With the audacity of a man distracting the world for a thousand failures, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa chose the 40th anniversary of mankind’s first walk on the moon to pump his plan to save the Earth from global warming.
And he got Huffington Post, no less, to carry his toxic hot air to the world:
“It was only fitting, then, that today I signed a partnership
agreement between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Los
Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to explore ways to
decrease water usage, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and stimulate green
job growth in Los Angeles,” reads the post attributed to the mayor.
“You see, the next great hurdle we face, the next dream we must make
a reality, is combating climate change. We must work together to combat
climate change head-on and reverse its course. If we do not, there
might not be a planet left for our future generations.”
I’d have thought the next great hurdle in LA was to provide jobs for the 13 percent of the people who are jobless and the 13 percent more who don’t even count in the statistics.
Or reduce the 75-year backlog in street and sidewalk paving.
Or ease traffic congestion now rather than build a subway extension 20 years from now.
Or save the quality of life in the neighborhoods.
Or end the scourge of 40,000 gangsters who control the turf in half the city.
Or to actually balance the city budget and end runaway spending and stop giving sweetheart contracts to unions, developers, consultants, lawyers and all the other insiders who cut their deals in the darkness of back rooms.
Need I go on.
“The Next Great Challenge” is how the mayor hypes this deal that puts JPL in bed with the city’s favorite cash cow, the Department of Water and Power, which is hiking rates faster than a rocket ship launched to the moon.
“We are setting the stage to be at the forefront of the clean tech
revolution that will drive the new, green economy and relegate global
warming to the prologue of the Great Book on America in the 21st
Century,” the mayor concludes.
Is that why we elected him mayor? Is that why we have a city government? Is City Hall that screws up everything it touches from elephant exhibits at the zoo to digital billboards in our neighborhoods and pot shops on every street corner really up to the task of writing the “Great Book on America in the 21st
Century?”
I’m no rocket scientist but I’ve got a better idea: Let’s send the mayor and the CIty Council on a mission to the moon, or better yet Mars. That way they’ll all be term-limited out by the time the return and we won’t have to put up with their nonsense anymore.
In the meantime, I’m certain us ordinary mortals could go to work on the problems we actually can fix and even make the city more environmentally healthier.
Just getting rid of their poisonous political games would be a giant leap for the four million who call LA home.
If the Mayor wants to reduce overall water usage, stop approving any projects in which density is increased.
Approve variance zoning that will DECREASE density.
Replacing 3 single family homes that have 12 people with a condo project of 48 units and 150 people is a water waster. The water usage increases by a factor of 10x.
And if the Mayor wants wants to cut down on hot air. . .
Do we have any actual reporters left in this city to find out the specifics on these Villaraigosa claims…
He says, “Here in LA, we are taking the lead on this and working to become the center for climate change and clean technology research and innovation. We’ve already put LA on a path to permanently break our addiction to coal by 2020; to get 40 percent of our power from renewable sources by the end of next decade; and to make our City plug-in ready and transform Los Angeles into the production and market capital of the electric car.”
He also says, “today I signed a partnership agreement between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to explore ways to decrease water usage, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and stimulate green job growth in Los Angeles.“
Also, since when is JPL the best regarding expertise on “decrease water usage, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and stimulate green job growth in Los Angeles.“. Why should he choose JPL for this study. JPL primarily builds satellite experiments and builds and tracks satellites.
A political stunt????
This makes more sense.
“Building on a pact signed earlier this year, the city of Los Angeles, CalTech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory agreed Monday to a three-year program to help the city cut water use and greenhouse gas emissions, develop new energy resources and create green jobs.”
“Earlier this year, Villaraigosa signed a memorandum of understanding between CalTech, UCLA and USC to have the three institutions work together in developing research on the commercialization and deployment of clean technologies.”
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_12878771
IT’S GOING TO COST US A LOT OF MONEY. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
The Mayor of Pasadena has never asked JPL to help with these issues. Just another publicity stunt by the Mayor to associate himself with a world-known agency. Hoping some of their Moon/Mar dust will fall on him, and propel him all the way to the Senate.
Is there any code requirement in place that dictates how and when one can enter into these MOU’s?
Is this a prelude to a new Measure B?
Is this a way around it being on a ballot?
‘Just curious.
MAV wrote: “It was only fitting, then, that today I signed a partnership agreement between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to explore ways to decrease water usage”
Does this mean that when the drought is over, the high rates, the tiered water allotment and penalties will still be in place?
No need to answer.
The DWP and the City of L.A. are not known for innovating anything. They put the No in innovation. That is the very essence of a bureaucracy and a municipal utility. Wait until JPL runs into the IBEW, they’ll wish they were on the Moon without a space suit. Duh Mayor is once again showing political pandering not responsible governance.
