Mayor's school: A Spanish-only program in a Watts elementary school reported.

There is a summer program reported in the Wave local newspaper that John Ritter Elementary School in Watts, one of the Mayor's group of 10 schools that he's taken to improve, has a program of instruction conducted in Spanish exclusively. "The Bottom Line: At this summer session in Watts, Black students need not apply," By BETTY PLEASANT, Contributing Editor, Story Published: Jul 8, 2009.
http://www.wavenewspapers.com/opinion/50316762.html

The story mentions the fact that the local parents of Black children are left out and the teachers that do not speak Spanish were also left out of the picture. The idea of education to improve performance, to all of what I have seen over time, needs first to develop some competency in the English language to open the doors to the rest of achievement. This is not what they have in mind here at this school.

The Black parents say their children also need to be helped and it's pretty plain that they are not part of the scheme. Since the story was written, there has been a rebuttal, printed in the Wave, that defends the program. "Article is misleading on school’s summer program." Story Published: Jul 17, 2009, by a letter from Angela Bass, Superintendent of Instruction, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools.
http://www.wavenewspapers.com/opinion/letters/51044412.html

The Mayor's involvement in the Parnership plan has appeared to be very slight, as a personal matter, and it's been heavy on delegation of authority. The enthusiasm for this takeover by the Mayor has ebbed over the many months and much of the early support by teachers, especially reported at Roosevelt High, has changed to disillusionment and frustruation, with no progress seen by these teachers. Part of the complaints there were that they were not included in what has been going on. "Roosevelt High teachers give the Education Mayor a failing grade," by Steve Lopez, May 20, 2009. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/20/local/me-lopez20

Well, you can read the stories and consider that the idea of "dual immersioin" in language reall amounts to "no immersion" in anything. The idea of learning language by "immersion" is a concept that is completely impossible in Los Angeles, and here's why: First, to be "immersed" you have to be completely surrounded by all communitcation done in the single language, which would be English, for example. The use of Spanish would not and really "could not" be done at all in classes or anything in the hypothetical school program if this were to be the true approach applied. This forces the actual use of the second language for the practical funciton of communicating and then result is an acquisition of that language skill, slowly but surely.

This is something possible where, for example, you travel to another country and find no one uses English, forcing some quick study of the necessary words and phrases to get along with your basic needs. Effectively, you have no choice, and the "immersion"part similarly forces you to sink or swim in that language.

Contrast that with life in Los Angeles where you don't have to venture far to find someone who speaks Spanish and English with at least a functional level to allow the language gap to be bridged. The student in an English immersion program would not be able to experience "forced" use of English since there are so many around to provide "help" with the English-Spanish communication difficulties, even unintentionally, thereby reducing the "discomfort" level of the situation, but also eliminating the effectiveness of the concept.

So "dual immersion" can be the reality with a source present for either language to assist, but the function of the "immersion" in a single language is entirely lost as a tool to achieve the potential possible in the language area.

And if you have doubts, consider that where there is a crutch to use in the language situation, or really, in any area where help is welcomed, you will use it. But with some things, the "learning" is enhanced in this style, yet in language, for a real push to learn, it's something different that does benefit from "toughing out" the communication obstacles and arriving at the answers that way. It's not the only way, but just a very intense style that can produce large gains.

If you notice, people who use others to help get around the language barrier will really reduce the rate of acquisition of skills in the second language. The other part that you might consider is that if your source of instruction has weak grammar, you will pick up that, too, but that's no different than what we learn from others in a single language environment.

Read the stories and remember that the rebuttal comes from somebody who is in the business of justifying their existence and since there's a very heavy connection to politics (as if the role of the spokesperson is not political all by itself), you have to realize that truth and honesty are not the primary goals, and survival and perpetuation of their jobs might be a reason for the comments you will see.

As a more cynical and pragmatic observation, you have to consider that parents often treat school as a form of day-care to account for some of their children's activity while they go to work, and some parents would have to find alternate means of child care for their children for the time there is no school, regardless of whether they speak English, Spanish, or both. But that's not the primary concern here, so let's move on.

And let's see, just whose program is this all about? Oh, that would be Antonio Villaraigosa, the "all-about me" mayor.

LHS Alumni Summer Picnic this Saturday

The Lincoln High Alumni Association will be hosting the Summer Picnic for 2009 this Saturday at Schabarum Regional Park in Rowland Heights MAP

All Alumni and friends invited, see Flyer and come on over. The time is from Noon to 6 pm (but printed as "5pm".

Hope to see you there.

Will the MTA bend to pressure to give AnsaldoBreda the contract?

"MTA chief recommends against Italian firm's rail cars; Agency staffers report that the cars being built by AnsaldoBreda under an existing contract are too heavy and years behind schedule." L.A. Times story by Maeve Reston, July 21, 2009. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rail-car21-2009jul21,0,7988438.story

The Italian company, AnsaldoBreda, is favored by the mayor and the union really wants the Italian firm to get the deal, even though it may not be the best deal for the city's money and future. A $300 million expense for 100 light rail cars to be built would really have to be considered in light of the past performance of AnsaldoBreda, and it's not been making the grade.

The idea of a company making jobs, regardless of whether the expectations may be accurate, is all that matters to the union and to many on the City Council, too. Just claiming membership on the Council does not ensure that the best for the City's interest will be done by them. There's been plenty of goofs in the past. And by "goofs," I mean mistakes and bad choices, and not a characterization of the members of City Council, thought it may be fitting. It may be that the costs may not be a good deal, but when you deal with unions, that's not their concern, only that there's jobs present to use by, or to produce, union membership. That's their business. The welfare of the city and it's limited finances are not best left to be judged by any union.

There's even less credibility with politicians. They just want to be re-elected and keep running for offices so what ever gets them the most votes is their baby. With some, when the City Council is involved, you just mention jobs and you've got Ed Reyes and Bill Rosendahl already moving to your side. Now whether there's any jobs with futures of any sort attached to them can be an entirely different matter, and usually the details seem to me to be treated too lightly by the decision makers. Pitching "jobs" with any project is a good move that is a good way to get results to go your way, and you bet that that's always something that is tried to be woven in for the best reception.

Well, we will see if there's any integrity there or if the pressures that the special interests and assorted lobbyists used will get this deal to look good enough to vote for, even if it's just wishful thinking or - and this could be what it is- if it's really just a plain, out and out, bad deal for the city that puts money into important pockets.

City Council's Tuesday Meeting to address City expenditures connnected with Michael Jackson's Memorial event at Staples Center

City Council had put off all the matters for the Michael Jackson Memorial event to Tuesday to be heard at the same meeting, allowing all the parties involved to be a little more informed and prepared. Council member Dennis Zine has already voiced his positon, to find out who authorized the expenses and to try to get reimbursement to the city.

