Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Wednesday

Former LA Department of Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks is up for a new job as the head of a Tacoma, Washington based animal welfare agency.  You may remember Boks was a key figure in a sexual harrassment lawsuit against the City that saw a $130,000 settlement.  Though cutting  a controversial swath during his time in LA, Boks has many supporters who view the settlement as frivolous and cheered his role in the City.

LAist thinks that the City's buses could be less crowded and more pleasurable if the MTA were to follow the lead of the City of Honolulu.  The island municipality recently passed a law that provides for a $500 fine and/or up to six months in jail if you ride the bus with bad body odor.

LA's Metro trains are taking a cue from the East Coast.  For the first time in the nearly 20 year history of the system the MTA has adopted turnstiles at stations posts Militant Angeleno.  No tokens but fancy shcmancy electronic debit cards get you in.

Latinopoliticsblog.com posits that NBC's hiring of Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter and granddaughter of former Presidents, has more to do with family and privilege than ability. Most likely but this is nothing new.  Media outlets have hired other political progeny ranging from Eleanor Mondale to Maria Shriver to Ron Reagan to Meghan McCain.

Forget Obama! Antonio Villaraigosa has his own health care plan!  In the meantime a blogger calls the Mayor an "asshole" and it wasn't me.  Blogger Josh Haden hits Villaraigosa on the recent move by LAUSD to turn a portion of schools over to private operators and accuses the Mayor of selling these schools to the highest bidder.

LA has "reformed" it's special event fee waiver program that has garnered much criticism.  However the reforms came under fire of Council Members Richard Alarcon and Paul Koretz who felt that - while big bucks events like the Oscars and Grammys will still get a City subsidy - many smaller community based events will be forced to be cancelled as fees go up.

Bong lickin' good. A medical marijuana shop has opened up in a former Kentucky Friend Chicken in Palms.

Video Louis has put up a countdown clock for the CD2 election over at the Downtown NoHo Blog.  Only 20 more days!

An ass has shown up to the County Board of Supervisors.  No it wasn't one of the five Supes.  Gidget a 29" inch high miniature donkey visited the board for an eloborate ceremony to kick off the LA County Fair.  And you thought Tom LeBong was funny!

Boks Resigns After NY Ruling Surfaces

Zach B at LAist.com called it first. (well, maybe second. Or third.) Poor Ed Boks has finally given up the ghost. The General Manager of the Department of Animal Services resigned today, effective July 1.


Boks has been under fire almost the entire time he was GM of LA's Animal Services department, and not without good reason. Remember "Hooters for Neuters"? Or the ever-popular pit-bull academy run by gang bangers and ex-cons? How about his questionable Match.Com entries?

Besides these gems, Boks dodged another bullet in February. The City Council had a vote of "no confidence" in front of them that they didn't act on when word got out that it was SEIU who was really after Boks. (Still wondering what exactly set this feeding frenzy off.)

However, Boks couldn't dodge all the shots. According to an article yesterday on Indy Bay, (moved - here's the new link) last month Boks was formally found guilty of racial discrimination at his job with New York City Animal Care and Control prior to being hired by Villaraigosa as LA Animal Services GM.

Adios, Ed.



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Additional: one commenter said this:

"The councilmembers and employees saw the article yesterday and demanded that Boks be gone immediately. Boks was trying to get a golden handshake. He ended up getting $30,000 to leave. That is two months of salary plus vacations and medical leave.

Boks resignation letter to councilmembers and the Mayor stated he had a "medical condition." His letter to employees stated he was leaving because he'd done "such a great job!" It's all bullshit. It was either resign or be fired and get nothing."

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Additional: here's the pertinent portion of the text from yesterday's Indy Bay article which seems to have conveniently disappeared in the last few hours:

In an opinion and order dated March 27, 2009 Judge Wood stated that "Viewing the available evidence as a whole, the Court finds that a reasonable jury could conclude that Defendants terminated Plaintiff because of his race." Since the judge's ruling, the City of New York has decided to settle with the plaintiff Wesley Artope. The exact amount is unknown at this time.

November 1, 2005 Wesley Artope filed a lawsuit against Ed Boks and New York City Animal Care and Control for racial discrimination and unlawful termination. African American Artope claimed that he was fired so that Boks could hire a personal friend, Richard Gentles who was white and had no experience. On top of this Gentles had recently been fired from the Parks and Recreation Department after being arrested and charged with a felony work-related crime.

