Mayor Rules Out '06 Gubernatorial Bid

From the LA Times:

SACRAMENTO — Antonio Villaraigosa arrived in his old Capitol stamping grounds this week as California Democrats' best asset — a handsome, popular mayor blessed with rapidly burgeoning national name recognition.

Amid the adulation on the mayor's two-day victory tour here, some Democrats were a little wistful for a candidacy that probably will not be — at least not anytime soon.

Democratic activists are looking for someone to knock off Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger next year. The maverick Republican once seemed invincible but is now suffering a spate of low poll numbers. On Tuesday, Villaraigosa insisted that it won't be him.

"I'm like a kid in a candy store right now — I love being mayor of the city that I was born in, raised in, that my grandpa came to 100 years ago," Villaraigosa said. "I'm going to be mayor of the city of Los Angeles for the next four years."

That announcement was unsurprising to Democratic insiders. They understand that Villaraigosa, who didn't complete his term as a city councilman, needs to fulfill his commitment in Los Angeles. But some also feel that the current candidates — Steve Westly, the state controller, and Phil Angelides, the state treasurer — lack the mayor's A-list charisma.

To them, Villaraigosa seems like a wasted chance.

For the rest of the story, click here.

Newest Huizar Endorsement

I can't believe I missed this. Thank you to the always helpful tipster for pointing it out.

Yesterday I posted about the "Ass Clown of the Week" award from the NortheastLA Yahoo Group. Just a few messages down was this little gem...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NortheastLA/message/7917

The focus of my attention...

"I opt for Huizar since he has never had the opportunity to represent CD 14, so we might as well give him a chance. We can always vote him out in four years. . . " -- Freddrick Brito

Name not ring a bell? Here's a refresher.

As our tipster points out, I wonder if Fraudulent Fred's ("Father Fred") name will go up on Huizar's website in the place where Tony Scudellari's name was just a week ago. There's a "vacancy" needing to be filled.

Open Thread for Wednesday

"When lip service to some mysterious deity permits bestiality on Wednesday and absolution on Sunday, cash me out." -- Frank Sinatra

Californians for Rocky

I received via e-mail this afternoon an e-mail stating that President City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo is unveiling his new website tomorrow (Wednesday) in his quest for Attorney General. For more information regarding the announcement tomorrow, you can click here for the sneak peek. Here's the e-mail:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Josh Pulliam
To: Josh@Rocky2006.com
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005
Subject: Conference call for Political Bloggers
Hello,

I am Rocky Delgadillo's campaign manager and I wanted to personally introduce myself and invite you to join me on a conference call on September 7th at 10 am so you can learn more about Rocky Delgadillo and his campaign.

As an active political blogger, you may be aware of next year's race for Attorney General of California. While most people know that Jerry Brown is running, they may not know about Rocky Delgadillo, who will formally announce his candidacy tomorrow.

If you get a chance, take a moment and check out our web site at http://www.rocky2006.com/rocky2006/rocky_home.html. The site has not yet gone live, but will tomorrow. We know it's a basic site - we'll be adding more bells and whistles in '06. In the meantime, I thought you might find Jerry Brown's quote of the week feature interesting.

I hope you will join us on the 7th. Please feel free to give me a call or send us an email at Blog@Rocky2006.com to RSVP or learn more.

Thanks,

Josh Pulliam
Californians for Rocky

The Grand Poobah and the Bean Counter

Spotted at LA Observed: One of the neighborhood councils in Northridge designated its chairman "the grand poobah" and the treasurer "bean counter." Seems the city is not amused, since they also don't get anyone to their meetings. From the Daily News:

The city Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, escalating its dispute with one of the first groups it approved, is proposing to decertify the Old Northridge Community Council over how its board was elected.

The Board of Neighborhood Commissioners is scheduled to take up a staff recommendation to decertify the community council at its Sept. 6 meeting.

"We tried to work with them but were not able to resolve this," said Greg Nelson, general manager of the department. "We had problems with how they conducted their elections and their lack of outreach to residents."

Old Northridge Community Council officials said they will fight to remain part of the city's neighborhood council system.

"Rules do not make a neighborhood council,' said Jay Christensen, a professor of business communications at California State University, Northridge, who serves as the council's treasurer.

In electing a board, the group termed the chairman "the grand poobah" and the treasurer "the bean counter."

"Yes, we had some fun with some of the names, but that should be beside the point," Christensen said.

[cut]

Nelson said there are two other neighborhood councils in the Northridge area, both of which were formed by people who felt excluded by the Old Northridge Community Council.

Councilman Greig Smith, who represents the area, is aware of the controversy and asked the city agency to try to come up with a compromise.

"The issue is the people want to get involved and we support that," said Mitch Englander, chief deputy to Smith. "We've asked (the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment) to put aside their differences and work with them to figure out a process to keep this group active."

Ass Clown of the Week

It takes a lot to be named Ass Clown of the week, but we definitely found a winner. It's one thing to make a mistake. It's another to get caught and suffer the consequences. But to defend the act takes a special breed...From the NortheastLA Yahoo Group:

Eliot Sekuler wrote:

Dear Editor:

Steve Hymon's article "City Panel Nominee Is Under Fire for E-Mail" (8/24/05) played into the hands of the worst elements of Los Angeles local politics and damaged the causes of open space preservation and exclusionary zoning for affordable housing in Northeast Los Angeles, causes for which Tony Scudellari has long stood as an effective and tireless standard-bearer.

Mr. Scudellari, who's been widely and rightfully recognized for his community service and who's been active in the recent campaigns of John Kerry, Antonio Villaraigosa and, more recently, CD 14 candidate Jose Huizar, was guilty of nothing other than carelessness in trusting some private observations to a glibly-worded private email that was sent to eight people (seven friends and, presumably, one other person).

The email, which contained an offhanded joke about a person of his own Italian ethnicity, fell into the hands of Robert Urteaga and Michael Gatto, campaign manager and former campaign manager, respectively, of Huizar's opponent, Nick Pacheco, who pounced on the opportunity to damage Scudellari's credibility and by extension, that of Pacheco's front-running opponent by leveraging private correspondence into an L.A. Times story.

Political blog-sites and Northeast L.A. bulletin boards have since been abuzz with gloating messages from greedy land developers and Pacheco supporters, who see Scudellari's plight as an opportunity to press their agenda. The messages include missives from "anonymous" posters who hide behind ineffective pseudonyms to make truly scurrilous and absurd distortions of the facts of this tempest in a teapot.

It's unfortunate that the Times, perhaps unwittingly, has played a role in--temporarily-- muffling Mr.Scudellari's progressive voice in Northeast L.A. issues.

Sincerely,
Eliot Sekuler
Mount Washington

I bolded a few of my favorite passages above... To the "anonymous" posters mentioned above, I join you in offering Mr. Sekuler the "Ass Clown of the Week" Award for his tireless defense of the indefensible. When will they learn...

Animal Lovers

They are up to 33. (for a refresher, here's 31 and 32 is in the comments section)

The newest missive:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Daniel Guss
To:
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2005
Subject: Reason #33 to Fire Stuckey: He's a wannabe rootin' tootin' SHERIFF

Please cross-post this email from www.STANDFoundation.org

Jim:

Stuckey is supposed to be the GM
Stuckey is not supposed to be a rootin' tootin' deputy dawg.
Why, then, has he ordered himself a uniform -- which requires training he hasn't taken???
Why, then, has he tried to get a firearm???
In order to enforce PC 832, he must take training....but this isn't in his job description, Jim!!!!
TERRI MACELLARO doesn't have a wannabe cop complex.
She wants to run the shelters well; she wants to promote the great employees; and she wants to do the things that Stuckey is neglecting while getting fitted for a badge & uniform:
He is neglecting – everything – especially the effort to stop the killing.
Mayor Villaraigosa "guaranteed" his firing.
You need to ensure it and put Terri Macellaro in his place.
She wants to be GM; not a rootin' tootin' deputy dawg.

The STAND Foundation, Inc.

Open Thread for Tuesday

Tuesday is considered either the second or the third day of the week, between Monday and Wednesday. The English and Scandinavian names are derived from the Nordic god Tyr (in Old English, Tiw, Tew or Tiu. In Swedish, Tisdag, Danish: Tirsdag, Finnish: Tiistai).

