Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Friday

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce also known as the Downtown Interest Protection Racket has endorsed Chris Essel for City Council. Yes we know many of you are thinking "What a surprise." Considering Essel's previous positions supporting SB1818 and the Downtown view that Neighborhood Councils are pesky roadblocks to developer happiness, the Chambers nod to the "Queen of SB1818" is clearly consistent with Downtown's animosity towards the rest of the City.

It seems funny but Governor Schwarzenegger has appointed one of Mayor Villaraigosa's more controversial associates to the California Horse Racing  Board. Keith Brackpool - whose Cadiz Inc. wants to build a multi-million dollar water project for several Southern California water agencies opposed by environmentalists - will earn $100 per meeting ruling on the ponies.  Brackpool you may remember was reportedly part of the Mayor's recent retreat to Iceland to ponder what possible future Villaraigosa could have.

Good news for Billy the Elephant and those enlightened folks who believe that storing pachyderms in restrictive zoos is an idea whose time has come and gone.  A judge has ordered that lawsuit filed by opponents of the boondoggle multi-million dollar elephant pen may go forward.  Lets hope that both of the candidates for CD2 come out in favor of halting the project.

The mommies who write at the always excellent Beckford Parents Blog have an observation about the results of the CD2 election Tuesday: They're stuck with Tamar Galatzan as their School Board Member for another two years. Hopeful she'll get a clue they still speculate that Galatzan - who everyone knew would run for Wendy Greuel's open spot before she even got elected to the school  board - may try again for Council in 2011.  That means she'd have to give her school board seat and clear the way for a candidate more acceptable to the residents of her district.

Slow Internet Evening Hotsheet

Time Warner Cable is still having challenges (the support technician I spoke to said "the engineers are aware") but let's try to crank out the hotsheet I owe and maybe one for tomorrow through all the latency.

The Times points out something I've been saying frequently lately - City department heads like Police Chief Bratton should not be endorsing candidates in City elections. As the fishwrap notes "the Christopher Commission concluded, amid its many recommendations, that the chief of police should refrain from engaging in city politics. 'Because the chief's office is inherently powerful,' the commission wrote, 'it is unseemly for the chief to use that position to influence the political process. ... Such activity politicizes the chief, and ultimately the department.'"  We agree.

We've heard about this the last few days but how unseemly it was to have Mayor Villaraigosa - in the throws of a re-election campaign where he's yet to really discuss the issues - campaigning for Governor in Northridge last weekend?  As the LA Times notes "there was Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, giving a low-key pitch for his reelection next month without so much as a nod to his potential rivals in the June 2010 primary for governor."  Is California ready for an 11% Governor?

Political recurring disease Laurette Healey is back again hitching her wagon to yet another shady solar measure like she did with last year's Proposition 7.  Healey is using her vast mailing list to push Measure B.  Besides being opposed by those who know solar what both measures have in common are both Healey  and the so-called "Green Cowboy" David "I was there when FDR built the Tennessee Valley Authority" Freeman.  One wonders what's in it for them? We may eventually know.

If he's elected Mayor, Candidate David Hernandez promises to send Billy the Elephant to a sanctuary where he can be with other elephants.  Herndandez issued a statement saying that "Time has come for Billy the Elephant to join Ruby at the PAWS Sanctuary. It is clear the Los Angeles City Council and Special Interest Groups are using Billy as a bargaining chip in moving the Zoo’s Elephant exhibit forward."

Hotsheet Bits for Wednesday

CityWatch reprints DWP's shady opinion that the "Memorandum of Understanding" signed between the department and several neighborhood councils applies to discussion of the controversial proposition, Measure B.  For whatever reason CityWatch doesn't credit activist Jim Alger who motivated the email. DWP didn't extend the same courtesy it's asking for which has upset many neighborhood activists.  

The San Fernando Valley Business Journal reports that Fifth District Councilmember candidate Adeena Bleich received the backing of the lobbyist group sponsored by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Some say Zuma Dogg was out of control, others say he wasn't but apparently Mr. Saltsburg's commentary on the City's Rent Escrow Account Program was making Council President Eric Garcetti a little nervous and hence he ordered him removed from Chambers.  Since I've seen Zuma Dogg boisterous on occasions that Garcetti ignored him so it makes one wonder what the issue was here.  And according to witnesses Zuma only got animated after Garcetti shut him up. 

