Open Government Proposals..Finally

Its sad but apparently Long Beach has once again beaten Lakewood to the starting line. This time on "open government" or "transparency" proposals. We proposed state legislation on this two years ago as it affects local government but quite frankly Sacramento has too much on its plate now and is looking to offload more of its burden on to local government but that's another column. We felt the best way to get Lakewood to do something on transparency was to mandate it from the state level. But now perhaps they will be shamed into doing something not to be one upped by Long Beach (something they hate). LAAG knew the city council would never act on their own as transparency is not in the city councils interest. Its better to just put "fluff" on the website so Lakewood residents don't go sniffing around too much.

For some time we have linked (see our "web page links" on the right side of this page) to various open government websites like http://www.sunshineweek.org, http://public.resource.org, the Urban Governance Toolkit and the Sunshine review local government transparency checklist on our site and have requested that the city implement open government type initiatives through our postings on this site and emails. None of these initiatives cost anything but staff time, and from what we have seen the city staff in Lakewood has plenty of idle time on their hands and is quite frankly overpaid for it. Thanks to the city of Bell debacle, the California state auditors office posted its site regarding local government salaries, but not before LAAG had to request the info from the city via a public records request. More and more cities realize that transparency is badly needed at the local level.

Lakewood however does not and does not feel there is a problem. They feel if you need to know something you can ask but quite frankly your questions will be responded to with a polite "Thank you we will look into it" and then the door will be closed in your face and your request will be "lost" especially if you seek something that could put the city or its leaders in a bad light. If you are lucky enough to have the emails of city council members (also well hidden from view) you can ask them about certain issues, but most pawn you off to a "staff person" and the question is never really adequately responded to. The main reason is that if you don't have the time and expertise to to a California Public Records act request and the time to pour over the records, you likely will get no where. But most importantly if it is responded to at all, it is hidden from public view so that other Lakewood voters that have the same question and don't know where or how to get the answer are left in the dark.

Our city leaders of course feel there is no problem as they live "inside the bubble" not outside of it. Most are long time government insiders and know how to shield information from voters in a completely legal fashion. Its not hard. They have the city attorney to help them (who costs us hundreds of thousands per year). We have explained time and time again that its not so much that anything illegal or untoward is going on at city hall but secrecy and opaqueness breeds distrust. Its the "appearance of impropriety", or the potential for it the secrecy breeds, not actual impropriety, that's the problem. But like with Bell no one was the wiser until one of the thieves spilled the beans on the others. (we all know there is no honor among thieves). There really is no downside to openness and transparency at the local level.

For a further look at the Long Beach initiatives click here and here. They are a good "start" (if Long Beach does not "kick the can down the road" and delay their passing, implementation and funding) Both should be combined and could use a lot more fleshing out, detail and refinements. We would be glad to lend our expertise to the City of Lakewood in the endeavor should anyone care to listen over there in the bubble.

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

Yet Another Benefit of so called safe and sane Fireworks?

In addition to air, water and noise pollution we now have this issue below to contend with. I guess this is similar to dogs that break loose from yards and run wild once fireworks start. The Fireworks industry is pushing very hard to get fireworks now for New Years in addition to July 4th. Soon we we will be able to enjoy lovely fireworks all year long. Wonderful. Next up..fireworks to celebrate Martin Luther King Day...

Update 1/5/11: apparently this WAS the result of fireworks just as was suspected.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-05-arkansas-dead-birds-fireworks_N.htm

Fireworks likely cause of massive Ark. bird kill

By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
It wasn't a secret government spraying program, Martians or gas seeping out of the New Madrid fault that killed the 5,000 or so blackbirds that died New Year's Eve in Beebe, Ark.

It was someone shooting off professional grade fireworks in a residential district, scaring the night-blind birds out of their roost into a 25-mph flight that ran them into houses, signs and even the ground, says Karen Rowe, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission ornithologist.

"They were bouncing off houses, basketball backboards, trucks," she says.

