Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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December 28, 2021 - On December 23, Los Angeles County health officials ordered health care workers to obtain booster shots of the Covid vaccine. Citing an uptick in the rate of these highly vaccinated workers contracting Covid-19, the County Department of Public Health stated, "requiring booster doses for all healthcare workers is a key protective step aimed at reducing infections by increasing the numbers of workers with the optimal safety provided by the booster does [sic]....
February 3, 2022 - Vaccines to protect against Covid-19 became available to the general public in April, 2021. Since than over 7 million residents of Los Angeles County have taken the full dose of some form of the vaccine. The initial promise was a protection of 95% or greater from infection by Covid-19. We thought it would be interesting to see how that promise has panned out and what the true effectiveness is in instituting vaccine mandates that exclude unvaccinated individu...
Rattled after public speakers criticized her favored Housing Commission applicant (an incumbent of ten years), the Mayor admonished the commenters for exercising their freedom of speech during the City Council meeting on January 11, 2022. "I just want to remind people that it is often enough to support the candidate you want without bashing the ones you don't. That's what civility is. It's unnecessary, it's cruel, and I think it's incredibly not only disrespectful, but just...
In what City Councilmember Phil Brock called a "Partisan Witch Hunt" Gleam Davis said she was prepared to go to the DA and swear out a warrant to seal leaks to the press. She's seemingly furious that 4 freshmen City council members were able to select David White as the new City Manager, and divert contracts from real estate developers Davis and Sue Himmelrich favor. Kristin McCowan will generally vote with Davis and Himmelrich. Davis sponsored and the City Council adopted a...
Honorable Members of the Santa Monica City Council, Pursuant to my previous email on this matter, and in light of the discussion that transpired during this evening's town hall, I am writing to further underline the conflict of interest that precludes Councilmember Negrete from participating in the consideration or any vote on Item 13.C. on the agenda for the city council meeting scheduled for February 8, 2022. That item is purportedly to "support the Santa Monica Malibu...
February 3, 2022 - When asked if there was a public health justification for vaccine mandates, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health, did not even try to answer the question. "The vaccines work," she said. "They provide the most protection we can get." This is not a reason to impose mandates, even if what she meant was that vaccines work to protect against death. The only justification for a vaccine mandate is if it reduces infection. They do not, as...
February 4, 2022 - The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 first appeared in Los Angeles County in early December. As of late January, it comprises 99.9% of sequences sampled. This variant has proven to be at least an order of magnitude less deadly than the previous variant that caused last winter's surge. In a comparison of the same six weeks between December 8 and January 18, there were 10 times fewer deaths this winter. The overall death rate - for...
The State's housing legislation is inherently unconstitutional. It offers little or no opportunity for community input and allows business interests to prevail over the needs and desires of residents. As it stands, Santa Monica's proposed "Lincoln Center" project on the current Gelson's site at Ocean Park and Lincoln Boulevards gives the developer's interests precedence over any neighborhood concerns. The company's filing for consideration under California's SB 330 legislation...
January 27, 2022 - At a media briefing today, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health was repeatedly asked when restrictive measures such as vaccine and mask mandates might be relaxed in the future. In each case, she rationalized the continuation of these measures even as she acknowledged the county has "turned the corner" on the surge of Omicron Covid-19 cases. She focused with tunnel vision on transmission rates, completely ignoring the plummeting number...
There are significant and illegal conflicts of interest by two DTSM Board Members, Tara Barauskas and Johannes Van Tilburg, that affect the Stakeholders and further damage the reputation of DTSM. These Board Members must resign immediately. The Political Reform Act "prohibits a public official from using his or her official position to influence a governmental decision in which he or she has a financial interest." (1) It requires every state and local agency to adopt a...
Often questioned about his lack of prosecutorial experience, George Gascón has compared running the District Attorney's Office to managing an airline. Experience? Expertise? They don't matter. What matters-according to Gascón -is his management credentials. And after one year, the Gascón administration does feel a bit like a domestic airline. Terrible service. No trust. Low employee morale. Chaotic. The feeling of being abandoned. Los Angeles is increasingly become unsafe. Yet...
1/21/22: Staff for the City of Santa Monica released a report this month titled "Overview of Homeless Outreach and Hygiene Services" in response to requests from some city councilmembers for a comprehensive report on what is being done to address homelessness, how much it is costing, and what effect it has had. None of the requested information is addressed in full in the January 6 staff report. Measures to address homelessness increase a complex web of different types of...
For the first time in over a quarter century, the organization designated to manage Santa Monica's 3rd Street Promenade and Downtown, will have a new Director. The DTSM Board and Stakeholders together, need to have an open discussion on what the actual job description should be for a replacement. The Board should not select a search firm until there is basic agreement of the job description. During the interim, a temporary manager can oversee basic operations. What began as a...