Rick Orlov on Villaraigosa has no need to face his rivals.  Best quote comes from Ken Draper, "the lack of competition is driving down the role of activists." 

Mayor Villaraigosa isn't the only local Mayor to have an alleged extra-marital affair.  City of Ontario officials are investigating allegations by attorney  Loredana Nesci that Mayor Paul Leon arranged for a tryst at the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario with city contracted employee Diana Huizar (any relation?).  Mayor Leon was quoted as saying "it hurts him to see friends who have not forgiven him."

Astroturfing here by those who wish to continue building the controversial elephant exhibit at the LA Zoo and keep poor old Billy the Elephant trapped there.  Hmm, who would have an interest in doing that?


Chatter is up again that an NFL team is coming to LA and it could be the San Diego nee Los Angeles Chargers.  Though we've heard it before, this time the Wasserman Media Group is involved and these guys seem to have the chops to make the impossible in sports possible.  Stay tuned.


Family Guy producer Seth McFarlane decides not to accept an offer from Britney Spears to participate in a proposed bit on the show slamming his dogged rivals, South Park producers Matt Stone and Trey Parker. South Park had recently aired an episode mocking both Spears and McFarlane's show. 

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Monday

If as claimed by some supporters of Measure B that the controversial plan would not benefit the politically powerful International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union, then the massive investment in the campaign to pass the measure seems to be a huge waste of money. The last working journo at the LA Times, David "Z-Man" Zahniser reports that nearly 2/3 of the support for the plan - which would requires that all new solar panels in Los Angeles be owned by the DWP and installed by IBEW members - is coming from the union and affiliated groups. In the meantime, No on B leader Jack Humphreville illuminates a little more on the shady plan and it's contributions at MS2.

Whatever happened to Mayoral candidate Walter Moore? I haven't received one of his usual pieces he sends out and his campaign blog hasn't been updated in nearly two weeks. If anyone has seen Walter lately please let us know.

The Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association reports that the results of an online poll show that seven in ten people support leaving Billy the Elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo. However it should be noted online polls are hardly accurate. In the meantime the County of LA warns the City that if construction does not move forward on the controversial exhibit meant to house Billy it would be required to refund $5 million in County money spent on the project.

A piece at Bloomberg details that many of the owners of LA's upper priced homes unable to meet their mortgages due to the slumping economy are working to hard to get their homes rented out as locations for both legit and porno film shoots. One location scouting firm says that "more than a dozen calls are coming in each week, up from about two a week a year ago."

Reports are that Sex In The City star Sarah Jessica Parker would like Britney Spears to star in the sequel to film that follows up the hit cable television series. “It’s time to inject some young blood into the movie,” Parker is reported as saying.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Tuesday

In what appears to a deep and insightful policy analysis (not) a blog calling itself The Policy Report comes out in favor of the controversial Measure B on the March ballot.  The Policy Report wrongly assumes the only reason opponents oppose B is because Mayor Villaraigosa is in favor of it.  Their deep thinking extends to their reason for voting for it is that passage of B will allow the Mayor to reaching targets in the controversial Kyoto Protocols.  Of course those in the know understand that B is severly flawed - so much so the City Council's own staff and consultants said so - and represents a dangerous precedent in turning decision making authority over to the City Council and DWP - while doing nothing to encourage the solar industry in LA.

In related news, CityWatch reports that Council Member Bill Rosendahl is wavering on his support for Measure B.  Rosendahl may be moved by the depth of opposition to the plan among activists in Los Angeles.  At a meeting of nearly 70 Neighborhood Council members with the DWP Saturday only two in the audience expressed support for the measure.  Rosendahl was quoted by CityWatch as saying "I might end up supporting it, I might not."