Style! Spin! Acrimony!

The LA Downtowns News brings us the latest installment in the CD 14 war. Here's your chance to cut and paste your day away!

Style! Spin! Acrimony! -- Assessing the 14th District Council Candidates' Strengths And Weaknesses

by Jon Regardie

There are two schools of thought, sorry, make that spin, regarding the 14th District City Council race. Anyone who says they know for sure that theirs is the right one is lying to you.

The first is that school board member Jose Huizar is a shoo-in to win the seat held until June 30 by Antonio Villaraigosa. This theory, uttered by many in City Hall, holds that Huizar's massive fundraising and endorsement lead will crush Team Pacheco. It says the coattails of prime backer Villaraigosa, and the aid of many who want to be in the still-new mayor's good graces, will carry Huizar, like an emperor in a littler, to a cushy leather chair on Spring Street.

The second belief system says that Nick Pacheco's 1999-2003 term as council rep of the district (before Villaraigosa ousted him) provides an insurmountable level of community support and name recognition. Council endorsements and naysayers be damned, quip Pacheco supporters, for it is 14th District residents, not City Hall staffers, who vote, and when they cast their ballots they'll pick the proven finder of funds, supporter of neighborhoods and overall Friend Of The People.

There is plenty to believe and question about each argument, as the first two months of the race have been lively and full of strategy. Although voters do not head to the polls until Nov. 8, the initial positioning and debates have revealed that both candidates have some notable strengths, as well as some troubling weaknesses. Here's a rundown of what they bring to the table, what they'd like to hide under it, and a couple wildcards.

For the rest of this entertainment, click here.

Lazy Legislators

The LA Times writes a nice story over the weekend regarding the State Legislature with one of our locals giving the some of the dumbest quotes in print. Here's the passage:

SACRAMENTO -- Whenever the state Assembly votes on a bill, there's a good chance Jerome Horton will press neither the green "yes" nor the red "no" button on his desk. He says abstaining makes him powerful.

"When you vote yes or no," said the Democrat from Inglewood, "it takes you out of the negotiations, and I don't ever want to be out of the game."

When lawmakers can't get the votes they need to pass their measures, they rush to court the undecided in hopes of changing an abstention to a "yes" on another round of voting. That gives the abstainer leverage to argue for changes in the bill.

"I'm Mr. 41," said Assemblyman Horton, referring to the last vote needed to pass most bills. "I'm always in the game."

What Horton sees as clout, others see as the shirking of a lawmaker's essential duty. One of Horton's Democratic colleagues, Assemblyman John Laird of Santa Cruz, almost always picks yes or no.

"I just think I was sent up here to vote," Laird said.

Count me in the camp of Laird. If you lack a spine, get the fu%$#! out of the business. You aren't sent there to play games. You are sent there to represent us. If you want to get off on your power trip, go play on the freeway and test your superpowers there.

And another thing, just what have you gotten us with your new found power Jerome? A whole bunch of NOTHING!!!

Port Updates

A couple of stories back in the world of shipping cargo and creating gridlock and smog.

LA Press Telegram:

Ship it to Savannah
Competition for the ports of L.A. and Long Beach? We need more of it.

Long Beach Press Telegram

What kind of sense does it make to ship cargo from Asia to Long Beach, then truck it through jammed local freeways and across the country to Savannah, Georgia? None, in the view of Savannah port officials, who have tripled their business in the past few years. More power to them.

Savannah's success is more than slightly ironic. As The Wall Street Journal pointed out this week, Savannah's once vibrant commerce in exports of fabrics was all but wiped out in recent years by Asian competition, and now almost all the port's business is from Asia.

Shippers have found that, rather than fighting their way through the congestion in Southern California, they can send some of their smaller, faster ships through the Panama Canal and get cargo the East Coast more quickly than hauling it across the country.

According to the University of Georgia, Savannah's port has created 120,000 jobs paying from $12 an hour to $120,000 a year for warehouse and longshore workers, and generates $1.4 billion a year in tax revenue for the city and state. All this prosperity has attracted the attention of ports elsewhere, eager to cash in on growth in Asian trading averaging 10 percent a year.

Southern California's twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles for many years have sent trade missions of local politicians far and wide to compete for shippers' business. They still send the politicians, first class of course, but the business now is coming in faster than they can handle it.

Click here for rest of story

LA Times:

Image Woes Shrink Traffic at Port
Business is down 2% at the L.A. facility, partly because of memories of congestion last year.
By Ronald D. White
Times Staff Writer

August 28, 2005

Five years after reestablishing itself as the nation's busiest international trade gateway, the Port of Los Angeles seems to have run aground.

At major ports in North America, booming Asian trade is producing record cargo traffic ( increases of 12% to more than 35% ) and the revenue and jobs that go with it.

But business is sinking at L.A.'s port, down nearly 2% this year, because of a serious image problem created partly by last year's record congestion, which also affected the Long Beach port, and the 2002 labor dispute that shut down West Coast harbors for 11 days.

In addition, the Los Angeles port faces a litany of other problems, observers say. These include internal disarray, unhappy neighbors and delays in dredging and wharf construction projects to accommodate giant containerships that currently go to Long Beach, where cargo volume is nearly 16% ahead of last year's record pace.

Combined, the result has been "a major structural shift in trade patterns," said John Martin, president of Martin Associates, a maritime consulting firm in Lancaster, Pa. "And there does not appear to be a lot of support from the city for the Port of Los Angeles. That is bad."

Los Angeles is at a crossroads, shifting leadership from former Mayor James K. Hahn, who had said the port needed to be a cleaner and better neighbor, to Antonio Villaraigosa, whose agenda has yet to be unveiled. The port's five-year strategic plan is being overhauled, even as it tries to regain its footing.

Click here for rest of story:

Blog Away

Monday Morning Open Thread

Enjoy your morning coffee. May I suggest maybe a frozen coffee possibly of the iced Mocha variety? Get your caffeine fix and still stay cool. The best of both worlds.

Open Thread for Sunday

"In the late 19th century Evanston, Illinois, nicknamed "Heavenston" by Frances Willard, was a Methodist-minded town, so pious that the town fathers, resenting the dissipating influence of the soda fountain, passed an ordinance forbidding the sale of ice cream sodas on Sunday. Some ingenious confectioners, obeying the law, served ice cream with syrup but no soda. This sodaless soda was the Sunday soda, and became so popular that orders for "Sundays" crossed the counter everyday of the week. When objection was raised to christening the dish after the Sabbath, the spelling was changed to Sundae, and so developed one of America's most characteristic dishes." -- William Lyon Phelps

Spam Busters

Lately, we've been occasionaly hit by spam bots that post spam messages into our comments system.

To prevent spam that is posted by computer programs, Blogger has come up with a word verification system.

Now, when you post a comment, you'll see an image of word, such as the one to the right. You'll need to enter those letters into the appropriate box or you won't be able to post your comment.

As always, you will still be allowed to post anonymously or without even having to sign up for a Blogger account. If this system works in cutting down the spam, we won't have to consider going any further. Keep your fingers crossed!

Open Thread for Saturday

For those of you who need this thread, you really should get out more. It's OK, the sun won't bite! As punishment I give you this homework assignment!

Padilla's Love Affair with the City of San Fernando -- PART IV

Here was my plan. Take all of the info I have been given and had been able to find about our Council President Alex Padilla and put together a post, a sort of expose, before his little Senate race. The post became so long I split it up. Today's post was supposed to wrap it all up in a neat tidy package and I'd head off into the sunset for a relaxing weekend.

However, I'm changing directions. I'm going to use this post to address some of the comments from the previous three parts, and ask your patience while we continue the series next week. I have been flooded with e-mails, but one I received just last evening took the cake. I need a day to vet it all out, as everything posted so far in this series has and will continue to hold up to the fire, and hope to continue feeding your appetites for a bit.

My summary of the posts so far is this:

Alex invests in three campaigns in the City of San Fernando to get a desired outcome in a heated race. His picked bloc ends up getting sued (Dr. Jose Hernandez, Julie Ruelas) after the election, which causes the city to most likely payout a million dollars to clean up his mess.

His anti-liquor and inflammatory hit pieces used in the campaigns do not coincide with his granting of liquor licenses for his henchman James Acevedo.