The amounts spent by the City are in dispute. The $1.4 million spent for the 3,500 police called out for duty is only about that, but another sum, nearly $4 million is the figure given to Zine by the city sources for all the city services and personnel involved.

Mayor Villaraigosa has shown his colors on this and they don't match the city's. He said, in a widely covered press conference turning on the staff and the general sentiment of officials, that the web site (that he was supposed to have authorized) to collect donations was ridiculous and that AEG the owners of Staples Center and promoters of Jackson's events would NOT be asked for ANY money. So there.

Tony is still a little off-base as far as public opinion and his choice not to run for Governor was really based on the fact that he has low popularity, and this move fits in with what he's done all along in the past 4 years of his first term.

Tomorrow's meeting may be a show down, or a lot of backpedaling. Tim Leiweke, President & CEO of AEG, says he has no responsibility for the expense and did not cause the City to act as it did. And on top of all that, he is buddies with the mayor, who for all his talk of a "World Class City," still does favors for people that have put out dollars for his campaigns and activities. After all, that's what politics is all about. They all deny it, but you can see what makes sense as the stories unfold.

"Noche Tropical"- on Saturday Night, 7-18, Dance at Guadalupe School

"Noche Tropical" on Saturday, July 18, at the OLG School Grounds, 4-10 pm, Tribute to the Fathers Club Members.

INFORMATIONAL NOTE: The Guadalupe School ("Our Lady of Guadalupe School") is an elementary school that goes up to 8th grade.

This event was brought to my attention by another LHS alum several weeks back, with the accompanying letter below providing a comprehensive report. Of course, time moved faster than I expected and this late posting is the result, with the date here already. The Chico Band, a versatile and seasoned band that provides something for everyone, will be playing. That alone is worth the ticket price. Some of you may remember them as the band that played for the 1998 LHS Gala at the Biltmore Hotel where they did an outstanding job as a dance band.

"Dear Alumni and Friends:

We are so excited for our upcoming event, “Noche Tropical” on Saturday, July 18, at the OLG School Grounds, 4-10 pm, that we have decided to pay Tribute to the Fathers Club Members that for so many years served the children of OLG and the community with their hard work and dedication. We now need to thank them and recognize their efforts. If you have one of these great gentlemen in your family, please get in touch with us so that we can add his name to our guest list.

Everyone is working together to make this night amazing and just as special and memorable as our last event in May. Our purpose to provide Our Lady of Guadalupe School students with resources that will give them the opportunity to realize their dreams and become leaders in our society is now becoming a reality. We did well in our last event but that was only the beginning!

Please invite your friends, relatives, and other classmates so that they may also experience these life changing experiences with us. We all are very grateful for the support and love that was shared by many at our beloved OLG School.

Putting on these events takes special acts of kindness and generosity to make them profitable. We encourage you to help us by donating any amounts of cash that will go toward the following items:

music
stage
dance floor
tables and chairs
tarps or umbrellas
food, raffle items, bottles of alcohol, mixers
cases of sodas and
drinking water

Whatever you can give to support us in our efforts to make this event a success will be greatly appreciated. We have already been blessed with the support for a few items and that has given us momentum to receive more. Please send your checks made out to OLG to the school c/o OLG Alumni, 436 North Hazard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90063. We also encourage you to go out into your communities and seek donations and sponsorships from your local vendors or from your places of employment.

If you attended our last function, you saw that it takes many people to make it a successful event. So if you would like to volunteer to help us make it much more effortless and smooth for everyone, please let us know.

Please share the information of this event and get for us updated contact information from other alumni and send it to us so that we can include them in our invitations and mailing lists.

Please visit and encourage others to visit our website at http://www.olgalumni.com/ . Our website is updated with news about the school, the alumni association, pictures and stories from our last event, we are selling OLG apparel, and see for yourself the positive stories of progress made in our journey to make a difference at the school and in our community

Please continue to network with other alumni and invite them to “Noche Tropical.” Tickets can be purchased by calling Paul Villarreal at 626-324-1864 or Bob Razo 323-229-6487. We are here with open arms to welcome you to where you once belonged.

As I reflect on the work we are doing and thinking about our alumni, it excites me to hear the new and positive experiences our young and older alumni are having at this time in our lives. Being able to hear and experience these things with you, makes me more eager to serve you, our community and our school. It states in the Holy Bible that you must be able to "Give to Receive." There is no doubt that we have been given the best gift of all by being able to attend our beloved OLG School. The families of OLG are truly special because our history, tradition, and culture are evident in the parents and grandparents that sacrificed to send us to our school.

On behalf of the children, staff and faculty of Our Lady of Guadalupe School, we thank you and we look forward to seeing you at “Noche Tropical.”

With Love and respect,

Paul Villarreal
OLG Alumni President
Class of 1990"

The Alumni Association's monthly meeting for June will be held at 9:30 a.m. this Saturday. It's in the Student Cafeteria at LHS. Admission: Free (of course) and anyone may attend- dues-paying members or not, and other guests are also invited.

ALUMNI NEWSLETTER- check the Alumni Page on the LHS website for the recently issued 2009 Newsletter.

Upcoming events -

JULY:

Summer Picnic on Saturday, July 25th This is back after a one-year hiatus and you past attendees will remember the place, Schubarum Regional Park in Rowland Heights beginning at noon. It's an opportunity to have a relaxing time with alumni and families in a low-key setting for a nominal cost.

AUGUST:

Dodger Night on Wednesday, August 19th at Dodger Stadium for 7:10 pm game.

Tiger Alumni Texas Hold’em fundraiser Saturday, 08/29/09

Did Michael Jackson's Death Help the L.A. City Economy?

TONY'S BACK
Well, the Mayor is back from Africa where he went with his new girlfriend, Channel 5 news person, Lu Parker, just one day after he was sworn in for a new 4-year term, promising to be that best mayor he could be, or words to that effect. Well, as if things did not hit the fan hard enough when Villaraigosa left Los Angeles by the events following the death of Michael Jackson, sendimg everyone and everything into near-critical mass with police assigned to just about every activity that occurred after the pop singer died.

EXPENSES TO THE CITY (AND THE TAXPAYER).
The whole series of events seemed to culminate in the memorial tribute last week at the Staples Center. The cost for the police and all the city services that the taxpayers have to cover amount to nearly $4 million dollars. Some have put the cost at about $1.4 million but that's really just the cost for police salaries used on these activities. Matt Szabo, the Mayor's spokesman and cover-up artist, tried to justify the expense as a city obligation last week and not something that should be paid for by the people who caused it. He did not make sense in the radio interview. He made a good try but it is not possible to make sense of it.

