Tag Archives: budget crisis

‘We’re at War with Ourselves’ — My Sunday Column for News-Press & Leader

Posted on May 28, 2011 by

All politics is local — even wars halfway around the world in Iraq and Afghanistan. The point comes home with force as we watch our elected officials at every level grapple with a third year of massive budget deficits that … Continue reading →

Posted in Glendale-Burbank | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Valentine’s Day Lovefest: An Opening for a Dialogue on Fixing LA

Posted on February 13, 2011 by

Declaring “we are the heart of LA,” city workers plan to rally at City Hall on Monday for a Valentine’s Day lovefest “to the city we love and the services we love to provide.” Love isn’t all there is to … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Community Activists, LA Clean Sweep, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

City Hall’s Lost Boys and Girls — Council in a Box with No Escape

Posted on January 12, 2011 by

Inching toward the point of no return at the edge of a steep cliff, the City Council for the fourth time in two years was moving forward Wednesday on the sale – or as they prefer to call it the … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Budget Quicksand: More Cuts to Parks, Libraries and Other Core Services

Posted on August 18, 2010 by

It took only seven weeks for the LA city budget to blow up.   Imagine that: Thousands of six-figure workers with huge lifetime pensions and health benefits, the nation’s highest paid municipal elected officials with huge staffs and lucrative perks, … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

LA Clean Sweep Set to Launch — End the Cycle of Failure, Elect Better People for a Greater LA

Posted on July 14, 2010 by

Happy Bastille Day, Vive La Revolucion! Two years ago today nearly 300 people from all over the city gathered on the City Hall lawn to stage a rally for better government and launch the Saving LA Project. Our goal was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Dogs, Cats, Gang-bangers — and the City Hall Follies

Posted on May 18, 2010 by

This is what we’ve come to: Four million people provide an average of $1,700 each to City Hall for police, fire, paved streets and sidewalks, parks and libraries and other basic services but all they care about is dogs, cats … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, DWP, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

Pershing Square Dilemma: Parking $53 Million in the Budget Despite Cloud Over the Deal

Posted on May 17, 2010 by

They call it their “gold in the gutter” — the pennies, dollars and millions the City Council is using to paper over the massive budget deficits they created without actually reducing spending. As the Council gets closure on its latest … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

No Excuses: A City Left Dangling in the Wind

Posted on May 11, 2010 by

Let’s be perfectly clear about this: There is nothing the mayor and City Council know today about LA’s dire financial straits that they didn’t know when they cut the sweetheart early retirement and contract deals with city workers, gave raises … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Friends and Enemies: Which Side Are You On?

Posted on April 22, 2010 by

You can tell a lot about a guy from the people he chooses as his friends — and his enemies. The mayor counts as friends a circle that includes lobbyists, developers and big shots who are getting rich off of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 36 Comments

The Make-Believe World of Antonio Villaraigosa

Posted on April 21, 2010 by

UPDATE: Read Austin Beutner’s letter to DWP workers at OurLA.org. It wouldn’t be make believe if anyone in their right mind still believed in Antonio. He couldn’t even get more than one round of applause from his hand-picked audience of … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments