Can Los Angeles City Hall Become Business Friendly?

For decades, big developers, small businesses and property owners have complained that starting a project and getting it built is a nightmare in the City of LA. Will merging the Planning Department with Building and Safety make LA competitive with Long Beach, Burbank and El Segundo? We hear some horror stories and ask if reconstructing the bureaucracy will make a difference. Also, have the bulldozers left the Malibu Lagoon better or worse than it was before? What's in store for what's left of the Ballona Wetlands?

On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, John Kerry's first months as Secretary of State have been focused on renewing Israeli-Palestinian "peace talks." Polls show that neither side really believes that peace has a chance. Does the US have the power — and the commitment -- to make a difference?

Banner image: Floyd B. Bariscale