Los Angeles’ budget woes

28 May 2010 |permalink | email article

NEW study by the Pew Charitable Trusts finds that the City of the Angels is one of the nation’s most fiscally troubled big cities, While all of the 13 cities in Pew’s ongoing examination are feeling the budgetary pinch of recession, Los Angeles’ deficit, about 11 percent of its projected budget, is the fourth highest, behind Chicago, Kansas City and Phoenix.

Like Detroit, L.A. is confronting a huge shortfall, talk of municipal bankruptcy and deep distrust between City Council and mayor about the extent of its problems, much less the solutions, report says. Angelenos are not yet talking about descent into Third World status. But what the nation’s second largest city (after New York), needs is an imaginative and savvy mayor in 2013 who will lead L.A. in a compelling new direction.

Briefly noted – The Center for Responsive Politics noted that the McCain-Palin campaign received $2.4 million from oil and gas interests compared to Obama’s $900.000 in the 2008 campaign, although BP employees did give more to the Obama campaign ($71,051) to McCain’s ($36,649.) . . . .Palin will get $75,000 to speak at Cal State University Stanislaus, in Turlock, at a 50th Anniversary gala on June 25, not including expenses. Event is being hosted by a private non-profit organization not subject to the Public Records Act. . . . . Both the White House and Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) are under intense pressure to be more forthcoming about his claim that the White House offered him a job in exchange for dropping out of the Senate primary against Sen. Arlen Specter. Obama skirted the subject in his news conference on the Gulf spill yesterday. . . USA Today/Gallup Poll finds nearly 9 in 10 respondents, 87 percent, say they are following conditions in the Gulf closely.

Quotable

“That’s why you never heard me say, ‘Drill, baby, drill,’ because we can’t drill our way out of the problem.” President Obama, invoking the famous words of Sarah Palin. New York Times’ Jackie Calmes followed with query about whether he regretted pushing for more oil exploration off the coast of the United States. His short answer: No.

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