February 2008 Archives

Former Star-News star reporter and SGV Tribune politics editor Gary Scott was kind enough to point out how deluded we (and the SacBee's Dan Walters were) when we hypothesized that Portantino was a top candidate for the speaker position.

Scott also tells me he thinks Portantino's run, unsuccessful as it was, will actually help him become more influential in the Assembly because it proved he has fund-raising acumen and gave him some added name recognition.

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that Karen Bass of Los Angeles has put together enough votes to win the Assembly speakership, beating out a crowded field that included top candidates Anthony Portantino of Pasadena and Kevin De Leon of L.A.

The deal was apparently reached last night, with exiting speaker Fabian Nunez helping Bass, his top lieutenant, secure the votes. Assembly Democrats will caucus in closed session this morning before officially voting for Bass as speaker in once the regular session starts at 9:30 a.m. She will be the first African American woman to lead the chamber.

Portantino gave it a good run, raising lots of money and generating a fair amount of buzz, with the Sac Bee's Dan Walters saying as late as last week that he was the top candidate for the spot. But he apparently could not beat the strong, L.A.-centric coalition put together by Bass and Nunez, or come up with a Willie Brown-style, bi-partisan coup despite his deftness at coordinating with Republicans (he was the only Democratic member of La Canada Flintridge's City Council and did just fine there).

What San Gabriel Valley residents have to consider is whether this will actually hurt the area's already poor prospects at securing state funds. According to Brown's book, "Basic Brown," the Assembly has always been a harsh place, with the losers always suffering for their perceived impertinence by the winners. Brown was crammed into the smallest office in the Assembly after voting against then-anointed Speaker Jesse Unruh and was marginalized after losing a speaker fight to Leo McCarthy before he himself meted out justice to Charles Calderon and the Gang of Five, stripping them of their committee chairmanships when they tried to force him out of the speaker's seat.

Just as Portantino might have steered more money to the Valley as speaker, will he have a harder time providing for his constituents for having challenged Bass? It doesn't seem that this was a particularly nasty fight, with most Dems falling in line behind Bass and Portantino praising the L.A. assemblywoman in an L.A. Times article, saying she will do a "great job."

Hopefully things have changed from the rough and tumble Capitol days of the 70s and 80s and any backlash is minimal.

Considering the dearth of emergency rooms (especially trauma centers) in the San Gabriel Valley, and the lack of residential neighborhoods on the Huntington Hospital campus, it's no surprise there was little opposition to the hospital's plans for a 66,000-square-foot, four-story emergency department addition presented at Monday night's council meeting.

Little opposition, that is, except from the owners of 39 Congress Street.

Representatives for the medical office building at that location claimed that the realignment of Fairmount Avenue (required by the hospital's plans) would leave the intersection of Fairmount and Congress dangerously close to the driveway leading out of the building's underground parking garage. Councilman Steve Madison took up the owners' complaints with zeal, arguing that the building has a "blind" driveway and that drivers exiting the building eastward on Congress could be in danger of being rear-ended by cars turning left onto Congress from Fairmount.

Take a look at this photo. It is a shot looking west on Congress taken from the medical building's driveway. Even though it is far away, you can clearly see the current intersection of Fairmount and Congress in the distance. There don't seem to be any obstructions in terms of walls, foliage or structure blocking the view of oncoming cars, unless there were large vehicles stopped along Congress, which would not be the case if Fairmount is moved closer east.

I would think that, with a closer intersection, it would be easier for drivers exiting out of the 39 Congress Street driveway to see cars preparing to turn onto Fairmount. In fact, as can be seen in the photo, there is already a driveway located immediately to the west of 39 Congress, so the possibility of two vehicles exiting from the two driveways at the same time already exists. But I didn't hear the owners of the medical building complaining about that one.

Could it be that the complaints from the building's owners might be motivated by something other than public safety and liability issues? In the words of Scott Jenkins, an attorney for Huntington Hospital:

"We have been trying to purchase that property and there have been many negotiations. From my perspective this is about changing the valuation (of the property)."

Are the property owners trying to play hardball in order to get more out of Huntington when it comes to selling the land adjacent to the planned addition? Does that kind of skullduggery ever happen in real estate deals? Say it ain't so!