COUNCIL MEMBER JANICE HAHN SAYS THE EXPENSE WORTH IT.
Legally, there's not a real good basis for the city to charge anyone. There was no contract, there's no law on this to make it a chargeable item, and there's just the idea that the events brought money for the city by tourists. JANICE HAHN, Council member was totally nuts in saying that the costs that the city spent for this were actually GOOD for the city. She is just out of her mind if she applies her math skills in that way.

To take that any further, if you can have more of these celebrities dying and huge events happening, how would the city come out ahead? HAHN says it generates huge amounts of money for the city, so it was worth it. So are we spending $4 million or $1 million of city expense and then it all comes back to the city? She has to be just deluded beyond help.

Let's say people spent at hotels and for meals and renting cars or whatever they do to spend money, how much of that is HELPING the City taxpayers when the salaries of the city workers is paid up? There's your $4 million or the $1 million spent as tax dollars for the workers and the city services. Now where does THAT money come back to the city treasury?

True that there's lots of money to be made on the people, but WHY is the city supposed to supply the employees and services for SOMEONE ELSE, a private sector person or company to make money? The city still has the bill and the private businessmen are walking away counting their money and smoking their cigars, and maybe they say to the city, "Thanks for the help."

Does that make any sense? Janice Hahn is as nutty as often or more than she is noteworthy in her comments. This event has her totally looney.

AEG SETS UP THE STAPLES CENTER FOR THE MICHAEL JACKSON MEMORIAL
The expenses that seemed to use endless supplies of police and other city workers and services served to totally boost the Staples Center publicity for the event. It was broadcast around the world, had famous entertainers and the casket of Michael Jackson there, too, after the Hollywood Forest Lawn funeral was held at 8 a.m. that day.

Did you know that the Staples Center, operated by AEG, charged the television crews for the risers that they set up in front of the Staples Centers? $50,000 or more, depending on locations. The final haul was estimated to be about $500,000.00 for the risers. Everywhere there were making money off the Jackson death. The event was recorded and you know there is going to be a dvd for sale. Already there is a tour as a tribute to Michael Jackson, with the money, of course, figured out to be worth it all.

The whole circus - and the real circus, Ringling Brothers, performing at the Staples Center had to be postponed a day for the memorial event.

REIMBURSEMENT REQUESTED (DEMANDED) FROM AEG BY SOME ON COUNCIL AND OTHERS
The costs were not legally recoverable (so far) from AEG or the Jacksons or anyone, so the city was just SOL. Council member Dennis Zine was adamant in his claim for the city to be reimbursed for the money. He had some really comprehensive figures for the city services used up and also noted that the police were not able to respond to other work if there were there, so some things had to wait, although these might not have been emergencies, but the work was done in preparation and in assigning 3,500 extra police to the estimated throngs that were going to show up.

Then the police and event organizers announced that the Staples Center would not be accessible for anyone for two blocks around without a ticket to enter the area, so this was what I think explained a lot of the falloff in the people who were expected to be outside. Like the Academy Awards, you can't get in, but you can see the arrival of stars, but not here. You were not even going to be able to see anything, not even the building from where they were cordoning off the area. So why bother going? The way the I.D. bands were handled made it seem like a hopeless task for anyone wanting to slip in or counterfeit the bands. And so very few went out on the street since it was all going to be on television anyway, and the weather was hot to make hanging out in the street something not too enjoyable.

PAY PAL ACCOUNT OF CITY TO COLLECT VOLUNTEER DONATIONS.
In order to try to recover some of the money spent by the city , a website was set up to collect donations from fans (or anyone) for the Michael Jackson Memorial expense. It collected a total of about $17,000.00 at one point last week, hitting $35,000.00 when it was shut down last Friday. The whole site initially crashed when there were so many visitors that the site, specifically announced on news shows across country, couldn't handle it and that was it for about a day. Matt Szabo, while speaking for the Mayor's office in Tony's absence, announced this website as a means of collecting donations to the city when he was interviewed on the radio last week.

NEWS CONFERENCE BY MAYOR
The mayor really was excited about AEG after he said that the city had a responsibility for the event and expenses and babbled on about how the city is not going to charge for a funeral since this is a "World Class City." He said that AEG (owner/operator of the Staples Center and organizer of the "memorial" for Michael Jackson) is not going to be asked to pay any expenses. Mayor Tony was so agitated that he said he disagreeed with his staff and he thought that that idea of asking for donations was ridiculous. Obviously that idea did not come from him and it seems Jan Perry thought of it as a means to get some sort of recovery of costs.

The Mayor was typically full of his self-importance and presented several specious examples of why is was right for the city (that still is about a half-billion in the red on the city budget, by the way) to absorb these expenses. Maybe his trip made him forget such small details. The Mayor ranted on and on about AEG and the good that they have done for the city and money that was brought in by them. He did not mention that most of the money goes into the pocket of AEG ("Anschutz Entertainment Group") and AEG's owner, Phillp Anschutz.

In case you don't know, AEG and Anschutz were big contributors to the Mayor's campaigns, and have associated groups that paid for many of the trips that the Mayor has taken, have contributed to many of the ballot measures that the Mayor supported, and gave lots of money for the Yes on Prop. 1A measure to raise taxes which would have meant that taxes planned for sporting events would not be imposed. AEG did not want to see any taxes put onto their ticket prices, preferring that individuals pay them directly, it appears.

Well, Tony came back into town very arrogant and very rude to his own staff who have tried on many times to save his butt from many of his situations and statements. Dumping on Matt Szabo I suppose it is tolerable by Matt as a dedicated staffer in the Mayor's office who gets a pretty good salary to take the heat- he just didn't expect that the heat was going to be coming from his own boss.

The whole analysis made of the situation by Tony in the speech was, to use one of Tony's words, ridiculous. Absolutely and completely. He has no idea of how to make an analogy of any proper relevance or having any connection with the truth. Armed with the facts, just about all of the pitch Tony made can be dissassembled for the coverup that it is.

CITY COUNCIL WILL ACT NEXT WEEK ON MOTIONS.
Next week, Tuesday, the City Council will deal with the motions and reports that have been requested by various members in connection with the Jackson memorial and related events and expenses. At this time, only CM Dennis Zine is speaking out on the need to pursue the matter and get AEG to cough up the money for the work that they had the city put out.

As I mentioned before, CM Janice Hahn was totally in support of letting the city hold the bag on the expenses, justifying this event as one that brings the city lots of tourists and money. That was really something that would be difficult to assess in terms of real dollars. It really seemed that she was in on something on Friday, like hearing what Tony was up to on his way back from Africa with Lu Parker, and Hahn wanted to be loyal to the Mayor. A huge mistake as her contrived assessments and conclusion were difficult to quantify and prove, and entirely useless in restoring the dollars to the City treasury to pay for things like salaries and services.

CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS STILL SITTING ON THE FENCE WILL HAVE TO CHOOSE A POSITION BY NEXT WEEK.
As politicians, the CMs want to keep their jobs. Naturally, since it pays an outrageous sum ($15,500.00 or so per month) and they really don't do much they are held responsible for in the end. But they need to vote on measures and the votes will tell you where they are.

Dennis Zine has been very diplomatic under the barrage of criticism that the AEG people and Zine haters have heaped upon him. Nuch Trutanich, City Attorney, seems to be deterimined to find out the facts in the situation to see what money can be recovered and the rest of the CMs except Hahn, have taken no public position, typical of their weasel approaches to important issues. But when it comes time to give out plaques to their friends, you just can't shut any of them up. Tune in on Fridays for the awards presentations that hold up the meetings if you want to see what I mean.

THAT'S ENOUGH FOR NOW- LET'S LEAVE THE $50,000.00 LUNCHES ORDER FOR LATER.
Well, there's more to the story and I need to end it now as I began this when Tony finished his news conference Monday and most of the news has already covered a lot of what I wrote here. So much for any "news" aspect, but the idea of the PEOPLE of the city getting the short end of the stick because Tony does not want to upset his friends who expect him to do favors is the point.

I mentioned elsewhere that the AEG people, probably Anschutz himself, and Tony talked about this and Tony promised to call off dogs and leave AEG alone. I am afraid that is not an acceptable solution for the people of Los Angeles. Someone might introduce the Mayor to the concept of "fiduciary duty" and mention that he totally fails on that account. And the financial history of AEG contributions is worth another couple of paragraphs to sum up that very serious monetary involvement in influencing government, but needs to wait if this item is going to be posted this week, already Wednesday now.

Too much power, too much arrogance and too many bad choices all leaving the city still in tough straits moneywise. That pledge of Tony's about being the best for L.A. lasted what? Almost a whole day? Hard to imagine that things would be more strained when he returned and that Tony would mix up the people he's supposed to represent.

A KMET Friday arrives.

Some good news for a Friday. "KMET"- The old fm radio favorite of many that left the air when Smooth Jazz "94.7 The Wave" took over in 1987 is back for a day on 100.3 "The Sound." Here's some of that news as reported by Don Barrett's L.A. Radio.com,

"KMET Sounds Off. Legendary KMET returns to Los Angeles’ airwaves for one day today. The original djs, the jingles, the rock stars, and – of course – the groupies [now in their 40s] all will be there, on a day that host station 100.3 The Sound (KSWD) is calling, “Finally a KMET Friday"

‘Finally a KMET Friday’ will begin on 100.3 The Sound much like their weekday routine began for more than a decade, with top-rated morning DJ Jeff Gonzer and newsman Ace Young reuniting on the radio at 7 a.m. Joining them as the day unfolds will be djs Paraquat Kelley, Jack Snyder, David Perry, Rick Scarry, LA’s first female program director, Sam Bellamy, and sales manager Bob Griffith. The day will conclude with legendary KMET oddball Dr. Demento presenting his greatest hits at 7 p.m.

Michael Jackson's Death at Age 50.

The second celebrity death on Thursday was that of Michael Jackson, a pop star and musical industry icon. The sudden and unexpected passing happened just as Michael Jackson was in preparation for his re-entry into the concert scene with a 50-concert date schedule in England beginning next month.

The Moonwalk, the single white glove, the dance steps, the voice and all of the music over the years were things associated with Michael Jackson. One person with so much talent, but also a person with a series of troubles, legal and personal, that complicated his life and puzzled so many people. All that still did not stop his talent or end his popularity.

Had Michael Jackson not had the much publicized negatives in his life, he could have been even more popular and become universally admired without the reservations that many hold because of the controversies in his life.

In any event, there are postings all over the internet and items in the news for you to see, so I won't try to go over any of that here. He was 50 years old, and that is very young in this day and age. The exact cause of death is still being determined and may not be available for several weeks.

I just want to mention that the lives that we take for granted can be taken from us in an instant, no matter what plans anyone makes or how much moneyanyone has. Putting off things for a better time when you can do it now, especially when it comes to family members, may be a decision that's going to be regretted in the future should your plans be among those that become interrupted.

Consider that funeral and wakes are already too late to make the decision to say the good things to the person about and reflecting on good times that we enjoyed. What we should try to do is remember that fact and change things so that we can try to continue or add some more
good times and feelings to the list of things to be remembered about our friends and family.

We need to do what we can get the most when we are all here and try to eliminate the things that will cause us regrets later because we waited too long, or didn't think of things to begin with.
I will remember the good that Michael Jackson brought and for the entertainment that he brought to us in his music and performances over my lifetime, from the beginnings of the Jackson 5 when I was in college, until now. Anything else is a matter for a higher power to decide.

Farrah Fawcett Dies at 62

The news of Farrah Fawcett's death was expected but that did not make it any less sad. It is hard to imagine entertainers who have been a part of our past now succumbing at an age that is relatively young in today's time.

Here is a video clip that I found of many on YouTube. But I like for a couple of reasons, first that it shows Farrah at her best times, with so much energy, beauty and glamour that most of us on the older side can remember when we were all much younger. Some will remember her as "Jill Monroe" of the television show, "Charlie's Angels." And then there was that long styled hair of Farrah's that I think began the wave of wide-ranging popularity for that style. For people that were not familiar with her or any of these references, this can give something of a clue.

The second reason that I like this clip is that the background music, "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies is an upbeat and plainly happy song from that time when you could understand the lyrics that were, more often than not, about love and good times, all part of that time.

Mayor Villaraigosa Announcement on running for Governor: Good News, Bad News.

The Mayor was on CNN with Wolf Blitzer for his big announcement on whether he will be a Democratic candidate for Governor. Good news for California is that he won't be running. The bad news for Los Angeles is that he will be here for the full second term of office and that will begin on July 1st.

The Mayor's reasons for his decision not to run and the real reasons for his decision don't match, but that's o.k., he's always had a hardtime being forthright. He still continued with the theme of his first State of the City address, "dream with me" and he should have left that phrase alone, because it leaves him open to clever plays on words like, "And he's still dreaming; we need some real work done," or "Stop dreaming and wake up and smell the coffee, Tony." There's been nothing of real accomplishment by him in the first term. L.A. has lost more population in the middle class range and continues to pick up numbers of people in lower economic status as it's sancturary city status continues to contribute to that demographic shift.

