Declare "Fiscal Emergency", Mayor and Council manuver to save Phone Tax

Mayor Villaraigosa and his "WILLING TAX AND SPEND, FELLOW TRAVELERS" are in discussions regarding options to saving the city tax on phones. One option that has the attention of Times reporter David Zahnizer, is declaring a fiscal emergency. this would pave the way for putting a revised Phone Tax on the February ballot. Most important, by declaring an "emergency", passage of the tax would require only a simple majority.

Coming on the heals of proposed tax hikes on properties for gang programs, trash fees for Police, rate hikes for IBEW, err, infrastructure improvements at the DWP. One can see that the current city leadership will stop at nothing to find "streams of new revenues" to waste on dubious programs. Plus, lets not forget the "OTHER TAX" that is still in the planning stage. A tax on your personal income.

Simple solution to this "ORGY OF SPENDING AND TAXING" ?

JUST SAY NO!!!

Just say No, when your city leaders will not crack down on "ILLEGAL MERCHANTS".

Just say No, when gang programs put current members of the "MEXICAN MAFIA" on city payroll.

Just say No, when your city leaders sell out our fine LAPD officers for the May 1 rally at MacArthur Park.

Just say No, when you city leaders give the "BANK" to dubious "Non-Profits".

Just say No, when a "PRANSTER" gets $1.5 million for hurt feelings.

I can go on and on, but I will let you add to the list.

Mayor maneuvers to get phone tax on Feb. 5 ballot - Los Angeles Times

The Summer of Love is Officially Over

Once there was a girl who achieved her dream of being a big time television reporter.

First she banged Alex Padilla, Fabian Nunez and probably a few others.

But then she upgraded to the married, sitting Mayor of the second largest city in America. Indeed, she even reported on television that the Mayor was splitting up with his wife because of an affair with another woman. But she forgot to mention she was the other woman.

She was then suspended. And then transfered to the fabulous metropolis of Riverside.

But she failed to show up for her first day of work. And shortly after, her employer said she was no longer with the television station.

And in the meantime, the Mayor is probably looking for a new squeeze in time for the holidays.

Man, that really sucks. Just like that woman and this one and this one, anyone who dares screw around with a married elected official is bound to become the butt of many jokes and only a footnote in history. But hey maybe she can sell the movie rights!

Mayor V Blips

The Mayor wanted to plant a million trees (the non-shady shady plan we told you about before) but so far its only about 110,000 and no one knows where they are. Yet another example of stupid grandstanding by a politician that solves absolutely no problem.

If you're a philandering politician who do you to turn to for advice? The wife of another philandering politician of course! Especially when she's running for President and you're her National Campaign Chairman.

Despite his troubles, Hispanic Business Magazine has named Mayor V one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in America. Hey the Mayor needed SOME good news right?

John and Ken check this out: Walter Moore has a video blog with some photo ops of the Mayor wasting his time tossing out old mattresses. That Mayor V sure knows how to keep busy!

9. 11. 01: We Will Never Forget

The Latest in the Mayor Villaraigosa Soap Opera

Latinas in Los Angeles are reportedly dropping their support for the Mayor in droves. Many of them who supported Villaraigosa in the past are saying never again. One woman interviewed by the Whittier Daily News prays and lights candles for the Mayor and his estranged wife as a way of "handling her anger and disillusionment."

Reports are that Mayor V plans to begin a major rehabilitation effort starting Monday including an all out assault on potholes and alleged spiritual counseling from Cardinal Roger Mahoney.

A reader reports that "strings were pulled" in order to get a female police officer allegedly favored by Mayor Villaraigosa transferred to the LAPD's elite Metro Division and his security detail.

Yet another print journalist can't stand how blogs and other parts of the new digital media have reshaped how political reporting is done. Tim Rutten bitches about blogs saying "Clearly, the mayor would not be in the fix he's in — and it's quite a fix — without the emergence of a vigorous online media that is reshaping the city's political landscape." I think we here at the Sister City take that as a compliment. In a related post on Newsbusters Dave Pierre says Rutten's article exposes a double standard about the Times' coverage of Republican and Democratic philanderers.

Radar Online reports that Mayor Villaraigosa's situation definitely presents a big problem for Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Luke Ford enumerates the number of entries on the growing list of Antonio's alleged girls starting with Mirthala, the latest one and many others. He also puts a number of you in the spotlight posting your comments on his well known blog. Luke also wonders aloud if getting on that list gets you a plum city position. No proof to that yet, let's hope we don't find it.

Writing in the Daily News Earl Ofari Hutchinson says that the Mayor's relationship with Mirthala Salinas "crosses the line" and raises troubling questions when an elected official has an affair with a journalist.

Newsbusters points out that he LA Times makes quite a dumb point in an editorial claiming that Republicans seem to get away with affairs more than Democrats. I guess they forgot about Bill Clinton avoiding conviction on impeachment. The more I think about it I don't see the point of the Times' logic.

The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin is living in some kind of fantasy world. The paper editorializes that these sex scandals won't hurt the Mayor and that he has some kind of "potential."

The Times has video of Mirthala reporting the Mayor's divorce on air (scroll down the page).