Anyways, the only valid concern, in my eyes, that the 39 Congress folks have is that a stop sign planned for westbound Congress as it intersects the realigned Fairmount could lead to cars cueing up in front of the building's driveway. The city has already said it has the legal authority to have the stop sign relocated or removed. Jenkins said that the hospital would prefer to have the stop sign there.

My advice: get rid of the stop sign. That eliminates the issue.

Pasadena officials will host a community meeting on Saturday, March 8 at 10 a.m. at City Hall Council Chambers to get input from residents and others in the search for a new city manager. Those who cannot attend the meeting can submit their comments electronically at www.cityofpasadena.net beginning Friday.

The city has hired Bob Murray & Associates to conduct a nationwide search to replace Cynthia Kurtz, who retired last month. Police Chief Barney Melekian is acting as interim city manager.

It makes sense that Melekian would likely want to hold on to the prestigious position, which is currently paying him about $230,000 a year. He has not openly declared his intention to seek the post permanently, but and it is clear that at least some on the council are open to keeping him around -- a provision that would have made the interim city manager ineligible for the permanent position was removed by the council when Melekian was appointed.

Melekian has also made cryptic comments to my predecessor, Todd Ruiz, including the following quote from Todd's  Jan. 4 article:

"One thing people may be surprised to learn is that I have more diverse interests than law enforcement."

He is also taking a doctorate class in public policy at USC. I'm sure it is a useful degree for a police chief, but I doubt many top cops go as far academically... unless they have higher ambitions.

Plus the limited scuttlebutt I'm getting (remember, I'm still new around here) is that Melekian's initial denials to city officials that he was interested in permanently occupying the city manager's position have pretty much evaporated. But I am also hearing that, while Melekian is apparently a candidate, the March 8 meeting is proof that this is a legitimate national search and that the chief's appointment to fill Kurtz's shoes is far from a foregone conclusion.

A final list of candidates for the position is expected by early summer.

 

Former Star-News Star reporters Todd Ruiz and Gary Scott have some sound takes on last night's debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Ruiz nicely sums up the likely frustration most Democrats must feel at watching their two top candidates, so closely matched in ideology and skill level, go at each other like rabid dogs.

Scott, now a producer for Warren Olney's radio show, dissects the debate in a play-by-play style, cutting through the candidates' veiled and indirect responses and helping to make sense of what exactly they were saying to each other.

I received this e-mail last week, after our story detailing the MTA's suit against the builders of the Gold Line over alleged shoddy construction practices. It is from Kent Grisham, director of corporate communications for Kiewit, the construction company that, along with Pasadena-based Parsons Engineering is named among the defendants in the suit:

“We are still in the process of reviewing the filing, a copy of which was received only late Monday.  Because this matter is now in litigation, we will not be able to discuss any details publicly.  We are disappointed with the current situation because we believed we had a good relationship with the Gold Line Authority, including an open and cooperative dialogue and process to address issues as they arose.  This legal action has taken us by surprise.  While we disagree with the premise and need for the lawsuit, we also remain committed to resolving any legitimate remaining issues with the MTA Gold Line.”

According to the suit, Kiewit, Parsons and another company, Washington Infrastructure Corp. allegedly used poor construction materials, unqualified personnel and other shortcuts that have led to, among other things, "dangerous and unsafe conditions" along the downtown L.A.-to-Pasadena line. What those dangerous, unsafe conditions are exactly, and their supposed locations along the route, I can't really tell. There is no mention about specific locations or descriptions of the problem areas in the 118-page suit, and MTA officials refused to elaborate on the advice of the agency's lawyers.

So any professional engineers out there who might have an idea about where these alleged problems are, please send us a comment or e-mail. I'd love to find out more. Especially if they are in Pasadena or South Pasadena.




 

Former Star-News reporter Todd Ruiz debuts his new Todd Blog with a post on how walking the "wrong way" around the Rose Bowl could (maybe?) become a crime. Tonight's meeting at 7 p.m. in the Mediterranean Room at Brookside Clubhouse, 1133 Rosemont Ave., will address the contentious issue that has pitted pedestrians versus the peloton. We've received a couple comments (here and here) about this on Under the Dome, so tonight's meeting should make for some pretty good fireworks.

I’ve been told he’s a long shot. That he is not Latino. That he’s not from L.A. That there are closer associates to Nunez that have a much better shot at the speakership.

