Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Wednesday

The biggest threat to the LA oligarchy since Tom Bradley busted up the Committee of 25, Rudy Martinez, has opened his first campaign office.



Read more »

My Word, Ban the Bag! Zevcialism Comes to LA County!

From USA Today - 

Los Angeles County has become the largest U.S. municipality to ban plastic shopping bags. Although the ban, approved earlier today, will cover about 1.1 million residents, it pertains only to unincorporated areas and not to Los Angeles itself and 87 other cities in the county, the Los Angeles Times says.

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday

Well, well, well.  Guess who spent $50 million to save $13 million? Nope not the DWP.  Nope, not Tom LaBonge. You're incorrect if you said Kim Kardashian. Give up? Your Los Angeles MTA spent that amount to install turnstiles at it's subway and light rail stations - except it currently can not issue the fare media the gates require and can not be locked.




Read more »

When Plastic Bags are Outlawed Only Outlaws Will Have Plastic Bags

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Friday

Joe B's CD2 Election Blog reports that former City Council Candidate Frank Sheftel has come out in support of former opponent Chris Essel.  A statement from Sheftel at the blog details his reasons for doing so.  However Sheftel does not indicate if he believes the Armenian Genocide happened or not.

AEG President Tim Leiweke says that City Attorney Carmen Trutanich "bullied" him and demanded that AEG reimburse the City for nearly $6 million in costs for the Michael Jackson memorial at Staples Center.  Nuch says when it comes to being a watchdog over the City's cash he doesn't mind being a bully.  Going after the sacred cows and power elite in LA is a good thing for Nuch to do.  It will bear him far more good will and political capital than going after the pot shops and busting crazy old loon Mayoral candidates.


What do you do when you're a termed out Assemblyman in need of a job? You get the Mayor to hire you at the Port.  What happens when, because LA's politics are so incestous, you have to give that job up because your wife's law firm represents the unions that the Port's employees belong to? You move over to the DWP.  That's what Wally Knox is doing and that's SO LA!

LAX has raised parking fees at the airport's economy parking lots.  Lots B and C will see a $2 per day increase going up to $10 and $12 a day respectively.  Tip: Check out LAX Park Place where you can get indoor valet parking for around $9 a day, with free shuttle and no waiting for that damn bus.

Nanny state alert! The City of Calabasas is considering a ban on plastic grocery bags.  Now we all know the old, dead Republican Mayor hates plastic shopping bags and uses reusable cloth bags at stores like Ralphs, Trader Joe's and HOWS.  He doesn't need the government to tell him to do that nor do those stores need big brother to motivate them to do something that makes sense and is environmentally friendly.  Remember when plastic bags are outlawed only outlaws will have plastic bags.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Friday

The most noteworthy event of his career for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is that he's going to be immortalized in wax by the legendary Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.  Other than that, an LA Weekly piece by Patrick Range McDonald paints a dim picture of the Mayoralty under Villaraigosa, that of a Mayor consumed by photo ops, press events and ego stroking, without a single accomplishment (including that the one achievement the Mayor does tout may have been fudged) under his belt.  Other than the grass roots candidacy of Walter Moore, no one has yet sought to challenge the Mayor, who has perhaps left the City so broken no one wants it.

Though the majority of Republicans appear to support the effort to deny rights to same-sex couples, Proposition 8, there is a growing GOP effort to oppose the measure.  At the same time local Republicans are criticizing the leadership of the County GOP organization for sponsoring an event against marriage choice at a time when the party's focus should be on electing Republicans to local office.  We've said it before, but booting County Party Chair Linda Boyd is long overdue. 

Evidently we've put an end to crime in Los Angeles, we've filled all the potholes, we've brought lots and lots of high paying jobs to the city and we've balanced the budget.  Because besides banning plastic bags and fast food in Los Angeles, the City Council took to that veritable scourge of society, banning smoking at outdoor farmers markets.

If you live in one of  LA's tony hillside or canyon areas, you better not be voting for John McCain or more importantly, don't put up a sign supporting the Republican Presidential candidate.  Not only will local liberals deface your sign, the City will tell you to take it down - despite Supreme Court rulings that say a City cannot prohibit political speech on private property.