To make things even more awkward Gentles was a friend of the woman Boks was "seeing" who sat on the board that over saw his Department. As per the lawsuit Artope had been with the Department for many years and was better qualified than his replacement. "Plaintiff was promoted regularly to positions of increasing responsibility. Plaintiff has an Associates Degree in Veterinary Technology and a Bachelors Degree in Psychology. Plaintiff also has licenses and certifications as a veterinary technician, animal handler, and animal rehabilitator, and work experience in animal training, handling, and treatment." Gentles who replaced him on the other hand had no animal-related experience at all. In deposition Gentles admits that his “only experience with veterinary personnel was when he took his pets to the veterinarian.”

Boks initially told Artope that he was fired for "budgetary and restructuring reasons." After Artope filed suit Boks changed his story and stated he was fired because of "poor performance." Oddly enough Artope had never been told his performance was lacking. In fact he was told his performance was "great." The Judge did not believe Boks' claim that he fired him because of poor performance. Boks tried to make the case that he did not discriminate based on race because he also fired two white people and demoted another. The records show that he only demoted one white person. Boks also failed to state that the white person was offered to be demoted instead of fired, and they accepted. Boks did not make this same offer to Artope. The Judge did not believe Boks' argument. Artope claimed that when he was fired he was not given the chance to apply for the new position which replaced his. In fact Boks gave the job to his friend Gentles without making it available to anyone which is against City policy.

Boks had no explanation for this action at all. A source close to Boks said Boks gave them this explanation for why he fired Artope and hired his friend Gentles. Boks stated that Artope was "just a lazy black employee." He wanted to fire him but couldn't because of the union. He decided to get rid of his position, then recreate his position with a new title. He wanted his personal friend to have the job because he was "like-minded" and needed a job.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Friday.

What's one way to help the City raise desperately needed cash without raising taxes? Sell the LA Zoo and the LA Convention Center. Who was the local elected official who said "Why do we have to own a zoo?" Give up? Mayor Villaraigosa suggested such during a conversation with the LA Business Journal (via Reason) that privatizing the Zoo and Convention Center might be the way to go. 

Snappy repartee between the City Council and LA Departmen of Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks. Following criticism over his decision to cut the City's low income pet onwer spay/neuter program over Department budget woes Boks responded, "This was a crisis situation. When the Titanic is sinking, you go and plug the holes first." To wit Council Member Richard Alarcon offered this smart rejoinder, "I wouldn't heed the advice of the captain of the Titanic any more than I trust Ed Boks in this regard."


The campaign of City Attorney Candidate Carmen Trutanich has released a statement saying that both Trutanich and City Council Member Jack Weiss are in a dead heat with 35 percent of the vote each and 30 percent undecided in a recent poll. The Trutanich campaign also says that Weiss appears to have alienated his own political base, "Twice as many voters in Council District 5 rate Weiss unfavorably as favorably (34 percent to 15 percent, respectively)."

San Francisco Mayor and Gubenatorial candidate Gavin Newsom in LA to take Antonio's cameras, microphones, and most importantly money.  Newsom is also by far beating Antonio in the Twitter wars with nearly 92,000 followers compared to Antonios's 900.  And as Joe Mailander noted Antonio's Twitter page has that "not so fresh" feeling when compared to Newsom's.

Spay and Neuter Program Out of Funds for Low Income Pet Owners

Last year the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance mandating the spaying and neutering of all dogs and cats in Los Angeles.  Part of the measure included the promise of vouchers for low income pet owners to get their animals fixed in order to comply with the law.

However now it appears that the program a victim of the current budget crunch, according to a statement released last week by Los Angeles Animal Services.  No more vouchers will be distributed until the Department is sure of it's funding.

We have been told that at the next City Council meeting Council Member Dennis Zine will ask that the funding be restored.  However, the Council is on recess next week so it will be several days before the low-income vouchers can be restored, if at all.  Some are saying that considering the funding loss for the vouchers the law should be repealed. However, at the time the law was passed  Department head Ed Boks was unclear as to how it would even be enforced.

Daily News: Where was Boks during the fire crisis?

http://www.dailynews.com/editorial/ci_10770787

By Phyllis M. Daugherty

Los Angeles Daily News
10/20/2008

When fires ripped through the San Fernando Valley last week, killing every living thing that could not escape, many of us cuddled our own pets a little closer, realizing that many out there might not see their owners again.

While police, sheriff's and fire agencies bravely fought for lives and property, Los Angeles city and county animal-control employees patrolled fire lines, inspected evacuated areas, and maneuvered through debris, smoke and cinders to save terrified animals. And they did save every one they could.

