Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Wednesday
Your favorite government servant - DWP General Manager H. David Nahai - got busted wasting water and power so now he's getting the conservation religion. Blogger and new Sister City Hero Alan Mittelstaedt blew the whistle on H. David seeking a public records request for the GM's utility bills - following which H. David came clean. Apparently Mittelstaedt got so far under H. David's skin that Nahai claimed the blogger was "harrassing" him.On the heels of the Lakers' big loss in the NBA Finals former Laker Shaquille O'Neal is gloating, joking with reporters "Kobe couldn't do without me." The last time the Lakers won a championship ring was when Shaq was still in town. The NBA legend has even gone as far to record a rap video poking fun.
Random question of the day: In light of the current mortgage crisis, much ado is made about "predatory lending." How often though do you hear the media talk about "irresponsible borrowing?" Its time to hold individuals accountable for their actions and not exclusively blame government, business, or others when the chips are down.
You may remember an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies where a con man tried to sell naive Ozark millionaire Jed Clampett local landmarks like The Hollywood Bowl, the freeway system and Griffith Park. In real life, a reported former boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway has been accused of fraudulently trying to sell Vatican landmarks.
And finally for whatever reason there has been much discussion on the blog about City Council President Eric Garcetti referring to his live-in female lover Amy Wakeland as "his partner." A number of our readers feel that this is a term historically reserved for pre-legal marriage homosexual unions and that as a heterosexual Garcetti should refer to Wakeland as his girlfriend and hopefully soon, his fiance. Prior to the legalization of same-sex marriage, domestic partnership was an option for gay couples but it was and is still not available to heterosexual couples if at least one partner is not yet a senior citizen. Therefore Eric needs to marry sweet Amy as do 45 year old Helen Hunt and her described domestic partner 47 year old Matthew Carnahan. As an ordained minister, I am happy to perform the service for free. After all, doesn't a future mayor need a First Lady and not a First Partner? (By the way before you start yammering and posting about me being politically incorrect, we're just having a little fun here. The truth is now that same-sex couples are finally getting the rights they deserve; some heterosexual couples should celebrate by taking marriage more seriously.)
Labels: Alan Mittelstaedt, amy wakeland, dwp, eric garcetti, Gay Marriage, H. David Nahai, kobe bryant, lakers, shaquille o'neal, the beverly hillbillies
Posted by Michael Higby @ 6/25/2008 04:00:00 AM
15 Comments:
Did I miss the indictments? How bout Chick's press conference? Or does that only happen when she's trying to force out a mayor?
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Los Angeles DWP suit alleges Colorado firm overbilled for Owens Lake work
By David Zahniser
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 25, 2008
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against a Colorado-based construction and engineering firm, accusing it of overbilling the utility over a seven-year period.
The lawsuit alleged that the Englewood-based company conspired to defraud the DWP by preparing and approving numerous invoices that "artificially inflated the value of the work performed by CH2M Hill and its subcontractors."
Eric Garcetti and his "partner"?
Who cares what he CALLS her when social customs are constantly changing and rules broken?
Why is it important for the "right" word to be used? Isn't it someone's actions that matter and not simply the words?
Remember MAYOR (implying a presence of "dignity" in some lands, not here) Antonio Villaraigosa called his spouse "WIFE" and then so blatantly broke that trust?
Getting hung up on labels? Well, let's just continue to fiddle while Rome burns.
Just an opinion from a former Antonio supporter in CD-14
btw- the little "cheating heart" mayor turned bad for me because of other mistruths while still a council member.
Eric Garcetti.
Puer che in nomine tutto debes.
The little boy who owes everything to his name.
After his incumbent father Gil Garcetti lost the DA's race badly, but Eric's political consultant checked to see if Garcetti Sr. had won even one council district in LA city.
Turns out Papa actually got more votes Cooley in the the 13th. So Garcetti Jr. moved from the Westside to CD 13, and ran for office there.
So a little boy, a spineless one at that, moves to a district where daddy was still popular, and wins a council seat. Modern LA politics. Awesome.
Daddy has had some shenanigans lately too, namely some poor driving, which seems to have been covered up.
Vote for Jr. for Mayor? Uh-Uh. Congress? HAHAHAHAHAHA. Prediction: Junior gets termed out, then Wakeland runs for CD13 as its Hillary. Lookout LA!
"PUFF RODERICK" is back!!!
