Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Monday

Los Angeles City Council Member Dennis Zine faces a major dilemna as he is allegedly dating a woman who is a lobbyist for a major firm that was denied a lucrative contract at LAX.  The firm is now protesting that decision.  Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in West Los Angeles told the South Bay Daily Breeze that Zine should recuse himself from voting on the contract.  Because Zine is not married to the lobbyist and would not personally benefit, it may not be illegal for him to participate in deliberations.  However Stern said  "He shouldn't be participating in a decision that involves somebody he's dating, and he certainly shouldn't be the one leading the charge on this. It just doesn't look appropriate."

The State of California desperately needs money and USC wants to buy the Coliseum, next door to the campus and the home of it's football games.  The Coliseum Commission, as well as Council members Jan Perry and Bernard Parks are saying "hold the phone."

Read more »

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Monday

Calling into the LiveLA Saturday Night talkradio program, MayorSam blogger Joe B. told David Hernandez, Frank Sheftel and myself that a Christmas tree lot that has opened up on the site of a former K-Mart in Sunland-Tujunga is secretly operated by Home Depot, who most of you remember, were booted out of the community following a successful campaign by residents.  While no one begrudges a legal business (certainly a Christmas tree lot) on land leased or owned by a particular organization the reward for Home Depot in this instance certainly can not be commensurate with the risk.  This blog documented for years the continual stupidity let alone near evil this hardware chain did in that community.  Like a crack addict wanting one more fix; they're back. This really doesn't help them any.  We suggest if you are to buy a Christmas tree you purchase it from lots run by non-profit organization, churches, youth groups, etc.

Read more »

Mrs. Home Depot for CD2. Not.

Given the volume of pro-Mary Benson comments from residents of Sunland-Tujunga I'm getting both in email and here on the blog I'm not sure that Tamar Galatzan will do well in that part of CD2.

And if anything it may be that you can put lipstick on a pig but in the end its still not kosher.

Residents of Sunland-Tujunga remember too well their valiant and succesful effort to block a behemoth, The Home Depot, from invading their valley. Too, they'll remember that a corporate lobbyist hack attempted to shove the big orange down their throats in a "bizarre" manner as described by the LA Weekly.

That would be Brendan Huffman - the husband of Tamar Galatzan. Upon Tamar's entry into the Council race one Mayor Sam blogger wrote the following:

Brendan, as you may recall from past Mayor Sam stories, is the outspoken and uninformed shill who showed up at several hearings pleading on Home Depot's behalf. At these hearings, Brendan predicted City wide meltdown if Home Depot was not allowed to open in Sunland-Tujunga. He wrote an article in the San Fernando Valley Business Journal where he mistakenly claimed that Home Depot owned the property, mislabeled the community fight as a fight by a competitor, blamed it all on day laborers (never an issue), and failed to understand that just because you are Home Depot, you can't open where you damn well please.

That writer was none other than (now) Galatzan supporter Joe Barrett. To be fair Joe expressed an open mind given Tamar's willingness to meet with him and other ST activists and her spin on the matter at an early forum. However Joe wisely pointed out that Galatzan didn't need "to have to drag around the baggage of a spouse that's never seen a proposed development that he didn't love."

Hometown candidate Mary Benson has street cred when it comes to Home Depot. So does Zuma Dogg. They may not have put in the hours of folks like Joe Barrett, Abby Diamond, Nina Royal, Lydia Grant but they were passionate advocates at many levels to stand up to the Georgia based monster that eventually left town with its tail between its legs leaving Huffman to say "I don't get it?"



On the other hand where was Tamar? Did she attend meetings? Did she speak to the City Council did she once speak out about the project's impact on neighboring Apperson Elementary School where small children would be subject to choking on diesel fumes and potentially getting run over by frequent delivery trucks rolling over the neighborhood's small streets? As an advocate for the community did she attempt to rein in her husband in uplifting a potential violent assault on a community? Not that I can find any evidence of.

Now Valley Doll tells me that she wouldn't want to be blamed for anything her husband does. Fair enough. But I also know that Valley Doll would speak up if her husband was doing something shady. So what did Tamar know, when did she know it and what did she do about it? Nada.

