April 2008 Archives

Former Star-News star reporter Gary Scott points us in his blog to the California Fair Political Practices Commission, which has set its eyes on the free Rose Parade and Rose Bowl tickets Pasadena City Council members get each year.

less any amount of the ticket price that is indicated as a donation to the nonprofit or, in the 

alternative, the fair market value of any food, beverage, and entertainment provided to the 

individual."

So what does that really mean for Council members? According to the FPPC's own investigation when they last examined this issue in 2004, Mayor Bill Bogaard gets about 150 to 230 Rose Parade grandstand tickets from the Tournament of Roses each year, while individual council members get about 120 a piece. Sharp Seating, the Rose Parade's official grandstand seating provider, is currently selling tickets for anywhere between $42 and $85 a seat. So at the state's current gift limit of $390 for elected officials, even at the lower end of the pricing range an FPPC rule change would end up cutting the mayor and council's maximum allotment to a measly nine tickets each.

The Rose Bowl tix are, of course, a totally different story. According to the FPPC, the 2005 face value price for a ticket to the big game was $125, which would reduce the four free tickets council members were receiving at that time to three if the state's gift limit were applied. But who the heck gets Rose Bowl tickets at face value? Stubhub.com is already selling tickets to next year's game -- at a range of between $299 and $599.  That means that if the FPPC changes the rules, Council members would get no more than one freebie -- and it better not be on the 50-yard line.

Furthermore they would have to report nearly all the tickets on their yearly economic interest forms (Form 700), because state law requires any gift valued over $50 to be listed. 

Suffice it to say that, if the rules change, there are gonna be a whole lot of council friends/family/contributors watching America's favorite parade and game with the rest of us.... on TV, unless they want to camp out overnight on Colorado for a good seat.

FPPC is requesting public comment on the issue at blenkeit@fppc.ca.gov. or   

by telephone at (916) 327-2020. 

Before Victor Gordo made like Elliott Ness shutting down a speakeasy on Saturday, the District 5 councilman told me the city's approach to shutting down the liquor store at El Molino Avenue and Washington Boulevard was necessary because of the nature of the state's liquor licensing process.

The liquor store -- site of assaults, drug dealing and even the murder of a former owner during a botched robbery in the early 1990s -- had long been a blight on the neighborhood around Washington Park.

Turns out that in the mid-1980s, the state allowed cities to regulate liquor license holders by issuing conditional use permits.

According to Gordo, those permits allowed the city to "impose conditions (lighting, security, no malt liquor, no fortified wines sold single and cold, etc.). Once that started we had more local control, because if anyone violated any of those conditions you can pull their CUP and they can no longer operate, notwithstanding that they have their original (state liquor) license."

Unfortunately for municipalities, any liquor license issued before the changes in the mid-'80s was grandfathered in. And that included the license of the liquor store across from Washington Park.

Gordo, from my notes again:

"Those are the ones that are grandfathered in, have no CUPs and therefore no conditions. There is nothing for us to pull, so enforcement is left in the hands of state, and the state ABC has about 4 officers for all of L.A. County.

"We have in the neighborhood of 65 licensed establishments in Pasadena, most of which are grandfathered in so we have no control over them, only the state does. The ones with CUPs operate very efficiently because they know the city can pull their CUP."

Some of the grandfathered ones? Not so much, Gordo said.

Hence the need for the city to come up with a way to convince owners of problem properties with these uncontrolled -- and lucrative -- grandfathered liquor licenses to give them up. And hence the arrangement by which the city helped developer Joel Bryant finance the roughly $1 million purchase of the liquor store  -- including the $100,000 to $200,000 liquor license -- to give him enough incentive to just throw away that liquor license and turn the land into an affordable housing site.

"Until we can get Sacramento to let local government control these establishments, we have to find other ways" to deal with such nuisance properties, Gordo said. "We should encourage developers and responsible property owners to purchase these properties from bad operators with our assistance."

Metro has been talking about converting some of the Southland's carpool lanes into toll roads for a while, but the proposal has just been moved $214 million closer to reality thanks to an offer from the feds.

