L.A. Is Not Designed to Work

The City of Los Angeles is a sprawling enterprise with 32,000 employees and an annual budget of $8.6 billion. But according to Rick Cole, the City’s former Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation, “LA is not designed to work.”

Our City’s operations are relatively simple compared to Los Angeles County and other large cities such as New York and Chicago.  City Hall is not responsible for education, healthcare and hospitals, social services and welfare, and criminal justice and jails, all open ended services that are burdened by rivers of red ink, adverse court decisions, and controversial political and social issues that do not have simple solutions.

City Hall is responsible for every day services such as public safety (police and fire); our streets and sidewalks; our parks and libraries; and trash collection, wastewater, sewers, and stormwater.  It is also responsible for planning, zoning, building and safety, and the enforcement of the related rules and regulations.

But Angelenos are not happy campers.

Our streets are a mess, but there is no well thought out plan to repair and maintain our roadways.  Our sidewalks are subject to a $1.4 billion consent decree, but residential sidewalks are last in line to receive funds.  Recreation and Parks’ programs for our youth and seniors have been eviscerated while its putrid public restrooms are a constant source of ridicule.  And our neighborhoods are under siege by real estate developers and traffic congestion.

The City’s finances are also in shambles.  This year, the budget was balanced by diverting $150 million from the Reserve Fund despite the fact that revenues increased by $150 million more than projected.  The City has long term obligations of over $25 billion for its unfunded pension liabilities, deferred maintenance on its infrastructure, and existing long term debt.  But there is no long term plan to balance the budget, fund our pension plans, and repair our streets and sidewalks.

Underlying the chaos at City Hall is the reality that it is impossible to hold any of our elected officials accountable for the failure of City Hall to balance its books and provide adequate services to its constituents.  According to the well respected and occasionally controversial Cole (photo right), the City charter was designed to prevent corruption and the abuse of power.  But today, this has resulted in an inefficient government because we are unable to hold our individual elected officials accountable for their collective failures.

Unfortunately, our City is dominated by special interests, whether they are the campaign funding union leaders that represent our City’s workers or the generous real estate developers who have complete disregard for our residential neighborhoods.

If Los Angeles wants to be a “world class” city, it cannot continue with the status quo.  It cannot continue to kick the budget can down the road and ignore the Structural Deficit, inefficient operations, our infrastructure, and the underfunded pension plans.  It can no longer afford to thumb its nose at investors and employers if it wants its economy to flourish through the creation of good jobs.  It can no longer allow unfettered development that impinges on our quality of life.

Change and reform that are designed to make our City work are politically risky with the real possibility of failure.  It may also alienate the special interests who finance political campaigns.  But this is the challenge that our leaders must face if they want to win the hearts, minds, and wallets of the voters.

Is Back to Basics Mayor Eric Garcetti willing to be that leader?

 Originally posted on CityWatch LA.

Via: California Political Review

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Source: New York escapee Richard Matt shot and killed; Sweat being pursued

Malone, New York (CNN)Richard Matt, one of two escaped murderers from an upstate New York maximum-security prison, was shot and killed by officers involved in a massive three-week manhunt, three law enforcement sources said Friday.

Officers are still pursuing fugitive David Sweat but don't have eyes on the convict, according to law enforcement sources.

A possible ending to the 21-day manhunt began around 1:30 p.m. when police received a call of shots fired near Route 30 in the vicinity of Malone, New York, according to law enforcement officials briefed on the matter. About 20 minutes later, more gunshots were heard.

The driver of a recreational vehicle called 911 when he heard the initial shots and later when he realized his camper was hit, the officials said.

About 3:45 p.m., a law enforcement officer saw a man in a wooded area in Malone, the state police said. A man believed to be Matt was shot and killed but a positive identification is pending, according to state police.

Matt approached an officer with a shotgun and was shot by a border patrol tactical team, law enforcement sources said.

Bob Willett, a Malone resident, also called 911 Friday afternoon when he found a liquor bottle on the kitchen table at his cabin, his cousin Mitch Johnson told CNN.

Willett was speaking with responding authorities in his yard when gunfire erupted behind the house, according to Johnson.

Willett was told to go into the house, where he has been since, Johnson said.

Two sets of footprints were found in the area, the law enforcement officials said. The second set are believed to belong to Sweat.

The search for Sweat was unfolding around Elephant Head, northwest of Lake Titus and about 10 miles from Malone, according to Clinton County Sheriff David Favro.

