Big Money
LA WATCHDOG--In a September 27th op-ed article in the Los Angeles Times, Harold Meyerson called for “a new legal order that again breaks big money’s hold on the way we make laws.”
LA WATCHDOG
Is LA City Council a Steppingstone to the Mayor’s Office? Ask Mark Ridley-Thomas or Kevin de Leon
LA WATCHDOG--County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and former State Senator Kevin de Leon are candidates for separate seats on the Los Angeles City Council. Both are interested in succeeding Eric Garcetti as the Mayor of Los Angeles.
Controller Paul Koretz: The Fox IN the Hen House
LA WATCHDOG--Paul Koretz announced that he wants to be our next Controller. He cites his familiarity with the City’s budget, his focus on fiscal responsibility, his passion for efficiency, and his thirty years in politics.
2019 Budget Busting Labor Contracts Bad News for Angelenos in 2020
LA WATCHDOG--In April, Mayor Eric Garcetti submitted his “balanced” budget to the City Council. He also claimed that the City had eliminated the Structural Deficit.
Lights Out?
LA WATCHDOG--The number one priority of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is to keep the lights on and the water flowing.
DWP Ratepayers’ Goal: 100% Reliability at Reasonable Rates
LA WATCHDOG--The State has mandated that Department of Water and Power transition to Clean Energy by 2045. At the same time, there will be increased demands on the Power System because of the transition to electric vehicles and the electrification of the building sector, all part of the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Photo above: Saddle Ridge fire.)
Nury Martinez Named LA City Council President … Is She Up to the Task?
LA WATCHDOG--On Tuesday, December 3rd, Councilwoman Nury Martinez was elected President of the Los Angeles City Council, effective January 5th.
Draining the LA Swamp
LA WATCHDOG--While the $1.4 billion budget crisis is top of mind at City Hall, there is lots going on beneath the surface, fueled by term limits, political ambitions, and allegations of corruption.
They Knew!
LA WATCHDOG--Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Council President Herb Wesson, and Councilmen Paul Koretz and Paul Krekorian knew well in advance that the new labor agreements would blow a $1.4 billion hole in the City’s budget over the next five years. And now they are trying to ignore and coverup the fiasco they created.
$1.4 Billion In LA Budget Deficits: Labor Reform a Must!
LA WATCHDOG--On June 30, the City budget was balanced. The City was also projecting a budget surplus in each of the next four years, topping out at $78 million in 2024.
Eric and Herb, Balance the Damn Budget
LA WATCHDOG--“When Garcetti became mayor, he pledged to get “back to basics.” There should be nothing more basic than balancing the budget.” Los Angeles Times Editorial, November 10, 2019
City Finance: Los Angeles Is Misleading Investors (and Angelenos)
LA WATCHDOG--The City of Los Angeles has the legal obligation to ensure that its financial statements are “true and complete in all material respects.”
Approval of the Split Roll is a Reward for Garcetti’s Bad Behavior
LA WATCHDOG--According to the Sacramento Bee, Mayor Eric Garcetti strongly supports the Split Roll ballot measure that would value business properties at market value as opposed to the current practice under Proposition 13 which assesses the value based on the purchase price (plus 2% a year appreciation).
DWP v. PG&E
LA WATCHDOG--We have been critical of our Department of Water and Power, in large part because City Hall views the Ratepayers as an ATM to finance its operations and pet projects.
Budget Lies & Liars
LA WATCHDOG--When Mayor Eric Garcetti presented his “balanced” budget on April 18, the Four Year Budget Outlook prepared by Richard Llewellyn, the City Administrative Officer, showed that the City would generate a surplus in each of the next four years, topping out at $78 million in 2024. The four-year cumulative surplus was $200 million.
PG&E: Lessons for the City and DWP
LA WATCHDOG--“It’s more than just climate change. It’s about dog-eat-dog capitalism meeting climate change. It’s about corporate greed meeting climate change.
Will We Have the Right to Vote on Wesson’s Municipal Bank of Los Angeles?
LA WATCHDOG-“Wesson intends to bring the bank proposal back to the ballot again after the idea has been fleshed out so voters can approve the final concept.” Los Angeles Times editorial of September 20, 2018.
Herb Wesson: Your LA County Tax Man
LA WATCHDOG--In June, City Council President and wannabe County Supervisor Herb Wesson sponsored a motion instructing the Chief Legislative Analyst to “draft a motion to include in the City of Los Angeles’ 2019-20 State Legislative Program SUPPORT for any effort to amend State law to grant counties the authority to seek voter approval of a tax on personal income above $1,000,000 per year as a means to fund additional homeless housing construction.”
Around the Los Angeles Cesspool
LA WATCHDOG--Angelenos are wondering when the next shoe is going to drop in the pay-to-play scandal resulting from the November FBI raid on Councilman Jose Huizar’s offices and home and the subsequent search warrants issued on, among others, Councilman Curren Price, Deron Williams, Council President Herb Wesson’s Chief of Staff, and Ray Chan, the former General Manager of Building and Safety and a former Deputy Mayor for Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The Clock is Ticking: Time for LA City Attorney Mike Feuer to Step Down
LA WATCHDOG--On Thursday, the incompetence of wannabe mayor City Attorney Mike Feuer was on full display as the City dropped its ill-conceived lawsuit against Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the consultant to the Department of Water and Power in its botched rollout of customer billing system in 2013.
Another Garcetti Billion Dollar ‘Pet’ Project. Mayor Ignores the Ratepayers.
LA WATCHDOG--On Tuesday, the Board of Water and Power Commissioners approved the expansion of the Feed-in-Tariff program by 300 megawatts, contrary to the recommendation of the Ratepayers Advocate.
100% Renewables by 2045: Ratepayers Have a Right to Know How Much It Will Cost and Who’s Paying for It!
LA WATCHDOG--It has been almost eight months since Mayor Eric Garcetti unilaterally announced that the Department of Water and Power would phase out the three gas-fired coastal generating stations (Haynes, Harbor, and Scattergood).
Bridge Housing: At What Cost?
LA WATCHDOG-The former Durant Library has been repurposed into the Gardner Street Women’s Bridge Housing Center, a 30-bed facility that will provide temporary housing for homeless women in Hollywood.
DWP Board of Commissioners Needs a Major Overhaul
LA WATCHDOG--On Thursday, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that the Department of Water and Power will “create an Office of Inspector General as part of his DWP reform agenda to improve accountability and transparency at the utility.”
DWP Groupthink
LA WATCHDOG--Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners was a waste of time as little of substance was discussed, especially with respect to the approval of the multibillion dollar Eland Solar and Battery Energy Storage Projects.
A DWP Inspector General?
LA WATCHDOG-On Thursday afternoon, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that the Department of Water and Power will create an Office of Inspector General to improve accountability and transparency at the Department. (See below).
DWP: Too Little Transparency on Billion $ Solar/Battery Deal
LA WATCHDOG--On Tuesday, September 10, the Board of Water and Power Commissioners will once again consider approving the Clean Grid LA – Eland Solar and Battery Energy Storage Projects.
Are Angelenos Mushrooms? The Cover Up of the High Cost of Labor Contracts Continues
LA WATCHDOG--On Wednesday afternoon, the Personnel Committee of the City Council “considered” and “submitted to Council for its consideration” new labor contracts with the three unions representing the police, the engineers and architects, and command officers.
How Los Angeles, the $653 Billion City, Benefits from Prop 13’s Predictability
LA WATCHDOG--The 2019 Assessment Roll for the 790,556 properties in the City of Los Angeles rose to a record $653 billion, an increase of $42 billion, or 6.8%, from 2018.
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