Ed Reyes Pushes Pretextual Motion to Keep WalMart out of Chinatown location.

Today's agenda item 16 in city council meeting- much to Council member Reyes' protestations that he is not against business, it looks like he's pulling out all the stops to keep WalMart from setting up a supermarket in Chinatown, kitty corner from the hugely expensive LAUSD Arts high school.

This might be a good thing if only the community interests were at stake but it looks like there's a little more to push him to make the move and that being the non-union nature of WalMart.  Reyes, like most council members listens attentively to the call of the unions and the do produce votes from their disciplined membership.

Reyes cited an accident in Chinatown where a senior was run over and thus traffic hazards exist that need to be considered.  As for using this incident as  being anything to base a ban on a busines, I think it's very disingenuous.  One incident does not create a basis for a ban.  Were is so, what developments would be allowed if more traffic was to be produced? 

Reyes has some justification for the ICO, "Interim Control Ordinance," which is, in other words, a ban.

The jusitifcation comes from the Chinatown community that fear loss of jobs and business if a WalMart supermarket opens.  That property has been vacant for years from my observation.  Reyes can reflect the view of some Chinatown residents and people to create a protection based on keeping an existing conditon from having competition.  Is that a good reason for this?  Maybe.

There are others in Chinatown that want this to come to provide services and to be a basis for other businesses and shoppers to come to the area.   I think it's not an easy choice but isn't competition a natural function of business. City Council butts in too often and for it's own reasons when it should allow things to continue.

A blog entry criticized this for being against the company and not the business use- if it were an Apple store it would have no one opposed.  If you recall history and the notions of protective tariffs that were created to fight imported products, theses are not things that work out well and often backfire in impact.

Also note that Downtown is becoming more populated.  Gone is the weekend when you would find it like a ghost town in most areas.  Now there's been so many residential conversions to house people there's more need for services which one would be a supermarket.  The ICO would be a ban on one element that would serve the need.

I expect the vote to approve the ICO, they vote Yes in over 99% of all motions brought to the Council- and you have to really wonder whether all of the CMs read all the documents since it's going to be a "Yes" vote anyway. 

"Business friendly" for new jobs and companies?  L.A. is certainly not that.

THE AGENDA ITEM

ITEM NO. (16)

 

12-0382

CD 1
CONSIDERATION OF MOTION (REYES - GARCETTI) relative to an Interim Control Ordinance (ICO) related to the establishment and operation of new Formula Retail Uses in Chinatown.
 

Recommendation for Council action:

INSTRUCT the Planning Department, with the assistance of the City Attorney, to:

a. Prepare and present an ICO, to prohibit the issuance of demolition, building, and any other applicable permits for the establishment and operation of new Formula Retail Uses in Chinatown, which is generally bounded by the Pasadena Freeway on the North, North Broadway and North Main Street on the East, Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and the Santa Ana Freeway on the South, and Beaudry Avenue on the West.

b. Include an Urgency Clause in the ICO to make it effective upon publication.

Community Impact Statement: None submitted.

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(Planning and Land Use Management Committee waived consideration of the above matter)

LHS Alumni Association meets Saturday in Student Cafeteria- 9:30 a.m.

It's that third Saturday of the month coming up and that means time for another LHS Alumni Association meeting.  It's being held in the school cafeteria on campus and is open to anyone who is interested- just come on by. 

Among the items on the agenda is the upcoming social event, the Spring Dance, and that's set for Saturday, April 14th.  Also being planned is the Angels Contest addressing the visual and performing arts in school, and the Texas Hold 'em Poker tournament.  Ongoing committee planning is happening for LHS Centennial celebration that will happen in 2013.

March 12th In the Music World - About people and events

Here is an interesting collection of "what's happened" on March 12th in the past from Don Barrett's LAradio.com on Monday- How many of theses items do you remember and how much is news to you now? Do you remember the t.v. show, "Lassie" and Jon Provost, the kid on that show? He's 62 on March 12th.  

And "Get Smart" the t.v. show, not the movie, has Agent 99, Barbara Feldon, Don Adams' co-star from 1965 t0 1970, celebrating a birthday, 72 years old. Hard to believe that much time has passed.

"LARP Rewind: March 12. On this day in 2010, 1500 police were summoned to quell a riot as ticketless fans tried to crash a Metallica concert at Simón Bolívar Park in Bogotá, Colombia. Four fans and four officers were injured and 130 were arrested.

