Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Scene for Wednesday

Olvera Street

"The Great Olvera Street Compromise of 2011" is nearly complete via CD 14 Councilman Jose Huizar.

From the Los Angeles Times, "What we came up with was a compromise that takes into account the economy, the budget needs of the city and the merchants at Olvera Street" who have been the backbone of the popular destination for years, said Councilman Jose Huizar, whose district includes El Pueblo De Los Angeles Historical Monument, of which Olvera Street is part. El Pueblo is run by the city and has its own general manager and oversight commission.

As an afterthought, the "Great Olvera Street Compromise" would be a excellent topic for "JOSE's Blog" which has been inactive for over a month until yesterday. And guess the topic of Rick Coca, errr Councilman Huizar's latest blog posting??

More news after the bloggin leap.

Read more »

Cut and Paste Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Scene for Wednesday

" The Bright Beacon of Corruption on Hope Street"

Lets call them the "Frivolous Five".

First lets give the names, 1. Janice Hahn, 2. Richard "Zorro Marxist" Alarcon, 3. Herb Wesson, 4. Tony Cardenas, ..... and lastly City Council President Eric Gartraitor.

These are the five who don't give a rat's rear end that your financial capacity to support their careless financial follies, are near finite in this government caused recession. What corruption on Hope Street? Not in their collectivist minds. The DWP rates payers must contribute for the betterment of the collective. In this case it means paying a higher tribute for the cause of a "greener LA". Or in reality, it is to better the "bottom line" of the likes of Al Gore, Ari Swiller, Keith Brackpool and their graying allies on the "Ecoleft".

One shouldn't be surprise that the "Frivolous Five" would use the funeral for former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates, and the fact that fellow Councilman Bernard Parks would be in attendance, to make their power play in the interest of "exclusive green few".

Some may disagree with me, but the dubious science that provides the premise of our so call "Global Warming" hysteria, is nothing more than a front to take more of your hard earned money and enrich the "carbon credit deposits" of the likes of Al Gore, who by the way is one of the biggest investors in the carbon credits scheme.

But most of you , if not all would agree, that wasteful and corrupt governments, do more to impact our communal environments. That is easy for Angelinos to see in this growing DWP scandal at 200 Spring Street.

Does anyone remember how Mayor Antonio Parkervillar's "Million Tree Initiative" was suppose to remake our city into one big giant clean, green canopy? But the only green I remember was the $100+ dollars that the DWP was paying per tree to be planted by the Los Angeles Conservation Corp and has anyone seen Lisa Sarno around the city lately, planting any trees? But I digress.

But the continuing nefarious doings withing the Horseshoe at City Hall is getting harder to digest with each act of political deceit.

OTHER NEWS:

** City Councilman Budget Committee Chairperson Bernard Parks and his committee has started their public hearing process to review Mayor Antonio Parkervillar's propose 2010-2011 budget.

And what is Park's one word response to Mayor Parkervillar's budget proposal? Fantasy!

** Heads up to Recreation and Parks supporters city-wide, Rec. and Park General Manager J. K. Mukri will testify in front of Park's Budget Committee sometime Friday. If Mayor Parkervillar's budget for Rec. and Parks is accepted, guess how many employees will be gone after Labor Day.

A. 100 Full timers?

B. 125 Full time, no part timers?

C. 125 Full Time, 110 Part timers?

D. 125 Full time, 750 Part timers?

Then link here to see how the unionize employees will be replaced if Mayor Parkervillar has his way.

** In the next few days, various Department General Managers will testify before Park's Budget Committee. But while the GM's will do their best to protect the interest of their respective departments, the Coalition of Unions have released their "Keep LA Strong Budget Proposal".

Your thoughts and open thread...............

Scott Johnson in CD 14

Creation of a "Connected Non-Profit" and the "Pimping" of Public Facilities, Part 2

"Coordination among the Insiders"

It seems that Recreation and Parks Mark Mariscal and Legacy LA's Jenny Krusoe have spent some quality time together working on message and making sure that other "key players" are kept in the loop.

