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RANTZ & RAVEZ - We are at a Critical Crossroads in Los Angeles history as Residents, Business Owners, Workers and Voters have to deal with the growing number of Los Angeles City Council Members who are not United in providing a Quality of Life, Jobs and Public Safety for all People Living, Working, Visiting and Paying Taxes in the City of Los Angeles.
Over the years, most of us living in and around the various neighborhoods of Los Angeles have survived Earthquakes, Raging Fires, Floods, Riots, Burglaries, Robberies, Car Thefts, the Homeless Population, Roads with Huge Pot-Holes, Daily Freeway Gridlock on the 101, 405, 118 and most of the freeways connecting Los Angeles to the wider regions of Southern California. The question now before Los Angeles Business Owners, Residents and Voters is the following…..Can we Survive the Hostile and Negative impact of the increasing number of Anti LAPD Rallies and local ballot measures to raise any and all taxes proposed by the out of touch members of the City Council. Residents and business owners alike have asked where have all the “Angels” of Los Angeles gone! They have left for well-managed states and cities around the country where true American Values still exist and where you can live in relative Peace and Happiness where the Dollar has some substantial value with economic benefits. Something has quietly disappeared from Los Angeles over the years since leadership at Los Angeles City Hall has failed so many Families, Industries, employment opportunities and the hard-working Taxpayers.
Take for example the Motion Picture Industry in California and particular Hollywood. The State and City have recently worked on some benefits to try and salvage the movie and TV industry that has been fleeing the region to welcoming cities around America and Canada. Unfortunately, many production companies have already left and more are following the Exodus from Los Angeles and California to friendly states that support business and workers and provide incentives and a quality of life.
I have TV and movie production friends who have worked in the industry for many years. They are all struggling to pay bills since the work has dried up in Los Angeles. One friend has only worked 20 days since January of this year. Another friend works in commercials. She has worked only one job since January. Another friend has turned to Food Stamps to survive while living in Los Angeles. They can’t find any work in the industry in the Los Angeles region. I have been told that most if not all work has moved out of California leaving the crews behind to try and find employment. The recent production incentive approved by elected officials are a little too late to reverse the trend of industry opportunities outside of California. The recent incentives approved in California can’t help many of the local workers who are already collecting unemployment. In addition to the crews, local business that supports the entertainment industry are also suffering from lack of business. Cleaners, Crafts personnel and Caterers are all negatively impacted with fewer productions made in the Los Angeles.
The Governor and Elected State Representatives from California and the Elected members of the Los Angeles City Council all have one thing in common…They know how to spend our money and the money that does not exist. That is why the State of California recently approved a $321 Billion Dollar Budget with a $12 Billion Dollar Deficit. The City of Los Angeles elected officials approved a $13.9 Billion Dollar Budget with a near $1 Billion Dollar deficit. That is how it is done in Los Angeles and the State of California with our current group of Highly Compensated out of touch elected officials.
While I am a roll, I will mention the current LAPD Personnel numbers. As of June 21, the LAPD is staffed with a total of 8,739 sworn police officers of all ranks. This includes the recruit in the Academy to the Chief of Police. Every single sworn member of the LAPD. Is this a sufficient number of personnel to police Los Angels with a population of 3,908705?
The recent protests in Downtown Los Angeles that turned violent forced the LAPD to “Mobilize” for a number of days. The Mobilization caused all sworn personnel to deploy in uniform including detectives and work 12-hour shifts. The cost to the taxpayers is estimated to be $20 million dollars in addition to nearly $593,000 in damage to city buildings and over $600,000 to clean the streets and remove graffiti. The money to pay for this will just add to the growing deficit in the city’s treasury.
If there was light at the end of the tunnel, I would mention it. Unfortunately, with the growing number of Public Safety Haters on the L.A. City Council, the future is very dark.
I will be calling out the specific council members who are destroying public safety and not supporting the LAPD with their actions and votes. Stay tuned for future RantZ and RaveZ when I get specific.
(RantZ and RaveZ is prepared by Dennis P. Zine for CityWatchLA.com. Dennis is a retired Law Enforcement supervisor, current Reserve Officer and retired member of the Los Angeles City Council. Dennis can be heard on KABC Radio and Channels 5, 11 and Spectrum TV with police related features.)