On this day in 1974, John Lennon was ejected from the Troubador in Los Angeles. To celebrate their 15 years in show business, the Smothers Brothers, Tom and Dick, were giving a late-night performance at the club. Lennon, who was seated by Harry Nilsson and who had been drinking, started singing loudly, making obscene comments to the waitresses, and heckling Tom and Dick, then punched the Smothers' manager and threw a glass against the wall. Five Troubador employees carried him out and Nilsson drove him home.

On this day in 1969, Paul McCartney married American photographer Linda Eastman in London and George Harrison and wife Patti were arrested for possessing 120 joints of marijuana.

 On this day in 1945, Billboard debuted an album chart. Number one was King Cole Trio, Volume 1, featuring Nat "King" Cole, Oscar Moore and Wesley Prince.

Today, March 12, 2012, Get Smart co-star Barbara Feldon is 79, Al Jarreau is 72, Liza Minnelli is 66, James Taylor is 64, Lassie co-star Jon Provost is 62, Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris is 56, Jackson 5 vocalist Marlon Jackson is 56, former Blur lead guitarist Graham Coxon is 43, Incubus bassist Ben Kenny is 35, actor Tyler Patrick Jones is 18.

On March 12, 1980, 32 years ago today, the Spinners' remake of the Four Seasons' Working My Way Back To You was number one on the KRLA Hit List. Queen's Crazy Little Thing Called Love was #2, followed by Too Hot by Kool & the Gang. Biggest jumper was Bob Seger's Fire Lake, climbing from #22 to #18. Highest debut was Rock Lobster by the B-52's at #19. Debuting at #26 was Janis Ian's Fly Too High, which failed to chart nationally. (LARP Rewind is prepared by Steve Thompson)"

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LA Radio People captures what March 1 brought for entertainers of our lives.

Don Barrett's web site is published as he can, but no longer a daily item for us to read.  I want to share what you would find in this flashback to past years for March 1st.

As the recent Davy Jones death shows, the artist and celebrities of our past, recent and distant past alike, have no immortality for all their fame, but instead, have lives  as fragile as our own and nothing is guaranteed in terms of longevity.  That fact is shown also by political blogger Andrew Breitbart's death at age 43 Wednesday night.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/02/us-usa-politics-breitbart-idUSTRE8201AV20120302

Check the information below and see if you can relate any of it to what you were doing in your own life.  Time seems to pass very quickly for some of these things.
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"LARP Rewind: March 1. On this day in 2004, Michael Jackson launched a website, mjjsource.com, to celebrate his music and provide updates of his pending court trial for child molestation. On this day in 1985, Help! became the first Beatles song to be used in a television commercial (for Lincoln-Mercury). On this day in 1968, Johnny Cash married June Carter, who he had proposed to during a concert in London, Ontario. The marriage would last until June's death in May 2003; Cash would die four months later. On this day in 1957, the Everly Brothers, Don and Phil, signed with Cadence Records. On this day in 1941, the first commercial fm station, W47NV in Nashville, began broadcasting at 44.7 mHz with a classical music format. In 1947 the station moved to 100.1 and became WSM/fm. It signed off four years later, but in 1968 WSM bought WLWM and made it the new WSM/fm.

"Today, March 1, 2012, Harry Belafonte is 85, Robert Conrad is 77, former Blood Sweat & Tears lead singer Jerry Fisher is 71, Manfred Mann lead singer Mike d'Abo is 68, The Who lead singer Roger Daltrey is 68, The A-Team/Battlestar Galactica co-star Dirk Benedict is 67, country singer Arlene Harden is 67, game show host/Growing Pains co-star Alan Thicke is 65, Dukes Of Hazzard/African Skies co-star Catherine Bach is 58, actor/director Ron Howard is 58, Sweethearts Of The Rodeo singer/guitarist Janis Oliver is 58, Wings/Private Practice co-star Tim Daly is 56, British singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw is 54, Gin Blossoms bassist Bill Leen is 50, Skid Row drummer Rob Affuso is 49, actor John David Cullum is 46, Nickelback guitarist Ryan Peake is 39, actor Mark-Paul Goselaar is 38, r&b singer Sammie Bush is 25, singer-songwriter Ke$ha (Kesha Sebert) is 25, Justin Bieber is 18.

"On March 1, 1975, 37 years ago today, Olivia Newton-John's Have You Never Been Mellow was number one on K-100 (KIQQ), followed by the Ohio Players' Fire and Frankie Valli's My Eyes Adored You. Biggest jumpers were My Boy by Elvis Presley, moving from #21 to #14, and Lovin' You by Minnie Riperton, climbing from #26 to #19. Highest debut was Barry White's What Am I Gonna Do With You at #27. Also debuting were Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John and L-O-V-E by Al Green. "