Another home invasion robbery

If more than a few of these occur we are going to be concerned. We also suspect many of these are not reported in the media. This is a story we did last year on another one. We will see if this shows up on the new crime reports page This home invasion is near Norwalk Blvd and Del Amo.

From wire services
Posted: 01/27/2009 06:44:16 AM PST

LAKEWOOD - Four armed bandits staged a home invasion robbery in Lakewood today, reportedly taking some $5,000 in cash and several other items.

The robbery occurred in the 20800 block of Belshire Avenue near 207th Street about 1:30 a.m., said Lt. Minh Dinh of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's Lakewood Station.

Armed with handguns, the four bandits tied up the home's occupants before fleeing with four I-phones, $5,000 in cash, some wallets and keys, and other miscellaneous items, deputies told an On Scene Video camera crew at the robbery scene.

Dinh said the holdup was under investigation and that detectives were interviewing the victims.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

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I guess its not a fluke

Hmmm. Is there a deeper message here about fireworks? I guess the last post on the absence of fireworks from the Nov. 4, 2008 election day "celebration" was not a fluke. Either way we like it here at LAAG. Maybe the City Council will take notice.

January 18, 2009
In break with last 7 inaugurals, no fireworks planned

By RICHARD LEIBY
The Washington Post

WASHINGTON -- For the first time in 28 years, there will be no fireworks on the Mall during inaugural festivities.

"We never discussed having fireworks as part of the events. It just didn't come up," Linda Douglass, a spokeswoman for the incoming president's inaugural committee, said last week.

In repeated public announcements, the committee has promised that Barack Obama's inauguration will be "the most open and accessible inauguration in American history." But the lack of fireworks represents a departure from one of the most accessible traditions that accompany the celebration of a new presidency. A fireworks display has been a feature of the past seven consecutive inaugurations, starting with Ronald Reagan's in 1981.

***[snip]***

Free public events on the weekend before Reagan's second inauguration included all-day concerts, according to published reports. The parade itself was canceled because of bitter cold, but a fireworks display went on as scheduled.

Some participants in past inaugurations say the lack of fireworks this year undermines a populist message. [LAAG editor: what message here will be "enhanced" with fireworks?]

"The symbolism is all wrong not to do it," said Craig Shirley, who worked on Reagan's second inauguration and has written two books on the former president. "There's no preferred seating for fireworks." [LAAG editor: Actually Craig you really don't get it...the symbolism is perfect: "Change" from the past; the environmentally conscious President etc.]


Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

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Pain at the Mall likely to last all of 2009

As can be seen from the article blow these are going to be trying times for shopping malls. 2009 will be the true test of just how strong your towns mall is and it will depend greatly on which mall has the highest percentage of stores that go bankrupt. MACERICH CO (NYSE: MAC) the owner of Cerritos, Lakewood, and Stonewood (Downey) malls was trading at over $75.00 a share in May 2008 and now hovers around $15.00 a share, up from $10.00 in the 2008 Christmas season. The problem for Lakewood is that they already have loads of cheaper retail space for lease in other parts of the city OUTSIDE the mall. This has been the case for a number of years as the city has focused all its muscle on the mall, abandoning other areas of the city. Now it will take a Herculean effort just to keep the mall fully leased, especially with Long Beach competing for what's left of surviving retailers. Forget about leasing the other areas of the city (which may become retail wastelands). And "economists" say no recovery until 2010. It already feels like March (with so much bad news coming so fast) and its still January. This is going to be a long and painful year. Oh and don't forget about California's budget (yes the MSM "main stream media" reminds you about it now and again). I am officially designating the California Legislature a "Weapon of Mass Destruction" (WMD) This WMD is on Washingtons radar..this time arround. If the budget mess is not fixed by February 1, 2009, the Governator and all legislators should be fired. Then we hold a special election March 1, and no one that has run or been in office up there in Sacramento in the last 5 years should be eligible to run. I'll bet we would get some results then. Bush has his legacy. What will Arnie's be?

Foreclosure at the Mall
The Recession's Latest Victim Might Just Be That Shopping Center Down the Road
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
ABC NEWS Business Unit
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=6544358

Dec. 30, 2008—

Forget those 50-percent-off signs. This winter you are likely to see a new sign at your local mall: "Going Out of Business." And that means big trouble for mall owners already struggling to survive.

The nation's shopping center owners are facing a recessionary double whammy: consumers who are spending less and real estate investors who are holding back money used to finance their operations.