I didn't catch this earlier, but when John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his pick for his running mate, his daughter, blogger Meghan McCain blogged the event with lots of behind the scenes photos of the announcement event.

Priorities

96% of murder warrants are for criminal aliens in the country illlegaly as is 78% of LA's most wanted list.  A 16 year old was killed during a planned gang fight near Los Angeles High School last week.  Two suspects are accused of trying to kill an off-duty police officer in San Pedro last Friday night.  The Bank of America in Van Nuys was robbed again Tuesday.



Despite that, our City leaders in LA have priorities.  They're banning fast food in South LA.  The police are arresting photographers near Britney Spears' home.  The City Council voted to ban plastic bags Tuesday. 



Yet the politicians on our Clowncil save for one won't touch Jamiel's Law and won't even admit to the crime problems we have. 



It's all about priorities.  So if you're a photographer and see Britney carring a Big Mac in a plastic bag, be sure not to take her photo.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Tuesday

Without view of the harm that additional taxes will do to our economy and the regressive effect on poor families of increasing sales taxes blogger Kenneth Alpern throws his support behind a significant increase to in that tax ostensibly for rail transit.  Alpern even acknowledges that government spending could be curtailed elsewhere to provide funding to transportation but figures that's too hard so why bother.  The key to ending gridlock and providing transit is to reduce the barriers to business in California, work to place jobs near housing so folks don't have to commute and open up public transit to competition from the private sector who would absolutely do a far better job in providing this service than the MTA has ever done.



Speaking of taxes, Dennis Zine is making noise that he may oppose Janice Hahn's ludicrous gang property tax increase if he isn't certain Canoga Park will get it's "fair share."  There could be a glimmer of Denny's former Republican soul shining through however as he told the Daily News "People are feeling the pinch," Zine said. "The economy is really in bad shape, and it might not be a good time to ask people for more taxes."  Bingo Former Motorcycle Cop of Record!  THAT's the reason to oppose the tax and not whether you get your slab of bacon or not.  Make us proud Councilman Zine - send goofy Janice Hahn the message that the people are tired of tax increases.



Based on the numbers and past history, it's not likely Republican Presidential candidate John McCain will win California's boatload of electoral votes.  Hence, it appears the GOP standard bearer is not going to make much of an effort in the Golden State. However McCain owes it to the downticket Republicans, especially those in tight races, to do his best to turn out as many votes for himself as possible.



My friend Ron Kaye isn't the only one opposed to big screen flat panel HD televisions.  Apparently Barack Obama wants to rip them out of the White House.  Sure he does, when Richardson comes over for Superbowl Sunday yea they're going to read Lincoln's speeches instead.  By the way Ron I was at the store pricing 60" flat panels the other day.  Contributions to this goal from Mayor Sam readers would be greatly appreciated.  What a great way to give back to your favorite old, dead Republican Mayor who has brought you four years of enjoyment as he remodels his home.



Residents in Venice are up in arms over folks who move into their hood and live in RVs and cars parked on the streets.  Councilmember Bill Rosendahl feels that there should be some compassion shown these semi-homeless folks and wants to set up special "districts" to keep these vehicles from parking overnight in Venice (and sending them to someone else's neighborhood).



The City Council is considering placing a 25 cent per bag tax on plastic bags used in stores in Los Angeles.  Along with the trash tax, telephone tax and a coming sales tax for public transit how much more are we going to pile on, especially for the poor? This is a free market issue and the free market can solve the problem.  Check out stores like HOWS, Walgreens, Trader Joe's and others who sell reusable cloth bags.  I have to tell you as much as I hate plastic bags (the stores use WAY too many of them to put 1-2 items in each and they're not convenient) I hate excessive taxes just as much.  Imagine a poor family buying groceries having to spend less money on food so they can cover the extra sales and bag taxes on their weekly grocery take.  There are other ways to protect the environment.



