Measure S Good Investment for AEG
** UPDATE ** ATTENTION: JOHN and KEN SHOW producer(s) and/or AL RANTEL SHOW producer(s): Great topic for your show. Tell your listeners everytime they go to Staples Center or Home Depot Center or the Nokia Theatre THEY WILL BE PAYING those places' taxes on their SPRINT, VERIZON, T-MOBILE, BOOST, etc. CELL PHONE BILL (INSTEAD OF THE BUSINESS/PROPERTY OWNERS)!
ADDITIONALLY normally businesses oppose additional taxes placed on them because it hurts their business. BUT THE PHONE AND CABLE COMPANIES ARE NOT FIGHTING THIS because they have big plans that need the APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL and don't want to make them mad! HOWEVER - A SIMILAR MEASURE in Pasadena IS being fought by the phone companies because the same pressure does not exist there. LASTLY the Mayor's proposal has a PROVISION TO TAX YOUR USAGE OF THE INTERNET.
DON'T BE FRIGHTENED BY THE MAYOR'S THREATS - THE CITY HAS THE MONEY IT NEEDS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY WITHOUT THIS TAX.
Along with the usual suspects such as the unions and old rich biddies like Edith Wasserman, another six figure donation has come in to support Mayor Villaraigosa's phone tax scam, Measure S.
Anschutz Entertainment Group, owner of the Staples Center, Home Depot Center and the soon to be built Do-It Center Fieldhouse in Sunland-Tujunga (okay just kidding on that one).
Here's the numbers:
AEG Donation - $100,000
Amount Mayor Villaraigosa says the Phone Tax needs to collect in order to save the city from buzzards, locusts, riots and financial ruin - $243 million
Amount AEG could get in tax breaks from the City on it's LA Live complex - $270 million
Return on Investment for AEG - $269,900,000
Loss to the City - $27 million, which will require the Mayor to ask for another tax.
Here's some financial advice to the City - cut LA Live's tax to $243 million, don't stick Angelenos with another tax and then cut more of the bullshit out of the budget.
ADDITIONALLY normally businesses oppose additional taxes placed on them because it hurts their business. BUT THE PHONE AND CABLE COMPANIES ARE NOT FIGHTING THIS because they have big plans that need the APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL and don't want to make them mad! HOWEVER - A SIMILAR MEASURE in Pasadena IS being fought by the phone companies because the same pressure does not exist there. LASTLY the Mayor's proposal has a PROVISION TO TAX YOUR USAGE OF THE INTERNET.
DON'T BE FRIGHTENED BY THE MAYOR'S THREATS - THE CITY HAS THE MONEY IT NEEDS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY WITHOUT THIS TAX.
Along with the usual suspects such as the unions and old rich biddies like Edith Wasserman, another six figure donation has come in to support Mayor Villaraigosa's phone tax scam, Measure S.Anschutz Entertainment Group, owner of the Staples Center, Home Depot Center and the soon to be built Do-It Center Fieldhouse in Sunland-Tujunga (okay just kidding on that one).
Here's the numbers:
AEG Donation - $100,000
Amount Mayor Villaraigosa says the Phone Tax needs to collect in order to save the city from buzzards, locusts, riots and financial ruin - $243 million
Amount AEG could get in tax breaks from the City on it's LA Live complex - $270 million
Return on Investment for AEG - $269,900,000
Loss to the City - $27 million, which will require the Mayor to ask for another tax.
Here's some financial advice to the City - cut LA Live's tax to $243 million, don't stick Angelenos with another tax and then cut more of the bullshit out of the budget.
Labels: AEG, home depot center, LA Live, los angeles politics, mayor antonio villaraigosa, phone tax, staples center
Posted by Mayor Sam @ 1/09/2008 12:39:00 AM
46 Comments:
Dearest Mayor Sam,
Valley Doll is happy and pleased as punch to announce that last night the Northridge West Neighborhood Council voted to Oppose Measure S.
xoxo
(whispers to the Undisputed Master of Public Comment) thank you thank you thank you! xoxoxoxoxoxox
Glad to hear it. My NC President wouldn't put it on the agenda without speakers pro and con and he failed to respond to my request to get help to get pro and con speakers.