This is how he makes a "GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION" on the citizens of San Fernando-- a shortfall of one million dollars out of their budget and leaders in the pockets of a proven slimeball.

Alex Padilla can most likely count on the support of Julie Ruelas and Jose Hernandez for his senate seat, which will mean jack shit, because they're responsible for the lawsuit and we're helping to expose all of it.

Lame duck Nury Martinez is left to ponder her next move, despite her day boss, because Senator Richard Alarcon is already endorsing Assemblymember Cindy Montanez.

And the City of San Fernando has these idiot members thanks in part to Alex Padilla himself, and they have a lawsuit over an issue they have no business having any part of, being that they can't even control these issues in their own backyards.

Now, to address a few of the comments...

Part I set the stage for the play. The comments speak for themselves.

Part II introduced the controversy over my use of bringing the daughter of an elected into the mix. A few thoughts...
1) Again, the screen captures I used are all in the public domain. They were all put there by her. She is of age. The 30 some-odd other pictures and posts and e-mails I sat on, even though they would prove my case that much more and prove Ruelas had intimate knowledge of what was going on. But I didn't, and I won't, because I only needed to make the point that if you can't control your own house, how dare you try to control everyone else's.
2) Any parents out there should learn a valuable lesson about this. Teach your kids about the internet. Anything they post or send could come back to bite them in the ass. If you need an example, contact Tony Scudellari

Part III introduced the money, or pay as we like to call it. We also introduced you one of the people who Alex Padilla likes to call his "trusted advisor." The comments again speak for themselves.

Add it together and the picture begins to form....Playing with elections....Paying certain friends.... Conflicts over city issued permits....Ties to the Hahn Administration...

Stay tuned for Part V, looking at Sylmar...
This one brings it a little closer to home, right inside CD 7, and the City of LA...

(Look for updates to this series next week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. I figure if Alex Padilla can ignore the masses during Council Session on those days, we can give them a forum and a little chit-chat to keep them occupied and relieve the stress. Chalk it up to another public services that the Sister City provides for our constituents.)

The Mob, El Pueblo, and Jose Huizar - UPDATE

Steve Hymon checks in on his previous story in the LA Times to give us this update.

A nominee to the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Authority withdrew his candidacy after sending a controversial e-mail in which he joked about contributors to a City Council candidate, a spokeswoman for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday.

On Tuesday, Tony Scudellari sent an e-mail making fun of 19 supporters of Nick Pacheco, who is running for City Council. In the e-mail, which was forwarded to The Times, Scudellari implied that one contributor who is married is gay. He also joked that another, Michael Gatto, had ties to the Mafia.

Kudos to Steve for his fine reporting. Amazing what happens when shady dealings meet the light of day!

Friday Morning Open Thread

"This is the city. Los Angeles, California. I work here. I carry a badge. My name's Friday. The story you are about to see is true; the names have been changed to protect the innocent." -- Jack Webb

Wedding Crashers -- Sam and Frank Style

This has nothing to do with politics, but it is Friday, so take your thumb out of your ass for a few minutes and have some fun. This was just too much fun to pass up. When you waste the rest of your day you can thank our favorite anonymous tipster, and remember that Sam and Frank sent you!


To watch our trailer, click on the image or here.

To create your own, click here.

It's not like you guys get any work done anyways...

Starlet Trips Up Local Blogger

Our old cranky friend, Joseph Mailander over at Martini Republic is on the Kevin Roderick beat again.

This time he wonders aloud why LA Observed is not getting worked up over the war in Iraq, the price of gas, traffic or any number of hot issues, but chronicles alleged abuse of the 911 system by a young actress who has the Maxim magazine crowd always on fire.

Read Roderick's rant here followed by Mailander's jab. Its fun for a Thursday!

Cost of Doing Business

Anita Vogel spotlights Mayor Villaraigosa in a clip compiled for Fox News Channel entitled "Campaign Promises - How far should taxpayers finance Mayor Villaraigosa's dreams for L.A.?"

Here's the accompanying story also on their site. A bit of the intro to get you started:

LOS ANGELES -- Nearly two months since his inauguration as the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles in more than 100 years, Antonio Villaraigosa faces the daunting and expensive task of delivering on his campaign promises.

Curbing crime, fixing public education, planting one million trees and reducing traffic on the nation's most overcrowded highways were hefty promises to make, and they all carry hefty price tags for a city already $300 million in debt.

"I'm never going to settle for mediocrity. I'm always going to set the bar high, as we should. If the leader of the city doesn't set the bar high then, who will? That's what people want us to do," said Villaraigosa, who was sworn in on July 1 as the state's 41st mayor.

Blog Away!

Padilla's Love Affair with the City of San Fernando -- PART III

First we brought Hernandez. To recap, he was once a Padilla enemy, then boosted by Padilla's "vaunted political machine," was re-elected back into office for a second term where he promptly followed the puppet strings of Padilla and went back on previous actions causing the small city to face a potential million dollar payout.


Then we introduced Ruelas. She too runs about the city under the support and tutelage of Padilla claiming to be all things to all people, and yet can't seem to keep order in her own home.




Now we bring you James Acevedo, Padilla's grand pubbah who is just as guilty as Padilla in the previous messes described.

Now, there is probably enough on him to start an entire separate blog, but I will stick to liquor permits, development in San Fernando, and Padilla.

A few words of note before I proceed. If you want an interesting read and other info on Acevedo, you should read this write-up from Kevin Roderick. I don't get along with Roderick at all. That is well documented. Thus his outside opinion from back in 2002 gives you an independent look untainted by me. I was still in the grave back then. Also, he was a Port Commissioner under Hahn. You know my nasty habit of boring port posts and my feelings towards Hahn. But again, I am putting all of this stuff and this stuff aside and focusing on the topic at hand.

It turns out Padilla and Acevedo have a history of such actions in small surrounding cities long before they screwed San Fernando...

James Acevedo was a lobbyist for La Superior Market in Pacoima in 2001-- (click 2001 lobbying clients). La Superior was bidding for a conditional use permit, the same type denied in the aforementioned lawsuit. During that same year, Padilla was paying thousands of dollars as well to Acevedo.
He was also the man behind Cardena's failed city council bid in 2002 and Yolanda Fuentes' assembly bid that same year.It's nuts! This man has bought his way into half of the eastside's pockets. This game of liquor permits isn't new to these folks, nor is screwing with small cities where you think you can be king.

Still not convinced? How about this read from the LA Weekly:

In the race to succeed the term-limited Tony Cardenas in this Northeast Valley district, Yolanda Fuentes was a last-minute recruit. This Cardenas staffer was managing her boss'’s campaign for the L.A. City Council when it became apparent that no one else from the Cardenas/–Alex Padilla machine would oppose Cindy Montanez, the young mayor of San Fernando who'’d earned the machine'’s ire. And abruptly, Fuentes (a well-meaning young woman of no particular depth)— was transformed into a candidate.

Montanez was elected to the San Fernando City Council three years ago, at a ripe old 25. There, she opposed a large downtown development --— then used her considerable community-organizing skills against that development until the city was up in arms. That won her the machine'’s enmity, since the project's consultant was James Acevedo, Cardenas'’ lead henchman.

OK, I know, to easy. What development could they be refering to? Hmmm... let me think....

Stay tuned for Part IV, Tying it all together

Sister Cities

LA Voice keeps us updated on the globetrotting Eric Garcetti as he travels to some of LA's numerous Sister Cities. We won't take offense that they left a certain Sister City off of their lists...

Open Thread For Thursday

"Style's not something that you decide on on Monday and photograph on Thursday. You've been developing that for your whole life" --Simon Le Bon

Breakballs!

Game Over, Breakballs!

We at the Sister City are not going to gloat at the news that KCBS / KCAL Political Director Linda Breakstone got the heave-ho recently from management. Gloating would be inappropriate. Dancing, screaming, and perhaps arranging an impromptu fireworks display to celebrate the news – now, that’s more like it.

Not only did Breakstone live for the sensational set-up story -- refusing to ever let facts get in the way of a good angle -- but she used her position at the 3rd highest rated television station in the nation’s 2nd largest market to exact petty revenge. She was biased. She was vindictive. At times, she seemed a little crazy.