It seems to me if one is there with you in a fight you owe your allegiance to them more than someone who is a johnny-come-lately no matter how much you think its going to make one person win or another lose. I have tremendous personal respect for Joe but I can't agree with him here.

In my own personal, slightly uninformed, humble view, residents of Sunland-Tujunga would be better off voting for Mary Benson or Zuma Dogg (or any of the other candidates) than Tamar. If anything, based on experience.

Your thoughts?

Saturday Special Hotsheet

The campaign of Los Angeles City Attorney candidate Carmen Trutanich announces that he has outraised front runner City Council Member Jack Weiss by two to one in the last reporting period.  According to reports filed with the City's Ethics Commission Trutanich received $92,000 in contributions compared to Weiss' $42,000.  Trutanich says that he has nearly $350,000 in cash reserved for television advertising.  In the meantime Trutanich unveiled a series of proposed reforms to the City Attorney office and garnered the endorsement of Council Member Dennis Zine and possibly from another opposing candidate, the Walter Moore affiliated David Berger.


Working hard for the City following President Obama's inauguration Mayor Villaraigosa took the ceremonial first bite of a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich at the annual "dineLA" restaurant week photo op this week.  While slurping down roast beef and Velveeta, Controller Laura Chick uncovered millions of dollars in waste and lots of potential fraud and abuse in the taking home of city owned vehicles by municipal employees and elected officials.

Mayoral candidate Zuma Dogg (David Saltsburg) appears in an ABC News Nightline piece covering the current state of public access television for the first time out of his character.  Along with public affairs television doyenne Leslie Sutton, Saltsburg expresses concern as to potential censorship of programming with the channels moving to City control.  I guess that camera crew wasn't really "Matt Dowd's friends" as you know who was posting.

Following an ass kicking in Sunland-Tujunga, Home Depot is now focused on it's day laborer center at it's store in Del Rey; working with Council Member Bill Rosendahl on plans to upgrade the facility.  However, local residents are not in favor of day labor centers being forced by the City on local big-boxes such as Home Depot.

A middle-class section of Van Nuys has worked itself up in a lather over being associated with a primarily Latino and working class remainder of the historic San Fernando Valley community and wants to attach itself to Sherman Oaks.  The effort, led by unsuccesful Assembly candidate Laurette Healey who has last seen trying to bamboozle Neighborhood Councils over the last shady solar energy ballot plan appears to have zero support in either Sherman Oaks or the rest of Van Nuys.

Opposition from neighboring cities is growing to the construction of a proposed NFL stadium in the City of Industry by Los Angeles developer Ed Roski.  Joaquin Lim, the Mayor Walnut has expressed his opposition to the stadium over fears of the arena's impact on his community while Diamond Bar has hired an attorney to attack Industry's Environmental Impact Report.  Maybe they could build a Home Depot there instead or move the detainees from Gitmo.

With buzz that he is a leading contender for the GOP Presidential Nomination in 2012 and the usual comparisons to President Obama, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will be the headline speaker at the National Republican Congressional Committee's annual dinner.  Jindal, who takes the spot previously reserved for President Bush, denies he is running for President but has made a tour to at least one early primary state, Iowa, and has been campaigning and raising funds for candidates in other states, part of the usual required groundwork for a run at a party's Presidential nomination.

Open Thread for Thursday

Victory in Sunland-Tujunga. Victory over billboards. Flukes, or has the tide turned for neighborhood activists? Discuss.

(Update: In case anyone was wondering why I didn't post up a Hotsheet today quite frankly I celebrated in Sunland-Tujunga last night a little too late. So sue me for having a cocktail!)

Home Depot Pulls Out Of S-T!

Breaking News! We just spoke with a high ranking Home Depot official (at 10:45 pm) and he is confirming that HD is backing out of their proposed store in Sunland-Tujunga!

We are still shaking from the news, updates when we settle down and stop celebrating!

Score a big victory for local control and our community!

Home Depot Drops Lawsuit Against LA!

This just in!

Home Depot has filed a request with Superior Court to dismiss it's lawsuit against the City over the proposed and controversial Sunland-Tujunga store!
Read the document HERE!

Home Depot also took down its website (homedepotsunlandtujunga.com) today!

No one knows exactly what this means, but hopes are high!

Stand By for updates!

