A Bloggin Public Comment on alleged Sunland Tujunga NC Censorship and IBEW

Has the Sunland-Tujinga Neighborhood Council become a censoring shill for the Official Union of the Wendy "The Embraced Villar Greuel" Campaign?

The Official Union Bug of the Wendy "The Embraced Villar Greuel" Campaign.

We now bring you this bloggin public comment from Wally Wharton aka "Rita of Sunland".

There is no bloggin censorship here at Mayor Sam

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14

Mini Pips for a Humpday Afternoon

How does a controversial local newspaper publisher with an extensive criminal record continue to publish his paper and serve as a "principal for the day" at a local high school? That's the question on the mind of many residents of Sunland-Tujunga; follow the reporting at Joe B's Mop and Bucket Blog.

The Chairman of the Democratic National Convention AKA 11% Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is coming after your wallet. He wants to extend LA's increased sales tax to pay for more transportation boondoggles. With news of the utter failure of California's goofy high speed rail plan, is this really the time to tie up much needed tax dollars in a down economy?

Congressional candidate and former MayorSam blogger Phil Jennerjahn details his property rights platform.

In case you missed it, last Saturday night Frank Sheftel, David Hernandez and I spoke with political consultant John Thomas about Carmen Trutanich's embarrassing court defeat last week over his ballot title.

Cool random photo shot by Joseph Mailander in Silver Lake over at this Street Hassle Blog.

By the way, if you haven't "liked" us on Facebook yet, please kindly consider visiting our page and doing so. Additional content and a great way to network with other MayorSam fans.

Morning Briefs on a Shifting Los Angeles Political Machine for Monday

The political honeymoon between Sunland-Tujunga and CD 2 City Councilman Paul Krekorian is over. ** Read letter from the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council to Councilman Krekorian that was crafted after rare Sunday Special Meeting. 

 Joe Barrett's S.T centric Blog "Action Alert" on Ed Reyes CD 1 style density in CD 2. From Joe B. This is very serious. We have a un-vetted project being fast tracked through the City. An incomplete application, no addressing the Historical Resource Impacts (to Bolton Hall), substandard infrastructure, and a Councilman that's MIA. Please write your letters today!

Why would Councilman Krekorian fail to find a need for supplemental environmental review on the Samoa Project considering among others ....

•  The historic resource preservation cannot be ignored.

•  There is inadequate parking and Samoa is a sub-standard street.

•  There are no provisions to improve the infrastructure and the existing infrastructure can't handle the density now.

•  The impacts on public safety.  High crime area. 

•  Thorough Environmental Review must be required.

But then that was the argument of the Friends of the Southwest Museum, when they requested that a Supplemental EIR be conducted on the Autry National Center' plans to use public money to increase exhibit space at its Griffith Park location. And who was the council person that shot down the proposal?

OTHER NEWS AFTER THE JUMP.  

Read more »

Open Letter to Joseph

Joseph Mailander, at the Street Hassle blog, has been all over some major issues in Los Angeles, including the meltdown in City Attorney Carmen Trutanich's office and the profanity laced alleged rants of potential CD15 candidate Pat McOsker. This was a good run after Mailander spent a week or two with bizarre screeds about politics in Sunland-Tujunga, in my view, fueled by his personal animosity towards local activist and MayorSam blogger, Joe Barrett.

Mailander must have needed a Sunland-Tujunga "hit," because while all the other blogs are all over Nuch, under his "Mulholland Terrace" pen name, Mailander has a cow about the use of video cameras to ensure transparency at public meetings.

After the jump, I try to reach Joseph.
Read more »

Prominent Sunland-Tujunga Activists Announce Endorsement in CD 2 Special Election

"Tamar Galatzan making friends in Sunland-Tujunga"

Prominent Sunland-Tujunga community leaders have announced their endorsement in the CD 2 Special Election to complete the remainder of now City Controller Wendy Greuel's term on the City Council.

September 15, 2009

Dear Council District 2 Residents,

On September 22nd, 2009, we will have the opportunity to cast an important vote. We will choose who will represent us at the Los Angeles City Council in the Council District 2 seat. This is such an important vote, we the undersigned, feel we must come forward and announce our choice to you, our fellow community members. As diverse as we are, we have united behind one candidate and ask you to also consider voting for Tamar Galatzan.