So it’s off to the hot tub in Malibu. But at least Linda will have lots of time to play with her dogs, Budweiser and Superboy. And lots of time to spend her husband’s $2.27 million payout that he received a few years ago. And should she want to get back in the business, there’s always KTLA.
But because we have a heart, we will give Breakstone the Sister City editing award – no one, and we mean no one in the biz could slice and dice her package as quickly as Breakstone. That’s how we’ll remember her – leaning into her news van in a parking lot, inappropriately short clothing somewhat askew, cigarette dangling from her lips, yelling at her cameraman to finish setting up the live shot, and madly fast-forwarding through her tape to find the best way to screw today’s victim.

First spotted at LA Observed

Pacheco's Pay to Play

Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market

In his last days in office, Nick Pacheco and Jim Hahn pushed through a no-bid sale of the city-owned Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market that robbed Los Angeles taxpayers of at least $2 million. Now Pacheco’s campaign is being funded by merchants of the market who became co-op owners through the sale.

Pacheco Pushes Produce Market Sale
According to the LA Times, pushed the sale of the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market, which the city owned since the mid-1980’s, for several years. In 2002, the Council determined that the sale should go forward without competitive bidding.

The city built the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market in the 1980s after local wholesale produce vendors threatened to leave the city in search of a better facility. Since then, 25 vendors have operated out of the market, selling vegetables and fruit.
For the last two years, Pacheco has been pushing the city to sell the produce market, hoping to use the money to finance the construction of the Youth Opportunities Center in Boyle Heights, a facility that would house programs to help at-risk youths.

(Matea Gold, “Some Question Deal to Fund Firefighters,” Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2003)

Produce Market Tenants Contributed $10K to Pacheco’s Campaign

The Times also reported that the deal would benefit Pacheco’s campaign contributors. Tenants at the market had contributed $10,000 to Pacheco.

The sale will benefit a group of Pacheco's political contributors who lease the 30-acre Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market, a sprawling complex on Olympic Boulevard that the city has owned since the 1980s.
…The tenants include several wholesale produce operators who have donated more than $10,000 to Pacheco's campaigns. Mayor James K. Hahn, and Council President Alex Padilla have also received substantial contributions.
(Matea Gold, “Some Question Deal to Fund Firefighters,” Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2003)

Rival Developer Pledged to Pay $2 Million More

When the Council decided to sell the market, it opted not to conduct an open bidding process to secure the maximum sale price for the market. After the City appraised the market at $18 million, a rival developer pledged to pay $2 million more.

NOW PACHECO RECEIVES THOUSANDS IN CAMPAIGN DONATIONS

Nick Pacheco’s first campaign contributions come from these same tenants who benefited from the no-bid sale he pushed through. Pacheco’s very first campaign report shows him receiving thousands of dollars in donations from the following tenants.

Lena Antoci – Citrus House - $500 - June 30th 2005
Doug Baba – Coast Produce - $500 - June 30th 2005
California Certified Farmers Markerts - $500 - June 30th 2005
Cheri Dunn – Coast Produce - $500 - June 30th 2005
John Dunn – Coast Produce - $500 - June 30th 2005
Richard Gardner – Developer - $500 - June 30th 2005
Candace Gardner – homemaker - $500 - June 30th 2005
Victor Grosso – Umina Bros - $500 - June 30th 2005
Edward Gundry – Umina Bros - $500 - June 30th 2005
Donald La Londe – Valley Fruit & Produce - $500 - June 30th 2005
Arthur La Londe – Valley Produce - $500 - June 30th 2005
Jerry Murray – Valley Produce - $500 - June 30th 2005
Margarita Murray – Valley Produce - $500 -June 30th 2005
Sam Perricone Jr – Citrus House - $500 - June 30th 2005
Tracy Presser – J Hellman Foods - $500 - June 30th 2005
Shiro Tanimura – I & T Produce - $500 - June 30th 2005
Geraldine Witt – Property Mngr - $500 - June 30th 2005
Guadalupe Witt – Homemaker - $500 - June 30th 2005
Neil Witt – Cal Flavor Packing - $500 - June 30th 2005
Jean Yamada – Coast Produce - $500 - June 30th 2005
Total - $10,000
(Source: Los Angeles City Ethics Commission)

Padilla's Love Affair with the City of San Fernando -- PART II

Back to the issue of these posts. Remember the suit is all about the liquor licenses. Remember who the high and mighty players were when the council took it's action. (Julie Ruelas and Jose Hernandez)

I've already touched base on Hernandez in Part I. How about Ruelas?

Alex Padilla paid for phonebanks for the campaign of Elvira Orozco, the mother of Julie Ruelas, who was trying to unseat Mayor Maribel De La Torre - —sister of Assemblymember Cindy Montanez. Julie Ruelas and co. stripped Maribel De La Torre of her mayorship immediately after the March elections despite De La Torre being the highest vote getter. If you can't defeat them, you strip them of power.

The new administration's first move under the the leadership of new Mayor Ruelas, was to deny citizens the autonomy to enjoy a drink, despite her very own daughter being a drunk! Here's some screen captures, which are all in the public domain (put their by the subject herself), Camielle Ruelas, Mayor Julie Ruelas' daughter.





We have also been shown over 20 photos of the Ruela's daughter drunk. They depict her posing with beers, chugging bottles, and laid out drunk in bed. We have additional blogs and postings where she talks about being drunk in front of her mom. There's no point in posting all of it. I think you get our point.

All of this happening in the very home of the people responsible for causing the city of San Fernando untold dollars for listening to Padilla's advice and screwing with the liquor license permits.

These councilmembers have no credibility what so ever. Here they are making a stand against drunk drivers and liquor licenses, and one of their own daughters is one!!!!!!

Stay tuned for Part III, the Acevedo/Padilla connection...
This one even involves other councilmembers...

The Mob, El Pueblo, and Jose Huizar

The title sounds like the intro to a bad joke. Unfortunately, it is other bad jokes that have a potential appointee to El Pueblo in hot water.

According to Steve Hymon in the LA Times:

The president of a Los Angeles city commission called for one of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's nominees to be rejected because he wrote an e-mail that mocks Italian Americans and makes fun of contributors to a City Council candidate.

Michael Gatto, president of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Authority, said in a letter Tuesday to Councilman Tom LaBonge that nominee Tony Scudellari was not fit to serve because of the group e-mail Scudellari sent earlier in the day.

The letter from Gatto, who says he does not know Scudellari, asks that the nomination be rejected.

Scudellari, 44, apologized Tuesday night. "I apologize for what I said. I didn't mean it to come out the way that it did," he said in a telephone interview. "Some of the jokes were in-jokes that were among friends, and it wasn't meant for public consumption."

Guess what? We play hardball in the big leagues, and you just struck out. Not only does his quotes bring trouble to the appointee and all of those who were supporting him , but it also casts negative light on Jose Huizar.

Scudellari is a Huizar booster who has been engaged in a whisper campaign against Pacheco from the get go. Now he is blasting away much more publicly. Again from the Times:

The e-mail, a copy of which was forwarded to The Times, lists 19 people who gave money to council candidate Nick Pacheco and offers some comments about them. One of the donors is Gatto.

The e-mail notes that Gatto gave Pacheco $250. "Plus $750 from the Gatto mob " I mean family (I'm Italian -— I can joke)."

The e-mail also calls one person a "notorious political dirty trickster," comments on another person's sexual orientation, and mentions that a "wacky Republican" gave money to Pacheco.

I'd like to say I eagerly await Huizar's response, but he is probably to busy updating his website...and his loony followers are getting ready to continue there crap here in our comments section. Word of advice: Remember the rules of engagement, as they will be enforced. You'll actually have to come up with a credible point to somehow pin this on Pacheco in your sick and twisted minds.

More Nuts About Animals

For anyone who cares, the nuts trying to fire Guerdon Stuckey as the general manager of LA's Animal Services Project are now up to reason 31. Last time we checked in they were at 7. Here's the blast...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Daniel Guss
To: Jim Bickhart
Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 12:38:23 -0700
Subject: LA Daily News Clip: Reason #31 to Fire Stuckey

Please cross-post this email from www.STANDFoundation.org

Jim:

Even the LA Daily News recognizes Stuckey's PARALYSIS with its 8/22 Opinion about the Rescue Waggin'. Excerpting from the newspaper's opinion, Guerdon Stuckey, the general manager of L.A.'s animal-services department, ought to take the initiative.....