Lonewacko's hope has been it would be his radical ways that would lead Tony Villar to lead his political campaign down the tubes but if a sex scandal is what does, he's cool with it.

The LA Times Dana Parsons has discovered the "anti-Villaraigosa:" Laguna Woods Mayor Milt Robbins, 86 years old, married for 63 years to Marilyn and whose biggest guilty pleasure is his occasional weekend nine holes of golf.

Flap the Blogging Dentist has lots of tidbits and photos of the Mayor's alleged new girlfriend.

Here's what readers say about the Mayor and his recent troubles:

• One reader claims that The LA Times is doing damage control for the Mayor.
• In the meantime another Mayor Sam fan says that the Spanish language media is AWOL on the story.
• Another poster alleges that the Villaraigosa name was not a politically correct feminist display of hyphenization, but a way for the future Mayor to escape rumored credit troubles.

How To Pick Up Girls

An interesting flyer fell out of my copy of this week's LA Weekly. And in light of the Mayor's recent troubles maybe it's timely.

A weekly seminar at the Sportsmen's Lodge Hotel (by the pool no less) will teach you a "total new concept on how to pick up girls and have them call you." For $69 (cash only) you can learn how to get a a girl to call you, how to have girls love you without having to blow a lot of money taking them out to dinner; even how to get strippers to go home with you.

On the other hand you could just listen to Tom Leykis on KLSX and get more or less the same material for free. Or you could get elected Mayor of LA.

Happy Fourth of July!

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Today we mark the 231th anniversary of the signing of the greatest document ever written on Earth. It was so important and the men who signed it believed in it so much they mutually pledged "to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Read the full text of the Declaration of Independence.

More Mirth for Mirthala, This Time With Fabian! (But You Knew That)

This is not news despite what some westside bloggers and news sites may think. We had it here first. Looks like Mirthala has a thing for rising star Latino politicians.

I think its time NBC considered getting rid of this "journalist" before they become a laughing stock.

NBC did however fire married reporter Kyung Lah for "gross misconduct" who had an affair with a producer at the station. The situation was so scandalous it apparently warranted the firing of two additional staffers.

As one of our readers asked, is it not gross misconduct if you are a reporter covering a political beat to sleep with at least two of the politicians you are charged with covering?

I would suspect the people who were fired may feel the same way.

And the consequences Mirthala has to face for her decision are numerous. No matter how great a reporter she is, no matter that she won "Women of the Year" in 1999, forget that she once worked on an NBC news network program - she will be a permanent butt to jokes, snickers and giggles and always been known as Antonio Villaraigosa's girlfriend.

For new readers here are our past stories on Mirthala:

• Mirthala Top Search Term for Mayor Sam
• If You're An Avid TV Watcher
• VillarSalinas: We Told You So
• Fabian and Mirthala

Finally, reports are saying that rumors that the Mayor and Salinas are expecting an "anchor baby" are false. Our source says don't be so sure just yet. I'd like to think the Mayor and Mirthala aren't that reckless but its tough to do so given the turn of events.

VillarSalinas: We Told You So

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is in the midst of divorce proceedings with his wife, acknowledged he is in a relationship with a Spanish-language television reporter, according to a statement published Tuesday.

Villaraigosa issued a statement, published Tuesday by the Los Angeles Daily News, acknowledging his involvement with Telemundo newswoman Mirthala Salinas, after the paper told the mayor it was set to publish a story about their relationship.

"It is true that I have a relationship with Ms. Mirthala Salinas. As I've said I take full responsibility for my actions, and I once again ask that people respect my family's privacy. For my part, I intend to stay focused on my job, and to work as hard as I can every day to be the best mayor I can be," Villaraigosa said.

As The Third Floor Turns

MAYOR V UPDATE: Rick Orlov reports that the Mayor is traveling again - you guessed it - to Washington, D.C. to join with Ted Kennedy and a cast of characters to support the immigration reform bill that President Bush said and then said he didn't say offers amnesty.

We reported Monday that a very credible inside source told us that there may have been a previous relationship between the Mayor and the woman in question during the time the Mayor was Speaker of the Assembly and separated from his wife. Our source has since corrected us informing us that he/she was referring not to a relationship between the woman and Speaker Villaraigosa but that she allegedly "had also been with the CURRENT speaker when he was separated with his wife." We can't confirm this rumor but my how the worm turns!

In a related development, a blogger named "Cobb" says that he was surprised to hear the "anchor baby" rumor from his brother who is an LAPD officer and claims that members of the LAPD are allegedly planning to "prank" the Mayor by placing a plastic stork on the City Hall lawn.

Does it get any more fun?

As The Third Floor Turns, Day 14

Tony Castro weighs in on the Villaraigosa soap opera saying that based on the experience of politicians such as Rudy Giulinani and John McCain, the Mayor's divorce and alleged infidelity may not have a long term impact on his career. Noting the rumors discussed here on this blog as well as KFI's John and Ken show are part of the "feeding frenzy" when these types of issues come up but in today's more permissive society the public may not hold personal foibles against elected officials.

Of course if a pregnancy is involved it's my view all bets are off. While dalliances with another woman is one thing, someone of the Mayor's age and stature fathering a child with another woman while married signifies a sense of recklessness.

