Gas prices are down like the economy

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular
gasoline in Los Angeles County declined today for the 33rd time in 34 days,
dropping four-tenths of a cent to $2.841. The average price is 2.2 cents
less than a week ago, 17.8 cents less than a month ago and $1.569 less than a
year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The average price fell 31 consecutive days, rose two-tenths of a cent
Wednesday, then declined two-tenths of a cent Thursday.
The Orange County average price declined today for the 18th time in 19
days, falling three-tenths of a cent to $2.832, 2.1 cents less than a week ago,
18.1 cents less than a month ago and $1.526 less than a year ago.
However, slight price increases nationally over the past two days are
"probably not a good sign for Southern California prices decreases to
continue," said Automobile Club of Southern California spokesman Jeffrey
Spring, "but this could be a plateau, rather than the start of another price
spike."
"Crude oil prices have risen on the world market, but demand remains
flat and supply is plentiful," Spring said.

THIS IS FROM A CITY NEWS SERVICE ARTICLE

the big G's- Google and Government

LOS ANGELES (CNS ) - Frustrated by a slow, antiquated, crash-prone
computer system, the city of Los Angeles is weighing a plan to replace its e-
mail and records retention software with a service provided by Google, it was
reported today.
The move that could allow the Internet giant to retain sensitive records
transmitted by the police and other municipal agencies, the Los Angeles Times
reported.
If approved by the City Council, responsibility for protecting the
internal data and public records would be shifted from the city to Google,
according to a report submitted this week to a council committee that will
weigh the proposed $7.25 million contract, The Times reported.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa favors the effort to modernize the e-mail
system, which his spokesman, Matt Szabo, described to The Times as "Pac-Man-
era technology."
The current system "has got to be the slowest, most inefficient, crash-
prone e-mail system in the history of mankind," Szabo added.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman, Lt. John Romero, said it
would be inappropriate for his agency to comment while a contract is being
negotiated.
But acting City Administrative Officer Ray Ciranna, the city's top
financial advisor, told The Times that the LAPD has raised questions about
Google's ability to shield sensitive arrest information.
L.A city officials also question whether Google, as keeper of the
records, would have to respond to public information requests, The Times
reported.
"Release of this data by Google without appropriate review by the city
attorney could compromise the city's position regarding pending or potential
litigation," according to a staff report quoted by The Times.
City officials hope to have the Google system installed before Dec. 31.
If the council misses that deadline, the city could be required to pay for
continuing maintenance on the current GroupWise e-mail system, according to The
Times.
CNS-07-17-2009 04:40 (FTP)



THIS IS FROM A CITY NEWS SERVICE ARTICLE

Don't call him a Weirdo

VAN NUYS, Calif. - Next time you see Joesph Weirdo you should call him Joseph Weir as Los Angeles Circuit Court Judge Jack Musselman approved his request for a legal name change.

“I didn’t want to go through life as a Weirdo,” said Weir.

Weir stated, in his petition, that he suffered great embarrassment and that’s the reason for the name change, not to avoid paying debts or change his status in society.

Those are the main reasons for name changes said Judge Musselman. Weir is one of more than 300 people to have paid the $200 filing fee this year for a name change, said a court clerk.

Breaking News: Young People Don't Vote

Americans the ages of 18- and 25 are not involved in political activities so they are less likely to vote in elections, said Deputy District Director of Los Angeles John Bwarie in a telephone interview.

“It’s concerning that a lot of people in that age group don’t have the time to participate … or do not know a lot about the issues,” said Bwarie, who is a staff member for Los Angeles Council member Greig Smith, who represents the 12th district.

To combat this growing concern, Bwarie said, Smith and his staff began hosting four annual community events in the San Fernando Valley (SFV)and working with California State University, Northridge organizations to help create political awareness.

“The last event we had back in April got about a couple hundred people, which is encouraging,” said Bwarie.

“There is another event scheduled in November, and myself and council member Smith are anticipating a higher amount [of participation] because we’re getting closer to the presidential elections, said Bwarie.

In addition to hosting events, Councilman Smith and his staff is giving speeches on various school campuses in the SFV, predominately high schools, said Bwarie.