At a command center near the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, law enforcement helicopters were taking off to join the search. Passing motorists honked in approval at news of Matt's death.

The shooting occurred on a day the New York State Police reported that Matt and Sweat might have been headed to Canada.

Investigators were conducting DNA tests on potential new evidence, a source close to the investigation said.

Via: CNN

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Al Sharpton's organization wants the US military to remove 'all remnants of the Confederacy' from its bases

Business InsiderMinister Kirsten John Foy standing with other National Action Network leaders at Fort Hamilton.
The Rev. Al Sharpton's civil rights group, the National Action Network, wants the US military to rename all of its facilities that honor Confederate Army figures including a street named for Robert E. Lee on Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York.

Sharpton will be holding a vigil in front of Fort Hamilton on Saturday. Ahead of that event, Minister Kirsten John Foy, the National Action Network's northeast regional director, held a press conference in front of the base on Thursday.

Foy said it is "unacceptable" that the main street running through the base is named "General Lee Avenue." He noted Fort Hamilton's slogan dubs the base the "face of the United States Army in New York."

"Fort Hamilton is the face of the US Army here in New York and the face of the US Army here in New York is General Robert E. Lee," said Foy. "That is unacceptable as a New Yorker, as an American, and as a person of good conscience."

Business Insider highlighted the existence of General Lee Avenue on Monday. The street is about a half mile long and is the main street on the base. Lee served at Fort Hamilton in the 19th century before he left the US Army. He went on to lead the Confederate troops during the Civil War.

The June 17 shooting at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina that left nine people dead has reignited a nationwide debate over Confederate symbols on public lands. Dylann Roof, the alleged shooter, has been linked to a website that featured a racist manifesto and photos of him posing with Confederate imagery. 

In addition to calling for General Lee Avenue to be renamed, Foy said the National Action Network is pushing for the military to renamed all of its other bases that honor Confederate figures. There are at least ten bases named for Confederate leaders. Military bases are on federally owned land that is outside of local jurisdiction.

"We will be presenting an official letter to the commander of this base and then sending it up the chain asking that they remove all the remnants of the Confederacy," Foy said. "Taxpayer dollars are supporting a US military that honors the Confederacy."

Via: Business Insider

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[VIDEO] Dreams Demolished: 10 Years After the Government Took Their Homes, All That’s Left Is an Empty Field

NEW LONDON, Conn.—All Susette Kelo wanted was to live with a view of the water.

In 1997, Kelo achieved her dream with the purchase of a 900-square foot Victorian home located in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood of New London, Conn.

The home enveloped her when she walked through the front door for the first time, like she had lived there her entire life. And when Kelo bought the home, she painted it pink—Odessa Rose from Benjamin Moore’s historic collection, Kelo specifically remembers.

From her front porch, the mother of five boys could see the mouth of the Thames River. On a clear day, she could see all the way to Montauk Point on New York’s Long Island.

But less than one year after moving to her piece of paradise, Kelo found out the city of New London wanted to take her waterfront property and others belonging to her Fort Trumbull neighbors.

The city used its power of eminent domain.

And so she, along with six other families who owned 15 properties in Fort Trumbull, fought back.

“When I first started this battle, it was about me and this little pink house,” Kelo told The Daily Signal. “But it grew into something much bigger than that. It turned into a nationwide battle to save the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.”

Kelo and her fellow plaintiffs—Thelma Brelesky, Pasquale Cristofaro, Wilhelmina and Charles Dery, James and Laura Guretsky, Richard Beyer and Bill von Winkle—fought the city of New London to keep their homes. The city wanted to transfer the property to a private nonprofit organization, which would facilitate its development.

Via: Daily Signal

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[VIDEO] Bon Jovi, Lady Gaga headlining Clinton fundraising spree

WASHINGTON –  Hillary Clinton embarked Monday on an aggressive campaign dash across the United States, further fueling questions about whether the front-running Democratic presidential candidate is having a harder time than expected locking down the Left in the face of a surprisingly strong challenge from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Clinton is scheduled to attend over 20 fundraisers between Monday and July 3 — including 11 in New York — according to a list obtained by Fox News.

The push comes as Clinton, like all candidates on both sides of the aisle, is required to file disclosures with the Federal Election Commission at the end of the quarter. The bottom line on fundraising is seen as a major sign of strength or weakness for candidates across the board.