Why have things gotten so bad that even the newspapers are pointing to Stuckey's ineptness?

If the media is pointing this out,. it's DEFINITELY time for Stuckey to hit the road.

Reason #31 to Fire Stuckey: He can't deliver the solutions when he doesn't understand the problems.

The STAND Foundation, Inc.

A Dog's Life

Rescue program is flawed, but shouldn't be dumped yet

LA Daily News

Clearly the city's PetsMart Rescue Waggin' program has some problems.

The new effort to get the abandoned dogs of Los Angeles into loving homes by shipping them to less-crowded shelters across the state has actually made animals sick and discouraged their adoption. And animal-rescue activists are right to criticize that aspect of it.

But it should not be shut down, not until the city's animal-service officials have a chance to fix the problems.

What animal-rescue activists really seemed peeved at is that the city is shipping animals away at all, particularly those that they think are the cream of the crop. It's not ideal, but the hard truth is Los Angeles' shelters are badly overcrowded and anything that serves the greater good of finding homes for needy pets ought to be tried.

PetsMart Charities, which founded the program, plans to rescue 3,000 dogs from L.A. shelters next year. Removing 3,000 dogs, even the nicest-looking ones, gives the remaining ones a better chance of getting noticed and adopted.

Guerdon Stuckey, the general manager of L.A.'s animal-services department, ought to take the initiative and revamp the program right away so that any animal at any shelter can be adopted by an L.A. resident even if they are on a PetsMart waiting list. Sometimes abandoned pets only get one shot at adoption.

This program is flawed, but we owe it to the dogs to give it a chance to succeed.

Open Thread for Wednesday

"She got the magazine on a Wednesday morning, and on Thursday announced our marriage was over" -- David Gest

Rules of Engagement

Every so often one of us have to come up on the blog and remind you idiots of what is allowed and what isn't.

Attacking people who choose to participate in publicly run campaigns is fine -- as long as their participation is as the donor, candidate, or staff.

Anyone else who just volunteers or is an innocent family member - OFF LIMITS.

If anyone associated with either campaign -- Pacheco's or Huizar's -- are playing unfair on OUR blog your posts will be terminated and the Chief will not be happy.

I think we know what happens when the Chief isn't happy...

This is a warning to the pro-Huizar camp -- DON'T DO IT AGAIN!

Carol Schatz's "Purple Meanies"

From the newdowntown Yahoo news group...

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 06:44:29 -0000
From: "transcommco"
Subject: 800 Pound Gorilla's and Carol Scahtz's "Purple Meanies" Life in Pepperland"

The latest edition of the Garment & Citizen is sort of missing. If any one can find a copy on the streets in a news stand rack please let me know. Was it "sold out" because of the Pamela Anderson article ?. Or perhaps it was sold out because of the scathing editorial letter from the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) outlining continuing "Purple Patrol" problems culminating in the assault by a BID security guard on a Director of LA CAN outside of the LA CAN office on Main
Street ?.

Here is the article that was in the missing newspaper :

Publish Date : 08/16/2005
Letter to the Editor
A Challenging Perspective on BIDs
Editor:
Re: "Defending the BID," (Letter to the Editor, Garment & Citizen issue of August 10):

Although Carol Schatz, president and chief executive officer of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (BID), painted BID security guards as a well-trained and flawless group, abuse by BID guards throughout Downtown is a long-standing and well-documented issue. Her perspective is narrow, to say the least, and incendiary to
many poor residents of color.

Schatz claims that law-abiding citizens "are actually grateful for the incredible job that BID officers do in keeping Downtown's streets safe for the entire public." To the contrary, we have evidence of scores of law-abiding citizens who strongly disagree with her and who are not grateful for the types of treatment they have suffered at the hands of BID guards.

The guards, armed with the support of LAPD, are nothing more than a band of bullies preying on the weakest members of our community. They carry out tasks solely at the behest of property owners and business representatives, often resulting in the perpetuation of a culture of lawlessness and violence against low-income people. Since 2000, the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) has responded to BID
security improprieties in a reasonable fashion, only to find ourselves, five years later, falling victim to an environment of more violence against our membership and community.

LA CAN has an extensive working history with this issue, including community-based research to identify problems and shortcomings of BID security protocol. In February 2000 we released "Business Improvement Districts: Protecting or Provoking?"�a report that closely examined relationships between BID security guards and poor residents. The findings of that report served as the basis for a set of community demands geared towards easing the then-growing tensions, most of which were achieved.

From 2001 through 2003, LA CAN developed a community-based BID Security Sensitivity Training Curriculum which was conducted numerous times with the Historic Core BID and the Central City East Association BID. Concurrently, multiple lawsuits were being settled with various BIDs in the Downtown area, resulting in stipulations to end civil rights and other violations by security guards against extremely poor and homeless residents. This confluence of activities led to a marked improvement of relationships between security guards and impoverished Downtown residents.

But currently, in the wake of the expiration of legal settlements and breakdown of communications between BIDs and community groups, we are witnessing a reinvigorated pattern of attacks against law-abiding poor people of color.

In July 2005, Pete White, Co-Director of LA CAN, was struck by a BID security guard directly in front of LA CAN headquarters as multiple witnesses looked on�an incident currently being investigated by LAPD. It is our right as "law-abiding" citizens to walk out of our office and observe questionable activity without the threat of violence being used against us.

In the past few months, we have documented numerous similar incidents involving illegal practices of BID security guards commonly used in our community.

No longer will we listen to, or swallow, rationales suggesting that foul play by guards is not happening or is nothing more than "a few bad apples." Our community has been plagued with not "a few bad apples" but instead "an entire rotten orchard." The time has come once again to get all affected parties in a room together to finally fix these problems of civil and human rights abuses once and for all�or to once again sustain the consequences.

Sincerely,
Los Angeles Community Action Network

Sister City Explodes

Though the dum dums have been predicting the demise of the Sister City, nothing could be further from the truth.

Last week we have 18,217 pageviews. For those of you who want more precise numbers that translates to 8504 unique visitors, of which 4336 were returning vistors who have browsed the Sister City at least once before the previous week.

Now this is nothing like the ratings even the Stamp Collecting Network gets on TV, but its fairly significant for a blog such as ours. Considering we have been in business for only 10 months - and have no paid advertising out there - this is pretty good.

To give you some perspective - according to figures published by Blog Ads - our 18,217 pageviews is about 40% of the audience that LA Observed - which has been around several years longer than us gets. It put us within about 3000 pageviews received by another well known local blog, Boi From Troy.

However to boast even a bit more, our numbers put us AHEAD of the following blogs (again based on Blog Ad's stats):

LAist.com
LAVoice.org
Franklin Avenue
Matt Welch's Weblog
Drink this...
SoCal Law Blog

Now some disclaimers. There may be well known LA blogs whose stats are not available to us. We'd be glad to see those numbers. Another item to note is that last week, we were featured on CNN, which did cause a big spike for us. In the previous week, we had around 7600 pageviews. This week, we've seen some dropoff, but the CNN publicity may have gained us many new readers as we are on track to do about 10,500 pageviews before Saturday.

Keep reading the Sister City. And thank you for your support! We promise to continue to bring you the latest and most interesting information about Los Angeles politics.

Padilla's Love Affair with the City of San Fernando -- PART I

First the background:

City of San Fernando Councilmembers Jose Hernandez, Julie Ruelas, and Nury Martinez are currently getting sued for actions and votes they took regarding a liquor license permit for Roadhouse Cafe. The San Fernando City Council had previously approved to give Roadhouse Cafe a liquor license (conditional use permit No. 2005-01), but the majority bloc then turned it over shortly after their local elections took place on March 8. An emergency vote was called, two days after they were re-elected, to bring the matter back to council. On March 21, the council followed through and overturned the permit. They probably figured they couldn't do this action pre-election, since the business sector/chamber of commerce would be up in arms and they would be labeled anti-business. Not a good campaign item, clearly.