The Metro Board voted Thursday to accept the money from the Department of Transportation in a bid to convert carpool lanes along portions of the 210 and 10 freeways into toll lanes. And one stretch would start right here in Pasadena -- at the 710/210/134 junction.

The plan still needs to be approved by the state Legislature and the California Transportation Commission. But if it makes it through that gauntlet, drivers could be paying to use the carpool lanes through Pasadena (and all the way out to Glendora) as soon as 2010, according to a Metro spokesman.

The L.A. Times reports that L.A. got the money when a similar so-called "congestion pricing" plan floated by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg failed to pass muster in the Empire State's Legislature.

It is unclear how tolls would be assessed, and whether drivers with a certain amount of passengers (say three or more) would either get to use the tollways for free or at a discounted rate. But Metro spokesman David Sotero says it is likely that solo drivers will be able to use the lanes for a "premium" price, and that fees will likely vary based on the time of day. For example, drivers using the tollways during rush hour would pay much more than if they were tooling down the 210 at midnight on a Saturday.

That sounds awfully like the system in place in Orange County along the 91 Express Lanes. Drivers there can pay as much as $9.50 to use the toll road during rush hour, with the price dropping to $1.20 on weekends. Tollway users sign up for accounts with the OCTA and are given a radio transponder that is placed in their vehicles. The device then records the time of day the vehicle entered the tollway, and the appropriate charge is then assessed to the user's account.

OCTA allows vehicles with three or more occupants to use a free special lane in the toll road, but it is not always gratis. Three-person vehicles are still assessed a half-price toll during peak times on the eastbound lanes, but the high-occupancy lane on the westbound side is always free.

To get a feel for how any future tollways could work, check out OCTA's fee schedule and frequently asked questions.

I doubt this is going to go over well with local drivers. Heck, we called them "free"ways for a reason, right? Mayor Manny Lozano of Baldwin Park is already crying bloody murder over the proposal, and I don't think he'll be the last. But Metro officials say something needs to be done to try to free up the carpool lanes, which at times move as slowly as the rest of the freeway. Plus the money raised by tolls would (theoretically) be used to invest in mass transit projects like the Gold Line extension, which would further reduce congestion on the roadways.

What does everybody think? Are you ready to kiss free rides on the carpool lanes goodbye? And do you think it will help traffic -- or will single drivers looking to escape the other lanes no matter the cost end up clogging the HOV lanes even more? Furthermore, with the San Gabriel Valley's track record of getting the shaft when it comes to county-wide transportation funding, do you think the money raised from the tollways will really end up benefiting local projects? Given that the SGV is the guinea pig for Metro's initial toll road experiment, shouldn't that be the case?

Also, look out for a half-cent county sales tax hike on the November ballot. Metro is trying to get that one approved by the Board of Supervisors. In their announcement of the sales tax measure, Metro officials specifically named the Gold Line Foothill Extension and the 710 freeway (tunnel) gap closure as two of the projects that could benefit should the tax hike be approved by the voters.

Metro has been talking about converting some of the Southland's carpool lanes into toll roads for a while, but the proposal has just been moved $214 million closer to reality thanks to an offer from the feds.

The Metro Board voted Thursday to accept the money from the Department of Transportation in a bid to convert carpool lanes along portions of the 210 and 10 freeways into toll lanes. And one stretch would start right here in Pasadena -- at the 710/210/134 junction.

The plan still needs to be approved by the state Legislature and the California Transportation Commission. But if it makes it through that gauntlet, drivers could be paying to use the carpool lanes through Pasadena (and all the way out to Glendora) as soon as 2010, according to a Metro spokesman.

The L.A. Times reports that L.A. got the money when a similar so-called "congestion pricing" plan floated by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg failed to pass muster in the Empire State's Legislature.

It is unclear how tolls would be assessed, and whether drivers with a certain amount of passengers (say three or more) would either get to use the tollways for free or at a discounted rate. But Metro spokesman David Sotero says it is likely that solo drivers will be able to use the lanes for a "premium" price, and that fees will likely vary based on the time of day. For example, drivers using the tollways during rush hour would pay much more than if they were tooling down the 210 at midnight on a Saturday.

