Open Letter to Joseph
Mailander must have needed a Sunland-Tujunga "hit," because while all the other blogs are all over Nuch, under his "Mulholland Terrace" pen name, Mailander has a cow about the use of video cameras to ensure transparency at public meetings.
After the jump, I try to reach Joseph.
Joseph you were on a good roll with the latest mess in Carmen's office with the Martin Declaration and the ridiculousness of the City's jihad against Matt Dowd. Were you jonesing for an ST hit?
You're being used by two people who feel victimized by Joe because he's led a boycott against a publication whose views he finds objectionable. I would think, given your politics, you might find those views objectionable too.
The publisher obviously isn't happy about this as well as a prominent advertiser in that publication who feels the controversy around the boycott may have cost her a real estate deal.
You may feel a kinship with these Joe haters but honestly should that drive and color your coverage of ST?
You may also want to look deeper into the issue of the homeless camps in Sunland-Tujunga. The publisher has criticized the work Joe has done there, in partnership with Councilman Paul Krekorian, the LAPD and LA Family Housing. You may want to know the reason why he has an issue with this fairly successful effort to help at risk human beings to move from living in a wash to transitional housing.
I rarely agree with Joe's politics and some of his methods. I'm not big on boycotts. But if you look at the motivation of those who are petitioning you for your coverage, you may get to the truth.
Labels: carmen trutanich, joe barrett, joseph mailander, Pat McOsker, paul krekorian, Street Hassle, sunland-tujunga, the foothills paper
Posted by Michael Higby @ 7/23/2011 12:50:00 PM
14 Comments:
Do I smell a dare/tease?
Michael -
There's been no "meltdown" at the City Attorney's office. I work there and in 20 years, quite frankly, the office has never been run better.
If you look at public records you'll see that the office has had it's budget cut almost 32% since Rocky left, which is more than any other city department.
Nevertheless, with a 1/3 less resources the City Attorney has managed to hold the place together.
Last year our office collected over $6 million dollars in money owed to the city, which is a record.
We've cut outside counsel expenditures by almost 75%. Rocky was spending approximately $50 million dollars of tax payer money on outside lawyers, our office now spends a little over $10 million dollars on outside counsel. Quite a savings.
We've managed to bring the billboard and supergraphic situation under control, as well as the Marijuana dispensaires.
When Trutanich took office the city had almost 1000 dispensaries, (more than Starbucks) now it has a reasonable 200.
Trutanich was the only city official who stood up to AEG and was able to recoup $1.5 million dollars back to the city for the Jackson memorial event which Jan Perry and the Mayor were all too happy to piss away.
The letter written by Claudia Martin is written in many legal cases. Appellate briefs are often complicated and the lawyers need more time. There's nothing unique or startling about her letter.
David Berger, who runs the Dragnet blog site used to work at the City Attorneys office. He was summarily fired for spending his time all day on blogs, and making gratuitous insults in the press about City officials. I doubt that you or any other city tax payer wants to pay a city employee who does nothing but blog all day on city time.
Now he's a lap-dog for Steve Cooley, so he spends all his time fabricating stories about Trutanich because he knows Trutanich is likely to be the next District Attorney of L.A. County.
Steve Cooley wants his deputy Jackie Lacey to be the next District Attorney because she covered for him in a pending lawsuit filed by his Deputy D.A.'s.
see
http://crimevictims.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/jacquelyn-%E2%80%9Cjackie%E2%80%9D-lacey-gave-false-testimony-and-perjured-herself-under-oath/
Nobody in our office pays attention to David Berger or Joseph Mailander because they've been shown to be incorrect time and time again.
The Nuch spinners have figured out much too late how to try and spin the blogs. Did Carmen hire Mike Trujillo?
You don't have the level of unanimity that you have in City Hall and city political circles that electing Trutanich City Attorney was the biggest mistake of all. Had Jack Weiss not been Carmen's opponent, that windbag would be in the loser line with David Saltsburg, Sunder Ramani and Craig Huey.
Lacey any day over Trutanich.
Reactions.......
Woody Says:
June 16th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Alan, is that guy in the picture wasting water?
Speaking of gay marriages and crimes against children, it’s pretty sick to allow same sex parents to adopt kids. Two parents are better than one unless both parents are the same sex, in which case one is superior in that it doesn’t pervert kids.
WBC Says:
June 16th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Ask DA Steve Cooley.
