Comments
ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Providing accommodations for members of the community who may have fallen on hard times or have special needs is a central hallmark of the LA County Government. The compassion on offer from the five women who run the county can be mesmerizing.
They are passionate that residents and visitors alike should feel that the so-called, Net is in place.
The Board of Supervisors who oversee the $43.5 billion budget are 100% dedicated to ... enriching lives.
Smart Speaker: Enriching...who are they enriching?
Naturally, the devil is in the details, which is why we have public comment.
As all the county chipmunks filled their cheeks for winter and the largest county in the world rolled out its new public meeting schedule, it was clear to careful local government observers that something like a harmonic convergence was underway.
The county which adopted the same code of conduct language written by Strefan Fauble at the City Attorney's office during the pandemic, has been linking arms again to provide a similar public comment experience.
The jury is still out, as to whether the city will start flagging openly donations over $250 to the Supervisors from interested parties, as they've begun doing at the county following the conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Neither the city nor the county has codified any rule changes, but both have been bobbing and weaving and rearranging at the discretion of the corresponding Chairs - at the county, newbie Mayor Lindsey P. Horvath and at the City Council, the old goat President Paul M. Krekorian. He'll be gone following the election in 2024.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (LACMTA) both Horvath and Krekorian serve on, is a third body that is worth examining briefly.
Under Charles Safer's leadership (he's their lawyer, but must take his lead from The County Counsel) they deploy a consent agenda format. This is a broad brush technique that places as many as two dozen separate items under one item labeled, Item 3. Consent Agenda.
It's super weird. Like, "no need to give comments on these, we've agreed to approve them."
Smart Speaker: I'll bet you have...
The clear effect is the shove-through of millions or sometimes billions, right after J Hahn or Mayor Bass kisses an old bus driver or recognizes a community college class who've been brought in for effect.
Once the vote on consent takes place, Mayor Bass, the current Metro Chair, can get to the part of the agenda that they want to discuss in front of the public.
Why not just have one basic rule, like the Brown Act for all agencies here. The Preven Act.
Since the city and the county are showing signs of collaboration with each other, maybe they would consider a program that would actually help public speakers perform their duty of public scrutiny.
We are not all the same and do not all share the same views, but we all want the same thing. To be heard.
All of us want to speak on the items and give a general public comment. Without too much waiting around.
Smart Speaker Rules:
How about this:
Meeting starts with up to 30 minutes of Presentations.
Reading of the agenda - ** All items are left open **
Public comment #1
Speakers may address items and or general public comment
Items held special by members, Departmental presentations, amendments, discussion
Public comment #2
Speakers may address items and or general public comment
Additional items held special, Departmental presentations, amendments, discussions, announcements, adjournments
Public comment #3
Last Call - public speakers may address items and or general public comment
End of the meeting, at last the body Votes on the items before it and dispatches them forthwith.
You're welcome.
“It’s an outrage!” Dead at 86
Sidney M. Wolfe never apologized for taking a tough stand against the healthcare industry. “Somebody has to look out for people who are being manipulated by the hospitals, doctors, insurance, and drug companies,” he told The Progressive magazine in 1993.
Dr. Wolfe, per the NYT, received a MacArthur Fellowship, also known as a “genius grant,” in 1990. He remained active at Public Citizen, though he insisted that he had significantly cut back his time commitment, from 60 or more hours a week to a mere 40 to 45.
Over his long career at the Health Research Group, an offshoot of Ralph Nader’s organization, Public Citizen, Dr. Wolfe managed to get more than a dozen pharmaceuticals removed from the market, and warning labels affixed to dozens of others. He took on more than just drugs — among his targets were contact lenses, pacemakers, tampons, cigarettes, toothpaste, anything that might touch on health and health care.
Sid Wolfe was a man after my own heart, as he wrote a monthly newsletter in which he included a regular column called “Outrage of the Month.”
At the door to his office, on the seventh floor of a crappy building near Dupont Circle in Washington, he reportedly hung a sign that read “Populus iamdudum defutatus est” — Latin for, roughly, “The people have been screwed long enough.”
Dr. Wolfe was frequently referred to as a “gadfly” and a “zealot,” and even his admirers acknowledged that he could be demanding and impatient.
For his 75th birthday, one of his daughters and a son-in-law gave him a doll, made to look like him, with a button that when pressed said, “It’s an outrage!”
Sidney M. Wolfe, RIP.
Bedsharing:
People miss working in the office following the pandemic - it’s the human contact. Newspapers are covering Gensler, a global architecture firm's recent foray into employee perks. Striving for a workplace where the culture and employee experience are compatible. Translation: Get these lazy bastards back in the office, with perks.
