Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Sunday

Mayor Villaraigosa supposedly has a plan to deal with the City's multi-million dollar budget deficit. The rotten economy has caused a severe reduction in the receipt of sales and other taxes by the City. Significant layoffs of City workers are expected.  Of course if the Mayor would stop raising taxes he might actually see an increase in revenues.  Funny how things work that way.

Yet another Metrolink train has hit a freight train where it shares tracks.  This time in Rialto an eastbound Metrolink train hit the end of a westbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway train that was pulling onto a siding from the main track just west of the Rialto station.  The voters passed a mega-billion dollar bond that will build a high-speed train from Fresno to LA that will share right-of-way with the beleagured Metrolink. God help us.

Zuma Dogg caught Gavin Newsom driving his state-of-the art SUV and parking in a fire lane in Malibu this past summer.  Now the San Francisco Mayor is taking heat back home for the SUV use and for having what appears to be an excessive use of security personnel.  KGO television takes the Mayor to task and even quotes the Dogg in their report.

Speaking of Zuma Dogg, the Mayoral candidate reports that he's received his 500th petition signature to get his name on the ballot.  Every petition circulator however knows it is wise to get several hundred more signatures than necessary because not everyone who signs is actually a registered voter or a City resident.  Zuma reports on some of the events he's attended to get signatures showing grass roots politics in action.

Members of the City's system of Neighborhood Councils want the ability to initiate "Council files" which could eventually force City Council action on issues of importance to the local panels. However, a number of City Council members feel that in exchange for this "power" Neighborhood Council members should be required to submit some form of financial disclosure form.  Former Department of Neighborhood Empowerment Manager Greg Nelson opines at LA CityWatch that the price for this "privilege" may be "too high."

And finally the struggling economy may find more folks going homeless and forced to live in their cars.  Though many of LA's residents have truly "mobile homes" it's technically against the law to sleep in your car in Los Angeles.  Council Member Bill Rosendahl is looking to change that.