And some analysts say that, in the next two months, those forces will collide, sending some mall owners into bankruptcy. Don't expect your local mall to necessarily close its doors -- although some of the 3,500 across the country might -- but it could very likely be owned by somebody else by the spring.

"They have significant problems by and large," said George Whalin, president and CEO of Retail Management Consultants.

In just six to eight weeks, Whalin said, "there are going to be a significant number of retailers that will go bankrupt. There's no doubt about that. ... We've just never seen anything as bad as this."

Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers, said the industry has "really been battered by every part" of this recession.

First, housing stores saw problems. Then apparel. Now every store, including the once-immune luxury retailer.

"Clearly, there are lots of problems in the retail industry and they range from the weakness in consumer demand to the debt issues that some companies are facing," Niemira said.

Back in August, Niemira predicted that sales would grow as much as 1.7 percent this holiday season. Now, he estimates a decline of 1.5 percent to 2 percent. Sales during the final week of shopping were down 1.8 percent from last year. That makes this year "the weakest holiday season since at least 1970," Niemira said in a statement this morning.

He said stores are doing everything from slashing prices to laying off workers to try to stay afloat. Retailers, he said, account for 9 percent of the nation's jobs but represent 25 percent of the recent employment declines.

Stores Go Bankrupt

Big chains, including Linens 'N Things, Circuit City, Whitehall Jewelers, Mervyn's and Steve and Barry's have already filed for bankruptcy. Other big retailers, including Talbots, Fashion Bug, Ann Taylor, J. Crew and Liz Claiborne have either announced store closings or scaled back or delayed expansion plans.

Retailers may close 73,000 stores in the first half of 2009, according to the shopping center council.

None of that is good news for mall owners who rely on those retailers for rent, which they use to pay off the massive loans to build or buy the malls in the first place. As mall owners try to refinance existing loans, they find themselves struggling to get investors to give them money and -- like many homeowners -- they find their real estate is worth less than it was just a few years ago.

Whalin said the first major blow to malls came in August 2005, when Macy's bought out rival May Department Stores. In one giant move, retailers, such as Marshall Field's, Filene's, Hecht's, Foley's, Robinsons-May and Kaufmann's all fell under the Macy's flag.

A mall that once had Macy's anchoring one end and Filene's at the other suddenly had two Macy's. The company quickly moved to close its redundant stores and the malls lost large tenants.

"The value of their real estate has diminished for a variety of reasons, certainly not the least of which was Macy's gobbling all the regional department stores and essentially closing some of those stores and struggling with others," Whalin said.

But it's not just big chains that are shutting their doors as we fall deeper into a recession.

At the beginning of 2006, just 7.3 percent of retail spaces -- from malls to strip malls to stand-alone stores -- were empty, according to the National Association of Realtors. That figure now hovers just below 10 percent and for next year, the group forecasts a 12.4 percent vacancy rate.

And after a disappointing Christmas shopping season, those numbers could climb ever higher.

The amount of money spent at the nation's retailers from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve was down 5.5 percent to 8 percent compared with last year, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse, which tracks retail sales for all forms of payment, including check, cash and credit card.

Falling Rents

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said that in the coming year he anticipates a 7 percent drop in retail rents as a larger supply of vacant stores comes on the market.

"The property owners will be competing, trying to draw the tenants by offering much lower rents," Yun said. "A combination of a rising vacancy rate and falling rents will naturally mean that the property prices will be coming down."

Some big chains are already asking for leases to be renegotiated and others are likely to when their leases expire in the next year or two, Whalin added.

But that's only half of the picture.

Most malls are owned through large real estate investment trusts or REITs. The two biggest are Simon Property Group and General Growth Properties.

These real estate companies -- and especially General Growth -- are now being hurt by the credit crunch.

In 2004, General Growth spent $12 billion to acquire mall owner Rouse. The deal including assuming $5.4 billion in Rouse debt.

To pay for the deal, the company borrowed heavily. But then the credit markets froze and now General Growth -- which owns more than 200 shopping centers -- has roughly $27 billion in debt and no way to refinance.

Just last week, the company got a reprieve on a debt-payment deadline. The forbearance gives it a bit of breathing room and keeps the company out of bankruptcy, for now. Many analysts are watching Jan. 30 and Feb. 12 -- dates when the company might be forced to make two large debt payments.

Mounting Debt

To help raise cash, General Growth -- the country's second largest mall owner -- announced in October it would try to sell its retail properties in Las Vegas, which include the Fashion Show Mall, Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, and the Shoppes at the Palazzo.

