Gossip Website Leads to LMU Threat

With all the recent shootings in recent years/months/weeks/days, you would hope that people would be more mature about what they post on message boards. Apparently, not everyone has gotten the message, as 21-year-old LMU student Carlos Huerta was arrested for posting an anonymous message on a website threatening to shoot up the campus the next morning.

Huerta made the comment on the anonymous campus gossip site, juicygossip.com.

Police apparently thought the threat was legitimate enough to take action, and I certainly do not blame them. Though it still is too early to know if the post was in jest or not, it certainly was not funny if it was and things like that have to be taken seriously in today's world.

Anonymous gossip blogs seem to be springing up everywhere these days, and provide a scary outlet for people with vandettas or people who have no sense of humor to do things like Mr. Huerta did yesterday.

With the shootings in Omaha last week and the Virginia Tech massace last April, this is an extremely sensitive topic and not one that people are going to be quick to forgive. It will be interesting to see how LMU responds, especially since they are a private school and have the more freedom in terms of punishment whether it be suspension or expulsion.

Coliseum Commission - Incompetent

It's rivalry week here in Los Angeles. Earlier today, the USC Trojans battled the UCLA Bruins in the annual Battle for the Victory Bell, with USC coming out ahead for the eighth time in nine years. This week is special for Los Angeles and unique among all cities in the country. In a city without any professional football, all eyes are on the two teams. There are many other rivalries in the country which may get more hype, but NOWHERE else are the rivals located in the SAME CITY, with most rivalries existing in two entirely different states!

That being said, what should have been a week dedicated to the two teams turned ugly when USC announced they have begun negotiations with the Rose Bowl to play next season at the venue, leaving the L.A. Memorial Coliseum after 80+ years.

As I aluded to earlier here, the Coliseum is run by an incompetent group of members who are notoriously the most difficult group to deal with in politics. It is consisted of a nine person committee, with three members representing the city, three representing the county, and three representing the state. That, coupled along with the Coliseum's stature as a historical monument, make dealings with the venue extremely troublesome.

Fellow blogger Nate at The Stuge already wrote a great piece on this story, but I thought I had to express my thoughts as well. Seeing how frustrated I already was with the Commission with my earlier post, I was not surprised in the least when this news came out.

Fortunately, USC is combating the Coliseum extremely effectively. Once the story broke that they were negotiating with the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, USC sent out a huge press release to get the public on their side. They presented all the relevant information in simple and reasonable language (as can be seen here on their website). USC proposal included a $100 million pledge for rennovations with the terms being they be made the master tenant with control over any potential naming rights and power over individual events.

This, of course, would pretty much make the Commission irrelavent, which is something I am very much in favor of.

It also would shut the door on any plans for the NFL to play at the Coliseum, which I also am in favor of - and so is the NFL. The Commission is holding onto some ridiculous notion that the NFL may one day return there and would be willing to put in up to $800 million worth of renovations, which the NFL has flatly said will never happen anyway.

Thankfully, the Mayor (finally doing something I agree with) and the Governor have already pledged to do all they can to keep USC in the Coliseum and prevent them from fleeing to Pasadena. All parties involved say they want to continue the relationship, but are very far apart on the terms. USC plays an amazing home schedule next year, including visits from Ohio State and Notre Dame among others, and on a selfish note it would be a shame to not be able to see the games in LA where they belong. The Rose Bowl, while a beautiful venue and setting, is an absolute terror to go to. Parking is non-existant, traffic is beyond horrific, and sightlines in the stadium are abysmal. The Rose Bowl is perfect for hosting the ROSE BOWL GAME - but not the regular season.

More News on the Mayor...

According to sources, Mayor Villaragaiosa and former Telemundo anchor Mirthala Salinas have broken up This is apparently the end to the months long affair, which broke up the mayor's marriage and became national news when the story broke.

In an attempt to shore up the Mayor's public image, "sources" leaked this bit of news to the LA Times. As stated in the article, the mayor is now apparently focusing on his relationship with his kids and working hard to battle problems such as health care, education, and traffic which he had promised to work on during his campaign.

To me, this story means very little. He took a risk and left his wife for this woman, took a giant P.R. hit and now finds himself alone and vulnerable. Due to his constant adultery, the Mayor has pretty much lost his chance to run for governor and now has to actually work hard on the poltical end if he ever hopes to be considered for that office.

