Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Friday

Martinez, Huizar: Photo by LA Downtown News

The LA Weekly profiles CD 14 candidate Rudy Martinez - who is scaring some of LA's power brokers - and we learn a few interesting things.  Martinez is pissing off diva incumbent Jose Huizar.  Huizar campaign manager - fresh off the Janice Hahn and Measure B victories - Mike Trujillo doesn't know Martinez is Latino.  And apparently Huizar doesn't tip waitresses.  Should be fun!

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Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Monday

Because you asked for it, the Hotsheet now publishes two hours earlier every day, at midnight.

Austin Beutner, Felipe Fuentes and the Mayor are trying to pull a big scam on you and you need to act now.  AB 2531 is another one of those "LA only" bills that would allow the City's Community Redevelopment Agency to spend money outside its boundaries.  So far example funds from the Pacoima Redevelopment Project could be spent for mega-development in Sunland-Tujunga, Shadow Hills and Lakeview Terrace.  The only hope that this shady bill doesn't become law is if Governor Schwarzenegger vetoes the bill. For more, go to Ron Kaye's blog.

The City of LA wants to offer tax credits to businesses that create new jobs.  That's a good start but why not just totally junk LA's business tax nightmare and watch a renaissance happen?

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Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Thursday

Department of Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks isn't the only city department head in trouble.  BongHwan Kim, the General Manager of the City's Department of Neighborhood Services - the department that oversees the City's system of Neighborhood Councils - is facing a complaint from the union that represents DONE's workers.  Among other things, the complaint alleges Kim demoted a staffer for taking complaints to the union.  You may remember that before Kim was given the GM job, we reported on a DONE management report that many of the department's staffers found Kim to be unqualified to take the position.

In the hub-bub of the Presidential campaign, hopefully you have not missed some excellent reporting by Petrafried in the City with respect to important issues around Griffith Park, the most recent of those can be found here. Most notably, some bizarre ideas coming out of Council Member Tom LaBonge.

In case you missed it last night, rumors abound that soon to be termed out Assemblyman Lloyd Levine may be replacing controversial Department of Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks.  Stay tuned.

Much has been said about the high class junket that executives of bailed-out financial firm AIG took to the tune of nearly $400,000.  However one blogger tries to make the case that there's no connection to the bailout as the junket was undertaking by the insurance side of the house, which is not involved in the current mess.  Hmmm, not sure most folks will get the distinction, still a poor choice by those execs.

We report a lot of bad news about LA so here's something good: The American Planning Association has chosen Echo Park as one of the great neighborhoods in America.  By the way, according to CurbedLA, Echo Park Lake is stocked with trout and catfish at different periods of the year and, apparently, bass breed freely in the lake.  So take your kids fishing and have a ball.

Don't forget Zuma Dogg's event Friday night at Casa Princesa Cafe in Highland Park.  Karaoke, voter registration, public comment, karaoke, the $5 Gift Store and, of course, Zuma Dogg will be there.  Who knows, maybe the old, dead Republican Mayor himself will make a cameo.

Illegal Vending in Echo Park

This video is a few months old but incredible nonetheless. While the full weight of Los Angeles Police force is brought out to stop the Shaw Family from collecting signatures and giving out free hot dogs in Leimert Park, illegal vending continues for blocks in Echo Park, turning the local landmark into one continuous swap meet - with nary a Recreation and Parks nor LAPD officer in sight.

Now before someone says here you go again beating up on the Mexicans. It has nothing to do with race. I wouldn't care if it was a group of Slovokians, Thais and Belgians in the park selling used plumbing supplies on the grass. The question is where is the equal application of the law?

Open Thread outta Echo Park

JM, Downbeat Blue, 12.18.07

You guys are way too bored in the rain. Talk to us.

Wednesday Hotsheet at 3 a.m.

JM, Reservoir Street, Echo Park, 12.4.07

Surf's Up. Way up, says the Daily News. Epic. But the Lowriders at MayorSam demand equal time.

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Thieves steal copper from the City; it translates into a million dollar loss and also streetlight outages. "Among the hardest hit areas are Boyle Heights, the east San Fernando Valley and Wilmington, as well as a three-mile stretch of the Los Angeles River Bike Path between Los Feliz Boulevard and the L.A. Zoo."

Public Works Commish Cynthia Ruiz's attitude is that the problem is with the thieves, which of course it is, but not so much with the City securing the boxes or managing its assets better. "If I had an extra million dollars I could put 10 graffiti crews on the streets." We weren't aware that a Commisioner could act on her own to spend an "extra" million in a way she personally deemed fit.

Copper prices climbed in the summer, increasing the appeal of pinching copper wire.

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Council District 13 and No2HomeDepot.com have announced that Agent Orange has indeed backed off of the Glassell Park site for good. The language of the CD letter was surprisingly rosy, expressing unrestrained delight with the outcome and confidence that a good, more neighborhoody development would be found for the site. The Sunland Tujunga site on Foothill, however, still features a bashful "coming soon" sign.

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His Eminence didn't report a crime (don't go there), but the LAPD is investigating the summer assault on him anyway, just in case the Cardinal is, you know, lying. But it's Asst. Commanding Officer Andrew Smith's quote that doesn't quite ring true: "Whether it's the cardinal or a homeless guy, we take it personal when someone does something to one of our folks downtown."

It would be nice if the fishwraps also covered Mahony's Christmas Day mass at County Jail some year---he's only given up eightteen or so Christmas mornings now to celebrate mass with our most dispossessed of all.

