Sunday Morning Mimosa
JM, Unceremonious, Silver Lake, 1.5.08
Joseph Mailander a guy in la • elsewhere • email
Tradition calls for taking down the Christmas tree after Epiphany, which is today for most Christians.
There's a right way and many wrong ways to lose the tree. Above is one of the wrong ways.
Your Mayor and a few other hectoring crones want you to dispose of your holiday tree properly. "Mayor (Antonio) Villaraigosa and the city are very appreciative that every year, more members of the public take responsibility to recycle their trees and take a pro-active role in making Los Angeles cleaner, greener and safer," as the Daily News quoted Commissioner Cynthia Ruiz on December 28, when the cleaner, greener, and safer photo-opping commenced.
Click the link to find your nearest tree recycling center. Ours is at the Zoo, which is handy, because the next time Griffith Park burns away, they can always just spend another $2 million to spread the "free" hydromulch right from the Park itself.
Oh, and if you use a "city-issued yard-trimming brim"--also known as a green trashcan--please cut the damn thing up first.
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Thirty days to the California primary, and...no excitement anywhere. But Hillary (smartly) wore an environmental-chic shamrock-green chemise to the Cowabunga at St. Anselm last night. It's only New Hamshire and already the candidates look burnt to a crisp with exhaustion.
The debates in New Hamshire were generally good news for Democrats, who are absorbing independents in the early stages of the race. Last night's debate was somewhat good for Edwards (who will not win any three-way, but who is now Hillary's spoiler) but not really bad for any Democrats. However, the debates were especially bad for Republicans, who are still stuck selling a war whose sell-by date has long past, who are not talking science at all, who bicker with each other over who said what about immigration, and who now are looking at three leading candidates all possessed of exceptionally high cringe quotients.
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Why didn't MayorSam alum Walter Moore list a profession, or at least an aspiration, when signing the City's Sample Ballot anti-Prop-S arguments? Why is Walter the lone anti voice? Why did Garcetti invite Silver Lake political newbie Jason Lyon to join other heavies like Riordan and Villaraigosa on the proponents' side? Mysteries to me.
Labels: Griffith Park Fire, los angeles politics, mayor antonio villaraigosa, proposition s
Posted by Joseph F. Mailander @ 1/06/2008 01:46:00 AM
18 Comments:
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I wonder if Mayor Sam is going to tell us what a great job the republicans did in New Hampshire.
Or will Mayor Sam he admit the republicans are a bunch of losers!!!
We need more mexicans to make the U.S. just like mexico, bring over all the mexicans, we want to be just like mexico
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_7893924
News of harrowing assaults on American tourists has begun to overshadow that appeal in the northern part of the peninsula, home to drug gangs and the seedy border city of Tijuana.
Local media and surfing Web sites that trumpeted Baja in the past have reported several frightening crimes that U.S. and Mexican officials consider credible. Longtime visitors are particularly wary of a toll road near the border that runs through Playas de Rosarito - Rosarito Beach.
In late November, as they returned from the Baja 1000 off-road race, a San Diego-area family was pulled over on the toll road by a car with flashing lights. Heavily armed men held the family hostage for two hours. They eventually released them but stole the family's truck.
Before dawn on Aug. 31, three surfers were carjacked on the same stretch of highway. Gunmen pulled them over in a car with flashing lights, forced them out of their vehicles and ordered one to kneel. They took the trucks and left the surfers.
Aqua Adventures of San Diego scrapped its annual three-day kayak trip to scout for whales in January, ending a run of about 10 years. Customers had already been complaining about longer waits to return to the U.S.; crime gave them another reason to stay away.
"People are just saying, `No way.' They don't want to deal with the risk," said owner Jen Kleck, who hasn't sponsored any trips to Baja since July.
Charles Smith, spokesman for the U.S. consulate in Tijuana, said the U.S. government has not found a widespread increase in attacks against Americans, but he acknowledged many crimes go unreported. The State Department has long warned motorists on Mexico's border to watch for people following them, though no new warnings have been issued.
Mexican officials acknowledge crime has threatened a lifeblood of Baja's economy. In Playas de Rosarito, a city of 130,000, police were forced to surrender their weapons last month for testing to determine links to any crimes. Heavily armed men have patrolled City Hall since a failed assassination attempt on the new police chief left one officer dead.
"We cannot minimize what's happening to public safety," said Oscar Escobedo Carignan, Baja's secretary of tourism. "We're going to impose order. We're indignant about what's happening."
Tourist visits to Baja totaled about 18 million in 2007, down from 21 million the previous year, Escobedo said. Hotel occupancy dropped to 53 percent.
Hugo Torres, owner of the storied Rosarito Beach Hotel and the city's mayor, estimates the number of visitors to Rosarito Beach since summer is down 30 percent.
Another article in today's Daily News describes the hundreds of millions of dollars illegals are costing L A and the country in welfare, food stamps, etc.
