Mayor Villarparker at Peace, City falling into Financial Abyss

Mayor Antonio Villar with Lu Parker

"Mayor Villar before meatless Mondays"

If you really needed any more column inches of newsprint to reinforce the premise that the Los Angeles Times aka "Old Gray Westside Hag on Spring Street", is sinking fast into the depths of irrelevancy, then this latest puff piece/profile of Mayor Antonio Villar will surely provide the final "newsprint of evidence" that the "Old Gray Hag" is nearing the "journalistic flat-line" of death.

My first reaction to this PR piece, was to check the byline. For a fleeting moment, I thought that West LA blogger Kevin Roderick had return to his old place of employment. Many of you long time bloggin political observers will remember his infamous "Pop Star Mayor" puff piece that he authored for "West Los Angeles Magazine", some time in the recent political past. But upon further scrutiny, it was City Hall reporter Phil Willon , who was channeling Roderick when reprinting the "talking points" provided by the likes of maybe, Deputy Mayor Matt Szabo, who knows.

Then there are the interesting tidbits about our now, "at a great place Mayor" (maybe he is channeling back on all those great international places he visited on the public dime?). First is his new "meatless Mondays" pledge. Does "meatless Mondays" have an double meaning? Maybe this means in addition to avoiding the "carne y carnitas y pollo", he is also avoiding the "MEAT" of Mike Trujillo? In hindsight, the City of Los Angeles should take an oath of going "MEATless" after Trujillo's consulting of Measure B. I would be the first to sign that pledge.

But what strikes me the most about this supposed piece of informational journalism, is the absence of reality at Getty House and the miss opportunities to ask some probing questions of Mayor Villar.

One can perceive from reading this PR missive, that an virtual moat has been built around the confines of Getty House. While the Villars lavish themselves in acts of narcissism, a city is falling deeper into an financial mess that has dire repercussions for its citizens. The Daily News in yesterday's edition, had an ominous story on $175 million dollar plus deficit that is growing by the day. So while the Villar's celebrate Antonio's new found "greater place of being" many city workers and residents are confronting an lesser state of reality, that includes pay cuts, layoffs and less services.

Reporter Phil Willon also missed an opportunity to ask questions such as these examples. Why is your divorce from Corina Raigosa not been finalize? Why have you asked for delays in the divorces proceeding due to an lack of both, available time and of legal counsel? How is your current relationship helping to improve your public image? What steps are you taking to correct the economic problems at City Hall? Miss opportunities galore indeed in this story.

Thus, as Los Angeles heads towards the edge of falling into an financial abyss that bottoms out in bankruptcy, we can rest assured that the former Antonio Ramon Villar/Tony Villar, now "Mayor Antonio Villarparker" is in a "greater place" while the rest of us Angelinos perpare for an "worst place of reality" at 200 South Spring Street.

Scott Johnson in CD 14.

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