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Sat02042012

Last update02:00:00 PM GMT

LOS ANGELES Saturday, February 4th 2012 11:08

LA’s $20 Billion Black Hole

Jack Humphreville 02.02.2012

LA WATCHDOG - Over the last six years, Los Angeles City payroll and related benefits have increased by $720 million, a 24% bump, as average salaries have increased to $82,000 a year, not including very generous benefits. And contributions to the City’s two pension plans have increased by $540 million (over 150%) as pension liabilities ballooned by almost $10 billion, a 40% increase. So what is the source of all the cash that is needed to fund these out of control personnel costs?One source of ready cash was the money needed to maintain and repair our infrastructure: our streets and bridges (ranked the worst in the nation), sidewalks, parks, stormwater drains, street lights, and buildings. The City has also short changed its motor vehicle fleet such as police cars, fire engines, and garbage trucks and has neglected to modernize our Stone Age computer systems and hardware. Read More....

LA’s Secret Meeting Habit: Contempt and Arrogance or Just Bureaucratic Malpractice?

Stephen Box 02.02.2012

RETHINKING LA - We, the people, have the right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies yet our elected officials regularly violate this right, creating obstacles to public attendance, participation, and free speech.This behavior may be due to simple ignorance, although it is hard to believe that elected officials, some having been in public service for more than three decades, are still unaware of the Bill of Rights or the Brown Act. Read More....

Lawsuits and Sidewalks ... Seriously!

Ken Alpern 02.02.2012

THE CITY - So who'd a thunk that the City of LA is more interested in paying off lawsuits from broken sidewalks than just fixing the sidewalks? (link) And who'd a thunk that the City would avoid fixing them and wait until the next pedestrian falls down with a "thunk" after inevitably tripping over our hopelessly-cracked walkways? And who'd a thunk that the next "thunk" you hear is the sound of the bill for fixing our sidewalks landing in your mailbox? Read More....

LA Coliseum Scandal and Wendy’s Taste for Cash & Carry Accounting

Paul Hatfield 02.02.2012

PERSPECTIVE - CACA: that’s my unofficial abbreviation for what I call cash and carry accounting. It’s the dark flipside of GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).I watched Goodfellas for the umpteenth time the other night. CACA worked well for the wise guys; maybe for the wise guys who run our city, too. Read More....

Arrest That Man Yelling in the Street!

James Preston Allen 02.02.2012

AT LENGTH - If you find me standing in the middle of the street someday yelling, don’t presume that I’ve recently booked a room at the local halfway house. Presume that there’s something terribly wrong going on. Let me explain. Read More....

To the Moon, Newt!

Lawrence M. Krauss 02.02.2012

SILLY SEASON ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - Newt Gingrich described himself as a visionary when he unveiled plans to create a mammoth new space program, including a permanent colony on the moon within the next nine years. Within eight years, he pledges a new Mars rocket program—specifically, a “continually operating propulsion system) capable of getting to Mars within a remarkably short time.” He also reiterated his plan to declare at least part of the moon as U.S. territory, with colonists capable of petitioning for statehood status. Read More....

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Should City Attorney Carmen Trutanich run for LA District Attorney?

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Berndt Molestation Case: The Failure is Catastrophic … and Across the Board
Joseph Mailander / 02.02.2012

THE MEDDLERS HAVE OVERLOOKED THE KIDS-How could it happen? How could it be that there are so many reprehensible allegations against the same man over the course of a few years, and yet there is not ev [ ... ]

Occupiers Take a Wrong Turn in Oakland
Randy Shaw / 02.02.2012

REVOLUTION POLITICS - After Occupy Oakland’s efforts to occupy the Kaiser Convention Center were met with police violence, a larger question about the group’s choice of targets was ignored: what p [ ... ]

Chevron’s High Octane Hubris
Donald Cohen / 02.02.2012

LA AREA OIL - Sometimes a simple statement can provide a window onto a worldview; in this case, the arrogance of privilege.

Chickens or Seniors … Does it have to be One or the Other?
Kathy Delle Donne / 02.02.2012

TALK BACK - Not at all … our Tarzana neighborhood can have both chickens and seniors. (See CityWatch story “Neighborhood Council System Misfires on Eldercare Facility Bill”) The Eldercare Faci [ ... ]

MY TURN - Hearts For Hounds dog rescuer Bonnie Sheehan – arrested on 128 counts of animal cruelty charges for hauling some 140 dogs in a U-haul -- was released from a Tennessee jail Tuesday evening [ ... ]

LA’s Redistricting Jigsaw Puzzle from Hell
Jon McDuffie / 01.26.2012

POLITICS - One of my Fire service heroes, Dr. Carl Holmes, [link] has an interesting aphorism: “If it ain’t ‘broke’ let’s break it. With all the brains in this room we can rebuild it better [ ... ]

This Is America's Moment, If Washington Doesn't Blow It
Joel Kotkin / 01.26.2012

THE ROAD BACK - The vast majority of Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, and, according to a 2011 Pew Survey, close to a majority feel that China has already surpassed t [ ... ]

LA’s Train-To-Nowhere
Kay Martin / 01.26.2012

LA NOTEBOOK - I recently returned from a visit to St. Kitts and a remarkable thing happened while waiting in the airport departure lounge. I was seated within earshot of a group of 7-8 businessmen who [ ... ]

The CRA is Dead but Corruption Remains Alive and Well
Richard Lee Abrams / 02.02.2012

THE CITY - February 1, 2012: Today shall be a wonderful day for all of Los Angeles; in fact the entire state should rejoice. The vilely corrupt CRA/LA is dead.

Rejoice quickly because corruption is [ ... ]

TEN YEARS LATER - This billboard alongside the Harbor Freeway in downtown LA was put up in 2008 without permits and inspections.

Arrogant LA Supes Violate the Law, Show Zero Remorse
Ken Bunting / 02.02.2012

TRANSPARENCY NOT TOP PRIORITY - It was so ho-hummed and matter-of-factly reported that few would sense its importance when reading it.

Do Campaign Pledges Matter Anymore?
John S. Thomas / 02.02.2012

LOS ANGELES POLITICS - Every election cycle, political candidates and elected officials sign pledges for one issue or another – no new taxes, won’t raise taxes, pro-life or choice, etc. Rarer is w [ ... ]

CITYWATCH SERIES ON AGING IN LA

What, Me Worry?
Jack Humphreville / 01.26.2012

LA WATCHDOG - To close next year’s projected budget deficit of $200 to $250 million, an amount that is seriously understated because of the funny money games our Elected Elite are playing, the Mayor [ ... ]

Get it in Writing
Stephen Box / 01.26.2012

RETHINKING LA - When LA’s City Hall wants something from the residents of LA, it sends a written demand with a threat of fees, fines, and penalties for noncompliance. The next round of nasty communi [ ... ]

OUT OF FRYNG PAN - On December 29, 2011 the State Supreme Court dealt California’s 400 redevelopment agencies an unanticipated death blow. This includes the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Age [ ... ]

It's Up to Women to Elect Pro-Choice Candidates in 2012
Kirsten Gillibrand / 01.26.2012

RIGHTS AND POLITICS - Last year, as a result of the 2010 midterm elections, the 112th Congress became the first in a generation to start out with fewer women in its ranks than the Congress before it. [ ... ]