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Monday, October 01, 2007

Leave LA: My Decision

For the last couple of weeks, I've considered whether or not I should leave Los Angeles. I was quite touched to see some other blogs picked up on the story here and here and here.

I recently visited where my family is historically from, Iowa and where my parents were born and raised. It had been some time since I had been to the Hawkeye state and my first time as an adult. The pace of life, the difference between a major city like Los Angeles and a small city such as Waterloo in Iowa and the attractiveness of being close to many family members was a magnet to me.

We've looked at a lot of reasons to leave including cost of living, arts and culture and even the blogosphere in Iowa.

And of course LA quite frankly sucks in many ways.

Indeed, there are reasons not to move to a small, Midwestern city like Waterloo, the lack of wonderful things like sushi and the frigid winters among them.

So I am staying.

But its not a dearth or raw fish or a fear of snow that has me keeping put. Its a lot more than that.

To uproot myself, even to an area where there is more family than here in Los Angeles would indeed be a bit traumatic. It would require a lot of work and upfront expense. And there is no guarantee life would be better in the new location.

More importantly I more or less like where I live. The rest of LA may suck but my hometown of NoHo and the spot I moved to a year ago is kind of cool.

Missing out on HOWS Market alone would be something I would have trouble adjusting to.

Ultimately, there is still a lot to do here and if I can contribute in some way, well, I have not generally been someone who's a quitter. I've felt that LA's best days may be behind it but its worth a shot.

My immediate family is all here in the Valley, I have some wonderful friends here, an excellent day gig and lots of opportunity for fun, expression and socializing. And of course this damn old blog which just keeps growing every day.

So much to the displeasure of many of you, you're stuck with me.

Labels:

21 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Oh my god, WHO CARES???

Get off your self-induced pity party and get back to work, or turn the keys over to Zuma Dogg or Matt Dowd. At least THEY want to be here, and will continue on WITHOUT WHINING!!!

October 01, 2007 12:14 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

That weather is nothing to sneeze at, if you are not acclimated.

October 01, 2007 12:35 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Welcome Back!

October 01, 2007 1:08 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

No, we wanted you to stay; we wanted Zuma and Matt to move to Waterloo.

October 01, 2007 3:36 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

i'm glad to hear you are staying too. what's your opinion of the latest info coming out of mike antonovich's office stating that the cost of illegals to los angeles tax payers is over one billion dollars a year and that isn't even including the cost of education?

October 01, 2007 6:34 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Please reconsider your decision.

Dumbass.

October 01, 2007 6:49 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

6:34

Believing anything that Antonovich says means you already answered your own question.

October 01, 2007 7:54 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Mayor Sam, you made a really bad choice!!!

But, I think you're happy with it. Good for you!!!

October 01, 2007 7:54 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

...and now back to bashing Liberals!

Ah, Sam, somewhere in Iowa there is a snowman with an "open container" who will be very disappointed that you won't be joining him this winter!

October 01, 2007 8:44 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I for one am glad you're not leaving.

October 01, 2007 9:23 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

8.37

see what Rosendahl opened up?

its called Pandora's Box.

the very thing they were trying to prevent on Venice Beach, is now in full force on their own City Hall.

if they had left us alone, you wouldn't even know my name.

now I know all about things like condo conversions, vacancy rates, LAUSD construction budgets, school board manipulations, despicable late night sexual liaisons with female Latina newsperson, event fee waiver abuse, campaign funding violations, ethical breaches, happy endings in luxury hotel rooms, motor vehicle abuses, hotel discriminations, ballot manipulations, cluster school takeovers, charter schools, not to mention the fraud waste and abuse with case in point being AB1381.

that failed pathetic attempt to violate State Constitution which wasted so much money, all of which signalled the ACTUAL intention. That intention now being acted out in the LAUSD board room.

so, no we don't know much, but we're picking up speed every day.

good work Bill Rosendahl.

you just didn't know any better I guess.

October 01, 2007 9:29 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

What puzzles me are all those people who rip Mayor this blog constantly. Why are they on this blog? I would guess that they have serious issues, such as the need to be me mean and insulting. If so, they should move to New York City where they would be among their own.

October 01, 2007 9:36 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Glad you're staying! If you don't mind saying, in what general area of NoHo are you in? To me, the city's a kinda mixed bag, but there are certainly some great neighborhoods there.

October 01, 2007 10:13 AM  

Blogger Zuma Dogg said:

9:29 Matt...

Great post/re-cap. Thanks for the shady refresher! I got start harping on some of that again, too!

