Solar energy for LA get nearly 100 percent support from the public and it has for more than a decade.
But when people hear what Measure B is really about, there's nearly 100 percent opposition to this phony solar energy plan that gives a blank check for billions to the mayor, City Council and the Department of Water and Power officials -- the very people who have repeatedly failed to deliver on their clean energy promises for a decade and now ask us to trust them.
The public wants the most amount of clean energy at the lowest cost in the fastest time. They want clean air and DWP's massive portfolio of the nation's most polluting power plants closed.
Measure B doesn't do any of that. It's got no planning, no legitimate cost analysis or financial planning. It doesn't close a single dirty power plant.
It's nothing but a monopoly for the DWP that pays 20 to 30 percent more to its workers than other Southern California utilities -- including 6 percent pay raises the last two years -- and gives them staggeringly high lifetime benefits. It freezes out union labor in the skilled trades, workers who are on unemployment because of the housing downturn. It excludes private businesses that could create thousands of new jobs instead of the 400 DWP jobs the Yes on B campaign says this measure will create..
That's why three City Council members who voted to put Measure B on the ballot without understanding the dirty deal it is -- Bernard Parks, Dennis Zine and Greig Smith -- now oppose it and a fourth, Bill Rosendahl, is now undecided.
Four of the five City Attorney candidates oppose it and so does City Controller candidate Nick Patsaouras and nearly all other candidates for mayor and council seats.
So far, 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.
Measure B will be defeated and then we will get a real plan for clean energy and clean government, give everyone a chance to refine it and move swiftly ahead.
Here's the latest list of Measure B's opponents with more to come:
Los Angeles County Republican Party
Progressive Democratic Club - Greater Harbor Area
Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils
Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition
Valley Industry & Commerce Association
Association of Builders and Contractors
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
Granada Hills Chamber of Commerce
Watts Neighborhood Council
MidTown NoHo Neighborhood Council
South Robertson Neighborhood Council
Sun Valley Neighborhood Council
Northridge West Neighborhood Council
West Hills Neighborhood Council
Chatsworth Neighborhood Council
Reseda Neighborhood Council (pdf)
Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council
Valley Village Community Council
Bel Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council
Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council
Studio City Neighborhood Council
Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council
Hollywood United Neighborhood Council
Hollywood Studio District Neighborhood Council
Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council
Granada Hills Neighborhood Council
Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council
Harbor Gateway South Neighborhood Council
Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council
Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council
Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council
Ron Kaye is the former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News where he spent 23 years helping to make the newspaper the voice of the San Fernando Valley and fighting for a city government that serves the people and not special interests.
Twice in recent years, Los Angeles Magazine listed Kaye among the city’s most influential people, specifically in the area of politics. Kaye has been variously described in the media as the “accidental anarchist,” “the Patrick Henry of the San Fernando Valley” and a “passionate populist.” He is now committed to
carrying on his crusade for a greater Los Angeles as an ordinary citizen. Previously, Ron worked at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner,
Associated Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Australian as well as papers
in Fairbanks, Alaska and Yakima, Wash. He also wrote for Newsweek magazine, The Guardian in London and the National Enquirer.
The person responsible for railroading this measure through and hiding reports is the City Council President Eric Garcetti. Support his opponent who is against this measure in any way that you can-financially and through word of mouth. Let's get out the truth.
Tom - who is running against Garcetti?
Gary Slossberg is an energetic and vibrant opponent to Eric Garcetti's entrenched politics of density, billboards, developer giveaways, and deceitful manipulation of the City Council's public records, closed session and opening meeting laws.
Slossberg has the smarts and energy to change the status quo. He is a true underdog in the sense that real estate developers and billboard companies have not showered him with campaign contributions. However, voters in CD 13 could truly register their unhappiness with the state of affairs at City Hall by tossing Garcetti out.
Read about Gary's true community commitment at
www.gary4citycouncilla.com
Pass this link on to all voters you know in CD 13.
USC just came out with a study on the make-up of Neighborhood Councils.
Party Affiliation:
City of LA (nov 2008)
Dem: 57.8%
Rep: 17.8%
DTS: 20.4%
Party Affiliation of Neighborhood Council Members (USC Study):
Dem: 38%
Rep: 42%
DTS/Other: 20%
Hmmm... Ron the only consistency is that DTS is the same with both samples. Yet Neighborhood Councils are OVER REPRESENTED with Republicans by over 200%. Nothing wrong with that, but that doesn't necessarily reflect the political views of the City-wide electorate.
So now after knowing this and seeing your coalition i see the following:
Republican party, republican leaning neighborhood councils, former editor of a newspaper that approved a $50k donation for seccession and other secession supporting groups.
Other-wise known as the coalition that can't shoot straight, and lose everytime.