When Tony says anything about working to help the middle class and to be business friendly, he's not even close to being honest. Rising taxes and looking for more ways to charge residents is making it much more expensive to live in Los Angeles. In July, another rise of .5 % sales tax will hit L.A. County. Many people who can afford to, are leaving Los Angeles. Tony's not the cause of all of it, but much of what he's done has had the effect of worsening things in many ways.

Tony's mention of the economy and the need of the city for him to be here to see it through was mentioned as a reason not to run. Much of what he said is happening is either not within his ability to really affect, or is part of his participation in the first place to help in making the present mess. Deficit conditions in the city were sped to the current status by just over-spending and no thought was given to the possibility that the good times were headed for a reality check. Nope, the city based everything on the continuing good times and they matched the good times with their big spending.

Rainy days arrived and the DWP contract and other labor union arrangements that the Mayor and council approved helped to make things worse both financially and in terms of morale and feeling of unfairness by other unions in the city where such choice terms were not offered. Now the concessions upon which the Mayor includes in the budget still are not approved by the unions and so, it's a problem.

Well, there's more to say on the reasons for his announcement today, but maybe it's simply that Lu Parker, his new love interest and news anchor on television Channel 5, just wasn't up to a move to Sacramento in the event he would win. What Tony did say concerning anyone in the family circle was that he wanted to be in the city, to be there for his 16 year old daughter as she completed high school. Tony is a man of many stories and some of them may even be true, but it really doesn't matter. If the city can be kept out of bankruptcy, that would be a big achievement.
While Tony has continued at various press conferences to reference all the city jobs that have to be cut, there have only been only a handful of actual cuts. Many of the calculations were handled by not filling vacant positions. He never crossed into the territory where real numbers of people were laid off. Tony still was trying to hold onto his favored position with labor and has delayed any action to cut payroll by layoffs, meanwhile, things are not getting better by such holding on.

Today's announcement on running for the Governor of California would certainly have been different if Tony thought he had a better chance of winning, and all the stuff he said today would probably be the furthest thing from his mind. After all is said and done, Tony still is the "all about me" mayor.

State officials' cars- stealing our taxpayer money, or a new way to steal cars, i.e., "wrongfully take"?

Here's a story from last week that you may have already heard, but does it matter to you that this happens? State officials are granted a vehicle, and I don't say "car" because these "vehicles" are so much more than "basic transportation" if you examine what each described official has selected. It's all in the story covered in the L.A. Times from June 16, 2009, by Patrick McGreevy, "Legislators' cars cost taxpayers $3.2 million in three years; The tab includes gasoline and insurance. Use by family members is covered too. The benefits, rare outside California, may be curtailed." //www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-state-cars16-2009jun16,0,7729878.story

The story lays it all out but you might remember what I have said earlier with the case of a lot- though not all- Latino politicians, and especially those with very humble backgrounds. They out and out become greedy and cannot believe their good fortune to become elected or appointed to a public office with all the benefits that come with it.

It's kind of like Halloween trick-or-treat for kids who are presented by some residents with a big bowl of candies to reach in and help themselves. Some are timid, reserved or respectful and take at least one or maybe a couple. But then you always have the others who are just in disbelief upon hearing this offer and make a generous grab of candies, sometimes going for two, and maybe having to be reminded to leave some for others to be able to enjoy, too.

When it comes to "free" cars, these guys/women can't get enough and request models that they might not lay out their own cash to drive. You might think there would be some guidelines to keep that greedy Halloween urge from taking over, but the outcome shows something more effective is needed to remind "public servants" just who is supposed to be the servant.

From the story:

When legislators' cars need maintenance or are in accidents -- even with spouses or offspring at the wheel -- taxpayers also pay, state records show.

The cost of providing lawmakers with Cadillacs, Lincoln Town Cars, Priuses and Lexuses, keeping the vehicles full of gas and fixing them when they crash was $3.2 million during the last three years.

Although that sum is a small fraction of the $24-billion budget shortfall, it has drawn the attention of the California Citizens Compensation Commission. The panel, which determines lawmakers' pay and recently voted to slash their salaries by 18% starting next year, will meet this week to consider cutting benefits as well.

Commission Chairman Charles Murray said the idea that taxpayers are providing legislators with $50,000 luxury cars is hard to swallow, given the state's budget problems.

"I personally think it's ludicrous," said Murray, who owns an insurance company in Los Angeles. "You have guys out of work, people losing their job, departments downsizing, and they [legislators] are saying, 'Look at me in my STS.'

"California is one of only three states that provide legislators with cars for use in their districts, and the vast majority of states do not provide gasoline cards, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

That last part is important- it means 47 of 50 states do NOT supply cars, and personal cars are used. And for all the states, most do not hand over a gas credit card, either. How would any official ever be able to say "I feel your pain" and mean it when there is good pay, no layoff, free cars, free gas, additional per diems for another 30 grand to be away from home in Sacramento?

The mention of a pay cut of 18 percent is only taking effect on the NEW people coming into office. Why? Well, because legally, you cannot cut pay after the term of an official has begun, so only NEW "hires" and re-elected people will be drawing reduced pay, and the current piggies will still continue to splash around in the trough, maybe being termed out and headed for another office where their history of "enjoying themselves at the taxpayers expense" is not known to potential constituents. Or maybe it's explained away by some of the fast-talking, mumbo-jumbo, convoluted logic that passes for English language communication, spun just enough to make you think it was a bargain to the taxpayer.

Just what were the details here? A good chart to see some "offenders" in this area is in the L.A. Times, http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-061609-me-state_cars-g,0,2596207.graphic Like the old George Gershwin song says, "Nice work if you can get it."

There's another blog that I have been clued into by Mayor Sam's blog- all the blogs for whatever your interest may be, and this one is Latino Politics Blog.com that gives some recognition to practices mentioned by people who occasionally confuse public office with being a member of royalty. http://latinopoliticsblog.com/2009/06/16/amid-ca-budget-crisis-latino-pols-cruise-like-high-rollers/

Among the views published, you can see a lot of hostile reader comments,definitely no nice but understandably so. The bigger problem is that things like this are routine with politicians and they don't expect anyone to find out of the abuse, and if they do, then it will not be addressed either in a timely fashion, or in a way that's going to be able to reach the offender. Here's where you have a different, more subtle kind of recidivism problem in crime.

In both the L.A.Times and Latino Politics Blog.com, they mention the family participation here. So, when Rocky Delgadillo's wife damaged the city car that only Rocky was supposed to drive, a lot of trouble surfaced for Rocky because of it and the lies he made to cover up for his wife. In Sacramento, apparently, the "car" is treated like the "family car," and everyone gets to use it. Oh, yes, and "we" get to pay for it. Isn't that crazy?

