LOS ANGELES

BUTCHER ON LA-“Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.” -- Joe Biden.

CAMPAIGN 2016-Candidate Janice Kamenir-Reznik is the sole woman running for State Senator Fran Pavley’s 27^th District Seat. The longtime attorney and social activist shared her thoughts about the implementation of the state’s expanded Paid Family Program, the housing crisis, and education. In the second part of this interview, we discuss the drought and infrastructure issues, utilities, campaign finance reform and criminal justice.

TAX OVERLOAD--In my last CityWatch article, I addressed the national/global issue of taxes, and how the mighty who want us to pay ever more taxes have their own tendencies to avoid paying them, and to avoid playing by the rules on just about everything else. Well, the same thing applies on a local level for the City of the Angels.

EDUCATION MATTERS-In the last few days, the LA Times has published misleading information on the California Appeals Court decision this week denying the lower court ruling in the Vergara lawsuit – a suit wherein a few carefully chosen students were urged to press a lawsuit to terminate teachers without due process, changing the law pertaining to what they call tenure. In addition, this lawsuit would serve to weaken teachers unions.

RECLAIMING THE POWER-For the first time in decades, California is poised to play a significant role in determining each party’s presidential nominee. Being a reliably blue state, presidential candidates in the recent years have done little campaigning in the Golden State. As Angelenos know, whenever President Barack Obama’s entourage arrives in town, Southern California in particular has served little purpose in national and state politics other than as a source of money from the region’s Hollywood elite.

LATINO PERSPECTIVE--I want to dedicate my column this week to a great man. A man who lived his life with dignity and integrity. A man who deeply cared about his country, his city, his fellow man and a man who never betrayed his beliefs and convictions.

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-We live in a city where the Mayor’s ambitions are as high as the luxury high-rise buildings he promotes as his program to address LA’s affordable housing crisis, including homelessness. These ambitions and high-rise buildings are matched by a Mayoral staff skilled at writing press releases that make crony capitalism actually sound enlightened.

TRANSIT TALK-With the Metro Expo Line to Santa Monica scheduled to open in May, this piece revisits an interview I conducted four years ago, shortly before the opening of the first phase of Expo to Culver City. Like the line itself which follows the Pacific Electric’s right of way of the Santa Monica Air Line streetcar, I have always been a recycler.

JUSTICE--In California, murder and embezzlement cases don’t face the clock ticking on a statute of limitations. Per California law, the prosecution of felony sexual offenses is generally limited to ten years following the offense, barring DNA evidence, which may buy extra time. The bipartisan Justice for Victims Act (SB 813), which passed the Senate Public Safety Committee earlier this week, is posed to change that.

The legislation, sponsored by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, would allow indefinite criminal prosecution of rape and other felony sex crimes, including continuous sexual abuse of a child.

“I introduced the ‘Justice for Victims Act’ earlier this year for a simple reason: It will help to ensure that rapists and sexual predators are not able to evade justice simply because of a shortened statute of limitations,” the senator shares. “Survivors of sexual assault should always have the ability to seek justice in a court of law, even years after the alleged crime was committed.”

Senator Leyva notes that the bill would not impact the burden of proof but would provide victims more time to come to terms with the assault and to build up courage to come forward to authorities. Supporters of the bill include San Bernardino County DA Michael Ramos, California Women’s Law Center Executive Director Betsy Butler, Assembly Member Mike Gipson, and women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred.

SB 813 has strong bipartisan support from legislators, including principal co-authors Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills,) Assembly Member Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson,) Assembly Member Das Williams (D-Carpinteria) and Assembly Member Autumn R. Burke (D-Inglewood) on the Democrat side of the aisle. Republican supporters include co-authors Rocky J. Chavez (R-Oceanside) and Assembly Member Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale.)

“As a Principal co-author on Senate Bill 813, I am proud to support this legislation,” noted Assembly Member Gipson.  “Sexual assault is one of the most personally invasive crimes that can be committed against someone leading to deep pain and life-long trauma. When we think about the emotional pain that is held by the survivors of sexual assault, it is only made worse by the knowledge that you are helpless in receiving justice. SB 813 is long overdue, but will serve to ensure that if these crimes happen in the future, the state of California will have an effective remedy for the survivors who deserve closure. I serve as a proud male ally on this issue.”