"I don't see that they're through the woods here yet," Whalin said. "A lot of smaller mall companies are suffering in the same way."

Niemira said General Growth is "the poster child" for the credit troubles facing the industry.

"Those owners that took on too much debt have ultimately paid the price. At this point it's not clear how that will all play out," he said, noting that "the stock prices of some of these firms have really taken a huge hit."

Just a year ago, shares of General Growth traded at 38.73. They closed Monday at 1.21 -- that's a fall of nearly 97 percent this year.

But don't expect the malls themselves to close. Both Whalin and Niemira said the properties are profitable; it's just that some mall owners have too much debt to ride out the recession.

"The regional mall is here to stay as part of the retail environment," Whalin said. "It isn't going to go away anytime soon."

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

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We can't keep up with all the bankruptcies

The owner of the Black Angus Steakhouse chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday. Another tenant in the "prized" Lakewood Restaurant Row. It looks like its going to be carnage at the Mall in the next 6 months. Lakewood may end up looking like Bellflower before this is over. The owner, Los Altos-based Pecus ARG Holding Inc. owes between $100 million and $500 million and has assets between $100 million and $500 million, according to the filing. There are 69 restaurants in seven states, mainly on the West Coast. Black Angus Steakhouse chain employs about 3,600 people.Today, Each of the locations has approximately 75 employees and serves an average of 3,000 customers per week. ARG previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004. Revenue has dropped from about $244 million in 2006 to $181 million in 2008.

No word yet on which Black Angus Steakhouse restaurant locations may close, if any. Normally this is determined on which locations are "poor or underperforming" So stay tuned.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

click here to receive LAAG posts by email

Circuit City bites the Dust

Another store gone from Lakewood Center. No surprise really as Circuit City has been dying slowly for years. They like all the weak and marginal compnies will be killed off in this 2-3 recession. Oh well no big deal as all Circuit City's business was being eaten up by Best Buy which we also have in the mall just a few hundred yards away from the Circuit City location. No idea what will happen to the rather isolated Circuit City building in the Lakewood Mall parking lot (it never was a good location). I suspect it will be better to demolish it due to its odd location. And heaven knows in the next 6 months there will be plenty of vacancies in the Mall to fill up due to the dismal Christmas season and deepening recession.

After failing to secure financing from creditors and lenders, bankrupt electronics vendor Circuit City reported that it will liquidate. This will throw more than 30,000 employees onto the street, adding to the rising number of U.S. job losses, which last year hit their highest level since World War II. Circuit City had 567 stores in the United States.

Circuit City said it will provide more details in the near term about the liquidation of its stores and Firedog services. Surely a bankruptcy will be filed shortly.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

click here to receive LAAG posts by email

Some businesses open while others close

Apparently Macy's is closing 11 stores. Fortunately not the one in Lakewood Center. The only one closing in CA is i downtown LA.

Albertsons announced plans Friday to close one of its two stores in the city. The store at 3400 E. South St., is scheduled to close on Feb. 19. This store has been open since 1998.

Workers are working feverishly on the old Bakers Square at South and Bellflower to renovate it into a new Denny's. It will open in February. LAAG got the city to speed up the permit approval. In this economy

Lakewood Center claims that the Costco in Lakewood Center will open in February and will not be delayed to March.

The Mervyns that is closing will become a Forever 21 store as reported earlier.

No word on the Sonic Drive In location. We heard it could open at Woodruff and Harvey Way which was the site of a former Arco gas station. More on that as we learn it.

The Fresh & Easy Market celebrated its one year anniversary at South and Woodruff. We did not think it would last this long. Perhaps the new Farm Direct Market opening (5927 South St.) on the NE corner of South and Woodruff will give it some competition. We see lots of work going on there but no opening date is known. This is not a chain store. The Jones Bicycles store was the last retail store that we can recall in the space. It closed a number of years ago and the store remained vacant ever since.

