L.A.'s man of many hats

When you don’t know what else to try, hire Austin Beutner. Zocalo Public Square commentator Joe Mathews says that’s what the L.A. School Board has done with its latest pick for superintendent. Beutner is a smart guy, and a wealthy guy, who travels in powerful circles – and he’s managed to talk his way into some of the city most high-profile jobs in the city. That he doesn’t have a lot to show for it doesn’t stop Mathews from being inspired by Beutner’s example. He says Beutner has shown us that you can be anything you want to be, with one caveat. You have to want to lead the big, complicated institutions that Californians suspect are destined to fail.