One of the things Bwarie is banking is the advancement of technology to lure people to the polls.

The increased usage of technology by young people is causing a disconnect between political participation because the Internet creates a sense of immediacy and people don’t realize how these issues affect them, he said.

Another problem is that young Americans are less likely to vote, so if they don’t vote chances are they aren’t participating in other political arenas, said Bwarie.

It seems Bwarie has the stats to back his claims.

In a “fact sheet,” The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) reported that in 2006 youth voter (18-25) turnout was approximately 24 percent based on the 2006 National Election Pool’s National Exit Poll.

CIRCLE reported that there is close to 27 million citizens in that age bracket.

In California, the percentage was less than 24, according to the fact sheet.

Exit polls are the only method of estimating youth voter turnout and updated information will be available in November when the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey is released.

Among 18-24 year old voters, Minnesota had the highest youth voter turnout with approximately 69 percent compared to 45 percent of California voter turnout and 36 percent of Arkansas, which was the lowest, in the 2004 presidential elections, reported by CIRCLE’s state by state comparison of young people who vote.

CIRCLE does research on the civic and political engagement of Americans between the ages of 15 and 25.

“The main ways to improve upon turnout numbers is to create more awareness,” said Bwarie.

Bwarie, 28, has been working for Councilman Smith for over two years and started working in politics at age 22, he said, because he wants to affect change in his community.

Bwarie is optimistic that by continuing organizing community events and speaking to young voters, that turnout numbers will rise, he said.
###

Homeless Musician on Tour?

Perhaps you have never met Ralph Clark but chances are you have heard him serenading the WEST 118 freeway exit of Tampa Avenue.

Clark is a homeless man who everyday for the past 12 years has been playing his saxophone to help himself survive.

“It’s a good thing I don’t have to pay rent…because with my salary I can barely afford a $0.99 cheeseburger,” jokes Clark.

Clark’s salary ranges from $15 to $45 a day however his top performance earned him a $200 check that ironically bounced.

Unlike other homeless people, Clark decided to not ask for handouts but rather tips.

“A lot of people say that homeless people are just that bums with no work ethic and I don’t want people thinking that about me…I got the idea to play the saxophone for residents from [former President] Bill Clinton, he played the saxophone and look how well he turned out,” said Clark.

And, Clark is still following politics.

As the presidential race heats up between McCain and Obama, Clark is curious to learn more about what each candidate plans to do to deal with the homelessness issue in the United States.

“Ha! Probably not much since we don’t vote they a lot of other people don’t care about us,” said Clark as he eats a Jumbo Jack sandwich while being interviewed.

Perhaps, Clark is onto to something most candidates avoid the issue of homelessness in the United States as a self inflicted wound dating back to the late President Ronald Reagan.

In all the debates between the Republican and Democratic Party during the primary season, the issue was rarely brought up if even at all and the one time the topic got serious was when homelessness was mirrored with immigration.

“It is something a lot of Americans do not want to deal with because most homeless people are minorities, unattractive, uneducated, physically weak, and perceived drug abusers, said Timo Basset of the Feed the Hungry Campaign.

However, many Americans may have to deal with this issue sooner rather than later.

Homelessness is on the rise in every major metropolitan city with Los Angeles suffering the highest increase and it isn’t expected to slow down.

As the housing market crisis continues to take homes from more families many analysts are projecting homelessness to continue rising.

Homelessness is defined as not having a permanent residence... so anyone living out of motels or in one’s car is considered homeless said Tent City Coordinator Lisa Foire.

In a sense of truly modern thinking both Basset and Foire think eventually someone will solve and fix the homeless situation.

The optimism does not extend to Clark who in his twelfth year literally on the streets said, “they will never solve the homeless issue because all the people in power are not homeless so what do they care.”

Clark went on to say, “politicians, the people, and powers that be are all more concerned with helping and saving people overseas, or flying to the moon, or cutting greenhouse emission rather than help me buy some grocery’s.

Clark may be onto something again as latest polls show most Americans consider gas prices to be the top priority.

Clark, Basset, and Foire are all trying to remind people the seriousness of homeless and hope their voices will be heard by the powers that be but I don’t it.

Why… well Obama and McCain have dinner fundraisers to attend of course.