For those who may think that Mark Mariscal's name sound familiar, he was one of the central figures in Luara Chick's Audit of Recreation and Parks that uncover millions of dollars in fees that went unaccounted for.

Further, people in the know within Rec. and Parks describe Mariscal as someone who has "upward mobility" in mind when its comes to his career prospects and was known as someone who would do favors for those that were "politically connected".

Thus, it would not be a surprise that Mariscal would be willing to work with Krusoe, considering her close ties to Councilman Huizar and Mayor Villaraigosa.

After all, "Recreation and Parks General Manager Mark Mariscal" would be a title that fits the ego of Mr. Mariscal, according to sources.

........and "in holding to the line", it might make it easier for both Mariscal and Krusoe with the help of David Galaviz and Ellen Sanchez, to reach their desired goals.

Your thoughts......

Creation of a "Connected Non-Profit" Part 1

Suspicious Fires Erupt in Elysian Park; Mayor's Budget Cuts Firefighting Rangers

A number of suspicious fires erupted in Elysian Park at around 11 PM Saturday evening causing minor damage due to the swift response by Los Angeles City Park Rangers and the LAFD. Other agencies responding included LAPD, OPS, and Los Angeles County Sheriff who were spotted passing residents roused by the noise and, in some cases, smoke.

According to residents, small fires are common in Elysian Park, but these fires were very different up to and including the hardcore response they received, with numerous agencies' helicopters buzzing the park for hours. LAFD Twitter stated that more than 90 firefighters responded to this incident, which is a very large allocation for what they reported as just a 2-acre fire.

Los Angeles City Park Rangers were observed by residents as first on-scene with firefighting units. The Rangers' division - part of the Department of Recreation and Parks - has reportedly had patrols in the area as well as in other parks as a precaution against the dry conditions throughout the past week, a week that coincidentally marked the second anniversary of the devastating Griffith Park fire.

Although the swift emergency response is in part responsible for the minimal damage caused by this fire event, it is worth noting on this politics blog that counter intuitively, Los Angeles City Park Rangers are not funded with other so-called vital emergency services in the Mayor's budget, but are prioritized by the police-obsessed Villaraigosa with all other Department of Recreation and Parks' activities, including trash collection and restroom cleaning.

In fact, as activists pointed out at the Budget and Finance Committee hearings, the Mayor's 2009-10 budget actually cuts ten Park Ranger positions plus their Chief position, regardless of the fact that the state agency that certifies and accredits these types of organizations (CA P.O.S.T.) requires them to have a chief.

Yet simultaneously, a stubborn Tony V holds firm to his 'hire 10,000 LAPD officers' obsession. At a time when LAPD is blasting stats saying crime in the City has decreased to 1950s levels, the 10,000 number appears to hold little if any real needs significance. It's more likely just a nice, round number, divisible by ten, that looks good in headlines and on resumes.


Wonder what the people whose Elysian Park homes were spared by the quick response of the Rangers think of the Mayor's budget priorities? My impression as I hung up the phone was: "Not a whole hell of a lot, right now."

Something smells on this land deal in Downtown.....

For the last few weeks, the weekly paper "Downtown Garment and Citizen" has been doing yeoman's work in disclosing Councilwoman Jan Perry's "boondoggle of a land deal".

Some excerpts.

Word that city officials have reduced their offer for the 0.8-acre parcel follows ongoing coverage by the Garment & Citizen, including reports that some community members and real estate professionals have raised concerns ranging from the price of the land to the timing of the deal, as well as the process used by city officials to conduct the transaction.

9th District Los Angeles City Councilmember Jan Perry first announced the proposal to buy the land on Spring Street on January 14, raising questions with the timeline she cited. Perry said at the time that the price of $5.6 million represented a 12.5% discount from the land’s appraised value in September 2008. Perry didn’t mention the economic crisis that began in September and had brought massive job losses, big declines in real estate values, and giant bail-outs of Wall Street institutions by the federal government during the final months of last year. City officials apparently faced no competing bids for the land, either, raising further questions about why
Perry would announce a price in January and indicate that the deal would be completed by sometime in March—a relatively quick timeline that has gone by the wayside.
Perry has declined comment on the deal for the past several weeks.