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Wednesday

Tuesday a judge reduced the bail for jailed suspected murder Esteban Nunez, son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, from $2 million to $1 million. Reports at press time are that Nunez has raised the bail and has been released.

After a bungled attempt last week by School Board President Monica Garcia to oust Superintendent David Brewer the LAUSD Board of Education voted 5-2 Tuesday to buy out the remaining term of his contract, for about half a million dollars. Brewer told reporters earlier Tuesday that he believed racism was behind his termination.

As reported by Joe B.on Mayor Sam Tuesday, the retail hardware giant Home Depot has revived a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the City to allow the Atlanta based firm to open a controversial branch in the foothill community of Sunland-Tujunga. Interesting comments from readers of the trendy real estate blog CurbedLA who don't apparently understand why residents of Sunland-Tujunga don't want this store forced on them.

Mayor Villaraigosa joined with mayors from other big cities nationwide asking President-Elect Obama for major infusions of Federal cash for "infrastructure" projects. Would that include things like Grand Avenue or LA Live? How about properly spending the money you collect already and you would have sufficient funds for basic needs. President-Elect Obama - watch out for these shady guys!

When times are tough here at home, Sheriff Lee Baca has a goofy idea to send 350 LA County Deputy Sheriffs to provide security at the inaguration of Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. next month. It appears that at least a portion of the expense would be borne by LA County leading Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Mike Antonovich to question the wisdom of such a move.

LA CityWatch reports that the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition has re-elected President Leonard Shaffer over Mid-Town North Hollywod Neighborhood Council member Gary Barrata by "a lopsided vote" at their election meeting on Saturday.

Home Depot vs The City of Los Angeles

BREAKING NEWS!
Home Depot Reinstates $10,000,000.00 Lawsuit Against the City of Los Angeles.
Case Goes To Trial in Mid-July 2009!

At today's Status Conference hearing in Superior Court, Home Depot sought to have the judge order the City to "wrap up the application".

They accused the City of violating the Stipulation Order by taking longer than 5 months to process their Project application.

The attorney representing the City pointed out that the reason it was taking longer to process their
application was because Home Depot had applied for exemption from CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act).

On Friday, City Planning issued a determination that denied Home Depot's application for categorical exemptions from environmental assessment. This decision obviously did not sit well with Home Depot, as the attorney for Home Depot waved the letter in the air calling it "meaningless" and stating that Home Depot was "frustrated".


The Judge did not grant Home Depot's request to order the City to "wrap up the application" and instead set a date for trial in Mid-July 2009.

More on this later!

IN OTHER NEWS...
WATCH KABC 7 AT 5:30PM TODAY FOR INTERVIEW
WITH ABBY & JOE OF STA/NHDC!

Breaking News! Home Depot Denied Exemption From Environmental Assessment!

"The Department of City Planning has reviewed your application for environmental clearance and has determined that a categorical exemption is not appropriate."-City Planning

Read the determination from City Planning HERE.

This is a Huge Victory for Sunland-Tujunga & the No Home Depot Campaign!!!

Ron Kaye has more.
Joseph Mailander has his take as well.

Open Mouth, Insert 2x4!

Now we know where Home Depot got their arrogance from!

Bernie Marcus, one of the founders of Home Depot, had this to say yesterday about the recent elections and the Employee Free Choice Act:

"If a retailer has not gotten involved with this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to Norm Coleman and these other guys," Mr. Marcus said, apparently referring to Republican senators facing tough re-election fights, then those retailers "should be shot; should be thrown out of their goddamn jobs."

Nice work there, Bernie!

You're doing wonders for the Home Depot brand!

The Internet is the Activist Tool

Meet the Troublemaker.

Something pretty amazing has happened in the past few days that wonderfully reconfirms how important the internet has become for grassroot activists.

First a little background:

Our group, "The No Home Depot Campaign" has been waging a battle against the 2nd largest retail corporation in America for over 4 years. The issue is about whether or not a corporation can trounce on and ignore a Community Plan in order to place their mega warehouse store smack dab in a small community, on a site surrounded by homes on 3 sides, and with an LAUSD elementary school less than 500 feet away. There are other issues as well, including the community need for a general merchandise store (we don't have one), and the expected dramatic increase in traffic, and specifically, industrial traffic on our one main street.

