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LOS ANGELES CITY HALL IS A BIG BLACK HOLE

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The Society of Professional Journalists , of which I am a proud member, has an annual  Black Hole Award  to "highlight the most heinous violations of the public's right to know." Timely, as I've been meaning to revisit the battle I fought last year with then-City Council District 4 representative Tom LaBonge, his obscured 501c3 [supposedly non-profit] organization Sister Cities, and what felt like all of Los Angeles City Hall. Some of it emerged earlier this month when a citizen lawsuit pushed the city attorney's office to go hunting for documents that disappeared from LaBonge's office, and the contents of the shredder- and incinerator-bound file boxes suggest illegal behavior including campaigning from sitting office. The Los Angeles Times later obtained emails showing willful refusal of my document requests around Sister Cities. My nomination is a bit scattershot, as I learned of the award and the impending deadline last minute. I rushed through, but yo...
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WASHIO SHUTS DOWN, NINJAS REMAIN INVISIBLE

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Washio  suddenly ended its Uber-for-your-clothes-like business of smartphone application-based laundry service to and from wherever you are, effective Aug. 29. The company's founders addressed customers in a letter on the Washio webiste: As of Aug 29, Washio will be shutting down its operations. No more orders will be accepted and outstanding orders will be returned promptly to customers.   We are not alone in believing in Washio’s core business, technology and team, and hope it lives on in some shape or form in the future. But, that story has yet to be told…   From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you for all of your support and belief in Washio, our vision and our love for sharing cookies and clean clothes. The cookies are a reference to the cookies given to customers at each visit, the mobile service's version of a hotel mint on your pillow. I wonder how much ever-changing contracting policies for their pick-up and drop-off staff, called Ninjas, l...
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IS THE SMARTPHONE MICROLABOR ECONOMY A MODERN GOLD RUSH?

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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am wrapping up my project for the ICFJ-S&P Global Financial Data Journalism Program . I am honored to have won the first prize fellowship to expand my dig into the LA gig economy that started at LA Weekly . My piece on two LA millenials making the gig economy more navigable runs on Thrillist Los Angeles on Friday; the rest of the project will run here, as a series: Wed. Aug.  31    Mileage, mapping, and weather applications Wed. Sept.   7   Gig economy accounting Wed. Sept. 14   Out-amenitize the competition Wed. Sept. 21   Lawyer up Wed. Sept. 28  Side hustle your side hustle Wed. Oct. 5      Cash out early Wed. Oct. 12    Monetize your mistakes Wed. Oct. 19    Find your people --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...
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