Horses whose owners could not cross the fire lines found them at the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center, thanks to coordinated efforts of animal-control officers and dozens of skilled volunteer equine rescuers.

A frantic woman who had to load invalid parents and a wheelchair into her car as flames rushed down her street found her singed kitty medically treated and comforted by the veterinary staff and animal-care technicians at the Northeast Valley shelter. An aged German shepherd temporarily left at the shelter was kept safe until she and her owner could return home. Dozens of others were picked up by their owners after the fire, and some are still waiting - hoping they are not forgotten.

Veteran animal-control supervisors and field officers manned the command center around the clock, dispatching mobile units while experienced shelter managers worked with employees to tend the special needs of injured and frantic pets and wildlife - a demonstration of the dedication and expertise of Los Angeles' animal-control professionals at all levels.

Most of the L.A. Animal Services' employees and supervisors involved in the fire-rescue effort are among those who recently signed a "no-confidence" petition regarding the lack of management ability of their newest general manager, Ed Boks. Boks retorted in an Oct. 6 letter to Councilman Dennis Zine that he is a "change agent" and referred to employees caustically as "veterans who were comfortable with their jobs as they existed before I arrived."

Speaking of arrival, where was Ed Boks throughout the inferno last week? Although one of his new executive staff members came to observe the performance of the seasoned officers, Boks - who rivals the mayor for photo ops and media events - was conspicuous by his absence and silence. The L.A. Animal Services Web site was devoid of a message from the general manager commending his troops and their county counterparts for their selfless and brave work. Did Ed miss that much of Los Angeles was in a state of disaster and that his employees were heroes?

It took tremendous courage and desperation for more than 50 percent of city Animal Services employees to publicly discuss the crumbling internal structure of their department. And city officials and residents should listen and act immediately to consider the following list of problems:

1) There is no policies-and-procedures manual for daily field and shelter operations.

2) There is no emergency-preparedness plan for a major disaster, including food and water provisions for shelter animals.

3) The department's formal employee-training unit has been disbanded.

4) There is no defined behavior-assessment process to assess animal temperament for the safety of employees and prospective adopters.

5) No instructions, plans or policies exist for the myriad new "programs" that Boks institutes in the shelters.

6) After a costly one-year "study," the city still doesn't have an effective dog-licensing plan.

7) The shelters are dangerously overcrowded because of Boks' obsessive mania to call Los Angeles "no kill" regardless of the horrific conditions it creates for animals and employees and the unnecessary suffering it imposes on impounded pets.

Phyllis M. Daugherty is director of Animal Issues Movement in Los Angeles. Readers can contact her via e-mail at animalissu@aol.com.

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.

Boks Out, Levine In?

What happens when your dad tries to buy you a State Senate seat but you wind up losing to a beloved liberal kook? Perhaps your dad buys you a job as a department manager with the City of Los Angeles.

HaikuLA has been covering extensively the general upset and disapproval of just about everyone in city of Los Angeles Department of Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks. Its probably to safe to say Boks' days on the job are numbered. So if Ed is about to hear "You're fired!" who gets the job?

This evening a very reliable inside source tell us it's none other than termed out Assemblyman and failed State Senate candidate Lloyd Levine. Levine's father is the influential rainmaker and political consultant Larry Levine. Is it possible that the elder Levine has made a deal to get a job for his soon to be unemployed son? We may soon find out.

UPDATE: Blogs Chime In ("Villaraigosa backed into corner")

GOING, GOING...Part II
http://www.laanimalwatch.blogspot.com/

EMPLOYEES BLAST BOKS
http://www.animalsheltersdirectory.com/

Strong-arming the City Council backs Villaraigosa into a Corner

Did Mayor Villaraigosa try to strong-arm Councilmembers Tony Cardenas, Bernard Parks and Dennis Zine into not holding a meeting of hundreds of city employees and animal rescuers last night?

You betcha, but did it work? No sir!

According to those in attendance, nearly 200 people composed of animal shelter employees, union officials, rescuers, and media attended the special evening Personnel Committee meeting at Van Nuys City Hall to demand the termination of Edwin M. Boks, the Animal Services general manager and Linda Barth, his hand-picked assistant general manager.

Villaraigosa’s office also ordered Boks’ Animal Services commissioners to not attend the event, although two (Archibald J. Quincey and president Glen Brown) disregarded those directives.The Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News have stories about this today, but both missed the most shocking testimony of the evening, which was confirmed by several people in attendance.

