Patt Morrison Blog
Patt Morrison for Wednesday, December 3rd
Unemployment Figures: “It’s Ugly Out There” Markets are waiting on Friday’s release of U.S. unemployment figures, but today, the independent Institute for Supply Management released their own stats, and they aren’t pretty. Also today, the U.S. Labor Department reported that productivity slowed in the summer while wage pressures increased, but both developments were better than expected. How gruesome will the unemployment numbers be?
Big Man on Campus: The Superintendent Defends Himself Life in the LAUSD, and specifically on the Distric’s Board of Education, is getting messy. Tuesday, the LA Unified school board discussed buying out Superintendent David Brewer’s contract. The LA Times reports some key civic leaders have quietly been pushing for Brewer to leave, but Brewer’s been unwilling to take another job outside the district. Meanwhile the District is staring down draconian budget cuts and possible mass firings, not to mention horrible dropout rates. If David Brewer is on the outs, who will ride to the rescue of LAUSD?
Ask the Chief It’s the monthly installment of Ask the Chief—your opportunity to ask LAPD Chief William Bratton your law and order questions. This month Patt asks the Chief about the $10 million settlement in the May Day melee lawsuit, the LAPD’s controversial plan to move 26 cops out of its West LA Division due to the low rate of violent crimes there, and how the department’s fingerprint lab is dealing with its workload in light of a recent investigation that exposed poor oversight and a host of missing files. We also get the Chief’s take on the appointment of Governor Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security.
Tools
- December 3, 2008 12:46 PM by Jonathan Serviss
- Comments (14)
- Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice, Education, Politics/Public Affairs
14 Comments
For Chief Bratton:
Do the cops have to buy any of their own personal equipment ? Flashlights etc...
Brewer is in a no-win situation with guys like Riordan and Villaraigosa kicking the school district around as a hobby. Riordan just has nothing else to do, and is the last person to criticize anyone - he was terrible as the so-called Education Secretary and was forced out. And Villaraigosa uses the District as a political tool for his own self-promotion.
Superintendent Brewer is marginally good at presenting himself, but aside from describing why he has not succeeded, his presentation falls down.
This is a tough job, certainly, but his history at LAUSD seems to be one of great solutions and little follow-through or accountability. Just one example is his failure to address the issue of lead pipes in schools.
For Mr Brewer:
Who do we believe re funding? Other talk show hosts say California spends more on education than any other state. Re salaries, last time I checked, teachers get 10-12 weeks off in the summer, 2 weeks at Xmas (oops, winter recess), 1 week at Easter (Spring Break) and all federal, state holidays. Summer School paid extra. That is pretty good deal for a$70,000/year teaching job.
How much money do we throw at this problem? Where does it come from
Question for The Chief:
Using tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to pay settlements is ridiculous. If jobs, pensions, assets, etc. of officers/public officials involved (i.e., PERSONAL liability) were more at stake, how many fewer instances of abuse would there be? If settlement money continues to come from “The Government,” where is the incentive to reduce abuse?
Please, no tired, cynical, non-response that government employees would not perform their jobs effectively, or that no one would then take these jobs. We need more accountability from “public servants” as it is, and there are millions who would love to have these government jobs.
A few nights ago helicopters zoomed again and again over my apartment on N. King's Road in West Hollywood. I called the police and they said there had been an assault and they were searching for the attacker. But I have been unable to find out what the outcome was, where the assault occurred and other information. Nothing appeared in the newspaper. Where can I find out what is going on in my neighborhood?
Question for the Chief,
I know this will seem like a petty problem with all the other problems of running a large city but what happened to the law against leaf blowers. Every time I see gardners blowing trash and yard debris either into the street or to adjacent properties, I find myself very annoyed because it is my understanding that these blowers are illegal in LA City. I know my house is perpetually covered in dust, the air is full of particles from that dust and it is generally a rude practice in that the tendency in this practice is to move debris from one property to another, or into the public right of way. They are noisy, dirty and do not promote good neighbor relations. Am I just being petty?
The Chief said we have a lot of people running around with AK-47s and hand grenades. With all these people, it's a surprise we don't have more attacks like the Mumbai attack. Chief - obviously the weapons are not the issue, but rather the motivation of the attackers. The Mumbai attack was was carried out by Islamo-fascists.
Question for the Chief
What is the Chief's position on the all the Medical Marijuana dispenseries in the city and the fact that most of the customers don't have AIDS, cancer, or any other ailment that marijuana would help?
For Police Chief Bratton
Both Chief Bratton and your previous guest have one thing in common: they both want more taxpayer money. One threatens harm to children re poor education and the other promises physical harm if he does not get more money for more police. How deep do both think the taxpayer pockets are. Each bond measure obligates us for 20-30 years. These get cummulative year after year.
Where does Chief Bratton want to cut funding so he can have a greater share of tax revenue
Although it's not life threatening, how does the police department enforce cybercrime like illegal use of software, illegal movie duplication, etc...?
For Chief Bratton: I have an unlimited source of increased revenue for the city -- start issuing traffic violations at the corner of Ventura Blvd and Coldwater Canyon each morning between 7 AM and 10 AM, and each evening between 5PM and 8PM.
In general, why doesn't the city simply ticket these red light violators, earn some cash and protect public safety all at the same time? I wish I understood that.
Pat, please ask the chief about the Bluetooth ear piece law. I see numerous LAPD and other department officers driving while talking on their cell phone. It’s so frustrating to see that regular citizen are getting cited for this stupid law and the cops are getting away with it.
Once again, half of Patt's podcast seems late being uploaded. I hope that you will give us access to the discussion with the Chief soon so we can enjoy it tonight. Thank you very much for your help.
Leave a comment
Please be civil, concise, and on-topic. Notes:Please read our full Terms of Use before posting.