In the course of this struggle, we have come to rely on the internet for communication, research, and rapid response. We've been able to get our message out to the entire world (we receive visitors from every time zone on the planet), and we can post updates about the situation on a moment's notice. This ability may be a tool that many take for granted these days, but I often try to imagine the difficulties anyone would have of achieving the same results even 10 years ago. I picture us all standing on street corners handing out fliers, posting notices in local newspapers, and holding monthly meetings to strategize and bring everyone up to date. Actually, we still do all these things, but we no longer have to rely on them as our sole means of outreach (the ratio between effort expended and results achieved is now greatly decreased).


Now back to the amazing thing that has just happened. At least it is to me.

If you Google the words "Home Depot", our site comes up as the #3 search result. Forget about entering "No Home Depot in Sunland-Tujunga" or even "No Home Depot". For reasons we can't entirely explain, simply entering the name of the corporation will send you to a link that leads directly to us. It cannot just be the meta tags doing this, as there are literally thousands of sites with "Home Depot" embedded in the same way.

So, in essence, we are entering the realm of the corporate brand. I say this not as a boast, but as a point to ponder. Google is taking our site high up the food chain, to the point of being listed ahead of the company's own sites and other related sites. In the world of internet rankings, we suddenly find ourselves the equivalent of front page news.

Our website is now being viewed by some guy looking for a sale on power tools, an investor doing research on a company that they may want to invest in, or a similar community facing the same problem as us.

So while Home Depot continues in their insane efforts to reshape our little town into the image they see fit, as they spend millions of $ to influence the City, and as they sit on a $10,000,000 lawsuit against the City (that they can reactivate unless they get their way), we get a little payback.

We're in their heads.

We are sitting on the front porch of their corporate brand and greeting their potential customers before they enter the store. We are telling the public our story.

And we are doing it all from a couple of old laptops and a Dell XPS 410 that could use a serious tune-up.

Remember, this story is not about the group I belong to, it's about all of us. It's about a thousand stories and a handy little tool that in a special way, helps to level the playing fields.



You can visit our site at:
http://www.no2homedepot.com

Avis Ridley-Thomas, Home Depot, and the Art of Manipulation!

Garbage in, Garbage Out.


It's been awhile since I've posted an update on the continuing Home Depot battle in Sunland-Tujunga. Not that it's all been quiet on the North Valley Front, rather so much has been happening, so rapidly, that the complexity and dynamics of the situation have required more time than I can devote to reporting the story. As Zuma Dogg might say, 'The Shady Never Sleep'!

So for this update, I've chosen one very disturbing piece of the story, and her name is Avis Ridley-Thomas (ART). ART runs the Dispute Resolution Program (DRP), part of the City Attorney's office.

Now bear with me for a bit of background. In November 2007, Home Depot filed a lawsuit against the City Council for revoking their tenant improvements building permit. Back in March of this year , the Home Depot agreed to suspend their lawsuit and file a Project Permit application to build their store per the local Specific Plan, a City Ordinance. After Home Depot suspended their lawsuit, the Order to Stay Litigation Stipulation included a directive that meetings be held between Home Depot and Sunland-Tujunga community leaders in order to facilitate discussion of the issue. The DRP was asked to oversee these discussions, and this is where the problems began.

On April 26, a meeting sponsored by the DRP was held in which 250+ residents attended and a consensus was reached by S-T stakeholders that Home Depot did not belong in that former Kmart location, was in violation of our Community Plan, and must undergo a full Environmental Impact Review (EIR) so that everyone would better understand the impacts their proposed store would have on the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood. On a side note, Home Depot could voluntarily undergo an EIR (as many developers are known to do), but has repeatedly refused.

What did ART and the DRP make of this overwhelming unified consensus?
They decided that there was a dispute in the community, and they were going to solve it (huh?). ART promised an open and transparent process and then immediately scheduled a closed door meeting with selected participants, many of which were not S-T community leaders, nor even residents of the area (invited guests included Brendan Huffman from VICA and others no one had heard of). The purpose of this meeting was to schedule another meeting and to lay down the ground rules.

On October 16th, a 3rd meeting was held at L.A. City Hall, with invited participants and again behind closed doors. There were also 8 police officers on hand to search the attendees, and presumably preserve order in case of trouble.