His "PUFF PIECE" on the "Shah of Water and Power" H. David Nahai ranks up their with his fawning piece of Antonio. Wonder if the "WWG" is trying to get back in the good graces of the Mayor??
And props for Ron Kaye for ripping "WWG" a "new one" over his style of objective prose.
Everyone knows that all these conservation programs are for us low life public. Al Gore and Nahai are special people. Look - He hires Cindy Montenez to do some lame job for a paltry $12,500/mo while she cools her heels waiting for another try at an election. These people are a class of their own. That appointment still boggles my mind and Nahai tells us that we're lucky to have her.
Awww... poor H. David. He might not be able to fill his Roman bath-esque swimming pool every single day!
Poor bastard. It's gotta hurt. Maybe he can get compensation from the City for working under duress.
"PUFF RODERICK" is back!!!
He never left.
8:04 YES it matters what he calls her because it speaks volumes about his mindset, which wouldn't matter except for the unfortunate fact that he's in a position of making laws. (thank you 8:05 for the history lesson) The "partner" thing is indicative of what a politically correct big government namby-pamby he is.
Two quick things to share:
Shaq had his badges revoked by Sherrif Joe Arpaillo. Someone find the article!
The Daily Breeze has an article today about how a certain GM forgot to put in cooling air misters.
www.dailybreeze.com/ci_9688303
Ron Kaye on "PUFF RODERICK"
Every story also needs a hero and David Nahai is definitely that if you read the hagiographic puff piece in L.A. magazine's July issue by Kevin Roderick, the expert in all things media in L.A., defender of the L.A. Times' hack pack and public relations consultant.
Normally, I'd hold my nose and look the other way but given my passion for exposing the waste, inefficiency and corruption at the City Hall's most powerful and insulated institution and Roderick's holding himself as up the ultimate arbiter of all things journalistic, I cannot let this article headlined "Troubled Waters" go unnoticed.
AMEN!!
"Sheriff Joe" ask back Shak's Badge
From the LA Times.
I do believe in free speech, but I don't believe that in law enforcement to use this type of language is proper," Arpaio said. "We set an example, a moral, ethical example and I would like to think that basketball players and all athletes should be setting a positive attitude for our young people."
The two-minute video, originally posted on TMZ.com, features O'Neal saying, among other things, that "Kobe couldn't do without me," referring to Bryant and the Lakers' recent loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, some six years after the Lakers ended a run of three straight titles with O'Neal on the team.
O'Neal also posed a profane question to Bryant multiple times, and used a racial slur.
"He has some type of representation of this office," Arpaio said. "I just want my badges back. I don't want anybody to say that he has my badges and I condone this type of activity."
After the video surfaced O'Neal told ESPN.com that the rap was "all done in fun."
But his lyrical stylings didn't sit well with the no-nonsense sheriff, who is known for feeding his prisoners green bologna and forcing them to wear pink underclothes.
"Is that an excuse? That you're joking? What's that got to do with it?" Arpaio said. "You've still got to be held responsible for your actions."
Arpaio said O'Neal left him with little choice because the sheriff fired a cadet in April for using the same racial slur in the presence of other officers.
"I can't have a double-standard," Arpaio said. "I can't fire one deputy for using a word and just let him get a pass when he's got my badges. . . . You do the right thing, no matter who he is."
Arpaio gave O'Neal a special deputy badge in January 2006 after O'Neal visited Maricopa County. O'Neal was given a second badge when he was promoted to the rank of special-deputy colonel of his posse, a volunteer organization of crime-fighting citizens, after he and the Miami Heat won the NBA championship in 2006.
O'Neal formerly served as a reserve officer in Los Angeles and in the Miami Beach Police Department while he played with the Heat.
After being traded to the Suns in February, he joined the Tempe Police Department, where he serves as a volunteer. Lieutenant Mike Horn, a spokesman for Tempe Police, said the department won't ask O'Neal to leave.
"This is an issue between Sheriff Joe and Shaq," Horn said. "Nothing has changed with us."
Attempts to reach O'Neal and his representatives Tuesday were unsuccessful.
CLARIFICATION:
The Daily Breeze's article today is about how Ed Boks forgot to use Prop F money for cooling air misters in the new Harbor animal shelter, thus cooking the dogs & cats.
