Youth Radio - Topic: Mayor

Michael's Memorial Tab

ahowell — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:10:31 -0500

Two weeks after his passing and one week after his nationally televised memorial, Michael Jackson is still leaving his mark on the world. Unfortunately for the city of Los Angeles, the mark left by the late singer was a hefty financial one. So heavy, that city officials have engaged in a little bit of in-fighting.

Almost as soon as mayor Villaraigosa, who was away in South Africa during the death and memorial planning of Michael Jackson, released an estimated cost figure of $1.4 million, councilman Dennis Zine (Dist. 3) claimed the taxpayers spent nearly $4 million memorializing the pop icon. Almost every aspect of the celebration was criticized, from the contract agreement with the company that provided the police lunches, to the call on public donations to help ease the financial load. Although councilwoman Jan Perry, then acting-mayor and spearhead for the memorial, made public calls for third party sponsors other than donations solicited, it was when LA’s official mayor returned, calling the solicitation “ridiculous,” that revealed some tensions that may exist in city hall.

I was at the memorial and from where I was (outside), there seemed to be two types of individuals in attendance: those there to remember Michael Jackson, and those there to profit from Michael Jackson. While the two groups were both well represented inside the Staples Center and the surrounding area, it looks like the city is having a hard time figuring out what line of the sand they stand on.

Even though the city rushed to organize a memorial, making funds available at a rapid pace (sickening to anyone working within any of LA’s under-funded departments I’m sure), it didn’t seem genuine. I stood outside of the Staples Center with the other thousands of LA citizens who weren’t allowed access, either because of denial, or because they didn’t register. I didn’t feel like the event had the city in mind at all. It felt like a private party for who’s who’s and VIPs. This feeling was made possible, not only by the fact that the Jumbotrons on site were deactivated, but mainly by the wristbands distributed in pure Hollywood nightclub fashion. They probably could have saved a TON by hiring actual nightclub bouncers instead of Overtime LAPD support.

While I can’t say how much effort went into SAVING money on this event, I’m am sure that even less effort went into MAKING money on this event. I understand if the city wanted to provide a respectful memorial and not disrespect the family by directly capitalizing from it, but I would then remind the city that their loyalties should stay to the well being of it’s citizens. Michael Jackson loved children. I’m sure more than he’d like to be memorialized by the city of LA, he’d like for it’s youth to have full access to summer schools and other programs. Because of this Velvet Rope memorial, however, it seems like the citizens will have to pick up the tab, likely at the expense of a struggling, under-funded department.

Previously:

Mayors Discuss Foreclosure Solutions

rpereira — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:48:19 -0500

U.S. mayors held a conference call today to “discuss innovative local solutions to the foreclosure crisis.” Mayors from Miami, Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and the city administrator from Oakland, CA were all on the call.

Instead of focusing on mulitple innovative solutions, the call focused on only one: Philadelphia's Mortgage Foreclosure Protection Plan. This plan allows lenders and homeowners to come together—in person-- and modify their loan together. Despite different cities' foreclosure rates, all the mayors and representatives on the call supported Philadelphia’s plan and seemed to want to implement it in their cities.

During the call, Mayor Francis G. Slay of St. Louis brought up a critical concern: How can they get the banks on board on this plan?

According to Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, the answer is simple. Banks do not gain anything from continuing to foreclose homes. In fact, they are better off helping homeowners stay in their homes and working something out. The mediation method in the Mortgage Foreclosure Protection Plan hinges on being able to get support from lenders. As Mayor Nutter says, it’s the lender who has the final word.

"Well, ultimately of course it’s the lenders decision, it’s their mortgage. But again, if he has good faith mediation, everybody is trying to accomplish what has been referred to a triple win. The lender doesn’t want to own the house. The homeowner wants to stay in the house, and the city interest of course, is for people to stay in their homes as well. If you have a good faith mediation and legitimate dialogue, the process that everyone is already agreeing works, should lead you to a natural conclusion and a relatively positive outcome, but it’s always ultimately up to the lender as to whether they want to be a cooperative lender."

Good faith mediation is what everybody is looking for, and thus far Mayor Nutter says they have been successful. It’s not in the lenders interest' to have the foreclosed property. According to ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis, good faith mediation is not easy to accomplish and that is why it’s important for homeowners to come into mediation with counselors who can represent their interest.

Lewis says there have been problems when the mediation between lenders and homeowners has not been mandatory. “We get calls all the time from other house counseling agencies who have said, time and time, lenders will not come in good faith," she says. "You know, there are still flipping and selling off and slicing and dicing of these properties that went off before."

City administrator Dan Lindheim from Oakland says his city is dealing with another issue -- tenants in multi-unit housing. Oakland is working with tenants trying to get them to pay their utilities when the owner of the building abandons them.

Even though Philadelphia’s plan has been successful thus far, it's yet to be seen whether this plan works in other cities.

Foul in Court

ahowell — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:12:49 -0500

While most of the city of Inglewood watched Kobe Bryant fall flat on the court in the NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic, a handful of attendees of the Inglewood City Council meeting on June 9, witnessed a court brawl of the political variety. During closing remarks, the City Treasurer of Inglewood, Wanda Brown, PhD., accused Councilman Daniel Tabor (Dist. 1) of selling his support of an underwriting contract between the city and Rice Financial Products Co., who was a defendant in a fraud suit resolved in 2006 made by the West Basin Water Municipal District.

Before any one could get a hold of what was going on, an argument had erupted between Mayor Dorn, and councilwoman Judy Dunlap (Dist. 2). And of course, while the furniture remained on the floor, the word “liar” was hurled around more than pizza dough at Domino’s. At one point, Dunlap accused the mayor of breaking the law with regards to Council meeting procedure.

