Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday

Well, well, well.  Guess who spent $50 million to save $13 million? Nope not the DWP.  Nope, not Tom LaBonge. You're incorrect if you said Kim Kardashian. Give up? Your Los Angeles MTA spent that amount to install turnstiles at it's subway and light rail stations - except it currently can not issue the fare media the gates require and can not be locked.




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Important Hot Weather Tips from LAFD's Brian Humphrey

As Summer draws to a close, please don't underestimate the heat or overestimate your abilities!

The Los Angeles Fire Departmentencourages you to stay safe during a heat wave by following the links below - and sharing these hot weather safety tips with your family and friends:

• Firefighters Stress Hot Weather Safety in Los Angeles
• Children, Hot Weather & Cars = Danger!
• Extreme Heat Safety Information

Mayor Sam Awards Nominations

The nominations are in! To vote for the 2007 Mayor Sam Awards, "The Sammies," please click here.

You have until midnight on the 30th to vote, we'll announce the winners on the 31st.

Local Elected Politician of the Year
Assemblyman Paul Krekorian
Eric Garcetti
Janice Hahn
Michael Ten of South Pasadena
Sheriff Lee Baca

Local Elected Politician's Staffer of the Year
Stuart Waldman
Michael Tou
Young Gi Kim
Josh Kamensky
Jennifer Cohen

Hottest Politician's Wife, Husband, Boyfriend or Girlfriend
Corina Raigosa
Long Beach City Councilmember Suja Lowenthal's husband Daniel
Tony Cardenas' wife

Sexiest City Government Employee - Female
Kellie Hawkins, Exec. Dir, Comm on Status of Women
Young-Gi Kim
Janelle Erickson
Kieren in Perry's office

Sexiest City Government Employee - Male
Antonio Villaraigosa
Jimmy Blackman
Matt Szabo
Bernard Parks

Cutest Couple
Janice Hahn and Reggie the Alligator
Mirthala and Antonio
Mr. and Mrs. Kefflebaum
Janice Hahn and Noel Weiss

Dumbest Politician of the Year
Lloyd Levine
Rocky Delgadillo
Tom LaBonge
Ed Reyes
Fabian Nunez

Dumbest Staffer of the Year
Manny Figueras
Lisa Sarno
Mitch Englander
Uli Sanchez
Bob Blumenfeld

Crook of the Year
Mike Carona
Richard Alatorre
Governor Schwarzeneger
Fabian Nunez
Rocky Delgadillo

Dumbest Idea, Program or Cause
Jan Perry's Fast Food Ban
mayoral school "takeover"
AB1381
Mansionization
Alatorre and Roos becoming lobbyists for developers

Model of Efficiency Award (someone in City government who actually got something right)
Bill Robertson, Director of LA's Street Services Bureau
Michele Siqueiros
Brian Humphrey, LAFD

Biggest Mistake
Lloyd Levine dumping Stuart Waldman
Rocky not registering his car
Villaraigosa holding a news conference to announce his affair and then complaining that the media was prying into his personal life
Prop R
Funding Gang Prevention programs.

Best Place to Drink After A City Council Meeting
The water fountain on the fourth floor
Pete's
The Redwood
Little Tokyo

Worst Public Official or Government Employee Driving Skills
Michelle Delgadillo
Lance from Tom LaBonge’s office

Most Corrupt Special Interest (organization or individual)
SEIU
Eli Broad
Richard Muerelo
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
Rivers and Mountains Conservancy

Special Waiver Award (anyone you want to nominate for any reason - state both and why)
Zuma Dogg because I like big balls
Red Spot for his brilliant social commentary, grammatical errors notwithstanding.
Ted Hayes bitch slapping Maxine Waters
Michael Hunt for dressing like a Klansman

Local Journalist of the Year
Kevin Roderick
Jon Regardie
Joseph Mailander
David Zahniser
Joseph Chapman

Media Outlet of the Year (blogs, newspapers, radio or television stations)
LAist
CityWatch
Daily News
BBC
Channel 4 News

Sexiest Local Journalist
Sharon Tay
David Zahniser
Mariel Garza
Sioux-Z Jessup
Lisa Hernandez

Person of the Year (the person who had the biggest impact locally - good or bad)
William Bratton
Laura Chick
David Hernandez
Antonio Villaraigosa
Zuma Dogg

311 Service "On Hold": You May Be Able To Measure The Budget Savings, But You Can't Measure The Loss Customer Satisfaction and Business

***** UPDATE *****
Thanks to Firefighter Brian Humphrey, who ZD met in Chambers during the Special Budget Meetings where he expressed his concerns over emergency service dispatch cuts, which now makes this story about "life or death", beyond mere "wasteful inconvinence".