The “Justice for Victims Act” is co-sponsored by San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos and the California Women’s Law Center (CWLC) and supported by Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, California Police Chiefs Association, Peace Officers Research Association of California, Crime Victims United of California, End Rape SOL, National Association of Social Workers, among others.

Critics of extending the statute of limitations often point to the difficulty in mounting a prosecution or defense due to destruction of evidence including emails, text messages, and surveillance video, as well as diminished memory for details.

However, sexual assault victims may be reluctant to come forward at first, as emotional reactions may include self-doubt and shame, as well as the awareness that very few cases end in conviction. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), for every 100 rapes, 32 will be reported to law enforcement; 7 will lead to arrest; 3 will be brought to prosecution; 2 will lead to felony convictions; and 2 will spend a day in prison.

Eliminating the statute of limitations should be just one of the steps taken to ensure justice for sexual assault victims. We need to provide better support to encourage victims to come forward, ensure speedier processing of rape kits, and continue efforts to educate about consent.

• For information and support for rape and sexual assault, visit www.rainn.org.

(Beth Cone Kramer is a successful Los Angeles writer and a columnist for CityWatch.)

-cw

VOICES--(Editor’s Note: This letter is in response to John Schwada’s recent CityWatch column, “LA Activists Score Big: Reverse a ‘Backroom Deal’ at City Hall …”) “Dear Mr. Schwada. I read your article in CityWatch LA and as a well-established and seasoned Investigative Reporter I would like to ask if you can meet and or we can speak. The article written was missing key and vital information and facts as follows:

THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS-Last month, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) released a draft of their Long-Range Transportation Expenditure Plan. When approved in June, it becomes the basis for a countywide ballot measure asking voters to extend our current one-half cent sales tax and add a new one-half cent sales tax for the next 40 years – until 2057. This is a huge decision and many voters don’t know what to do.

CAMPAIGN 2016-As State Senator Fran Pavley terms out for the 27^th District seat, Janice Kamenir-Reznik is the sole female candidate to throw her hat in the ring. Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl reminded a gathering of voters in Encino last weekend that women officeholders often lend additional oversight to issues impacting women and families. Kuehl provided the example of Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s (D-MD) sponsorship of the Bipartisan Women’s Preventive Health Amendment to the Affordable Care Act. Of course, gender shouldn’t stand alone as a reason to vote for a candidate.

FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT--When I was a twelve-year-old kid in Northridge, some agitated neighbors came by to talk to my folks about "the negroes that wanted to move into the neighborhood." They wanted all the lily-white and predominantly gentile neighbors to get together and buy the house to get it off the market, thinking this would stop African Americans from moving in.

THIS IS WHAT I KNOW-For the first time since the Goldwater and Rockefeller toss up for the party ticket in 1964, California’s June primary could be the final three-point shot in what has been a contentious season.

While we applaud the mayor and City Council for attempting reforms that try to mimic the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative heading for the March 2017 ballot, today's City Hall proposal (see below **) is a half-baked effort that continues to shortchange Los Angeles residents in favor of developers who shower the City Council and mayor with money.

SKID ROW-As a Skid Row community activist, I must point out that Skid Row’s most northern border on 3^rd Street is connected to Little Tokyo and our two communities have supported each other’s efforts to improve our communities a lot in recent years. But when I attended a recent Little Tokyo Community Council ‘All Committees’ meeting, I was shocked to hear about the serious concerns they have about METRO’s construction in their community.

JUST SAYIN’--Living in Los Angeles allows one the opportunity to enjoy the full gamut of those peculiar sensations commonly expressed in the abbreviation, “WTF!” (Exclamation point mandated.) From bemusement to indignation to outright incredulity, our great city’s policies and practices seem calculated to inspire consternation. Especially if you should ever set foot, or wheel, on the streets.