A number of other concerns raised in the Garment & Citizen’s ongoing reports have surrounded the deal since it first became public, among them a decision by city officials to forego conducting their own appraisal of the land. They instead used an appraisal commissioned by Pasadena-based EastWest Bank, which works with Downtown Properties, a development firm that is selling the parcel to the city.

Other questions about the deal have been prompted by the use in the appraisal of a comparable deal that never went through at a much higher price than the current market commands. The comparable deal listed in the appraisal involved a similar parcel at 9th and Hill streets considered to be “under contract” at the time for $8.75 million. That land remains on the market for an estimated $6.5 million, however, and the current price represents a 25% discount from the total listed in the appraisal. A similar discount would double the price break that city officials claim to have gotten on the parcel on Spring Street, and would bring a savings of $800,000 on the transaction.

Another factor to raise concerns is the role of Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, who serves as director of asset management for the city’s Department of General Services and appears to have a key part in transactions such as the deal on Spring Street, based on official responses to inquiries about the proposed acquisition. Jones-Sawyer also serves as secretary of the California Democratic Party and as a member of the political organization’s finance committee. The California Democratic Party counts many local real estate development companies, executives, and representatives as donors.

Editor Jerry Sullivan deserves multiple kudos for his journalistic tenacity in exposing this shady land deal in downtown.

****Link to LA Weekly's story on Councilwoman Jan Perry's "Grand Avenue Conflict".

Shameless LeBong Press-Op Trivializes Firefighter Deaths

Anything for a press op, eh - Clowncilman?

We've all seen him on the Channel 11 News violently shoving the Mayor aside when a camera's nearby. So it's probably not news that The Autocrat of Griffith Park has a disturbing, almost visceral obsession with bright lights, paparazzi, and the primal will to rebuild Griffith Park in his own, warped image.

But this latest move by the self-proclaimed reincarnation of John Ferraro is literally one for the high school history books. According to a Rec and Parks Commission Board Report (08-272 ) for October 3 2008, LeBong finds himself obliged to install yet another commemorative plaque in Griffith Park because...

"...In October 1933, the deadliest fire in Los Angeles history struck Griffith Park.

(Yes -- this is true... and in 2006 AND 2007, LeBong held press ops installing park memorials to honor the men killed in this tragedy.)

...The community banded together to fight the fire and the blaze was under control before nightfall.

(According to published accounts, the 'community' consisted of firefighters, family members of the injured and deceased, press, park workers, and nearby residents.)

...That evening, rank and file members of the newly-formed Screen Actors Guild Board submitted their resignations in order to allow stars to take their places thus giving their union more "clout." This was a key moment in establishing the Screen Actors Guild as a powerful, unified voice for actors.

(Uh, O-K. Now...what does this have to do with Griffith Park and the 1933 fire, exactly?)

...In the years to follow, fire fighters would extinguish many more fires in Griffith Park and actors would make additional sacrifices on behalf of the Screen Actors Guild and their fellow actors.

(...whuh....?)

...In commemoration of its 75th Anniversary, the Screen Actors Guild is honored to dedicate this tree to its members - past, present and future - and in tribute to those who fight selflessly for the good of others. "

Well... Of course! That all makes perfect sense now, doesn't it? So heck, let's try to summarize. LeBong's latest descent-into-complete-insanity-just-for-a-press-op includes:

1. Trivializing the deaths of 29 CCC workers in the 1933 Griffith Park Fire by reducing the event to an excuse for a photo-op.


2. Spinning history to intertwine two entirely uncorrelated events in the minds of the public just for a photo-op.


3. Bypassing any real public, common-sense process for deciding how, why, and where plaques and monuments are placed in public green spaces and instead simply ordering Rec and Parks to do this himself, and then ordering them to say that they approved of it.