But that hasn’t stopped Pasadena Democrat Anthony Portantino from positioning himself at the forefront of the race to succeed Fabian Nunez as leader of the California Assembly, according to the SacBee’s Dan Walters.

When we last wrote about this, we noted that Portantino was a prolific fund-raiser with ties to labor unions and in his first term in office, all apparent prerequisites for a successful speaker candidate. But at the time it seemed that while the former La Canada Flintridge mayor had a better chance at the post than his other colleagues in the San Gabriel Valley Caucus, he was likely a long shot compared to LA-centric, Nunez proteges such as Karen Bass or Kevin De Leon.

Since then Portantino has raised even more money ($535,000 in 2007) and according to Walters, could soon up his union clout by securing support from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

A spokesman for AT&T has confirmed that the company has withdrawn its application to install a cell phone tower in Southwest Pasadena.

The proposal, which would have placed the structure on open space next to the Hillsides children services facility off of Church Street, had met with fierce opposition from neighbors and spawned the formation of a community group dedicated to keep the hillside land as open space.

AT&T has decided that it can "provide the necessary coverage without pursuing this particular site," said company spokesman Geoff Mordock. Mordock, however, did not rule out the possibility that AT&T might look for other cell tower locations in the area.

Joan Dooley, a high school teacher and Hillsides neighbor who has opposed construction of the tower, was happy to hear about AT&T's decision. But she expressed concern that another phone company might swoop in and piggyback onto AT&T's abandoned application. She said Hillsides, which had a contract with AT&T to allow construction of the tower, has said it lacks the funds to maintain the property in its natural state.

Still waiting to hear from Hillsides or the city about whether the application could still be continued by another company, or whether the children's facility is still interested in renting out the space to another telecom. Until then, it is hard to say whether this issue is truly dead.

Ah, the culture, the food, the bustle, the food, the shopping, did I mention the food?

It's good to be back in Pas. My name is Fred Ortega, and I am taking over the daunting task of running Todd Ruiz's Under the Dome blog. Not to worry, Todd is only a phone call and e-mail (and a few blocks) away, and I will be consulting with him liberally as I make the transition to Pasadena City Hall reporter.

In addition, Mr. Ruiz will soon be starting up a blog of his own, and as soon as it is up and running we will link to it from Under the Dome.

A little bit about myself: I was raised in north Alhambra, attended St. Francis High School in La Canada Flintridge and spent many a formative night on the streets of Pasadena, from Marilyn's Backstreet as a teen to the 35er in my 20s to Pasadena Library in my college days. I started my journalism career as a reporter and later editor-in-chief of the Pasadena City College Courier, and after eight years of reporting -- including city editor for the La Canada Flintridge Outlook, covering City Hall in Glendale for the Glendale News-Press and later city governments like Rosemead, El Monte and West Covina for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune -- I'm back in the Crown City.

Please do not hesitate to write in your comments or e-mails about local happenings at fred.ortega@sgvn.com. Phone calls are also welcome at (626) 578-6300, ext. 4444.

Speaking of planetaria ... as of last month the Griffith Observatory dispensed with the reservations and shuttles, making spontaneous visitation possible again.

Drove up and parked right in the old lot at the top last night. With the major renovation work being subterranean, the structure's footprint is little changed, and the interior still offers an unchanged, intimate experience. After more than a year, a couple of the exhibits no longer functioned, which struck a sentimental chord with me.

Hollywood mega-director Steven Spielberg has turned his back on China by withdrawing as the director of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Reuters reports today.

By Bob Tourtellotte and Paul Eckert

LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Oscar-winning film director Steven Spielberg withdrew on Tuesday as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing over China's policy on the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

"I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual," Spielberg said in a statement issued on a day when Nobel Peace laureates sent a letter to China's president urging a change in policies toward its ally Sudan.

"At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur," he added.

Perhaps there were too many parallels with another standards-defining film auteur, Heroine* of the Third Reich Leni Riefenstahl, who also spent the final arc of her career focused on the Sudan.

* Fixed, though I kind of liked the metaphoric appeal of "heroin."

It will take a trial to determine whether there's any truth to charges traveling educator Daniel Roy Smith touched students inappropriately at San Gabriel's Washington Elementary last month.

Either way, it wouldn't be surprising if schools rethink the practice of sending children into portable, enclosed and darkened theaters with a third-party contractor. (Picture of "the bubble" at the preceding link.)

