DWP defends withholding $73.5 million from L.A.
Posted in Health, News, Politics, what on July 21st, 2010 by admin – Comments Off
Executives with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Tuesday issued a sharply worded defense of their decision to withhold $73.5 million from city coffers in the middle of a recent fight over electricity rates, saying they did so to protect the utility’s credit rating and its customers.
During a lively exchange with City Council members, several of whom made no effort to disguise their disdain for the DWP, current and former managers of the nation’s largest municipally owned utility responded to a report that accused them of misleading both the council and the public about the agency’s financial health.
After a lengthy standoff between the council and DWP over proposed rate increases, City Controller Wendy Greuel reviewed the utility’s records and concluded that, contrary to its claim, the utility could have made the promised transfer to the cash-strapped city budget without first being granted the increase.
But DWP Interim Chief Financial Officer Mario C. Ignacio said Greuel’s report contained “material misstatements of fact” and wrongly concluded that the utility could have dipped into an $800-million cash balance to make the transfer.
L.A.’s city libraries eliminate Sunday and Monday hours
Posted in Entertainment, News, Politics on July 20th, 2010 by admin – Comments OffLibraries throughout Los Angeles were shuttered Monday as service cuts made in response to the city’s budget woes took effect.
The Los Angeles Public Library system dropped to a five-day-a-week schedule, with doors closed Sunday and Monday. The system includes the Central Library downtown, eight regional libraries and 64 branches.
The reduced schedule comes after the city cut $22 million and 328 full-time positions from this year’s library budget.
L.A. council unanimously confirms new Animal Services head
Posted in News, what on July 14th, 2010 by admin – Comments Off
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously confirmed Brenda Barnette as general manager of the Department of Animal Services, the city’s municipal shelter system that Councilman Greig Smith described as “under siege for a long time.”
Barnette follows in the troubled path of two previous general managers. Her predecessor resigned under fire a year ago and the manager before him was fired by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Well aware of the devoted but fractious community of rescuers, volunteers and shelter staffers that she must work with, Barnette told council members: “What I would ask the entire community is to agree on only three things — that we need to save more animals’ lives in the shelter, that we need to spay and neuter more animals in our community and that we need to work to end the cruelty because that will make this a safer community for both the animals and the people.”
Mexican voters send mixed messages
Posted in News, economy on July 6th, 2010 by admin – Comments OffPolitical parties across the spectrum looked for ways to claim bragging rights Monday after gubernatorial elections in a dozen states yielded surprises but no clear overall victor.
With results still being tallied, the outcome so far offered something of a boost to President Felipe Calderon, whose conservative party avoided an embarrassing sweep by joining with leftist parties in several key states.
Those oil-and-water alliances stunned the surging Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, in two states it has long ruled: Oaxaca and Puebla. Another left-right coalition was poised for victory in Sinaloa state, where PRI candidate Jesus Vizcarra led preelection polls in spite of allegations of links to drug traffickers.