But we do have public comment if anyone wants to come bring it up
Yeah, well the unions are pumping a cool million into the "Yes on S" campaign; good thing you've got ZD to ante up a million to counteract it.
After all, being the "Undisputed Master of Public Comment" ought to earn him that at least, right Sam?
Guess what?
Measure S passes with ease; the people are always ready to tax someone else. It is the end of the earth and the United States has surrendered to Mexico.
Might as well give them back California, or at least Los Angeles.
The antics of ZD, Matt and Mike will be well received by the Mexican authorities who love public comment.
1:46 am,
I admit, I am nervous as hell that it WILL pass. First of all, it only needs 51% since the mayor downgraded the city to "emergency" status which means it doesn't need the usual 66%.
(Way to instill confidence in the City by declaring a "all hell will break loose" emergency.)
But most importantly, besides the millions Villar is raising from people who do business with the City like AEG and others (tic for tac, y'all)...
the wording of the ballot description is so unbelievably shady and deceiving -- it could only come from a no-morals mayor who blew it so badly -- now he has to scare everyone and besmirch the City. What does he care?
so yeah, that ballot wording DOES have me feeling people will be voting for something other than described.
More later. Thanks for turning Los Angeles into a joke, you clown.
noonprops.com
or pick up a copy of The Voice for front page story on No on S, submitted by Big ZD, on the realest , dough!
COMMUNITY ACTIVISM AT IT'S FINEST, Y'ALL...Read it and weep Viagraosa:
One of the Mayor Sam readers/"No on Prop S Bitches", turned a "not going to take a position on prop s" -- to a "No on S" position at Valley Neighborhood Council.
from zd's inbox:
Dearest Undisputed Master,
[Who am "I" to censor her?]
Went to the Council meeting, sat through some of the most boring sh*t ever.
Measure S came up, and some members of the council said while they didn't really agree with all the wording in it, they were of the opinion it was kinda too late in the game to take a position on it one way or the other.
That's when I popped into action! They called me up and they gave me waaaay more than 2 minutes and I gave them all the info you gave me, and asked them to please take a position, and that I could spread the word in the community and if I had the backing of the neighborhood council, that would hold more sway with the different groups I speak to over the next few weeks.
They took a vote.
The Northridge West Valley Neighborhood Council has voted to Oppose Measure S, bitches!
[CONGRATULATIONS GIRL. AMAZING!!! Not sure if I am supposed to say who you are...BUT FEEL FREE TO ADD A COMMENT IF YOU WANNA TAKE A TRIUMPHANT BOW. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GETTING OFF YOUR ASS AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE.]
Hooooooooooooody hoooooooooooo!
Just for kicks a little more info on the metals vs paper dollars opinions, not selling anything but if the ratio between gold and silver is as the author says 15.5 to 1 then either silver is way undervalued or gold is way overpriced.
Anyway everyone knows the US dollar is getting weaker and weaker against other world currency's.
Maybe the City of LA should invest in some metals and with the money they make it should mean less of a tax burden on it's citizens huh?
Oh Yeah!
Why is Silver So Cheap? Why is Gold So Expensive?
posted on: January 09, 2008
By Brad Zigler
At last look, silver was up 3.5% on the day extending overnight gains and building on last week's rally. Gold was up a more modest 2.2%. We've been down this road before, only going in the other direction.
Back in November, we looked at the price relationship between gold and silver ('What's Better: Gold or Silver') from a market capitalization perspective.
That's a novel view for most traders brought up using the more traditional gold/silver ratio. For a long time, the ratio was set by fiat at 15.5-to-1, meaning that one troy ounce of gold would buy 15.5 ounces of silver.
If those laws were still followed today, silver would be trading at $58 per ounce. In 2007, the gold multiple rose from 47x to 57x (see "Gold vs. Silver" below).
Gold Vs. Silver
So, why IS silver so cheap? I mean the earth's crust, on average, contains 19 units of silver for every one unit of gold according to the U.S. Geological Survey. If gold and silver were equally accessible, that makes gold three times more expensive than it "ought" to be.