October 01, 2007 10:35 AM  

Blogger Zuma Dogg said:

THIS CRYBABY POLITICAL OPERATIVE HAD THIS TO SAY, BUT I DELETED IT BECAUSE IT CONTAINS LIES.

So here it is, along with my clarifications. SORRY LOSER TO ZUMA DOGG...I'll ALLOW the lies to be reprinted in their entirety, but not unanswered, bitch-ass-loser!

losersiadwhat..."Hey, ALL ZD and his butt boy Matt do is WHINE."

["over-generalization"/propoganda tactic alert: "ALL...". Is that "ALL" we do? Do you think we would have such a HUGE fanbase if all we did is whine? no one like a whiner.

And IF Matt was gay, DO YOU THINK "I" WOULD BE HIS TYPE??? Common. (Not to say that he wouldn't be my type. Not trying to insult matt.)]

"I'll take Sam's short term whine any day to those two and their constant whine about not being able to condiuct their illegal, non-taxpaying businesses on public property." [Sorry wrong-ass loser...if the city sold us licenses/permits including signing a lifetime contract, it's legal. please don't accuse the city of doing anything illegal unless you can prove it. And you can't, because you are wrong, again. (No wonder you never rose to the top.)]

Now they cost us thousands, maybe millions of dollars whining in public at every opportunity. [Wrong, haven't cost anyone a penny. Except for training and re-education at the request of the Police Captain at City Hall.]

Two dregs on society can cost us a lot. {yeah, we gotta do something about Villaraza and Alatorre. AND ALL HOSE ELECTED CRIMINAL BEHAVING ANTI-CONSTITUTIONALISTS!

October 01, 2007 10:46 AM  

Blogger Zuma Dogg said:

AND NOW I'M GONNA SAY A FEW MORE THINGS ABOUT A FEW PEOPLE TODAY.

HEY VILLARDUMMY, BLACKMAN AND THE REST OF THOSE FEAR BASED LOSERS...

I HOPE YOU LIKE TO SKI...I'M GONNA DUMP AN AVALANCE ON YOU EMPTY HEADS!

October 01, 2007 10:48 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Contact the Mayor
Mayor Alex PenelasStephen P. Clark Center111 N.W. 1st Street, 29th FloorMiami, Florida 33128

Joe Ramallo - Director Intergovernmental Affairs (305) 375-XXXX


"Joe Ramallo wakes up Villaraigosa from a power nap to prep him for a phone interview. Villaraigosa takes the phone, has a lively chat with the interviewer, tosses the phone to Ramallo and falls back to sleep. Ramallo says, “I swear, he could do interviews in his sleep…!”

Villaraigosa's right hand Florida man Joe Ramallo and has connections with the health management buddy who got Alex Penelas in trouble with illegal fundraising.

The latest bill that was apporved by city council sounds very similiar to what is in place in back home for Ramallo. Who gets the annual fees and who will be chosen to manage this entire program, a Ramall+Villaraigosa Florida Health Management connection.

Read what Ramallo says:

"Many states are responsible for actual delivery of health care to their employees, retirees and Medicaid recipients, [and] they have been pooling their buying power together to negotiate better prices," said Joe Ramallo, Villaraigosa’s communications director.

"No one has yet taken it to the next level, which is what Councilmember Villaraigosa is proposing to do, and use that ability to bulk purchase on behalf of residents as a whole," Ramallo said. "This has been a growing issue of concern to seniors and those who are uninsured."

LA-Rx emerged from a series of town hall meetings on health-care policy sponsored by the Foundation for Consumer and Taxpayer Rights.

The system would work by first enrolling interested Los Angeles residents and establishing the size of the medication buyers pool. Next, the city would contract with an organization called a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), which would do the negotiating with drug manufacturers.

An open enrollment period would give residents an opportunity to join LA-Rx annually. LA-Rx members would pay an annual fee for administration of the program..."
May 05, 2005 11:22 AM
AP reports:

U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch filed a complaint Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Democratic rival Alex Penelas illegally coerced donations from a South Florida health care company in their U.S. Senate race.
The complaint by Deutsch, D-Pembroke Pines, accuses the Miami-Dade County mayor of receiving at least $49,000 in illegal contributions from 41 employees and their spouses of CarePlus Medical Centers Inc. Both are competing for the seat of Sen. Bob Graham, who is running for president.