We can have a civil dialog......
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I watched the video of the meeting and I don't get it, what's the big deal? Am I missing something?
What excruciating close-ups?
Michael Higby said:
"You're being used by two people who feel victimized by Joe because he's led a boycott against a publication whose views he finds objectionable. I would think, given your politics, you might find those views objectionable too."
It's truly sad to see Mayor Sam sink to these depths. The blog used to be a place where better information could be found. Not all of it accurate perhaps, but still a source of insight and understanding that is generally unavailable in the mainstream media.
It seems now the journalistic ethic practiced here has changed from generally supporting the pro first amendment "I may disagree with what you say but I'll fight to the death to protect your right to say it." to supporting those that would say "I may disagree with what you say and if I do I'll run all over town attempting to ruin your reputation and your business.". It's not an action that does anything but destroy entirely the credibility of anything you might have to say.
Shut it down, Michael, You're no journalist anymore and that view is certainly unconstitutional and unamerican. Mayor Sam is just another waste of bandwidth.
Michael, you do know who 9:58 is don't you?
Michael -
I would add to the comments made by 2:58PM. The City Attorney's Office has never been better. Morale is high despite nearly everyone having a 15% pay cut caused by having to take 36 unpaid "furlough" days. I say nearly everyone because there are a handful of exceptions made for essential personnel, such as Carmen Trutanich himself, and others who are close to indispensable. Nobody resents that, and that is because Carmen Trutanich is widely loved within the office, as are his executive staff.
Carmen Trutanich is a genius, a legal leviathan who has turned around the way the City Attorney's Office now fights lawsuits. He invented the "Porcupine Defense," a brilliant legal strategy to fight cases. Carmen learnt the Porcupine Defense when he was in grade school and it has worked for him ever since. He explains it as "You may eat me, but I won't taste good going down." It is an amazing strategy and as soon as the City stops losing cases because some of the lazy deputy city attorneys don't understand their leader's brilliant legal mind, it will probably be used by Harvard and other top law schools. For the present, the LAPD cases that are being lost, are a small price to pay for having the benefit of such an astute legal mind for a mere $237,000 a year, which is about a quarter of what Carmen Trutanich says he used to earn before become our great leader.
The Marijuana ordinance that Carmen Trutanich invented was finally bringing the explosion of pot shops under control until a stupid judge declared that it was unconstitutional in that it lacked a rational basis. The judge clearly was wrong, but very cleverly, Carmen Trutanich did not appeal the judge. Instead he wrote an even better ordinance. That's the kind of legal genius he is.
I heard you on LA Talk Radio last night speaking to Zuma Dogg and David Berger. Why you bother with those losers is a mystery to me. Zuma was very helpful to Carmen during the campaign, but Carmen was never serious about giving him a job. Carmen it too clever for that. Now Zuma just attacks Carmen at every opportunity out of bitterness.
The same goes for Berger who was fired for wasting city time fundraising to retire Carmen's personal campaign debts and refusing to carry out direct orders. He now hides behind pseudonyms at the Dragnet blog and tries to attack the good work of Carmen Trutanich at every opportunity. He is also trying to bust the DA's union by publishing tabloid style exclusives about a few minor errors that were made by the leader, Steve Ipsen, such as Ipsen being slammed by the Supreme Court for committing prosecutorial misconduct in double murder trials and other irrelevant stuff like that.
I suggest you stop associating with the likes of Zuma and Berger before you lose all credibility.
Oh my. I'm finally catching up to all this (the street hassle stories, the video, and Mayor Sam). What a bunch of BS! I have worked with Joe Barret on several projects going all the way back to fighting Home Depot. Any community in LA would be damn lucky to have him fighting for them!
The guy is smart as hell, knows how to get the job done, and has a heart of gold! This is why people like Malander hate him; he does what they can't. Keep crying ya losers!
10:14PM, So you are in SUPPORT of Trutanich's continued prosecuting Matt Dowd, despite the problems his office is having as detailed in the memo? Maybe all of Trutanich's former supporters turned on him, cause they are now humiliated for supporting him, since he pulled 180s on EVERYTHING he promised, while campaigning. And if you say he is going around promising things to people, but doesn't mean it/is too clever...you are making the other people's argument for them. Thank you. Yes, Trutanich does say anything, to be "clever." (I think you mean "deceitful." "Lying" is another way to put it.)
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