Enough With The High-Density Shills Already!
By Walter Moore, Candidate for Mayor of Los AngelesAs regular readers know, I am addicted to KABC 790's "McIntyre in the Morning" show. While listening to that show, I keep hearing these annoying ads "explaining" why, really, the best way to avoid excessive crowding in our city is to build, build, build. They even feature a college professor explaining why, counterintuitively, building additional housing is actually the best way to avoid further crowding.
Visit my website to find out why you should take the good professor's comments not with a grain of salt, but with a giant boulder of same: MooreIsBetter.com.
Posted by Walter Moore @ 3/27/2007 08:13:00 AM
25 Comments:
In my opinion you are wrong.
Hey, Scott? In what is Walter wrong? Actuallly, I disagree a lot with Walter but having just read his blog (for the very first time) I can't argue with what he says about the professor/lobbyist. I think that's a matter of record.
So, what is it you are against? And I ask to be educated. I am worried about the high-density policies of the City but maybe it is the answer. So, please, Scott "fill me in" so to speak.
Excellent article Walter. Like any good trial lawyer, you rightfully are skeptical of and question this so-called "experts" credentials, and, not surprisingly, expose him for the unqualified (in urban planning) paid shill that he is.
The MSM does such an abysmal job in exposing these hacks, and that's why it's so important we question the spoon-fed "conventional wisdom" and the well-paid "experts" (another example: Jack Keyser) that are continually trotted out.
Walter--
Your entire belief on "If we don't build it, they won't come" is as sophomoric as the "If we don't build it, they won't drive".
Please realize that there will be more than 2 million more people here within 15 years due to birth rates (not even including an influx of any immigrations)
We need to start creating a smarter infrastructure like Mike Feuer said (in The Planning Report posted on MS2)
10:19:
Have you even read the blog entry? The issue today isn't density per se. The issue today is truth in advertising.
As for density, get back to me when you've visited cities around the world that refuse to give in to developers, and then tell me there's absolutely nothing we can do to prevent 100 million people from moving into L.A.
Density is a choice. Zoning laws are made by man. They are not laws of physics. They remain the same or changed based on the decisions we make.
If you don't build it, they won't be able to come, and they will move to an area with vacancy.
When the Stones concert sells out, they don't cram in more seats, or build a new level to the stadium. It's sold out, and you have to go to another concert, that evening. Because they know things like security, parking and surrounding community can only accomodate so much density, before it becomes a safety issue. (Which it is.)
I learned something in fourth grade science class: Basic law of physics. When too many cells gather in one area, some will diffuse to a lesser populated area.
We have these instincts as well, however greed and construction contibutions over-ride this immutable principal of physics. And that's how you tank one giant metropolis.
ANYWAY - I WOULD BE ALL FOR BUILDING IT, IF we had proper infrastructure. But THIS stadium is sold out. Try the Springsteen concert at Staples Center.
The Rolling Stones analogy is right on point.
The elevator is full. We have enough people.
And the idea that, if we'll just agree to blanket the L.A. basin with high-density, high-rise "smart" growth, we will finally have "affordable housing," is ridiculous -- almost as ridiculous as the syntax of this sentence.
To all you high-rises-everywhere advocates, please take a look in any almanac and explain to me why the cost of living in New York City is so much higher than here. Do they just need to add a few more "affordable" high-rise skyscrapers full of poor people? Is that the problem?
No. The "problem" is many people want to move here, and we have plenty already. That is THEIR problem, not OUR problem. Let them move to Riverside, or Oklahoma or wherever. We've got nearly 4 million people already, and higher population density than Beverly Hills, Palos Verdes, Pasadena, Malibu, etc.
We've more than done our share. Please enjoy the rest of the earth's surface if you're looking for a new place to move. We're full.
ok, then theres an ordinance they just might get away with. no more high density development because of the compelling reasons of health and public safety (too much smog, congested streets, lack of water, and not enough police)
yep, full is the right word.
put out the 'no vacancy' sign even
Yes, LA has done more than its fair share! Makes me want to puke when I hear these hacks and paid-off pols blather about "affordable housing," or "smart growth," etc. Translated this means: "I've received thousands & thousands of dollars from wealthy developers to fund my campaigns and now I have to pay them back -- so I'll grease the runway so they can build, build, build even more (and to heck with the infrastructure; I'll be long gone before I can be held accountable for this)."
High Density = Big Problems
Check it out
http://www.theamericanresistance.com/thousand_words/baldwin_park_2005may14.html
We were "full" before Walter got here.
Too bad we didn't put up the "no vacancy" sign then. ;)
Excellen point %:14 PM.
Hey, why don't we build a 20 foot wall around L.A.'s borders?
We need more asphalt and concrete, less open space and fewer trees.
FOCUS GROUP TIME, Y'ALL...NO, NO!