We are impressed with Tamar’s honesty, dedication and her desire to serve the people of Sunland-Tujunga and CD2. We need someone who can hit the ground running, and Tamar’s experience as a prosecutor coupled with her knowledge of city departments and procedures will create a strong tool in the arsenal to protect our open space and way of life. We need a fighter with integrity and backbone and Tamar is that person. We have each spoken individually with many of our fellow stakeholders in Sunland-Tujunga and it is clear that Tamar Galatzan has strong support in our community.

Tamar’s public appearances at various candidate forums and her appearances at Neighborhood Council meetings have shown she is very aware of the important and unique issues of our community. Tamar has the ability to ‘straight talk’ and connects with any and all constituents in CD2. Tamar has shown her commitment to our community during the devastating fires by:

• Personally phoning the mayor to try to authorize overtime for rescue staff
• Ensuring that Verdugo Hills High School was opened and accessible for evacuees
• Working with KLCS to broadcast vital information about evacuation facilities
• Providing guidance for local residents to appropriate emergency services

We do acknowledge and recognize a few of the other candidates as very knowledgeable, intelligent and viable candidates for the CD2 seat. But overall, we believe Tamar has the best understanding of what it will take to make our streets safer, our schools better and improve the quality of life for all of us in CD 2.

Some of the signees include,

Joe Barrett, Sunland-Tujunga Alliance (STA) Co-Founder
Chairman of No Home Depot Campaign

Abby Diamond, STA Co-Founder
Secretary of No Home Depot Campaign

Dan McManus, President
Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council (STNC)

Tomi Lyn Bowling, Chairman
STNC Land Use Committee

Ed Novy, STNC Board Member

Here is a link to the entire letter with the names of the endorsers.

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

** Link here to Ron Kaye's report in "OurLA" on today's Sunland-Tujunga developments.

(organization names used for identification purposes only)

Father Knows Best...

It’s Father’s Day -- a time to give thanks and show some love to the men who have taken on one of the hardest jobs around: Fatherhood. The Sister City would like to give a shout-out to all the loving, caring, hard-working Dads who deserve lots of love and spoiling today.

A few of our favorite local Dads:

Jamiel Shaw, Sr. – Living through the nightmare of losing his beloved son, Jas, Jamiel Sr. did not fade quietly into the pain and desolation of grief and mourning. Instead, he became a pro-active leader in the push to stop the senseless loss of life on the streets of Los Angeles. With the introduction of Jamiel’s Law (pdf file), Jamiel Sr. hopes to spare other families the horror of losing a loved one to violence at the hands of criminals who should not be on the streets of our city. We are also very glad to have Jamiel Sr. here as a contributor at MayorSam's. Our thoughts, prayers, support and love are with you on this day.

Joe Barrett – MayorSam blogger and father of two, Joe B. is the fearless leader of the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance and the No Home Depot Campaign. He is a dedicated and tireless worker for the people of Sunland-Tujunga. Joe Barrett is a fine man with so much heart and soul (and a million fabulous stories about all the great musicians he's worked with), Sunland-Tujungans are extremely lucky to have him on their side. We're extremely lucky to have him here at MayorSam's.

Artur Cybulski & David Krassner -- Partners both personally and professionally, as well as the parents of two beautiful children, Artur and David have contributed to the lives of many kids from all around the Los Angeles area. As directors of Camp Bravo, they have made it possible for young people interested in the performing arts to attend camp in a beautiful outdoor setting (the de Benneville Pines Camp Facility in Angelus Oaks, California). Not only do kids get to camp, but they also get to experience a non-competitive environment in which to immerse themselves in the thrill of performing. Among some of Camp Bravo’s awards: Educational Theatre Association Winner of the National Standing Ovation Award, California Thespian Society Hall of Fame Award, California Educational Theatre Association award for Outstanding Contribution to Educational Theatre. David and Artur can often be found at their children's school, helping with classroom productions, and at special school events -- sharing their amazing theatrical skills to delight of both students and teachers.