Looks like no tactic is too base, no opportunity too miniscule for this particular public servant to show us all who is really in charge of Griffith Park and the Dept. of Recreation and Parks. What a stellar example of our tax dollars hard at work; our public servants looking out for our best interests.


Given the man's level of self-indulgent propriety with respect to Griffith Park, is it any wonder that when faced with the Griffith Family's Historic Monument application, the Clowncilman is thrashing and flailing like a cockroach lit up by a spotlight?

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Thursday

Mayoral candidate Walter Moore reports he is very close to reaching the $150,000 contributions received threshold in order to qualify for matching funds in the 2009 election.  However, there's still an out for Mayor Villaraigosa.  When Walter reaches that threshold, the Mayor could decline matching funds for his campaign which would release him from a requirement to debate Moore or any other candidate who qualifies for the matching funds.

Though LAPD figures claim crime is at the level it was in 1967, Community activist David Hernandez makes a good point: 247 people in LA have been murdered so far this year, hardly a reason to celebrate.  Hernandez also adds up the numbers, nearly 1200 have been killed during Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's administration.

City Council President Eric Garcetti has announced that Albina Ferreyra has been appointed as his Field Deputy for Atwater.  Previously Ferreyra served as a deputy for 1st District Councilman Ed Reyes.

Even though there's no money for it and route options are considered controversial in various communities, the MTA plans to press forward with not one but two subway boondoggles for the Westside.  Let's hope that the sales tax increase scam on the November ballot doesn't pass and give this nonsense any more life.  As we know, you can't build enough trains to end LA's traffic woes.  The answer lies in allowing private operators to meet the market demand for commuter public transportation (as is done in New York) and to encourage the growth of new business around housing.

Though the City is facing a water crisis and has ordered drastic efforts to save water, various City agencies are still found wasting the precious liquid.  The LA Times documents Recreation and Parks Department employees hosing down tennis courts.  Maybe they need a water broom.

City $$quirmish Moves Into High Gear

The Budget and Finance Committee has finalized their recommended changes to Tony Villar’s budget. The list includes some luke-warm news for departments unlucky enough not to be LAPD or LAFD (approximately 67% of the entire City budget goes into police and fire), but the biggest news is that the infamous City Surplus Property kickback will get a makeover. Previously, 50% of property sales went into the clowncilmember’s own discretionary fund. This will now go into the City’s General Fund, where clowncilmembers will no doubt find a way to spend it on their own projects anyway.

Another big one is a major City study into Departmental Mission Creep. Rec and Parks is a prefect target for this study since it has become the de facto social services provider for the entire City over the past two decades.

Some of the other bullet point recommendations include:

The Sidewalk Repair program will stay in business, and another another work crew will be added to the program.

Libraries: the book purchasing program will be funded; facilities will remain open on Sundays.

Recreation and Parks: RAP will be allowed to keep all cut Park Ranger position authorities but there will be no increase in allocated funding to actually pay for them.

Pension contributions will remain 1x annually rather than deferred per the Mayor's plan. (This saves the City $15 million annually.)

Citywide layoffs are still listed as 760; about half of these positions are vacant.

Parking validation to City facilities will be discontinued, saving some $350,000 annually.

DOT will expand advertising on buses and trains.

Instead of the annual mad money dash, there will be quarterly Budget development meetings.

And... the Mayor gets all the new LAPD officers he wants. Quel surprise.


The full City Clowncil will begin its deliberation on the Mayor’s proposed Citywide budget this Friday beginning with the public hearing at 10am sharp. Let the money squabble begin!

Deal, No Deal, or Outright $teal?