There's, of course, a big difference between "ought" and "Unload the truck, Lenny."
Theories abound, but there are a few favorite notions. Most commonly mentioned is a large concentrated short position held against futures-deliverable stocks. According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Commitments of Traders report, three or four traders are short about 140 days' worth of silver production.
Better to ask, I think, "Why is gold so expensive?" The simplest argument centers on gold's greater acceptance as a store of value. In times of crisis it's gold rather than silver that people rush to.
More on this later...
Hard Assets Investor
PS: Hey Z Dogg if you would have invested in silver or gold yesterday you would have made enough $$$ to take the day off and catch some waves. did you?
Zuma, you attention whore:
Do you have to spread your foolishness across everyone else's threads as well?
We scroll past yours, hoping to limit the pain, but lo and behold, here you are trying to dominate Mayor Sam's posts as well.
Go get a life you loser.
7:52 is so incredibly jealous that Zuma informed,inspired and involved ordinary people to take action against our incredibly shady alcalde, and his incredibly shady measure S.
It just kills you, doesn't it?
I LOVE IT!
xoxo
7:52 am,
Thanks for that info. Yes, I am VERY aware what happened to gold this past week -- and yesterday. Didn't have any money to invest yesterday. I was going nuts trying to talk some folks into gold at $800 -- but even last week...AND this week. It's still not too late/still going up...but I admit...it would have been SWEET to buy gold before the bell yesterday.
24 hour gold chart: kitko.com
michael "mayor sam" higby said...
My NC President wouldn't put it on the agenda without speakers pro and con and he failed to respond to my request to get help to get pro and con speakers.
Neener neener nee-ner, my NC is better than yours!! :)
Northridge West Neighborhood Council rocks the Casbah!!!
xoxo
ps. oooh-la-la ... i'm lovin' the new pic. can you say c-u-t-i-e? ::sigh:: if only you weren't so hung up on the whole "but you're married!" thing. :)
xoxo
This comment has been removed by the author.
Valley Doll,
Thanks for the compliment. That's my official New Years Eve in Palm Springs (okay Rancho Mirage) photo.
And yes your NC is definitely better than mine. Mine is a joke. Though most of the people are nice (some are real nut cases though).
Valley Doll, Zuma, etc. -
I could not get S on my NC agenda for tonight.
Does that mean we can't vote on it? Is there some sort of DONE emergency rule I can invoke?
She had it voted on, as a request from public comment. It wasn't on the agenda. So maybe you can make a motion, or whatever.
They have this thing about the Brown Act that if its not on the agenda we can't vote on it. Does anyone know any differently?
If the Mayor can help Hillary win in New Hampshire, I am sure he can get measure "S" passed.
The cops are already supporting measure "S" and spreading the fear about losing cops and have more crime.
Dear Zuma's Press Deputy-
It was on the agenda, sorry babe. But, I don't see any reason why it can't be brought up during public comment.
xoxo
(No on S Bitch #2 typing for Bitch #1)
How sad that our politicans have to lie again in order to pass this bullshit Measure S. Just keep e-mailing and posting telling everyone what a crock it is. They will lie, deceive use scare tactics. Where is the gang program audit Laura Chick N Shit was suppose to finish? Could it be she's holding it until after Feb just like the DWP hike? Nothing but a bunch of losers we have running this city.
OHHHH and Antonio didn't do shit to help Hillary and she didnt' win by that much what two or three points and for someone who supposedly has been in the political areana for years and years that's not much.
'OHHHH and Antonio didn't do shit to help Hillary and she didnt' win by that much what two or three points and for someone who supposedly has been in the political areana for years and years that's not much.'
There are not too many Hispanics in NH. If they are there, the people in NH would check the identification which would allow them to vote; birth certificate, voters registration card, US Passport, etc. Since Villa panders to the illegals, I doubt Hillary got very many.....but maybe that's the "independents" who did vote..and why Obama lost.