That sounds awfully like the system in place in Orange County along the 91 Express Lanes. Drivers there can pay as much as $9.50 to use the toll road during rush hour, with the price dropping to $1.20 on weekends. Tollway users sign up for accounts with the OCTA and are given a radio transponder that is placed in their vehicles. The device then records the time of day the vehicle entered the tollway, and the appropriate charge is then assessed to the user's account.

OCTA allows vehicles with three or more occupants to use a free special lane in the toll road, but it is not always gratis. Three-person vehicles are still assessed a half-price toll during peak times on the eastbound lanes, but the high-occupancy lane on the westbound side is always free.

To get a feel for how any future tollways could work, check out OCTA's fee schedule and frequently asked questions.

I doubt this is going to go over well with local drivers. Heck, we called them "free"ways for a reason, right? Mayor Manny Lozano of Baldwin Park is already crying bloody murder over the proposal, and I don't think he'll be the last. But Metro officials say something needs to be done to try to free up the carpool lanes, which at times move as slowly as the rest of the freeway. Plus the money raised by tolls would (theoretically) be used to invest in mass transit projects like the Gold Line extension, which would further reduce congestion on the roadways.

What does everybody think? Are you ready to kiss free rides on the carpool lanes goodbye? And do you think it will help traffic -- or will single drivers looking to escape the other lanes no matter the cost end up clogging the HOV lanes even more? Furthermore, with the San Gabriel Valley's track record of getting the shaft when it comes to county-wide transportation funding, do you think the money raised from the tollways will really end up benefiting local projects? Given that the SGV is the guinea pig for Metro's initial toll road experiment, shouldn't that be the case?

Also, look out for a half-cent county sales tax hike on the November ballot. Metro is trying to get that one approved by the Board of Supervisors. In their announcement of the sales tax measure, Metro officials specifically named the Gold Line Foothill Extension and the 710 freeway (tunnel) gap closure as two of the projects that could benefit should the tax hike be approved by the voters.

Probably a little bit of both. The AARP, League of Women Voters and other advocacy groups held a rally Wednesday against Prop. 98, which will be on the ballot on June 3. They claim the proposition, which is being championed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and various landlord groups, uses concerns about eminent domain as camouflage to hide the fact that the measure would eliminate rent control for about a million Californians.

I talked to Howard Jarvis Executive Director Kris Vosburgh, who did not deny the proposition would target rent control practices. But he added that the approach would be a phased one, with rent control being eliminated as tenants moved out on their own.

"Yeah you are going to lose rent control over time but you personally are not going to lose it, Vosburgh said. "It is much less ominous than the campaign people are making it out to be. They are really trying to scare people into thinking they are under imminent threat."

Vosburgh said the real people behind the opposition to Prop. 98 are cities and big developers, who want to keep their eminent domain powers intact. Indeed, the Pasadena City Council has unanimously approved a resolution against Prop. 98 and in favor of a rival measure, Prop. 99.

Vosburgh said Prop. 98 would still allow cities to condemn property for public projects like schools and roads, but would prohibit government to take land away from homeowners and turn it over to private developers for the sole purpose of expanding the city's tax base.

But the end of rent control, even if it is through a slow, phased death, would still be an injustice to folks on fixed incomes, opponents argued. AARP Executive Council member Martin Schachter said seniors depend on rent-controlled mobile homes and apartments -- and those needs are not going away over time. The phased approach will only lead to a dwindling of rent-controlled properties just as the senior population begins to balloon in the coming years.

If it were to pass, Prop. 98 would only give landlords more incentive to kick out rent controlled tenants, said Janelle Longwell, a Los Angeles resident.

"I live in a small apartment protected by rent control," said Longwell at the AARP rally, adding she has suffered from epilepsy all of her life. "Rent control allows me to live close to my daughter and best friend in the event of an emergency. But a lot of these landlords are heartless and would stop at nothing to evict renters like me. We are barely getting by with what little we have."