West Nile Virus Found in Los Angeles

Health officials are urging people to eliminate standing water that attracts insects and use mosquito repellent.

The urging comes after the West Nile Virus was detected in mosquitoes collected from two Long Beach traps.

The virus has been detected in 14 counties across California—including Los Angeles and Riverside.

Health officials are urging people to avoid mosquito-infested areas, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, keeps screens and windows closed, and limit the watering of lawns and outdoor plants.

There have been three confirmed cases of Californians contracting the virus.

Centinela Hospital Center on Life Support

Some people living in South Los Angeles are worried that budget cuts will reduce the role of Centinela Hospital Center in Inglewood.

Since its takeover in 2007- Prime Healthcare services has fired more than 220 of its seventeen hundred employees.

Prime has closed seven of Centinela’s 13 operating rooms and canceled most of its private insurance contracts.

Prime says the cuts have been able to keep the hospital financially afloat.

State data shows that Centinela Hospital was unprofitable for years before Prime’s buyout and the previous owner considered shutting down the hospital.

State and federal data show Prime hospitals score above average on patient safety and treatment outcomes.

Still, many Inglewood residents are going to other hospitals.

Chief Executive of the Venice Family Clinic Liz Forer says she has seen a 15 percent increase in patients from Inglewood.

Recycling bottles, paper, and FOOD?

Beginning in September more than 85-hundred Los Angeles families will be recycling their wasted food.

The newest program will be launched in North Central and South L-A to reduce the amount of city garbage.

The plan estimates that eight to 20 pounds of food waste per household could be recycled.

About 27 percent of black-bin waste in landfills is food waste—and residents dump about 230-thousand tons of food scraps every year.

The 140-thousand dollar--one-year trial program will be paid through existing trash fees.

If the project goes city-wide it will cost around 13 Million dollars.

Turning Waste into Fuel

An advanced ethanol refinery is likely to be built in Lancaster.

Los Angeles County Officials are expected to approve the construction.

The refinery will turn waste into fuel.

The Regional Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on July 23rd and make their decision after the hearing.

The project will cost about 30-Million dollars—and will be built on a ten acre lot on Avenue “F” between Division Street and tenth Street East.

The refinery is expected produce three point two Million gallons a year.

It is expected to be built by the summer of 2009.

Activist group is going to war against the Army

A group against high school military recruitment is asking for the same amount of access as military recruiters.

The Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools is proposing to the L-A Board of Education that military recruiters disproportionately recruit minorities or students from low-income neighborhoods.

Under the proposal- the Pasadena based group will visit ten to 15 high schools per week.

Offering information about enlistment, career options, and blocking contact information from the military.

The United Teachers of Los Angeles are supporting the bill.

Opponents of the bill argue activists use disinformation and graphic images to deter students from enlisting in the Army.

The U-S Department of Defense spends three point five Billion dollars annually on recruitment—enlisting more than 300-thousand people in 2007.

Los Angeles County ranked third in Army recruits in 2007.

The Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools will present their proposal to the city.

Los Angeles may be getting new taxes

Los Angeles City Council Members are feuding over new tax proposals.

Councilman Dennis Zine says he will not support a three dollar a month tax increase to fight gang violence unless more of the money is allocated to the San Fernando Valley.

Councilwoman Janice Hahn says the money will go to help people in need in all regions.

However, Councilman Bill Rosendahl wants the government to do more.

Rosendahl wants the M-T-A to seek a full one percent sales tax increase.

The M-T-A is currently asking for the maximum at a half percent increase.

Last week, Rosendahl proposed that the state should increase the amount an agency can seek.

If the proposals pass, voters will decide in November if they support the tax increase.

Tax increases require a 66 percent vote approval.

Houses of Worship will be protect like sacred buildings

A Los Angeles City Councilman is proposing a motion to reduce violence against houses of worship.

Councilman Richard Alarcon is proposing a program called “Worship Watch” to be coordinated with the L-A-P-D.

“Worship Watch” will be modeled like neighborhood watch programs.

The program would give religious leaders information on how to prevent crime and how to respond to crime.

The councilman’s motion stems from an April twentieth incident when a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a church in Panorama City.