PERSPECTIVE-When voters get angry at a politician, some turn to the recall process. There have been over 150 recall attempts in California; nine made it to the ballot, five succeeded in removing an official. The best known effort ran Governor Gray Davis out of office.

Five out of 150 …. a poor return by any measure.

The latest attempt is underway in my own backyard. A group of Valley Village residents wants to start a recall process against City Councilmember Paul Krekorian. (Photo above.) He is accused of allowing the premature demolition of a 1930’s era structure, which briefly served as a residence for Marilyn Monroe before she rose to fame.

You can argue until the cows come home, or Marilyn, if the property was historically significant, as the group claims. Indeed, the developer pulled the trigger on razing it before approval was granted by the city.

Regardless of what Krekorian’s role was, or was not, the math of this recall attempt runs overwhelmingly against success.

The recall group would be required to get signatures from 15% of the registered voters in CD2, or around 18,000+.

The largest turnout in CD2 in many years was back in 2009 in a hotly contested race between Krekorian and Chris Essel. It was a race I covered extensively in my blog, including a blow-by-blow account of almost every debate, and, boy, were there a bunch of them, held in every corner of CD2.

The campaign was ugly and generated much media coverage. Very large sums of money were in play, including union contributions from IBEW Local 18. You know, Brian D’Arcy’s boys and girls – the same ones who gave us those free-wheeling non-profit trusts who have used $40M of our money to pay for junkets and steak dinners. Allow me to digress, but I am still waiting for DWP General Manager Marcie “D’Arcy” Edwards’ reports dealing with reforming the trusts.

For all of that hoopla, rancor and treasure, the turnout was around 15.5%.

So, what are the odds of getting good signatures from 15% of the registered voters for a low profile, and likely little-publicized campaign?

You do the math.

I am sure there are quite a few residents in CD2, as in any district, who do not even know who their council members are.

“Sign what?”

“Who is Krekorian?”

There is a time and a place for recalls. When there is an adequate body of evidence strongly supporting the possibility of malfeasance, start circulating the petitions.

But it requires due diligence to build a case.

Aggrieved citizens would better serve themselves and the public by focusing on developing and funding alternative candidates for scheduled elections.

It takes work, but the sooner started, the better.

(Paul Hatfield is a CPA and serves as President of the Valley Village Homeowners Association. He blogs at Village to Village and contributes to CityWatch. The views presented are those of Mr. Hatfield and his alone and do not represent the opinions of Valley Village Homeowners Association or CityWatch. He can be reached at: [email protected].) Photo: LA Daily News. Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.

PEOPLE POWER--Valley Village has gone Hollywood. Following Howard Beale’s lead in “Network,” it’s yelling, “We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take this anymore.”

Valley Village has gone Hollywood in another way. It is suing the City of Los Angeles. Hollywoodians learned a long time ago that the only way to derail the developer juggernaut at City Hall is to sue. The Valley Village uprising began when Councilmember Krekorian needlessly demolished one of Marilyn Monroe’s old homes before people could have it moved to another location. See CityWatch article from August 27, 2015.

Marilyn’s former home did not even interfere with the condo project which Krekorian wanted. The mentality which prevails at City Hall is a feudal one, where each councilmember fancies himself as the Lord of his fiefdom with his constituents as serfs. Their role is to render him homage and gifts. When the peasants had the nerve to oppose the needless destruction of Marilyn’s modest home, Krekorian’s office helped the developer use an invalid permit to demolish it just three days before the Cultural Heritage Commission hearing that was to consider the matter.

Following in Hollywood’s litigation footsteps, tiny SaveValleyVillage sued the city over the illegal demolition of Marilyn’s home.

SaveValleyVillage filed a follow-up lawsuit challenging City Council’s unlawful vote trading practices wherein councilmembers agree not to vote No on a project in another council district. Penal Code 86 criminalized all vote trading agreements. That unlawful vote trading pact is the key to developer power at City Hall. All a developer has to do is be “nice” to one poor councilmember and he will be bestowed with riches that include entitlements, exemptions and financial subsidies. Not only does a developer receive an iron clad guarantee of unanimous City Council approval, but just by being nice to a council member he gets a cheap way to rape the zoning code.

