On this episode of Inside the Issues, Alex Cohen is joined by Anna Scott, Housing Reporter with KCRW, Naomi Seligman, Founder of Tower 26, and Hayes Davenport, Co-Host, LA Podcast, to talk about some local issues in Southern California including politics, economics and housing.

Amazon Plans Brick-and-Mortar Store for Woodland Hills

Amazon is planning to open a new type of grocery store in Woodland Hills in what used to be a Toys R Us. We look at why the retailer might invest in a brick and mortar location and what they could possibly mean for consumers.

Scott said while she does shop at multiple grocery stores to find different brands, there are some stores that have it all and she isn’t sure what the goal of Amazon’s new store would be.

“It’s still unclear to me what would differentiate the store and how it could maybe become this one-stop-shop,” Scott said.

Davenport said it might be a way to combine many of their services into one, using it as a hub for delivery services.

“Instead of how long it takes now, probably an hour, they could cut that down to 15 minutes if they had a store closer to you,” he said. “It sounds like the real value of this store is data. It’s just going to be a data-mining operation so they can learn more about consumer preferences and their signature is they are willing to lose money so they can undercut all of these other stores on prices.”

"Starship Enterprise" Mega-Mansion Upsets Neighbors 

A wealthy real estate developer known for luxury hotels and mansions in Southern California has upset neighbors with one mega-mansion he is building, which is dubbed the “Starship Enterprise.” L.A. City prosecutors say a structural engineer found key structures supporting the residence were not sound and the Bel Air mansion should come down.

Scott said mansions of this magnitude are really risky to build even in the best circumstances.

“There’s an incredibly limited pool of buyers for these kinds of over-the-top properties with champagne rooms and tennis courts and movie theaters,” she said.

Scott did a deep-dive into these kinds of homes that are on the market for $30 million dollars or more and she said they sit on the market for months and had price reductions.

Checking in on LAX's LAXit Rideshare Pickup Lot

LAX recently launched a new system to have passengers meet up with their ride share drivers at a special site away from the airport. This move was supposed to help with the traffic and congestion around the airport.

One Uber and Lyft driver joins the panel to talk about how traffic at the airport is working with the new changes. Sergio Avedian said it will take time to adjust to the growing pains of the new process of navigating in and out of the airport.

“What’s happened is we have become so used to pushing a button and getting a car and those things have changed,” Sergio Avedian said. “It’s an old airport, it was built in the 50s, it was refurbished in the 80s for the Olympics. Now it’s going through the same thing again. There’s just not enough room there to do all this construction and do thousands of pick-ups a day.”

Non-profit Youth Policy Shuts Down

The panelists also comment on the shutting down of the LA based non-profit Youth Policy, which was known for after school programs, job training, tax preparation and other services benefiting low-income families. Reports said the former head of the organization, Dixon Slingerland, spent company funds on unauthorized, personal expenses. Donald Trump Jr. visited UCLA to promote his new book, Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us, he was met with protesters outside the event. Joined by his girlfriend, Political Analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle, the pair angered attendees when they refused to participate in a Q&A. And we take a look at the return of Prop 13 which will be on the ballots this March.