The old Vons parking lot at South and Bellflower is getting completely repaved with new planters and sprinkler systems. Hopefully this will make it more palatable to prospective tenants, which the site has needed badly for years. The city has taken years to pressure the landowners to fix up the site.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

click here to receive LAAG posts by email

CrimeReports.com..first impressions

Leave it to the City of Lakewood to make sure its citizens are the last to know about new developments that really affect them. We noticed over on www.LBReport.com that LBPD unveiled a third party crime stats website that looks pretty good so far. It is called CrimeReports.com. Users can log in to receive customized crime reports and set up an auto emailed report telling them crimes that have been reported with a certain distance from their selected address. Clearly it took some real private sector brains and capital to put this together using raw data supplied by a number of local agencies, including LASD and LBPD. LAAG has been requesting this type of site from the city for some time. It looks like this was a joint effort by multiple cities and agencies but for some unknown reason Lakewood did not want to tell its residents about the service. Nothing on Lakewood's website as of today nor any emails from the city on this new site. Of course we saw no mention of the site on the LASD.org site either which is not really surprising as the LASD.org site wins the prize for the poorest design, poorest user friendly navigation and poorest up to date information of any law enforcement agency of that size (8,000 officers and counting). Given that this CrimeReports.com site was given information by most if not all LASD contract cities, you would have thought that they would have wanted to get the word out. The CrimeReports.com site appears to have data all the way back to July 1, 2008, however we are still trying to determine when the site went live for Lakewood residents to use.

Here are things we like from what we can see so far:

* alerts can be set up and emailed to you;
* it is multi jurisdictional so that you can see crime occurring just over the city border and how your city fares compared to other cities and neighborhoods;
* it seems to be fairly up to date showing crime occurring in the current day; this will likely vary depending on when the LASD releases crime data and when the site owner updates the map; this is likely an automated schedule;
* it is Google maps based so its user friendly;
* it includes registered sex offender information and a fairly good selection of crimes;
* users can drill down by crime, location and time;

Limitations or areas requiring further study or refinement:

* Not clear on how many total days the crime info is kept in the system in a viewable way;
* Not clear how to get printable reports (as opposed to mapped reports);
* Not clear how information gets into this site or its accuracy;
* Clearly this is reported or officer observed crimes but does not report all call data where a report was not generated;
* Not clear what crimes are not on the report, such as quality of life issues i.e. noise complaints, fireworks, parking issues;
* Not clear how far back the data goes or how long it will be available on the site;
* Not clear what this is costing Lakewood taxpayers or if it is included in the LASD $9 million a year contract cost to Lakewood. From the CrimeReports.com website they report the following monthly fees:

For Universities $49/month
Up to 50K citizens $99/month
Over 50K citizens $199/month (likely Lakewood so $2400 per year)

"Custom pricing applies to agencies serving contract jurisdictions. Please contact us for additional information"

If all this costs is 2400 a year its a good deal as that is about what one day of vacation time costs the city for one LASD deputy!!

Once we work with the site in more detail we will report further. Once you have used the site please give LAAG your feed back on this crime site at updates@LAAG.us

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

click here to receive LAAG posts by email

Waiting for the next shoe to drop

Well isn't this just great. First residential real estate. Now its commercial real estates turn. Right after Christmas and the January blow outs I suspect there will be much bloodletting by the retail sector. Costco opening in February 2009 could not have picked a worse time to open. Poor holiday sales (when some make over 50% of their yearly income) will not bode well for renewing that costly lease at the mall. This could be bad for Lakewood which relies heavily upon what small retail sector we have. And most of Lakewood's "retail eggs" are concentrated in the Mall "basket". And you know the saying. Never put all your eggs in one basket (in case it drops). But there is plenty of grief to go around. Cerritos must really be hurting as it relied very heavily on Cerritos Auto Square revenue to furnish lavish city projects (which it still has to maintain). Oh well as the cities like to say about tax revenue..."easy come easy go..."

Real-estate developers reportedly seeking U.S. relief

Dec. 22, 2008

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Developers of large commercial real-estate projects are seeking access to government investment funds as at least $160 billion of debt comes due for refinancing next year and lenders are thin on the ground for the embattled industry, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The paper said that developers of projects like malls, hotels and office complexes are seeking access to the recently announced Treasury plan to provide $200 billion of credit relief to borrowers on auto and student loans and credit-card debt. Some of the developers have also reportedly suggested a separate program aimed solely at projects in commercial real estate. The Journal's report quoted a letter that a dozen developers recently sent to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, in which they say: "Right now, we believe there is insufficient systemic capacity to refinance expiring, performing commercial real-estate loans. For many borrowers, [credit] simply is not available." The report said that delinquencies on commercial mortgages jumped to 0.96% in November, up from a 0.62% rate in September.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/commercial-real-estate-may-next/story.aspx?guid={B8584A95-BB8F-4DB4-A3B3-C9B183F10C92}&dist=TNMostRead

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

click here to receive LAAG posts by email

LAAG's reply to the City's comments in the Press Telegram 12-15-08

Most of our loyal readers (and many new ones) saw the 12/15/08 Press Telegram feature written about our site. Of course the city of Lakewood was queried about the site. LAAG wanted an opportunity to address some of the comments made by Councilman Rogers in the article. And of course as we have many times before, we offer the city space on our pages to offer rebuttals to what they feel is inaccurate on our site. To date the city has not taken us up on that offer.

