Los Angeles Politics HotSheet for Thursday

Yes indeed, Amazon.com creates REAL jobs!
So, let's kill them!

The blogging dentist Flap reports that folks who like lots of taxes (probably employee and teacher unions who are addicted to pensions like Octomom is to pregnancy) are attempting a boycott of online retailer Amazon.com as retaliation for the e-commerce company's sponsorship of a ballot measure to overturn Californians's draconian taxes on internet purchases. The bad news for these tax lovers is that no one who shops (and saves money) at Amazon will even notice the boycott and the ballot measure will pass big on next year's ballot.

Los Angeles' City Treasurer Steve Ongele found a unique solution to the City's poor credit rating.  He cancelled the contract for the bond rating service.  Can't see me!

The panel empowered to draw up LA's new City Council districts is getting underway.  And the star attraction? Villaraigosa operative Mike "Meat" Trujillo who was appointed to the circus by Clowncilman Richard Alarcon (who knows a LOT about Council district boundaries!).  You may remember Mike was let go by CM Huizar for sending an email to the campaign team threatening to put a political bullet in the head of then opponent Rudy Martinez.

It's always a delight when the Downtown News' Jon Regardie fires up his keyboard. This time it's early game Mayoral election punditry.  Anyway, go there now!

Los Angeles Politics for Tuesday

Lots of fun stuff in the race to succeed now Congresswoman Janice Hahn in her vacated CD15 seat. The latest is an unconfirmed report posted by one of our readers that the firefighters union executive board split 3-3 on an endorsement of their President, Pat McOsker, for the Council seat. With the panel deadlocked, McOsker claimed the right the cast the deciding vote. If true, this would be a shocking display of hubris by a wannabe elected official.



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Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday

Mayor Villaraigosa ran on a pro-education platform.  The Mayor's endeavoured in the past to take over control of the LAUSD.  If he really wants to help our schools, he can perhaps do something about lower the water and power rates charged the school district by DWP. 

Redistricting is underway for the County Board of Supervisors.  Efforts are underway to draw districts as such so that County Supervisors of certain ethnicities are more likely to be elected.  I might be wrong, but seems to me that was made illegal long ago.

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Friday Free for All

A former aide to Janice Hahn is losing his cushy airport job after finding himself in an Anthony Weiner-like sexting scandal. Mike Molina, who had been serving as Deputy Executive Director of Los Angeles World Airports, quit when confronted by Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey over the allegations. Molina claims he is innocent but did admit to Lindsey that he used "bad judgment." Don't worry about Molina being homeless though, insiders are telling the Sister City that the skids are allegedly being greased for Molina to get a job with a major supporter of Hahn's.

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Friday Free for All

You may remember a few years ago when we reported on KTTV reports that Councilwoman Janice Hahn funded active gang members with funds that were meant for gang suppression.  Now that Hahn is running for Congress, her opponents want you to remember that.

Betty Pleasant is having another cow about Councilman Bernard Parks. You may remember that Betty is a "scribe" for a local paper that makes money by selling legally required ads to business. Betty is upset that business people in the Valley are helping Parks pay off his campaign debt.  That might be because Parks is one of a few members who show some sympathy to business.

Citizen panels will work to draw the lines for School Board, City Council and County Supervisor districts but in the end the electeds will still have the final say.

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Monday

LA's politicians are finding that getting free tickets to premier events around town can wind up being expensive.  After Mayor Villaraigosa was slapped with $42,000 in ethics violations fines, Council Members, Eric Garcetti, Jose Huizar, Herb Wesson and Tony Cardenas all got slapped by the Ethics Commission for scamming tickets to the Oscars, Grammys, etc.  In an interesting twist, those who gave the tickets were fined as well.

The City Reapportionment Commission will be getting to work soon on redrawing Council district maps in Los Angeles.  Every interest group from ethnic politics organizations to those who shill for business plan to get in on the act.  The NAACP and MALDEF will surely wish to see that Districts are drawn to ensure the election of as many minorities to the Council as possible; trade group VICA wants to see that no more than one Council district overlaps the San Fernando Valley and the rest of the City.

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Friday Free for All

Los Angeles City Controller's
Token Accounting System

Phil Jennerjahn, who recently found fault with Mayoral candidate Kevin James' disclosure of his homosexuality, now is upset with the talk radio host's views on garbage pickup.  Jennerjahn blogs that James is a "dangerous enemy of trash." We're not sure what that means and James had no comment at press time.

How does the City keep track of accounts payable? Paul Hatfield has investigated a number of City Controller audits and found that the collection of business taxes is recorded via a token accounting system. Token accounting, first developed in Ancient Sumeria uses clay markers to record transactions.  An attempt to upgrade to an abacus based system failed when the City cancelled the transaction due to the abacuses being manufactured in Arizona, at conflict with the Citys self imposed boycott of the Grand Canyon State.


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Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Wednesday

The Gerald Desmond Bridge aka  "China's Loading Ramp to America"

Help Wanted! As many as 7000 jobs will be opening up in Los Angeles and Long Beach in 2011 and 2012 as work begins on 2 major infrastructure projects; the replacement of the Gerald Desmond Bridge and modernization of Middle Harbor. The Gerald Desmond Bridge is the cracked and crumbling connection between Long Beach and Terminal Island . The bridge was built in 1960 and was never designed to withstand the volume of trucks transporting goods shipped from China to the Los Angeles of the 21st Century.

They're out of scale, out of place, and they are soon to be "out of here". "McMansions" are headed for a slow death as the City Council unanimously passes new guidelines and restrictions on these monuments to bad taste.