The list of Clinton fundraisers coming up includes high-profile events with some pretty big stars, including a concert Wednesday in New York with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, as well as a much-hyped “Evening with Hillary and Jon Bon Jovi” in Red Bank, N.J.

Many of the events come with recommendations on contributions: $2,700 for an individual, the legal primary maximum; or, that an attendee raise at least $27,000.

Clinton is fundraising Monday in Indianapolis and Minneapolis, then heads on Tuesday to Chicago and and St. Louis for more money events. Over the weekend, she made appearances in California and Washington state.

Democratic strategists privately admit there is some apprehension about enthusiasm being a little less than expected for Clinton, though Clinton aides have said the major reason they’re pumping up the fundraising is to keep up with the slew of Republican candidates raking in big money.

Via: Fox News

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NY Teacher Exam Thrown Out For Being Discriminatory

A federal judge in New York has struck down a test used by New York City to vet potential teachers, finding the test of knowledge illegally discriminated against racial minorities due to their lower scores.

At first glance, the city’s second Liberal Arts and Science Test (LAST-2) seems fairly innocuous. Unlike the unfair literacy tests of Jim Crow, LAST-2 was given to every teaching candidate in New York, and it was simply a test to make sure that teachers had a basic high school-level understanding of both the liberal arts and the sciences.

One sample question from the test asked prospective educators to identify the mathematical principle of a linear relationship when given four examples; another asked them to read four passages from the Constitution and identify which illustrated checks and balances. Besides factual knowledge, the test also checks basic academic skills, such as reading comprehension and the ability to read basic charts and graphs.

Nevertheless, this apparently neutral subject matter contained an insidious kernel of racism, because Hispanic and black applicants had a passage rate only 54 to 75 percent of the passage rate for whites.

 Once their higher failure rate was established, the burden shifted to New York to prove that LAST-2 measured skills that were essential for teachers and therefore was justified in having a racially unequal outcome. While it might seem obvious that possessing basic subject knowledge is a key skill for a teacher, District Judge Kimba Wood said the state hadn’t met that burden.

“Instead of beginning with ascertaining the job tasks of New York teachers, the two LAST examinations began with the premise that all New York teachers should be required to demonstrate an understanding of the liberal arts,” Wood wrote in her opinion, according to The New York Times.

Via: The Daily Caller

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Making Amtrak Compete Would Benefit All

The recent Amtrak derailment outside of Philadelphia, which killed eight people and injured over 200, is a somber reminder that quick action by Congress is necessary to prevent another passenger rail catastrophe. Amtrak is the sole operator of trains on the Northeast corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston, and thus bears responsibility for providing safe passenger train travel. Yet, despite a posted 50-mph speed limit on that section of track, the train was traveling at 106 mph around a very tight turn. Amtrak’s contract to operate trains on the Northeast corridor should be terminated immediately. 

But wait. No such contract exists. Amtrak has an uncontested, indefinite monopoly on intercity train operations in the United States. The problem lies therein: Amtrak is unconstrained by the fear of losing its operational rights, and thus its revenue, regardless of safety or on-time performance. 

The corridor includes stops in such major population centers as Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, N.J., and New York. It is highly profitable, with the tight population densities, moderate distances, and concentrated central business districts that are critical for successful passenger rail. The NEC should be a showcase for how the United States can deliver a self-sustaining, reliable, safe, and affordable high-speed passenger rail. The barrier is not geography or insufficient taxpayer spending but appalling, outdated federal rail policy. 

We can do better. One appealing solution is a public-private operating partnership, or PPOP. Under this approach, the NEC would be separated from the rest of Amtrak’s routes. The NEC already differs fundamentally from the rest of the passenger rail system. Amtrak owns most of the tracks and rights of way on the NEC, but utilizes freight train tracks in the rest of the country. 

A 2013 report from the Brookings Institution notes that the NEC routes, which carry some 11.4 million people each year, earn an operating profit of about $205 million annually. The rest of Amtrak’s nationwide network, however, hemorrhages cash. 

Under a PPOP, the right to maintain and operate NEC trains would be bid out at regular intervals of, say, 10 to 15 years. A PPOP concession contract would specify key aspects of service, such as rates, service frequency, and safety standards. Bidding would occur on the basis of the largest upfront concession payment an operator is willing to make for an exclusive operational right subject to the pre-set terms of service.  