El Centro de Accion Social launched a public comment assault on the City Council Monday, bringing in 10 supporters to ask the council to disregard a Human Services Commission recommendation to cut more than $60,000 in funding from the group, including its total $49,000 request for after-school youth education programs at Muir High and Jefferson Middle School.

Mayor Bill Bogaard preemptively halted the assault, allowing three to speak but moving the rest to the end of the meeting, while Councilman Chris Holden suggested the rest of the speakers come back in May when the council makes a final decision on the commission's recommendations, instead of waiting till the end of Monday's meeting.

Below is the official scoring sheet the city is using in order to determine which social service groups get funding through the federal Community Development Block Grant program. It is a great document for big government critics interested in finding out how the city is squandering taxpayer funds on useless social programs like, say, helping poor kids get to college, or providing health workshops for low-income seniors:

CDBG Prelim Funding Recs March 2008.pdf

Note the "did not demonstrate sufficient leveraging" critique that accompanies many of the lower-scoring applicants. That is a major criteria for cities determining which social service groups get the federal funds they administer, and it means that, in essence, an agency has to have secured enough funding through other sources to sustain a program. Basically these CDBG funds can only be used to supplement or augment existing programs, not support an entire program from scratch.

I just got the greatest comment I have ever received on a story.

The caller was referring to yesterday's piece about a new USGS study predicting with "near certainty" that there will be a major, Northridge-sized or larger quake in California in the next 30 years, with the odds of such an even occurring in Southern California more likely than anywhere else in the state.

He called himself a "line keeper" and said he worked with spirits to maintain Mother Earth's balance. He criticized the media for giving the seismic study such prominent coverage, and argued that by doing so we are ensuring that such an event will happen. And he had an interesting suggestion on how to counteract the negative energy being radiated by the scientists and the media:

"The Mother wants all her children gathering at the Rose Bowl, like an international children's gathering with different colors, different cultures, all dancing, singing, having a good time," said the caller, who identified himself only as Joe. "We could have little Mayan dances, maybe some kids playing piano from Germany, whatever the kid's talent they could bring it to the Rose Bowl. That keeps the Mother happy so she doesn't shake things down."

Looks like the West Pasadena Residents' Association won't be the only group lobbying for a change in city policy at tonight's council meeting.

While the WPRA is urging residents to show up en masse to protest city staff's suggestion to increase speed limits on nine Pasadena streets, El Centro de Accion Social is also trying to fire up the community about proposed cuts in the amount of money the group receives from the city through the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

In an e-mail sent to supporters and the media, El Centro Executive Director Randy Jurado Ertll took exception to a Human Services Commission recommendation to cut funding to the group's youth education programs at Muir High School and Jefferson Elementary School. From the e-mail:

We would like to simply know why? What was the assesment/criteria used in making this decision?
are youth programs a priority? El Centro helps many students who are English-language learners and who are recent immigrants.

Jurado Ertll urged the community to speak out against the cuts when the council takes up the matter at tonight's meeting. Doors open to the public at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers.

Sounds like the city is planning on increasing the speed limit by about 5 mph on 10 different streets in Pasadena, and that prospect has got some residents as riled up as a bunch of Linda Vistans with a park about to open up next door.

Most reporters find themselves jotting down way more than they can possibly use in a 15-20 inch story. So lets try this: whenever possible, I will post excerpts from my notes that, for whatever reason, never made it into print. Guess that is what a reporter's blog is all about, and it is probably what I (and plenty of other blogging reporters) have been doing to supplement their rants all along. But hey, I like the name. And this way you'll know off the bat that I am giving you additional information collected during the course of reporting a story, and not just making random observations. Actual excerpts are italicized.

While it was easy to find folks around the defunct Linda Vista School to complain about the community park planned at the back of the school property (at least four members of different households along Linda Vista that I spoke with either had a problem with the park or outright hated the idea), that is not to say everybody in the neighborhood is loathe to have more open space within walking distance. From my notes, here is what Sharon Yonishiro, past president of the Linda Vista Annandale Association, had to tell me about the school district's decision to let the city use the property as a park (at least until August of next year):

This is something the association has been asking for since the school district made the decision not to reopen the school. There have been two or three meetings with the neighborhood sponsored by the city, and it is something we hope one day will be bigger, but these things take time and we consider this an important first step.