To the last commenter - as an NC Board member, we do not know the party affiliations of our fellow Board members. We are an extremely diverse group from all walks of life. Are you going to tell me that the NC makeup in the Northeast side of town is the same party makeup as the Westside?
I tried to put a Measure B balanced educational event sponsored by my Democratic Club on my NC website - it is against the bylaws to have anything on their calendar that could have the appearance of being partisan.
I have been voting as a Democrat based on my party's endorsements for probably 30 years. However, my husband is an AFT member, so sometimes I have to consider what they recommend.
I am also a Sierra Club member and a CLCV member.
I am an environmental advocate.
I normally consider their recommendations.
However, in this situation, Measure B, I feel that I have spent more time educating myself on all of the issues related to Measure B than the Democratic Party leadership, the Sierra Club, or the CLCV.
Again, as Ron tells you, Measure B is not about getting solar energy. We have a full 5 part Solar Plan that will be implemented by the LADWP on the LADWP website for Neighborhood Councils. I have seen that presentation done by David Nahai.
Measure B is a Charter Amendment that is dangerous and unnecessary. It gives the jobs to just one Union - the IBEW 18.
The Huron Report that the LADWP paid $100,000 for - our money - the supporting documents can be accessed through the LADWP website. But we are locked out of those websites.
The PA Consulting report was paid for by the City Council. Controller Laura Chick has read it - why would she come out so strongly against it at a time that she knows that it is on the ballot - if there wasn't something seriously wrong with it?
Why would Laura Chick put herself in the middle of the controller race - she has not endorsed either candidate.
Instead of people using partisan politcs to split us all apart - take the time to rally the troops against Measure B.
I joined the NC system because I wanted to help the community. I wanted to be nonpartisan. I wanted to get things done. I want to work with the City Council in an advisory manner. The NC system is a place that we can do this.
Vote No on Measure B
http://votenomeasureb.com/calendar.html
Angelenos complain and continue to reelect these same ineffective politicos over and over which is why the politicos do as he/she pleases with no accountability to their constituents. Don’t be fooled by the colorful fliers and twenty second media sound bites during elections.
Vote for CHANGE!
I tend to doubt that many Republicans are on NCs. Considering how often they vote against private property rights I find that hardly Republican.
There is a Measure B Debate tonight (Tuesday) at the Daniel Webster School at 11330 Graham Pl. in West LA at 7pm
Can't wait to hear both sides of the arguement!
THIS IS APPALLING! NO ON "MEASURE "B"!!!!
PAGE ONE FEBRUARY 17, 2009, 10:31 A.M. ET
A New Gang Comes to Los Angeles: Solar-Panel Installers
»By MIRIAM JORDAN
LOS ANGELES -- When Albert Ortega was released from prison four months ago, he was determined to turn his life around. So he went green.
Mr. Ortega sports tattoos of an Aztec warrior on his back, a dragon on his chest and the name of his former gang, the East Side Wilmas, rings his biceps. Drug trafficking kept him locked up for most of the past seven years, he says. But after serving his last term, for 18 months, he heard about a solar-panel installation course.
"I wanted a new way of life," says the tall, brawny 34-year-old. "Solar puts me on the cutting edge."
In the race to train America's "green-collar" work force, a group composed mostly of former Los Angeles gang members on parole is an early participant. Their training is funded by Homeboy Industries, a Los Angeles nonprofit that helps people with criminal pasts find employment.
President Barack Obama has made the production of renewable energy one of the pillars of job creation. All sorts of people are now rushing to acquire skills to launch careers in the budding sector.
For years, Homeboy Industries put former felons to work at a bakery and cafe it runs in East Los Angeles. Last summer, founder Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest, was approached by a supporter about the idea of preparing them for the green economy.
Because job-placement for ex-convicts is especially difficult in a recession, "I leapt at the opportunity," says Father Boyle, who started Homeboy two decades ago.
Homeboy joined forces with the East Los Angeles Skills Center, a public vocational school that offers a hands-on program to teach the design, construction and installation of solar panels. The course is one of only a few such programs in California and commands a months-long waiting list.
Albert Ortega
The center created an intensive course for Homeboy. "I loved the idea of doing something for these guys," says Brian Hurd, the senior instructor who designed it. "My best student ever was a Homeboy referral" in a construction course, "who needed a second chance."
Homeboy, funded by individuals, community groups and revenue from its businesses, pays the $131 tuition for each student; it also pays participants an hourly wage of $8. The class meets for two months, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"I was so motivated, I would fall asleep with the books on my bed," says Mr. Ortega. Determined to get into the course, he phoned or visited Father Boyle for two weeks, until he was asked to take a drug test. Mr. Ortega passed and was offered a spot in the class.
"I knew I was good at wiring," says Mr. Ortega, who once installed car-stereo systems. "I was always good at math."
