Friday Free for All

California's landmark Parent Trigger Law, which allows students' parents to take control of failing schools, is currently before the State Board of Education which is crafting policies and regulations around the laws.  School teachers and administrators, of course no fan of the law, are seeking to direct how those rules are imposed.  Parent activists who worked to get the law passed, including Lydia Grant of Sunland-Tujunga, have filed an ethics complaint against board member Patricia Rucker, who is also a paid lobbyist for the California Teachers Association.  The parents are saying that Rucker's participation represents a conflict of interest and she should recuse herself from proceedings on the Parent Trigger Law.  Joining the parents is retired State Senator Gloria Romero, who authored the law, in calling on Rucker to step away.

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KTTV Report on Janice Hahn's Gang Problems

Summer Night Lights no more for teenager Miguel "Silent" Machuca

Miguel "Silent" Machuca, dead at the age of 15

The call came at 9;42 PM from my friend Arturo, as I was talking to Former World Champion Boxer Joey Olivo.

Olivo had been contracted by the Soledad Enrichment Action Gang Prevention and Intervention Program (SEA), to conduct boxing clinics as part of the Summer Night Lights Program at Ramona Gardens Recreation Center. We were revisiting childhood memories and discussing Olivo's post boxing life away from the ring, when the call came...........

Arturo had received a call from a mutual friend about a shooting, just northeast of Lincoln Park. Two were shot, they had possible ties to the Ramona Gardens. Nearby gang intervention workers confirm the report of the shooting but the identifications were unknown..........

Sunday dawns and the residents of Ramona Gardens awaken to walls spray painted with the tribute to another young man fallen, "Silent RIP" and other painted tributes are glowing in the early morning sun. The rays of the sun highlight the fact that another "youngster" will join hundreds of other Hazard homies who life's ended much too young. But while being memorialize by his moniker "Silent", fifteen year old Miguel Machuca became the 183rd murder victim within Los Angeles County in 2010. From Christine Pelisek at the LA Weekly.

A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot in Lincoln Heights August 28. Miguel Machuca was struck in his upper torso. A stray bullet hit an 11-year-old girl in the back. According to police, Miguel Machuca and another male were on bicycles when they were confronted by two other males around 7:30 p.m. Saturday near North Broadway and North Mission Road. Machuca was shot even though he gave up his bicycle.

As Sunday progresses, Silent's homies gather by the Ramona Gardens Recreation Center, for the traditional car wash fundraiser. Rumors fly about what exactly transpire near the Broadway and Mission Rd. intersection. Who and what if you knew, and if your lips are loose, are a combination one does not want in this crowd. A young girl stands in the street with the donation box as Silent's fellow youngsters wash cars in his honor.

As Silent lays within the cold, sterile vaults of the County Morgue, dozens of his homies and other members of the extended Hazard Family, gather for the ritual consumption of beer and other excesses which will go unmentioned. If these young men were in uniform and fighting for their country, then this scene would be easier to understand. But for one who grew up in the same hood but never stray into gangster lifestyle, this spectacle never loses its repugnant taste. As Silent's family mourns the loss of Miguel, other's take time to partake from the donation box to indulge or attempt to "dip away" the pains of past deaths.

Black and whites drive by to monitor what is all too familiar to the veterans of LAPD. A supposed "intervention worker", who may at one time been part of the crowd in past deaths, work the audience to keep the peace. Some as they consume alcohol or numb their grief in ways left best unstated, think about the past homies who gave their life's for the hood. Some just don't care and take advantage of the free booze and other enticements, but hey, "I can party with my carnal".

In the days ahead, fliers will be posted in the neighborhood announcing the Wake and Burial details. While Miguel's family grieves and plans for his last viewing, Silent's clique will continue to mourn and plan actions to avenge their homie, as taught to them by the previous "OG's".

When the time comes to bid farewell to Miguel/Silent, his two families will gather to say goodbye son/ so long carnal. They will travel together to the burial spot of choice, where his family will display their anguish and the clique will stand together as one. As a parting gift, once in the ground, Silent's clique may pour beer on his final resting place as a tribute to their teenage friend.