In other news, a very credible source tells us that an individual who works for KNBC says the alleged "television personality" in question is not just a recent relationship but allegedly had a relationship with Villaraigosa when he was State Assembly Speaker, during a previous separation from his wife.

Of course if the Mayor came out with details and told us the truth this would all go away.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Thursday

Hey kids due to the Kevin James interview Wednesday night, no time for a Hotsheet so I'll let you guys blog, spin and post graffiti on this article.

Random thoughts:

It was an amazing experience to sit in studio with Kevin James at KRLA. Kevin is a true gentleman and a consulate professional. Watching him in studio you see how hard he works to produce a great show. And his behind the microphone team are a great bunch of guys. I am sorry we didn't get time to take calls, but there's lots going on.

Due to what Kevin calls "The Perfect Storm" of June 2007 in Los Angeles politics, analytics here are through the roof. Compared to the same three day period last week visits to the blog are up 151.24%, pageviews are up 210.61%, average time on site is up 39.44%, referrals from the Westside White Guy up 244% and traffic from computers on the City of Los Angeles network is up a whopping 464.81% (yea who said the 3rd floor isn't spinning, cutting and pasting?). Also the top keyword search term bringing folks to the blog - after various combinations of "Mayor Sam" - both last week and this week - is you guessed it - Mirthala Salinas, this week up 580% over last week. Thanks to everyone for their support and to all our bloggers - Zuma Dogg, Red Spot, Joe M., Joe B., Walter and AW who've been cranking out the content.

If you listened to Kevin Wednesday night he spoke of a caller who privately told him a few months back about one of the the topics contained in SONCHA WATCH. We are hoping this lady will call Kevin and elaborate on how she knew this months before any of us. I told Kevin that she had this story months before anyone else tells me, well, uh, it might more likely to be true than anyone thought. Like they say, where there's smoke...

So I am off to dreamland but feel free to blog away on the Kevin James show, Antonio, Rocky, Baca, Weiss or any of the other characters who are part of our daily soap opera here on the Mayor Sam blog.

"Loss of Enthusiasm" for the Mayor

Privately many of Mayor Villaraigosa's longtime supporters are expressing a "loss of enthusiasm" for the Mayor in light of the recent announcement his wife has filed for divorce and rumors of alleged marital infidelity. Duke Helfand, writing in the LA Times, says that allies of the Mayor are disappointed and angry with him that he "played into a stereotype about macho Latino males and that some of his public comments about his wife, Corina, have appeared disingenuous."

Click read more to see the rest.


But it gets worse for the Mayor. Columnist Mona Gable is calling on Presidential candidate, New York Senator Hillary Clinton to "dump Antonio" as one of her national campaign chairs. Gable says:

He's not all that great a mayor. He couldn't get his school reform bill through giving him power over LAUSD, even though he had several buddies in Sacramento carrying his water. The notorious May Day melee where the LAPD was caught beating up immigrants occurred on his watch. He acted like LA had the Olympics in the bag--then when it didn't come through, pouted like a two-year-old.

Hillary is under the illusion that she's getting a rising political star--a future governor of California! But she might want to do some old-fashioned reporting. Antonio isn't much liked even among LA's Latino political elite. He burned a lot of bridges in his relentless quest to become mayor.

Many of our readers have questioned where the Los Angeles Times has been in taking a critical view of the Mayor's divorce announcement. However, it now appears with the Helfand article and a column by Steve Lopez, the paper could be abandoning it's "cheerleader" role it assumed in the past.

Even with the tarnish on the Mayor with his marital woes, he can take solace in that - unless he actually does become Hillary's running mate - its at least two to three years before he stands for election somewhere.

But it's not all bad news for the Mayor - he did get a medal from UCLA Friday.

If You're An Avid TV Watcher...

Red Spot posted it and yes it was reported on John and Ken that the rumor swirling around City Hall is that the reason for the Mayor's divorce from his wife is not just irreconcilable differences, not just an alleged affair, but an alleged baby.

So if the alleged girlfriend is with an alleged child, who is she (allegedly)?

The buzz on our blog for days has been that the Mayor's alleged and rumored girlfriend is Telemundo reporter Mirthala Salinas. But that's only a rumor and we claim no knowledge of this alleged fact.

KFI newsman Eric Leonard implied to John and Ken that the person in question is apparently well known to members of the local press and said "if you're an avid TV watcher" you may be familiar with the alleged girlfriend, leading to speculation the person could be a television reporter (allegedly). Leonard's point was that if this person is indeed allegedly with child, it would be difficult to hide given her alleged prominence.

John & Ken and Leonard also seemed to believe that Villaraigosa will shortly issue a statement confirming the alleged pregnancy.

On the other hand, a former Villaraigosa staffer has told the Sister City that the Mayor allegedly had a vasectomy in 1994 following the birth of his youngest child. I guess we will find out soon.

Now why is this important? If true, it represents a serious lack of judgment on behalf of the Mayor. At this critical juncture in the City's history, we need a mayor who is focused and plugged in, not living a soap opera.

Stay tuned to this alleged blog for more updates as to these allegations.

Mayor V Divorce Update

Steve Lopez tells the Mayor to shut up. Lopez says that the Mayor can't both ask for privacy about his personal life and keep calling press conferences and giving interviews about his failed marriage.

