Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Monday

Perhaps like Walter Moore's rumored move to France some of his supporters may be considering doing the same. Valley Doll finds a Walter Moore supporter in Porter Ranch who may perhaps be planning to sell their home as well. This on the heels of an LA Times report that the Chatsworth-Northridge based Council District 12 was the only one citywide to cast more votes for Moore than Villaraigosa.

Back last July when the Mayor was off on another one of his junkets the LA Times brought to light how the City had done nothing to combat illegal trash dumping in South Los Angeles. Seven months later, the dumping continues. South LA resident Jose Vargas told The Times "People know they can get away with it."

The Mayor didn't deny reports that he plans to run for governor when appearing on a news show Sunday on CNN. Villaraigosa boasted to host John King "We won overwhelmingly." We'll try to figure out how he only got 55% of the vote in an election without, as the LA Times says, "any serious challengers."

Zuma Dogg claims that he caught on video recently re-elected School Board President Monica Garcia parking her LAUSD provided vehicle in a red zone while picking up dry cleaning and that then Garcia drove off while talking on her cell phone. Also at Valley of the Dolls. Beckford Parents Blog

UPDATE: Zuma Dogg has posted the video

Speaking of how utterly screwed up LAUSD is, Steve Lopez in the LA Times writes about how parents at his child's public school are regularly hit to volunteer and provide hundreds if not thousands of dollars to make up for funding shortfalls. At the same time the School District passes additional bonds and new taxes and it can't make the thing work. Perhaps these parents' groups that raise funds should follow the example of Valley Doll as well as Sunland Tujunga's Lydia Grant and their efforts to encourage parents to become politically active and hold their elected leaders accountable.

A Metroblogging writer and some readers point out the folly of the DWP's free CFL light bulb program - they haven't got their light bulbs yet. You may remember the DWP is spending millions to hire people to walk door to door and pass out the lightbulbs. We still don't know why DWP General Manager David "E WASTEWATER PLURIBUS" Nahai didn't figure out it would be cheaper and more efficient to put a coupon for the bulbs in ratepayers' bills that they could take to local retail stores.

15,000 citizens in Fullerton turned out Saturday for a "Tea Party" protest against tax increases sought by both the state and federal government. At the same time writer Tom Blumber of Newsbusters.org says that media coverage of similar protests nationwide - which appear to be growing - has been near nil.

California is now one hour ahead of Tijuana following the shift to Daylight Saving Time Sunday morning. Last year, the US and Canada decided to extend DST by one month however Mexico chose to remain on the traditional schedule and will "spring forward" on the first Sunday in April. So for the next few weeks those traveling between Tijuana and San Diego will need to adjust their watches accordingly.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Friday

The candidates for Mayor were asked if they support the vision for a "subway to the sea."  Candidate Carlos Alvarez does as well as subways to everywhere else.  Because he rode the subway in London, Phil Jennerjahn is surprisingly for this boondoggle as - no surprise - is Mayor Villaraigosa.  Walter Moore and David Hernandez correctly note the fiscal irresponsibility of the project and David "Zuma Dogg" Saltsburg drives it home saying the project consumes "a lot of money, time and hope tied up for something that may or may not even happen for 30 years."

The Planning Commission has delayed plans to re-write the City's billboard laws, changes that could have a chilling effect on free speech in Los Angeles.  In the meantime while billboard hysteria reaches a fever pitch during the City's primary elections, a recent poll bears out what I suspected - that most folks don't care and aren't even aware of the fight with 47% of Angelenos saying the advertisments are attractive.  Among Hispanics, the fastest growing segment of LA residents there is a near total lack of interest in the issue, with only three percent of that demographic saying the issue had any relevancy to their lives. That being said the billboard NIMBYS are loud and wicked - and voter apathy concentrates their venom - so local politicians cross them at their own peril.

How many DWP employees does it take to pass out a lightbulb? About $3 million worth.  Each of you will get free energy-saving CFL lightbulbs and the DWP will personally deliver them to your home.  I guess some genius at the DWP didn't figure out it would be far more cost effective to include a coupon in ratepayers' bills.  Question: Will they deliver light bulbs to the homeless? Yet another reason - DWP poor decisions - Vote No on B!

