often the Worst Deal
A 3.5% yield growing 8% per year doubles the income stream in nine years. A flat 8% yield stays exactly where it started. Nine years from now, that $100,600 California household budget needs to be closer to $130,000 just to hold ground against typical inflation. The high-yield portfolio funds today’s paycheck. The growth portfolio funds today’s paycheck and next decade’s.
California’s top marginal state rate reaches 13.3%, and MLP K-1s, REIT ordinary-income distributions, and BDC dividends are almost all taxed as ordinary income. Qualified dividends from PepsiCo or Johnson & Johnson get preferential federal treatment. That gap matters in Sacramento’s tax bracket.
Before Chasing Yield, Run These Three Numbers
- Calculate spending, not salary. California households often need to replace only 70% to 80% of their working income once payroll taxes, retirement contributions, commuting costs, and other job-related expenses disappear. Replacing $75,000 of actual spending requires far less capital than replacing a $100,600 paycheck.
- Compare total return, not just today’s yield. Run a simple ten-year spreadsheet comparing a 3.5% dividend-growth portfolio with an 8% high-yield portfolio, assuming dividends are reinvested. The higher-yield option often wins early, but the growth portfolio frequently catches and passes it over time.
- Model after-tax income. California’s 9.3% and 13.3% state tax brackets can change the ranking. Qualified dividends, REIT distributions, BDC dividends, and MLP distributions all receive different tax treatment, so the portfolio with the highest stated yield may not produce the most spendable income.
Replacing California’s median household income with dividends is possible, but the cheapest portfolio is not always the one that leaves you in the strongest position ten or twenty years from now. The right choice depends on whether your priority is maximizing today’s income, protecting tomorrow’s purchasing power, or striking a balance between the two. For most investors, the real goal is not simply matching a paycheck. It is creating one that never requires punching a clock again.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
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