A week ago, many of us made lofty resolutions that will be forgotten by Valentine’s Day. This year instead of pledging to lose weight, exercise and save money, I’m offering some wishes for 2024 for the city I’ve lived in for the last 50+ years.
For 2024, I would like to see a new slate of city councilpersons who actually care about the folks who voted for them. Years ago, country music legend Merle Haggard wrote, “When a President goes through the White House door and does what he says he’ll do / We’ll all be drinking that free BubbleUp and eating that rainbow stew.” Where are the candidates who will actually deliver on their campaign promises instead of forgetting them as soon as they’re sworn in? Lately we’ve seen too many city officials who use the citizens of West Hollywood as stepping stones to higher office. It would be a refreshing change to elect some new faces who view themselves as public servants who put the needs of the citizens first.
Maybe some new blood in City Hall would lead to better decisions in 2024, like not knocking down perfectly good old buildings without an ironclad plan to erect something new and improved on the site. I don’t even remember how long that vacant eyesore has been blighting the corner of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica. The proposed Walgreens store never materialized and no other potential developer has come forth. If one of the most heavily trafficked intersections in the city can’t attract anything profitable, how about turning the lot into something the citizens of central West Hollywood could really use, like a pocket park or a parking lot?
In 2024, maybe it’s time to reconsider some of the city’s more dubious experiments of the last few years, like those annoying Lime scooters. If there’s no way to wrangle these scooters and keep our sidewalks safe and clear, maybe it’s time to take them off the streets for good. And are those Block by Block “ambassadors” really earning their keep? Are they worth sacrificing real Sheriff’s officers who have the actual authority to arrest crooks? While it’s pretty obvious that WeHo needs solutions for our problems with traffic, parking and crime, some of the recent ideas just haven’t worked.
For the New Year, may the streets of West Hollywood see fewer empty storefronts and more local businesses. The city is losing businesses so frequently that two more went down since I started writing this post. Some landlords could really use a nocturnal visit by a trio of ghosts to convince them that leasing retail spaces at lower rents is better business than not renting them at all. It would certainly be nice if more local citizens could invest in opening new businesses instead of just having more chains taking up space.
May we all have peace and prosperity for 2024! Hey, we can dream, can’t we?
I agree, and literally everyone I know agrees. Thank you, Linda Cauthen.
I have lived here over 45 years. The state the City is currently in dismays me. We need new leadership.
Linda, I agree with most of what you said but on the empty storefront issue, it isn’t only the Landlords who are to blame. It is also the specter of the minimum wage for the prospective owners of the businesses and the high sales tax for the customers that may be preventing new businesses from opening here. Have to consider that too.