Saturday Hotsheet: Jose Huizar Praises Rudy Martinez

“Rudy Martinez is someone who has provided quality services and improved the standard of living of the Northeast Los Angeles area and has demonstrated a willingness to contribute his time and financial services.”
- Jose Huizar

Politicians LOVE to give out proclamations en masse to anyone in their Districts these days.  Used to be you had to be quite distinguished to get a calligraphied certificate of recognition from the City; now one only need make a call to your local Council office to get a proclamation.  Indeed, it's not uncommon to go to a Chamber of Commerce installation, a Rotary Club meeting,  a church service or a Jaycees Convention and not see a parade of young, wet behind the ears aides de camp to local electeds with stacks of laser printed certs in faux leather folders in hand.

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Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Monday

The future of LA neighborhoods?

Janice Hahn really is serious.  She's running for California Lieutenant Governor and has assembled a political dream team led by former Sister City blogger and Villaraigosa consigliere Michael Trujillo and includes fresh from a smackdown in CD2, John Shallman, campaign technology guru Joe Trippi and straight out of the Gavin Newsom debacle, Garry South.

In case you were wondering what City Council members do, they make calendars.  At least that's what Tom LeBong has done.  Heck even former Clowncil loser candidate Chris Essel made up a calendar!

Mulholland Terrace at Griffith Park Wayist serves up predictions for 2010 including the death of the Los Angeles Times and a great golf score for SLAP's Ron Kaye.

Imagine the Los Angeles City Council having accomplished so much in three years they took a pleased look at their results and then the entire Council subsequently retired.  That actually happened 100 years ago this week.

Watching the excellent History Channel program Life After People made me think.  Years of failed government policies turned the City of Detroit into an economic basket case that whole neighborhoods have been abandoned and stand fallow, with nature reclaiming the properties. Could a similar fate be in store for a soon to be bankrupted Los Angeles?

Speaking of failed policies the City of Los Angeles spent millions of dollars to redevelop and bring business to the North Hollywood area, the HOWS Market located next to the Metro Red Line is closing after less than three years in business. Officials from the Mayor's office and the Community Redevelopment Agency are rumored to have called an emergency meeting with the store owners but management is reported as saying nothing will persuade them to remain open; sagging sales are forcing the chain to shutter this location.

I Want My Carbon Offsets!

Saturday night is something called Earth Hour where we are all encouraged to turn off the lights for an hour to apparently "make a statement."

I was invited to an Earth Hour party and today on my cell phone got an SMS via Evite that the party was cancelled.  If a Google search generates 7 grams of  CO2 how much does an Earth Hour party evite times 100 guests including invitation, responses, reminders and cancellation?

When I'm working, writing, on the computer, etc. - event at the office - I prefer minimal light.  At home while blogging I typically only see by the light of the computer monitor and turn on and off lights as I pass through rooms.  I bet doing that everyday saves a lot more energy than one Earth Hour party!

I also walk to work everday, generally driving my car at most two to three times a week.  I last filled up the tank on March 8th and I have about a third of a tank left (mainly due to two business related trips to the Westside/South Bay earlier in the month and a trip to Gardena for a memorial service last weekend). Even when I do drive, mostly on the weekends, it's almost always patronizing businesses in my zip code.

I also use cloth grocery bags.  I got started on that shopping at HOWS but my collection now includes Ralphs, Walgreens and Superior Produce Market. I keep enough of them in the car, buy extras when I need and always chastise the checkers "Yes I want you to use the cloth bag and not the plastic or paper."

So all of these things are helping the environment and saving me money, time, hassles, etc.

Don't make a "statement" by going to a party to be cool.  Make a statement by living your life.  Ed Begley, Jr. is one of the few environmental activists who actually practices what he preaches.


Which leads me to the conclusion - why must we have the government force us to do these things?

Who do I send my invoice for my carbon offsets to?

A Theatre Grows in NoHo

Workers seen beginning construction this morning on a new retail/office center anchored by a Laemmle Theatres multiplex near the North Hollywood Metro Station. This development is the final piece of the CRA's "NoHo Commons" project which has brought several hundred apartments and shopping including the legendary HOWS Market to the NoHo Arts District.

(Photo by Jack Witt)

The Right Way To Get People Off Plastic Bags

Patron Saint of the Nanny State Lloyd "The Bachelor" Levine - more importantly known as The Backstabber - could learn a lesson from this.

All along this old, dead Republican Mayor has said that the market can handle most issues. Lloyd wants a government solution to the issue of plastic shopping bags littering up the place. Mayor Sam has often pointed out how the market has begun to address the issue.

Now lets take it up a notch - get these gals to promote reusable shopping bags and the results will be far greater than any stupid legislation dumb-ass Lloyd could write.

Go Fran Pavley!

Free Ad for Stores that have Free Market Reusable Bags

• HOWS
• Trader Joe's
• IKEA
• Anya Hindmarch