Homeless Initiative Will Drain LA’s Rainy Day Fund
Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council have declared a State of Emergency to address the homeless crisis that is plaguing Los Angeles. This will require our cash strapped City to devote $100 million a year from the General Fund to finance new housing and services for its 26,000 homeless residents. But Garcetti and the […]
Free Our Los Angeles Times
The firing of Austin Beutner as the Publisher of our Los Angeles Times by the Jack Griffin, the Chief Executive Officer of Tribune Publishing Company, is just the latest episode in the disastrous relationship between our paper of record and the Chicago based newspaper chain. And it certainly will not be the last as we […]
How LA Can Afford the Olympics
Los Angeles, the Entertainment Capital of the World, is the ideal location to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. We have a proven track record, having hosted two of the most successful games, including the 1984 games that rescued the Olympics after the 1976 financial fiasco in Montreal. We have established, low cost venues, including the […]
Can LA Afford Another Olympics?
Boston bailed on hosting the 2024 Olympics when Mayor Martin Walsh refused to sign a host city contract with the United States Olympic Committee (“USOC”) that would have put Beantown (and possibly the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) on the hook for any cost overruns associated with this 17 day extravaganza. But Walsh’s refusal to mortgage Boston’s […]
Pirates at the Port (of Los Angeles)
The growth of the Port of Los Angeles and its ability to maintain and create good paying jobs and its market share of imported cargo are under siege by external market forces as well as the demand by the San Pedro and Wilmington communities to finance $400 million of public benefits over the next ten […]
‘LA 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 […]
In LA, What They’re Not Telling You About Tax Increases
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, otherwise known as Metro, will most likely place on the November 2016 ballot a measure that would permanently increase our sales tax by a half cent to 9½%, one of the highest rates in the country. If this measure is approved b y at least two-thirds of the […]
Can LA Afford Its High Priced, Inefficient Workforce?
“Public, Private Sector Wage Gap Heavily Favors Many LA Workers,” a front page article in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, marks the beginning of the conversation involving the efficiency of the City’s operations and whether the City should “outsource” a portion of its operations, including the repair and maintenance of our deteriorating streets and broken sidewalks. […]
The Real State of the City of Los Angeles
Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered his 4,500 word State of the City on Monday afternoon to a large gathering at Cal State Northridge. He opened by saying that our City has turned the corner, “leaving the Recession in the rearview mirror.” He then focused on his many “Back to Basics” initiatives and programs that are helping […]
LA to Time Warner Cable: Release Those Dodger Fan Hostages Now
The wizards from Time Warner Cable were the smartest guys in all of Southern California when they agreed to pay the Los Angeles Dodgers $8.35 billion over the next 25 years to distribute its regional sports network, SportsNet LA, outbidding Fox Sports by a rumored $2 billion. This deal was predicated on a revenue model […]