San Francisco fixed itself. Los Angeles can too.

Just up the road, San Francisco is undergoing a civic revival. New leadership has embraced pragmatic policies, tough love, and a renewed sense of civic pride. Encampments and open-air drug markets are giving way to clean parks and revitalized business corridors. The city boosted funding for street cleaning and mental health services. Crime is down, and hope is in the air.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles continues to stumble. We’ve sleepwalked through elections and embraced policies that have deepened our crises.