There are existing third parties that have water saving programs that the DWP refuses to promote or even cooperate with.
Landscaping associations are one example, but you see there is no political capital for Duh Mayor going that route.
No, the DWP does not want to give credit to outsiders nor the non politically connected The City Council actually had to make a motion to compel the DWP to develop an outreach plan on water conservation with neighborhood councils even though a mechanism, an MOU, with neighborhood councils has existed for four years. How pathetic is that? Let’s cut the Mayors pay in half to show our dissatisfaction with his performance.
this mayor is out to lunch forever
What we need is limited government. Let’s start with the Sate Legislature then Los Angeles Lack of Leadership Council, City Legislature, including the Mayor who is out of this world.
Citizens for CA Reform
Petitions are ready!
Join CCR in the Citizen Legislature Project and help The People of California bring Accountability to Sacramento by returning our state to a Part Time Legislature!
Let’s get this thing passed! Now you can start signing petitions!!!
http://www.kfiam640.com/pages/johnandkenshow/index.html
Citizens For California Reform
http://www.reformcal.com/cms/
this mayor is out to lunch forever and ever
Does the DWP have the authority to issue MOUs? Yes.
Does the DWP have the authority to initiate research and development activities? No, not according to the City Charter.
Will there ever be an attorney in Los Angeles who wishes to represent a non-profit watchdog group that wishes to challenge the DWP on this? NO.
http://www.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/California/laac/charter/volumeigovernance/articleviproprietarydepartments?f=templates$fn=document-frame.htm$3.0$q=$x=#LPTOC4
Ron,
Why would you say anything nice about anyone in City leadership if most of your political engagement for your adult life was about seceding from Los Angeles.
I mean a man like yourself who approved $50,000 dollars from a news organization (The Daily News) to further push the secession movement by bribing Valley Vote. Why wouldn’t you continue to push for the loser of an issue by trying to heap a dose of bad mojo on any elected official in Los Angeles.
I mean since you are so pro-audit — it would be nice to have gotten a “performance and financial audit” during your tenture at the Daily News.
I mean how many mastheads did you push with your biased agenda to try to pull the Valley into cityhood? How much would that be worth? How many times did real news get pushed aside so could continue to push your wet dream of an idea?
How many real stories of waste, fraud and abuse actually occured in the city but went untold because you had your best reporters pushing your agenda in an unethical way?
I mean during your tenure as head of the Daily News readership dropped by over 30% and while you claim to have fought against the firing of the “deadwood” at the Daily News you now yell at any elected official trying to preserve jobs in this deadly recession.
Wait, during your reign there was no recession like the one we are having now, in fact when you got fired we were still living in the “good times”.
So yes, let’s audit everything.
So ron, because of your waste, fraud and abuse how much did the Daily News lose financially – and how many untold stories went uncovered because you were tyrant of an editor and wanted to win so badly?
Just curious.
The Ratepayers/Taxpayers of Los Angeles should not pay a dime for this. If they want to have a cooperative agreement with sharing of info, that’s one thing, but any payment of funds should not be allowed. There is plenty of research being done Nationwide funded by taxpayers already. And don’t allow DWP to be a guinea pig leaning on the highest end of the risk/return formula.
I think my favorite bit of 1:11′s comments is the “anonymous” monikor. What a wuss!
“Mars is essentially in the same orbit… Mars is somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe.”
-Dan Quayle, 8/11/89
Send Tony to Mars. Dan Quayle says it’s safe.
As an actual rocket scientist, I am very concerned that JPL considers DWP enough of a sound organization in the rigor of their fact-checking and scientific basis to have a “partnership” with them.
This is something (using my Count Floyd voice) “reeeeeely scaaaaary!”
The attack on Ron is classic Villaraigosa blog staffer procedure: when you cannot defend the Mayor’s actions, simply attack the messenger in an attempt to change the subject.
Hey, Villaraigosa loves to travel, loves photo-ops, and wants to learn about conserving water and energy. I think his staff should work on sending him to the space station. And, insofar as one of the two toilets is broken, what better venue for him to repeat his famous rallying cry, “WE CLEAN YOUR TOILETS.”
We don’t need a Manhattan Project to conserve water. We need to enforce the building codes and immigration laws, and stop increasing population density. Furthermore, the technology exists to remove the salt from ocean water — it’s used around the world.
This isn’t about problem-solving. It’s about image-building — and about assailing the character of anyone, like Ron, who has the audacity to point out the Emperor has no clothes.
Wow 8:13 – you are a bitter sack of something. Would your name happen to be….Ed Moss?
Good post, thanks