The two or three meetings are much more than what some of the other neighbors told me. Most of the opponents said they weren't aware of any meetings or planning for the park until either hearing of or receiving the invitation to the grand opening sent by the city in recent days. But most also admitted they worked full time or spent a lot of time away from home, and could have missed any announcements/invitations to meetings.

25 years ago it used to be that the same area that is being opened up on Saturday was accessible to the neighborhood (as open space), people got to run their dogs there, etc. But then the school district decided to make the school bigger, brought in bungalows which took up part of the area and they needed the rest of that area for students. So this is a big, important day.

Yonishiro then went on to acknowledge some of the concerns of neighbors about increased the increased traffic, loitering, vandalism, parking woes and other headaches a park might bring to the upscale neighborhood.

....some might have opposing views in the area, but it is not like a park with a big frontage on a main drag. These are issues you can't blame someone for raising. But hopefully it will mostly be a place of quiet contemplation, and possibly some dog training.

And while the following is NOT from my notes, it is from an e-mail I received from reader Betsy Nathane:

The new Linda Vista Park will be an asset to the community. The idea of turning the vacant school property into a PUSD and City joint-use park has been in the works for the last two years. During this planning time, there have been all -inclusive neighborhood meetings first at the library, then as the crowds grew the meetings were moved to the fire station, and finally two meeting were held at the Rose Bowl press boxes. Councilman Steve Madison sponsored these meetings with announcements being sent to all Linda Vista residents. Since the park will be one of the PUSD and City joint use parks, there will be park police security checking the grounds twice daily. The park will be open at dawn and closed at dusk.

The Linda Vista Park is not a destination park. It is a small neighborhood park which most visitors will reach by walking. The gate entrance on Linda Vista has been in use for decades and is the only entrance to the park and it allows for wheelchair accessibility. This park was designed to be a gathering place enjoyed by all and the majority of residents are excited about having a neighborhood park.

Interim City Manager Barney Melekian called his decision to withdraw his name from the list of candidates for the permanent position a "very difficult" one in a phone interview today.

But he denied that concerns about a long and arduous selection process had anything to do with his choice, blaming it instead on his impending duties as president of the California Police Officers Association.

"I am scheduled to be sworn in as the next president here in Pasadena in March," said Melekian, who currently serves as the group's first vice president. "I sincerely wish this opportunity (for city manager) had come along a year later."

Melekian said he made his decision to take his name out of the permanent city manager hat several weeks ago but took his time evaluating his choice before announcing it to the council on Monday night.

He added that while the Police Chiefs Association presidency would take up a bit more of his time, he did not plan on leaving the chief's post anytime soon. In fact, serving as an active police chief is a requirement for the position.

As reported earlier by our Public Editor Larry Wilson, Interim City Manager Barney Melekian has removed his name from the list of candidates vying for the permanent city manager position.

Ann Erdman confirmed that Melekian, who still retains his title as the city's police chief, made the announcement during an Executive Committee meeting held on Tuesday morning. An official announcement was being embargoed until tomorrow, but was released to the Star-News early after the news broke on the paper's Web site. Following is the text of that announcement:

Interim Pasadena City Manager Bernard K. Melekian advised the City Council on April 7 that he will not apply for the position of city manager.

Melekian is slated to begin serving as president of the California Police Chiefs Association in March 2009.

“The decision not to apply was incredibly difficult,” he said.  “The primary reason for not applying is a deep desire, both personal and professional, to accept the honor and responsibility of being the president of the California Police Chiefs Association.  Additionally, I believe that making a public statement at this point in the search process will ensure the broadest possible pool of candidates.”

The presidency will cap a career of public service in the field of law enforcement that has spanned more than 35 years.

He will continue to serve as interim city manager until the council has selected a new city manager. 

Vicino said Melekian would return to his duties as police chief once a permanent city manager was found, but it is unclear how long he would remain as police chief before taking the job at the California Police Chiefs Association (the association presidency is not a full-time position).