Former chief veterinarian of the Department of Animal Services, Kathy Rainey, said Mr. Boks ordered her to “conduct certain veterinary practices with infectious diseases without regard for public safety, including allowing public access to a rabies isolation area, even though such jurisdiction is a county function once rabies is diagnosed."

Mr. Boks, she said, told her that the worst that could happen is that she would receive "just a slap on the wrist and that the California Veterinary Board should not be in our business."

The vet also said that Mr. Boks allowed other medical decisions to be made by another Assistant GM, even though she has no background in veterinary medicine, causing six other veterinarians to leave the city to practice elsewhere.After detailing other shocking behavior from Mr. Boks and/or Ms. Barth, Dr. Rainey said that as a public health official, she resigned because if she acted as Mr. Boks directed her to, the California Veterinary Board could have revoked her license.

The veterinarian advised that if such practices were ever reported to the state, and proven to be true, it could cost the city its own state license to run animal shelters.

A 29 year department employee, Kathy Mooney, said she is retiring early due to Mr. Boks' intimidation, said she felt like she is "hanging herself" by coming to the meeting, told how in her job as the keeper-of-department-kill-statistics, Mr. Boks creates ever-vaguer statistics so that Mr. Boks can make false claims that the city is "95% No Kill," even though it kills tens of thousands of animals per year.Victor Gordo, a union representative, told of the threats, intimidation and unfair labor practices employed by Mr. Boks and Ms. Barth.

Mr. Brown (the Animal Services commission president) publicly denied that these wide-scale employee concerns were ever brought to the commission’s attention. That could be because Mr. Brown appears to have missed at least 10 commission meetings during his two year tenure. (Mr. Brown's claim were publicly disputed by Maria Atake, another former commissioner who told about her experiences with Mr. Boks. She said that the commission is a "rubber stamp for Ed Bok.")

Other problems addressed include a complete lack of training, policies & procedures, and emergency preparedness.

At one point, Dennis Zine asked, "Is there anyone in the room who has anything positive to say about Mr. Boks or Ms. Barth?" Only one employee got up, but it was to say, "Yes, they have united everyone in this room against them!"

The meeting ran so long that, after a full 4 hours of testimony, the Councilmembers still had dozens of speaker cards that had yet to be called, so the Council members told the crowd that the meeting would be reconvened within a few days.

Going back to the original point: Why did Mayor Villaraigosa try to strong-arm the City Councilmembers into not having the meeting? In a word: embarrassment. For years, the Mayor has stayed with Mr. Boks because, to admit that he made yet another hiring mistake would be to arm future political opponents with proof of Villaraigosa’s incompetence.

