In this fight, the homes usually lose as LAUSD has the power of the eminent domain. But one neighborhood is fighting back, and that's what I wrote about for this week's column.

This is late being posted, and that's because I took a couple vacation days. And one thing that always suprises me when I take some time off is how many people in Los Angeles don't seem to have regular jobs. I thought Monday morning at 11 would be the perfect time for light crowds at the Sunset Car Wash. It was busier than I've ever seen it, and I usually go on the weekends. Incidentally, I noted that three of the cars being hand washed as I waited were city cars -- two parking enforcement Honda Civic hybrids and one park ranger SUV. Does the car wash have a city deal?