Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday
Members of the Community Redevelopment Authority board are debating whether or not to give two buildings in South LA free to a real estate developer. Of course their beef isn't over the socialist notion of a public government agency taking private property and giving it to other private parties but whether or not the proposed use (clothes manufacturing) is a "green" industry or not. And you ask why LA is so screwed up!
Local boondoggle of the decade award: the ill-fated attempt to move the Los Angeles Children's Museum to LakeView Terrace (on the site of the legendary Corral country music nightclub).
The City of LA may need to give up operation of the Zoo, Convention Center and even it's animal shelters. For the first time in we don't how long a City official got it absolutely right when City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana told the Daily News "We have to look at what the core mission of the city is." Here's an answer Miguel: pretty much anything that is NOT police, fire, safety or keeping the streets in good condition.
Don't worry that American Idol, The Simpsons or Glenn Beck will not be served up to you via Time Warner Cable. They're getting closer and well before the time Dick Clark airs Thursday a deal will be reached. See? Didn't I tell you?
Local boondoggle of the next decade award: The County of LA Stupidvisors making a risky multi-million dollar loan to LA Opera using a note secured by the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion itself as collateral. What's next? Will they pawn the LaBrea Tar Pits? Kudos to Mike Antonovich for at least having the balls to say no.
Mayor Villaraigosa will talk about his great year on Patt Morrison's KPCC radio show Tuesday.
Labels: children's museum, CRA, dorothy chandler pavillion, fox network, mayor antonio villaraigosa, patt morrison, time warner cable
Posted by Michael Higby @ 12/29/2009 02:00:00 AM
30 Comments:
What is so ironic is that Zev Yaroslavsky, who is not only Jewish, but got his start in politics by running an organization that was committed to saving Russian Jewry, is the driving force behind the County funding the Wagner Festival.
Wagner, a known Anti-Semite, not only wrote operas that preached the Nazi theme of white supremacy, but in his private life was a favorite of the white supremacists and Nazis.
Lastly, the operas are really not at all popular with the masses, like those of Verdi, Mozart and many other composers; they are only for the sophisticated opera buffs, of which there are really not enough to support this fiasco.
If there were, the money would have been readily lent by any bank or private financial institution. Nor could they get a private fan/supporter to put up the money.
This enveavor will come to be known as "Zev's Folly".
P.S. The muusic stinks; you couldn't pay me to go to even a one of the so called "Ring" operas. It is a bunch of masculine women yelling at the tops of their voices. Ugh.
I can't wait to hear Antonio tell us about his most excellent year. Just in case Pat hasn't got enough suggestions for questions, here are a few we'd all like to hear our Mayor comment on:
1) While most cities have suffered huge setbacks because of the recession, Los Angeles has bucked the trend with a recession shattering explosion in the marijuana retail industry. Los Angeles now has more drug dealers in retail than Starbucks and Jamba Juice combined. How much credit do you give to Ed Reyes for turning around the economy for Armenian, Russian and Mexican drug dealers?
2) The endorsement of the Mayor in political campaigns used to be a major factor in deciding the outcome of tight races. Your support for Jack Weiss, Measure B, and Chris Essel succeeded in preventing three major disasters this year. Will you continue to endorse candidates to help rid Los Angeles of the corrupt, phony and unqualified?
3) During your many foreign trips this year, you've left Jan 'Spare Change' Perry in charge. Do you think that it would be a good idea to let other elected officials have a turn at the wheel so that they can do favors for their campaign contributors, or does Jan Perry have the exclusive right to waste taxpayer funds?
4) City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has threatened to jail several elected officials this year. Do you feel left out of the loop?
Follow up question: What steps do plan on making to make sure you get included in 2010?
5) Apart from Ed Reyes, who is the most stupid member of the council?
6) You made the front cover of Los Angeles Magazine this year with the word 'failure' on it. Was that one of your successes?
7) Do you Tweet?
The animal shelters wouldn't be on the chopping block had ED BOKS not screwed it up so badly, and had Antonio not blindly stuck with Boks for more than four years.
It took more than 200 city employees to show up at a Personnel Committee meeting to get rid of him, but the place has not rebounded since then.
Insanity.
Simple Insanity is the only explanation for why a City with a $7 BILLION dollar budget can't get their act together.
Comrade Jan Perry and budget-destroying Socialists Paul K and the other Paul K are free to unleash their financial destruction on the City.
Absolute, pure incompetence.
Most of our City Council Members should be under indictment.
phil, if there is such incompetence, blame the VOTERS. they got the leaders who they wanted.
i don't see what you did to help other candidates. all you did was distract everyone sufficiently to satisfy your own ego, instead of identifying someone who could actually place in first, rather than your last place.
that goes for the cd2 election, too. your childish antics on this blog undoubtedly contributed to people realized that crackpots supported essel.
so instead of trying to get attention for yourself in 2010, you should find a candidate with the connections, money and potential to win.