But now, with numerous TV and video cameras recording last night’s meeting, the Mayor can no longer claim he didn’t know.All the Mayor can do is try to strong-arm the City Council, again, which, this time, it appears won’t be enough.The Mayor is meeting on Thursday with Union officials to discuss the future of Mr. Boks’ and Ms. Barth's employment with the city.
~~~~~
Paul Harvey says there’s “the other side of the story.” There is a money trail to someone who has been influencing the mayor to keep Mr. Boks. If anyone has more information about this, please write to us. Be prepared to help us name names.

Strong-arming the City Council backs Villaraigosa into a Corner

Did Mayor Villaraigosa try to strong-arm Councilmembers Tony Cardenas, Bernard Parks and Dennis Zine into not holding a meeting of hundreds of city employees and animal rescuers last night?

You betcha.

Did it work? No sir!

According to those in attendance, nearly 200 people composed of animal shelter employees, union officials, rescuers, and media attended the special evening Personnel Committee meeting at Van Nuys City Hall to demand the termination of Edwin M. Boks, the Animal Services general manager and Linda Barth, his hand-picked assistant general manager.

Villaraigosa’s office also ordered Boks’ Animal Services commissioners to not attend the event, although two (Archibald J. Quincey and president Glen Brown) disregarded those directives.

The Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News have stories about this today, but both missed the most shocking testimony of the evening, which was confirmed by several people in attendance.

Former chief veterinarian of the Department of Animal Services, Kathy Rainey, said Mr. Boks ordered her to “conduct certain veterinary practices with infectious diseases without regard for public safety, including allowing public access to a rabies isolation area, even though such jurisdiction is a county function once rabies is diagnosed."

Mr. Boks, she said, told her that the worst that could happen is that she would receive "just a slap on the wrist and that the California Veterinary Board should not be in our business."

The vet also said that Mr. Boks allowed other medical decisions to be made by another Assistant GM, even though she has no background in veterinary medicine, causing six other veterinarians to leave the city to practice elsewhere.

After detailing other shocking behavior from Mr. Boks and/or Ms. Barth, Dr. Rainey said that as a public health official, she resigned because if she acted as Mr. Boks directed her to, the California Veterinary Board could have revoked her license.

The veterinarian advised that if such practices were ever reported to the state, and proven to be true, it could cost the city its own state license to run animal shelters.

A 29 year department employee, Kathy Mooney, said she is retiring early due to Mr. Boks' intimidation, said she felt like she is "hanging herself" by coming to the meeting, told how in her job as the keeper-of-department-kill-statistics, Mr. Boks creates ever-vaguer statistics so that Mr. Boks can make false claims that the city is "95% No Kill," even though it kills tens of thousands of animals per year.

Victor Gordo, a union representative, told of the threats, intimidation and unfair labor practices employed by Mr. Boks and Ms. Barth.

Mr. Brown (the Animal Services commission president) publicly denied that these wide-scale employee concerns were ever brought to the commission’s attention. That could be because Mr. Brown appears to have missed at least 10 commission meetings during his two year tenure. (Mr. Brown's claim were publicly disputed by Maria Atake, another former commissioner who told about her experiences with Mr. Boks. She said that the commission is a "rubber stamp for Ed Bok.")

Other problems addressed include a complete lack of training, policies & procedures, and emergency preparedness.

At one point, Dennis Zine asked, "Is there anyone in the room who has anything positive to say about Mr. Boks or Ms. Barth?" Only one employee got up, but it was to say, "Yes, they have united everyone in this room against them!"

The meeting ran so long that, after a full 4 hours of testimony, the Councilmembers still had dozens of speaker cards that had yet to be called, so the Council members told the crowd that the meeting would be reconvened within a few days.

Going back to the original point: Why did Mayor Villaraigosa try to strong-arm the City Councilmembers into not having the meeting?

That answer is embarrassment. For years, the Mayor has stayed with Mr. Boks because, to admit that he made yet another hiring mistake would be to arm future political opponents with proof of Villaraigosa’s incompetence. But now, with numerous TV and video cameras recording last night’s meeting, the Mayor can no longer claim he didn’t know.

All the Mayor can do is try to strong-arm the City Council, again, which, this time, it appears won’t be enough.

The Mayor is meeting on Thursday with Union officials to discuss the future of Mr. Boks’ and Ms. Barth's employment with the city.

~~~~~

As Paul Harvey says, then there’s “the other side of the story.” There is a money trail to someone who has been influencing the mayor to keep Mr. Boks. If anyone has more information about this, please write to us. Be prepared to help us name names.

Boks’, Barth’s Last Stand at City Hall?

Go back 123 years ago this week, and you'll find that General George Custer was buried at West Point (That's Custer with his dog in the photo to the right)

In Los Angeles, on Tuesday, there will be a special evening meeting in Van Nuys City Hall of the City Council’s Personnel Committee to determine whether the Committee will ask Mayor Villaraigosa to terminate Edwin M. Boks and Linda Barth, the General Manager and Assistant General Manager, respectively, of the Los Angeles Animal Services department.

Judging by the nearly 100 city shelter employees, volunteers, animal rescuers and union leaders who recently appeared at City Council to demand that Boks & Barth be terminated, it looks like this will be Boks' and Barth's last stand.

Ironically, a few hours before this special meeting, Mayor Villaraigosa will hold a hastily arranged, and obviously pandering, press conference about neuter~spay, one of Boks’ and Barth’s greatest failings.

The invitation reads, “Mayoral Press Conference this Tuesday at 9 a.m. at City Hall. Come participate in this celebration of the new ordinance, which recently became enforceable October 1st. The Mayor will be there as will the entire City Council, featuring as well as expressing our appreciation to the law's co-authors CM Richard Alarcon and CM Tony Cardenas.”

Haikula is confused. Didn’t Mr. Boks say last week that Mr. Boks would not be enforcing the law? And didn't Bill Rosendahl say that if Mr. Boks had a handle on licensing, which he says he does not, the funding would be plentiful? Or is this yet another pandering press conference, where cameras count, and killing doesn’t?

Will Mr. Boks receive false praise just hours before the hammer falls on him and Ms. Barth? Or will the croissants, coffee and orange juice put everyone in too good a mood for terminations later in the day?