Melekian did not have previous city management experience when he stepped in in January to temporarily replace retiring City Manager Cynthia Kurtz, but was attending USC to receive his doctorate degree in public policy and was favored by many to permanently take over as city manager. He was being paid a $230,000 salary as interim city manager, while his deputy Chris Vicino handled the day-to-day running of the police department.

The city is currently involved in a nationwide search for a permanent city manager. The executive headhunting firm Bob Murray & Associates is slated to bring the council a list of candidates by early summer.

There was much about Monday's Public Safety Committee discussion about the city's proposed new anti-smoking rules that didn't make it into today's story. A brief recap for anyone who has been in a media blackout and missed our coverage (or subsequent radio and television reports), Pasadena is trying to enact some of the strictest smoking rules in the Southland by banning tobacco smoke from outdoor shopping and dining areas, large outdoor gatherings like the Rose Parade, in service lines like at ATMs, bus stops and movie theaters, and within 20 feet of all business entrances and exits.

The city's tobacco control coordinator, Statice Wilmore, said city officials had addressed the concerns of local merchants by limiting the ban to main building entrances and exits. This means employees who are smokers would be able to smoke just outside rear or service entryways without having to remove themselves by 20 feet. Of course, smoking patrons would be forced to find those rear/service entryways if they want to light up, and in many cases such areas are off limits to customers, forcing them to find a place that is 20 feet from the building's main entrance. That could prove difficult in busy commercial areas like Old Pasadena, where the distances between the front doors of many establishments aren't even 20 feet apart.

That point could be moot if Councilwoman Jacque Robinson has her way. Robinson suggested that when the matter comes back before the City Council in a month (the Public Safety Committee recommended holding off on a vote to allow more time for outreach to businesses), that city staffers consider expanding the ban to include all sidewalks in high-traffic commercial areas, like Old Pas.

Robinson also asked the city's Health Director Takashi Wada why the proposed ban did not include Brookside Golf Course, the last remaining bastion of city parkland where smoking is permitted. Robinson seemed to be responding to requests by many citizens speaking in favor of the ban during Monday's committee meeting, most of whom requested that the ban include Brookside.

Wada explained that while surveys have shown most golf course users (about 70 percent) would support such a move, city officials were working with golf course management on possible in-house restrictions separate from the smoking ordinance, including possibly prohibiting smoking during times when youth programs are being conducted on the golf course.

Wada and other city officials noted that there is still some resistance from some golfers to a blanket restriction. Such resistance -- based on the argument that the large distances between golfers on the course would minimize or nullify the effects of second-hand cigar or cigarette smoke on non-smoking golfers -- was the reason that Brookside was excluded from the smoking ban in the city's parks enacted in 2004.

Of course, reaction to the proposed new rules from smokers along Colorado Boulevard Monday was visceral.

"This is becoming a police state," said Sherry, who asked I not use her last name. She was taking a drag from her cigarette in front of her place of employment near Old Pasadena. "We are already breathing in L.A. smog so if somebody walks by and gets a whiff of a cigarette I can't see how that makes a big difference. The next thing you know they are going to tell us what to watch on TV."

But those speaking at Monday's committee hearing were equally adamant about what they saw as their right to reduce the amount of harmful air they encounter in the city's public spaces.

"I don't think it is fair to have to go outside and breathe in toxic smoke and have no say in the matter," said Lucia Gasca, a 14-year-old Pasadena resident.

Pasadena Assemblyman Anthony Portantino has been reappointed to the chairmanship of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, according to Capitol Weekly.

Portantino lost the position less than a month ago, apparently as punishment for challenging Speaker Fabian Nunez's hand-picked replacement, Los Angeles Democrat Karen Bass. But no one was appointed to replace Portantino, leaving open the possibility that the removal was only temporary.

Another top candidate for the speakership, Hector De La Torre, also lost his chairmanship of the powerful Rules Committee. But De La Torre does not seem about to regain his chairmanship anytime soon: the gavel has already been passed to Ted Lieu, D-Torrance.