Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday
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| Zasloff on Stewart: "NIMBYism, libertarianism and anger management problems." |
Six staffers from Councilman Richard Alarcon's office will be called before a Grand Jury panel on Wednesday. The District Attorney is currently investigating whether or not Alarcon falsified his voter registration by claiming residence at a home he does not live in while actually living in another home in Paul Krekorian's district. If true, Alarcon could be guilty of a felony.
Now that it's pretty clear that the City's ill-thought out water conservation policy was the cause of multiple significant water main breaks throughout the City in the last year, the Council is voting on new procedures. What's needed next is an independent investigation of the DWP and Mayor's office to determine if any DWP engineers warned that the policy could lead to the breaks and if those warnings were ignored. If the engineers didn't issue such advice, then they need to be fired at the very least. William Mulholland must be turning in his grave.
Salt Lake City is the latest to say thanks, but no thanks to a boycott of Arizona over it's controversial but popular immigration reform law. Council members there are concerned about the "unintended consequences" of such a boycott. In the meantime Councilman Dennis Zine tells KTLA that the ramifications of LA's boycott were not researched prior to the vote and that the boycott is "a symbolic effort by two colleagues that wanted to generate controversy."
An environmental law blogger is accusing Mayor Villaraigosa of "betraying environmentalism again" following the departure of Planning Manager Gail "GPS" Goldberg. Jonathan Zasloff claims that Goldeberg is a visionary who fell victim to a rogue's gallery of opponents including Jane Usher, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and LA Weekly Editor Jill Stewart whom Zasloff says has a unique combination of "NIMBYism, libertarianism and anger management problems." Wonder what Mulholland Terrace's take is on this one?
And finally back when we had our Hollywood Police Chief he saw no need for the City to rein in crazy paparazzi because, among other things, celebrity Lindsay Lohan had "gone gay." That was back when Lohan was dating disc jockey Samantha Ronson with whom she had a very public and dramatic breakup. While there was some sign that Lindsay had gone back to guys it looks LA may be safe again as rumors are abuzz LiLo has once again hit the sapphic trail and has hooked up with a female Israeli soldier.
Labels: boycott, dennis zine, dwp, gail goldberg, Lindsay Lohan, mayor antonio villaraigosa, residencegate, Richard Alarcon, water main breaks
Posted by Michael Higby @ 7/06/2010 02:00:00 AM
11 Comments:
Too bad we all love Jill Stewart. I've been a major fan since New Times. Go Jill go! Do it for those of us who appreciate you.
It this the same LOST Angeles City Council that used the March 26, 2008 tragic death of a firefighter which was caused by an explosion of possible methane build up and blamed it on old wires to raise the rates again. Does anyone know what actually caused the explosion while firefighters used a power saw to cut a door?
“As it relates to possibly electrical, possibly methane all of those possiblilties still remain," said Captain Armando Hogan of the Los Angeles City Fire Department.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local&id=6045409
General Manager of the L.A. DWP David Nahai believes there could have been methane or natural gas in the area that contributed to the blast, although Deputy Chief Mario Rueda said there was no immediate evidence of any gas leaks.
http://www.lovrien.com/content/view/20/1/
The investigation into the incident is looking into the possibility of a power saw as the ignition cause of the blast. People in the area reported smelling gas before the explosion and say they saw firefighters take a power saw out and when they turned it on. "As soon he turned it on and put it by the door, that was when the explosion occurred," a witness told the LA Times. However, investigators are considering around six theories from the saw to electrical problems to methane gas as causes.
http://laist.com/2008/03/27/la_firefighter.php
I miss the good ol' days when Mayor Sam was just a race baiter. But with your "it looks LA may be safe again" wisecrack, I had no idea that you were a HOMOPHOBE too.
Go back to being just a racist, Higby. What did the queer community ever do to you? Or what is it that you want us to do that you are lacking in your own life?
Higby, can you find out exactly how many signatures phil jennerjahn got for the recall?
He has led you on for months about how "great" thing were going "here at the recall offices," which we all know was a bunch of bullshit.
I've yet to find anyone who worked on the recall, and phil said that he had hundreds of them return.
I don't believe one damn thing this guy says, but you seem to have a good rapport with him. Can you ask him to show you what he accomplished so you can report back to us?
I would guess that he doesn't have but a few hundred signatures on a few dozen petitions.