At this meeting, a motion was made to suspend the DRP process until City Planning had made a determination as to whether Home Depot's application for CEQA exemption would be granted or not. A CEQA exemption would mean that Home Depot would not have to undergo any environmental review, and no mitigation of their impacts would be required. A majority voted that indeed these DRP talks were premature, and as City Planning was the lead agency (not the DRP) then why not wait until the lead agency could provide some guidance as to what the group should be discussing.

Are you with me so far?

So the majority of the participants voted to suspend the talks, until an appropriate time in the future. The DRP representatives went out of their way to ensure that the language calling for a suspension was correct, and assured everyone that what the community wanted was vitally important. Everyone shook hands, and called it a night.


But Avis Ridley-Thomas, who was not present at this meeting, would have none of this. A few days later, in response to an email re-capping the events of the October 16th meeting, she issued this statement:

"The Dispute Resolution Program has been contacted by a member of the Sunland-Tujunga community to facilitate and/or mediate further sessions to resolve the matter involving the Home Depot.

As in every other matter where we are contacted by a member of the community, we are proceeeding forthwith.

The process will be voluntary and confidential unless and until the parties deem otherwise."

As you can probably surmise, the community is outraged!

In one brief statement, ART dismisses the democratic process, the votes of the majority, and plows ahead with her mission. She will put together another group, one likely more sympathetic to Home Depot, regardless to whether they represent the sentiments of the Sunland-Tujunga community or not, until she gets the consensus she is seeking (or has been ordered to?).

Yes, the Shady Never Sleep, and it appears that Avis Ridley-Thomas and the DRP are over-reaching their legal boundaries, and creating more problems than ever existed before the DRP became involved.

Does Home Depot Need A Timeout?

Home Depot's Real Estate Director, Jeff Nichols, shoves No Home Depot Chairman, Joe Barrett (yours truly), at the August 25, 2008 closed door meeting of the Dispute Resolution Program.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Sunday: Late Edition

Excellent piece by Katharine Russ at RonKayeLA about the corrupting influence of contributions to local pols - including City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo - on the eventual fate of the controversial Home Depot in Sunland-Tujunga.  Russ notes that the inability of City leadership to stand up for the community could lead to an eventual dilemma where the City Attorney will have to simultaneously defend itself against lawsuits by the retail giant as well as the community.

David Markland notes that the total population of Sarah Palin's home state of Alaska is less than LA Council Districts 4, 5 and 13 combined.  That being said, as Markland comments, if population mattered Barack Obama could have nominated Eric Garcetti as his running mate. On the other hand if you drove from Hollywood to San Pedro you would have covered the entire width of Joe Biden's Delaware.  In fact Mike Antonovich's Fifth District has a larger area than Barack Obama's running mate's home state.

Looks like Zuma Dogg won't be endorsing Jerry Brown for Governor anytime soon.  The California Attorney General has ordered a crackdownon medical marijuana clubs in the state.  “The voters wanted medical marijuana dispensaries to be used for seriously ill patients and their caregivers - not as million-dollar businesses,” Brown said.

Despite the fact that the Governors and the Democrats in the State Legislature are working to place a sales tax on the November ballot, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has instructed county clerks across the state to began to ready their ballots.  Though the Legislature could waive the June 26th deadline to place additional measures on the ballot, Bowen feels to do so now would be inappropriate.

You know you're getting old when the Beverly Hills 90210: The Next Generation hits the airwaves.  Well it's really just called 90210 but it's a sequel to the legendary hit of the 90s.  The show also includes original cast members Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty as adult versions of their original teen characters.

Home Depot, The DRP and a Closed Door Meeting!

At 4:30 this afternoon, Avis Ridley-Thomas and her Dispute Resolution Program will hold what is being billed as a "Scheduling Meeting" at the North Valley City Hall in Tujunga. The purpose off this meeting is to set the date, time, & ground rules for any further talks between Home Depot and the Sunland-Tujunga community and is part of the Stipulation Order to Stay Litigation made between the City and Home Depot.

If you'll recall Home Depot filed a $10,000,000.00 lawsuit against the City last year after their building permits were revoked by the L.A. City Council. Home Depot suspended their lawsuit and agreed to file a new application and undergo environmental assessment for their proposed store as an alternative to further litigation. Part of this agreement included a clause that the Dispute Resolution Program would mediate between the community and Home Depot. This mediation is completely non-binding and considered by many a waste of taxpayer money and community time. This mediation will have zero effect on whether or not Home Depot is ever able to open their controversial store, as that decision currently lies with City Planning, who is currently reviewing their application.