Rowe made her observations Wednesday as Game and Fish officials got back further results from necropsies on the dead birds. The findings have given Rowe and others enough confidence in their original conclusions that they were having fun with some of the other theories floating about.

Separate bird deaths were also reported this week in Louisiana, where 450 died, and in Kentucky last week, where hundreds more were found dead.

LOUISIANA DEATHS: Louisiana has mass bird deaths just days after Arkansas
BIRD KILL: Trauma cited in mysterious Ark. bird kill

The not-so-mysterious saga began at about 10 p.m. New Year's Eve in the tiny town of Beebe, about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock.

"Someone shot off 10 to 12 professional-type fireworks near the roost," she says. Wayne Ballew, Beebe's chief of police, lives nearby. He reported that they "shook the windows on his house," she says.

Rowe has talked with residents who live in the neighborhood where the birds were found and they all reported the loud booms at that time.

At that point, the flock, which could easily numbers in the tens of thousands, took to the air.

It was actually composed of both red-winged blackbirds and European starlings, which commonly roost together.

Unfortunately for the birds, both blackbirds and starlings "have extremely limited night vision," says Robert Meese, an avian ecologist at the University of California-Davis who studies a related blackbird species.

In addition, neighbors were also setting off fireworks and bottle rockets, which further confused the birds who were now madly trying to get back to their safe perches, Rowe says.

"I talked to individuals who were outside when the birds started crashing into things," she says.After the birds took flight they would have been completely disoriented and flying at a high rate of speed, "most likely about 25 mph, given my experience with their cousins, the tricolored blackbird," Meese says.

They would have flown up into the air, then back down looking for a safe place to roost.

"This rapid descent of living birds crashing into these multiple obstacles then caused the loud noises reported by the residents of Beebe, especially those that flew into rooftops or walls of houses," Meese says. "This also accounts for the blunt force trauma to the breasts."

Perhaps most importantly, Meese says, the spatial distribution of the carcasses on the ground is what would be expected from a flock of blackbirds in flight, relatively close together and not scattered over many miles.

The necropsies performed by the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission found trauma to the chest, hemorrhages to the chest and the leading edge of the birds' wings broken, Rowe says.

"What seems like a deep mystery likely is not, and if this had occurred out in the middle of a wheat or corn field instead of in a suburban area, we'd probably never have been aware of it," Meese says.

State officials originally put the number of birds dead at around 3,000, but a more systematic count, and estimates of those taken by scavengers, puts it closer to 5,000, Rowe says.

The story of dead blackbirds raining down from the sky in a small Arkansas town, hitting as it did on a slow news week, caused a huge stir that still surprises state officials.

"I'm keeping a list of the most bizarre theories," Rowe says. So far they include:

• Aliens

• Noxious gases seeping out of the nearby New Madrid fault, cause of a massive earthquake in the area in 1812

• Sonic booms

• Fumes from a gas plant in Mississippi

• The government spraying poison over Beebe

And Meese adds these:

• Black helicopters (covert, unmarked military aircraft)

• Tornadoes

But it's taught Rowe that she and other wildlife experts need to do a better job of educating the public about the fact that wild animals die all the time. A bird that manages to hatch and leave the nest still has only a 70% chance of making it to its first birthday, she points out.

"Birds don't go to the bird hospital and get put on life support and die there. They just die. Mother Nature is not a nice lady," she says.

Contributing: Associated Press

Arkansas blackbird carcasses being sent for testing
CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/SciTech/20110103/birds-death-arkansas-110103/
Date: Mon. Jan. 3 2011 11:16 AM ET

Wildlife experts hope to gain insight this week into what caused the mysterious deaths of more than 1,000 red-winged blackbirds in an Arkansas town on New Year's Eve.

Autopsies will begin Monday in laboratories in Arkansas, Georgia and Wisconsin, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, which is heading up the investigation.

It may take a week for results to come in.