Once the services are done, life will return to its usual circular pattern. Police will find witnesses lacking or non-existent. High school students at Lincoln will spend their on-campus time, pondering more thoughts of surviving the latest gang war between Hazard and Lincoln Heights, than the tools that can provide them with the ticket out of this turf war. But as in all past gang killings, some peace will return, at least until the next murder.

In time, people will forget about the shooting on August 28, 2010. A young girl will grow older with the physical and mental scars of her chance encounter with a gang bullet. The grieving of Miguel's family will become muted from us in time, but real to his family for the rest of their living days. The walls that bare Silent's tributes will be painted over, but the rage within his clique, will lead to more senseless trauma. After all, someone must pay for Silent's death.

....... and we all wonder when this senseless slaughter of young life's will ever end.

Your thoughts.............

Scott Johnson in CD 14

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Friday

Well maybe they didn't mean it.  The LA Weekly reports that the Los Angeles City Council is "dangling" the idea of a DWP rate increase in order to get a hold of $73 million in DWP surplus funds the City desperately needs.  In the meantime the Moody's bond rating service - AKA "jerks" according to Councilman Richard Alarcon - has once again downgraded the city's credit score and maintains a bleak outlook for LA's financial future.

Now we know who wears the pants in the Jerry Brown household and at the California Chamber of Commerce - Mrs. Jerry Brown AKA Anne Gust who made her fortune working for a company that encourages young women to become further anorexic to fit into smaller clothes at higher prices.  The Chamber had aired commercials reminding voters of Brown's record of opposing Proposition 13 among other things and Gust had a Brown cow.  Calls were made to some of the members of the Chamber and pressure applied leading to the ad being quickly dropped.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has secured a court injunction to fight drugs and gang violence in Skid Row. Now this is the kind of thing we expect our City Attorney to do instead of fighting pot shops and silly billboards.

Phil Jennerjahn contacted us to show us a mock-up of the donation envelope for his recall campaign.  You may remember Phil's strategy for getting the mountain of signatures required for the recall, as he explained to Kevin James on this radio show, is to get a critical mass of potheads to campaign for the measure, so many that members of the SEIU will join Phil's parade.  And now that Antonio Villaraigosa's latest missteps in the whole DWP mess may have given Phil a little possible mojo, here comes Captain Ego AKA Walter Moore to tie his Red Ryder wagon to Phil's star just like he did with the Shaw family.  Watch out Phil that Walter - who made fun of your mercilessly during the Mayoral campaign - doesn't throw you under the bus as he did with the Shaws.

Now here are some folks doing the right thing to effect leadership change in Los Angeles.  Rather than goofy recalls which are good talkradio fodder the folks at Griffith Park Wayist are actually seeking individuals to groom and support to run against Councilman Tom LaBonge who apparently has pissed off folks from North Hollywood to Los Feliz.

The parent company of the OLD GRAY HAG ON SPRING STREET may be close to coming out of bankruptcy.  The New York Times reports that Tribune Media is near a deal with creditors.

The country is changing.  A good old-fashioned American Sears auto center is being replaced by a European style public mass transit station.

What happens when you're a political wunderkind who can't even beat Lloyd Levine in a primary? You move to another state and run for office there while tapping into old connections to get the endorsement of a former Vice President.  That's what Andrei Cherney, former Clinton speechwriter and abortive Bob Hertzberg protege is up to these days.

A "Connected Non-Profit" that Mayor Villaraigosa may want to "Disconnect" from

" Some of Mayor Villaraigosa connected friends and allies"

No one who observes Los Angeles political scene will disagree that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is the top all-time exploiter of the "photo-op".

The Mayor's "Discount Prescription Card" above is the classic example of exploiting image for the sake of positive political motives. But what is the story on the selection of the people pictured with the Mayor?

We now know the background of the female on the left and her connections to the Mayor. Lets just say that connections pay off, but can also become problematic if there is some embarrassing details disclose.

