The New York Times Visits the Provinces

The NYT has sent two of its crack reporters to an obscure west coast town to report on its inscrutable nature:

For all its successes, Los Angeles has not developed the political, cultural and philanthropic institutions that have proved critical in other American cities. The turmoil at The Times comes just months after Eli Broad, who has been the city’s biggest philanthropist, announced he was retiring.

I can’t see any chance that the town of Los Angeles will ever develop any politics, culture or philanthropy. However, the lovable hicks that inhabit this charming burg can nurture realistic hopes that one day the craft cocktails, mothers with tattoos, and yoga studios currently only found in Brooklyn and the hippest parts of Westchester County may one day arrive.

And however bad Los Angelenos have it, it’s even worse in the Pacific Northwest. The Vietnamese deli on the ground floor of my apartment makes a pretty good banh mi, but the other day I asked for a stale Kaiser roll with margarine and the server stared at me uncomprehendingly. Seattle has a long way to go if it wants to be considered a world-class city, I’m afraid.

…LOL here’s the IRONCLAD DATA that was cited in the piece to determine that LA has no culture of philanthropy:

It is my sincere hope that one day the earnest provincials of New York City will one day attain the rich cultural and philanthropic traditions of St. Louis and Orlando and Milwaukee. [H/T Michael Hiltzik]