January 14, 2022 - At Thursday's media briefing, both LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer expressed concern over the health disparities between affluent (i.e. white) and non-afflluent (i.e. minority) communities. The reason for the concern? More affluent people are testing postive for Covid-19 than non-affluent people. "We're currently experiencing racism in health care," Mitchell said in her opening remarks at the briefing. She...
Good evening City Manager and Council: Your "OUTREACH & HYGIENE SERVICES REPORT" is incorrect with regard to the number of unhoused, number of functioning restrooms, and outreach services. More than half of the toilets and sinks or restrooms in the garages are not functional. The Garages continue to be sleeping quarters and toilets for the unhoused. They serve as places for drug use and sex. Today in the Dumpster Room of Garage 6 there was a pool of blood. Blood stains on the...
Los Angeles (CA) Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against four Florencia 13 (F13) gang members for violent crimes in aid of racketeering (VICAR) for the murder and robbery of Los Angeles Police Officer Fernando Arroyos. The U.S. Attorney's actions are a complete repudiation of the dangerous policies and heartless treatment of crime victims exhibited by District Attorney George Gascon. "As Los Angeles experiences a 15-year high in homicides and 54% increase in shootin...
Urged by Mayor Himmelrich (a supporter of SMRR), and Councilmember Davis (a supporter of Santa Monica Forward), Council attempted to unlawfully reappoint Chair Buchanan to her sixth term, and strategically appointed Ms. Marasco to a seat she did not apply for. The City Council is expected to attempt again on January 11, 2022 the appointments to two seats on the Housing Commission: a 2-year designated seat for a Section 8 program participant with lived experience of...
January 6, 2022 - As of the end of December, the percent of new Covid cases occurring among the vaccinated population of Los Angeles County was 66.4%, as calculated by the Observer using County Health Department data. This nearly aligned with the vaccinated percentage of the population as a whole at 68.5% at that time. In other words, the vaccinated are becoming infected with Covid-19 at approximately the same rate as everybody else. Given the prevalence of Covid - within the...
Russia has 175,000 troops massed along the border with Eastern Ukraine. But he has placed calls to US President Joseph R. Biden, offering peace talks. What exactly does he have in mind? This is clearly the size of an invasion force. The United States had only 120,000 troops in Saudi Arabia before she invaded Iraq in 1992. Vladimir Putin is a strongman, and his Country loves him for it. He has been in office for 20 years. At 68 he could win another 3 or 4 elections in Russia....
Craziest predictions for 2022: President Ron Paul has lifted the quarantine. Spirits are high. Joe Biden comes out as Bisexual, as a political move. The NFT of Biden’s podium stroke has sells for 2 million dollars. Chic-Fil-A begins to accept Crypto. Elon Musk Launches a new mission to Mars despite not knowing where the last crew went. Covid lockdowns begin in highly vaccinated countries. Lockdown protest continue and become more violent. Queen of England Dies, and Canada b...
I'm not sure about "overlooked." But I believe underplayed in some quarters are the continued illegal and criminal activity with the hot dog/corn/fruit vendors at the Santa Monica Pier. And the detrimental impacts of the 8,895 housing units now being constructed, to meet the State's RHNA requirements. On the other hand, I would note that no high rises were discussed or brought before the Santa Monica City Council this year. That is a milestone in our efforts to restore Santa...
To whom much is given, much is expected. And collectively, the ASPCA and Humane Society of the United States raise over $400 million a year in the name of helping animals. Using the latest tax filings and other sources, here's how each group spends donations. ASPCA Tax records show the ASPCA spends about half (48 percent) of its budget on overhead. The ASPCA has about $12 million offshore, mostly in the Caribbean. ASPCA CEO Matt Bershadker made over $950,000 in 2020–and got a...
UPDATE: On Wednesday afternoon, LA county health officials announced that, in the week ending December 18, of sequenced samples, 54% were Omicron. December 28, 2021 - Is Omicron now the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Los Angeles County? Officials aren't saying so, and it is doubtful if they even know. On December 23, the California Department of Public Health claimed that 50% to 70% of new cases were Omicron in at least three California health systems. However,...
Los Angeles (CA) Under the category of, "you can't make this stuff up", Los Angeles has become a surreal crime circus where it's perfectly normal for a pickaxe-wielding woman to stroll into a store and steal what she wants, a man is arrested for kidnapping and having sex with a minor and is cut loose with no bail, and Black Lives Matter hosts a Christmas-themed "Smash and Grab" rally that makes light of the dangerous and deadly crime wave crushing California' cities. "It's tim...
In 1997 defendant Kenji Howard was convicted of murder of Arkett Mejia, attempted murder of Travon Johnson and two others, and shooting at an occupied vehicle. Recently, the conviction was overturned because of "new" evidence, essentially a statement by his co-defendant who has nothing to lose. On December 2, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office announced that they would not retry the defendant because of policy considerations and resource constraints. Wait. What?...