The Miami Herald has more details:

Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, whose campaign pledged to reject contributions for his U.S. Senate campaign resulting from a controversial e-mail appeal sent to employees of a South Florida healthcare firm, took tens of thousands of dollars from people associated with the company.
A Herald analysis of campaign finance records shows that employees, relatives and business associates of Michael Fernandez, owner and chief executive officer of CarePlus Medical Centers Inc., donated at least $68,000 to Penelas' campaign -- all connected to the same day in May that Fernandez hosted a fundraiser at his home.
May 05, 2005 12:31 PM
Anonymous said:
Joe Ramallo, Villaraigosa's staff person worked with Alex Penelas during this turmoil. Sounds very similiar to what Villaraigosa did with Travel Traders.

FEDERAL INQUIRY

Deutsch's calls for a public airing of the probe into Penelas' fundraising is based on contributions to Penelas' campaign from associates and employees of CarePlus Medical Centers, whose owner told employees in March that they were each ''expected'' to give Penelas $1,000.

Such contributions are considered coerced and are illegal, and Penelas' campaign has said the mayor would not accept the contributions.

A Herald analysis of campaign finance data, though, found that Penelas took at least $68,000 from the company's employees, their relatives and business associates. The campaign has said the donations came not through the e-mail solicitation but from a fundraising reception held at the home of the firm's owner in May.
May 05, 2005 12:33 PM
Los Angeles mayoral funding flap continues By David Zahniser
Copley News Service

Nearly a week after he returned $47,000 in contributions linked to a Miami-based hotel gift shop company, mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa said Wednesday that the president of that company took part in an additional fund-raiser for him in Miami.
Asked if Anderson was a co-host, Villaraigosa said: "He may have been, yes." Hours later, Villaraigosa spokesman Joe Ramallo corrected that statement, saying Anderson was only a guest.

Villaraigosa offered to review the event and provide "complete transparency."

"This is the first I'm hearing about it," Villaraigosa said. "We'll look into it and if there's an issue with that as well, then we'll give that (money) back, too."

To get the full story go here:

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/1545992.html

Joe Ramallo
Communications Director
jramallo@council.lacity.org
A native of Southern California, Joe recently returned to Los Angeles after spending most of his professional career in Florida where he served as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for miami-Dade County and was responsible for the state and federal relations on behalf of the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. For four years he served as Asst. Director of Policy for miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas and as Senior Assistant Director of State Legislation for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Joe is a cum laude graduate of the University of miami School of Communications and has over 10 years experience in policy advocacy and media relations. Joe serves as my Communications director and handles City budget issues for my office.
July 30, 2006 7:49 PM
Anonymous said:
Joe Ramallo worked under Alex Penela -Florida. Sounds similiar to Villaraigosa & Travel Traders-Florida.


June 07, 2004
Quote of the Day
"The single most treacherous and dishonest person I dealt with."

-- Al Gore on Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas(D), quoted by the Miami Herald.

Villaraigos wants us to trust him when he hires (Joe Ramallo) individuals that worked during illegal fundraisers and for this Alex Penelas?
July 30, 2006 7:51 PM
Anonymous said:
AP reports:

U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch filed a complaint Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Democratic rival Alex Penelas illegally coerced donations from a South Florida health care company in their U.S. Senate race.
The complaint by Deutsch, D-Pembroke Pines, accuses the Miami-Dade County mayor of receiving at least $49,000 in illegal contributions from 41 employees and their spouses of CarePlus Medical centers Inc. Both are competing for the seat of Sen. bob Graham, who is running for president.

The Miami Herald has more details:

Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, whose campaign pledged to reject contributions for his U.S. Senate campaign resulting from a controversial e-mail appeal sent to employees of a South Florida healthcare firm, took tens of thousands of dollars from people associated with the company.
A Herald analysis of campaign finance records shows that employees, relatives and business associates of Michael Fernandez, owner and chief executive officer of CarePlus Medical Centers Inc., donated at least $68,000 to Penelas' campaign -- all connected to the same day in May that Fernandez hosted a fundraiser at his home.
July 30, 2006 7:52 PM

October 01, 2007 10:51 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Now say, "What", again!

October 01, 2007 10:54 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

First you say, "Then don't read him." Please, you really need to have a zuma dogg free-zone somewhere on this blog.

October 01, 2007 11:07 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Thank you for staying, Mayor Sam!

Your efforts have not, and will not, be in vain.

October 01, 2007 10:22 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Im not from your part of town, but I am still glad your staying.

Your criminals are our criminals.

We need your help.

October 04, 2007 3:11 PM  

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