And this must be conservative: since they're eligible to for Social Security, while we're being told that the system will be bankrupt before many people under 55 get around to qualifying for it, they're hastening the bankruptcy of that, too. These figures also don't include the billions of unreimbursed health care from uninsured illegals, which are costing county and private hospitals billions a year, and forcing some to close. The Arnold/ Nunez healthcare plan covering illegals is designed to help bail out the hositals, but by sticking the taxpayers with the bill and forcing individuals and small businesses to buy insurance at market rates, only benefiting the powerful insurance lobby.
Then there's the matter of schools: other articles and population stats show that the only area of school population growth is from immigrants, many illegals -- otherwise, L A is seeing a net outflow of families with children.
McCain has done better in polls the more he's moved away from talking about the "rights" of illegals and making the path to citizenship easier, toward enforcing ICE laws. Romney tried to hammer him on his more liberal past views on this tonight, knowing it's his weakest point -- while deport-the-illegals Romney and Huckabee scored higher.
(
When Obama was in L A he pandered to the illegals by promising to make the path to legalization easier and more inclusive, pushing for the financial aid for their kids in college, etc. -- part of his platform of promising all things to all people, regardless of cost or political viability.0
That's just the way the country is seeing things, despite the desire to unite across class/race lines.
The voters may be dumb when it came to foreign policy issues and the value of experience, but they know we're in an economic downturn and the country has to balance its budget, and unite and take care of the legal residents before we take in more.
If Mexico weren't so corrupt, like in the first story, and extorting every foreign company and citizen who lives or does business there, with its vast oil wealth and natural assets, tourism (which it's losing) it could keep its people home, where they'd prefer to be.
Walter the lone opponent on Prop. S? He got used, of course. Known names FOR, and one unknown AGAINST. Nice.
Good news for Obama and love the tag lines being used. If a black candidate can win in a predominantly WHITE state that means people definitely want a change and color doesn't matter. You listen to Obama speak and its far different from the boring Hillary and others speeches. He has an energy I haven't seen in a candidate in years. This is why so many Latinos are supporting him and not Hillary like everyone assumed would happen because of Antonio.
We need more mexicans to keep the cops employed
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_7895023?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Salinas violence spikes in 2007
Federal budget cuts threaten police efforts
By JULIA REYNOLDS
Herald Salinas Bureau
Article Last Updated: 01/06/2008 01:34:11 AM PST
After two years of improvement, the homicide rate in Salinas doubled in 2007, with 15 killings in the city of about 150,000 — and the bad news comes as federal crime-fighting funds have been inexplicably slashed by the White House, cuts that have some in Monterey County law enforcement apprehensive.
As in previous years, the vast majority — about three-quarters — of 2007's slaying victims were Latino males.
Most of the victims were casualties of a street war that has played out for decades between the Norteno and Sureno gangs. The weapon of choice in 2007 was the gun, used in all but three crimes.
The killing season took until mid-February to get under way, but after that, it rarely let up, with homicides in every month except June and December.
Six victims were young men under 21 years old.
Police noted it was fortunate that even more didn't die in scores of gang shootings that occurred throughout the year, including one at Hebbron Avenue and Jefferson Street in which five people were shot, with three seriously injured.
In another gang-related incident, two women were shot in the head at a Motel 6 but, to the astonishment of investigators, both women survived.
In short, the city's interminable Norteno-Sureno conflict, which a Salinas resident who asked to remain unnamed, likened to a civil war, appears to continue unabated.
We need more mexicans in Georgia to kill the mayaytes
http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/local.aspx?articleid=27903&zoneid=77
Johnson shooting, gang affiliation charge still unsettling to community
Sunday, January 06, 2008
By Erin Fuchs
Dalton Bureau
DALTON, Ga. -- In just a few weeks, the man accused of killing 16-year-old Andre Johnson will be tried for murder.
It was just a few days before Christmas that four men who were with the shooting suspect faced charges of gang crimes before a judge in Superior Court.
That hearing -- in which District Attorney Kermit McManus said young Mr. Johnson had his own gang ties and where he offered the defendants plea agreements -- has caused a stir here.
"It seems to me that he's ... defending the guys that committed the crime," said Fred Johnson, Andre's father.
He said that during the hearing, the prosecutor focused on "finding fault with the guy who was killed."
Mr. McManus' statement at the Dec. 21 hearing that Andre had gang affiliations has prompted denials from the victim's parents and some of his friends. And the plea agreement, which would sentence three of the first four defendants to probation instead of prison, is too lenient, some area residents say.
Thomas Pinson, director of the Dalton Community Center, said that the men with the shooting suspect, who range in age from 18 to 26, should be incarcerated, at least for a while. Mr. Pinson knew Andre for several years, he said.
"I try to tell all the kids that all of your actions have consequences and repercussions," Mr. Pinson said.
For his part, Mr. McManus said the evidence, including interviews with Andre's friends, showed that he used the Crips' signs and wore that gang's colors. That evidence would have emerged during a trial, he said.
As for the plea agreements, Mr. McManus said it's "appropriate" based on the crimes.