And the story goes all downhill from here.

After the DRP held it's first open community meeting back in April that was attended by over 300 local residents and produced an overwhelming consensus of opposition to Home Depot's store,(Just ask the MS bloggers who were there-Michael Higby, Red, Zuma, Joseph Mailander, and Petrafried), the DRP promised more meetings that would be "open and transparent in the process".

That promise comes to a grinding halt at 4:30 this afternoon, when the DRP holds a private closed door meeting with "invited community leaders" (of their choosing) in the very public North Valley City Hall. Even after numerous requests to the DRP, no names of the invited participants has been provided.

Not only is the public not allowed to observe this meeting, the DRP has now threatened a police presence to prevent local residents from entering the hall.

The Sunland-Tujunga Alliance, the sponsors of "The No Home Depot Campaign" have spent weeks trying to contact the DRP to discuss the details of the meeting.

The DRP has not returned a single phone call or email.

After waiting on hold for hours (literally) last Monday, the STA finally spoke with a DRP staff member who informed them that the meeting would indeed be open to the public. Additionally, people who called Councilmember Wendy Greuel's office were told the meeting would be open to the public as well.

With that info in hand, and feeling somewhat relieved, late last week, the STA posted a public invite to today's event on the No 2 Home Depot web site (www.no2homedepot.com).

Last Friday, the STA received an email from Barbara Goldfarb, the volunteer DRP lead facilitator in charge of the meeting.

Here is the entire contents of that email :


Sunland-Tujunga Alliance/No2Home Depot

It has come to our attention through observing the notices that the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance is posting on the No2Home Depot web site and through phone calls being received in Councilwoman Wendy Greuel’s office, that the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance is disseminating false and misleading information regarding Monday’s upcoming scheduling conference.

May we remind you once again that this meeting is under the auspices of the Dispute Resolution Program and that the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance has no role to play in its organization or conduct beyond that of being one of many invitees who have been asked to have a representative attend. The meeting is for invited participants only. This closed door meeting at this location does not violate any existing laws and its closed door status will be strictly enforced.

The Alliance’s irresponsible behavior in issuing its unauthorized public invitation has forced the Dispute Resolution Program to request police presence at the meeting to insure that this process will proceed under the Dispute Resolution Program’s policies and rules. (emphasis added)

As was clearly stated in our letter, this meeting is logistical only. We fully respect and honor your right to express your opinions about the subject, but this scheduling conference is not the place for that and no discussion of the controversy as identified at the April 26, 2008 dialogue will be allowed. We are simply discussing time, date, place and ground rules and the Alliance’s representative will be asked for input along with all other representatives.

May we respectfully request that the Alliance issues a correction of the incorrect information on the web-site and call as many of their members as possible to instruct them not to attend. The last thing any of us want is a disturbance at the meeting and we should all do our best to avoid that possibility.

Barbara E. Goldfarb
Dispute Resolution Program

When Ms. Goldfarb was contacted by phone about the DRP staff member who said that the public could attend this meeting, Ms. Goldfarb was dismissive saying that the staff member didn't know what she was talking about. It is unfortunate that the DRP now blames the STA for their own lack of communication and misleading information. The DRP is ultimately responsible for creating this confusion and hard feelings among neighborhood residents, and the DRP is able to resolve this matter by calling off the police, and allowing the public to observe this meeting.

Sunland-Tujunga resident, Damien McGinnis, put it this way:

"What an outrage! Ms.Goldfarb seems to be making up the rules as she goes along and as she sees fit. The secrecy in the form of undisclosed participants/invitees, the closed door policy, apparent ulterior motives (which raises questions about possible corruption within and/or coercion of the DRP) and simple lack of congruency from the DRP and its office is intolerable and outrageous! I hope the news gets all over this and it becomes the latest city scandal."


Needless to say, angry residents upset about being excluded from this process will be showing up today at 4:30 pm to voice their concerns.

Perhaps you (and the Press) will consider joining us.

