[So looks like the city may end up another $30 million short of what they thought, ontop of the $7 billion they will now unexpectely be paying out to cover the LACERS (pension and retirement) losses this past year in risky (non-investment grade) real estate and Wall Street investments. (More on this topic all over this blog.) SOLUTION: Throw a parade or have a "jog-fest" with even more money out of the general fund.
IBEW MEMO WARNS OF L.A. CITY FIRINGS: Well, Villaraigosa waited until it was too late, but looks like firings MAY be on the way, as the mayor has been warning about; and as Zuma Dogg has sadly been predicting as the only solution. Much of the city's budget deficit was created by Villaraigosa being waaaay too generous with the unions, giving them waaaay too much when the city couldn't afford it, in an effort to shore up votes for his re-election. It worked! And now that he has been re-elected with the support of unions he gave rasises to -- that got us into this mess...he's about to be sworn in, then fire all those people he promised raises to!
According to KNX 1070 AM/Los Angeles, the IBEW union issued a memo to members warning that 2000 jobs may be cut (people fired). Job losses MAY be able to be prevented, but they WON'T be, due to the nature of union leadership. The scenario Zuma Dogg was warned to watch out for, is the offer to either "give back" some of the recent salary raises and benefits the douchebag-dummy mayor gave away when he had no ability to deliver on the promise (especially after he just let $7 billion get away from the general fund, and into the accounts of risky, dice-rolling Wall Street investement portfolio managers and Villar's cronie real estate developers); OR, people will have to be fired/jobs lost.
Now of course it would be better for all workers to take a reduction and have everyone keep their jobs (it IS called a "union") -- not only so people do not become unemployed, but because it is better to have positions filled so work across the city can be done.
But here is the problem with the way union leadership is organized, and this is why any choice like this will end up going the way of "job cuts for some" rather than "salary reductions for all":
The union leaders who vote on these decisions have the seniority, and they are the ones who will NOT be fired, if people are to be fired. So why vote for your own salary reduction, when you can vote to have OTHER people fired and keep your salary and benefits in tact. (It IS called a "union," but the way it is set up, it should be called a "divisive.")
IS VILLAR GOING TO TRANSFER POLICE MONEY INTO GENERAL FUND?: An anonymous comment on Mayor Sam's blog says, "Isn't the TRASH FEE SUPPOSE TO PAY FOR POLICE? I heard the Mayor is moving the trash fees into the general fund."
[Ooops, he is? That would be a big "no-no" because he swore that was going into a lock-box ONLY for police hiring. Bad enough it went to raises for existing cops, instead of hiring new ones. But at least it's money spent on police. THIS MONEY MAY NOT BE PUT INTO THE GENERAL FUND TO COVER ANTONIO'S ASS! Plus, we all know money in the general fund is being excessively spent on parades, street festivals, runs, walks, face painting, cookie cutting, and corporate and corporate-sponsored events. BUT THE MONEY WAS PROMISED TO HIRE MORE COPS! (LMFAO!)
SCREW SOLAR, BETTER UPGRADE THE TRANSFORMERS: Villaraigosa really BLEW it over this Measure B solar panel initiative. Everyone knows he couldn't care less about the environment, except saying, "The greenest big city mayor" is the kinda thing that sounds good when you are running for Governor. But in the case of Measure B, it was merely about creating the need for a massive work project, to secure jobs for workers, so they would go to the polls to vote for Measure B and while they are at the polls vote for Villagrosa.
HOWEVER, there may be a need to create more solar, however there is a compelling DEMAND to replace the damn transformers across the city and the rest of the aging and over-stressed under too much density-demand DWP infrastructure.