For now, investigators are scratching their heads at the strange phenomenon. Between 11:30 p.m. and midnight on New Year's Eve, about 1,000 birds fell from the sky in Beebe, Ark.

Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with the AGFC, suggested lightning, high-altitude hail or celebratory fireworks may have played a role.

Horace Taylor, an animal control officer in Beebe, told CTV's Canada AM he believes the birds were scared into flight by fireworks. Because they have limited night vision, the birds then simply started to fly into objects and each other.


"We're pretty sure it's fireworks that caused it," Taylor said.


"The birds were frightened, they started flying and flying into one another, running into trees, houses, cars and everything they could hit, and it killed them, that's what I think happened."

The dead birds -- which have all been collected -- fell in an area about 1.5 kilometres long by 800 metres wide

The Monday necropsy testing is expected to help determine whether the birds died from trauma or toxin.

The incident occurred just one day after thousands of dead fished washed up on the shore of the Arkansas River, which is about 300 kilometres away from Beebe.

The fish were found by a tugboat operator along a 40-kilometre stretch of the river near the city of Ozark, Ark.

Because only drum fish were affected, some experts have suggested the die-off was likely due to disease, rather than contamination.

It's not clear whether there is any connection between the two incidents.

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

March 8 2011 city council election in Lakewood, CA

Update: Please see our Transparency Pledge for Candidates and our Candidate Review

Mayor Joseph Esquivel is bowing out of politics, but incumbent Vice Mayor Larry Van Nostran is running for re-election, further extending one of the longest city council tenures in the history of California. Of course Lakewood made sure that the small time period within which to file the documents to run for city council was only known to the fewest number of people possible, and so few people "got in" under the wire. Two are currently on city Commissions (typical) one is a former city councilman and the last is an unknown but with some government tie in. What is rather disheartening is that all are basically paid by the government in one form or another already. But this is what we are left with in Lakewood. Other local cities appear to have a more robust lineup of "non government", "non insider", "non establishment" candidates.

Here is the march 8th slate: Joy Janes, a community consultant with Assemblyman Warren Furutani and chair of Lakewood's planning and environment commission; Jeff Wood, deputy regional administrator with the California Emergency Management Agency and a member of Lakewood's recreation and community services commission; Marc Titel, former Lakewood city councilman and instructor at Fremont College and Marisa Perez, policy advisor to a member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District governing board.

LAAG hopes to find out more about these candidates in the coming weeks leading up to the election on March 8, 2011. The only good thing about the election is that we will be replacing a sitting councilperson for sure. This election is at least starting out much better than the dismal one that was never held in March 2009 which was more akin to the way things work in North Korea. At least this election we have real candidates and some choice! But don't get your hopes too high. After all this IS Lakewood. The more things change the more they stay the same.


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

Nordstrom "Rack" opening at Lakewood Center Mall October 14, 2010.

The Nordstrom "Rack" looks like it will be opening at Lakewood Center Mall October 14, 2010. Again LAAG does not give the city council any credit for this, but rather the credit goes to Macerich who operates the mall and Nordstrom which looks like it is now targeting "downscale" shoppers in Lakewood and a few other cities. Meanwhile Cerritos gets the "top shelf" Nordstrom redux in May 2010 (see story below). Once again upstaging Lakewood. The only thing we can say is that a few more sales tax dollars might come Lakewood's way now. "Lakewood stimulus"... Oh goodie. Maybe Lakewood city council can pay the "newly found money" into the LASD slush fund. Oh and finally don't bother going over to the city of Lakewood website for this info. You won't find it as of our post date. Once again Lakewood drops the ball on an announcement that really might mean something.

