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.