Of course statistics show most sexual abuse occurs at the home, by family or friends. Although I won't be covering the trial any further, I got the sense in court Monday that the defense is likely to bring that fact up and try arguing that Smith -- who has pleaded innocent -- was a convenient scape-goat.

(Picture is copyright Mobile Productions Inc., linked here under fair use provisions.)

At the risk of out-nerding the nerds of The Weak, one observation regarding their latest, incremental update on the arrest of Beijing float protester Andrew Koenig, son of Star Trek's Walter Koenig:

It's Lt. Chekov, not "Checkov."

At least Chekhov would have netted the right nationality and lent a convenient literary defense!

Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena, formally let the world know today that come March 11, he'd like the job being vacated by House Speaker Fabian Nunez.

Assemblymember Anthony Portantino Announces Candidacy for Assembly Speaker

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today Assemblymember Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) announced his intention to run for the position of Assembly Speaker.

“With the date now set by the Caucus, I would like formally announce my candidacy for Speaker of the Assembly. I intend to meet with my Assembly Democratic colleagues to make my case on how to move California forward. I believe my performance to date and my positive, consensus-building approach to tackling California’s challenges shows I have something to offer,” Portantino said in announcing his bid.

The Assembly Democratic Caucus today agreed to hold a vote for Speaker on March 11th.

Despite being a freshman legislator, Anthony arrived in Sacramento with heavy-weight status, drawing attention from the party apparatus for the enormous sum of cash he raised.

Anthony really had no chance of losing to his opponents in late 2006, but raised the money just to show that he could. Trying to find my story from the time but it seems to have escaped the grasp of our internal archive.

Not a lot of attention was paid to Proposition 93, but now that the term limit "tweak" has been defeated, all the uncertain political futures -- from lines of succession to chamber migration -- can be cast.

Voters kept pols like state Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, from having to make a decision on whether to seek another term -- he's out. Sighs of relief from the likes of former Assemblywoman Carol Liu who can move forward with seeking his seat as planned.

Now for something completely silly.

I often get copied on e-mails pertaining to back-and-forth disputes, from topics serious to insane.

Recently, my inbox has witnessed a quiet feud between Lisa Derderian and Ann Erdman, of the Pasadena Fire Department and City Hall, respectively.

Both women are heads of public information duties, and it's precisely their heads at stake -- at least what's on them.

From what I've been able to reconstruct, Lisa sent this photo to Ann to rub in just how awesome her PIO helmet is:

Gripped with jealousy, Ann put her leet crafting skills to work to forge a helm worthy of her station:

Maybe now that Measure D has passed, they can give that thing a proper retrofit.

Two days after Tuesday's historic mega-primary, Thursday brings us another defining moment: Probably the last time Measure D will be mentioned in print. Story below.

Didn't have a breakdown of vote-by-mails and PAVs versus actual votes cast Tuesday night. Political consultant Fred Register said the results showed support had narrowed in the ensuing weeks -- but not enough to drop below a majority of support.

In other news, Tuesday night also saw the first class I'm teaching at the University of La Verne. Polling the group to find out what sources they get their news from, one erudite student shouted -- "Your blog!"

I'm seeing a bright future for that one.

Voters OK user tax, bond measures
By Caroline An and Kenneth Todd Ruiz, Staff Writers
Article Launched: 02/06/2008 10:50:22 PM PST

PASADENA -- Anxiety over the economy didn't stop voters from agreeing to be taxed in Pasadena and giving generously to schools in San Gabriel.

After all the votes were counted early Wednesday morning, Pasadena's utility user tax was passed by a comfortable margin, with 58 percent of 30,860 voters supporting it.

"We all recognize that the Internet is a new technology that is changing the face of today's world and avoiding taxation of this new technology is a good policy," said Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard. "Pasadena simply wants to maintain a tax on telephone services that has been in place for 40 years."

If you haven't voted yet, it's an historic opportunity to do so.

We've got a woman, a Morman, an African American and another man who makes Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard look a very young 170-year-old.

Doesn't the New York Times editorial board know this villainous slander makes JingJing(tm) a Sad Panda?

Improving its human rights record isn’t China’s only unmet commitment to the International Olympic Committee. It also promised to improve air quality. Now athletes and their coaches are figuring out how to spend as little time as possible in China’s smog-swamped capital, where they may need masks to breathe.