The Budget and Finance Committee's hearing on the Mayor's 2008-09 version of his rape of LA's quality of life has lifted off. As Joe M points out at Street-Hassle, department supervisors and GMs are playing 'Deal or No Deal' with Bernard P and his gaggle of geese all week long. Deal or No Deal has got to be one of the stupidest game shows ever. It takes zero skill to pick a suitcase. If there is just 1, $1 million case in the 26 you pick from, then the odds of having selected the $1 million case are 1 in 26 -- the odds on that never change no matter how many other cases remain. The audience for Deal or No Deal, much like the City Clowncil, is mainly composed of males attracted to shiny objects (and cleavage.) No harm, no fowl, I suppose.

I've recently pointed out how a major cut in Recreation and Parks could endanger millions by removing the parks' first responders to brush fires, the Park Rangers. After the Griffith Fire, LaBonge, the Mayor, and every other City official who had a forum to do so told us all that they would make sure Park Rangers were fully staffed and funded from now on. What a difference a year makes, eh? With a wave of his quill, Villaraigosa cuts more than 20 full peace officers from the City payroll. (Yes, I actually said "...cuts... peace officers...from the City payroll"). Isn't it fascinating that although Antonio treats some peace officers as sacrosanct, he doesn't mind endangering the public when those officers are not of a specific breed?

Park-going Angelenos have a great deal to lose if they don't wake up and get in the Budget game right now, not the least of which is 50% of the LA City Park Rangers. Our quality of life is being stolen out from under our very large bills. So shake a tail feather -- go downtown and speak in Public Comment. Email your City officials right away. Call LaBonge and let him know what high school you went to. As Sunland-Tujunga is proving, sometimes activism is not just a wild goose chase.

City Parks Suffer Dangerous Budget Cut

The Daily News today reported that a result of the Mayor’s all-out assault on Los Angelenos in the form of budget cuts and fee increases will result in serious losses of vital services in City parks. The paper points to two Rec and Parks losses in particular – less clean restrooms and a 50% cut in Park Rangers.

Most people jump right on the mental image of an unclean restroom, but the reality of this Citywide cut is that the far greater loss of the two is actually the Park Rangers.

Park Rangers are perhaps the most recognizable image of any parks service in the United States. However, LA City Park Rangers are far more than an icon. With the increased gang violence and general unrest throughout the City, more specialized park security is a must. L.A. City Park Rangers are fully qualified, POST-certified peace officers. Perhaps even more importantly, Park Rangers are also firefighters, search and rescue professionals, emergency management specialists, paramedics, wildlife specialists, educators, mediators, and community policing specialists. For those who are unhappy with the generous salaries some City employees pull down, Park Rangers are also underpaid relative to other City jobs requiring full peace officer standing. This, plus the fact that there are tons of open peace officer positions in this City, just about guarantees that being a Park Ranger in Los Angeles isn't just a job, but it must be a vocation.

On any given day in at least one of this City’s 400+ parks, Rangers put their unique combination of specialized skills to use on the public’s behalf. During the Griffith Park fire, every Park Ranger in the City demonstrated extreme dedication to their vocation by working more than 95 hours straight. The Rangers’ intimate knowledge of the park was absolutely vital to controlling the May 8, 2007 inferno. It isn’t discussed much in the wake of the usual, well-deserved accolades given to the LAFD, but those closest to the situation know that it was a heroic stand at Bee Rock by Park Ranger firefighters that halted the northeastward advance of that fire. Park Ranger firefighters used their intimate knowledge of the park to determine that this physical location was absolutely key to stopping the fire, and they made the stand that did it.

So here we are with a summer fire season widely predicted to be one of the worst on record nearly upon us. Cutting almost 50% of a single division that is as important to this City as the Park Rangers are not only makes no sense, but it may seriously endanger the lives of the 20 million people who visit Los Angeles parks annually.

The recent mauling of patrons by a Siberian Tiger at the San Francisco Zoo brings up another point. The Los Angeles Zoo is inside of Griffith Park, and the Zoo is far from impervious to animal escapes. The combination of emergency management and wildlife expertise that Park Rangers possess would make them invaluable if such a thing ever happened here. As an aside, it is interesting to note that current SF Zoo Director Manuel Mollinedo, under whose watch the horrific maulings occurred, was a past General Manager of Recreation and Parks in Los Angeles as well as a Director of the Los Angeles Zoo during a time that many of the exhibit enclosures were upgraded, ostensibly to code. Hmmm...