According to public records, Mr. Boks has a high school diploma and earns more than $170,000 per year.

If anyone attends these events, please let us know what happens.

(Special thanks to Binkie and Mr. Frog for helping us with this report!)

UPDATED "No Balls" has "No Teeth"

This morning's post is from a Mayor Sam reader and animal
shelter volunteer who is frustrated that the city has a neuter-spay ordinance going in to effect today, but who says that there is no tangible, clear plan to make its intended benefits a reality.

An email just received from the same party clarifies that the person supports the law, but without some "teeth" and a strategy for licensing, feels it is nothing more than a feelgood measure. Haikula agrees, and reiterates that if people have information on such services in SoCal, post it here and we will organize and share it. Mr. Ed Boks, the shelter general manager, has not responded to numerous requests for information.

From a reader:

Vanity. That is what the city's new spay-neuter ordinance is, as it comes into effect today. It is a law made for show only.

"We have no plan to go door to door to enforce the spay-neuter law." Those are the defeatist words from Edwin M. Boks, the general manager of the Los Angeles Animal Services shelter.

There is also no plan to get licensing under control, and provide massive on-demand spay-neuter and the shelters are packed with animals with no vigorous city plan to find homes for them.

The boardwalk at Venice Beach, South Los Angeles and Tujunga would be great places to start licensing and spay-neuter enforcement, but Mr. Boks has no formal plan per usual.

Could you let people know that next week's Personnel Committee meeting has a special evening starting time so that shelter employees and rescuers can take the next step in their request to get the general manager that Mayor Villaraigosa promised us, but failed to deliver.