Brian Humphrey said...

Thanks for bringing the issue of critical municipal 'touchpoints' to the forefront.

While I can't offer a formal opinion, the issue is clearly worthy of public discussion.

Please have a great day, and make it a safe one!

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department


311 Service "On Hold": You May Be Able To Measure The Budget Savings, But You Can't Measure The Loss Customer Satisfaction and Business

Those of you familiar with the work of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, know that people (constituents) judge customer satisfaction by their standards, not yours.

I was reminded of this concept from his 14 points, after noticing an unacceptable increase in the “on hold” time while waiting to speak to a City Hall 311 operator service, one too many times.

The mind-numbingly long service delays happened to coincide with the mayor’s new budget cuts that went into effect during the first week of July. And I don’t need to look at the budget to know that 311 services were cut enough to cause a fatal flaw with the system.

I’m sure the mayor can tell you how much money was “saved” by this cut; but I wonder if anyone can take a guess at the actual “immeasurable” costs and expenses this decreased efficiency in service will have on the City?

[CLICK READ MORE]

I am here to tell you, when you call 311 during business hours, you will most likely be on hold for an unacceptable length of time that not even Zuma Dogg will sit through.

And people from City Hall may say, “Good! That means less people with their trivial problems to deal with.” Or, “Good, the mayor should cut that money – more for other important city services."

And it may surprise people, who know that ZD is a CM Parks-style fiscal conservative, but this level of service really backfires in the City’s face and the service must be funded to the extent that on-hold time is decreased, not increased to lengths that no one would be willing to sit through (without becoming “peeved” at the City).

Here’s why 311 is the first thing that should work in this City: If someone is calling, they are either doing business with the city, or are one of your constituents whom you will be turning to for a vote in the next election.

If they are doing business (and the City of L.A. prides itself as being an international friend to business in this regional and global economy), well I don’t think it makes a very good impression as to what to expect from the City the rest of the time. And telling them you had to make budget cuts isn’t an acceptable disclaimer. And if the city is the recipient of this business, or it is someone calling for the City’s benefit; don’t expect them to stay on hold as long as you are making them. [F-it! Let's just have it in Vegas!]

If they are a constituent calling with a problem, they are probably already frustrated. Well, imagine how they will feel about YOU (yes YOU elected officials) when they can’t even get through to express their concern. (They won’t be thinking, “Oh yeah, it’s cool, just must be those budget cuts that wouldn’t be necessary if City Hall didn’t suffer from ‘corruptivitice’ and ‘CWD/Chronic Waste Disease). They will only be pissed at the you and the City of Los Angeles.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCREASED EFFIECIENCY

Maybe this means installing more computers with the software to decrease the amount of time each human operator spends on the line (the way 411 and other operator/directory services work).

Something else that could help, that I know the City won’t want to hear, but the operators are asking too many unnecessary questions with callers during the process.

For one, they ask for the zip code. Now I know that the City wants that research so as to have a better idea of what areas are using the service, for whatever reasons. However, this increases the call time and prevents the operator from moving on more quickly and therefore handling more calls per hour. (Since the primary function of the service is effectively “broken”, there is no time for additional time-delaying processes like gathering market research that is not the purpose of service – as far as the caller is concerned.) A computer should be able to provide you with that information through a “caller id” style function. And if the info is blocked or restricted, maybe then the operator can ask IF it the information is critical, which it shouldn’t be in this case.

Another question is, “Would you like the number, or should I just connect you?” Just connect the call. The time it takes to ask the question, then read the number, only to be connected anyway; statistics might show it saves time and increases long-term efficiency, if they just call 311 next time too. (Because even if they write it down this time, doesn’t mean they will feel like looking it up, or will have it in front of them, next time.) Or, again, look to computers. Perhaps the operator can connect the caller to a computer generated operator who can read the number then automatically connect to the extension.