 Speaking of out of scale and in bad taste;

Yep, they approved it. 

The LA Council District border wars are about to begin!  "Neighborhood Councils should be fighting to protect their stakeholders" says Michael Cohen at Citywatch. Yea, and what's up with everyone wanting to be in CD2?


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Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Monday

As the City of LA and AEG get more serious about demolishing a portion of the Los Angeles Convention Center to build an NFL stadium in Downtown LA, competing stadium builder Ed Roski is firing his local lobbying team.  It's a race to the finish to see which billionaire can lure an actual team to their site.

The LA Marathon continued on despite a massive downpour.  Thousands of runners were later treated for hypothermia and 25 were sent to local hospitals for additional care.


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Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Monday

Looking good baby, looking real good!

Paul Hatfield has some excellent analysis around why Prop 27 must be defeated and Prop 20 must win in order to bring some sanity to the process of creating legislative districts in California.  Entrenched shady Congressmen like Howard Berman are fighting this because they know taking redistricting out of the politician's hands is bad news for hacks like Berman.

David Berger takes a look at how it easy it is these days to create animated political ads

The Daily News talks to some folks who are perennial candidates for public office.  Yet not one mention of Phil Jennerjahn..

Speaking of Phil Jennerjahn he's figured out a route for District Attorney Steve Cooley to the post of United States Attorney General.

If you like beer, we know many of you do, and you didn't make it to Union Station by Sunday you missed out on the Second Annual Beer Festival.

On the other hand if your tastes go more towards champagne on Tuesday evening the Paley Center hosts a tribute to LA icon Lawrence Welk.  Yes a one and a two celebrating the bubbles, Myron Floren, the luv-ley Lennon Sisters and more, you can't beat that.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Wednesday

Opposition to Measure B is growing .  Ron Kaye reports that Council Members Bernard Parks, Dennis Zine and Greig Smith have gone on record opposing the controversial DWP measure and that "Bill Rosendahl, is now undecided."  Kaye also notes that 32 Neighborhood Councils and two NC coalitions, at least seven homeowner groups and business organizations, the county Republican Party and the Harbor Democratic club have joined the opposition.

Industry news source FTVLive is reporting that NBC may outsource local news operations at it's owned and operated stations , perhaps to local Fox stations who NBC has an agreement with to share programming.  Apparently NBC brass aren't happy with the revenue performance of their local news divisions and their associated websites.  According to sources, NBC honcho Jeff Zucker wants to align the local websites with MSNBC.  The report says however that the outsourcing program will not affect KNBC here in Los Angeles.

If you're interested in having input into the legislative redistricting reform contained in the voter approved Proposition 11 last fall, here's your opportunity.   The California State Auditor will hold a public hearing  on Monday, February 23rd from 11am to 5pm at the Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.

The San FernandoValley Republican Club has released a list of recommended voters and ballot measure positions for the March 3rd election .  To me the most interesting thing is how many Republicans are not running in some of the various races.

City Council President Eric Garcetti is holding a competition for local residents to design bike racks  to be built and installed in his District.  The prize for the winning design is $2000.  How about a contest to design a better City government? Oh wait - that's Garcetti's job!

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Tuesday

Hoping to not doom chances for passage of Mayor Vs phone tax by pissing off the voters even more, the City Clowncil will probably hold off on DWP rate increases that have been tossed around for a while now.

A green blog derides Mayor Villaraigosa for failing to get Angelenos to conserve water and says that the Mayor seems to "epitomize everything the rest of us think about Los Angeles; all surface, a suit and smiling face with no more real substance than a Saturday AM cartoon rerun." Ouch!

Walking from the Metro to work, Steve Lopez runs into a press conference on thieves stealing copper wire from LA's street lights.

Our post on new KNBC weathercaster Elita Loresca stirred up some readers with some of finding the "sexiest newscaster in America" to look like a "tranny" and others finding her unattractive because the Phillipine born and Southern California reared Loresca "looked too Mexican." If you want more on Loresca you can check out a fan created blog that reviews her wardrobe or check out video and more pictures at the Backyard.

Now that he's ended it with Mirthala, Mayor V may want to post some personal ads on Craig's List or Match.com. Our friend Jon Regardie has drafted some up for the Mayor. Or the Mayor could take the advice of Speed Seduction creator Ross Jeffries to get some good mileage going for the holidays.

Here in Van Nuys has a great post about what a horribly ugly corner Sepulveda and Vanowen in Van Nuys (or is it Valley Glen or West Lake Balboa or Lake Balboa or Encino or Sherman Oaks? Someone please advise.) is. Who is the Clowncil Member over there?

Starting January 1st, you will no longer be able to transfer for free from the Metro to an LADOT or DASH bus.

Redondo Beach levied fines on cable operator Time Warner. When Time Warner asked to appeal to the the local Clowncil, they were turned down. Now, they're suing.

Kudos to Joseph Mailander for getting linkage from LAist for his post advising Mayor Villaraigosa on how he should use his bully pulpit to bring recalcitrant movie studios to the bargaining table in the writers' strike. Just wish they would have given the byline to Joe and not me (cause you know good old reactionary Republican me would come down on the side of the studios).

Even though they use "bio-fuels" with a minimal carbon footprint, City Clowncil liberals in New York City want to ban the horse and carriages that are a city icon.

State Senator Alan Lowenthal, writing at Capitol Weekly, says that if the Governor and members of the Legislature really want re-districting reform, they could pass SCA 10, rather than getting ready for a costly signature gathering drive and ballot fight.

Gossip mongers are parsing a recent speech by Jodie Foster that the actress is coming out as a lesbian. Who knew?