On a recent morning, some 30 tattoo-coated students sat at desks in a basement classroom, taking notes as their instructor scrawled algebra equations and geometry problems on a chalkboard. Then they figured out such things as the area of a house's roof and the angle at which solar panels should be mounted on it.
Manuel Delgado, 42, who dropped out of high school, said he struggled at first. But, four weeks into the class, he's doing "real good," he says. "I got 76% on my last math test."
Another student, Jessica Espinoza, 23, says she couldn't find a job after being locked up for two years because she helped a felon escape from a courthouse. "The minute they saw I went to jail, employers didn't give me the time of day," she says. "Hopefully I can take what this school gave me and make a career in this new industry."
In the afternoon, the students donned protective goggles and got to work on solar panels and electrical circuits in the workshop. At one station, they drilled holes through aluminum rails where panels are mounted; others drove bolts into metal racks. A few studied the layout of a roof to figure out sizing for pipes.
Miriam Jordan / The Wall Street Journal
Homeboy Industries, a Los Angeles nonprofit, helps prepare students to enter the 'green-collar' work force
Mr. Ortega helped his classmates wire up a panel. One was Ken Chung, a general contractor who decided to train for a career in solar energy after his business of building homes and pools began to dry up.
After months searching for a training program, Mr. Chung decided the Homeboy course would give him the skills he needed. But when he informed his wife that most of his classmates would be ex-felons, she was worried. "I told her, 'Honey, just give me a week to try and see,' " he recalls.
On his first day, he says a fellow student asked: "What were you in for?" Mr. Chung, a 45-year-old Malaysian immigrant, didn't understand. "I asked him to repeat the question."
The East L.A. Skills Center offers a night class in photovoltaic installation (the official name of solar-panel installation) that is open to the general public, but there's a long waiting list. That's why some "regular folks" have been clamoring to get into the Homeboy class, says Ed Ruiz, the instructor. "Most of them take one look and say 'no thanks,' " he says.
Doug Lincoln, 61, who once managed luxury-car dealerships, was offered admission to the Homeboy course after he inquired about a faster-paced class. On hearing it was mainly for ex-cons, "I thought it was a joke," he says.
Now, Mr. Lincoln is about to graduate. He plans to start a solar-panel-installation firm, he says, and hire some of his former Homeboy classmates. "These guys are more motivated than hundreds of employees I've managed," in the car business, he says.
Mr. Chung, the contractor, has also thrived in the class. He and Mr. Ortega get together for lunch on the weekends, either tacos or Chinese noodles. "Albert has taught me many things," says Mr. Chung. They challenge each other to design solar-energy systems for homes and then critique each other's work. "I know about his kids. He knows about mine," says Mr. Ortega.
Last month, Mr. Ortega passed an exam that qualifies him to install solar panels nationwide. He says he has already been approached by employers. But he says he is waiting until Feb. 16, when he's off parole, before starting work, because until then he can't travel out of Los Angeles County. When that happens, he says, "I'll be just another citizen."
Several of his classmates who completed the course are already working, earning about $15 an hour; experienced installers can make upwards of $30 an hour. Philippe Hartley, general manager of Phat Energy, a Los Angeles solar company, has hired several Homeboy graduates. The Los Angeles Unified School District plans to start hiring some graduates of the program to install 50 megawatts of solar power on its campuses. "Being former gang members doesn't preclude them from building a career in solar technology," says Veronica Soto, a school-district director.
Others are also interested. "We expect to hire out of the program as quickly as they can get them to us," says Gabriel Bork, a vice president at Golden State Power, a solar-panel installation company. "These guys are much better trained than many others I have hired."
Write to Miriam Jordan at miriam.jordan@wsj.com
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A1
Appalling? So do you prefer that ex-cons return to society without training, without hope for a good job, and without a chance to improve their lot through hard work?
Your post said nothing about the issue of cost of Measure B, and the benefits of solar energy- it only showed that some tatoos on some rough looking people scared you.
Anon 10:42 am
It goes without saying that I am pro solar energy, but AGAINST Measure "B" and the corruption at DWP.
Re: Gangbanger "ex"-con parolees getting good paying green collar jobs ahead of non-criminal, hard working AMERICANS: YES...I OBJECT VEHEMENTLY! Unemployment in CA is in double digits...why should CRIMINALS get government jobs??? I'ts unconscionable!!! They deserve to go to the back of the line and take menial jobs... away from the unsuspecting public! The idea of allowing gangbanger criminals, many of whom are illegal aliens, to work in the public sector in schools where there are children or in private homes...is OUTRAGEOUS! I would never trust an "ex" gangbanger to come near my family!
I am appalled at the idea of the DWP
practicing socialism and putting innocent lives at risk. What is the DWP going to tell it's customers the first time that a parolee commits a heinous crime while on the job in a customer's home??? And don't tell me it's never going to happen!
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