DRP Scheduling Meeting
4:30 PM
North Valley City Hall
7747 Foothill Blvd.
Tujunga



(For those that don't know, Joe B. is the president of the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance Inc., and chairman of the No Home Depot Campaign, in addition to being a blogger on Mayor Sam.)

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Wednesday

Former President and CEO of the Century City Chamber of Commerce Robyn Ritter Simon has announced she's raised over $100,000 in her efforts to get elected to the 5th Council District seat to be vacated by Jack Weiss next year. Other candidates who have announced for the race are former Assemblyman Paul Koretz, who represented West Hollywood and also served on the West Hollywood City Council before moving to Los Angeles; land-use attorney Ron Galperin; and businessman David T. Vahedi, who ran against Weiss four years ago.

How are hard working, tax paying, decent citizens who are fighting for their community treated by a wannabe bureaucrat who trades on her politician husband's name? Searched for weapons and watched like hawks by police officers. That's what happened on the orders of Avis Ridley-Thomas of the City of Los Angeles Dispute Resolution Office when leaders from Sunland-Tujunga came to inspect important city files related to the controversial effort to place a Home Depot store in their community. Will officials from Home Depot get the same treatment? Ridley-Thomas says yes, but I tend to doubt it.

Where are the worst potholes in LA?The Daily News is mapping them out! Using Google Maps technology readers can submit the locations of potholes and add important details. Perhaps the Mayor can download those to his BlackBerry (or Jose Huizar's BlackBerry) and go out and fill them.

We talked the other day about the need to allow MTA commuters to take their bikes on buses and trains and the efforts of Councilman Eric Garcetti to get the transit agency to relax their rules. The LA Times reports however that folding bikes are allowed at any time on the train. I first saw these types of bikes when my grandparents brought back two of them from a vacation in Europe in the early 70s. They can be quite compact and easy to tote. However some wonder given the condition of LA's roads if these bikes are sturdy enough for safe travel.

Former State Contoller and Democratic candidate for Governor Steve Westly has donated $100,000 to the Green Dot Charter School at Locke High School. Westly who rose to prominence in Democratic party politics made a substantial portion of his fortune as one of the founders of eBay.

And finally you'll be seeing a new voice here on the blog: Althea Shaw. Althea is the sister of Jamiel Shaw, Sr. and the aunt of Jamiel Shaw, II. Ms. Shaw will share her experience as one of the leaders of the movement to pass Jamiel's Law as well as news from her local community. Welcome Althea!

"TROLL FOR DOUGH A-THON" Day Three "TROLLING ON A RIVAL'S TURF"

The "TROLL FOR DOUGH A-THON" believes in open borders.

Florida, Chicago, New York, no state border is a barrier for the "TROLL FOR DOUGH A-THON".

One can enter the Sanctuary City of Los Angeles, give a monetary tribute, and the doors open wide. Likewise one can leave the "Sanctuary City, South" for the "Sanctuary City, North" by a "bay of water" and ask for tributes from thoses seeking future favors.

The "TROLL FOR DOUGH A- THON" enters the domain of one Gavin Newsome this evening where former State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown host a fundraiser for his former Assembly Colleague.

Powerhouse fundraiser Darius Anderson and Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, also are listed as event co-chairs and have committed to raising at least $10,000 for Villaraigosa. Guests are asked to contribute $1,000 each to the cause - a race in which Villaraigosa currently has no major opponents, despite a rocky last year in which he admitted to having an affair with a television news reporter.

Some other obsevations from the San Fran. Chronicle.

With Newsom considering a run for governor in 2010 and Villaraigosa also seen as a possible contender, observers say tonight's fundraiser could be an indication of the powerful political alliances that will form if the two mayors face off against each other, with some big Northern California names supporting someone other than the hometown candidate.

"Whether they want to admit it or not, it's saying these are people who are declaring their support for him (Villaraigosa) over Newsom," said Barbara O'Connor, professor of political communication at Cal State Sacramento.

Newsom's name isn't mentioned on the invitation, which has added fuel to long-standing rumors about a rivalry between the two camps. Though Newsom was invited, it's not certain he will attend.

Back in the "Sanctuary City, South", if you blink you have may miss a "TROLL FOR DOUGH A-THON" event that should get the attention of Sunland-Tujunga's Joe B. . David Zahniser has the details at L.A. Now.