A funny aspect of this story is that Salinas is apparently out of a job. When news first broke that the Mayor was being divorced, it was Salinas herself who reported it on Telemundo, with her being the political anchor for the channel. This of course was highly comical as it turned out she was a prime reason for the divorce, and a gigantic conflict of interest. After the network found out, she was placed on a leave of absence. Recently, she was reassigned to a smaller station out in Riverside County, but apparently she felt it either beneath her or too embarrassed, and she refused to show up for work.

Hopefully, the Mayor is serious about his intent to focus on his family life and the city now. For his tenure so far, the Mayor has done very little in terms of his campaign promises and has embarrassed himself and this city with his very public extramarital affair. Perhaps this was the wakeup call he needed to get serious about politics and realize what a high-profile job he has and all the extra responsibilies that the job entails.

WGA Strike Part II

So another week has gone by and still the WGA is continuing with their strike. As thousands are being fired each day due to the strike, the writers continue to provide a valuable publicity opportunity for many celebrities and politicians.

Today, it's John Edwards turn.

Yes, that same annoying Presidential Candidate who made his millions contributing to the destuction of the health care system while ironically promoting health care as the backbone for his campaign.

Now, Edwards is desperate for attention with the primaries coming up in a few months. Trailing both Barak Obama and Clinton in the polls, Edwards knows that he has little time to gain support headed into the Iowa primary. Without a victory there or in the following primary, his candidacy may be over.

So what better way to get the support of the people than joining the picket line of a bunch of whiny Hollywood dissident writers who the majority of the population barely sympathizes with?

While i'm sure the polls will show most Americans may side with the writers, I would wager that most of America (and many Iowans) couldn't care less about the strike, at least until their favorite tv shows go off the air.

To me, this just further establises John Edwards as a kid trying to win a popularity contest. With his South Carolinian accent and fake smile, Edwards is already annoying enough as he is. I can't imagine how lame it will be to see pictures of him holding a sign and marcing around the picket line for an hour or two before he's off to stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel and get a relaxing spa treatment or something.

But hey, this is Hollywood. Even a day shopping at Whole Foods can be seen as a photo-op here.

To the WGA and the producers- please hurry up and get a deal done. I really don't want to see picketers for the next few months joined by the latest celebrity/politician in need of a quick publicity boost.

WGA Strike

For anyone who has been paying even the smallest amount of attention to the news lately, the ongoing Writers Strike by the Writer's Guild of America has been a hot topic. For a whole week now, Hollywood has been virtually shutdown.

The writers probably have many valid points. Perhaps the DVD residuals they are currently recieving aren't completely fair. They also want higher residuals from internet sales of their work. However, I simply do not feel it is worth it to go on strike. What these writers are doing seems to me to be incredibly selfish. They themselves aren't going to lose a lot of money because they still get paid for reruns that are aired. Unfortunately for the vast majority of the blue-collar workers in Hollywood, this isn't the case.

I am talking about the crew members on all of these productions. They aren't a part of the strike, and because of it are finding themselves out of employment.

Unions were created to serve a good purpose. They were meant to give the workers some representation and rights. Through unions, better conditions and wages have sprung from nothing. However, in today's age they seem more aimed at exclusion. Workers are prevented from being hired if they aren't member of the 'union'.

The WGA has a right to strike, but they simply must be far more mindful of their actions. They have to realize that thousands and thousands of people who aren't members of their unions are affected by their actions. The strike to me seems rather selfish.

I wish that both sides would have been more willing to continue negotionating and reach some sort of temporary agreement so productions could continue during the process. Instead, thousands of workers are wondering if they are going to be able to afford their rent and car payments.

I also feel that this strike has only led to actors and actresses trying to gain publicity by "showing support" at the picket line by visiting the strikers for an hour or two. Coincidentally, this creates quite the photo-op.

In a city full of fake people and superficial problems, this strike just seems to be more of the same. It's hurting the people who have nothing to do with it. The result the writers are seeking simply does not justify the strike. They are off on a matter of percentage points for DVD and internet cuts. I think that the strike may just anger the studios who feel that they are being backed unfairly into a corner.

Something is Missing...