Assemblyman Mike Feuer is joining the billboard fray and has introduced state legislation to ban digital billboards.  However Christine Pelisek writing at the LA Weekly Daily Blog thinks the bill has little chance citing that previous effots have gone "nowhere in Sacramento, where billboard-industry money is spread around like a cold in kindergarten."  I know most folks have issues with billboards but I don't.  No doubt the City of LA has pursued a shady path when it comes to them and perhaps there should be some restrictions on where they go but a lot of us under 50 seem to think cool billboards in Hollywood, the Sunset Strip, LA Live and other parts of town are de rigeur.




The City of LA spends more on home and business alarm system false calls than it gets in alarm permit fees.  That's quite simply because most people who install alarms fail to get a permit.  Ironically the City has no system in place to cross check LAPD false call visits with current alarm permits.  Los Angeles is now going to put the onus on alarm companies to make sure they collect the permit at the time of installation.


The conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip is having deep reprecussions here in Los Angeles.  Factions on both sides gathered in Westwood to support Israel and to protest its attacks on Hamas strongholds.  Among those speaking to pro-Israel groups were City Councilman Jack Weiss and County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, while Jeff Warner, action coordinator for L.A. Jews for Peace told his supporters "The war isn't going to bring peace, security or prosperity to either the Israeli or Palestinian people."

There seems to be at least one person in favor of keeping Billy the Elephant at the LA Zoo besides Tom LaBonge, zoo staff and the zoo booster organization, GLAZA.  A blog called Exotica in a Savage Garden says that if Billy is sent to a sanctuary as animal rights activists are asking "He will not be allowed to breed, and there are no species survival plans in place in these sanctuaries. They don't even allow public viewing unless you fork over $200! I think that's BS."

He's got just 7 days before he becomes President of the United States and will be required to give up his beloved BlackBerry.  Yet Barack Obama says that "They're going to pry it out of my hands."  There are security and transparency considerations that get in the way of the President having a BlackBerry however it is 2009.  I am sure the braniacs in the CIA or some Federal Agency can rig up the BlackBerry so Obama can continue to work the way he is used to.

Big Week for LeBong

Two biggies this week for aging Marshall High football star Tom LeBong.

On Tuesday, PLUM takes up the issue of the Griffith Park Historical Monument. Proponents get to finally find out what cuts, slashes, and overall emasculation LeBong and his office have managed to do to the Griffith Trust's original application since the Historic Resources Commission passed its recommendation to make the entire park a historic cultural resource last October.

If PLUM (Reyes, Huizar, and Weiss) passes the proposal, file 08-3086 is set to be heard in full Council on the 27th, which, coincidentally, is the last day the council can take action on this item. Does this suggest what the Autocrat of Griffith Park's real strategy may be to kill this perceived threat?

Rumor has it that Friday the Clowncil votes yet again on the Zoo's new $42 million elephant exhibit. This time LeBong has the support of celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna as he tries to make the case that the clowncil wasn't wrong the first two times it voted for the project. Meanwhile, we're just waiting for Guido Cardenas to resurrect his idea for the City to go into the Elephant Sanctuary business using taxpayer money and public lands. As ridiculous an idea as this is during such financially difficult times in the City, clowncilmembers simply love the sound of their own clever ideas. So we know Cardenas's brainstorm will definitely ....be baaaaaaaack.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Thursday

Bad news for Walter Moore and Mayor Villaraigosa but great news for the blogs: Zuma Dogg has qualified for the Mayoral ballot in Los Angeles' 2009 primary. Zuma told me he is serious about the campaign and plans to be wherever he can take his message. Say what you want about Zuma, but recently the activist/blogger posted what I feel is the most cogent, thoughtful and well put together argument I've seen yet from a Mayoral candidate.

The City Council voted Wednesday to temporarily halt construction on a controversial elephant exhibit facility at the Los Angeles Zoo while the Council's Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee reviews a plan by the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association to take over interest payments on the bonds that would fund the exhibits construction.  It's great that construction is halted but much remains to be done.  The project has to be ended permanently, Billy the Elephant needs to be sent to a sanctuary and the nonsense of building a sanctuary in Los Angeles has to be stopped now.

The latest meeting of Ron Kaye's Saving LA Project will be Saturday 1:30 p.m., Dec. 6, at the Hollywood Community Center,6501 Fountain Ave., Hollywood. Perhaps they will discuss the elephant issue and adopt the position above.