Please do not post my name because I am a shelter volunteer, and Mr. Boks has already made an effort to intimidate us.

~~~~~

You said it well enough! The Personnel Committee meeting is going to take place some time next week in Van Nuys City Hall. If anyone knows the time, please post the link to the agenda here and we will re-post it in advance of the meeting.

If any readers can provide links to spay-neuter resources from the city or elsewhere in SoCal, please post them here and we will gather and re-post on a regular basis.

Here is some Van Nuys trivia that will bore everyone except Tom LaBonge.

1. 1872 Isaac Van Nuys builds first wood-frame house in Valley.
   
2. 1914 — Universal City opens as a studio-cum-town. Floods inundate Van Nuys and cut off Valley from Los Angeles.


3. 1966 — Busch Gardens amusement park opens in Van Nuys.


4. 1970 —Women join assembly line at Van Nuys GM plant. Bethlehem Star Parade ends due to waning interest.

A parade ending due to waning interest?

Can anyone say Hollywood Christmas Parade?

Sizzling Tuesday Hotsheet

Mayor Sam gave Haikula a $5 raise and the keys to the morning Hotsheet. It’s my world. It’s a good world. Come join me.

On this day in 1952, Richard M. Nixon delivered his “Checkers” speech. It reads a lot like modern day Los Angeles City Council.

Speaking of dogs with the same middle initial, Edward M. Boks, the curious $181,000 per year general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services, had to turn-tail and go away empty-handed after showing up at the Van Nuys shelter and demanding a meeting with shelter employees just 48 hours after City Council warned him about retaliation for their demanding his termination. The matter was referred to union officials and certain City Hall suites. But when a general manager isn't able to get a meeting with Department employees, it's over. Look for the City Council's Personnel Committee to come up with a termination recommendation for Mr. Boks and his assistant gm, Linda Barth, who has seen more than her fair share of legal & ethics trouble in other departments. (More information on that as it comes in)

Speaking of retaliation lawsuits, the LAPD ain’t got nothing on the LAFD and Tennie Pierce. A former cop was just awarded millions in this recent verdict. Maybe the Department of Water & Power rates will go up again in order to pay the award and legal fees.

Fortunately, the DWP is still on the L.A. Daily News' editorial radar. It has a knockout editorial on the never-ending fat at DWP. “A very real dark comedy being played out in Los Angeles City Hall, where elected officials are more interested in fleecing residents for more money than adapting their own spending to reflect the true state of the local and national economy.”

No matter where you stand on the presidential candidates, you will enjoy reading Republican commentator Andrea Tantaros' provocative article about how celebrities can best help Barack Obama: shutting up.

Renowned writer Dominick Dunne fell ill yesterday at O.J. Simpson’s criminal trial in Las Vegas. He says he is fine. However, that brings to mind the infamous Celebrity Death Pool.

KNBC channel 4 pre-empted "The Conan O'Brien Show" last night because of a scene in which they were smashing items together. News anchor Colleen Williams came on TV and said that they were interrupting the show's reference due to LA's recent Metrolink/Union Pacific accident. Come on, really?

If you are still having difficulty figuring out who to vote for, consider this:

Finally, a thought for the day: If pro and con are opposites, wouldn't the opposite of progress be Congress?

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Wednesday

Villaraigosa political operative Ace Smith (who I was once accused of being by the way) is taking over the campaign to gain passage of the half percent Westside transit tax scam favored by the Mayor. We'll say it over and over again, you can't build enough trains to solve the problems in LA let alone the Westside and this is a massive pork laden boondoggle. As most of the County is opposed to this measure they'll pay for and won't benefit from, Smith will have his work cut out for him. And he's further sunk should Governor Schwarzenegger place his one own one percent sales tax on the ballot.

Workers at Los Angeles' animal shelters packed Tuesday's City Council meeting to demand the firing of Department of Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks. Among other issues, the employees said the City's shelters are overcrowded and that animals do not receive proper food or medical attention. City Councilman Dennis Zine said he would schedule a hearing on the issue in his Personnel Committee. In the meantime, there is one example of how the private sector could do a far better job of running animal shelters than the City.

Los Angeles-based publisher Rich Perelman is leading the battle Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks' plan to criminalize smoking in Los Angeles. Perelman says "If Councilman Parks has his way, (LAPD) officers will be able to cite you, or even arrest you, for using a legal product: tobacco." Perelman has created a website dedicated for his effort, www.WeAreNotCriminals.com.

It took being embarrassed when he went on a junket to Israel, but Mayor Villaraigosa has finally done something about illegal dumping in South Los Angeles. A new task force will identify areas for clean-up, but first they had to get a $500,000 grant from the state to do what they should have been doing all along.

Local Republicans are invited to step up and make the difference for the McCain-Palin campaign. The LA County GOP is sponsoring "Super Sarah Saturday" at a location near you.

UPDATE: Haikula scoops the LA Times on SEIU Mutiny

This morning the Times has an article about a subject that Haikula scooped it on yesterday about the SEIU's en masse appearance later this morning at City Council demanding the termination of Edward M. Boks, the General Manager of Los Angeles Animal Services. Haikula wrote this story yesterday.

The Times' article illustrates that the shelter conditions have resulted in violence and severe stress to the animals due to overcrowding, and related violence to shelter employees. Assistant General Manager Linda Barth is also mentioned as a major part of the problem.

But the Times fails to report that Ms. Barth was the center of at least one major controversy at Parks & Recreation before she joined Mr. Boks.

The question is whether Mayor Villaraigosa will make another such poor hiring choice without the leadership of Nathan Winograd, the nation's leading advocate on how to run No Kill cities. Reportedly, Mr. Boks refused enlisting Mr. Winograd's assistance to establish effective humane programs. The result of such ego-driven decisions has been a multi-year massacre.

Aaarrrrgh! SEIU Mutiny Ahead!