Patt Morrison doesn't care about Antonio's breakup. But while she's at she alludes to an extra-marital affair during the term of former Mayor Tom Bradley.

Change in plans. The Mayor will stay at Getty House while Corina and the kids will move back to CD14.

WitnessLA.com wants to make the Mayor a deal. They'll give him the privacy he wants if he submits to an ankle bracelet or a security camera so we know where he is and what he's doing at all times.

Good and Bad News for Mayor V

In light of Mayor's Villaraigosa's wife Corina filing for divorce, the "eclectic" Christian blog Verum Serum speculates the cause - despite non-denials from the Mayor - is marital infidelity on the Mayor's part. The blog takes a look at the Mayor's character and makes the very straightforward observation that if his wife can't trust him, how can we?

Some good news however for the Mayor is that the California Majority Report still rates him at the top of the list of Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls, with Attorney General and former Governor Jerry Brown nipping at his heels.

LA's Newest Bachelor

Questions and fall-out since the announcement last week that Mayor Villaraigosa and his wife Corina were seperating.

Among the items:
The Mayor is expected to address the separation in a Monday press conference.

The Mayor is moving back to CD14 - he will return to his Mount Washington home while his wife and children remain in the official Mayoral residence, Getty House, in Windsor Square.

A genealogy blog wonders if the Mayor will be allowed to continue to use the hybridized name that a younger Antonio Vilar, Jr. and Corina Raigosa came up with years ago.

LA is going to have a single mayor pretty soon - something we haven't had since the days of Dick Riordan - and an experience the folks of New York have previously had. I am sure many of you would like to start posting your a-list of the young ladies that an eligible bachelor like Mayor V would like to date. Remember, the Mayor has one of the best buddies you can troll for chicks with - none other than former President William Jefferson Clinton.

Of course, the Mayor does have higher political aspirations. He may want to read this article before he does anything further.

Zuma Dogg's Shady Report

Alright, y'all...so much shadiness happening in the City of Los Angeles under Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, I'm afraid I might show up to City Hall, one day soon for public comment, and find the doors to City Hall padlocked by George W. Bush!?!?

Here are some things Inspector Zuma Dogg is looking into that may, or may not be part of what's being looked into: (AKA: ZD's Bat Computer is working round the clock on -- and seems to be some things on the radar:

* Several lawsuits against the City over civil right's violation, across multiple departments. DWP (employee suing for unauthorized phone survelance), LAUSD (teacher suing for overtime), Ruby De Vera (suing LA and Ed Reyes over political expression violation/termination -- outside counsel hired), Female LAPD officer (sex discrimination/hostile work envronment). I understand there is some connection to all of these for a possible upcoming "collective" (or class action lawsuit, but I don't know if that's possible...I hear it IS from some, isn't from others.)

PLUS, ZD announces Geragos and Geragos suing LAPD in Federal Court of failure to process exculpatory DNA evidence that set the Plaintiff free, after being locked upi for two months.)

* "Dirt" Burnell housing development in Mt. Washington: Complaint HAS been filed with Building and Saftey alleging developer, Michael Zenon (Xenon)submitted substantial mistatement of facts with intention to mislead City into issuing permits.
(Are three CMs tied into this?)

ALSO: XENON was denied a condo conversion in CM Rosdendahl's district over all the stuff ZD has been talking about (vacancy rates, Ellis Act, notification issues). So he is appealing to Council first week in June for permission. Rosendahl claims to be "tenant friendly". Let's see if he and council can stand up to Zenon. ZD says, "Hell Naw". CM will cave and apartments will be converted and Rosendahl will never hear the end of it.

* SW Museum/Griffith Park expansion/Autry Non-Profit: (See ZD/Mayor Sam story)

* Wyvenwood Apartments: Is Mike Fink's Fifteen company (who owns the apartments) planning a demolition to make way for a condo? Huizar claims to be unaware of it...But ZD says he is VERY aware of it. Better demolish all those "historic" buildings and chop down all those dozens of old oak trees to make way.

* ED REYES'S LA River Project: CRA boondoggle to turn LA River project into the "Condorodo River". Just an excuse to build high density housing around no infrastructre. WAAAAAAAY more to come on this.

* Prop K (State Park Bond Money): Waaaaaaaaay too many loopholes to allow non-profits to bamboozle the fund and not build the parks.

* HONORABLE MENTION: Froniter Building Supply, tract maps, bulky item collection fee/tax, Amiga, non-profits paying huge salaries and blinged out rides to the boardmembers we all have heard of, CRA ($14 Boyle Heights bond),

For more info call me at 310-928-7544 and I will be glad to follow up. Otherwise, check the Mayor Sam blog for all of these current stories, with way more to come.

email: zumadogg@netzero.com

Zuma Dogg's Shady Report

by Zuma Dogg
Public Advocate of the Community

Are There Two Concurring Investigatons at LA City Hall? (1 Fed, 1 State)

This past Superbowl Sunday, some comments by Captian Jack Sparrow (a frequent comment poster on "Mayor Sam's Sister City" blog www.mayorsam.blogspot.com) caught my attention.