With respect to the March 2009 city council election candidate filing dates not being not well publicized, on that issue, Councilman (excuse me, vice mayor) Todd Rogers says there was an announcement about incumbents seeking re-election on the front page of the Lakewood Community, a Chamber of Commerce Publication that goes to every home in the city. "It clearly told everybody in town that there was an election," Rogers said.

We found the November 2008 issue of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce newspaper. (we are not sure of the date when it was actually distributed) Again this is the paper that most people throw directly into the trash after it sits on their lawn for a few days. Each month it has a puff piece written by the "mayor" (or likely some ghost writer) or some other councilperson talking about some "issue" (a real or fake one). In November one small article was about how the three incumbents were "kicking off" their March 2009 re-election "campaigns" with a 100 person dinner (wonder who paid for that?) at city hall (attended by you guessed it all the politicos and fireworks sellers that would have been voting for them in March 2009, along with our special friend Sheriff Baca!) NO WHERE in the article did it mention any deadlines for nominations or anything about that rather complicated process whatsoever. The Press Telegram ran no story at all (as they had no reporter for Lakewood at the time) nor was there any hint of a deadline on the city website. Why? Well if you are running for re-election the last thing you want to do is call a deadline to the attention of your potential opponents (like LAAG did) So yes there was hint of an "election" in the air, but as we said the city did everything it could to "hide" the nomination deadline to insure the three candidates would be a shoe in. And it worked.

Rogers, stated in the article that "city government is 'open', despite some of the assertions he has read [on LAAG]" and that "The city of Lakewood doesn't do anything in secret...". Well if hidden in the clerks office is your definition of open then I guess it is "open" (but only from 9-5 pm) But most folks dont walk into city hall every day for their news. They read news papers and now the web. So if you dont want people to know something just post it on a bulletin board in the clerks office. How many of you have read the bulletin board in the clerks office in the last year? LAAG believes in transparency in government as its our money they are wasting. "...Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants..." [Justice Louis D. Brandeis] We have a whole section devoted to government transparency. The reason governments dont want to post too much on the web is that people might actually see it, copy it (like LAAG) and start asking questions which politicians find "hard to answer". I think Long Beach Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske agrees.

Rogers also stated in the article that what the city does is "...based on the surveys and feedback we get from the community..." Well I saw two surveys on the Lakewood website and only very brief summaries at that with no specific questions asked. The last survey date we saw was 2006. LAAG plans to do some surveys as well and you can be sure when we do we will post them. The point being that only about 2,700 people vote in city council elections out of 80,000 residents. So how many of those polled do you really think are clued in about specific problems in the city?

As Campbell Brown recently said on CNN.com: "It goes without saying, the media is annoying. It is the media's job to be annoying. Especially those members of the media assigned to cover the president. Or in this case the president-elect. Their role is not to support [the City council] President-elect Barack Obama, but to challenge him, to do their best to hold him accountable."

If you want to read cheerleader "puff pieces" about the City and the City Council then read the city's website or those from the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce "throw away" "news"paper that comes out once a month. There are plenty of places to find that kind of news. Not here.

We don't think Lakewood is a bad city nor the city council the worst. There are much worse. But there are much better too. We need to strive for improvement. We think this site is one way of encouraging change by trying to make the city more "transparent" or calling foul when everyone else is too afraid to or have given up on dealing with city hall as it is. And who could blame them.

Mr Rogers concluding dismissive comments about LAAG in the Press Telegram article: "...[LAAG's] views are out of sync with the majority of residents. As an example, he cited [LAAG's] suggestion at a City Council meeting to look into the possibility of creating a city police department.." Well again you have to realize that Rogers is a sheriff captain (top person in the substation) in Carson and it sends shivers down his spine when you dare to criticise the sacred cow that signs his paychecks. The point LAAG was making (the context of which is when LASD totally dropped the ball on the Dunrobin explosion in March 2006 by its own admission) was that the city just accepted what the LASD fed them. It was the city council that had to hold the LASD accountable. It clearly had not and LAAG felt that the reason was that the LASD offered Lakewood its services on a "take it or leave it basis" and to get some competition on LASD's 9 million a year contract the city should get bids from other police agencies that offer contract law enforcement. Of course carving out a piece of LASD "territory" would be about as likely as Rogers "Lakewood school district" fantasy becoming a reality. Talk about out of sync.