One more question for Pat to ask.
Mr Mayor why did you stay in $1500/nite hotel rms in Europe?
AMEN 821am.
John Phillips on KABC said almost the same thing about Phil; that he is a guy with zero funding and zero backing and zero potential to win, yet he wants to win in order to have something to tell people at his next high school reunion. He won't go to a law school reunion, because he was a drop out.
Nothing against phil on a personal basis, but he is just in it for ego, since he really does have zero chance to win. The only challenge he faces is whether or not he will finish in last place in a multi-horse race.
Then he has the nerve to complaint.
The classic example of Phil being a genuine Do Nothing is the fact that he said he was taking on the recall antonio effort, possibly deterring more capable people from doing the same.
Then, after months of dragging his feet and not updating us, he finally admits that he didn't get a single signature. NOT ONE!
THIS is a man who thinks he should run for Congress?
I know Michael Higby doesn't like these comments and prevents people from insulting his girlfriend Phil. But that is how I see it. Phil being such a fan of freedom would probably appreciate my freedom of speech. Will Higby?
Anon @ 8:21AM
I disagree. Most elections in this City go off with one incumbent with the backing of the political machine and a million bucks, the other competitors are underfunded Neighborhood Council types who can't get their message out and end up getting blown out.
Criminally incompetent Council Members like Jan Perry and Richard Alarcon run UNOPPOSED. How could their voters ever begin to HOPE for something better when there is no alternative on the ballot?
The CRA debacle about giving buildings away to Jan Perry's cronies is just one more illustration why the CRA is useless -- a complete waste of money that COULD BE GOING INTO THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND.
This is something that the pathetic Jan Perry and her ass-kissing Economic Development Deputy hatched in a back room.
But Phil, you have PROVEN to be incapable of seeing a project through TO THE END, and to do it successfully!
Don't you see? Someone else might have taken on the recall antonio project, but might have been deterred because you made a big dealof it by announcing it at City Council.
Then, instead of saying that you bit off more than you could chew, you dragged your feet for months without putting in any effort to get a single signature.
With that example of your lacking skills, you should stop trying to get yourself elected, since you haven't shown you can handle the job, let alone the ability to run a campaign.
Best that you find a candidate who DOES have the qualities and platforms you like and endorse them. This is about trying to improve the city we live in, not about your becoming "semi known" as you like to mention.
When you DO have some success to show us, then I'm sure you'll be welcomed to discuss it. Right now, your track record is unimpressive and might have cost us a REAL chance to recall antonio.
Nothing personal, chap. But politics is not your forte. Unless you can show us some examples of your success. It might help if you could show that you could back a candidate who would actually win.
Of course their beef isn't over the socialist notion of a public government agency taking private property and giving it to other private parties
********************
Tomorrow Highy will be bitching about the city of Los Angeles not doing whatever is necessary to attract new business to Los Angeles.
Like asking "Do you still beat your wife", there is no yes/no answer to every question.
How many jobs will this bring to L.A., how much is that old building costing L.A. to maintain?
Jan Perry was threatened with jail by Trutanich. That is not the way to deal with crooks - you actually have to throw them in jail. Why did Trutanich warn Perry? He should have kept his mouth shut and then let her do whatever it was that she was not supposed to do, and then thrown her in jail.
People like Phil Jennings, Walter Moore, Zuma Dogg and others are egoists looking for the love they didn't get in their lives.
They are complete and utter distractions to the work of true activists for example David Hernandez, Abby Diamond, Ron Kaye, Paul Hatfield and others.
I wish they would go away with their BLOGS and their mouths.
Rosendahl arranged for free housing for willfully homeless economist whose name ryhmes with Puma Frogg. And Now we know why!!! Frogg says life is so good now with his free housing that he's too lazy to go downtown to public comment. It all adds up. Rosendahl proves he is no dummy. Give Puma Frogg a place to sleep you never have to worry about him showing up again!
6:44 am
Are you for real? Wagner died in 1883.
Exactly what Nazis was he writing for?
LOL 1219 Puma Frogg.
Anyway, I wholeheartedly agree with 1219 and 1011 in particular that Phil is ONLY in this for his ego, and to have something to say about himself at his high school reunion. His freeze frame of his few minutes on the news is a sign that he just wants the image without doing the work.
His non-effort on the recall campaign is a pure sign that he will not ever accomplish a project he takes on. But it's worse than that, as the author said: It might have deterred someone else from taking on the recall, and phil's dragging his feet without being willing to admit that he took on something he couldn't handle the magnitude of could have cost us a chance to be rid of antonio years earlier than his slated departure in three more YEARS.