Imagine a product that is so well built that it exceeds it's expected lifespan by ten times or more which makes it difficult for it's manufacturer to sell new models.  No we're not talking about American or even foreign cars but good old fashioned American built satellites.  Southern California based Boeing amazingly is still running communications satellites orbiting the Earth, that were built in the sixties and anticipated to be good for about three years.  The extended life of these machines has led to Boeing only selling one of the birds so far this year.


Britney Spears is looking for a boyfriend and has gone on television to make her plea.  "When I really love somebody, I give my all. I can't get enough. I need to be around them all the time. It's just the best feeling in the world," said the pop diva in a recent documentary.

Zoo Meets Circus at City Hall Today

This issue goes before the full Clowncil on 12-3-08.

UPDATE: The Budget and Finance Committee voted 3-to-2 to kill the Zoo's Pachyderm Forest project. Parks, Huizar, and Rosendahl for, Greuel and Smith against. Rosendahl missed all of the public comment on the subject, citing more important concerns (a sewer pipe in Venice.)

This opens the door for passage of Cardenas's other motion -- to spend all that money by having the City of LA go into the Sanctuary business.

This is also precedent-setting in that it opens the door for the Clowncil to revisit any and all other previously-passed council motions... something they've refused to do in the past even when faced with evidence demonstrating that they probably should...

Your suggestions for what they should review next?

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Today at 1pm, the City Clowncil's Budget and Finance Committee considers one of the two controversial Zoo-Elephant motions recently made by Guido Cardenas. The meeting will no doubt be a total circus, complete with a ringmaster (Parks), lot of clowncil clowns, the freak show barker (Cardenas), the puppet master (Alarcon), the fat lady preparing to sing (LeBong), the guy being shot out of a canon (Zoo GM John Lewis), the ubiquitous elephant in the room (Billy), and a crowd of alternately thrilled and horrified onlookers.

The proposal being heard today is CF 08-2850, which calls for all work to stop on the Los Angeles Zoo's $40 mil Elephant Pachyderm exhibit and to actually outlaw all future elephant exhibits at the Zoo. It also requests yet another CLA/CAO report on the costs associated with transferring the remaining elephant (Billy) to an elephant sanctuary, the alternative uses for the current Elephant Pachyderm exhibit and the possible transfer of other zoo animals into the intended Elephant Pachyderm Exhibit, the status of elephant exhibits that have closed and currently do house elephants on the zoos premise throughout the United States; and the fiscal implications for closing the elephant Pachyderm Exhibit.


Once again, the public will queue up to plead for Billy's future. Unfortunately, few public comments will be about the bigger issues that impact the citizens of Los Angeles: money and land. Guido and the Zorro Marxist are looking to take control of a substantial portion of that $40 mill, while benefiting rich developers in their district through the theft of public lands. Meanwhile, LeBong sees this as an opportunity to steal more of Griffith Park by taking part of Harding Golf Course to expand the Zoo footprint.


The future of Cardenas's other motion, CF 08-2849 which calls for a brand new “Elephant Satellite Sanctuary Advisory Group (ESSAG)” to search for 60 acres on private OR PUBLIC lands in the City to create a new elephant sanctuary, probably relies on what happens to this afternoon during the Budget and Finance Committee hearing.

With the City facing an ever-increasing deficit, let's hope the important fiscal fiducial issues and responsibilities aren't lost to the very committee tasked with these things during the tertiary animal rights discussion.

LA Doesn't Need To Build An Elephant Sanctuary

Leave it to politicians to jump on high emotion, high profile issues where they seen an opening to pull a scam.

Council Member Tony Cardenas is on the right track when he says that construction on the LA Zoo's wrongheaded multi-million dollar elephant pen needs to be halted.  He's also correct that the Zoo's last elephant (after killing nearly 15 of them over 30 years), Billy, needs to be moved to a sanctuary where he will have the space to roam and companionship of several other elephants.

However Cardenas and his partner-in-crime Council Member Richard Alarcon are absolutely wrong to pursue the City of Los Angeles going into the animal sanctuary business.