The Padilla Factor:

Alex Padilla endorsed Jose Hernandez in his re-election effort. This was despite the fact that James Acevedo & Co. (Padilla's trusted campaign guns) tried to oust Hernandez in 2001. Jose Hernandez ran on a campaign to squash the opening of upscale restaurants which would obviously have wine/liquor available. He said he wanted to stop a "Cantina Row" from emerging in the city's redevelopment area.

Two hit pieces went out against Hernandez's opponents. One used the "cantina row" theme and the other was an attack on the 'powerful' sister of one of the candidates. Guess who paid for those independent expenditure mail pieces?

Padilla has his fingerprints all over those hit pieces -- He dumped $8,000 into a race that covers a city of almost 2 square miles. All this money came from developers like Mark Handel who give $500 to his officeholder account, but turned around and gave LARGE donations to other Padilla entities.

The city is now getting sued for $250,000 plus attorney fees, insurance, etc...driving up the price to almost a million.

So, besides not being able to provide CD 7 with basic necessities (i.e. sidewalks), Padilla feels he should interfere in the affairs of a small neighboring city which shines like a gem in comparison to Sylmar & Pacoima. To a small city that's a lot of cheese in comparison to the budget Padilla deals with. Padilla only got involved to increase his visibility in that city for his senate race, so he doesn't care about the outcome. Let them deal with their financial problems, right?

Stay tuned for Part II, the Ruelas connection...
This one comes complete with some interesting screen shots...

Updates from the Mayor

Thought I'd share the following e-mail that was sent our direction...It goes well with the McGreevy story in the Times:

(Click on the org chart to enlarge)

----------
From: Jimmy Blackman[SMTP:JIMMY.BLACKMAN@LACITY.ORG]
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2005
To: Jimmy Blackman
Cc: Marcus Allen; Robin Kramer
Subject: Message to the Villaraigosa Transition Team
Auto forwarded by a Rule

Dear Transition Team,

Nearly 50 days on the job and things are finally starting to settle down - just a little.

The Mayor has continued to demonstrate that he will be a hands on Mayor willing to tackle the tough issues to move our City forward.

A partial list of some of our highlights thus far:

* Removed all lobbyists from City Commissions
* Issued an Executive Directive banning road construction during rush hour on city streets
* Issued an Executive Directive mandating that all City Department General Managers, City Commissioners, and Mayoral staff sign an ethics pledge
* Created a Council of Education Advisors
* Conducted a successful lobbying trip to Washington D.C. that resulted in additional transportation dollars for Los Angeles - including additional funding for the 405 freeway
* Created a proposal for expanded funding for street resurfacing and strorm drain repair projects citywide

The thing that we are most proud of during the first 50 days is the exceptional staff and collection of city commissioners that the Mayor has brought on board. You, as transition team members, have been instrumental in helping to identify and recruit these individuals.

I have attached some press announcements outlining some of our major staff and commission appointments along with an organization chart of our senior staff.

Please know that our entire staff is at your disposal and you should never hesitate to contact us with questions, comments, concerns - or just to say hello.

On behalf of the Mayor, thank you once again for your support. We look forward to continuing our work with you in the days to come.

Inbox Cleaning for the Transit Nerds

You are cordially invited to be the guest of the Economic Alliance, Metro and Sherman Oaks Galleria for a special preview of "One of the Most Sophisticated Transit Vehicles Ever".

The Metro Orange Line's
Metro Liner
Tuesday - August 30, 2005
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sherman Oaks Galleria

The Metro Liner is called "“the most sophisticated transit vehicle ever introduced in North America...the biggest leap in styling and appearance our industry has seen in over 30 years."”

The Metro Liner will be parked in front of The Cheesecake Factory at the corner of Ventura and Sepulveda boulevards. Guests will be able to walk through the Metro Liner and learn more about it and the Metro Orange Line from Metro representatives. Don't miss this one! Refreshments and souvenirs will be available for all in attendance.

Open Thread - One Day Down, Four to Go

A happy thought for your Tuesday...

"I went out there for a thousand a week, and I worked Monday, and I got fired Wednesday. The guy that hired me was out of town Tuesday."
-- Nelson Algren

Rich Diversity

Tomorrow's Los Angeles Times will reveal a story regarding Mayor Villaraigosa's City Commission appointments.

Rich, glowing and full of diversity -- Patrick McGreevy wrote a fair and balanced piece that points out the weaknesses in the picks, but more importantly shows that the new Mayor will pick those who knocked on the cement doors of government only to have them opened up in this administration.

One of my personal favorite new commissioners is Gordon Murley - President of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Assoc -- he is just like me - - old, grumpy and full of energy.

Congrats to our new Mayor and new commissioners like Murley.

Update on the Pacheco Front

With all the mud slinging and crap talking going on, here are a few updates everyone should know regarding Nick Pacheco:

1) Yes, Eric Hacopian has left. However, they have Steve Afrait in his place. To quote Robert Urteaga's comment, "Steve Afriat brings a wealth of experience that will benefit Councilman Nick Pacheco and the campaign."

2) Rumors of a poll are bounding throughout the district. If true, why aren't the reults out there? Probably because someone isn't seeing the bounce they expected to see with a bunch of endorsements lately. Here's an e-mail from an anony-source regarding the poll:

-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2005 7:43 PM
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: I just rec'd a survey call from McGuire Research re the CD14 Debate

I just received a survey call from McGuire Research re the CD14 Debate. At first the questions were innocuous. Mid-way through it became apparent that it was probably paid for by Huizar et, al. All questions related to Nick & Jose and/or AV. I continued responding because it was already apparent by my responses that I was unhappy with AV & supported NP over JH. If you want more details on the questions….please feel free to give me a call.

The caller sounded like he was black & didn’t know how to pronounce Villaraigosa, Huizar, etc. At the conclusion of what I thought was an anonymous survey, I was asked to confirm my ethnicity, age & name. So much for anonymity. Are you familiar with this survey company?

3) In response to this post, we have received the following request from Team Pacheco asking that we post the complete thread on the e-mail conversation. Here goes...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Aug 19, 2005 1:22 PM
Subject: FW: $1.34 Million Dollars in CD14's Wallet
To: mayorsamyorty@aol.com, Mayor Frank
Cc: Chiefwilliamparker@hotmail.com

It would be appropriate to correct Chief Parker. He seems to deal in half truths and lies. This is typical of his kind.

He doesn't live in CD14 and does not understand the issues or problems.

I know he does not care for Pacheco but at least be honorable and put the entire story out. He is supporting Huizar so I guess I am asking too much from him. He can't get over the past and is not ready to move forward.

This was all a public exchange over the NELA list.

-----Original Message-----
From: notify@yahoogroups.com [mailto:notify@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Saturday, July 09, 2005 1:33 PM
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Fwd: $1.34 Million Dollars in CD14's Wallet

--- In nelalist@yahoogroups.com, "Nick Pacheco"
wrote:

(Warning: This is a long e-mail because of the included text of the
motions and Blackman's Text.)


To all those concerned:

Before I get into the $1.34 million dollars in CD 14's wallet, I
want to clarify a few things Jimmy Blackman raised on behalf of
Councilmember Antonio Villaraigosa in his response to my earlier e-
mail.

1. Hollenbeck Police Station Tenant Relocation
"This issue was brought to me."

JB: We are proud of the work that we have done with the tenant
relocation and, quite frankly, have no idea where Mr. Pacheco came
up with the claim that there is not "enough money to help
relocate the tenants."

NP: "The claim" was presented TO ME at a BHNC sub-committee
meeting on Sunday, March 13, 2005. William Morrison, Boyle Heights
Neighborhood Council member, requested my presence at one of the
Neighborhood Council's sub-committee meetings on March 13 to
explain my role in the relocation of tenants for the new Hollenbeck
Police Station. (see LA Times article "Evictions Questioned by
Residents" by Times Staff Writer Daniel Hernandez - March 12, 2005 -
about complaints) This invitation was prompted, according to Mr.
Morrison, because at an early BHNC meeting Ms. Adriana Martinez from
Councilman Villaraigosa's office had stated that the problems
surrounding relocation stemmed from my involvement in the project.
At the Sunday meeting it became clear that tenant relocation
occurred after I left office and consequently I had no role in
creating the complaints documented by the LA Times. In this
meeting, the committee members and some residents indicated that the
Council office had stated they did not have any money to help the
tenants in their plight.



