President Obama Should Be Careful Not to "Villaraigosa" Himself

Watching the news coverage of our President and First Lady in Europe struck me as simultaneously exhilarating and odd. It was definitely cool to see foreign nations greet our President with an outpouring of excitement and admiration not seen since President Clinton did his globe trotting in the 90s, but at the same time it seemed to go beyond even that example. A French woman begging for a kiss, children at a London school overwhelmed and crying in the presence of Michelle Obama, foreign leaders falling over themselves to get into a picture with the President. It started to feel....creepy....and worrisome...and a bit too familiar.

Perhaps, some of this is because I have seen a microcosm of this phenomenon here in Los Angeles and ultimately, the bloom came off that rose.

When he was elected Antonio Villaraigosa was a rock star as well. The hot-looking Latino mayor with the charisma and smarts to win everyone over. He also had all the rhetorical flourishes and seemed to possess the leadership qualities and persuasive dynamo needed to cut through the stalemates and win people over to help pitch in and fix our city: traffic, schools, development, roads, hospitals. Initially he showed up at every community kick-off event, political function, tree lighting or tragedy in every corner of the city. People started to joke that "if cameras shot it, he would come" and slowly, that joke became not so funny as the reality played out over and over.

Entering the Mayor's second term, I don't think there are many people in Los Angeles who would argue that his orbit remains at the same stratospheric level as it was in his first year. His school reform attempts were much ado that came to nothing, traffic is still a nightmare after a brief flirtation with changing the direction of a few major streets, and there isn't anything special headed to the sea down Wilshire Boulevard. Consequently, the media spotlight is much dimmer these days. I can go weeks and occasionally months without seeing the Mayor on TV.

I'm not saying he didn't try hard and go in with the best of intentions to reach for the stars, but all that initial hoopla has magnified the inevitable removal of the pedestal that happens as time moves on.

While I like to think Obama is trying to be measured, reminding people at each press conference not to get too worked up as he attempts to slowly move things forward, I worry that in the not-so-distant future he might end up knowing what it was like to walk a mile in Antonio's shoes:
A rock star who was photographed at every turn, watched for every gesture and, in the end, scorned for failing to move heaven and earth as we had great expectations that he would.

Ain't No Band or Bypass Strong Enough

Peeking in at American Idol episode this week, I took a second to note Randy Jackson in all his full-faced glory and it hit me. I could not think of a single public figure who has managed to keep their weight down: Randy Jackson, Al Roker, Carnie Wilson. Starr Jones is one who doesn't seem to have added much to her frame...yet....but time will tell.


Then, after watching the final ER episode this week after a long ER-hiatus, I was sad to see that Yvette Freeman who played nurse Haleh Adams for the shows entire run had gained much of her weight back from when she lost it back in 2002. Then I recalled that she hadn't had surgery like the others, but went through a rigorious UCLA weight-loss program instead that she appears to have fallen off the wagon from.

I guess whether you go under the knife or select a less invasive method, keeping the weight off for a long period of time remains a struggle for everyone. The question is whether you are willing to allow your body and your wallet to be surgically lightened as part of the process. Doing a "how big are they now?" Google search might motivate someone to not follow in the footsteps of those whose struggles happen under a spotlight.

Compare and Contrast

OK, I realize this is off-topic, but I'm so proud of my "Daily Show-esque" photo analogy between Donatella Versace and a camel, I just had to post it. Is it mean? Tough. I'm sure Donatella can take it.

The Neighborhood Around Rose

Have you ever:

a) Walked around your corner of West Los Angeles and
b) Noticed how dirty/filthy it is?

Over a couple of nights I captured these lovely images around and mostly behind the businesses near Rose and Sepulveda:

But the ones that made me the saddest, featured my favorite store in the whole world:



Clean it up my friends. This ain't New York out here.

The Dip of Death!!

So many have faced it on their way to or from Overland Avenue, yet no one is willing to do anything about it. What is it that I reference? A series of asphalt abraisons and potholes from hell situated around a faulty storm run-off channel, AKA...

The Rose Avenue Dip of Death!!!

What is the Dip of Death?

Due to the recent rains, the run-off from Westside Village, situated above Rose Avenue, has washed across the street, overflowing the channel and eroding the asphalt, or, more specifically, asphalt concrete. The result? Ruts and grooves and holes that are murder on car axels, rims, tires and other parts.

The only advantage of this situation is the fact that drivers racing up or down Rose are forced to slow down dramatically when facing this devilish demon dip o' death.

Oh why, oh why Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss, can you not find enough in your budget to get the city engineers to fix this once and for all??? If every BMW, Audi or Lexus SUV owner (especially those who use Rose after dropping kids off at Palms Middle School or the exclusive Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles) that was forced to contend with this street demon contacted your office, I know this would be re-engineered lickety-split!

I also wish the good people of Westside Village would become aware of the havoc they are creating for us and help us in our battle to get this fixed. If only they knew the suffering that was being forced onto us humble Rose residents from their lofty perch above.

Speaking of suffering, I should once again point out the muddy muck that the runoff water creates on the other side of the street once it has finished distroying the asphalt. It is a nasty, swampy mud pool that makes a fantastic mosquito breeding site. Quite the landmark for those unfortunate enough to reside on either side of it.