Could the 311 welcome message featuring the mayor, just go right into, “Please tell us where you would like to be connect to.” And then, if it was a request that couldn’t be connected through a computer generated prompt, and operator could jump on the line (with the info already on the screen, so as to not have to spend time asking the question and listening to the response from the caller). Airlines, 411 and various other similar services use this technology to improve efficiency and lower total cost.

It’s easy to measure how much you will save by making a budget cut like this. But City Hall must also realized the cost (amount of business and voters lost) by this type of “immeasurable” expense.

contact: zumadogg@gmail.com
zuma website
Make a Google alert for "Zuma Dogg" and get everything posted on all my blogs. Warning: It may be a few things a day.

Reference: W. Edwards Deming, "Out of the Crisis"

Fireworks Should Be Legal

I usually debate with the awesome Brian Humphrey on this but I have to agree with Tammy Bruce about how great it is that some places allow you to buy fireworks legally. Yea I know they're dangerous but so are a lot of things - do we have to ban it all?

One of Tammy's readers even notes a correlation between the lack of patriotism in young people and the decline in their ability to enjoy fireworks (and don't tell me about public shows - they're great but not the same thing as lighting off your own sparkling fountain, Piccolo Pete or even those messy snakes.

My dispute with the LAFD notwithstanding, I do suggest you visit their blog for some important safety issues when it comes to the Fourth of July.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Monday

Martini Republic picks up on a story about alleged dumping of homeless patients in Skid Row by Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. Of course, this is not the first time it has happened. And its not just hospitals that have imported their homeless into seedier parts of LA but local cities as well, such as Santa Clarita.

LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey has posted that the LAFD Blog will temporarily cease postings "due to staffing." The LAFD Blog is a spectacular public service. I hope that our city leaders can quickly provide the resources to Humphrey to resume posting. This is certainly more valuable than dog food settlements and other misplaced priorities.

Former Los Angeles County Sergeant Richard Valdemar who is known internationally as a gang expert tells Full Disclosure "why we are losing the war against gangs." Click here for more information.

LA City Nerd takes on yet another lame Los Angeles municipal celebration: the 225th anniversary of the founding of our city, albeit about five months late.

LA Weekly contributor Bill Bradley has been banned from being allowed to post comments on the blog Calitics. We can empathize with Bill - not only did the lefty leaning blog declare the Sister City has "jumped the shark" but has removed us from their blogroll for failing to be "progressive." It leads one to wonder if they've actually looked at some of the blogs on blogroll. We've let Bill know that he's more than welcome to post here at the Sister City. Heck, we won't even ban the Calitics guys if they want to blog away with the rest of the dum dums.

The Young Insider reports from the just concluded California Republican Convention in Sacramento. Among the highlights: Tepid applause for Governor Schwarzenegger and Presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani gets a rock star reception but delegates aren't necessarily enthused about electing him President.

Another LA New Year's Eve Dud

A large New Year's Eve street party in downtown Los Angeles was abruptly canceled tonight, prompting angry calls to the fire department, a fire spokesman said. Giant Village, billed as the "world's largest 21+ celebration,'' was to have featured the Black Eyed Peas and other music groups on six stages along Wilshire Boulevard, but late in the day it was canceled, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Organizers had met with city officials who felt that weather conditions put public safety in doubt. The city officials were certain the event would have to be cancelled once started.

A rumor spread that the fire marshall had canceled the party, and the fire department -- which had nothing to do with the cancellation -- was deluged with angry phone calls from people who drove to the area with tickets to the event, Humphrey said.

Do y'all remember the really lame millenium celebrations the City came up with in 2000? LA is just not the kind of town that is going to have one big New Year's Eve celebration, whether the city runs it or private individuals put it together at some made up, wannabe "Times Square" of the West Coast. Most LA residents don't see themselves as Angelenos unlike New Yorkers or Chicagoans or San Franciscans. They are residents of a hodge podge of neighborhoods like North Hollywood, City Terrace, Beverlywood, San Pedro or Los Feliz. Those individual little villages are reluctantly part of a larger confederation known as "El Lay" and most of the time they try to forget it.