Saying that he is "a fiscal reformer with the energy and know how to clean up the financial mismanagement at City Hall, cut government waste and bring more accountability to city departments," former Los Angeles City Controller Rick Tuttle endorsed Fifth District Council Candidate Ron Galperin. 

About 400 entertainment industry jobs in the Los Angeles area will be lost in 2009 according to a research report released by the he Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.  The LAEDC's Jack Kyser - Walter Moore's second favorite economist - said the industry "faces challenges on many fronts."

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Sunday

The LA Times makes the case how scary it would be indeed if there were a troika of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and "two of his most unwavering supporters" Jack Weiss as City Attorney and Wendy Greuel as City Controller running the City following the March primary election. Greuel's primary opponent Nick Patsaouras told the Times "It's very apparent that Wendy is part of the inner circle, which will cloud her judgment and compromise her independence."

The DWP has to raise rates, the City is broke, yet we can give out free light bulbs to all residents! And amazingly, the DWP will be paying people to go door to door passing out these light bulbs all over Los Angeles! Yes, I understand they are the power saving, newfangled CFL bulbs.   But ask these questions: 1) How much did the bulbs cost, 2) Who got paid and 3) How much will it cost to have them hand delivered to all residences in the city?

We reported the other day that City Council Member Bernard Parks was giving up his spot on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitant Transportation Agency.  Now it appears that Parks may have been pushed.  Lots of conflicting stories about the matter from the Mayor's office as well as the Council offices of those who are rumored to be replacing Parks on the panel that will soon has millions of dollars in sales tax money to spend on boondoggle transit projects that will undoubtedly go over budget, be way behind schedule and make some very special people, rich.

The LA Times reports that former South Dakota Senator and designated Obama Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Daschle failed to pay $128,000 in taxes over three years during his turn in the private sector earning over $1 million a year as a corporate "advisor." A spokes-hole for Daschle said that the Senator "is embarrassed and disappointed by these errors."

The Answer To The Light Bulb Question

Sometimes a Mayor Sam reader gets a guest shot at blogging when their comment is just too good. RSS and blog aggregation fame is assured.

Earlier today I asked "How Many DWP Employees Does it Take to Pass Out a Light Bulb?" Manhattan Beach Mongrel (no relation to Zuma Dogg I presume) has the definitive answer:

It takes one if they're non-union.

If they're unionized, it takes a lot more. Here's the breakdown:

1 Teamster to transport the bulb to DWP.

1 AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) to process the accompanying paperwork.

1 EAA (Engineers, Architects, and Accountants) to process the purchase order for the bulb from the manufacturer.

1 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) to clean the bulb.

1 AFSCME to print installation instructions (including warnings to not swallow the bulb, disposal instructions, and compliance instructions).

1 Teamster to drive the printed instructions to the warehouse.

1 SEIU to package the bulb, and include the installation instructions with the packaging.

1 SEIU to warehouse the bulb.

1 Teamster to operate a forklift inside the warehouse, both for storage and for transport to the loading dock.

1 Teamster to load the DWP vehicle with the bulb.

1 Teamster to drive the DWP vehicle to its destination.

1 EAA to install the bulb if the resident is a special-needs person.

1 EAA to process fuel expenses.

Total DWP Employees: 13

For the record, all DWP employees are paid a higher salary than City employees with the same job classification. According to the DWP, their employees are paid higher due to hazards not encountered by City employees.

How Many DWP Employees Does it Take to Pass Out a Light Bulb?

The Daily News praises the DWP's CFL bulb giveaway however criticizes the fact the utility is spending over a million dollars to distribute the bulbs door to door suggesting in fact they could be distributed by volunteers or at community events. 

I'll take that one better.  The DWP should have instead made arrangements with about 3 - 4 chain stores in Los Angeles that sell the bulbs, who in exchange for free advertising would give the DWP the bulbs at a significant discount.  Then, the DWP would place a coupon for the bulbs in bills and consumers could redeem those coupons for bulbs at a local store, hence the DWP would only be charged for the bulbs picked up. 

Now not only will the DWP spend an enormous sum to distribute the bulbs, as well many will get lost, stolen, damaged or otherwise not used when DWP workers leave them on doorsteps.

I could have given them that idea for free.