Los Angeles is the second largest city in the country and home to numerous sports franchises. The Dodgers, Angels (in name), Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Sparks, Galaxy, and Avengers all call Los Angeles home, as well as the Bruins of UCLA and the Trojans of USC. Looking at the list, you may notice something is missing.

An NFL franchise.

For the past 11 years, ever since the LA Raiders packed up their bags and moved themselves back to Oakland, the city and fans have been clamoring for a team to come to LA. The problem has been, and continues to be, where will they play? The only viable scenarios that have been presented involve the use of the LA Coliseum. However, with renovation costs now estimated at $1 billion, this is simply not realistic. If the city is serious about attracting a new team, a brand new stadium must be erected, and it must be somewhere in the vicinity of downtown. A new football stadium would only further the revitalization of Downtown and provided countless jobs and income to the city.

It is simply embarrassing that LA still does not harbor a true professional football franchise. With around 3.5 million inhabitants living in the city limits and up to 10 million more on the outskirts, the potential fanbase is already enormous. Los Angeles is the second largest media market in the nation, and yet the “National” Football League is not represented in LA. Baffling. On the other hand, booming metropolises like Green Bay, Wisconsin and Buffalo, New York have no problem housing teams.

What has stopped the NFL and LA from reuniting? Bureaucracy and politics. But that should not come as a surprise to anyone who is used to living in LA.

For the past several years, competing plans were being pushed to the NFL as potential sites for a team. Most prominent were the Los Angeles Coliseum, which was originally built for the 1932 Olympic Games and currently is home to the USC Trojans, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and a potential site in Carson near the Home Depot Center. As the months and years went on, all three sites competed for attention and rotated as the supposed “front-runner” for the NFL’s services.

Eventually, the posturing became too much. Carson dropped out and decided it would be more lucrative to build a shopping mall instead. The Rose Bowl was never interested enough to begin with, and they too dropped out. All that was left was the Coliseum. However, the $1 Billion price tag to fix it up, the fact that USC (who has been wildly successful and drawn sellouts of 90,000+ for the past five years) would prefer to remain the sole tenant, and the site’s status as a Historical Landmark and its accompanying notoriously difficult to-deal-with Coliseum Commission has led the NFL to drop them from consideration.

So where does that leave Los Angeles now?

Right to where it should have started at the beginning – a new site built in the vicinity of downtown to correlate with the fantastic new programs being developed currently to revitalize the area. It began several years ago with the Staples Center, and is now continuing with L.A. Live well under construction (the Nokia Theater just opened) and the Grand Avenue project just breaking ground. Thousands are flocking back to the area, with up to 20,000 more residents expected to move by 2010. There is potential in the area for a stadium, anywhere from the old abandoned warehouses to the space by Dodger Stadium.

For this to be accomplished, public dollars have to be devoted. And this is where the biggest obstacle lies.

The NFL will gladly put in hundreds of millions of dollars to assist LA in building a stadium, as it has just as much interest in establishing a franchise here as the city does. However, the fact that LA refuses to give a penny to professional sports is scaring off the league. The NFL is doing very well and has far more power in the relationship, as they can easily afford to not have a team in place for the next decade.

If the citizens of the city really want a team, they are going to have to put forth and vote for measures allowing the use of small taxes to help fund the project. The potential job opportunities and revenue that can eventually flow in far outweigh the short-term expenditures needed at the beginning. With a franchise in the heart of LA, up to 65,000 fans would pour into the surrounding area for 9 weekends of the year in which they will happily be spending their money in an area in which they normally would not. Why force fans in the city to drive to San Diego to see professional football?

It is up to us to make a difference. For too long have the fans in the city complained while taking little action. Los Angeles has the potential to be the leading sports city in the world, and has all the pieces in place to do so. All that is needed is a little more leadership, and a lot more involvement by its citizens. We have brought major championships to the city in recent years through the Lakers and the Trojans among others, and now we are just waiting for that Super Bowl victory.

Let’s make it happen.

Say Adios to Villaraigosa?

People of Los Angeles, please raise your hand if you are even remotely impressed with the city’s management and public services. Anyone?