Rick Orlov joins the war on billboards.  Laws should be followed and illegal efforts should be punished, however just because one group of folks in LA doesn't like the advertisements doesn't mean a lot of other folks don't find them cool when done right in the right place.  This again goes towards the need to eliminate the class warfare element of the Battle of Los Angeles.



Britney Spears' guest appearances on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother earned her some fan appreciation and critical notice but it wasn't enough to get her an Emmy nomination in the guest star category.  Also snubbed: Olsen twin Mary-Kate for her appearances on the Showtime series Weeds.

You Can Make The Choice Not To Waste Plastic Shopping Bags!

I've battled the Nanny State over this issue before but I still feel the free market and not legislation by bachelor nannies is the right way to solve the problem of plastic shopping bags not being recycled. You can add Walgreen's to the list of stores that offer shopping bag options for customers. Way to go! And the County of LA joins Heal the Bay in the voluntary Day Without A Bag next Thursday.

Extra:
Free market alternatives to mandatory bag recycling.

Fran Pavley: Environmental Superstar

Capitol Weekly takes a look at liberal legislator Fran Palvey, the Assemblywoman who wants to be a State Senator. Pavley is sort of seen as an environmental superstar which is probably behind the reason for ridiculous nanny state legislation from her possible primary opponent - Assemblyman Lloyd "The Bachelor" Levine like trying to ban light bulbs or imposing state mandated schemes to recycle grocery bags.

These silly proposals are only a shallow attempt to try and match Pavley's long environmental record and more importantly - they're not working. Levine is far behind in fundraising and in polls. Insiders say Levine is considering dropping out of the race to seek a Los Angeles City Council seat.

The Right Way To Get People Off Plastic Bags

Patron Saint of the Nanny State Lloyd "The Bachelor" Levine - more importantly known as The Backstabber - could learn a lesson from this.

All along this old, dead Republican Mayor has said that the market can handle most issues. Lloyd wants a government solution to the issue of plastic shopping bags littering up the place. Mayor Sam has often pointed out how the market has begun to address the issue.

Now lets take it up a notch - get these gals to promote reusable shopping bags and the results will be far greater than any stupid legislation dumb-ass Lloyd could write.

Go Fran Pavley!

Free Ad for Stores that have Free Market Reusable Bags

• HOWS
• Trader Joe's
• IKEA
• Anya Hindmarch

Lloyd Wants to be your Mommy

Lloyd "The Bachelor" Levine is at it again. Must he be our mommy? Friday he will throw his weight behind legislation to give tax credits to employers who pay for fitness programs for their employees.

More after the jump

As someone who is dedicated to improving his own fitness, having lost 150 pounds since last summer, I am all for working out. As a senior manager who is looking for ways to develop and retain our company's staff, a wellness program is an excellent investment for a firm in it's number one asset - it's employees.

But we don't need Lloyd Levine to make it happen. This is nothing more than a gift to the fitness industry. Again, this is not a proper role of government.

Lloyd doesn't seem to get that. As the patron saint of the nanny state, the guy who dates TV reporters and tries to go on game shows wants to run your life. He's also running for State Senate in what will be a bruising primary battle. So he needs the jack and the juice to beat back a formidable opponent in the form of Fran Pavley.

An article in the Sacramento Bee demonstrates that this old, dead Republican mayor isn't the only one who is troubled by Levine's liberal do-gooding and government babysitting:

Critics brand the Los Angeles County lawmaker, son of a political consultant, as a flaming liberal and aggressive self-promoter whose legislation, such as the light bulb bill, tends to exacerbate "nanny government" by overregulating private matters.

Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Palm Desert, said he likes Levine but that some of his bills "definitely go over the line into managing people's lives beyond what I think is appropriate."

Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, said Levine is trustworthy and competent but that banning the common light bulb is silly, adding, "I don't mind telling him that.

Radio hosts John and Ken take "Colostomy Bag" Levine to task for another one of his nanny state projects, mandatory spaying and neutering of pets. Click here to listen.

The bottom line is if people want to work out great. If employers (and many do) want to provide fitness as a benefit even better.

We don't need Lloyd or any other politician to make that happen for us.