If you're going to allow him to continue to comment on this blog, you should try to find out whether he's honest.
jesus, on some days I just don't get this blog. you post a photo of jill stewart, but don't lead with the related story about her? the story isn't even about Stewart; it's about the person who has a problem will jill.
i expect sloppiness from red spot, but not from you.
Zine admits he didn't "do my research either" before voting for the Arizona boycott "because it wasn't my motion."
Bullshit excuse. Now he's pointing fingers at someone else, as always.
Jill Stewart chased off two of the most diligent reporters in a city where there are too few of them, Steve Mikulan and David Zahniser.
As they sang on The Facts of Life, "you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have, JILL STEWART."
It's sad when a blog, instead of reporting accurately, takes pot shots at the gay community and positions Phil Jennerjahn centerstage.
Jill Stewart chased off two of the most diligent reporters in a city where there are too few of them, Steve Mikulan and David Zahniser.
Those reporters chased themselves...Zahniser, only at the Weekly for a short time, was only too ready to head for the paycheck that the Times offered, and both seemed not very fussy for answering to a woman or taking from a woman what they routinely would take from a man.
Stewart was on a vendetta against Bratton with her endless Bratton- bashing- even dissected as such on another well-reputed blog as biased in twisting "facts" and numbers of articles hammering the same theme. That focused on the series by Patrick Range McDonald but it was a common Weekly crusade.
Her writers reflect HER point of view, or else and tend to beat a bone to death. She seems to want to be more of a policy-maker than journalist.
She ALSO campaigned non-stop for FalseTanich, the same approach as on her anti-Bratton articles - shamelessly, again mostly via her puppet writers, the always-reliable Dennis Romero and Patrick Range McDonald, especially.
Another of her themes is pushing for zero-development and always siding with the NIMBY's BUT she has offered nothing constructive by way of offering up NEW taxes, short of taxing existing homeowners which she opposes too - typical of the NIMBY's. Her bashing Gail Goldberg and even using the shameless Jane Usher to do so blatantly ("Jane Usher Slams Gail Goldberg") fits into that crusade.
Yes San Diegan Gail, not too savvy or svelte-looking either, is easy to bash, was a lousy choice, but short of yelling "hoo-ha!" as Gail leaves town, what's Jill and Patrick etc. got to replace her (and Garcetti's & the city's) transit-hub-centered planning with?
Calling Gail a "visionary" makes anyone fodder for ridicule, but that model, allowing major development on certain corridors, actually helps SAVE single-family neighborhoods, too. (That is NOT to equate it with the high-density vision of those like Mike Woo, who want to create tiny "affordable housing" boxes with no parking. Although as mass transit is built widely enough to replace cars for some who WANT an urban environment and work near home, that can be re-visited.)
MEANWHILE the NIMBY's like the HOA zero-growthers Jill champions, like herself, have just pushed upscale development into Pasadena, even neighboring Santa Monica and especially, West Hollywood.
These cities are raking in the bucks as they even now plan HUGE projects literally across the street from L A. So they can offer excellent public and social services, while L A is cutting back. These cities are ALSO mostly building for the wealthy - though they SHOULD be creating MUCH MORE affordable housing as befits their alleged liberal self-images. However, it's L A that's providing most of it for THEIR (and Beverly Hills' etc.) low-wage workers, gardeners and maids, as well as everyone else who's not lucky enough to be rich.
Those bloggers who, like Stewart, bash L A for building ANY high-end, high-taxed, income, are just frankly, stupid in this regard. That may sound like good leftie politics but is lousy financial politics, doesn't provide revenue we need for the libraries, parks etc. they also demand.
Frankly I think the "libertarian NIMBY" tag is pretty apt, but it doesn't go far enough.
Her writers reflect HER point of view, or else and tend to beat a bone to death. She seems to want to be more of a policy-maker than journalist.
Writers, like architects, often don't choose to realize the power they have. When a developer says "Do this," an architect can actually say no, especially if they're far down the line. But many choose not to, because they're scared.
Many times I've said to Jill, "Wait, I'd rather not go in that direction you'd like to take it, because of this..." and she's left that direction out entirely. But I can see how some people would have a problem going through natural give and take with Jill that they would gladly go through with a man. That was her problem at the Times--male parochialism--and some scribes, notably dirty ones, are still eager to promulgate the myth that Jill is less than an editor today.
My pet parrot in-training is ready for the next Planning Director's job. I've taught him the planning buzz words, except the damn bird is too smart. I say "vision", he says "high density"; I say "smart growth", he says "high density", I say "TODS", he says "high density". We'll get there with the help of Garcetti.
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