Since then, he/they (more than one contribute to the "Cpt. Jack blogger persona) has/have been leaving clues about a sticky situation regarding a Los Angeles City Councilmember's (CM) trip to Florida, for the Superbowl game. And now, additional bloggers have seconded Cpt. Jacks claim that Federal Agents are investigating City Hall, over a civil rights violation by DWP, involving "listening in on phone conversations, without proper notification...aka: spying, and who knows, "what else".

To read the rest of the report, please click here.

Bratton and Villaraigosa Should Resign

Placing blame for bad decisions made by police officers at last week's May Day protests, Police Chief Bill Bratton reassigned two top cops and busted one of them down from Deputy Chief to Commander.

Deputy Chief Cayler ``Lee'' Carter a 33-year veteran of the LAPD and commanding officer of operations at the LAPD's Central Bureau was demoted to the rank of commander and assigned to his home. Commander Louis Gray, a 39 year veteran and Carter's second-in-command was moved to a post in the Office of Operations. Bratton will announce his recommended replacement for Carter during the Police Commission meeting Tuesday.

"I have to be comfortable with the leadership around me," Bratton said, but he noted that he could not state the specific reasons for the moves because they were personnel matters.

Mayor Villaraigosa - who was out of the country during the protest and surrounding incidents - told reporters ``We're not going to shift responsibility down the chain of command. Accountability begins at the top. What happened on May 1st was wrong and we're taking immediate action to address it. Let me be clear about this: When I say accountability starts at the top, it starts with me."

We have to remember that both Villaraigosa and Bratton planned to be out of the country weeks before the protests. Surely the LAPD had intelligence that troublemakers were likely to take advantage of the event and egg police on. Given that, it was completely irresponsible of Bratton and Villaraigosa - as top leaders of the city - to attempt to skip out of town when this volatile event was on the calendar.

"Let me be clear about this: When I say accountability starts at the top, it starts with me."
Mayor Villaraigosa

There is no doubt that some officers acted badly. However there were protestors and other troublemakers who were the source of the trouble; these moves to blame officers by Bratton and Villaraigosa only seek to wash over their behaivor and allows the perpetrators to get away with it.

And it also discounts the fact that a number of the protestors - no matter how much they are good people, hard working and are very good at cleaning toilets (according to the Mayor) are here ILLEGALLY and are violating the law as well. However the Mayor, the Chief, the City Clowncil and a good chunk of LA are in denial of that fact.

Indeed, as much as Carter and Lee are responsible for the actions of the officers below them, so too are Villaraigosa and Bratton. The Mayor said "accountability starts at the top."

Therefore considering all that happened - and that the Chief and the Mayor irresponsibly planned to leave town (Bratton was scheduled to leave a little later than Villaraigosa and therefore when things got of hand there was time for the Mayor to cut the Chief loose and order him to stay in the country) - its only fitting and right that the Mayor and the Chief resign.

Of course, they are going to deny all responsibility, pin the blame on underlings and move on. But no doubt the members of the Command Officers Association and the Police Protective League will have a few words to say. We'll be glad to hear them.

A few other views:
Mayor Villaraigosa Pisses Me Off
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Rushes to Judgment

We Install Your Toilets!

Part and parcel of the problem with local government is not a lack of resources or even ideas. No, its a failure of leadership. This failure extends not only to a lack of action but probably even worse self-aggrandizing action that is really non-action by our elected officials. Quite frankly, they're often blowing smoke up our ass.

Case in point is the Mayor's $168 million plan to fight the ever increasing scourge of gang violence in Los Angeles. David Zahniser writing in the LA Weekly blows the cover off this bogus, flawed and downright silly program the Mayor hopes to ride to getting his picture in the paper and becoming Governor, perhaps even President someday.

Zahniser does probably what no other publication in Los Angeles did - got off his ass to take a look at the program.

As it turns out, nearly $150 million is money the city already spends on existing programs. And many of those initiatives are only tangentially related to the difficult work of eliminating street gangs, including such things as boat trips for fifth-graders in the Los Angeles Harbor to the ramped-up deployment of park rangers at the city’s biggest parks (are street thugs roaming Griffith Park and no one warned us?).

Indeed, not only is the Mayor's spending all jacked up (more on that in a minute), apparently really very little thought has gone into the plan. When the Mayor was introducing his plan at his "State of the City" speech at a local high school, he wrongly cited that very school as having a gang problem.

And the most bizarre aspect of the program, the Mayor is going from cleaning toilets to installing them. That's right over $1 million will be spent on having gang members install no-water toilets at city facilities:

And that gets us to the most intriguing weapon in the mayor’s $168 millon anti-gang arsenal: water-saving urinals. As in, the self-cleaning kind that rely on — yipes! — suction instead of water. The mayor’s 41-page gang proposal promises to spend $1.2 million on the Water Demand Management Installation Program. Or to put it another way: the Department of Water and Power will teach the city’s youth to install water-efficient urinals and sprinklers in public parks.

Yet not one municipal facility or park in the City of Los Angeles has plans to install the toilets, except for by the Department of Recreation and Parks at Taylor Yard and a department official told Zahniser “But that would only be as an experiment, and we haven’t done that yet.”

Even when these programs are directly tied to gang intervention, they tend to be colossal wastes of money. The long fabled "LA Bridges" program has spent over $100 million in ten years and gang violence is worse than ever.

