South Bay Pipeline

Usually the only pressure Jane Harman gets in her district comes from the left. Sure, she got a bunch of calls urging her to oppose the bank bailout bill, but most of the time, if somebody is picketing outside her office it's because of the Iraq war or surveillance -- or maybe the Armenian genocide.

The organizers of the South Bay Tax Day Tea Party are trying to correct the imbalance. Nathan Mintz recently met with Harman to encourage her fiscally conservative instincts, and filed this report:

We had a great meeting with Jane Harman who was cordial, gracious, and very interested in this growing grassroots TEA party movement that we are a part of.  She said she was impressed by the number of calls that she has gotten from our group.  She is a Blue Dog Democrat and one of our goals was to support her in all of her fiscally conservative positions and encourage her in future bills because we the people want to stop the staggering spending, balance the budget, and stop the bailouts.  And on the Health-care bill which has not hit the floor yet that we want a fiscally conservative solution that does not grow the power of the Federal Government in any way.  We also expressed our profound disappointment with the Cap and Trade vote.  More on all this later as I must get on a plane in a few minutes. 

They are planning a demonstration outside her office in opposition to the Obama health plan on July 17.

Today more attention is being drawn to Rod Wright's salary, thanks to L.A. Times columnist Sandy Banks. Never one to go along to get along, Wright has refused to join his colleagues in accepting a 5 percent pay cut.

Banks wonders if that doesn't convey a sense of arrogance, and quotes a Cal State professor who said that legislators live in a bubble.

But of course Wright is not insulated from fiscal realities. In fact, he has close contact with people who are sacrificing due to the budget crisis, namely his own staff.

Like all other Senate staffers who make more than $50,000 a year, Wright's staffers will be taking a mandatory furlough equivalent to a 5 percent cut. They have also seen their health benefits slashed.

Asked on Thursday whether that had created any tension around the office, given that he has opted not to give back any of his $116,000 salary, Wright said "no."

"I've not had any staff concerned about what I get paid," Wright said. "If somebody's concerned, I guess they'll go work someplace else."

Wright pointed out that unlike his staffers, he does not get a pension.

"Many of the people were working here when I came, and will be working here when term limits force me out," he said. "My staff is quite comfortable with what I do, and we work together as a unit."

Readers, here's your morning news:

We have more details on the arrest of two local men whom police and fire officials believe were making M-80s and selling out of a Torrance home illegal Chinese fireworks in enough quantities that could have leveled an entire neighborhood.

South Bay medical researchers and pain specialists react to the Food and Drug Administration's recommendation this week that Vicodin and other pain medications should be banned, and other over-the-counter drugs be watched more closely because of their effects on patients' liver.

The SouthBay Pavilion is in escrow with a company that says it plans to take the Carson mall "to the next level."

Carson city officials Tuesday approved a $67 million budget, balanced by cutting $1,500 out of its special events budget. It also restored City Council members' travel budget to a full $8,000 each, but slashed staff travel by $35,000.

Six years after the debate began, Rancho Palos Verdes has approved a program that could keep recreational vehicles off city streets.

The El Segundo flasher has struck again.

Carson High's longtime athletic director is retiring after 27 years.

Still no plans for the Fourth of July? See our list of local events.

South Bay, let's get this news party started:

Redondo Beach police Tuesday night raided a Torrance home apparently chockablock with several thousand tons of illegal fireworks.

Speaking of which, why don't you check out our list of safe and legal ways South Bay cities are celebrating the Fourth of July this weekend?

A 24-year-old man fell to his death Tuesday night off Point Fermin cliffs in San Pedro.

An 88-year-old Westchester man this week will retire from Northrop Grumman after working their 68 years. How's that for follow-through? Check out pictures of Jerry Huben's rocking retirement party.

Los Angeles-area tourist attractions are seeing more local patronage now that residents are sticking closer to home during the recession. (Do I get extra points for not using the term "staycation?")

The financially troubled state today stops reimbursing medical clinics that offer services like dental, optometry and acupuncture to low-income patients. Also, no new children will be enrolled into the Healthy Familes program after July 17.

That gentleman who tried to trade a lost dog for sex this weekend now faces extortion charges. Seems like a whole lot of trouble for a date.

You know, after I post this blog, I'll Tweet it as well over. Check out this list to find other Breeze staffers and South Bay folks to follow on Twitter.

In his first inaugural address in 2005, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asked his fellow Angelenos to "dream with me." He vowed to reduce crime and reform the education system, laying out an ambitious plan to take over the LAUSD. Four years later, crime is down. As for that other thing, don't ask.

Today Villaraigosa will take the oath for a second term, which we now know he intends to complete. Judging from an excerpt from his inaugural speech just released by the mayor's office, the next four years will be less about big dreams and more about big digs:

Angelenos, I offer this oath today. In the next four years, we are going to judge ourselves plain and simple - based on what we build. We intend to write our record in concrete rather than poetry, focused on deadlines over headlines. And you have this in writing, we are going to track our promises and put the results online.

In other words: build with me, Los Angeles.

Unlike the school takeover, that goal seems highly achievable thanks to federal stimulus funds. To take just the local examples: LAX and the Port of L.A. would both like stimulus funds for their big modernization plans.

UPDATE: Full text after the jump.

Steve Kuykendall, who represented part of the South Bay in Congress for two years before his 2000 loss to Jane Harman, is leaving the suburban Palos Verdes Peninsula for the urban wilds of Long Beach.