Jon Regardie - LA Downtown News Executive Editor Jon Regardie, a bit of a horse racing fan, was recently spotted with his one-year-old daughter in tow at a local restaurant where racing fans have been known to follow ponies. Dad was there to take in the Preakness, and although daughter was clearly calling for the bottle, Jon was adroit enough as a dad to know to withhold the bottle until the race itself. Daughter was getting crankier, but Jon refused to show the bottle until the horses were being loaded into the gate. Then, as the ponies were loading up, Jon then went to the bottle at last. Voila! A quiet and content baby, wire-to-wire!

Robert Cohn – Dude… what are you thinking? A Valley resident, and active member of his community, Robert has agreed to take over as President of the exemplary Beckford Ave. PTA. In the PTA world (which is heavily Mom powered, and in which the ladies don’t always necessarily play nicely together), Rob’s been able to navigate around the landmines of personalities and has comfortably established himself as a leader among us yentas... uhhh, I mean... parents. He’s a stay-at-home dad, active at his temple, and an all-around Good Guy. While his children adore having Daddy around school, and as he is not entirely bad to look at… the Moms enjoy having him around, too.

George Lopez - In 2001, comedian (and dad) George Lopez became the first Latino to have headlined a keystone morning radio slot on an English-language station in LA—the nation’s top radio market. His career quickly shot up from there. A native son of the East Valley (there’s a special plate named after him at the legendary San Fernando tortilleria, Carrillos) George received the 2003 Imagen Vision Award, 2003 Latino Spirit Award for Excellence in Television and the National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Award. No hacker himself on the golf course, George was a featured celebrity golfer in The 2004 Chrysler Bob Hope Classic and the 2004 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Lopez and his pro partner finished third in the Pebble Beach event.

Gavin Rossdale – What can you say about a young, hot, hands-on Rocker Dad who enjoys being The Daddy while his equally hot, rock-star-fashion-designer/icon-wife takes on the world -- other than “OH MY GOD GAVIN ROSSDALE IS SO HOT HOLDING THAT BABY!” If you’ve ever spied Gavin and young Kingston out and about in L.A., you’ve No Doubt seen his sweet Dad Skills in action. Gavin is one of L.A.’s cutest and most doting Dads in town.

Wil Wheaton – Self described “actor, writer, poker player, stepfather, and (relatively) long-time blogger”, Wil Wheaton may be more familiar to you as one of the young actors in the film “Stand by Me”. Wil’s blog, WWdN:In Exile , proves that Geeks, and especially unrepentant Geeky Dads, can be totally and unabashedly adorable. Love, love, love him!

And finally... okay, so maybe technically he's not a father (that we know of) but in answer to the perennial question Who’s Your Daddy? -- In L.A., and especially around City Hall, there is but one answer: Zuma Dogg, beyotch (you better ask somebody)! Many a politico in this city has been pwned by Zuma with his tenacity and refusal to back down from an issue. His willingness to help, many times with issues dealing with kids and schools and the betterment of the pueblos (plus, no one does Journey like Zuma does Journey; damn, homeboy even out-Journey’s Steve Perry!) makes Zuma Dogg the Coolest Daddy-O in town.

To All Sister City Dads Everywhere -- have a great day; you've earned it!

(special Father's Day xoxo's for Mr. Doll and Valley Dad -- love you!)

Joe Barrett Honored By Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council

MayorSam Blogger, NHDC Founder and Chairman Joe Barrett was recently honored with "The President's Award" by the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council. Outgoing STNC president Cindy Cleghorn made the presentation at the May 14th STNC meeting. Joe was unable to attend, so the award was accepted by the lovely Abby Diamond on his behalf.

From Ms. Cleghorns speech:

This next person I wish to recognize is someone we all know and love. His dedication to our community has put him through many challenges, obstacles, difficult situations, laughter, tears, stress and fears. He's become well known in many circles but his drive for improving our quality of life will forever be a part of the history of Sunland-Tujunga. He is a determined, community volunteer who has the support of thousands of people - I'd like to extend this President's Award to Joe Barrett.

The people of Sunland-Tujunga know it; his fellow Burros and readers of MayorSam know it; and now it's time for the rest of Los Angeles to know it: Joe Barrett is a dedicated, caring and wise citizen of this city and we need a lot more like him around these parts. We're all so very proud of you Joe, and thankful to you for all of your efforts on behalf of the people of Sunland-Tujunga!

Alarcon for CD2? We were just kidding!

