Monthly Archives: June 2008

Nahai: The gardener did it — or why you should drink toilet water

Posted on June 24, 2008 by

What a day — a David Nahai twosome.  So under siege over how much water he’s using for his 6,000 square-foot mansion in the hills, DWP General Manager David Nahai came clean today in the Daily News — twice as … Continue reading →

Posted in Hot Topics, Los Angeles | 7 Comments

Uncritically observed: David Nahai, the man who walks on water — and power

Posted on June 24, 2008 by

Every story needs a villain, and DWP General Manager David Nahai has achieved that status in the political story of L.A. in record time. At least that’s what many members of neighborhood councils, community activists, DWP managers and media mavens … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Win five double-doubles…Guess how much Antonio’s raised for his re-election campaign

Posted on June 22, 2008 by

June 30 is the end of the six-month reporting period for candidates running in next year’s city elections. In an effort to scare away challengers, Antonio Villaraigosa has pulled out all stops to raise so much money from every quarter … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | 5 Comments

“Some small town in the desert somewhere”

Posted on June 21, 2008 by

Antonio, won’t you please come home? I don’t begrudge you enjoying the perks of office like a totally unnecessary $250,000 junket to Israel paid for with huge rate and fee hikes you imposed on me and my neighbors. Some of … Continue reading →

Posted in Hot Topics, Los Angeles | 11 Comments

Deciphering the Times: How a ripoff of the public is made to read like an act of taxpayer generosity

Posted on June 20, 2008 by

My only qualification for the job of deciphering L.A. Times stories that do their best to obscure the truth about what the hell is going on in this town might be the two years I studied Sanskrit in college, a … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | 7 Comments

Keeping score: Home Depot vs. Sunland-Tujunga

Posted on June 19, 2008 by

The soap opera continued Thursday with Home Depot announcing it cancelled the June 24 open house at Mt. Gleason Middle School because LAUSD officials asked them to — contradicting the district’s own statements. And the home improvement giant, as part … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

DWP’s latest sucker punch to the public’s pockets

Posted on June 19, 2008 by

“You’re starting to see the average person start to push back,” he said. “There’s a lot of skepticism.” – Jack Kyser, chief economist for the L.A. Economic Development Corp. in the Daily News today. L.A.’s best reporter Beth Barrett revealed … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

LAUSD defends issuing school site permit to Home Depot

Posted on June 18, 2008 by

UPDATE: Home Depot cancels June 24 meeting at Sunland-Tujunga meeting at school. n following up the controversy over LAUSD issuing a permit to Home Depot to hold an “open house” in Sunland-Tujunga next week, I asked officials a series of … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Activists, LAUSD, Los Angeles | 15 Comments

The “broken sidewalk” theory of L.A. apathy and alienation

Posted on June 17, 2008 by

Come with me back in time a decade ago and listen to the story of San Fernando Valley secession and what we learned about the rights of the people who pay the bills. Quite siimply, we learned that all the … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Los Angeles, The Valley | 8 Comments

On the inequality of “access” to government

Posted on June 17, 2008 by

I have long mocked the idea that all the campaign money and favors bestowed on politicians brought special interests what has been euphemistically called “access.” Developers, contractors, anyone wanting to profit from government get to meet privately (i.e. secretly) with … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Community Activists, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | 9 Comments