In case you're wondering, Mayor V. spent the evening at the Union Rescue Mission's New Year's Eve party.

Perhaps local New Year's Eve celebrations could work, still, it seems as if most folks are content enough to stay home or visit friends. This evening, driving to a friend's home in the Venice-Fairfax area, traffic was amazingly light. Having dinner earlier in Santa Monica, it was a ghost town.

LA is not New York and never will be. Even LA based Dick Clark - who made a valiant effort this evening to host his annual New Year's Eve telecast following a severe stroke - has known that for thirty years. He's live in Times Square, but his Hollywood segments are taped weeks earlier on a soundstage.

Its the LA way.

Join LAFD in Remembering 9-11

LAFD News & Information posts the following (Apologies for the blatant cut and paste from their site):

Please Join Us in Remembering 9-11

In many ways, it is hard to believe that four years have passed since our nation was savagely attacked on September 11, 2001. While time moves forward, it does not in any way lessen the resolve of Firefighters who now as then pledge "WE SHALL NEVER FORGET!".

The men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department warmly welcome you and your family to stand with them in fulfilling this pledge, as they gather for a series of events on Sunday, September 11, 2005.

• Early Morning - Fire Department Museum in Hollywood


• Mid-Morning - Memorial Torch Relay in San Fernando Valley


• Late Morning - World Trade Center Memorial in Elysian Park


• Early Afternoon - Heroes Day at Dodger Stadium

Event flyers are available via the September 11 links on the LAFD Master Calendar: www.lafd.org/calendar.htm

NOTE: Our friends at LADOT want us to remind you that some streets in the City will be restricted on Sunday due to the Los Angeles Triathlon.

---

Sunday's 9-11 Memorial Events Schedule:

The day commences early Sunday morning with a gathering at the LAFD Museum and Fallen Firefighter Memorial at 1355 North Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood.

7:00AM - American Flag raising.
7:05AM - Ringing of Bell at 1005 EDT, the time of the South Tower collapsed, followed by one minute of silence.
7:06AM - Lowering of flag to half–staff.
7:07AM - Recognition of Fallen Fighters of both FDNY and LAFD.
7:28AM - Ring Bell at 1028 EDT, the time of the North Tower collapse, followed by one minute of silence.
7:29AM - Raise Flag to full staff.
7:30AM - Pledge of Allegiance.
8:00AM - LAFD Museum open – Featuring memorial room, displays and audio visual programs.
9:00AM - Museum closes for the day in loving memory of those who lost their lives.

Concurrently in North Hollywood, beginning at 8:30AM, the route and schedule of our Fallen Firefighters Memorial Torch Relay will allow us to stop briefly at 8:46AM in North Hollywood Park to pay our respects at a public 9-11 Memorial to all Californian's who perished in the attacks. Additional remembrance and recognition of fallen Los Angeles Firefighters is planned along Sunday's relay route, which ends in North Hollywood prior to noon.

The remembrance continues at 10:00AM on Sunday morning at the World Trade Center Memorial in Elysian Park, home to the west coast's largest remnant of the collapse.

Los Angeles Fire Chief William Bamattre will be joined for the hour-long public ceremony by Mayor Villaraigosa and regional elected and community leaders. This solemn yet uplifting ceremony will be followed by refreshments and a free barbecue for all in attendance.

The day's events conclude with an early afternoon ballgame: Heroes Day at Dodger Stadium, within walking distance of the WTC Memorial.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will face the San Diego Padres. Game time is 1:10PM.

The Dodgers have graciously invited local fire and police department members, as well as military and medical service men and women, to the game. We encourage you to arrive early to enjoy a truly stirring pregame ceremony, which will include two flyovers; one by Los Angeles Fire Department helicopters offering a tri-color aerial water salute, and the other featuring some of our personal heroes... US Naval aviators.

Those who have not yet purchased tickets for the game through LAFD advanced sales may contact the Dodger Ticket office toll-free at (866)DODGERS (866-363-4377).

We truly hope that you and your family can join us for one or all of these events. If that is not possible, we kindly ask you to take time for quiet personal reflection in remembrance of all who were killed in New York, Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia on September 11, 2001.

Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department