Phil's childishness extends to his insane rants about E$$el, and that cowboy hat he wears. Who is he? McCloud? No, Phil is a manchild who is coming to grips with the fact that at 40 years of age or so, he hasn't accomplished jack.
December 29, 2009 9:39 AM:
You say that "CRA is useless -- a complete waste of money that COULD BE GOING INTO THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND."
Not accurate. Legally, redevelopment funds can be used only for redevelopment projects within the redevelopment project area. This money cannot become general fund money.
Hating on the CRA is one thing. Hating on it for improper reasons is another.
You can bag on Phil all you want. Just don't get stupid or repetitive like posting "Phil is an ass clown" or copy and past "PHIL GENDERGONE" four thousand times, Mary.
Same applies to anyone else. It only gets rejected if its stupid, repetitive, boring, libelous, or vulgar.
Blog away dum dums.
To 12:54 PM -I cannot find where 6:44 writes that Wagner wrote for the Nazis. True, he died before that movement took flight. However, 6:44's assertion of Wagner's Anti-Semitism is true.
Scroll down to "Opinion of Jews and Judaism" on this wikipedia link for a quick and easy reference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner
That said, I disagree with
6:44's "PS." I hardly find the likes of Sylvia Sass, Victoria de los Angeles, Maria Callas, Lucia Popp or Sarah Brightman as masculine.
STORY TIP:
Downtown lobbyists are FURIOUS that they are getting calls from Andrew Westall, staffer to 10th District Councilman Herb Wesson, asking them to contribute money to his campaign for State Assembly.
Two people at my firm got calls from this guy. The one who spoke with him said Westall is certainly skirting the line.
Why are lobbyists so angry? First, it is not clear whether a lobbyist, who is prohibited from giving to an LA City official anything of value, can contribute to a council staffer, who is a Planning Deputy no less.
Second, Westall is asking for money beyond the legal limits in Los Angeles. For example, the FEC has repeatedly ruled that their contribution limits apply to any ask, for any race, state, federal or local, requested by someone under the jurisdiction of the FEC.
If the City Ethics Commission rules that Westall is subject to the $500 max because of his role, he will have gotten all these lobbyists (and his boss, Herb Wesson) into SERIOUS SERIOUS trouble.
12:19
Are you saying that our tax dollars are now paying for housing for a parasite who REFUSES to work?
If so, maybe a phone/e-mail protest to Rosendahl's office should be initiated.
10:11 AM
Please, stop talking nonsense.
Anyone who wants to recall Antonio can go ahead without my approval. I announced that I had purchased the websites and was going to work on it.
However, I am going to be too busy with my Congressional campaign to worry about Antonio. If the voters of L.A. really wanted him gone, they could have gotten off their rear ends and gone to vote for someone else.
83% of them chose to do nothing.
Maybe they deserve four more years of pain.
If they are not interested in saving themselves.....
You can bag on Phil all you want. Just don't get stupid or repetitive like posting "Phil is an ass clown" or copy and past "PHIL GENDERGONE" four thousand times, Mary.
Same applies to anyone else. It only gets rejected if its stupid, repetitive, boring, libelous, or vulgar.
Blog away dum dums.
"Budget destroying socialist" got pretty stupid, boring, repetitive, and vulgar (in the democratic sense of the word) too. But at least it wasn't libellous.
Phil fails to deliver once again. He then tries (and fails) to spin his loser ass out of the situation he created.
Phil, your unwillingness to admit that you bit off more than you could chew is going to be the end of your next stupid campaign before it begins.
People were looking to you to do the recall because YOU SAID YOU WERE DOING IT. And your assurances that you were going to give updates, only reinforced that.
You let everyone down. Saying NOW that people were free to do it themselves just shows your immaturity and unwillingness to be a stand up guy.
You can be damn sure that this will haunt you as you attempt your campaign. It will be DOA. Don't even bother. Watch. Try to run for Congress, and you'll see how well informed your opponents will be about this. You blew it.
So the folks at OurLA.org gave Carmen 'Nuch' Trutanich the Man of the Year Award.
They also posted an excellent video showing Smith, Perry and Reyes squealing like a bunch of stuck pigs. Nice editing Ron!
The more Jan Perry and Ed Reyes complain about Trutanich, the more I am convinced that they have so much to hide and that it will be thanks to the spotlight Trutanich is shining on them that we finally get rid of these phony baloney politicians,
Watch that video to se the Ass Clown of the Year Awards nominees.
I can access the other OurLa articles, but not the Nuch one. Was it pulled?
If OurLa.org gave Nuch the Man of the Year award, then I know why I haven't joined them yet.
I guess it is business as usual. The city spends money where it shouldn't.
And, the mayor's budget survey is a joke. No one even looks at it.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home