Workers desire about 2.8 days in the office per week. If you do the math, and I will not be performing the calculation here today, you could see how it would be appealing to have a slightly smaller office, so that when workers do come into the office they can get a nice feeling of community, that they crave. If everyone is out working at home, there can be a dreary feeling in an office.
The whole concept is a bit of a slippery slope down to what was popular in Dubai, UAE some years ago. Yes, the Middle East was a destination, and during a period when I was consulting with a pay TV conglomerate based there, it was explained that expatriate laborers from various countries were housed in rooms with a dozen or so workers assigned to each room.
The fac that there there were only six beds in each room was intentional. Half of the room occupants were assigned to work the night shift. Voila. Efficient. Carceral?
Yes. Unite here, get in there!
Recordando al perro activista:
Negro Matapacos was a Chilean black dog that acquired fame due to his participation in the street protests that took place in Santiago, Chile, in 2011. He later became a symbol in the 2019–2020 Chilean protests as a sort of resistance to police brutality and to represent the fight for dignity.
A stray black dog with a red bandana that has a strong distaste for riot police. Lovely. You can watch the short documentary, here.
A friend told me that when the dog got old and sick, the only thing it would get out of bed for was a protest. So, the community, staged a protest to get the dog to go to the vet.
If you have to ask? Always ask!
We certainly tee'd off the day correctly, by cuddling with an infant. It’s always the right thing to do and puts all the trouble in the world in perspective. Babies are our future.
Following, check-in at the Fairmont Grand and the recognition that each of our two vehicles would be charged a modest $ 70-a-day parking fee, each, I discovered the $150 dog cleaning fee was a one time fee! Not every night.
So much for Black Friday pricing.
Following a survey on foot of the lovely hotel environs, I enjoyed a FREE swim in the outdoor swimming pool. It was the saline solution type so… interesting. There was not a full bar at the pool, but the lad who was pushing mai-tai's would run to get you what you wanted.
When I inquired about changing in the Club by the pool, I was told that it was Members Only, but that I could take advantage of the holiday special discount. Entry per person had been reduced, to $80 a day as an expression of... something. I declined entry and changed behind a potted plant.
A quick 30-minute drive to Kensington, where we met old friends in possession of a wonderful wine cellar and a FREE neighborhood party. What an adorable community, reminiscent of our beloved Studio City…sort of.
At the appointed time, the men and women in our party split for the drive to the restaurant. My buddy got distracted during our approach, so we called to update the restaurant that we were running late. The thinking, “People wait six months to eat here, hopefully, you’ll wait fifteen minutes for us. Sorry."
In the meantime, the girls had to order a drink, which resulted in a nearly $100 additional cha-ching. No idea why.
As we entered enthusiastically, we spotted the requisite couple, looking affluent and glum, staring at their respective phones; ignoring one another.
As we took our seats in the main dining room, the head waiter, a charming Latino chap in a tuxedo welcomed us and introduced …to my horror, the elevated experiences.
My eyes widened. I thought I had made it clear earlier on the phone that I did not want our guests to know about the pricing.
When I asked what was going on, he rightfully, reminded me. "Mr. Preven you said you did not want us to discuss the prices --"
“Thank you. Well done. We will take none of the enhancements this evening. Tonight, we will go with the traditional Addison ten course. We are excited. And to do it right, why don’t we go for the recommended wine pairings.”
I was so pleased with myself for batting away the extras that I forgot to ask the price of the wine pairing.
A few moments later, I got up to find the waiter and grilled him about the elevated experience pricing.
For each guest, he told me as we skulked behind a potted plant, to sample the Wagyu beef would be an extra $125 per diner. So for all four of us that would have amounted to a modest, $500 extra! Sheesh.
To experience the elevated caviar would cost a tasteful, $255 per guest, for an easy on the eyes not the wallet, $1020 for the four. And finally, and most expensively, the ultimate elevation was on offer for $455 each…
Frankly, I have forgotten what that could be for. Had we gone for it, it would have resulted in an additional $1,820. Yes, dollars not drachma!
Note: Drachma, a Greek currency was replaced in 2002 by the Euro. Opa!
The John Ferraro House of Mirrors:
A woman wearing a safari hat said, “Officer Martinez, I drove here from Utah.”
Smart Speaker: Martinez, she drove here from Utah. She’s here to speak on an item that is on the agenda. You can’t continue it without taking comments, she came from Utah. You have to let her speak.
Quick Takes:
The business area - it’s a restricted area:
(Eric Preven is a longtime community activist and is a contributor to CityWatch. The opinions are of Mr. Preven and not necessarily those of CityWatchLA.com.)