A lot of accusations were made at what started out as a normal council meeting. When the dismissal of Brown’s claims of shady dealings were dismissed by Dunlap as election cycle grandstanding, it all made sense. Maybe these weren’t a bunch of elected officials fighting like babies, it was a group of adults fighting for their jobs. Even though the only council chair in contest was that currently held by Tabor, it’s safe to say that everyone in the room was leaving with a lasting impression as voters head to the polling places in less than a week. At one point Eloy Morales Jr. (Dist. 3) positioned himself to be peacemaker, pointing out that this behavior excites the lowest of human behavior. Seeing as how I was the only one beaming from excitement from the all the arguing, I had a feeling Mr. Morales, who made eye contact with me at one point, directed his comments towards my reaction to what was happening. And to think, I was going to go right across the street to the Savoy so I could watch the game with the REST of the city.

Calls to Rice Financial Products Co.’s Senior Vice President, Phil Smith, as well as Treasurer Brown, and Council Member Tabor were not returned.

Los Angeles Mayor Denies the Public He Represents

skhan — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:06:49 -0500

Apparently education is too far down the food chain. Why is education the last thing the government wants to fund? It doesn’t make sense to me how this works out. One inspiring person I know who’s trying to make a difference is my economics and government teacher. Since we got the news of the budget cuts and how much it will be affecting not just our school but schools around the country, he has been trying to organize and get people’s attention. So far the community hasn’t really responded to him, and sometimes it feels like he’s protesting the budget cuts to education all by himself. This to me is an outrage and quite saddening knowing that my community is just standing there with their hands tied when they know full well that they can change what is going on within their community.
On Thursday May 7, a sort of call out to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa happened at the entrance of my school, Roosevelt High, during lunch. Sadly fewer than the expected number of people showed up, and some students were not allowed to join, but nothing could be done about this. This clearly shows that the powers that be are trying to silence us even more. Luckily I was there to cover the event.
Even though in his first State of the City address, Villaraigosa said that one of his goals was to take charge of the Los Angeles Unified School District, he hasn’t really followed through with his promise. He chooses to stay neutral and tells the people that he’s with us all the way. But it seems like his goal is to become governor of California and so he tries to stay away from any rabble-rousing issues like education. What he does not realize is that the more he ignores us, the more we will make noise.
I feel that the mayor heard us and how outraged the teachers and, more importantly, the students, staff, and parents are about this whole ordeal. I just can’t believe the government takes all of the community’s hard earned tax dollars only to not even give us back our fair share of that money in the form of a good education.
Unfortunately, those of us who really are standing for the change don’t have enough back up. The whole community needs to get behind us. Even if the people appointed into office are from our community and say they know what it’s like, they are voting against us and are just thinking about their politics. We don’t want to kick them out; just make them do their job, which is the reason why we elected them in the first place.

California Senate Approves 'Harvey Milk Day'

rpereira — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:15:23 -0500

May 22nd will now be Harvey Milk Day in California. That is, unless Governor Schwarzenegger vetoes the idea.

The State Senate Committee approved legislation May 6 to dub the slain gay rights activist's birthday a "day of special significance". If passed, the bill would also encourage public schools to conduct "suitable commemorative exercises" to recognize Milk's contributions to California.

Milk was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California, and was a major activist for gay rights issues before he was assassinated in 1978.

Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year, but advocates for the legislation are hoping the success and attention from the 2008 movie "Milk" will help the bill survivie.

"If passed, Harvey Milk Day would not be an official holiday, and therefore would not actually cost the government money. Still, the bill faces opposition from those who say the day would endorse gay values in schools. Benjamin Lopez, a lobbyist for the Traditional Values Coalition, testified against the bill, saying its passage, "would amount in some parents' eyes to the promotion of Mr. Milk's lifestyle."

Alice Kessler, Director of Government Affaris for Equality California disagrees. "It would be similar to Cesar Chavez Day. Schools wouldn't be required to celebrate; it would be up to the teacher, " Kessler said.

Some schools in the Bay Area already celebrate Milk's birthday , such as the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in San Francisco. Sandra Leigh, the school's principal says that for their school, the bill wouldn't change anything. "We already celebrate Harvey's birthday, we sing Happy Birthday, and we talk about what he did for our state, " Leigh said. "California should definitely have a day in his honor".

Equality California has posted a petition on their website in an effort to encourage Governor Schwarzenegger to sign the legislation when it comes to his desk in the fall.

"The petition is really important because Schwarzenegger's main argument for not passing the bill last year was that Milk is only a figure local to San Francisco," Kessley said. "What we need to do is convince the governor that Milk is an important figure all over the state and world."

To sign the petition to urge Gov. Schwarzenegger to sign the legislation into law, go to this link.

Perata to run for Mayor in 2010

lsykes — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:44:50 -0500

Former California Senator Don Perata announced yesterday he plans to run for mayor of Oakland in 2010. After months of speculation and hints, Perata said he made his decision official while attending the funeral of the four Oakland police officers killed a week ago. The Ten-year senator has been investigated by the FBI for the past five years for possibly taking kickbacks or bribes, no charges have been fomally charged. Current Mayor Ron Dellums hasn't declared if he will campaign for re-election or not.

Since the departure of Elihu Harris, citizens of Oakland have looked far and wide for the next "Model Mayor", someone who will help bring Oakland into a positive light. Perata hopes to do so by running a campaign where all his motives are cast to the public eye.

A Youth Perspective on LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

wilmer — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:47:07 -0500

Youth Radio’s Luis Sierra has lived in East L.A. all his life and weighs in on what the new LA mayor’s win means to young Angelinos.