If Rocky had been a state official, his wife would be o.k. to drive and crash the car since California self-insures everybody, allowing the whole family to run up the charges for the taxpayers. Bonnie Garcia did her part to let her son participate in government operations:

Then-Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia's son Javier "made a right turn in front of oncoming traffic" in a December 2006 accident that cost the state $22,000, state records say.

And just to be fair in showing it's not only youthful drivers running up the bill for the state:

In September 2008, Maxine Yee, the wife of Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), was driving him to the airport when she ran into a stalled car. That cost taxpayers $32,600.

And now taking another old phrase, this time from an old t.v. show, "Kid are people, too," we have to keep in mind, "Politicians are people, too." Let's consider that phrase for what it does NOT mean: They are not geniuses, not that they can't be, but holding office doesn't make them such. They are not perfect- and that's in the sense of being "good", since some are perfect fools for what they preach, and the names on that list can be different for each taxpayer, depending on what you look while making it up. Neither are they automatically honest, truthful, or resistant to corruption by money or power.

They all bear watching and all need to be given an extra generous helping of scrutiny when it comes to what they are doing. And, giving credit where it's due, SOME HAVE NOT BEEN GREEDY when it comes to getting cars, and some even use THEIR OWN CARS instead of using government paid-for cars. So for those, few, I say, "Keep up that kind of approach in the rest of what you do."

Another Class of Lincoln High Grads Became Alumni Yesterday

I was looking forward to being able to see the graduation yesterday at good old Lincoln. This time I would have seen Lincoln High's Class of 2009, "The ........... ," -sorry, but I never discovered the "class name" selected by this year's graduating class- but due to scheduling conflicts, personal commitments or however it's phrased, I was unable to attend. This would have been my sixth consecutive year of witnessing the annual ceremony and watching as these high school students, often referred to as "kids," now, in one fell swoop, as its said, officially become "alumni," whether that fact has dawned upon them or not. It's just a fact. And for those already age 18, they begin adulthood as "high school" graduates, with the younger classmates headed for birthdays that will add that tag, "adult," to their personal qualifications.

All this happens sometimes too fast for many of us, and I think for the students too, to really take it all in. In my short time teaching at Lincoln, I had mostly 9th graders as the first students that I met for classroom instruction. For both them and me, it was our initial introduction to education at Lincoln High for the 21st century. Remember, I was in their shoes decades before in this very same school, a truly distant memory- more like history. But at graduation, you see some conclusion to the process. It's where the transformation of sorts over a four year span is finally recognized. It's a milestone in the lives of most people, and one that is increasingly missed by a number students in the confines of the LAUSD in favor of the dreaded option of "dropping out." And that is yet another topic for another day.

I really enjoyed these annual events, and seeing a lot of my former students heading out "on their own," gave me a feeling of both pride and dismay. The pride was there for the accomplishment of the students, however much weight that carries in this day, but it's nevertheless an accomplishment. The dismay came from wondering what level of education was imparted upon them each while at Lincoln, and whether that prepared them for their future, knowing how things are "from the inside" of the school walls as a teacher. It was a real learning experience for us all, especially in those first classes of mine at Lincoln, and coming back to Lincoln for graduations and seeing so many of these same students was itself a reward for my tiny bit of contribution to their LHS career. It was always a pleasant surprise to see that most of them were as pleased- often surprised- to see me come by as I was to see them.

I remember often telling my students that they need to ask questions of teachers now, while we are there to provide answers for them in class. I also added that it was now during class when we can sort through the mistakes that they should be making as we get along in the learning process. This should be important to them, I tried to explain, especially since high school is the last time in life when the education is free for them. I told them that any future instruction for them after high school will be at a cost to them or to someone paying it for them, a fact that they probably will not fully comprehend until they are presented with a tuition bill. But you, as a teacher, are only one of many each day for them, and some of what you say might be taken to heart and some is rejected, or equally often, I suspect, plainly missed.

But all that material detracts from the graduation that Lincoln hosted yesterday, a really high point for a high school student. And it's nearly, but not quite, a high point for those just missing out in participating in it by either being short a few units in meeting the requirements that are spread over four years, or, being kept back by not clearing the California High School Exit Exam, or "CaHSEE," as it's more commonly known in the vernacular of the educational system. For all attending the ceremony, there is a lot of pride and joy that the event brings, and probably a bit of relief for some or maybe even some anxiety beginning as parents will wonder what will be next for their children.

The whole topic is really too big for even my long postings here as I bounce back a lot of thoughts collected over the years, and I will just say to this class, "Congratulations" and "Enjoy the moment." Lastly, one thing that seems to remain over the years for L.A. area graduations, barely changed, if at all, is "Grad Nite" at Disneyland. It is something of a tradition itself that I have urged students not to miss, maybe for the simple fact that it IS tradition and that it makes this particular rite of passage complete.

Store owner victimized by Lakers fan riot to rebuild

The owner of the store that was looted on Sunday after the Lakers wrapped up the NBA Championship was really victimized twice- once by the crowd that came in and looted the merchandise, and, second, systemically by the LAPD who were present and failed to act.

Richard Torres was the unfortunate victim of a belief that the police can be at a scene and stop crime. In theory, maybe there's some deterrence accomplished simply by the idea that most people will balance out doing right and not doing right and getting punished for that when police catch up with them. But on Sunday night, that store by the Staples Center, a vintage sneaker shop with lots of the shoes there on consignment for sale, was broken into.

Torres, the owner of the establishment, was interviewed today on KFI 640 and he said that there were witnesses there who told him that the police were there across the street just watching this. Just yards away, but they only watched? Part of the reason for allowing this happen was that there were not enough cops there to handle the crowd that was about 150 people.

Torres said that when he arrived, there were about 4 police cars there. Witnesses said that the shoes were lighted and thrown at the police and most of the merchandise was damaged or destroyed, with an inventory value of around $150,000.00. He had extra strong glass that actually resisted the repeated attempts to break it and the crowd took about five minutes after that to use brute force on the door and finally got in. The police still were still hanging back. Apparently and hopelessly outnumbered, they began retreating, too, as the objects were thrown at them, but whose fault was that?

The sad thing that this shows it that the police protection is provided to the big interests but the ordinary guy has to assume he's going to get some benefit of police action and in this case he was way wrong. Chief Bratton was in his stoic mode at the press conference on Tuesday and probably was embarrassed that there was such a complete loss of control due to not having enough officers out that evening. Bratton issued stern warnings to potential parade troublemakers was all about complete enforcement. It sounded like the "Broken Windows" theory was put into action again, a little late for some, as you see. The particularly frustrating thing was that, really, this was something that a blind person could see coming, and yet, they didn't prepare. What was the thinking behind that? The Chief was going to be certain to be putting out enough police for the parade. He couldn't let that be another "fool me twice, shame on me" condition, could he?