Via: Real Clear Politics

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AMERICAN PHAROAH BECOMES FIRST TRIPLE CROWN WINNER SINCE '78

ELMONT, N.Y. – American Pharoah accomplished one of the rare feats in sport Saturday, becoming the first horse in 37 years and just the 12th horse ever to win the Triple Crown.

The heavily favored colt completed the quest by running away from seven rivals in the Belmont Stakes, three weeks after a rain-soaked dash in the Preakness and five weeks after a gritty,stretch-duel victory in the Kentucky Derby.

American Pharoah's name now moves into the history books alongside equine immortals like Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Citation and War Admiral. And horse racing finally has the superstar it has hungered for – a fluid athlete with a massive stride who seems to float over the ground.

The last horse to win all three of North America's biggest races was Affirmed in 1978. Since then, 13 horses have come to this historic track having won the first two legs of the Crown. All had failed (with I'll Have Another scratched prior to the 2012 running), raising doubts whether the quest was still attainable for the modern thoroughbred.

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Victor Espinoza reacts after crossing the finish line with American Pharoah to win the Triple Crown. (AP)

In front of a roaring crowd, American Pharoah eradicated those doubts in stirring fashion, going wire-to-wire at the Belmont, beating second-place finisher Frosted by 5½ lengths.

Pharoah didn't break well from the gate, but it didn't matter. Jockey Victor Espinoza steered him to the lead, which he never relinquished.

As he came down the stretch, American Pharoah never slowed, widening his lead to win going away in a time of 2:26.65 – the quickest Belmont time since 2001.

The result gave triumphant closure to trainer Bob Baffert's 18-year quest to win the Triple Crown. Three times previously, he had won the Derby and Preakness only to encounter Belmont heartbreak. In 1997, his Silver Charm was passed in deep stretch. In '98, Real Quiet was nipped at the wire. And in 2002, front-running War Emblem stumbled leaving the gate and was never a factor.

Now the 62-year-old Californian finally has his Triple.

Via: Yahoo Sports

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Are We In for Another High-Crime Era After the Response to Ferguson and Baltimore?

Are we seeing a reversal of the 20-year decline in violent crime in America? A new nationwide crime wave?

Heather Mac Donald fears we are, and as a premier advocate and analyst of the policing strategy pioneered by Rudy Giuliani in New York City and copied and adapted throughout the country, she is to be taken seriously. And the statistics she presented in an article in last weekend's Wall Street Journal are truly alarming.

Gun violence is up 60 percent in Baltimore so far this year compared to 2014. Homicides are up 180 percent in Milwaukee, 25 percent in St. Louis, 32 percent in Atlanta and 13 percent in New York in the same period.

Why is this happening? Mac Donald writes, "The most plausible explanation of the current surge in lawlessness is the intense agitation against American police departments over the past nine months."

That's a reference to the reactions to the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y., last summer, and to the death this spring of Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

The narrative propagated by mainstream media, the Eric Holder Justice Department and the Barack Obama White House was that unarmed innocent blacks were being slaughtered by racist police. "Black lives matter," read the hashtag, as if most cops believed the opposite.

The facts of these cases, as revealed through competent investigations, did not support the meme. In one case in which video evidence did, in South Carolina, the policeman was quickly charged with murder by local authorities.

But the propagation of the racist-cops narrative was followed by days of rioting in Ferguson last year and Baltimore last month. The (perhaps misspoken) response of Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake: "We also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well."

Another response: Across the country, Mac Donald notes, "offices scale back on proactive policing under the onslaught of anti-cop rhetoric." Proactive "broken windows" policing is being replaced by non-benign neglect. The victims of the increased numbers of homicides are almost all black.

Via: Real Clear Politics

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Few major films shot in California, study shows

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A report shows that despite California acting as the backdrop for blockbusters this year, very few were filmed in the state.

Only 22 of 106 films released by the major studios in 2014 were actually filmed in California. The rest of the movies were shot in New York, Britain, Canada, Georgia, Louisiana, Australia and a dozen other states and countries, according to a feature film study by

FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the city and county, the Los Angeles Times reports ((http://lat.ms/1FRo1iH).

Only two films with budgets above $100 million were filmed primarily in California: Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and Paramount's "Interstellar."

In 1997 64 percent of the top 25 movies at the box office were filmed in California, compared to 16 percent last year.

Several box office hits set in California were filmed outside of the state, including Warner Bros.' "Godzilla," which was shot mainly in Vancouver, Canada; 20th Century Fox's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," which was filmed in Louisiana; and Disney's "Million Dollar Arm," which was shot mainly in Georgia.