California store openings

Lakewood, CA - Lakewood Center (Nordstrom Rack)
Opening Date: October 14, 2010

Burbank, CA - Burbank Empire Center (Nordstrom Rack)
Opening Date: October 21, 2010

Fremont, CA - Pacific Commons Shopping Center (Nordstrom Rack)
Opening Date: Spring 2011

Upland, CA - Colonies Crossroads (Nordstrom Rack)
Opening Date: Fall 2011

Redondo Beach, CA - South Bay Center (Nordstrom Rack)
Opening Date: Fall 2011

West Covina, CA - West Covina Mall (Nordstrom Rack)
Opening Date: Fall 2011

New Cerritos Nordstrom will open Friday
By Kelly Puente, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/04/2010 06:39:45 PM PDT

CERRITOS - The city of Cerritos will celebrate a milestone Friday with the grand opening of a new Nordstrom and six new shops in Los Cerritos Center.

The roughly $90 million expansion project, a partnership between the city, Nordstrom and Macerich Co., has been five years in the making. The mall at the San Gabriel (605) Freeway and South Street will now feature a 138,000-square-foot Nordstrom and a 36,500-square-foot wing with M·A·C Cosmetics, True Religion Brand Jeans, Carlton Hair International, Vision Shoes, Foreign Exchange clothing and Love Culture clothing.

Opening day kicks off at 8a.m. Friday with a "Beauty Bash" complete with complimentary makeup consultations, a preview of new products and tips from beauty advisers.

Doors officially open at 10a.m.

Employees were scurrying through the department store on Tuesday, organizing spring sandals, hanging up the latest trends in clothing and stocking cosmetics counters in preparation for opening day. All the merchandise in the mall's old Nordstrom will be moved to the new store overnight tonight.

Plans are still in the works for the space in the old Nordstrom. Built in 1981, it was the third of its kind in California.

While some retailers like Robinsons-May and Mervyns have shuttered, others in Los Cerritos Center seem to be thriving.

In January, retail giant Forever 21 opened a two-story 85,000-square-foot flagship store in the former Mervyns site.

And like Forever 21, Nordstrom continues to grow. Last year, the company saw $441million in net earnings, a nearly 10 percent increase from the previous year. The company reported overall retail sales of $8.26 billion for 2009.

Not bad for what started as a small shoe shop in Seattle founded by Swedish immigrant John Nordstrom in 1901.

"It literally reads like an American success story," said his great-grandson Pete Nordstrom, president of merchandising, in a phone interview. "I think he'd be shocked at what it is today."

Pete Nordstrom says the company has stayed successful over the years because it knows what its customers want.

"We've been able to pay close attention to our customers and evolve with their changing dynamic," he said. "We have a broad range of prices, and as price becomes more of a factor with the economy, we've been able to adjust without becoming a highly promotional store."

Despite the economic recession, plans for a new store in Los Cerritos Center never fell off track, Pete Nordstrom said.

"We've been doing business in Cerritos for a long time," he said.


The mall generates about $2.7 million in annual sales tax revenue and about $3.1 million in property tax for the city. The expansion project is expected to generate an additional $360,000 in annual sales tax and another $1.1 million in property tax.

In addition to the day's festivities, at 7 p.m. the mall will unveil its newest art piece, a 20-foot-high stainless steel sculpture of a shopping bag. And on May 13 from 7 p.m. to 9p.m., M·A·C Cosmetics will hold a grand opening party with cocktails, appetizers and models displaying makeup.

kelly.puente@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1305


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

Getting out while the getting is good... Howard Chambers finally calls it quits

You have to hand it to Howard for great timing. 34 years as city manager must be a state or national record. He has stress? Well no doubt that has increased since the City of Bell debacle, not to mention being "outed" here, here, and here. Oh well he can join his other retired Lakewood Calpers pals and live carefree with lifetime medical and pension benefits that will no doubt cost us taxpayers millions. (the "Lakewood Six" currently costing us taxpayers $771,322.56 Annually) Much like our other noblemen in the state legislature. And for what you ask? Oh I am sure every blade of grass in Lakewood will be dedicated to Howard tonight. I expect some sort of freeway or building to be named after him shortly. Perhaps a new "self promotion shrine" we can pay for. lol indeed.