The public services provided by Los Angeles are severely lacking. Traffic is horrific with no end in sight. Hospitals are being closed down in areas where they are needed the most. The people of the city have little confidence in any of the city’s leadership or the city’s infrastructure. The mayor is mired in scandal, and has proven to be woefully inadequate. Los Angeles is in desperate need of new political blood and ideas, and it all starts at the top with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The Mayor has had a very rough past few months. In early June, it was announced that Villaraigosa’s wife of 20 years was filing for divorce, due to the Mayor’s extramarital affair with local Telemundo TV anchor Mirthala Salinas.

Usually, I could care less about anyone’s personal life. Everyone makes mistakes in life. However, public officials (especially high ranking ones) are held to a different standard, whether it is fair or not. Many politicians have had failed marriages, and their political careers survived just fine. However, when these mistakes are repeated often they fail to be merely lapses of judgment and instead form a more truthful image of one’s character. And unfortunately for Villaraigosa, this is not the first time he has been cast in the spotlight due to his infidelity.

In 1994, Villaraigosa commited an even more shameful act of adultery. The day after he was elected to the state assembly, his wife Corina filed for divorce (they later reconciled). Corina had been battling thyroid cancer during the campaign, and Villaraigosa had built himself up as a “dedicated family man”. However, Corina learned that her supposedly dedicated family man of a husband had in fact snuck off for a few days with another woman. Not just any woman, but the wife of one of his closest friends, which led to his friend’s divorce. This act of betrayal should have revealed to voters the man’s true character. Many of Villaraigosa’s closest friends and political allies were outraged and distanced themselves both privately and publicly, especially since they had helped build his image in the campaign.

It seems the only thing that Villargoisa struggled more with than fidelty was passing the BAR exam, which he failed four times before giving up.

But this is America, and American’s have very short memories. Despite some setbacks, Villaraigosa prospered. Behind a new campaign in which he played up his Latino heritage, Villaraigosa won convincingly in the 2005 campaign for Mayor. Regarded as a hot new Democratic figure in the country, it has been assumed that the Mayor has had his eye on the Governor’s position in 2010. Villaraigosa had done what many other politicians had already done and battled through questions about his character and appeared set to ride his wave of popularity all the way to Sacramento.

Unfortunately for him, his true character revealed itself again with this latest act of infidelity that has led to his divorce.

Now comes the real issue: If the Mayor was actually accomplishing anything here in the city, it would be easier for voters to look past his shortcomings as a husband and father. However, this is not the case. In the past two years since he has taken over, very little has been done in the city that was a result of his actions.

Villaraigosa made numerous promises during his campaign. He promised to plant 1 million trees, build a subway that stretches to the ocean, and to fix the city’s disappointing public school system among other things. In his two years in office, little to any of these programs have been put in place.

Traffic is still horrible. The recently announced $150 million to synchronize the city’s traffic lights is a step in the right direction, but comes from the state and not by any creative measures taken by the Mayor or his staff. Thank Arnold and the California voters instead Los Angelinos. Despite the Mayor claiming “I want to say to the people of Los Angeles: Promises made, promises kept… When I campaigned for mayor, I said we would synchronize the traffic signals and it would be expensive”. However, this money came from Prop-1B, which paved the way for $40 billion to help fix the state’s infrastructure and traffic problems. How Villaraigosa is claiming any credit at all for it is vexing.

The city’s medical system is inept. The controversy surrounding King-Harbor that became national news when Edith Rodriguez was allowed to keel over and die in the waiting room while a janitor swept around her resulted in nothing other than the closing of the hospital in a poor community that desperately needed one. The Mayor had ample opportunity here to turn a tragedy into a positive, but instead of pushing for sweeping reform in the hospital’s infrastructure he did nothing but allow the county to shut it down as an easy and cheap solution.

To top it off, the school system is still highly bureaucratic and underperforming compared to other major cities in the nation.

With Villaraigosa firmly in power till 2009, there is little we can do short of a recall. Concerned citizens must voice their displeasure about the Mayor and his practices until real changes are made. If Villaraigosa has any hope of winning the gubernatorial elections in 2010, he has a lot of work to do. Start to fix Los Angeles, and all will likely be forgiven. Continue on the current course of little action-little results, and Villaraigosa will be just another spectator.

Oh, and I’ll be on the look-out for those million additional trees. I haven’t noticed anymore yet.