Even this weekend's "San Andreas," which depicts the destruction of California from a massive earthquake was filmed mainly in Australia.

State lawmakers last year approved an expansion of the film and TV tax credit program tripling annual funding to $330 million a year to try to keep production in state. The new program also allows big budget films to apply for incentives for the first time.

Studios will apply for feature film tax credits under the new program in July.

Via: Times-Standard Entertainment

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Differences Between Left and Right: Part I

Most Americans hold either liberal or conservative positions on most matters. In many instances, however, they would be hard pressed to explain their position or the position they oppose.

But if you can't explain both sides, how do you know you're right?

At the very least, you need to understand both the liberal and conservative positions in order to effectively understand your own.

I grew up in a liberal world -- New York, Jewish and Ivy League graduate school. I was an 8-year-old when President Dwight Eisenhower ran for re-election against the Democratic nominee, Adlai Stevenson. I knew nothing about politics and had little interest in the subject. But I well recall knowing -- knowing, not merely believing -- that Democrats were "for the little guy" and Republicans were "for the rich guys."

I voted Democrat through Jimmy Carter's election in 1976. He was the last Democrat for which I voted.

Obviously, I underwent an intellectual change. And it wasn't easy. Becoming a Republican was emotionally and psychologically like converting to another religion.

In fact, when I first voted Republican I felt as if I had abandoned the Jewish people. To be a Jew meant being a Democrat. It was that simple. It was -- and remains -- that fundamental to many American Jews' identity.

Therefore, it took a lot of thought to undergo this conversion. I had to understand both liberalism and conservatism. Indeed, I have spent a lifetime in a quest to do so.

The fruit of that quest will appear in a series of columns explaining the differences between left and right.

I hope it will benefit conservatives in better understanding why they are conservative, and enable liberals to understand why someone who deeply cares about the "little guy" holds conservative -- or what today are labeled as conservative -- views.

Difference No. 1: Is Man Basically Good?

Via: Real Clear Politics

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Seen At 11: Woman Says Her Wi-Fi Connection Is Making Her Sick

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — From using cell phones and computers to watching movies online, wireless technology has made life easier. But now, some say there is a serious downside.

As CBS2’s Maurice Dubois explained, there are those who claim that exposure to wi-fi is making people sick, and some people don’t even know it.

“Brain fog. That’s my worst problem. A brain fog,” Suzanne Hoyt said.

Hoyt said that nothing prepared her for the rush of symptoms that she suddenly developed.

“Headaches, perspiration, pain in my jaws and my heart. It’s like physical expansion of the heart,” she said.

Hoyt said it all started when she installed wi-fi throughout her apartment.

“I started to be very uncomfortable, and I didn’t know what it was,” she said.

With wi-fi everywhere, from parks to restaurants and taxis it turns out Hoyt is not alone.

“It was like a deep burning sensation in my face, in my nose, my jaw, it was like a deep burning sensation,” she said.

It’s called wi-fi sensitivity, and doctors say it’s a very real condition with serious consequences.

Dr. David Carpenter, an Environmental Scientist and expert on wi-fi’s effects said the scientific link between wi-fi and health is clearly emerging.

Via: CBS New York

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FBI Targets, Raids Democrats Across Country

Democrats in California, New York, and North Carolina were targeted by the FBI on Wednesday. All are targets of unrelated federal investigations.

 

Democratic state Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco was taken in by federal authorities on public corruption charges after a series of FBI raids Wednesday morning. Also arrested as part of the investigation was “infamous Chinatown gangster Raymond ‘Shrimp Boy’ Chow,” according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Yee was a candidate for California Secretary of State.

New York Assemblyman William Scarborough (D., Queens) had both his Queens and Albany offices raided by FBI agents on Wednesday and was met by agents at his hotel room.

The FBI is investigating per diem payments that reimburse legislators for days spent in the Capitol.

Scarborough told reporters that the FBI raid is the result of a “tabloid hit job.”

Charlotte, N.C., Democratic Mayor Patrick Cannon was arrested on public corruption charges of theft and bribery as a result of a four-year FBI sting operation.

Cannon collected cash bribes and other items of value from undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen who wanted to do business in Charlotte,according to U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Anne Tompkins.

The month of March has been rife with Democrats on the crime blotter.

Via: WFB

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