"Valley Doll, Zuma, etc. -
I could not get S on my NC agenda for tonight.
Does that mean we can't vote on it? Is there some sort of DONE emergency rule I can invoke?"
You can vote on anything without NC approval in the legal state elections. The NC doers not have control of voting for anything other than the NC support ot deny for a proposal. If your NC votes "Yes" on Measure S it means that the NC would recommend to everyone in the area to support Measure in the State election on Feb 5.
You can campaign for or against anything on the ballot which has beeen verified by the Registar of Voters.
Dont let the NC snow you...just because a few memebers are for or against a proposition, for example, Measure S which is Local to Los Angeles, or the Indian Propositions which are State measures does not mean you may or may not vote for it on Feb 5. Another is the Health Insurance proposal by Nunez; you can vote YES or NO regardless of what your NC supports.
One thing that worries me greatly is eco-fascism. You know, Rothchild wanting a new global religion where people turn away from their selfish interests towards some kind of earth worship. Gaia First, with the angelic children offering themselves up for sterilization, for the sake of the planet. I'd also like to point out that shifting our consciousness to something bigger, like the Earth, has not necessarily got anything to do with transcendence of ego. Think of Nazi Youth putting the party first.
1205 -
Where is that documented or what rule would I invoke?
I just re-read 1205 and I understand what he is saying.
What I am asking is IF the NC can take up, discuss and vote (one way or another) on a recommendation on S if its not on tonight's agenda already?
Prop "S" is on the Sunland Tujunga Neighborhood Council Agenda for tonight. Discuss/Action on it.
Last month our Neighborhood Council voted yes on a motion to
stop the use of a neurotoxin pestcide that has been fast tracked by the EPA, to be used on Strawberries. We will be sending out letters to the Governor and other Neighborhood Councils.
I see that that the scumbag unions are support it so there can be more scummy city employees and they can keep their 23% raises.
So I just got my absentee ballot in the mail...
Now I just have to decide if I'm going to vote YES or NO on a proposition entitled "Reduction of Tax Rate and Modernization of Communications Users Tax. Proposition S."
Oookay...let's see here...
No! No! No! No!
Jack Hoff,
Yeah, pretty scary. Who WOULDN'T vote or a tax reduction?
Glad I still have an out of state cell phone number.
Did Bill ask Richardson to bow out to strengthen Hillay's position. Was Richardson promised something?
CLINTON ON COURIC: HITS OBAMA, EDWARDS ON 'BUDDY SYSTEM'.
SLATE MAGAZINE:
Did Obama "Supporters" Lie? [UPDATED]
Judging by this morning’s headlines, just about everyone was confident that Barack Obama was going to win the New Hampshire primary by a comfortable margin. “Clinton Braces for Second Loss; Union, Senators May Back Obama,” the Wall Street Journal declared on today’s front page. At 8:07 p.m., FOXNews.com reported that its exit polls showed Obama ahead by five points, 39 percent to Clinton’s 34 percent.
But now Clinton leads. This sort of jarring of our expectations conjures up past examples of black candidates who have polled significantly higher than their white opponents, only to confront a very different reality when the votes are counted. Pollsters know this as the “Bradley Effect,” christened for former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, a black man who narrowly lost the 1982 California gubernatorial election to a white opponent even though Bradley led in the polls. (It’s sometimes also referred to as the “Wilder Effect,” after Douglas Wilder, who had been polling at 10 points ahead of Marshall Coleman in the 1989 governor’s race, beat Coleman by less than a point.) Harold Ford Jr., who lost his bid for a Senate seat in Tennessee in 2006, also polled better than he performed.
One theory is that voters contacted by pollsters are more likely to say they support a black candidate running against a white candidate out of desire to seem progressive. Social psychologists called this “social desirability” – the urge to act in ways that one believes his or her environment finds appropriate.
You forgot that AEG's president held a fundraiser for Weiss. Also check out Weiss contributions from AEG people on City Ethics.
Conflict? Of course not!
The buddy system is a procedure in which two people, the buddies, operate together as a single unit so that they are able to monitor and help each other.
Big Fart and the Terrorist, for example.