Beijing also made empty commitments about press freedoms. China has failed to lift fully the reporting restrictions on foreign journalists, including limits on their ability to move freely about the country. Local journalists are as restricted as ever. There has also been increased censorship of the Internet.

The Olympic Committee has not made public its formal contract with Beijing. But a new book called “China’s Great Leap,” edited by Minky Worden, media director for Human Rights Watch, reports that Beijing sought to strengthen its bid by telling the committee — specifically — that awarding it the Games would facilitate human rights progress.

With the Games approaching, China has instead expanded its crackdown on dissidents, tightened controls over nongovernmental organizations and rounded up “undesirables,” such as migrants and the mentally ill.

"Walt's a savage!," reporter Robert S. Hong declares after spending a day careening around No Man's Land. It's a label of respect from Robert after seeing the gadget-dripping man in action.

That characterization would strike the many who've met veteran Star-News photographer Walt Mancini as unlikely, however. Good-hearted, generous and kind are the labels usually with the easy-going Pasadenan.

But don't be fooled. He's a fearless, steel-nerved photojournalist and if you try to tell him not to take a picture ... well ... I don't recommend it.

Reporters of the news strive to avoid being news makers, but occasionally the simple act of asking a question -- thus transmitting information -- can impact events.

On Tuesday morning I expected to embrace the pain of Measure D one more time and write another story after receiving an invitation from City Hall to meet and discuss "misinformation" about the utility user tax vote.So I made the obligatory call to Measure-D-hatin' Martin Truitt and asked if either he or Wayne Lusvardi either knew about it, were invited to debate points of fact or planned to attend.

They were not. But decided to do so -- precipitating an incident at City Hall as reported in this 'Weak.

Funny thing was, I never made it to the meeting as management asked me around noon to take lead on the Monrovia/No Man's Land violence.

UPDATED: Of course, it's entirely possible Andrë picked up the phone and did the same!

Been meaning to post about entertainment reporter and Arcadia resident Scott Hettrick's "Arcadia's Best" newsletter. (Warning: As head [former?] of Arcadia Wins! Scott is a dangerous, Caruso-friendly man!)

Haven't had a chance to mention much of anything, let alone Saturday's story about the bustle at Obama HQ in Old Pasadena, but the Schiff->Armenian->Obama trickle-down support bore out somewhat on Thursday:

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) endorsed Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate best positioned to bring fundamental change to how the United States addresses issues of special concern to Armenian American voters.

"The Armenian National Committee of America is proud today to endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States," said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. "Based on his strong record in office, his bold statements as a candidate, and our judgment as to the policies he will pursue as President, we believe that, among a strong field of Democratic candidates, Senator Obama will best reflect the views and values of Armenian American voters."

The official announcement came during a press conference held at the ANCA Western Region headquarters, featuring remarks by Obama supporters, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) and L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti as well as ANCA National Board Member Raffi Hamparian and Armenians for Obama Chairwoman Nora Hovsepian.

The magic of video.

Only a few days ago I was discussing with Dolores Hickambottom how many years ago, the Star-News would publish quotes from Elbie Hickambottom with every phonetic detail of his stutter intact. I told her how we endeavor to not polish the grammar and speech of some sources by quoting them with the same accuracy as everyone else.

After describing recent reprisal killings in his city as "pretty bad," Monrovia Mayor Rob Hammond's quote, as per Friday's story, "The bugle call went out and the cavalry is here," didn't make it into our video from the morning press conference.

I suspected that quote may have been incorrect after viewing the footage from the grassroots conference -- featuring the two parents of the rampage's most recent teen victims -- on the rough, grass lawn where Brandon Lee was shot Tuesday.

In that video, Rob in fact says the "Calvary" has been called. Bizarre Biblical reference ftw?

Politicians are uniformly strange creatures to observe, and reporters take a certain fascination with their idiosyncrasies. Rob showed up after the parents' conference had started, lingering to the side. But once the television cameras began rolling, he not-so-subtly inserted himself into the front row by shaking the hand of Khalid Shah, then turned around to take up a grim-faced, camera-framed position next to Jeanette Chavez, mother of 16-y-o murder victim Sammantha Salas.

Not to say his sentiments weren't sincere. But whether they were or weren't seemed secondary, at best.