Last year when it was announced that Second Council District Member Wendy Greuel was planning to run for City Controller in 2009 we began to speculate on should Greuel be successful and step down from her Council seat, who would run to replace her. In addition to the usual suspect - School Board Member Tamar Galatzan who began running for the seat before she was even elected to the Board - we playfully tossed around a few names including our own Joe Barrett, nerdy blogger Zach Behrens and then recently elected Seventh Council District Member Richard Alarcon. To the latter we of course intoned, "just kidding."

But maybe not. Zuma Dogg is reporting on a wild rumour around City Hall that Red Spot's favorite ZORRO MARXIST is indeed considering a move that would put in CD2 and a run for the spot after Greuel steps down. According to Zuma Dogg Alarcon's view is that he could be succesful in getting elected to the District seat which has a significant population though not a majority of Hispanic voters. Presumedly Alarcon's view is that he has enough crossover appeal that would not necessarily be the case for other Latinos considering running. Were Alarcon to be elected in CD2, his 7th District seat - with a far larger Latino population - would go to another Hispanic and hence increase the number of Latinos on the Council.

When will the ethnic, racist politics come to end? I would hope the day would come when a Jew would be elected CD14 Council Member beacuse they love their community and they are the most qualified person or perhaps a Latino would be elected in CD5 for the same reasons or an African American in District 12, etc., etc., etc.

When this nonsense ends, we'll have a better City. Let's hope Alarcon gives up his silly plan or at least gets his ass kicked at the polls.

Five O'Clock Funnies

A two for one Zuma Dogg video treat for you today; first off Zuma Dogg exploring water waste at City Hall followed by Joe B.'s favorite Zuma Dogg clip, Zuma Dogg Sings Journey.

One Hour Til Showtime

Michael with the No 2 Home Depot Crew

The big Sunland-Tujunga Circus will begin soon and Mayor Sam will be on the scene, the rumor I hear Zuma Dogg and Joe Mailander will be there too.

Since the fradulent theft of the Mayor Sam mobile unit, we won't have a live video feed but I'll twitter away with updates as they come in via the good old BlackBerry.

And who knows what other surprises await us?

Home Depot Thinks You Need ID to Stand on the Sidewalk

More of my video from trip last weekend to Sunland-Tujunga and the site of the ill fated Home Depot. Yes, its the very trip that forced the old, dead Republican Mayor to do a KERRY-ESQUE flip flop and become a Home Depot opponent. Now my libertarian soul hasn't gone the distance to believe the city should force this to happen; but I realize that it's probably the only way. Though I'll continue to try to embarrass the brain dead not deserving of the fruits of free enterprise clowns at Home Depot out of it.



This video follows a few of the sights and sounds of Sunland-Tujunga from my journey and further footage of the altercation between myself, No 2 Home Depot Chairman Joe Barrett, North Valley Reporter publisher Nina Royal and a Home Depot security guard. The guard - a sweet young woman just trying to do her job - was under the mistaken impression that citizens can not shoot film on a public sidewalk and apparently need some kind of identification to do so. The culmination of the scene is my call to Home Depot spokes-hole Kathryn Gallagher's cell phone. Kathryn didn't take my call but emailed me the next day offering an interview with a representative of Home Depot's real estate division. A little too late I think considering I've been covering the story for over a year (staunchly on the side on the side of Home Depot) and the very first time I ever hear from Home Depot is the Friday before I go to Sunland-Tujunga.

As much as it breaks my objectivist heart; I can't waste my time defending stupid capitalists.

How To Solve The Sunland Tujunga Underwear Problem

Apparently people in Sunland Tujunga don't have enough underwear in their wardrobe and they hate big hardware stores.

Home Depot has leased land in their area and is attempting to build a hardware store that according to community activists, every single person who lives in the community opposes.

Therefore as a free idea from the Mayor Sam Insitiute for Advanced Studies of Community Underwear Needs we offer the following recommendation:

Joe Barrett and team should pool their funds together, create Community Underwear, LLC, buy the land and buy-out Home Depot's lease.

Then CU-LLC could immediately begin to build their underwear mall featuring the cafes they want to sit at and sip lattes while in their underwear.

Everyone would be happy.

Perhaps even SEIU and UFCW would be glad to contribute pension funds to the project.