BROWN ACT
It is possible for a NC to discuss and vote on an issue that is presented to them, without prior notice, at the meeting. The City Council does it about once a week. It's process is found in Rule 23 of the Rules of the City Council, which can be found on the city's web site.
The Council's language follows the language in the Brown Act that permits this to be done.
There are numerous City Attorney reports and letters on the Brown Act on the DONE web site.
Look at page 11 on this report.
http://www.lacityneighborhoods.com/legaladvice/donelegaladvice106829188_10212003.pdf
There are no DONE rules regarding this. The Brown Act is a state law, and it applies to the NC's as it applies to the City Council.
Someone can make a motion and have it voted on at a meeting by getting a 2/3rds vote of the board to allow it to be done. The board has to say that there is a need to act immediately and that it can't wait until the next meeting.
The City Council often casts these 2/3rds even though no such urgency exists (they meet 3 times a week). They get away with it because they trust that the District Attorney will be too busy with other matters, and that no one will sue them.
In a real "emergency" action, which can only be used when there is a public safety emergency (something NCs will never do) a one hour notice to the media is required.
When in doubt, ask your DONE rep, or have your president or legal liaison ask the City Attorney. But the answers are already on the DONE website.
Hope this helps.
Anything you say, Higgleby. Why don't you tell the Mayor where to cut the budget when S sinks under your weight.
8:02 I wish I knew that. This would meet that threshold considering the next NC meeting would not be until after the election.
I did speak about it and a few other board members did. And then Antonio from the Mayor's office (no relation) did his non-campaign Measure S campaign pitch before he was advised not to campaign by the Council secretary. He then aggressively handed out pro-Antonio flyers and left.
It's Ms. 8:02 again -- about the Brown Act.
Also, your NC secretary was wrong. During public comment time, there is no rule against anyone getting and speaking for or against a ballot measure, just as during a City Council meeting.
The board members of the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council just voted unaminously to oppose "Propositon "S" during their General Meeting tonight, Wednesday, January 9.
Just a few of the many comments from the community are as follows: "It is a 10% tax that was orginally deemed illegal by the court and they are now proposing a 9% "legal" tax and calling it a tax decrease because it is 1% less than the former illegal 10% tax that they have yet to recind." "They immediately tried to rip off the Trash Tax money that was supposed to be used for the hiring of more police, so their statement that the police department will be negatively impacted unless it is passed is false since the City Council was willing to steal the trash tax for the General Fund." Also, "the Trash Tax incremental increases that were supposed to take place over a period of time, are way ahead of schedule contrary to promises made buy its initiators." There was also a mention of a city's tax supporter strong arming a community activist from another Neighborhood Council during their committee meeting, to immediately sign the Vote Yes for Prop S summary and instantly fax back, without having the ability to read it first, because they were in a hurry to go to press.
Therefore, there is no faith that this tax will not be brought foward to the internet, wireless, etc, or be used for purposes other than public safety. In a nut shell, the proposition has no creditability, therefore, it should not be supported by the community
The STNC has directed that an oppositon letter be sent immediately to the L.A. City Council.
When is government going to learn that they must be honest and up front with their constituents. We are much brighter then they give us credit for.
Too bad my Neighborhood Council didn't have the guts to address this.
I want my Neighborhood Council to trade me to Sunland Tujunga or Northridge West for a first round draft pick and three players to be named later.
(Oh and I can already hear the dumb jokes)
I'll get your Northridge West baseball cap and jersey ready for you. :)
xoxo
Wow!
You said something nice about Sunland-Tujunga, maybe you might like us after all!
You are always welcone at our meetings.
We are a community that stands up for what we believe in.
If you don't stand up for yourself, Who else is there?
If I Could get my NC to vote on this at our next meeting in two weeks, i need a pro and a con person asap.
Who could I get to speak for measure S and against?
Thanks for any help. I'd like to call my councilman about this; I just don't understand how this could get under the radar when everyone uses cells and wireless data. One would think the city would be liable for concealment or nondisclosure for not properly providing a judicial background.
Thanks.
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