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Southern rapper Pimp C ends up dead at the Mondrian. It could be natural causes. He was 33. He had played House of Blues Dec. 1.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Friday

Well known Silver Lake activist Jason Lyon was booted from the local neighborhood council when city arbiter Michael de la Rocha ruled that Lyon had allegedly violated election rules by using a neighborhood council email list to campaign for office. At the same time the arbiter strongly urged DONE to develop stricter rules around the use and maintenance of such lists.

The next time you hear a politician saying we need money for government services and we need to raise taxes, remember this bit of news: A county agency spent $1.2 million on printer toner in one month - enough toner to last for four years, except the toner only has a shelf life of two.

Here's the latest on the Coliseum-USC battle: 1) The Mayor throws the Coliseum under the bus, 2) The LA Times is worried the stadium will become a relic and 3) County Supervisor Don Knabe may be worried he's not going to get free SC home games tix anymore.

Some goofy liberals think that building major housing developments without parking will get people to ride buses. Other goofy liberals think that same plan is part of some conspiracy to make driving and parking only for the rich.

Skid Row has been a seething urine-soaked cesspool for decades. Now, artists, developers and others are coming in to clean up the place and make it livable. For some reason that's considered evil. What's really evil is that the homeless - of whom 90% are mentally ill and in need of institutionalization - are allowed to be homeless and are enabled in their socially and personally destructive behaivors by the liberal elites in this city.

Fresh off his street sweeping performance, Clown Prince of the City Clowncil Tom LeBong is the latest elected after your wallet. Once content with only putting lights on statues in dangerous parks, LeBong wants a parcel tax for transit.

Thanks to the amazing efforts of several companies of Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters, a building in the Fashion District was save major damage when hit by a recent blaze.

Once again in the news, Rodney King was apparently shot in the face with some type of gun in San Bernardino. King's injuries were minor and he was sent home following treatment.

CurbedLA wonders if the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown LA is cool or not. As a kid when the hotel was new, I remember getting a big kick out of riding the vacuum tube looking glass elevators than run on the outside of the building.

We cried foul when Tom LeBong got the City to pony up a few hundred grand for the Hollywood Santa Parade at the same time funding was cut for the pedal boats at MacArthur and Echo Parks, something enjoyed by low-income families. A Christmas Miracle has happened because once again the City figured how to bring the boats back.

No, it has nothing to do with his recent breakup with his soncha, but Mayor Villraigosa is getting an AIDS test. Yea, its another photo op but maybe it will do some good to encourage testing. Though I can't imagine too many people are sitting around saying "Well I should have an AIDS test but I wasn't going to hassle with it. But I'm going to get one now that Mayor Villaraigosa got one!"

Friday Hotsheet, Open 4 a.m.

Photo: JM, Yellow Submarine, Echo Park , 11.20.07

What's the big deal about opening at 4 a.m.? I've been up at that hour for years.

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I keep wondering what's going to happen to Angelino Heights once they open up those streets they're currently laying down. That community is yuppie or worse at the top of the hill and tenement or worse at the bottom. And with traffic coming out of downtown what it is, you have to think that it's going to occur to more than one commuter to take a shortcut across those newly-connected old streets once they open up.

Calling Cap'n Jack: Still, the neighborhood's not without its enticements---the other day walking on Patton I saw what appeared to be a wrapped-up yellow submarine (above). Maybe Captain Jack Sparrow can tell us what gives here.

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I overheard the other night that Richard Meruelo wants to develop a 12-storey condo tower in Boyle Heights someplace near the coming Metro stop. With the eminent domain decision on Taylor Yard going against him, it wasn't a good week for the Meruelo hegemony. So good luck with that, and let us know how it works out for you.

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I'm admiring the Daily News local news coverage more all the time---and it started off high---but they should continue to question every single line of email that is sent to them by a City publicist/Council office. Or do they really think that 250,000 people are going to watch the Hollywood Santa Parade? Here's what 250,000 people in LA look like, and you just aren't going to see that in Hollywood.

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Oh, and here's an idea I heard: Alan Mittlestaedt for Daily News City editor. How does that work for you? I think he's too libertarian (and not moderate Republican enough) for general Valley tastes, but...read his 10 questions for Ace Smith if you doubt he's up to it.

City to MacArthur and Echo Parks: Drop Dead

Our fiscally challenged City government - which according to the Clowncil and the Mayor is facing the worse financial crisis since the days of Mayor Abe Beame in New York City - has created another victim of the budget axe. Poor and mostly immigrant families will no longer be able to enjoy the paddleboats at Echo and MacArthur Parks.

The LA Weekly has all the sordid details.

At the same time however the Clowncil has miraculously found the resources to produce the money losing and interest waning Hollywood Christmas Parade.

How could this be? Apparently the Parks Department just doesn't want to spend the $150K annual cost to run the boats at both parks.

However the City will apparently fork over to Tom LaBonge pal and event promoter Bill Lomas the nearly $200,000 it will cost to produce a two hour parade. And remember - our creative leaders have figured out how to do this in the midst of a severe money crunch.

But its just not in the City's priority to fund a simple program that gives much to an area that doesn't have a lot - and could very well be defined as one of the elements that has cut the crime rate in the parks and made life a little more livable.

On the other hand we can certainly use scarce tax dollars for a two hour ego masturbation exercise where the Mayor, LaBonge and all the Clowncil people can ride in fancy old cars, wave to people who don't know who they are - while at the same time providing lots of free hype for the major developments their contributors have built in Hollywood.

Far more important than spending less than $500 a day to help two communities have a little something nice.

Council Members, you should be ashamed.