ZUMA DOGG always hears the BIG problems first; then warns about it; then the city does nothing; then something happens; then they react after the fact. And I won't read off the laundry list from the sub-prime forclosure predictions causing a recession to the fact that LACERS was overly invested in risky investments to the whole enchilada...SO HERE IS WHAT'S NEXT:
The DWP transformers and infrastructre are shot! I am getting calls from DWP insiders who say the powers that be are aware of the problem and the city continues to ignore it. Last summer we got lucky without a major heatwave. But the city has done a whole lot of high-density construction since then, and I am told if there is one good heatwave this spring/summer...FUGGEDABOUTIT! LIGHTS OUT LOS ANGELES!
So the mayor should not have pitched solar, but transformers. Because the city is still planning on creating a density monstrosity across the city, with another $1 billion hotel/condo/retail project set to launch downtown, plus Grand Ave Debacle Project that may be built someday...AND ALL THE PLANS THE CITY HAS FOR ALL OF IT'S HIGH DENSITY DEVELOPMENT...
But two problems relating to DWP:
1) More warnings of drought conditions, not enough water, and water rates going up again as a result of the "shortage." (Check the news.)
2) One good heatwave and we will be seeing and feeling the effects of blackouts across the city. AND THAT IS BAD FOR BUSINESS...BAD FOR RENTERS...BAD FOR OWNERS...BAD FOR THE ECONOMY.
TAKE THE SOLAR PANELS OUT OF YOUR ASS AND FIX THE F*CKING TRANSFORMERS!!! If you want to pay my good friends of the IBEW way too much money to get the job done...IF YOU ARE OVERPAYING FOR TRANSFORMER REPLACEMENT...IT WILL BE WORTH IT IN THE LONG RUN...Because the cost of a city with no power is immeasurable. (But when you are running for governor, talking about replacing aging infrastructure is not as sexy as solar panels. It's like talking about replacing Paul Moyer instead of more of Mirthala Salinas.)
CITY OF LOSER ANGELES ANNOUNCES ANOTHER $1 BILLION BOONDOGGLE: Who are you trying to kid? You can't even one floor of the Grand Ave Project completed, and it's already time to launch another billion dollar luxury project the city doesn't need and cannot sustain.
Some overseas company wants to sink it's teeth into downtown L.A. cause it's probably so easy to walk all over the city now, they are so hard up and desperate. So I guess we need another luxury hotel, luxury housing and luxury retail downtown. Villaragiosa keeps thinking you can just keep dropping skyscrapers on the economic problems downtown and all the homeless people walking around the area will hop on a Greyhound bus to New Jersey out of town.
I have to see the details of this projects because I heard it is a renovation of some other hotels, but again, I can assure with all certainty...the answer to Downtown L.A.'s problems is not that they do not have enough luxury five star hotels, luxury condo space and over-priced retail shops.
Meanwhile, people who live downtown have to leave downtown to go shopping and do chores for the real things they need day to day, because Jan Perry in her infinite wisdom (or contribution intake) forgot all about the things that actually go into creating a REAL neighborhood that creates a community.
SUPPORT ZUMA DOGG ON HIS THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF CITY HALL ACTIVISM: Three miserable years ago today, April 4, 2006, was the first day Zuma Dogg went to city hall for his first public comment. It's 4:24 in the morning, and this is the ONLY time I could get in front of a free computer. So check this blog cause I tried to catch up on some stuff. I am completely broke and when I wake up, it will be BIG problems, because I am still on the streets without gas to drive around and am shaking from hunger now, which is why I am awake...and in the morning will be REALLY starving and I am actually in physical pain from hunger, right now. So beware any emails or voice mails you may get when I wake up this morning.
If you have never donated to support the efforts and have thought about it, today would be the best day, cause I've never been more in need; and it's my three year anniversary of being a stupid dummy who cannot stop this watchdogg non-sense..
If I don't get some PayPal love today, this morning, real soon, like when I wake up...I'll probably just put the blog on private and resign from all of this activism.
So most likely we are looking at the scenario of "Zuma Dogg at City Hall (4/4/06-4/4/09)." I gotta do everything to try and kill off the Zuma Dogg character so Dave can live.
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