Police say Molotov cocktails were used to start fires in an Arleta Church and a West Hills Jewish Community Center.

Mayors of SF and LA want their cities to CLEAN and GREEN

Mayors of two large and prominent cities have proposed new building standards vowing to make their cities the cleanest and greenest of them all.

Mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are using their jurisdiction to make their cities healthier for the environment.

Both cities plan to use green building councils to certify all construction in their cities meet green standards making them LEED certified.

Mayor Villaraigosa plans to slash L-A’s greenhouse gases by 35 percent by the year 2030 making the L-A the cleanest and greenest in the country.

Meanwhile Mayor Newsom has also planned to cut San Francisco’s greenhouse gases by 20 percent by 2012 creating the largest green city in the U-S.

With a population nearing the four million mark, Los Angeles would have a bigger effect on reducing global warming than San Francisco’s aggressive plan for a smaller population.

Municipal leaders for both cities will meet to vote on the mayor’s proposals in the upcoming weeks.

LAX Improvements to be Delayed

Some long term improvements at Los Angles International Airport will be delayed.

Updates to outdated terminals and other airport facilities will have to wait as airline services are being cut.

With higher oil prices, increased fare wages, and more passenger fees…airlines are saying they need to consider the consequences of a prolonged economic downturn before spending money on improvements.

The stalled improvements would consolidate a rental car facility, a mid-field concourse and reconstruction of two runways.

LAX officials say they will proceed with a multi-billion dollar improvement of Tom Bradley International Terminal due to the high volume of foreign travel.

LAX is preparing to sell about one billion dollars in bonds to investors to help finance the first round of improvements.

L.A. Parkers Fear the Tiger

Los Angeles traffic officers are aggressively ticketing parked cars.

The city is implementing its fourth “Tiger Team” to ticket illegally parked cars on Sunset Blvd. between Vermont Ave. and Laurel Canyon Blvd.

The “Tiger Team” consists of five traffic control officers and seven tow truck drivers.

The “team” will cite violators from illegally parked from 7am 9am—and from 4pm to 7pm.

A Department of Transportation spokesperson Bruce Gillman says the “Tiger Team” will help improve the flow of traffic.

Gillman says the anti-gridlock zones are throughout the city and they are on major arterial roads.

The city also has four “tiger teams” throughout L.A. boulevards on Sunset, Wilshire, Crenshaw, and Ventura.

Gillman adds that gridlock zones prevent people from parking, walking, or standing on the curbside lanes—allowing for more lanes of traffic to drive through—including buses.

Also the “Tiger Team” will be looking for stolen vehicles.

Utilizing new license plate recognition technology—officers will scan license plates to see if the car is stolen or wanted in any Amber Alerts.

Drivers parking illegally will face a $70 dollar fine.

The fine could be doubled if the car is parked in an “anti- gridlock” zone.

The towing fee will be an additional $185 and is effective immediately.

La Unified students are improving on standarized tests

The Los Angeles Unified School district is continuing to score higher on the Academic Performance Index.
L-A-U-S-D’s A-P-I score is 662-- an increase of seven from last year.
According to the state Department of Education the target score is 800 and the highest score possible is one thousand.
The Director of Policies and Evaluations for the State Department of Education- Rachel Perry says the A-P-I allows schools to compare its scores with all California schools.
Perry says the A-P-I scores give local schools and districts an insight as to how they are doing compared to other schools in California and to other schools similarly situated in terms of their demographics.
The A-P-I calculates student scores based off the Standardized testing and Reporting Program and the High School Exit Exam.
Elementary schools tended to have the best index rating with a statewide average of 763.
Middle schools averaged a score of 720 and high schools scored 689—all three schools ranked higher than previous years.
The top three high schools on the A-P-I are Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies and Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy.

Crime on the Decline

Violent crimes in Los Angeles are down by seven point two percent in the last year.
Also on the decline are rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, gang related murders, and grand theft auto crimes.
However, homicides are on the rise by four point three percent.
Last year, the L-A-P-D hired more than 730 officers—the most since 1996.
And, are expected to exceed that number this year.
Since police Chief William Bratton took office in 2002, Los Angeles crime has decreased by 39 percent.