The four men with the shooting suspect are being charged with gang crimes, not murder. They're expected to testify at the trial of Edgar Rolando Hernandez, 21, who faces murder charges in Superior Court on Jan. 28.
After that, Superior Court Judge Jack Partain said he will consider the prosecutor's plea agreements.
Who said the mexicans loer the crime rate??
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/NEWS/712200335
Suspect linked to gang
Man accused of killing detective may be facing death penalty
The man accused of shooting to death a Tulare County sheriff's detective Monday on a rural road north of Ivanhoe could face the death penalty.
That's because prosecutors say Jorge Gomez Banda, 20, is a known gang member and Kent Haws, 38, was a peace officer on duty when he was killed, each a special circumstance that allows prosecutors to seek life in prison or the death penalty if Banda is convicted of murder.
As for the gang allegations, Gallian said Banda has gang tattoos indicating he is a member of a southern-affiliated gang.
In addition, after Banda was arrested in March on suspicion of being under the influence of methampheta-mine, a sheriff's report filed with the Superior Court described him as a self-admitted Sureño.
When asked why prosecutors believe they are dealing with a gang-related crime, Gallian said, "The fact that he's a gang member happening to steal a car makes us think it's gang-related."
Walter Moore isn't identified as being or doing anything in the ballot pamphlet because he isn't and doesn't.
As for 7:05's idiotic comment that Moore got "used" as the lone signatory of the ballot argument against Measure S, anyone with even half a brain knows that it's more likely the other way around: Moore is using the opportunity to write the argument to get some much-needed visibility for his long-shot mayoral campaign.
Not everything that happens is the result of some sinister conspiracy on somebody's part.
Jason Lyon got to write the ballot argument probably because he cut a shady deal with Garcetti. Remember that Lyon flip-flopped on Measure R. Came out against it, then mysteriously shut up when told to.
This is the same guy who got caught stealing the Neighborhood Council's e-mail list and using it to campaign, and was actually removed from office for doing so.
Rock on, Jason Lyon.
"Why didn't MayorSam alum Walter Moore list a profession, or at least an aspiration, when signing the City's Sample Ballot anti-Prop-S arguments? Why is Walter the lone anti voice?"
Couldn't agree more, Mr. M. That sample ballot looks like a bunch of eighth graders piled onto the lone third grader on the playground. Have to say I'm glad I didn't put any money on my "S won't pass" prediction. Live and learn...
November 30, 2007
VICA OPPOSES L.A. CITY PHONE TAX (MEASURE S)
SHERMAN OAKS, CALIF. – Citing concerns over new taxes on new technologies, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) board voted on Thursday to oppose the proposed telephone tax on the February 2008 ballot, Measure S.
“VICA is concerned with the way Measure S has been presented as a tax reduction when it is really a new tax,” said VICA Chairman Bob Scott. “The city needs to seriously consider that another new tax makes L.A. less competitive and less desirable to the business community.”
http://www.ftpmoore.com/sisbad/
VICAopposes.pdf
Jason Lyon is a well known name and well liked person in the world of neighborhood councils whether he used a mailing list to campaign or not. Our elected politicians do much worse. I know people who will vote for Measure S because of Jason. Not me, but there isn't anybody who could talk me into it.
But don't bash Jason because you're a disgruntled Silverlake NC person. And you obviously are..
By the way, I don't live anywhere near Jason, but I don't remember him ever backing off of Measure R. So that is just bullshit. Prove that to me to change my mind.
I think Mayor Sam is realistic regardless of anything else, such as his political views. I'm sure he is disappointed in his choices of candidates, but that won't make him admit Republicans are a bunch of losers. Maybe this batch of candidates, but not all Republicans.
I doubt he is the only disappointed Republican right now either.
"I don't remember him ever backing off of Measure R. So that is just bullshit."
Jason definitely backed off Measure R. It's called a controlled burn.
1) Pretend like you are against it.
2) Be the first to file a lawsuit so you can jump in front of the situation.
3) Drop the lawsuit at just the right time.
Jason, definitely backed off. That's not even a question. Call Jason. I'm sure he will tell you. It's a very well know fact.
Noticed Jason's name on the support for Prop S. This is another sham from City Hall to cover their illegal acts. He got something from Garcetti on this one.
Mr. Lyons is well known because he is well disliked.
The Silverlake Council is a much calmer, positive and responsive organization following his disqualification (after years of conflicts surrounding him and grievances against him) and departure. So now he has moved out of the neighborhood and into new areas where people don't know him... yet.
jason "bradley/jim alger" lyon's day job is as a freelance secretary who transcribes text - or was since he lost that job.
as far as i can see that is his only talent as he has no substantive accomplishments - his term as co-chair of his neighborhood council as co-chair was a disaster - so much so that he was soundly defeated when he ran for re-election to the executive committee in the lower position as treasurer.
so whats surprising about him being used to transcribe text for a proposition? it doesn't take any brain work - he just has to copy whatever people tell him.
and since he was fired from his secretary day job a few years ago he is an unemployed stay at home dad so he has plenty of time.
just keep him busy and out of silverlake! lol
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