Even more so than the toilet scheme is another aspect of the "plan," the City's "Junior Golf" program. As Zahniser notes, the $9 million program allows 350 children to play golf at Griffith Park. An admirable activity, but that equates to about $26,000 per child. That's actually a bit more change than annual tuition for a child at the prestigious private Brentwood School, which has graduated notables such as actor Fred Savage, author Andrew Breitbart and members of the band Maroon 5. Instead of building toilets or playing golf, sending 350 kids to elite private schools could probably do more to keep them out of gangs, but I digress.

As it is, the plan has been harshly criticized by attorney Connie Rice, who is seen as sort of a guru on the gang question. Rice released her own plan earlier this year from which the Mayor plagiarized a good portion but didn't provide the funding Rice proposed. Zahniser points out that Rice is reserving a nuclear option; suing the City for not adequately spreading anti-gang resources across the city.

In the end, the Mayor has created a plan out of whole cloth: tossing in existing programs and services (many of which are questionable as to their direct connection to anti-gang efforts) and grafting on a few other items which are bizarre at best and shameful at worst.

But hey - it got the Mayor a lot of photo ops!

Villaraigosa Poised to Take Over LA School Board

Brady Westwater writing at LA Citywatch says that Mayor Villaraigosa has won his battle to take over the school board; the teachers' union has essentially given up the ghost by pulling a half million dollars in funding to support incumbent Jon Lauritzen over the Mayor's candidate, attorney Tamar Galatzan. Westwater also predicts that Villaraigosa backed Richard Vladovic will win in the 7th District. With Galatzan and Vladovic joining Yolie Flores-Aguilar and Monica Garcia who were elected previously, this gives the Mayor full control of the Board of Education.

At Least One of the People in this Photo is Going to Jail

Help Wanted

Want to be a blogger? Would you like to join the Mayor Sam family? We could use a few bloggers in the following areas:

• Pro and Anti Antonio Villaraigosa bloggers for We Clean Your Toilets
• News bloggers/press release journalists for Mayor Sam 2
• Bloggers who want to cover/comment on the Presidential campaign/national politics for Sam Yorty's America
• City Hall and political insiders for Mayor Sam's Sister City
• A sports blogger
• Bloggers from San Francisco and other cities
  

No pay (yet) but your opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a blogging empire. If interested, please email Mayor Sam at mayorsamyorty@aol.com.

Mayor V Coming Home Early

When you leave town and don't mind the store when the weathers rough, chickens come home to roost.

Mayor V has all of a sudden decided his work in El Salvador is done; he's coming back to LA to save Bill Bratton's ass which is in big trouble right now with the left, the right, the media, possibly the District Attorney and the FBI.

So much for that sailing to renewal. Bitter Bernie has got to be feeling good about right now.

If Chief Bill has to leave town; some of these items might be useful to him.

Bloggers Blog on Mayor V

Villaraigosa returning early

46 minutes ago With the LAPD yet again giving the city a black eye, Mayor Villaraigosa cut short his trip to Latin America and will return to Los Angeles Friday morning. He broke the news during a live interview tonight on Televisa, then his office ... LA Observed - http://www.laobserved.com/

ANSWER Answers Bo

16 hours ago by Blue Collar Republican We demand that Mayor Villaraigosa and all city officials take immediate action to bring the officers involved to justice. We also demand that the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners fire LAPD Chief William Bratton. ... Blue Collar Republican - http://bluecollarrepublican.com/blog - References

The hits keep comin'

8 hours ago Yes, that's right, straight out of Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's takeover bid (which we've covered here, here, and here) has hit yet another snag. If you recall, a Superior Court judge declared the law, which was hastily ... BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog - http://boardbuzz.nsba.org/

Rogue LAPD Assaults Demonstrators, Press

14 hours ago by Ken Reich Without the strong, steadfast support of officials like Villaraigosa, Bratton and City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo, who should be but are not beholden to the public, the prospects of such legislation are hopeless. ... Take Back the Times - http://takebackthetimes.blogspot.com/

The Roundup for Thursday, May 3rd

2 hours ago The LAT's Duke Helfand writes that Antonio Villaraigosa is under criticism for traveling to El Salvador during the May Day immigration protests, which turned violent in a city park. "On Wednesday, he defended his decision to start the ... The Roundup - http://www.capitolbasement.com

“The next thing I heard was the shotguns”

14 hours ago by marisacat Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is traveling in El Salvador:. “Yesterday, across the country, we witnessed a day of overwhelmingly peaceful speeches and assemblies in the best American tradition. … Any time that our law enforcement ... Marisacat - http://marisacat.wordpress.com

Police Fire on Journalists and May Day Rally demonstrators

9 hours ago by Laron Cue Chief William Bratton has issued a statement regarding the incident, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also issued statements, calling the police reactions unfortunate. Villaragosa is in the unenviable position of having to speak on the ... Blogcritics Section: Politics - http://blogcritics.org/politics/ - References

Help Wanted!