Take it for what it's worth, but I'm shocked by this one. I've always said to Matt, you can't fool the people, and I'm always amazed to the degree people catch on to stuff.
So, I'm at Starbuck's Ventura County, in an area I used to inhabat -- and bump into a friend of mine, who I haven't seen in over two years. He's in his 50's, longtime surfer, ex-Hollywood stuntman -- total stoner, and all that. Let's just say, one of Spicoli's freinds at age 50. So he looks over my shoulder and says, "What are you up to?"
So I tell him about my past year at City Hall, and how I'm puttin on blast the shady fraud, waste and abuse under the Mayor of Los Angeles and City Council.
And he immediatley blurts out, "You mean Villaraigosa? I hate that guy. What a phony. All he does is run around from photo op to photo op with that smile and those teeth. I SWEAR HE LAUNCHED INTO THIS AND MENTIONED THE SMILES AND THE TEETH.
Then later on his way out...he walks back over to say goodbye and says, "You know what pissed me off about the guy...what was it about the schools. He wants to run the schools. Maaaaaaan, they'be been trying to pull that scam for years." (very insightful, spicoli -- yes, Richard Riorend DID try to take over the school board -- and he passed the school takeover batton to Antonio.
Now after the mayor was so nice to zuma dogg at city hall, a couple weeks ago, i feel kinda bad mentioning it...
POINT IS: Daaaaaaaaaamn, did ZD just get his ass schooled by this guy. This guy doesn't even live in the COUNTY of L.A. -- and he knows all about this stuff. So I don't know what the answer is...but I think the mayor has to do something to continue to keep the highest possible profile he can in this town. (You KNOW ZD would pass an ordinance for daily press conferences at 8p, that MUST be carried) -- so I'm not against that: I THINK THE PEOPLE CAN SEE THROUGH THE PHONY DOG AND PONY SHOWS AND CONTRIVED BS.
So try and chill on the phony, over-the-top smile, and try and be a little more prestigious -- with a natural smile. (Now maybe if you blaze as much as I hear you do, that's why you can't help the super-sized grin...so try and smoke kush instead of sativa, so you'll be more mellow.)
Secondly, keep it real y'all...I think that may be tough because every time you open your mouth, you have to worry about 28 different interests to not piss offf...so you end up stuttering like Mel Tillis...So all I can say is you gotta say, f*ck it -- I'm gonna be more like ZD and tell it like it is.
YOU ARE NEVER GONNA MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY EVER AGAIN. THE CITY IS TOO WIDE GEOGRAPHICALLY, DEMOGRAPHICALLY, ECONOMICALLY AND SOCIALLY. You gotta start using instincts, to say what you think is right, and if some people don't like it, tough t*tt*e.
Mayor, you don't want to end up like Bill Rosendoh. Tell everyone what they want to hear, then do nothing. Now it would be nice if that worked. If it did...EVERYONE would do it. But all you end up doing is pissing EVERYONE off, and not making you core/base happy.
That's what happening to YOU Mayor. You're trying to make EVERYONE happy, but instead, you're making no one happy -- and even worse -- pissing off all the people you made promises too.
MAN -- ZD JUST WATCHED A YEAR OF YOUR TERM FLY BY MAYOR. AND IT WAS A PRETTY CHOPPY WAVE, BRO. Can't really point to one THING you can hang your hat on come re-election time.
But ZD is an optimist, and wakes up every day, with a fresh start, hoping he's gonna turn on the TV, radio, blog or newspaper and read something ZD can say, "YEAH...THAT's the ticket" (to hang your hat on.) The School thing, didn't happen -- and it's never gonna be smooth -- and you don't have time to do much more than milk the construction budget and be done with it. There won't be time to produce measurable results.
I remember posting something a couple weeks ago that I praised on Mayor Sam -- but the problem is, it wasn't big enough and I can't really remember what it was. But all the major bad sh&t, everyone remembers.
And there's way more of that (bad PR), than good PR. So figure it out, bro. The clock is ticking, and it doesn't look like your on the right path, or listening to the right people. Mayor, I WANT you to succeed and make it to the highest office possible, so ZD can maybe smoke a blunt in the Gubenenor's mansion, or even White House.
So help ME, help YOU, help ME. Z to the D.
lol at 5.14...
it is too bad. that's why I'm saying put the sign out now.
no sense making it worse.
'shill' is a great word, that's why we like him
Actually, that sign WAS up when I moved here. I lost count of how many bumper stickers I saw that said, "Welcome to California. Now go home."
It was a different time; they were printed in English.
We all know "Affordable Housing" means for Ilegals and their 5 families they move in. Do they think we're too naive to know the difference? That our midget mayor for you pushing to help illegals who don't pay taxes, get free services, get their rent paid from Section 8 vouchers, and the rest of us have to earn everything the hard way.
Zuma,
L.A. politicians want CONTROL CONTROL CONTROL.
Beware the "Evil Twin" Wi-Fi Hotspot
Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:17AM EDT
Hop into Starbucks or an airport terminal and you may find yourself tempted by the inexpensive Wi-Fi service offered. Fire up your computer, browse the wireless networks available, and maybe you'll jump on a network named "tmobile" or "wayport" or some other common name among Wi-Fi service providers. Sure enough, your browser pulls up a page asking for your credit card information... or maybe you'll find yourself with "free" access to the internet. Surprise: You might have just been punk'd by a hacker.
Such is the case of the "evil twin" hotspot, a rising danger for users who rely on public hotspots for internet access. The trick is simple: A hacker just creates a hotspot with the same name (or a very similar one) as a legitimate hotspot nearby, hoping to dupe web surfers into connecting to the hacker hotspot instead of the legitimate one. The goal is the usual fare: Collect user names, passwords, credit card numbers. All the good stuff.
The Los Angeles Times notes that such lookalike networks are on the rise, and though this scam has been around for many years, it seems to be rising in popularity. My hunch? Wireless routers have better range than ever before, and it's practically child's play to set up a harvesting web site to dupe people into giving up their personal information. And since your laptop will automatically connect to any network you've connected to in the past (Windows thinks any network named "linksys" is the same network no matter where you go), people can be duped by evil twin hotspots without ever knowing it.
So what can you do about it? Sadly, not a lot, and all that security software on your laptop won't help you one bit if you willingly connect to one of these hotspots. As with most scams, diligence is your best ally: Learn what legitimate hotspot web pages look like. Hackers rarely make a perfect copy. If you encounter anything out of the ordinary, disconnect from the hotspot immediately. Tell the manager of the establishment you're trying to connect to that something funny is going on. They may not do anything about it, but hopefully they'll call the cops and encourage them to track down the signal.
LINK: Ensnared on the wireless Web
10:47am,
THANKS for that warning. I WILL be even MORE cautious. I was sent a "pay pal alert" message this week, and it looked shady -- I contacted pay pal and they confirmed the Garcettiness of the fake alert.
And luckily about the tmoblie I use when at Starbucks...When I log on, it asks if I want to use the same credit info, on record, as last time. So, if they aks that, I'll know it is the right Tmobile. And, now I'll be suspicious if a tmobile log in page, doesn't have that info. Thanks!
Yours In Public Advocacy,
Big ZD
And you wonder why I laugh when Mayor Villarai-pose-a talks about this idea for the ENTIRE City.
Think of his thug Wetback Illegals hackers screwing with the business of this city on land, in person AND over the internet.
Zuma, I'm sorry to burst your bubble regarding our [mostly] absentee mayor. I've never supported him, and I refuse to do so.
He has been right just ONCE in his administration, which is a sad record. Even a stopped clock is correct more times daily than he has been!
Random thoughts:
The LAUSD is a monster. I believe that the only way to tame the bureaucratic mess is to reduce it in size. More smaller - self contained districts. Yes - the valley will become the place to send your kids to school. I went to Taft High in Woodland Hills. I was supposed to go to Belmont. Am I opposed to bussing? You betcha. OUr neighbors need to focus on improving our school thereby improving our neighborhoods. Or is it vice versa? Not sure.
Then there is density. The City of Los Angeles has never been known for smart growth or good long range planning. I don't think it ever will. I believe that in the long run it won't even matter who the mayor is because the developer drives legislation. Our politicos will always be beholden to a man standing in teh shadows with deeper pockets than most of us. I also believe that if Mr. Moor is elected he will owe someone, somewhere.
Zoning - LA is too massive to have a comprehensive general plan. Hence the need for specific plans, overlays/HPOZ's, NC's, etc, etc, etc. This has made LA an empire, not a city. There are too many fiefdoms bickering over the homeless and dumping bodies in skid row rather than focusing on the home grown issues that, once resloved, can have a definite impact on the community and region. Traffic - you want people to ride mass transit: make then WANT to get out of there cars. More bike lanes. Help me to not be afraid of getting on the DASH. Lets make downtown someplace we want to walk around. Don't price the rest of LA out of silverlake and downtown - but don't make Pico Union LA's toilet.
'Nuff said. I need to get back to work.
ZUMA DOGG... SAY IT AINT SO MAN!!!
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Offense Date N/R
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---end search--
10:19 where, oh, where did you get these ridiculous figures?
According to Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) there will be 400,000 additional people living in Los Angeles by 2025 above the 4,000,000 counted in 2000.
Smart Growth Urban Planners aka Urban Transit Villages Advocates are pro-development and pro-developers. They absolutely advocate building more and more housing on the presumption that it is "Build and They Will Come!"
They also state that "The closer we live together the better we will get along!"
You are so very mistaken, and so are they!
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