West Nile Breeding Ground On Rose Avenue

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services West Nile Virus Epidemiology Report from November 16, 2005, 43 cases of West Nile Virus have been reported and confirmed in Los Angeles County.

Given that the report is almost 6 months old, who knows how many more cases the above ground storm water drain running between the apartment complexes at 10760 Rose Avenue and 10776 Rose Avenue may have added to the total.

Filled with stagnant water that washed down from the Westside Village homes located on the hill above Rose Avenue, the storm water “drainage ditch” is not just unsightly, it is potentially deadly. More than a mere eyesore for apartment residents living on either side, the ditch has become a potential mosquito breeding ground.



“We’ve always hated living next to such an ugly, swampy mess, said a resident of the 10776 building. “Now with West Nile Virus, we’re afraid it could also be dangerous to our health. At one point behind the gate it gets so swampy we have laid down a board to act as a little crossing bridge.”

The drain comes up at the curb, runs across the sidewalk and up the side of the driveway at 10776 Rose and disappears under the side gate, continuing along the side of the building towards the back of the apartment property before continuing back underground.




The city’s storm drain system was designed to route rainwater quickly off the streets during a heavy storm. It collects and conveys this drainage runoff to the ocean and to other points outside the city’s boundary.

Storm Drain Issues and West Nile Virus

It is independent from the city’s sewer system, which connects to homes and collects and conveys wastewater to a treatment plant. In total there are 477 storm drain systems throughout the city.

Bureau of Sanitation workers called out to address the problem on Rose reported that at minimum the asphalt drain should be replaced with cement, but ideally it needs to be completely re-engineered. Meanwhile, they offered to simply come up and vacuum up the water when called.

Engineering studies have identified a number of deficiencies in the city’s storm drain infrastructure. Storm drains were found to be undersized, lacking inlets, configured such that it discharged drainage in an unacceptable manner, and in a state of disrepair.

The total cost of reconstruction to the system is $24.8 million. The total cost for lining the defective drains is $ 4.5 million according to an updated storm drain master plan submitted by the City Director of Public Works.

The drain pictured sits in the 5th district under Councilmember Jack Weiss, who hopefully will have money in this year's fiscal budget to fix this particular problem.

Bus Update

O.K., so I am not exactly a daily blogger to say the least. However, the bus was gone for a while, and with it went my initial incentive for blogging (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it), but now the bus is back (a decent tagline for a b-grade horror movie) and my excuse for not blogging has gone away.

Plus, a recent digital camera purchase has inspired me and has also allowed me to take photos of the aforementioned eyesore bus along with the jeep that travels with it. Can you imagine having these vehicles parked on your street? If you live in Venice, perhaps. If you live in certain parts of Santa Monica below Montana, maybe. If you live in Brentwood, Bel Air or Beverly Hills, not in a million years. My street happens to be located south of the 10, but that does not mean it should be considered the defacto crappy-eyesore-vehicle parking lot.

Unfortunately, as I stepped out to take the photos, I discovered that the owner of these vehicles happened to be out working on them, so, when he stepped behind the bus for a moment I quickly snapped off a picure from behind the tree--all covert-style--and then went back inside to wait for a bit.

Returning to finish getting the photos a bit later, I was disappointed to discover he had departed in the jeep. So for now I can only offer an additional close-up of the bus, but no worries, there will definitely be more to come.

The Bus on My Street

Since everyone and their mother blogs these days, I have decided to put together a blog about a subject near, yet not so dear, to my heart: things on my street that drive me nutz. My first post is about the big, beaten-up looking school bus that has been parked on my street for somewhere between 6 and 18 months at this point.

I live on a busy, heavily traveled, apartment-intensive residential street in West Los Angeles. At some point I noticed that a school bus was being parked on the street on a regular basis. It was sitting there day after day, before and after work, looking shabby and taking up tons of parking spaces--Partridge-family-goes-white-trash style.

One night, after returning home late from a work event, I noticed light filtering out from behind the sheets tacked over the bus windows. Someone was living on the bus!

After asking around about the situation with the bus, I was informed that it belonged to one of my less-than-stable neighbors who actually did rent an apartment on the street, and he did not live in the bus after all (at least not full-time).

Now, given that parking spaces around here are rarer than traveling 55 mph at 6 p.m., the constant presence of the high-profile bus has garnered quite a bit of attention from myself and other neighbors. Not to mention the visibility of the junk piled up inside.

This all would be bad enough, but the bus is not the only thing he parks on the street. I have since discovered that the beat up military-style jeep filled up with trash and the flat-bed trailer hauling an array of junk are all his too.

Whether parked in succession or spread around the street, the objects take up a sum total of 4-5 parking spaces, not to mention the fact that they are an eyesore. I realize there is a saying about one person's junk being another person's treasure, but I think most people will agree the overall asthetic is more "sanitation engineer" than "modern artist".

Several calls to our local police station has provided me with the information that the vehicles are all properly registered, after a tip by some anonymous idiot to the owner reveiled that he could be cited for that and he changed the registration from commercial to personal. And as long as the vehicles are not in the same space for more than 72 hours, the hands of the LAPD are tied. Just maddening!

The good news is that I am far from thwarted! I will have those vehicles excised from my street if it is the last thing I do! Mark my words!