2 hours ago by Mayor Sam Pro and Anti Antonio Villaraigosa bloggers for We Clean Your Toilets; News bloggers/press release journalists for Mayor Sam 2; Bloggers who want to cover/comment on the Presidential campaign/national politics for Sam Yorty's America ... Mayor Sam's Sister City - Home of Los... - http://mayorsam.blogspot.com/ [ More results from Mayor Sam's Sister City - Home of Los... ]

The Day of the Immigrant brings LAPD Violence

2 hours ago by michael- Call Villaraigosa and demand the termination and prosecution of all officers involved! 213-978-0600 or email him at mayor@lacity.org. If enough citizens are outraged, perhaps this will be dealt with swiftly. ... HELIOLITH - http://heliolith.com

LA Mayor Seeks Gang Solutions in El Salvador17 hours ago
Concerns about gang culture prompt Antonio Villaraigosa to visit San Salvador. Both cities must deal with gangs that have strong ties in both nations. In San Salvador, felons deported from the US have taken LA's gang culture back to the ...
NPR Topics: Nation - http://www.npr.org/templates/topics/topic.php?topicId=1003&ft=1&f=1003 - References

"Something Went Wrong" Tuesday

More blowback following the near riot at the MacArthur Park pro-illegal immigration rally on Tuesday.

The LAPD is being severely criticized for an alleged use of "excessive force" by firing 240 rounds of foam bullets and using batons to clear pro-immigration protesters and media members from MacArthur Park.

LAPD Chief William Bratton - who was supposed to join Mayor Villaraigosa in El Salvador and Mexico - is still in town dealing with the mess. Not a good time for Bratton who was coasting to a renewal of another five years on his contract; indeed the Chief has admitted that some officers' actions may have been "inappropriate."

A two-phased internal investigation will be conducted to determine if Los Angeles police violated policy Bratton said. The Chief met with members of his command staff last night after seeing news footage showing officers in riot gear knocking protesters and some media members to the ground with batons.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, asked Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley to conduct an independent investigation into the officers' actions. City Council President Eric Garcetti said the Police Commission will also conduct its own probe of the incident.

Councilman Herb Wesson said the clash reminded him of confrontations between police and civil rights protestors in the South during the 1960s. "If there were dogs available, I would have thought that this great city of Los Angeles had been transported to Mississippi during the late `60s.'' Wesson told reporters "Something went wrong yesterday."

A number of television reporters including KTTV's Christina Gonzalez and KCBS/KCAL's Mark Coogan allege being attacked by police officers. The Society of Professional Journalists issued a statement expressing "grave concern" over how police officers acted towards members of the media. And yes, even La Voz de Atzlan had something to say.

And of course bloggers had plenty to say. Of course they wonder - as is everyone else - why did the Mayor leave the country just prior these turn of events?

Antonio, Immigrants Go MIA

What if they gave a protest rally and no one came, especially the Mayor who stood before them so stridently a year before declaring he cleaned our toilets. We hate to say we told you so.

What a difference a year makes as only a minuscule fraction of the crowds of 2006 turned out at twin protests on Tuesday. And some of those who did became violent, requiring tough action from the LAPD.

One person who was conspicuous by his absence was Mayor Villaraigosa. He was heading off on a trade mission south of the border. And there is no indication that immigration will be discussed with Mexican government officials during the Mayor's trip.

In other Villaraigosa related news the Mayor set tongues wagging at last weekend's state Democratic convention by his unusually low profile and his private meeting with his potential 2010 gubernatorial primary opponent, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

To end the day the Mayor got some bad news. His 2003 Council campaign is the subject of a 31 count ethics violation accusation filed Tuesday by the City of Los Angeles Ethics Commission.

Keep up with the Mayor including latest news and video up to the minute at We Clean Your Toilets.

Open Thread for Mayday

The big march is today! What do you think? Check back to We Clean Your Toilets throughout the day for updated news and your latest comments.

The Mayor's New TV Show

Antonio for Secession?

While in Washington, D.C. Mayor V was arguing for California's "fair share" of federal tax dollars. The Daily News had to weigh in:

We haven't heard that kind of righteous, rabble-rousing rhetoric since the days of the San Fernando Valley secession movement, when local leaders - and a certain newspaper known as the Voice of the Valley - called for a "fair share" for the overtaxed, underfunded engine of Los Angeles. Of course, the mayor was less than enthusiastic about the Valley's attempt to get its fair share back then. But now that he's on the short end of the fair-share stick, he's become a true believer in political fairness.

Of course the Daily News is merely a shadow of itself as well.

Antonio Update

Of course he made a photo op out of it, but Mayor Villaraigosa got behind exactly the kind of project a Mayor should be doing - putting an emphasis on filling potholes. If the Mayor could focus on just this and the LAPD for now, he could really go down in history.

Mayor V spoke at a function at the Bonaventure Hotel recently, in conjunction with the release of a United Way study that shows how horrible the quality of life is in Los Angeles. The Mayor's answer to improving the lot of Los Angeles is "Education, education, education." Wrong! Please refer to the first paragraph of this article.

Last year our Mayor spoke at a pro-open borders rally - yes the one where he uttered the now famous phrase that gives our blog it's name - to over 500,000 people. His appearance and comments at a rally to mark the one year anniversary (this time to only 5000 people) highlight why it will probably be very difficult for Villaraigosa to appeal to middle class voters outside California were he ever to run for National office.