Well, that's the thing to consider about a bureaucracy and police protection. First, having the resources to use, and second, deploying them in the correct manner at the correct time to be effective. A bitter flop in this case. It might have crossed one's mind that the riot was allowed to continue to the extent it did, intentionally sacrificing some security to show the public just what might happen if the funding and other needs of the Department are cut in this budget crisis. It's only a possibility, much like the conspiracy theories that abound when any public disruption or disaster occurs.

The parade, as expected, was tightly run and the attempt at gatecrashing was quickly handled, without any more security failures happening. Proper planning and execution does get the job done, but is that a surprise? Torres is already working to reopen and people are helping out with donations and also encouragement.

Lakers Parade and Rally- Private money coming forth- Mayor booed.

The Lakers parade was accomplished and there's private sector money coming to reimburse the City- and you know those contributions are not all about pride but with some "forget-me-not" expectations for later. Developers and billionaires.

But Ron Kaye's blog has another good posting today, "Let's Celebrate Champions -- Not Bums Who Fail Us," June 17, 2009, this morning, and updated with the YouTube clip from the rally that brought out the "boos' when they mentioned the Mayor and the Council members were there to say something. And they cancelled today's scheduled Council meeting just for this, too.

Later, Mayor Villaraigosa got up to the mike and was booed. This was as he tried out his DJ imitation and asked the crowd if they were ready to "pah-ty"- but maybe he got booed for asking if they wanted to "potty" which was exactly what it sounded like. But Tony never lets bad reactions like that ever stop him from trying.

What really is the complaint with these things more than the lousy choices most of them are, is that the politicians are even there AT ALL. Nobody wants to hear from them, no one pays atttention to what they are saying. Ther's not one thing, not one word, spoken that is any different from what anybody else there is saying. They just want to "belong" and be seen with the Lakers, and appear to be important. Besides posting those signs like "No Alcohol," they need a really to put up a big one that says "No Politicians."

Alumni Meeting This Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

The Alumni Association's monthly meeting for June will be held at 9:30 a.m. this Saturday. It's in the Student Cafeteria at LHS. Two days after Thursday's graduation, this should be a very quiet campus on Saturday.

We have elections for three of the offices and a vote on the by-laws amendments. That proposed change will remove some of the restrictive provisions on qualifications for voting membership and the manner of handling the Code of Conduct. For this election on Saturday, the latest opportunity for becoming eligible to vote was at the meeting last month.

And you people who used to come to meeting and don't anymore might come back to see what changes are happening and consider future participation in making changes. Come by, visit, you don't need to pay dues for attending any meetings.

NEWSLETTER- check the Alumni Page on the LHS website for a newly issued 2009 Newsletter.

Upcoming event AFTER THE MEETINGS, of course, will be the Summer Picnic on July 25th (see Alumni Events sidebar for link).

City to Pay A Million Dollars for a Lakers Parade?

Will someone let the Mayor and Council members know that there still is budget left that's largely a fiction- with the Union NOT agreeing to the terms. So why is Mayor Tony agreeing to a million dollars to pay for a parade for the Lakerss? The amount is HALF of the real cost of $2 million, but the LAKERS should pay ALL of it- they are a profit-making professional sports franchise and can handle it on their own or it shouldn't be done. Why should Mayor Tony give away more money, or ANY money (part of the answer is that it's not coming from his own pocket, like any politician's reasoning)?

The city parade from the Staples Center to the Coliseum is also going to disrupt traffic and tie up a lot of police. Aren't we short on police these days? And using up police hours is going to get a lot of overtime racked up, creating more bills for a cash-starved city budget.

Sunday night would be or should be reason enough to skip the parade. They can hold the rally at the Coliseum and crowd control could be better accomplished. Looking at the police handling of the rioting Sunday results in the conclusion that it was absolutely stupid. Too few officers assigned to be "the police presence" was not getting the job done. Maybe Bratton wanted to make it look "Lakers Fan Friendly" but there's such a thing as being taken advantage of by your friends.

Taxpayers will eat the bill for the damage and destruction to property, including police and other vehicles. Some guy lost dozens of pairs of expensive vintage sneakers when looters broke into his store. See the L.A. Times, "8 LAPD officers injured in Lakers celebrations [Updated]," 8:22 AM, June 15, 2009. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/06/lakers-riot.html

The police response to criticism was that it took time to get enough officers together to respond. Duh. Didn't anyone in LAPD management watch the game? You didn't need a crystal ball to see the risk and for Laker fans' behavior of the past and that commotion preview after the third victory, it was almost certain to happen Sunday. You don't need ALL fans to be acting badly, but there were enough and it should have been handled with better planning and then done with all possible SPEED.

Instead of taking a lot of time to respond, the LAPD could have gotten a big boost from the Sheriff's Department with the "mutual aid" provision actually requiring them to assist, in case there was any doubt about that. Of course, Bratton, as Chief, is way to proud to say the LAPD needed any help. Politics is again affecting public safety.

And Bratton is plainly disingenuous in saying that this was the work of "knuckleheads" as if this was a group of pranksters TeePee-ing a house on Halloweeen. There were lots of people committing crimes. If this were other than the Lakers celebration, there'd be lots of people locked up on Sunday night. Bratton tries to blow this off as no big deal, and that attitude is a huge contrast to his own famous approach to law enforcement, applying the "Broken Windows" theory. That involved citing people for any violation that could be found, tightening up on any previously lax enforcement of such laws that ultimately worked to weed out many offenders in the process and make the quality of life better for all. Well, on Sunday night, by letting enforcement slide for so long as they did, had the opposite effect. It encouraged further "celebration," and many cops got hurt, as well, costing money and the well-being of people unnecessarily.

People might have forgotten that riots, like fires, start off with a small event that gets quickly involved and out of control if not handled decisively and immediately. Maybe you might remember the Rodney King riots- also like a fire getting out of control after starting out small and quickly spreading, fueled by the television coverage showing there is NO police response and the mob mentality is present, overriding personal responsibility. Any reasonable expectation of a problem was ignored and no plan was put in place because no one made up one ahead of time, so we have a city riot for days.

Was the outcome Sunday what the Chief wanted it to be? Maybe a few in the LAPD are still gun-shy from that Melee in MacArthur Park two years ago when some of the police actually ran amok. I doubt if the same loss of control is likely to happen again, but then keeping cops away until way after the time that they are needed is not the answer.

