Afternoon Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Scene for Thursday

"Reigning Los Angeles Journalist of the Year Patrick Range McDonald".

LA Weekly's Patrick Range McDonald latest missive that takes Mayor and MTA Chairperson Antonio Villar to task for his latest nefarious dealings regarding the "Westside Subway Extension", will be his last Villar piece for the next six months.

Former RINO Mayor Richard Riordan has retained the pen behind the "11% Mayor" to write his memoirs, a task that some would be surprise to see McDonald undertake. But as McDonald stated, any perceived political barriers between McDonald and Riordan are not so profound to hinder their working relationship. "Some people may wonder, because I'm a liberal Democrat openly gay man, why am I helping to write a memoir about a Republican? But Riordan always been strongly in favor -- going back years -- of gay rights and gay marriage." We wish the best to Patrick on his latest effort to bring grammatical order to an gaff-prone politico narrative.

More news after the jump............

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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.

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.

"Beverly Hills Chihuahua"

A reader forwarded this from Los Angeles Animal Services.

"Los Angeles – Last night, Disney Studios hosted the premiere of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, the story of Chloe, a well-heeled Beverly Hills Chihuahua, who finds herself lost in Mexico and in need of assistance in order to get back home. The release of this movie has caused much concern in the humane community. Many animal lovers recall the fallout from the movie 101 Dalmatians. Many allege that that movie resulted in the over breeding of Dalmatians by backyard breeders and puppy mills, which then led to many shelters across the nation being overrun with unwanted Dalmatians.

LA Animal Services wants Chihuahua-lovers to know that, if Beverly Hills Chihuahua increases demand for the increasingly popular breed, LA’s Animal Care Centers are the perfect places to find and adopt a great Chihuahua. The movie itself is a testimonial to the quality of shelter Chihuahuas – at least two of the movie’s canine stars were adopted from public shelters in Southern California shortly before they were scheduled to be euthanized.

If you’re looking for a Chihuahua, LA’s shelters are THE place to go. Nearly 12% (2,550) of all dogs (21,660) taken in by LA Animal Services since January 1, 2008, are Chihuahuas. Chihuahuas are second only to pit bulls (4,541) as the most often impounded lost or homeless dog breed in Los Angeles. At 14% (1,642) of all dogs adopted (11,513) from LA Animal Care Centers since the beginning of the year, Chihuahuas are second to no other dog breed as LA’s most popular. Pit bulls follow at 12% (1,472).

Sadly, not all lost Chihuahua stories end as happily as Chloe’s. Chihuahuas are the third most euthanized dog breed in City shelters at 6%, following pit bulls at 45% and German Shepherds at 11%."

Former Commissioner's Blog

This may not be news, but an MS reader sent me the link to the blog of the former Los Angeles Animal Services Commissioner , Marie Atake, who resigned after Mayor Villaraigosa's office turned a deaf ear to her concerns last year about Edward M. Boks, the shelter GM.

KABC Eyewitness News did a story on her departure after, she indicates, the Mayor put out false information about the state of the department, and conditions within the shelters. The Mayor dismissed her concerns as a "difference of opinion."

Atake, who founded an animal charity in Marina Del Rey called Forte Animal Rescue, was telling the truth, as demonstrated when the shelter workers, veterinary staff, and officers made a demand earlier this week for Boks' firing.

Mr. Boks has yet to post a response on his rather colorful city blog, but we'll link it here when he has one.

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.

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.