Villaraigosa had a noon re-election event in downtown Los Angeles, then flew up to San Francisco for a 6 p.m. appearance with former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and Darius Anderson, president of the lobbying firm Platinum Advisors. (A bit more on that tomorrow.)

The noon fundraiser was co-hosted by developer David Chang and Kerman Maddox, a consultant whose firm earned some cash when it worked on Villaraigosa’s grand plan to gain more control over Los Angeles Unified School District.

Dakota Communications, Maddox's lobbying and consulting firm, has such clients as Los Angeles World Airports and Westfield, the shopping mall owner. Last year, the firm entered the spotlight when it represented Home Depot as the hardware giant waged a bitter fight to open in Sunland-Tujunga.

Home Depot gave Dakota nearly $308,000 last year to lobby City Hall, according to reports filed with the city’s Ethics Commission. During that campaign, a Dakota memo surfaced showing that the firm planned to charge Home Depot roughly $24,000 to transport 150 supporters in orange T-shirts to City Hall to speak on behalf of the project.

In the memo, Dakota also promised to submit an op-ed piece to various newspapers that told a "wonderfully sincere and compelling story" about the Home Depot’s commitment to Los Angeles in the aftermath of the 1992 riots.

Although Home Depot is still working to get building permits in Sunland-Tujunga, Dakota no longer represents the company.

Coming soon, "TROLL FOR DOUGH A-THON DAY" in the City of Los Angeles......as proclaim here on Mayor Sam.

Home Depot vs LAUSD

HOLY COW! YET ANOTHER UPDATE (5:30PM), BREAKING NEWS!
HOME DEPOT CANCELS SCHOOL EVENT! DETAILS JUST COMING IN!

UPDATE: BREAKING NEWS! LAUSD REFUSES TO REVOKE PERMIT!
SEE RON KAYE'S STORY HERE.
An announcement is expected today from the LAUSD about a controversial permit the district issued to allow Home Depot to use Mt. Gleason Middle School to promote their proposed store in Sunland-Tujunga.

This permit breaks a long standing policy of only allowing school facilities to be used by non-profit groups, community groups, or organizations like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc.

The permit may also be in conflict with the State Civic Center Act, which does not provide for corporations, like Home Depot, to use schools as a platform for promotion of their business interests.

It goes without saying that the local community is outraged over this effort by Home Depot to utilize a public school for this intent, and the LAUSD has been bombarded with e-mails and phone calls over the last week protesting the permit.

In Home Depot's permit application to use the school, they said their activity would be a "public meeting". However, in the promotional brochure that was mailed out to the community, they billed the event as an "Open House", and a Home Depot representative said it would consist of "stations" that attendees could visit, and there would be no formal presentation. In addition to mislabeling their activity, the brochure they sent out failed to include the required disclaimer that states the event is in no way affiliated with the LAUSD.

Now, I've attended my share of public meetings, but I've never seen one that was sponsored by a private corporation. There are no City officials scheduled to attend. The Home Depot Open House event is not sponsored by, or sanctioned by, the City or any public agency, for that matter.

It's a sales pitch, under the guise of a "public meeting" and it breaks a long standing policy of the LAUSD. Our schools are not convention centers, and community groups like the Boy Scouts, or non-profit organizations, should not have to compete with a billion dollar corporation, like Home Depot, for after school time.

Home Depot can afford a private facility to hold their "Open House". I know of no community groups that have that same luxury.


Ron Kaye has covered this story well over at his blog, and I will post the decision by the LAUSD as soon as the announcement is made.

Liberals, Galtazan and Home Depot

If you're interested in the fate of liberalism, then the Valley Grassroots for Democracy Book Club has something right up your alley: a discussion with the guy who literally wrote the book on the subject; school board member Tamar Galatzan's chief of staff Tom Waldman, author of Not Much Left: The Fate of Liberalism in America.

If you attend the event - this Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. at the State Office Building you might want to ask Tom what liberals think of a school board member who has yet to speak out on the environmental impact of opening a Home Depot 500 feet from a public school and how his employer is allowing a private corporation to use a public school to shill for their business interest.

You may also want to ask Tom if Ms. Galatzan is consistent in her liberalism in keeping quiet on an issue that her husband - the VICA's Brendan Huffman - is shilling for.