I think that the cost to the city should be ZERO for whatever they want to do on Wednesday- whether it's a Parade or just a rally, but NO city money needs to be spent now when layoffs and furloughs of City workers are on the planning table. THIS fiscal behavior is exactly what got the City into the jam it's in. Spending without money available to cover it. People don't learn. That's goes for so many of the things mentioned in this posting, "People don't learn."

Mayor Tony has plainly fallen victim to his own vanity and arrogance. Unless Tony dips into his campaign fund of millions of dollars to personally cover the bill, he should just say "Good job, Lakers." Spending like a drunken sailor? Even a drunken sailor would have more sense than what's being shown in most Los Angeles city spending.

LATE UPDATE: It looks like someone's having more sober thoughts on spending. Private VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTIONS are being sought to pay for the what the City was going to cover. Well, still, that's not saying the city will not spend a penny for this event, and when they say that, I will be satisfied.

City Council Pay Cut by half- an idea whose time has come.

Ron Kaye blog, Ron Kaye L.A., posted the idea of a pay cut by half for City Council, "Paying City Hall Officials What They're Worth: How to Cut Their Salaries in Half," by Ron Kaye, June 14, 2009. I am in full agreement with that and have long thought that it should be done. It mightg be a drop in the bucket when compared to all the other budget items of the City business, but you won't see CMs do it voluntarily. And though it may only be symbolic, and so much of things today are of little substance and are only important because they ARE symbolic, it needs to be done.

The idea of a pay cut is like the thinking when giving gifts: "it's the thought that counts." Here it's definitely the thought, and that is that they don't deserve the hefty pay days, about $15,000/month salary each, and the thought on their part that they are doing a lousy job collectively and for most, individually, too.

There are some comments appearing on Mayor Sam's blog at "My comment on Ron Kaye's website/blog" https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8826939&postID=447159087728310650 by Phil Jennerjahn, one of the blog's contributors and an unsuccessful challenger to Mayor Tony. He gets lots of criticism for his views that are not always clear without further clarification needed, and this is no exception.

The bad thing about a pay cut of any kind is that it would not happen soon enough to hit them all before several of them are termed out anyway. The act is still worth doing for correcting a wrong that was that free ride on the State judge's pay scale with automatic raises for no other reason than time has passed. Merit is irrelevant; and you would not find much merit in evaluating most of what's done by many CMs. Some are good at moments, Zine probably being the best one for that. Others are plainly working for somebody but it's not the residents and taxpayers of the City.

Time to change this and bring salaries into line with reality.

A Flag Day Ceremony Monday at Betty Plasencia Elementary School in Echo Park

Sunday June 14, 2009 is Flag Day- a day to fly the country's flag, but it's not any State or Federal holiday.

I was checking around to see what kind of information that there was and for local items, it was not much. I came across this item in the local blog, "The Eastsider," as a June 12, 2009 posting, "Celebrate Flag Day with 962 Other Patriots," under the "School Yard" tab, http://theeastsiderlaschools.blogspot.com/2009/06/celebrate-flag-day-with-962-other.html

This was sort of a surprise to me for a couple of reasons. The first one being that I usually find little attention given to certain types of commemorative dates, like National Police Week this year, briefly noted here as http://www.nleomf.com/NPW2009/ . Especially on the little-noticed side were the patriotic type days that I find on commonly on the calendar and that appear to be observed only sporadically, especially this simply stated one, Flag Day, June 14th.

Next item to surprise me was the fact that this was in an LAUSD school. Generally, LAUSD IS where I usually find very little patriotism toward things that are U.S.-oriented, that is, attention more likely is found to be focused on non-U.S. things. Apparently an "unintended consequence" in the LAUSD's quest, or, more aptly, their stumbling over themselves, to address "diversity" in such a way it really results in promoting and maintaining "separatism," So to see this event and the particular fact that the United States flag that was one flown over the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., is the one to be raised on Monday, was a special news item to me, as well as the fact that each student would be getting their own flag. I think more schools should be as concerned as this one is.

Well, the whole thing is happening at the Echo Park elementary school, Betty Plascencia Elementary School, named after one person that was very dedicated to the students, school and achievement. Betty Plasencia Elementary School was formerly Cortez St. School and one of the older schools in the LAUSD, on Temple St., by Angelino Heights and the restored old Victorian-style homes of old Los Angeles.

Flag Day is actually on Sunday, but the next school day is Monday and that will be their opportunity for observance of the day. One of the things missing from schools more now than before is the familiarity with our own country's special days and the reason for their significance, part of the history void in their education, and that seems addressed at Betty Plascencia Elementary in this case.

Here is a link that lists a lot more days for flag display http://www.flagfree.com/datodifl.html , many more than I knew of, and this is covered by LAUSD automatically when they raise flags at their school daily anyway- BUT they do not seem to be aware of May 15's half-staff requirement for Peace Officer's Memorial Day, and I was not aware of the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day half-staff practice on December 7th.

MMDs and "Hardship Exemptions"- what a combination.

The Tuesday Council meeting on the MMD issues of amending the ICO and hearing some of the applications was for the most part overshadowed by the City Employees pleading, informing, requesting, demanding and threatening during the public comment that centered on the actions, the proposed furloughs and potential layoffs.

The sheer numbers of hardship exemptions, well over 500 pending, is going to be a task for the Council members and the PLUM (Planning and Land Use Management) committee chaired by Ed Reyes. Since late 2007 when the ICO (the moratorium) became effective, not a single hardship exemption was heard by the PLUM committee or the Council. The "Exemption" carries with it no standards or guidelines of any specific nature. The inclusion of the guidelines was done at the direction of the City Attorney (Rocky Delgadillo) and he's been on shaky ground as an authoritative source of information since at least that time. One CM mentioned during the Council meeting that maybe they should not have relied solely on the City Attorney's advice. Too late now.

Some of the Council members were in agreement that there were more MMDs for Los Angeles that they would like. But the added comments that they will cast a "No" vote when deciding the hardship exemptions is a little disturbing since the idea of deciding on matters by a public entity is that it will be done fairly by them, and at least it will have an appearance of following due process. Announcing a vote before hand like that without even hearing any facts of a particular case is a pretty good indication that you have a sham process and comments like the ones made on Tuesday can create the possibility of more potential litigation and supply the ammo, as well. Sometimes people need to say nothing, and the City Council is the unlikely place to see that kind of self-restraint happen.

Well, that's still an open matter and speaking of shams, there will be more applications for "hardship exemptions" filed before it finally does take effect, which is not just yet. I said the Council members shouldn't prejudge a matter, but there's a lot of filings just to try to make some money off the situation that create the overkill of MMDs. The Council members just have to sort out what is there.