Cardenas and Alarcon seem to think that if we halt the elephant pen at the Zoo, then they get to build an animal sanctuary in their Districts.

When the City is in fiscal crisis, folks are losing their homes and a boatload of City employees are about to be laid off, this is the last thing the City needs to do.  As the Daily Breeze said "Rome is burning here, and this is no time for fiddling about over elephants."

Most everyone who has a heart, except for Councilmember Tom LeBong who thinks he owns the zoo, Zoo officials who want to keep their jobs and a cadre of LA Zoo fanatics who think it's okay to keep majestic animals in cages, agrees that Billy needs to go to a new home.  Numerous elephant preserves exist throughout the US that would be more than happy to take Billy.  Citizens including retired game show host Bob Barker have offered to cover the costs of Billy's move.  Those who want Billy out of the zoo and are not up to speed on how LA politics really work need to resist the siren song of the Northeast Valley Boyz and not support the LA sanctuary.

"Rome is burning here, and this is no time for fiddling about over elephants."
Daily Breeze

Los Angeles is not a proper place for such a preserve as much as we would like to perhaps have one nearby.  Assembly Lloyd Levine, who is in favor of moving Billy to a sanctuary and closing down the Zoo exhibit, does not see the need for an LA based sanctuary.  As he said sure, we'd like to see elephants in LA.  But we might also might like to see glaciers.  But we're not going to haul one down from Alaska and park in the LA Harbor.


As PetraFried in the City so well put it, Alarcon and Cardenas are looking to benefit rich developers in their district and have yet another "legacy" to their administrations.  That's the kind of thinking that moved the Children's Museum from Downtown to Lake View Terrace, miles from most kids in LA, which has become a boondoggle of it's own.

Those who care about both Billy and LA need to advocate to immediately send Billy to an established sanctuary and at the same time shut down both the LA Zoo's elephant exhibit and Cardena's boondoggle preserve.

Elephant-Zoo vote: It's about $$$ and stealing public land, folks.

Today the City Clowncil votes on whether they feel they can get away with stealing more public $$ and land without anyone noticing.

Under the guise of animal rights, last month Tony 'Guido' Cardenas proffered two council motions aimed at the LA Zoo, one (#08-2850) to halt construction of the Zoo's new $40 million dollar elephant exhibit and outlaw elephant-keeping completely at the Zoo, and the other (#08-2849) to create a task force to study stealing 60 acres of rare public park land in the park-poor San Fernando Valley for an elephant "sanctuary".

Guido originally voted for the new $40 mill elephant exhibit and its hard to imagine that a change of heart is the only thing driving these motions. So what's this all about, then?

In the eyes of the public, this is all about Billy --the Zoo's remaining elephant. Emotions run high with animal activists falling on both sides of the fence. Both sides have their experts lined up for a battle of 'our experts verses your experts'. Public comment will be full of emotional pleas on Billy's behalf.

The real fight, however, is what is in the eyes of the greedy Clowncilmen involved: LeBong, Guido, and the Zorro Marxist, Alar'con'. These motions are all about opportunity. LeBong's been looking for an excuse to steal more of Griffith Park land to expand the Zoo, and Guido conveniently provided the excuse. On the other side, Guido and Zorro want part of that $40 mill, most of which cannot be re-allocated to projects outside the Zoo. So why not have the City go into the Elephant Retirement Home business with the Zoo as the puppet department in charge? Odds are Guido and the Zorro Marxist both have a healthy financial stake and a campaign donor or two in mind for the project.

What is the real bottom line here?

If it's ultimately decided that Billy needs a much larger enclosure, he can be retired to an existing elephant sanctuary somewhere at minimal cost compared to the new exhibit cost. No new sanctuary is needed; no public lands need be taken; and the City does not need to spend our tax dollars on going into the Elephant Retirement Home biz.

...Hell, these clowns can't even provide fundamental services to taxpayers or balance a budget. Now they want to run a circus?

As for the partially-complete exhibit? It could be re-purposed for other animals, again at minimal expense compared to the cost of the new exhibit. In other words: NO STEALING OF PUBLIC LANDS AND MONEY NECESSARY.