We agree that LAAG is out of sync with the status quo and we aren't going to change one bit!

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

click here to receive LAAG posts by email

Web site keeps watch on Lakewood government

from the Long Beach Press Telegram
12/14/2008 edition

Steve [the LAAG editor] does not consider himself an investigative reporter.

"I am not a great writer," he says. "I kind of hack my way through it."

But he sees a place in the local media landscape for his not-for-profit news Web site, www.laag.us.

The site is the online voice of Lakewood Accountability Action Group, a residents group that organized in the aftermath of a March 2006 house explosion caused by an illegal fireworks stash.

"I am not a true news source," Steve, a former City Council candidate, says. "We're sort of a commentary site."

Indeed the site's slogan, "Times change, politics don't," is a play on the Lakewood city motto, "Times change, values don't."

Commentary aside, there is plenty of information - some would call it citizen journalism - on the LAAG site.

A recent post bemoans how no one challenged three City Council incumbents seeking re-election in March 2009.

Another story asks questions about the delay of the Costco store planned for Lakewood Center.

Favorite topics include government pensions, public employee unions, travel by public officials, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, redevelopment, noise, zoning, traffic safety, utilities and, of course, one of Lakewood's oldest issues and most explosive issues - legal fireworks.

"That's why I support independent journalism," Steve says. "Everyone talks about national and state politics but no one talks about local issues."

Content comes from LAAG e-mail and phone tips from residents, business owners and city sources.

"People come to us to see if we can help them with problems," Steve, says.

A Lakewood resident since 1964, Steve says he started the site because public information that should be easily accessible sometimes is not.

"I say they like to hide stuff in plain view," he says. "One of my big topics is open government. I'd like to see more transparency."

An example, LAAG says, is the spring election.

LAAG says the candidate filing dates were not well publicized.

On that issue, Councilman Todd Rogers says there was an announcement about incumbents seeking re-election on the front page of the Lakewood Community, a Chamber of Commerce Publication that goes to every home in the city.

"It clearly told everybody in town that there was an election," Rogers said.

Another LAAG post on the topic criticized the city's low voter turnout, saying it amounted to government appointments made by the community's most influential members.

"Even Iraq has elections!" the post states.

LAAG is nonpartisan, and the organization does not consider itself liberal or conservative.

"We're anti-stupid spending," Steve says. "We like small government, which is what Lakewood is supposed to be, as a contract city, but we don't like waste, and we don't like secrecy."

Rogers, the city's vice mayor, counters the notion of secrecy. He says that city government is open, despite some of the assertions he has read online.

"I think our City Council does a pretty good job, and we have a history of honest, stable, responsive government," Rogers says. "And that's not going to change any time soon."

In addition to original content, LAAG picks up news stories from the Press-Telegram, Los Angeles Times and other media, but national and global topics are avoided.

Lakewood City Hall has taken notice.

"The biggest visitor to my site is the city of Lakewood," LAAG says of its online tracking that shows a few hits from City Hall on a typical day. He gets about 100 hits every week day.

Lakewood city spokesman Don Waldie says that LAAG's viewpoints are welcome in the "marketplace of ideas."

"In an open, democratic society with robust political institutions, local government wants to hear every opinion," he says.

Before the electronic age, Waldie says traditional media have challenged City Hall positions. The now-defunct Lakewood Clarion was known to take shots.

"LAAG's blog fits into a long tradition of talking about what local government does and why it does what it does," Waldie says.

But most important, Rogers says, is that constituents are, in his estimation, pleased with city government.

He believes LAAG's views are out of sync with the majority of residents. As an example, he cited LAAG's suggestion at a City Council meeting to look into the possibility of creating a city police department.

"The city of Lakewood doesn't do anything in secret, based on the surveys and feedback we get from the community," says Rogers, who is a captain at the Sheriff's station in Carson. "I think we're tuned into what the community wants, what the community values are, and they seem to trust and be happy with their government."

Rogers says he responds to inquiries from LAAG and is comfortable with criticism that goes with being on the council.

But he doesn't always like what he reads on the LAAG site.

"I think Lakewood's pretty transparent," he says. "I think a lot of his criticisms are unfair, and some of them are not true."

LAAG does not accept advertising.

"We're not interested in taking ads from some local businesses," says LAAG, a corporate consultant by day. "Every time you start taking ads, you get into the issue about advertisers complaining about things."

john.canalis@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1273


Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

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