With the knowledge that voters had stopped La Bonge’s hand-picked successor from being elected in Hollywood’s Council District 4, Valley Village decided not to wait for Krekorian’s re-election time, but to undertake a recall…a big challenge for such a small group.

Councilmember Krekorian’s wanton destruction of Marilyn’s former home was particularly mean spirited, but Angelenos throughout the city are treated in a similarly shabby manner. Each councilmember knows that his or her word is law within the district, thanks to the City Council’s unlawful “voting pact.”

The question for Angelenos is this: Are you sick and tired of councilmembers who are too busy obsessing over maximizing the profits of Big Business to care about your quality of your life?

If the councilmember approves a project which is patently illegal, such as the Target Store in Hollywood, he knows that it will pass unanimously. If he wants to destroy a historic home like the Bartlett Home in Hollywood or Marilyn’s home in Valley Village, he knows that the City Council will unanimously approve. If he wants to approve a mega project that will loom over nearby homes, the homeowners will soon find a humongous wall in their midst.

As an example, look at how Council President Wesson helped get hundreds of millions of dollars for developers to provide disabled accessible housing that has been allegedly pocketed by those developers and was sued by advocates of the disabled. Wesson has supported the demolition of thousands of rent controlled units, creating an artificial market for his developer buddies to construct affordable housing with funds earmarked for the disabled. Wesson and Mayor Eric Garcetti have both been shedding crocodile tears for the homeless. But in the meantime, they are steering hundreds of millions of dollars to their developer friends for the construction of “affordable housing.”

The problems besetting Valley Village and Hollywood are citywide, although Mitch O-Farrell (Council District 13) and Herb Wesson (Council District 10) are especially aloof from their constituents. If Angelenos want to really take back our city from the City Hall Overlords, maybe two more recall petitions would be a good start.

If we Angelenos, do not look out for ourselves, who else will do it? If we don’t step up now, then when? We have the tool of the “recall.” We need to find the will to use it. And three recalls are better than one.

(Richard Lee Abrams is a Los Angeles attorney. He can be reached at: [email protected]. Abrams views are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CityWatch.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.

GUEST COMMENTARY--Last week, a federal judge ended a years-long tug of war when it ruled that Los Angeles County must remove a religious cross from its county seal.

Though religion has been an important part of Los Angeles’ history, the decision allows the Los Angeles County to present itself as an unbiased government that values no religion over others.

The ruling concludes a lawsuit that claimed the addition of a cross on top of the San Gabriel Mission in Los Angeles County’s seal was unconstitutional. Los Angeles County supervisors voted to add the cross to the seal in 2014 despite imminent legal action.

Though it may go unnoticed by many, the images that appear on the county seal are not trivial. Anyone working with the Los Angeles County should be able to expect a religion-neutral environment. Because the seal appears on many official documents and forms, anyone working on current official county paperwork has to do so on a document adorned with a Christian symbol. It’s not hard to imagine how this could be perceived as bias.

While some may argue the cross belongs on the seal as a matter of visual accuracy – it was recently restored after being lost for a time – the seal’s purpose as a symbol of Los Angeles doesn’t necessitate accuracy. In fact, many elements of the seal are inaccurate.

Still, there are legitimate reasons some may want the mission on the seal to bear the cross. Religion is more than just a belief system; it is tied deeply to culture and is an integral component of history. Everything, from art to systems of government, is impossible to study through a lens that omits reference to religion. Therefore, symbols like the Christian cross atop the San Gabriel Mission have a local cultural meaning that extends beyond a general representation of Christianity.

The Los Angeles County has a duty to acknowledge its cultural history, which includes the San Gabriel Mission that played a crucial role in the development of Southern California. The acknowledgement of this history cannot be separated from Christianity, so it is understandable that some would argue for the inclusion of the cross on the mission.

However, the first and most important task of the county will always be to serve and protect its current constituents, and that constituency is more diverse than ever. To make good on this duty, the county must do what it can to respect all of the various belief systems without giving approval to some over others.