Since they have all the money and resources, I guess the Mayor is assuming the Office of Public Safety will take care of us all. But as was pointed out in an earlier article detailing the creation and performance to-date of OPS, their promise was enticing but their carry-through has been far from optimum, or even adequate for that matter. And Rec and Parks, who is legally mandated to provide security in City parks, has little to no control over OPS which is organized within an entirely different City department.

On May 1st, there will be massive immigration demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles. If they repeat what they did in 2005, 2006, and 2007, the Office of Public Safety will pull every single officer to a man from City parks, libraries, and the Zoo and deploy them all downtown. This means that on May Day, a traditional day to celebrate the coming of Spring, the only peace officers protecting the public in 400+ City parks will be Park Rangers. 50% less Park Rangers, that is, if no one challenges the Mayor’s budget.

It's ironic that also on May 1st, the City's Budget and Finance Committee will hold the hearing on the Mayor's Budget for the Department of Recreation and Parks. So y'all come on downtown May 1 -- skip work, see the protesters and OPS in action firsthand, and give the committee your input on the $cut$ to Rec and Parks while surrounded by a hundred thousand or so of your fellow Angelenos. ...Democracy in action! WooHoo!

"Outtakes from the Red Spot Institute" Saturday Pre-Game Shorts

With just over two hours to "Jump Ball", here are some quick shots for your info.

File under "old habits die hard".

The "MOLDY GREEN SHEET" soldiers on after the "RESIGNATION" of Editor Ron Kaye. Kerry Cavanaugh scribes on the hesitation of the "CLOWNCIL OF FIFTEEN" to cut their own internal budgets. Cut there, cut around this, consolidate these and that, but cut me?? I think not.

Here are what each "CLOWNCIL OF FIFTEEN" member has currently for giving to the connected, err, for constituent services,

Ed Reyes: $647,493 Wendy Greuel: $898,922 Dennis Zine: $1,037,196
Tom LaBonge: $317,806 Jack Weiss: $1,221,768 Tony Cardenas: $727,373
Richard Alarc n: $410,991 Bernard Parks: $815,489 Jan Perry: $321,012
Herb Wesson: $1,784,504 Bill Rosendahl: $864,389 Greig Smith: $800,470
Eric Garcetti: $458,876 Jose Huizar: $476,274 Janice Hahn: $1,159,895.

File under "Lemons for Rec. and Parks".

Downtown business owners trekked to the Biltmore for a "Breakfast of Roses and Lemons". Being one to highlight "follies of ineptness", we like the give credit to Recreation and Parks for their "LEMON AWARD", Like if Jon K. Mukri wasn't bitter enough. When contacted about his department's latest honor he commented,

"I don't care about the award. Personally, when you're a
general manager, you're going to take the good with the bad, and people want to
make an issue out of having money. I've never heard this in the 33 years I've
been in both the federal government and the city government as a negative," he
said."There's nothing wrong with having money in the Quimby accounts.

We're going to hold this until we have a plan to
expend it," he continued. "These are one-time funds."

Can one say "SHORT TIMER??"

File this under "OLDIE, BUT STILL YUMMY".

The "FRENCH DIP ON ALAMEDA" reaches the century mark. Whether it is a pre-game meal or a location for networking, Philippe has been a downtown constant through the ups and downs in Los Angeles history. One needs to give props for their model railroad collection that ties in with their location next to Union Station.

File this under "WISHING NOTHING BUT THE BEST"

Hard to say, but our ex. bloggin mate Joseph Mailander has hit the ground running with his new blog "STREET HASSLE". With Joe now on his own, I hope that we can grow as a bloggin community and stay focus on the "dysfunctional tower of waste on Spring Street"

Great weekend to all, GO BRUINS!!!

FREEDOM AND FREE ENTERPRISE!