Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine for Thursday

 A day after Mayor Eric Garcetti pans a proposed $3 Billion Dollars Sale Tax Hike, members of the City Clowncil Central Committee request an ordinance that calls for raising the Minimum Wage for select Hotel Workers to $15 Dollars plus a hour, which may stimulate inflation and have dire budgetary ramifications on the City of Los Angeles General Fund.

 Los Angeles County Labor Federation Leader Maria Elena Durazo, exerts her influence on a labor-friendly City Council Central Committee to raise the Minimum Wage (and stimulate future dues payments, turned campaign contributions).

Replicating the same fail progressive policies as a certain Midwest City, could someday make Los Angeles, "Detroit on the Pacific".

Another challenge of leadership is looming for Mayor Eric Garcetti.

A day after Mayor Garcetti announced that the time was not right for placing a proposed $3 Billion Dollars plus Sale Tax Hike on the November Ballot, three members of the City Clowncil Economic Development Committee (please excuse pause for oxymoronic reflection) are recommending a Minimum Wage increase for non-union hotel workers (soon to become due-exploited brothers and sisters), to $15.37 per hour.

The implications of this proposed economic intervention by the labor-friendly Clowncil Central Committee, will have profound impacts on a General Fund that continues to provide less (in services) as future worker obligations increase.

Raising the Minimum Wage and its impact on the local Consumer Price Index (its a sure bet that the cost of raising wages will be past on to the customer), will influence future labor discussions and put pressure on Mayor Garcetti to back down from his stance of no pay raises over the next three years.

Surely, the Coalition of City Unions will exploit the fact that some municipal employees will be making less than the pending Clowncil Central Committee approved Minimum Wage. Thus, setting the stage (and wage benchmark) for the next round of contentious salary negotiations.

** In a move that is sure to draw the ire of "UTILA" (United Teaching Indoctrinators of Los Angeles), LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, is calling upon State Officials to join him in drafting new Teacher Tenure Laws in the wake of the Superior Court's Vergara Ruling. 

** From the "Bloggin Comandante" at the  "Weakly of Record", comes this missive regarding a proposal to cap Parking Tickets in the City of Los Angeles at $23 a pop (please pause as I laugh).

From the Weakly ........., The Parking Freedom people say the $23 limit is based on "the Bureau of Labor Statistics median hourly wage," which is better than basing the cost on how much money you rob can people for, the current metric. ......., which would be a non-starter with the City Clowncil Central Committee's propose hike in the Minmum Wage pending.

** LA Wave Newspaper Soulvine Column Betty Pleasant is never one to shy away from stating an opinion (mostly in the form a "Wanton Missive of Distortion" WMD). But the results of the 62nd Assembly District Contest has Betty contemplating something drastic .......,(I’m not ready to deal with the 62nd Assembly District yet, as I am seriously inclined to break my own rule and support an avowed Republican (as opposed to an alleged Democrat) in that race.

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14

My $300 an hour hike at Runyon Canyon

Runyon Canyon

by Jack Witt

Special to MayorSam

Over the past 10 years I have enjoyed hiking the popular urban LA hike with great vistas called Runyon Canyon. The main trailhead is accessed off of Mulholland. There is barely enough parking in the small dirt parking lot, and so for most of the last 10 years or so I end up street parking on Mullholland itself, along with multitudes of other hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Just last week when I returned from my 60 minute hike, I ended up having to chase down a tow truck I spotted driving away with my car on it. They said I was parked illegally since they put new parking signs up on Mullholland. They charged me $230 to get my car off the back of the truck there on the spot. Then to add insult to injury, there was a $90 parking violation citation on my windshield from the city.

To be fair, I did notice some new signs posted about not being able to park on Mullholland and an arrow pointing towards the trail head from about 50 yards out. Therefore, I parked in the direction the arrow wasn't pointing on the side of the road within the lines. When I told the tow truck driver that, he said that they only allow the first 3 cars/spaces of parking where I was, and I happen to be in the 4th space for a car. Well, nowhere on any signs did it say "no parking in a 4th space and beyond" or "legal parking only for the first 3 cars here on Mullholland". And then when I asked him about the cars parked along the other side of the street on Mullholland, directly across from where I was parked, he said those spaces hadn't been designated as legal or illegal, so they don't bother with them. Oh jeez I thought, this is like a kangaroo court of arbitrary rules and Alice in Wonderland parking spots.

Jack Witt

As a health and fitness coach this concerns me, because with obesity and chronic disease rates so high and out of control in the country, we should be encouraging healthy communities and active lifestyles, not setting up barriers to them here in LA. And, as a former volunteer Chamber of Commerce President, this concerns me because I know the history of the city of Los Angeles and its inability to budget, provide incentives for businesses, and its peculiar efficiency at handing out absurdly costly tickets and citations to good, hard working, law abiding citizens.

As my father used to say, "enough is enough"! It's no wonder so many businesses decide to leave Los Angeles every year because of the hostile business environment, and every-day ordinary people who live and/or have moved here to strive for some upward mobility can't get any traction, because the ticket/citation/parking meter happy city keeps trying to drag then down to their level of incompetence and bureaucracy.

Jack Witt, MS, CPT is a North Hollywood based Fitness and Health Coach who works with individuals  as well as groups and corporate clients. He recently published a companion set of fitness books Tight, Tone, and Trim for women and Cut, Cool, and Confident for men, currently available at Amazon. He can be contacted via his website at www.getfitwithWitt.com.