All we can hope is that the city council resets the clock on these outlandish City Manager salaries and they are more in line with (or have a rational relationship to) other cities with similar populations and total employee counts. But knowing the city council I doubt that. Again the hiring situation works much the same as it did in Bell and on corporate boards. "You pay me well and I will reward you later...some how.." So the game goes on and no one is watching the till. Oh and as for potential candidates to fill Howard's spot I hear there are some dudes from Bell looking for a sweet job....

So LAAG says "c'est la vie! Howard". And I am sure you will keep us residents posted on what you're up to just like you have for the last 38 years. Yeah right. Oh and we have to take Howard at his word that he is in fact retiring for good and will not change his mind, like Donald Waldie did last year, and not going to "run" some other city (for a "bigger" salary increase and nifty "pension spike") and then do a "double dip" on his pension. Time will tell.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_16068235
City Manager Howard Chambers will end 38-year Lakewood career
By Phillip Zonkel, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/13/2010 08:57:06 PM PDT

LAKEWOOD - The man who has been a fixture at Lakewood City Hall for 38 years - helping balance budgets and maintain parks - is leaving.

Howard Chambers, city manager for 34 of those years, will publicly announce his retirement at tonight's City Council meeting.

Chambers said his doctor has told him for the past year to manage his stress better. The primary stress culprit is his job, Chambers said.

"Life in the public sector is extremely stressful," [LAAG: "you betcha, ever since Bell corruption story broke] said Chambers, 65, from his Brea residence. "My body used to metabolize stress like a protein shake. Now it kicks my butt. I wish I could turn back the clock 20 years."

The council will soon begin the process of selecting Chambers' successor, said city spokesman Bill Grady.

The two-hour round trip commute between Brea and Lakewood also was a deciding factor in his retirement, Chambers said. [LAAG: I guess living in the city was out of the question in a city you manage]

Chambers is widely considered the California city manager with the longest tenure in the same city. Before becoming city manager, Chambers, from 1972 to 1976, was the executive assistant to the city manager.

Between 1969 and 1972, Chambers was Rosemead's assistant city manager.

"Howard's entire career reflects an abiding commitment to all of us who live and work here," said Lakewood Mayor Joseph Esquivel. "He truly loves Lakewood and the results can be seen in every neighborhood." [LAAG: please be specific]

Donald Waldie, the assistant to the city manager, was hired by Chambers in December 1977, and said Chambers' management style was supportive and collaborative.

"Howard offered a vision for Lakewood, one where everyone worked together to make a safe, family-orientated city, and shared it with senior managers and city work forces," Waldie said. "That vision made it easy to see the way."

Chambers' ties to Lakewood are lifelong. He grew up near Mayfair Park and worked at the YMCA.

A park director encouraged him to become a recreation leader, a path that led him to become a park director and a fixture at city hall.

After befriending the city administrator at the time, Chambers showed an interest in public administration and began taking classes at Cal State Long Beach.

After earning his degree, Chambers interned at Lakewood for two years, handling youth services. He then went to work with Rosemead as an assistant city manager.

In 1972, Chambers returned to Lakewood, securing the post of executive assistant.

Under Chambers' leadership, Lakewood developed the Civic Center, the Weingart Senior Center, the renovations of the John Sanford Todd Community Center and Mayfair Park, The Centre at Sycamore Plaza, Rynerson Park and the expansion and modernization of the Lakewood Sheriff's Station. [LAAG: thats it?]

Chambers said he takes pride in presenting balanced budgets, managing to keep park programs going and maintaining streets and other infrastructure in times of recession.

Chambers' pride and enthusiasm for the work makes it more difficult to retire.

"You don't know how much I'm going to miss it," he said.

phillip.zonkel@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1258
Want to go?

What: Lakewood City Council meeting.

Where: City Council chambers at The Centre at Sycamore Plaza, 5000 Clark Ave.

When: 7:30 p.m., today

Watch: Broadcast live on CityTV 31 and at www.lakewoodcity.org.


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