CBS' Kent Shocknek (yes the guy who hid under the desk during the Whittier Narrows quake) takes on Mayor V for his LA Chamber Washington D.C. junket. Don't forget you can buy Mayor Villaraigosa travel gear here.

Antonio Update

Yes, the Mayor is going out of town again. Travel gear available here.

The LA Times looks at Mayor V's "inner circle" of friends and advisors who range from former State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown to Valley businessman David Fleming. However the most influential member of the circle whose been at the Mayor's side for years is labor leader Maria Elena Durazo.

An LA Times reader makes an interesting point: If the Mayor wants to take over the LAUSD shouldn't he wait until he gets the LAPD in working order?

Speculation is that the Mayor plans to run for Governor in 2010. However, first he has to win the nomination and a poll shows that Attorney General Jerry Brown has a huge lead for the Democratic nomination, including even garnering half of the Hispanic vote. However, Jerry says he has no plans to run so that puts Antonio ahead of other comers such as San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, State Senator Jackie Speier and past nominee Phil Angelides.

Villaraigosa Tidbits

The LA Times muses on the reasons for Mayor Villaraigosa's reasons for vetoing the air rights sale program the Council passed recently. In the Times' view its a combination power play and battle for who's going to get Downtown developer campaign contributions. Too bad it can't just be on what makes the most sense for Downtown huh?

Villaraigosa and other mayors want to create a big boondoggle of a socialist handout, that is, every child born in the US would get $500 from the government to save for college. How about just lowering people's taxes so they can pay their bills or so one parent can stay home from work? It will probably cost $500 in administrative costs for every $500 they give out. Lets hope the people figure this out. But I am not hopeful. A great philosopher once said no democracy could last long because eventually the people would figure out they could vote themselves gifts from the public treasury.

Shades of Joe Biden? The Mayor has released a plan to deal with school dropouts that is remarkably identical to one implemented by the LAUSD over a year ago. There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that the Mayor has created a plan to allow people access to nature and the wild by building a large park that has enclosed areas in which animals would be displayed.

Galatzan Debate Press Release

Studio City – Tamar Galatzan, the leading candidate from Tuesday's School Board election in District #3, today challenged her opponent to participate in at least two debates or candidate forums per week until Election Day (May 15, 2007). "Educating our children is too important an issue to ignore. The voters want to hear what the candidates think about smaller class sizes, local control, safety and a whole host of other issues. They deserve to hear where we stand on the issues and what our future plans are. And, they deserve to hear us tell them in person. Therefore, I urge my opponent to participate in two debates or forums each week until the election."

The Galatzan campaign urged Jon Lauritzen to attend the forums in person and not send a proxy. Galatzan campaign consultant Samantha Stevens said, "Mr. Lauritzen only attended 2 out of the 9 debates that were scheduled. For some of the other debates he sent a member of his LAUSD staff in his place. The voters want to hear from the candidates, not others who cannot be held accountable after the election. As Vice President of the School Board, Mr. Lauritzen talks about the importance of a civics education but apparently doesn’t believe in being civically involved himself.”

Galatzan called on neighborhood organizations, local groups, community leaders, and the media to host the debates or forums. "Voter turnout was incredibly low on Tuesday. I urge all our local organizations and leaders, along with the media, to sponsor candidate forums so the voters can hear our opinions and ideas and they can ask us questions directly. If we engage voters in a discussion of the issues, not mudslinging, we may improve voter turnout. And, we may find that people will become more involved in improving our community, even after Election Day."

The announcement was made while campaign volunteers stuffed envelopes with letters to local community groups, neighborhood leaders, and the media urging them to host candidate forums. The Galatzan campaign also asked that the community groups and/or media outlets decide on the format so that it best reflects the needs of the community.

Villaraigosa Google News Alerts for Tuesday

Los Angeles County mayoralty in offing ?
The Argus - Fremont,CA,USA
The mayor of Los Angeles,
Antonio Villaraigosa, is
considered to be the
leading Democratic
candidate for governor
in 2010. San Francisco
Mayor Gavin Newsom ...
See all stories on this topic

Ruby the elephant set to pack her trunk
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
"Today after 20 years of living here
and over 25000 pounds of peanuts, we finally say goodbye,"
Villaraigosa said. He waxed like a poetic travel agent about ...
See all stories on this topic

Valley voters backing Galatzan
Los Angeles Daily News - Los Angeles,CA,USA
well as District 7 near South Gate, will determine
whether Villaraigosa-backed candidates can
seize the majority of Los Angeles Unified seats. ...
See all stories on this topic

What's the plan?
Los Angeles Daily News - Los Angeles,CA,USA
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has talked earnestly
about school reform for two years. And Los Angeles
has listened - hungry for some hope in the face of years ...
See all stories on this topic

Musician Calls for Recall of Mayor Over Graffiti Issue
Emediawire (press release) - Ferndale,WA,USA
(PRWeb) March 13, 2007 -- Green musician John
Romano has called for a recall of Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa if the Mayor's administration ...
See all stories on this topic

Our View - California becoming political player
Daily 49er - Long Beach,CA,USA
According to the NY Times article, John Edwards
visited Fresno on Friday, Clinton held a rally with
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Saturday
and ...
See all stories on this topic

Inauguration Day in Los Angeles