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, scores of SEIU-member animal shelter employees will issue a No Confidence vote against Edward M. Boks, the General Manager of Los Angeles Animal Services.

On the tail of Laura Chick's two recent audits declaring financial mismanagement, and a failure for his to prepare for the upcoming (October 1st) city-wide spay neuter law, the SEIU is finally putting its paw down and will ask for Mr. Boks' termination.

Boks lost similar positions in Maricopa County, Arizona, and New York City prior to coming to Los Angeles. Mayor Villaraigosa hired him shortly after being elected.

An SEIU insider says, "Mr. Boks' showboating personality, and penchant for controversy and blogging has kept the city from progressing toward Mayor James Hahn's promise of a No Kill city by 2008. His misbehavior is also believed to be the cause of the failure of AB 1634, the California Healthy Pets Act, Lloyd Levine's proposed statewide mandatory spay-neuter law. Collectively, Mr. Boks' antics make for an unacceptable work environment for our members."

Sublime, meet Ridiculous

The saga of Edward M. Boks, the embattled animal shelter general manager, goes from the sublime to the ridiculous following Laura Chick's recent audits. Click here and here for them.

Rescuers are now circulating this humorous shelter intake form as if Mr. Boks were the animal.

If Mr. Boks' given age on the form, 45, is accurate, he is aging before his time. Is he not about 55 or 60? If the person who sent this to me has any updates on the situation you mentioned, please contact me again as I lost your email address.

Chick Finds Animal Services “Ill-Prepared”

This week, Controller Laura Chick issued another brutally sharp audit on the shelter’s failure to prepare the city for the upcoming mandatory spay & neuter law. Just two months ago, she issued a severe assessment of the shelter’s fiscal problems.

Mr. Ed Boks is the shelter General Manager who wrote a long reply challenging Chick's conclusions on the city blog.

He also says that the new $16 million shelter in Councilman Richard Alarcon's district is loaded with animals, but not open to the public. There are also supposed to be free spay & neuter clinics at the shelters, but they still haven't opened years after Prop F funds were given to the city.

This link goes to an article by former City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who wrote, "The Animal Services portion of the bond, $154.1 million, will be used to replace three existing animal shelters, build two new shelters, and expand and renovate three others, provide more kennel space to reduce pet overcrowding in shelters, create more spay and neuter clinics to help reduce overpopulation on the streets, and increase adoption opportunities."

This was written all the way back in 2000.

Mr. Boks blames the problems on staff & budgetary cuts, but if those cuts haven't yet been made, and he has been given hundreds of millions of dollars, how can he blame these problems on the cuts?

A blogging dog rescuer named Ed Musika has some interesting views on related matters.

You, abandoned

That’s correct. Last week, DWP; this week, Animal Services. KNBC reports, boxes containing thousands of names, addresses, driver license numbers, dates of birth, checking account information, and Social Security numbers were abandoned at two shuttered city animal shelters, one in West L.A. and another in Van Nuys—a facility that closed nine months ago.

Ed Boks, the head of animal service, refused to talk to KNBC. But in an e-mail he said that when the city was moving to a shelter "our complete focus rested on the animals." And, as a result, paper records were not properly disposed. He promised it would "not happen again."

KNBC, video, MSNBC

Damn out of towners

JM, No space problems here, Playa del Rey shoal, 2.05.08

Joseph Mailander a guy in la • elsewhere • email

I'll admit it, sometimes folks get on me about Zuma---even as they get on MayorSam about me. But I can't imagine Zuma (or me, for that matter) writing what Patt Morrison came up with this morning at the former fishwrap of record.

Space is purportedly tight on the Times op-ed page--too tight to cover local news adequately, they say---but the paper this morning had adequate space to lend to Patt Morrison pitching the "fun" of Rudy Giuliani as prospective Mayor---of LA.

I won't speak for myself, but I do know that Zuma shows way more restraint and sound editorial judgment than that.

Whatever her column meant to accomplish is unclear, but whatever it is, it looks like a big waste of space. Patt, in fact, is going way off in the wrong direction, if recent City history serves to inform.

So forget Rudy, Patt. I'll give you three out-of-towners, already here with the Mayor's blessing, who you should be writing about:

Ed Boks. Enough said. The guy recently took down a poll from his personal blog that wasn't going his way. He has pissed off nearly every corner of the City's various animal rights communities.

Gail "GPS" Goldberg. "Growth is inevitable" by Goldberg's book, even though both New York City and her hometown of San Diego have been managing its population with considerable stability and healthy economies for over a decade. She pleads "My hands are tied" when any issue gets tough; she caves to every re-zoning request. Literally thousands of million-dollar condos have been built under her watch, and not one of them for anyone who actually lives here (it's simple math, Gail: if you live here, you can't buy a million-plus condo without already owning something, and who would trade a million-plus property they already own here in LA for a million-plus condo?). And certainly: anyone who needs a map to get from Downtown to Los Feliz should not be the City's top planner. D'Oh!

Gloria Jeff. She's come and gone, mercifully, but---why on earth would you bring in a traffic czar from outside of the city? The majority of residents, who have lived here five years or more, all ramble around LA with long-ago established knowledges of how the City is supposed to flow; we project our expectations onto our commutes, our meet-ups, our late-night boogie routes. The idea that an out-of-towner could tap into this collective traffic consciousness and start solving things was completely preposterous.

Here's a worthwhile op-ed, Nick: when a Mayor brings someone in from out of town, they're easier to lead around by the nose, and that's what the Mayor's people knew in 2005 when they brought in these people. But our City has too much legacy for an out-of-towner to penetrate in a short time; these out-of-towner internships are typically are busts that don't work in the City's interests, only in the Mayor's.

Nobody talks much about these people,who are failing LA's citizens daily, and nobody assigns their failures to the Mayor. But Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed them all, and the Mayor should answer for them all.