Having the San Gabriel Mission on the Los Angeles County seal but omitting its cross strikes a fair balance between acknowledging the county’s religious cultural history and creating a nondiscriminatory environment.

(This editorial appeared last week in the Daily Bruin. It reflects the view of the Daily Bruin Editorial Board.)

-cw

VOICES-Apparently some believe that AB 2806 would "significantly weaken the investigative powers of LAUSD's Office of the Inspector General and reduce their ability to uncover charter school fraud, corruption, and waste.” To that I say, bravo! (Photo above: Cheryl Dorsey guesting on the Dr. Phil TV program.)

The last thing that the LAUSD's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) needs is more power. The OIG has been yielding tremendous power; retaliating and investigating me since I went public with my whistle-blower blog in February 2016.

As a retired twenty-year veteran sergeant of the Los Angeles Police Department, I know firsthand what it means to take on a super power like the LAUSD. This is not my first rodeo. I will not be bullied nor silenced.

Ironically, this started when I reported on what I believe to be potentially criminal activity at best or administratively inappropriate activity at least, to then superintendent Cortines, in the presence of Michelle King. I wrongly assumed he would be outraged.

I advised the superintendent that the Office of the Inspector General's "unholy trinity" -- also known as Inspector General Ken Bramlett, Deputy Inspector General Frank Cabibi and Supervisory Investigator Jorge Urquijo -- have been playing a game with Charter Schools Division, Facilities Services Division and the Bond Oversight Committee regarding their requested investigations  to "uncover school fraud, corruption, and waste.”

During a September 2015 meeting with Cortines and King, I posed the question, "How does one investigate fraud, waste and abuse when one is committing fraud waste and abuse?" The bullying and retaliation was swift and has been unrelenting.

On January 12, 2016, I was informed in a written letter from Inspector General Ken Bramlett that the Office of the Inspector General had a problem with "...the effect my conduct is having on staff and management..." That's when the forced resignation treatment began. Yes, to AB 2806!

On February 24, 2016, I reminded now Superintendent Michelle King via email about that September 2015 meeting, that what I believe is ongoing is malfeasance, tax payer and payroll fraud; I also told her of my desire for an investigation into my complaint of retaliation and bullying by the OIG. The Office of the Inspector General is attempting to force my resignation under the threat of "disciplinary action which could lead to termination.”   Yes, to AB 2806!

On February 25, 2016, in response to my email to Ms. King, I received a written response from Lynn Ibara, LAUSD Associate General Counsel, directing me to "discuss" this matter with someone other than Ms. King and that "the District is aware of your correspondence and will work toward a resolution of the issues [you] presented.”

Well, what Ms. Ibara didn't say in her response is that the "resolution" would involve my forced resignation. I didn't understand at the time that "working toward a resolution" was code talk for the fact that the Office of the Inspector General, Office of General Counsel and Staff Relations would now be coming for me. Yes, on AB 2806!

On March 1, 2016, I received a "Notice of Unsatisfactory Service" from Staff Relations Manager Melinda LeDuff Menefee, Frank Cabibi and Jorge Urquijo. There were a litany of "charges,” albeit unsubstantiated, leveled against me; however, Cabibi recommended, "No Disciplinary Action" in this notice.

I found Cabibi's "recommendation" to be remarkable since several of the charges that the Office of the Inspector General alleged reported I had been found guilty of "fraud" and "falsifying documents,” yet Cabibi decided not to discipline me on these seemingly serious administrative charges. How could staff relations find me guilty (without an investigation) and Frank Cabibi not discipline me on the charges?

Please explain how staff relations manager Ms. Menefee could charge and sustain allegations of fraud against me without a proper investigation…which should have included my interview? Power, that's how. Yes, on AB 2806!

Ms. Menefee's investigation appears to mirror that of Cheryl Broussard, Employee Opportunity Section, Office of General Counsel, when I alleged discrimination, retaliation and disparate treatment based on my ethnicity. That is, take whole cloth statements made by the unholy trinity (Bramlett, Cabibi, Urquijo) as truth; require no documented evidence to substantiate the statement and neglect to provide me, the employee, an opportunity to refute allegations with my own documented evidence. This is power. Yes, on AB 2806!