Kuykendall today confirmed that he has sold his home in Rancho Palos Verdes, where he was once on the City Council and where he remains politically active as a consultant.

He and his wife will move in mid-July to a condo in a new development in downtown Long Beach. The move keeps him in the pretty much the same territory for elected officials -- though he'll switch from Rod Wright's to Alan Lowenthal's state Senate district.

Kuykendall said the move was due to "empty-nester syndrome."

"It has nothing to do with politics," Kuykendall said.

A two-term Assemblyman before his election to Congress, Kuykendall plans to continue his consulting work and wants to remain active in local Republican circles.

Readers, let's get to it:

Hawthorne police believe a registered sex offender tried to trade a lost dog for sex. Over at our Crime and Courts blog is some more information on this guy.

Sales tax will increase a half-cent to the dollar countywide tomorrow, when the voter approved Measure R goes into effect for 30 years.

The pieces comprising Manhattan Beach's long-awaited sculpture garden were installed around downtown Monday. Check out pictures of a few of the towering sculptures.

The capital murder trial of a man accused of killing a police captain during an early morning attempted robbery in 2004 began this week.

A last-minute compromise struck Monday between the Port of Los Angeles, a local ship builder and the Los Angeles Conservancy will allow a $96 million dredging project at the port to go forward.

Who knew that Japanese fast food chain Yoshinoya was based in Torrance? And its looking to open 13 new restaurants.

Readers, here's your news:

A Redondo Beach police officer shot and wounded a man in Lawndale after what witnesses called a running gun battle between neighbors Saturday night.

Residents of the unincorporated Los Angeles County neighborhood of Wiseburn are miffed that a water company has apparently renigged on a deal that would have turned one of its vacant lots into a park.

A Carson resident took his third Manhattan Beach Grand Prix championship title Sunday. Miss the event? Check out pictures here and here and it was just like you were there.

The Manhattan Beach Brewing Co.,  likely the South Bay's oldest brewery, is going upscale later this summer.

Los Angeles International Airport passengers and employees will see some changes Tuesday, when the effects of Delta and Northwest airlines' merger leaves vacant space in Terminal 2.

A local restaurateur is opening his second new eatery in a year -- and will bring about 100 new jobs to Manhattan Beach.

New state fish consumption guidelines are stricter and more expansive than the traditional warning against avoiding white croaker caught off the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The rash of BB-gun shattered windows is still spreading across the South Bay.

Did Maxine Waters shove the chair of the Appropriations Committee over an earmark for the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center?

That's what Politico says:

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-Wis.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) engaged in a late-afternoon shouting match on the House floor after Obey reportedly rebuffed Waters on an earmark request, aides and witnesses said.

Witnesses, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it appeared that Waters pushed or shoved Obey. The pair were seen shouting at each other and had to be separated by members -- who were crowded on the floor casting final votes before heading off to a party at the White House.

Waters' staff claimed that Obey had pushed her. Waters herself later had to explain the incident to the New York Times:

"Chairman Obey was angry, and shouted that he didn't care about my plea," Ms. Waters said. "This is a prime example of how the system often works against the well-being of the poorest and neediest people in our country."

The House just passed the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill by a vote of 219-212.

So far the only reaction I have from South Bay lawmakers comes from Jane Harman, who said she would reluctantly vote yes. UPDATE: Waters statement.

Here's Harman's statement:

Let me be crystal clear:  the bill we are voting on today - and which I will support - falls far short of what could and must be achieved if we are to get our arms around greenhouse gas emissions, promote green jobs and innovation, and demonstrate leadership to the rest of the world.

My Committee colleagues Chairman Henry Waxman and Subcommittee Chair Ed Markey have worked tirelessly to craft legislation that makes progress on climate change goals and creates a system to cap and trade carbon emissions. 

And believe me, as a mother of four, I understand that perfection is not an option.  But in assembling a bill that will garner enough votes to pass, many troubling changes and compromises were made.

I am particularly disappointed that a bipartisan provision on which I labored to boost outdoor lighting efficiency by 25% by 2010 was gutted in the course of trading for votes.  Not only would this provision have cut the country's annual electricity bill by $1 billion, the changes made to it pose serious preemption challenges to bellwether states like California, which are consistently on the cutting-edge of environmental policy.

Trolling for votes also resulted in the dilution of an extremely important provision on green buildings and a weakened renewable fuels standard.

While passing the American Clean Energy & Security Act of 2009 is better than doing nothing, I consider this bill nothing more than a first step.

ADD: Maxine Waters:

"This bill is a crucial part of our economic recovery," said Congresswoman Waters. "It will create millions of new American jobs and entire new industries.  Helping reduce foreign oil imports by more than 5 million barrels a day -- what we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela - improves our national security. We will also reduce the carbon pollution that causes global warming, using the same solution that successfully fought acid rain in the 1990s."

With a combination of price spike protections, energy refunds and cost-saving technology, this bill will protect consumers, keep costs low, and protect current jobs by helping energy-intensive industries transition to a cleaner, more profitable future. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the legislation would cost a typical American household less than a postage stamp per day, or less than $111 a year.

However, Congresswoman Waters emphasized that lower income households will see no new costs; in fact the Congressional Budget Office reports that they will actually save $40 per year with the plan.

More as they come in. No word from Rohrabacher, who voted no. Richardson voted yes.