Another Shot at Prop. 13

The L.A. Times once again tackles the discriminatory (toward young home owners) Prop 13 --and in his latest column, discusses how Mayor Villaraigosa wants to take it on.

I'm not sure there's much Villaraigosa can do about it, but it's always worth taking another look at Prop. 13 -- particularly the commercial provision, which has allowed businesses to get away with dirt-cheap property taxes for years (while new business owners suffer).

As a relatively new, young homeowner, I of course will forever seethe about the inequities of who pays what. I know I shouldn't do this, because my blood will boil, but I sometimes check out real estate listings on Zillow of mansions that haven't changed hands in a few decades.

Above, this demonstrates how ridiculously uneven the Prop 13 rules are. This home, at 1937 Orchard Lane in La Canada-Flintridge, was recently featured in the Los Angeles Times. It's a 6,105 square feet house on a full acre property. The ask price? $3.4 million. (Zillow, to be fair, says it's worth $2.9 million).

What did the owners pay on property tax in 2010? $7,500. Because the home was assessed at $473,083. That's right. The County says this home is worth less than, say, a tiny 900 square foot shack in Echo Park. On about 2000 square feet of land. This is ridiculous. And exactly why people hold on to their homes for decades.

I don't know what the answer is, but quite simply, it's unfair to a whole generation of young homeowners.

SoCal Connected Explores L.A.'s 15-Year NFL Drought

L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez talks to the players behind L.A.'s latest bid for an NFL team -- and asks whether it's worth it -- in this week's edition of KCET's SoCal Connected. The episode airs on Friday at 8:30 p.m.

Los Angeles Magazine Hunts for "Mister L.A."

Which showman mosts personifies L.A.? Los Angeles magazine, which last year made waves for its 64 Greatest Things in L.A. poll, is this time looking to crown Mr. LA.

The candidates include Bob Baker, Eli Broad, Huell Howser, Magic Johnson, Jay Leno, Steve Lopez, Chris Nichols, Charles Phoenix, Wolfgang Puck, Kevin Roderick, Vin Scully and Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo.

Of course, there are plenty of names that didn't make the list -- what about Stan Chambers? (Of course, that would add one more old-white-guy to a list chock full of 'em.) But that's the point -- getting the conversation going.

Over at LA Observed, Roderick admits to being a bit embarrassed by the attention, and throws his lot behind Vin Scully. And Metblogs LA writers and readers toss a few more names out there: Ray Bradbury, Beck, Eric Garcetti and Jonathan Gold.

I'd also toss out Tom LaBonge -- but it appears that he was left off the list because the magazine actually crowned him "Mister LA" in their April issue. The mag said it was that designation that sparked this new poll. (Now, is "Ms. LA" to come?)

"The Soloist," Just In Time

For the embattled folks at the Los Angeles Times, the upcoming movie "The Soloist" should come as a rare morale boost. The feature stars Robert Downey Jr. as LAT columnist Steve Lopez, and Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, the gifted musician who battles with schizophrenia as a homeless man on L.A.'s Skid Row.

The LAT appears to play a prominent role in the feature; portions of "The Soloist" were filmed at the newspaper last year. As the movie's protagonist, the character based on Lopez looks to be the prototypical troubled-but-heroic journalist (hell, that's a positive on-screen depiction that all of journalism, not just LAT staffers, will probably cheer).

"The Soloist" hits theaters on April 24, which is why TV ads for the movie are starting to appear (I saw one last night during "The Amazing Race).

Check out the archive of Lopez's columns on Ayers -- which led to a book, which then led to the movie -- here.