2. Council District 14 Constituent Services Center (Silver Lake
Library $3M)
"This was an effort to look beyond my `fiefdom' and have
a win-win proposition with a neighboring colleague."

JB: Seven days before leaving office Mr. Pacheco authored a motion
to take $3 million dollars out of Council District 14 and put it in
Silver Lake. While we support the efforts of our adjacent Council
Districts (in this case, Council District 13), this move was truly
inexplicable and we are glad that we worked to stop this motion in
our first days in office.

NP: No such thing ever occurred, I would never give away $3M
dollars.

The motion, CFI 03-1354 (see below), was an effort to swap OLD MICLA
money (02-03 budget) for NEW MICLA money (03-04 budget) and
consequently CD 14 would still have its $3M. Here's what really
happened and not what Mr. Blackman would like you to believe. We
had accumulated $5M dollars for the Constituent Services Center ($3M
MICLA and $2M gen. fund) and unfortunately before we could purchase
the preferred site a private party purchased it. Everyone in City
Hall knew our preferred site was taken and consequently knew the
project was going to be delayed. This delay gave some council
members the opening to try to "scoop up" this old MICLA money
and place it in their district. Councilmember Garcetti approached
me for the OLD MICLA money and I told him the only way to get it was
for the motion to include NEW MICLA money for Antonio. He agreed
and the motion reflected a swap of OLD money for NEW money. The
motion was not passed and consequently CD 14 still has the $3M of
OLD MICLA money from the 02-03 budget and let's hope that it is
spent soon before someone else tries to scoop it up during a future
budget crisis.

BTW, the remaining $2M of general fund was placed in two different
places to protect it from council district raiders. I parked
$1.45M in the Boyle Heights Technology Center since that project was
moving forward to a ground breaking quickly. I knew that if the
project came in under budget Antonio would be able to reprogram
those funds in CD 14. Also, I felt confident that the MICLA $3M
dollars was more than enough to secure a parcel, even one with a
building, on the eastside. The remaining $550,000.00 was allocated
to the purchase of Moon Canyon and this project was scheduled to
move immediately in the summer of 2003. These funds are still
present in that account and let's hope that they are spent soon.



3. Central Los Angeles Recycling and Transfer Station (Amenities
Fund)
"I created this fund and we were always leveraging for the
district, even with our own departments."

JB: When we took office we worked with the Chief Legislative Analyst
(CLA) and the Bureau of Sanitation to purchase this transfer station
in order to realize a long term cost savings to the city and gain
control of the day-to-day operations of the site. As part of the
negotiations related to the city purchase of the CLARTS, our office
demanded that a $1 per ton "amenity fee" be established in
the terms of the contract.

NP: The Amenities Fund was demanded in 2001 or 2002 before the
current office took over in 2003 BY ME. The Department of
Sanitation approached me for the purchase of CLARTS from BLT
Enterprises and I demanded that an "amenities fund" be
established, just like the one for Sunshine Canyon. "If it is
good enough for the Valley, it should be good enough for us on the
eastside," I said. This fund generates, according to
Villaraigosa motion (CFI 04-2219), approximately $226,000.00 every
three months (fiscal quarter). The current balance is
$810,612.00. This fund is to "benefit community-based projects
throughout the life of this transfer station."

CFI 03-0307 (see below) "Central Los Angeles Recycling and
Transfer Station" from February 20, 2003 corroborates that we had
been working with the Mayor and Board of Public Works (specifically
my former Chief of Staff, Commissioner Adriana Rubalcava) to
purchase CLARTS. The Mayor/Board's request to issue a proposed
Letter of Interest to exercise its purchase option of CLARTS was
approved by the Council on April 23, 2003.

I hope this clears up how CD 14 now has an amenities fund for the
life of the transfer station and for the benefit of the community.


NOW LET'S GET BACK TO MY EARLIER E-MAIL AND IT'S PURPOSE

First, I want to commend Jimmy Blackman for updating everyone
regarding the various projects mentioned in my earlier e-mail (Moon
Canyon, Skateboard Park, Police Station, & Dog Park). The common
thread in each one of these projects, ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUENTS,
was that the Council Office did not have money to move forward and
the "office continues to seek additional funding necessary"
for these projects.

Controller Laura Chick's office provided me with the balance of
all CD 14 discretionary accounts and it seems that Council District
14 has $1,342,973.25 dollars for their use. Discretionary accounts
are in the SOLE CONTROL AND DISCRETION of the Council Member and
sometimes require a council motion. At first I thought maybe I was
misreading the documents because of the million dollar (+) balance,
but today (April 14, 2005) at around 4:00 pm I confirmed the
following UNCOMMITTED balances with Sonny Gonzales (213) 978-7493
from the Controller's Office. Here are all the accounts and
their balances as of March 31, 2005:

Account Balance
General City Purpose (GCP) $ 25,000.00
Real Property Trust Fund $ 263,632.00
Transit Shelter Revenue Fund FY 00 $ 20,190.25
Transit Shelter Revenue Fund FY 01 $ -
Transit Shelter Revenue Fund FY 02 $ -
Transit Shelter Revenue Fund FY 03 $ 3,852.00
Transit Shelter Revenue Fund FY 04 $ 82,000.00
Transit Shelter Revenue Fund FY 05 $ 80,340.00
Cultural Affairs Civic Fund $ 57,347.00
CLARTS Amenities Fund $ 810,612.00

$ 1,342,973.25

According to Jimmy Blackman's response the only project lacking
funds is Moon Canyon. I would recommend that they use a combination
of Real Property Trust Fund and CLARTS Amenities Fund resources to
close the project. Those two accounts have a combined total of over
$1 million dollars and should easily cover the approximate $250,000
-350,000 dollar gap.


ANOTHER MOON CANYON ALTERNATIVE: NEW CD 14 BOND ACCOUNT ($3-5
million)
If there is a concern that Moon Canyon could substantially deplete
the above accounts, there is another alternative. Since CLARTS
generates an identifiable revenue source the City could issue bonds
and get an immediate injection of cash ($3-5 million) for CD 14; and
the Moon Canyon gap could be filled from this account. To service
$3-5 million dollars it would probably take only a FRACTION of the
CLARTS annual revenue source ($800,000.00) and leave plenty for the
annual needs of CD 14.

I've always wanted to seismically upgrade the Bridewell Armory
($2M cost) and this new BOND ACCOUNT would be the best way to
accomplish that goal. After it is retrofitted the Armory could be
host for a YMCA, Charter School for the Arts, or maybe a Youth
Technology Center. This account could also be available to anyone
in the district who has a project that requires a major boost of
support.

I hope the Councilmember's response through Jimmy Blackman,
Controller Laura Chick's information and my follow up have
brought clarity to the current state of financial affairs in CD 14.

If anyone would like faxed copies of the Controller's reports
please feel free to e-mail me directly at nickpacheco14@y...


Thank you for your patience.

Nick Pacheco



*********************************************************

File Number
03-1354
Last Changed Date
07/29/2003
Title
SILVERLAKE BRANCH LIBRARY
Initiated by
Pacheco Mover 2003 / Garcetti
Subject
Motion - On May 21, 2003, the Board of Library Commissioners
approved the Silverlake Branch Library as the next project in the
City's library construction program. Currently, it is the last
project scheduled in the City's library construction program that is
not yet funded. As land prices in Silverlake continue to escalate
rapidly, it would be prudent for the City to identify funding for
immediate land acquisition. Sufficient savings are available
immediately in our 02-03 Municipal Improvement Corporation of Los
Angeles (MICLA) program from the delay of the Council District
Fourteen (14) Constituent Services Center.

THEREFORE MOVE that the Council, subject to approval of the Mayor,
authorize the expenditure of $3,000,000 from Fund 294 Municipal
Improvement Corporation of Los Angeles (MICLA) T3 for land
acquisition and design of the Silverlake Branch Library.

(NP: OLD money moving and being spent.)

FURTHER MOVE that the Controller be authorized to establish a new
account under Fund 294 entitled "Silverlake Branch Library" and the
Department of General Services be authorized to expend these funds
for the above purpose.

FURTHER MOVE that the City Administrative Officer (CAO) be directed
to include $3,000,000 in the 03-04 Municipal Improvement Corporation
of Los Angeles (MICLA) program for a Constituent Services Center in
Council District Fourteen.