This, however, is not what I have come to know as an "investigation" based on my twenty years as a police officer/sergeant.

The Los Angeles Unified School District continues to circle the wagons. The Office of the Inspector General puts forth an uncontested version of alleged "employee misconduct" and it is adopted as truth -- so more power is the last thing this office should be granted. Yes, on AB 2806!

I wonder what it will take for taxpayers and parents of LAUSD students and other District employees who have been mistreated as I have, suffered emotional harm, loss wages, been bullied into resignation (as they are trying to do to me) to wake up and compel a real investigative agency to look inside the Office of the Inspector General at LAUSD. Apparently, bullying District employees into resignation in the midst of an administrative hearing is typical of them. Yes, on AB 2806!

On March 1, 2016, I received an unsolicited "Settlement Offer" from Kathleen Collins, Chief Administrative Law and Litigation Counsel, Los Angeles Unified School District, Office of General Counsel, which demanded my resignation. This "Offer" if agreed upon, would also require that I "cease making or causing to be made any statements public or private that disparage the District, the OIG, or individual employees of the District or of the OIG.

Apparently, the all powerful OIG and District will "allow" me to resign in "lieu of proceeding with discipline. Now, that kinda sounds like a veiled threat. Why is the Office of the Inspector General trying to silence me under the threat of "discipline that could lead to termination”? Because the Office of the Inspector General has power. I feel as if Ken Bramlett, Frank Cabibi and Jorge Urquijo have been plowing over me with impunity since June of 2015. And now, they want me to "cease making public statements disparaging the OIG or individual employees." When did truth become disparaging?

Understand, I have been a District employee for ten years and have never been the subject of any negative discipline -- that is, until Cabibi and Urquijo (who were both only recently hired in April 2014) placed a manufactured "Notice of Unsatisfactory Service" letter in my personnel file on March 1st.

I will not be quiet.

When I discovered that the Office of the Inspector General was seeking more power and more authority to bully, mistreat, and retaliate against me with impunity under the guise of an "investigation" I felt compelled to say, "hell no.”

Those connected to Charter Schools under the purview of the LAUSD who are familiar with and in support of AB2806 probably already know that the OIG does not deserve more power -- you just didn't know why

That's where I come in.

The Superintendent, president of the LAUSD Board of Education and Director of the Office of General Counsel are seemingly steadfast in their unwillingness to investigate malfeasance and corruption occurring in the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). They have ignored my complaints and refused to intervene and stop the Office of the Inspector General administrators from their unrelenting retaliation campaign against me as a whistleblower.

And the staff relations manager in HR has joined the campaign to force my resignation. They already have too much power. I am just one person taking on the LAUSD machine -- the Superintendent, Office of General Counsel, and Office of the Inspector General, Staff Relations. While they may chew me up, they won't be able to spit me out. Not quietly anyway.

It is my hope that California Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon and California Assembly Members Scott Wilk and Matt Debabneh will not expand the authority and reach of an already out of control LAUSD Office of the Inspector General when this bill comes to the house floor for a vote. Yes, on AB 2806!

I will end this blog as I do in every article, attesting to abuse of authority by an unholy trinity. Should I befall any hurt, harm or danger, I am requesting my friends and family to begin their investigation at the steps of the Los Angeles Unified School District – and more importantly, in the Office of the Inspector General, Investigations.

(Cheryl Dorsey is a retired LAPD sergeant, speaker, and much sought after police expert on important issues making national headlines; as such she has appeared as a guest expert on the Dr. Phil Show ,  and is a frequent commentator on CNN, Dr. Drew,  HLN,  MSNBC and KPCC. She is the author of The Creation of a Manifesto, Black & Blue; an autobiography that pulls the covers of the LAPD and provides an unfiltered look into the department’s internal processes. Visit Cheryl’s website www.cheryldorsey.net., listen to her on Soundcloud  follow on Twitter @sgtcheryldorsey  and BlackandBlueNews) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.