He new about this problem in advance, which is how the North Central shelter became flooded last winter.
www.dailybreeze.com/ci_9688303
CLARIFICATION:
The Daily Breeze's article today is about how Ed Boks forgot to use Prop F money for cooling air misters in the new Harbor animal shelter, thus cooking the dogs & cats.
Boks knew about this problem in advance, which is how the North Central shelter became flooded last winter.
www.dailybreeze.com/ci_9688303
WHO KNEW THAT ED BOKS COULD HAVE FORGOTTEN TO PUT IN AIR MISTERS THAT ALL OF THE OTHER CITY SHELTERS HAVE???
Animal shelter's 'mist' opportunity
By Donna Littlejohn, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/24/2008 11:16:50 PM PDT
June 22, 2008(staff photo by sean hiller). This labrador retreiver deals with the heat at Saturday's grand opening of the Harbor Animal Care Center in San Pedro.
Dog needng a home at the new Harbor Animal Care Center in San Pedro. (Brad Graverson/Staff Photographer)San Pedro: coastal, always a cool breeze, right?
That's what the architects of the town's new animal shelter decided when they left out the mister cooling system that's standard fare at the city's other facilities.
But sitting through the brow-mopping, sweltering temperatures at Saturday's grand-opening ceremony for the Harbor Animal Care Center at 957 N. Gaffey St. in north San Pedro, city officials soon found out what most residents already knew:
South San Pedro - cool.
North San Pedro - hot.
A scramble is now under way to find money to install the automated system that sends sprays of cooling water into dog kennels on hot days.
So how hot was it Saturday at the shelter?
By 4 p.m., it was 105 - not altogether uncommon during a heat wave in north San Pedro, where there is rarely a genuine sea breeze to be found.
"I was dying," said Theresa Sardisco, a shelter volunteer who worked from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. staffing the celebration.
And with the stainless steel used in the construction on the new kennel "cubby" areas, Sardisco said the shelter's furry guests were heating up fast.
"It gives new meaning to the term `hot dogs,"' she said.
"It was terrible," said San Pedro resident Mary Jo Walker, who attended the opening festivities. "The shelter is beautiful, but they need misters. It was so hot out by the kennels, I felt sorry for those dogs. Their tongues were just hanging out."
San Pedro's southern neighborhoods near the ocean cliffs can be downright chilly during an L.A. heat wave. But temperatures often hover around peak highs just a few miles to the north, where the shelter sits.
"It gets hot down there," Walker said. "And come October, it's going to get even hotter."
Those who designed and planned the $18.7 million facility several years ago clearly were unfamiliar with San Pedro's many climate nuances.
"The engineers said this was a beach (area) property. They didn't think they needed the misters," said Harbor shelter Capt. Daniel Pantoja. "So the misters were not part of the original plan, but now the community is coming forward to get donations and work with the department."
Indoor areas at the 2-acre shelter are all air-conditioned. Additional canopies are being installed this week over more of the outdoor portions of kennels to offer more shade. There are also heating pads to keep animals warm during cold mornings and nights.
But after Saturday, most everyone agrees: there must be misters.
Among the special guests dabbing perspiration from his brow and wearing a long-sleeve shirt and tie was Los Angeles Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks.
Boks was en route to Sacramento on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. But he has told shelter personnel he's looking into the issue and was meeting with city engineers to see what can be done.
The punishing heat on opening day was probably the best argument anyone could have made for installing misters, Pantoja said.
The high temperatures, he said, "put the exclamation point at the end" of the argument. "Everyone was saying, `Where are the misters?"'
But how fast they can be installed - and exactly how they will be paid for - is another matter.
While a city estimate put the cost of misters for the 74 dog kennels at $40,000, Sardisco thinks it can be done for far less, perhaps in the range of $7,000. She's expecting estimates from two companies she called to be returned by Friday.
It remains unclear if city funds are available. A mister system has shown up on the shelter's online "wish list" for private donations.
Sardisco believes costs could be trimmed by finding plumbers and electricians who will volunteer to install the sophisticated misters that work on automated, temperature-triggered timers.
Community groups, including neighborhood councils, already have either donated or pledged some $4,000 to help support the shelter where city funding falls short.
But Sardisco would rather see that money go toward the center's many other needs, such as permanent dog beds for the kennels, rather than misters.
"All the new shelters have them except us," she said. "But regardless of whether the city pays for them or not, I'm going to make sure they go up."
this is sickening.
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