Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine for Tuesday

Ron Kaye: "Wake Up Call for Wendy, Jan, Kevin and Eric: Here Comes Rick Caruso into the Mayor’s Race with a Blank Check".

Is a Mayoral Press Conference in Developer Rick Caruso's future? 

The Era of Hamlet is over.

That would be the "political Hamlet era" of Developer Rick Caruso, if Ron Kaye's recent post on the supposed mayoral candidate to be, comes to fruition.

Some background via Kaye's post.

The word is that he’s telling friends hemight will announce he is running within two weeks and already is lining up a TV ad buy to promote his candidacy after the presidential election in November.One source said that billionaire-philanthropist Eli Broad held a fund-raising event last week to put a tough pension reform measure on the ballot and went around personally asking everyone in the room how much they would put into the kitty.Caruso reportedly begged off, saying he would soon be facing a lot of political expenses.How much, he was asked.Without hesitation, he reportedly said: “$15 to $20 million.”

The thud sounds you just heard were "The Valley Greuel", Garcetti and assorted city unions check books, falling to the ground.

** Paging the City Controller! We see some great auditing potential (and media coverage) in finding the waste in the higher-than-industry-average salaries paid to DWP employees. But would an audit of DWP salaries run counter to the "suggestions" of The Valley Greuel's "bag man" IBEW Strongman Brian D'Arcy?

** While the likes of Eli "Lord Broad", former Mayor Richard Riordan, the "Mini-Riordans" and others raise money to finance a measure to bring about pension reform, hundreds of union members will protest at City Hall. In addition, LA Times David Zahniser is reporting that union chiefs are talking lawsuit, if the City Council supports Mayor Antonio Villar's pension reforms.

** Downtown News Editor Jon Regardie is on the receiving end of AEG's LA LIVE City State Strongman Tim LIEweke's spin job, pertaining to the pending sale of the city-finance entertainment mini-state. We should note that the approval process for the proposed Farmers Field, steamroll onwards to its appointed final vote in the City Council.

** BREAKING NEWS! Pending Tree Kill at CD 14's Hazard Park!! ** The location of the kickoff to Mayor Villar's "Million Tree Initiative" (minus the trees to be kill to make way for the "Trojan Horse of Development"). 

 Congratulations indeed to Sierra Club endorsed CD 14 City Councilman Jose Huizar for his latest act of political hypocrisy, in supporting the pending deaths of mature Sycamore trees at the location of Mayor Antonio Villar's Million Tree Debacle.

The Mayor and "a wannabee mayor" planting "Esperanza" at Million Trees Kickoff. Esperanza would transpire tears at Councilman Huizar's tree-killing actions on behalf of USC. 

 Now at the end of a "mayoral reign of failure", did Million Trees Executive Director Lisa Sarno personally tape these death sentence notice to each tree?

All these trees to the base of the hill will face death to make way for the "Trojan Horse of Progress" at USC Health Science Campus. Once again public input be damned and the hypocrisy of supposed community leaders will lead to this senseless slaughter.

Your thoughts ..............

Scott Johnson in CD 14