Thanks to a tip from a CD 14 observer, we can say that the female on the left is an employee of Legacy LA., a new "connected non-profit" associated with Mayor Villaraigosa's cronies Jenny Krusoe and Maria Lou Calanche. We searched the Mayor Sam archives and came up with this.

Monique Moncayo "Director of Youth Outreach" Is she still double dipping at Hazard Park ?? Some would call that a "Conflict of Interest".Known to some as "Mini Lu".

We could stop here but then there is something about "embarrassing details".

A source has stated that Legacy LA is endanger of losing their Gang Reduction, Youth Development or "GRYD" contract due to "double counting". Legacy LA, as part of their GRYD contract, is require to work with 25 gang members and 25 youths who are protential gang members. But it seems that Legacy LA is trying to count the 25 protential gang members again as "gang members" on their reports to GRYD. Further community members are questioning whether the two intervention specialists, "George" and "Renee" are actually in the field doing their work.

In addition, the GRYD rep for the area "Eduardo" was recently terminated from his position with the city, Eduardo also was the on-site coordinator at Ramona Gardens Recreation Center, for the Mayor Villaraigosa's "Summer Night Lights" program.

Then there is reports out of the Ramona Gardens Housing Project that racial tensions are building due to the City of Los Angeles Housing Authority relocating African-American families into vacant units. a meeting to discuss the racial tensions is schedule for 6:00 PM, on Thursday October 8 at the Ramona Gardens Recreation Center. There is some speculation that during a recent meeting, someone from Legacy LA commented that the Ramona Gardens area had always been a "latino project".

If this is true, that someone would advocate public housing projects being segregated by race, then they have no business being rewarded with public contracts. But then Legacy LA meetings are open only to those who are invited.

Then there are those who say that the Mayor approves who gets invited??

Your thoughts.............

Obstinate

Unfazed by the L.A. Bridges and Watts Gang Task Force debacles, Councilmember Tony Cardenas, chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Gang Violence and Youth Development, wants more of your money with no strings attached. He wants policy makers to be held accountable to provide a steady stream of funding for anti-gang programs. No call for any measure of program effectiveness.

The policy makers need to make a commitment to fund these programs that work, and to hold them accountable to make sure that they continue to fund them, and make it institutional, just like every community has made it institutional to have a budget for a police department.

Cardenas made these remarks at a recent conference of “gang experts” organized by the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State L.A., which, judging by KPCC’s coverage amounted to another exercise in wheel-spinning and self-indulgence. To his credit, Cardenas was the only expert who managed to express a coherent thought.

Listen to excerpts of the conference below. If you can stomach it.

Valley Readies for Hot, Violent Summer

After a particularly violent night on Tuesday, police have stepped up their patrols in North Hollywood and the Northeast Valley, where a total of six shootings took place.

And how do our council memebers react to the escalation in violence? Why, by asking the mayor for more money to fund their gang intervention programs, that's how.

From the horse's mouth via the DN:

"We are anticipating a hot summer, and things happen when it gets above 100 degrees," said Councilman Richard Alarcon, whose district includes Pacoima, where two shootings Tuesday left three wounded. Alarcon said he is pushing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to speed up the funding of intervention programs in the area before summer. Both Alarcon and Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who represents North Hollywood, are doubling efforts to build Neighborhood Watch programs.

The brazen gun attacks started in Northridge about 6 p.m Tuesday, when a gray SUV with four men inside pulled alongside a 16-year-old boy walking near Wilbur Avenue and Parthenia Street. The boy told police he struggled with one of the men, who stepped out of the car and pointed a pistol at him, while another person emerged from the car and shot him with a shotgun.

An hour later, a fight broke out among nearly a dozen Armenian men outside a restaurant at Whitsett Avenue and Oxnard Street. The men appeared to have been arguing, police said, when a number of them pulled out guns and fired off more than 20 shots. An Armenian male identified as Artak Karamyan, 28, died at the scene. Police said a car-to-car gunbattle ensued, and the body of Paylak Harutyunyan, 29, was dumped at Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Vanowen Street.

The DN has a map and a timeline of the violence that errupted Tuesday night in North Hollywood, Northridge, Sylmar and Arleta.