(NP: NEW money coming into CD 14 - $3M back into account. No loss
to district.)

Council District
14
Date Received
6-24-2003
File History
6-24-03 - This days Council session
6-24-03 - File to Calendar Clerk for placement on next available
Council agenda
7-8-03 - CONTINUED TO July 22, 2003
7-22-03 - Motion RECEIVED and FILED
7-29-03 - File in files



*********************************************

File Number
03-0307
Last Changed Date
05/28/2004
Title
CENTRAL LOS ANGELES RECYCLING AND TRANSFER STATION
Initiated by
Mayor / Board of Public Works
Subject
Transmittal from the Mayor / Board of Public Works relative to
authority to issue the proposed Letter of Interest for the
acquisition of the Central Los Angeles Recycling and Transfer
Station.
REFER TO COUNCIL FILE 95-0859
Council District
14
Date Received
2-20-2003
File History
2-21-03 - For ref
2-21-03 - Ref to Environmental Quality and Waste Management Committee
2-21-03 - File to Environmental Quality and Waste Management
Committee Clerk
4-16-03 - This day's Council session - Communication recommendations
from Environmental Quality and Waste Management Committee to :
1. AUTHORIZE the Board of Public Works (BPW) to issue the proposed
Letter of Interest, attached to the Council file as Transmittal No.
3 in the Board of Public Works report dated February 3, 2003,
notifying the facility owner and operator, BLT Enterprises, Inc.,
that the City intends to exercise its purchase option in the current
contract for the Central Los Angeles Recycling and Transfer Station
(C.T.S.).
2. AUTHORIZE the Bureau of Sanitation to proceed jointly with the
Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County to acquire the Central
Los Angeles Recycling and Transfer Station pursuant to the Joint
Powers Agreement (JPA) between the City and Sanitation Districts of
Los Angeles County.
4-16-03 - File to Calendar Clerk for placement on next available
Council agenda

4-23-03 - Motion ADOPTED to APPROVE communication recommendations
from Environmental Quality and Waste Management Committee.

4-25-03 - File to Environmental Quality and Waste Management
Committee Clerk OK
4-25-03 - File in files
12-1-03 - For ref - Transmittal from Board of Public Works relative
to the authority to issue a Letter of Intent for the acquisition of
the Central Los Angeles Recycling and Transfer Station (CLARTS) at a
fair market value not to exceed $60 million.
12-3-03 - Ref to Environmental Quality and Waste Management Committee
12-3-03 - File to Environmental Quality and Waste Management
Committee Clerk
12-19-03 - Verbal Motion - Parks Mover 2003 / Perry - ADOPTED IN
OPEN SESSION - HEREBY MOVE that Council ADOPT the following
recommendations of the City Administrative Officer and the Chief
Legislative Analyst (Item No. 5, Council File 03-0307) relative to
the acquisition of the Central Los Angeles Recycling and Transfer
Station (CLARTS), SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR:
1. FIND that the acquisition of the Central Los Angeles Recycling
and Transfer Station (CLARTS), an existing facility, with no change
or expansion in use is Generally Exempt from the requirements of the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as provided by Article
II, Section 1 of the Los Angeles City California Environmental
Quality Act Guidelines.
2. APPROVE purchase of the Central Los Angeles Recycling and
Transfer Station not to exceed its Fair Market Value of $57 million
by AUTHORIZING the Board of Public Works to issue a Letter of Intent
to BLT Enterprises, Inc. (BLT), the facility owner and operator, as
permitted under the purchase option provisions outlined in Section
6.7 of Contract No. C-87598 for transfer station and transport
services at the Central Los Angeles Recycling and Transfer Station.
3. AUTHORIZE the issuance of Bonds to be repaid from the Sanitation
Equipment Charge (SEC) for the purchase of the Central Los Angeles
Recycling and Transfer Station and INSTRUCT the City Administrative
Officer (CAO) to report back to the Council in 21 days with the
required legal documents and financing costs for this acquisition.
4. AUTHORIZE an Sanitation Equipment Charge increase of a $1.00 per
month for single family rate payers and $.67 per month for multi-
family/commercial rate payers for a period of five (5) years with an
annual report to the Council and Mayor from the Bureau of Sanitation
(BOS) on the status of debt relative to the Central Los Angeles
Recycling and Transfer Station acquisition.
5. REQUEST the City Attorney to draft an Ordinance amending the
Sanitation Equipment Charge (SEC) to implement the above authorized
Sanitation Equipment Charge rate increase for the specified period,
and related matters.
6. AUTHORIZE the Bureau of Sanitation, in conjunction with the City
Administrative Officer and the Chief Legislative Analyst, to
negotiate an extension of the current contract with BLT Enterprises,
Inc., not to exceed one year, to allow for the continued use and
operation of the facility until the City can undertake full
operation.
7. DIRECT the Bureau of Sanitation to report back to the Council on
their transition plan and a detailed operation and staffing plan for
Central Los Angeles Recycling and Transfer Station (CLARTS) in 30
days - Generally Exempt APPROVED.
This matter was approved by the Environmental Quality and Waste
Management Committee (Perry - Garcetti "yes") and Budget and Finance
Committee (Parks - Miscikowski - Smith - Garcetti - Cardenas "yes")
at a joint meeting on December 16, 2003, in Closed Session as
permitted by Government Code Section 54956.8.
12-19-03 - MEMORANDUM TO FILE - The City Council held a Closed
Session on Friday, December 19, 2003, pursuant to authority provided
in California Government Code Section 54956.8 to confer with its
legal counsel relative to the acquisition of the Central Los Angeles
Recycling and Transfer Station.
The purpose of this memorandum is to note for the record that
following discussion of the above matter in Closed Session, the City
Council adopted the Motion (Parks - Perry) in Open Session and
instructed the City Clerk to transmit the file to the Mayor
forthwith.
12-19-03 - File to the Mayor FORTHWITH
12-24-03 - Mayor's message concurred in action of December 19, 2003
12-29-03 - File to Calendar Clerk
1-7-04 - File in files
1-21-04 - This day's Council session - Motion - Perry Mover 2004 /
Miscikowski - WHEREAS, the City has initiated the process to
purchase the Central Los Angeles Recycling and Transfer Station to
be used by the City as an intermediate site for the transloading of
solid waste and other related uses; and
WHEREAS, Section 66.41 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, relating
to the purposes for the imposition of the Santitation Equipment
Charge does not expressly provide for purchasing, leasing and
improving land and/or buildings for use as transfer stations as a
purpose for which this charge is imposed; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to amend Section 66.41 to expressly include
the purchase, lease and improvement of land or building for such use
as a purpose for which the Sanitation Equipment Charge is imposed;
THEREFORE, MOVE that the City Attorney with the assistance of the
Department of Public Works, Bureau of Sanitation, be instructed to
prepare an ordinance amending Section 66.41 to allow this additional
purpose and transmit said amending ordinance directly to Council and
present if for consideration by the City Council at the meeting of
January 30, 2004.
FURTHER MOVE that the City Clerk be instructed to include an item on
the City Council agenda for January 30, 2004, for the Council to
consider and act on said ordinance.
1-21-04 - File to Calendar Clerk for placement on next available
Council agenda
1-28-04 - Motion ADOPTED - Ordinance to be presented January 30, 2004
1-30-04 - Ordinance OVER ONE WEEK TO February 6, 2004
2-3-04 - Ordinance RECONSIDERED and ADOPTED amending Section 66.41
of the Municipal Code to expressly state as a purpose for which the
Sanitation Equipment Charge is imposed the purchasing, leasing and
improving of land or buildings for use as refuse transfer stations.
2-3-04 - File to Mayor for signature FORTHWITH
2-6-04 - File to Calendar Clerk
2-20-04 - File in files
Ordinance
175769 (Adopted 2-3-04; Effective 3-11-04)
175949 (Adopted 4-23-04; Effective 6-14-04)


--- In nelalist@yahoogroups.com, nelalist@yahoogroups.com wrote:
>
> Response to Former Councilmember Pacheco's E-mail
[please click on the link below for Jimmy Blackman's original
message]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nelalist/message/7722
--- End forwarded message ---