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Monthly Archives: April 2009
La Puente city staff could be minus one
I just spotted this on the agenda for a special meeting in La Puente on Monday:
THE CITY COUNCIL WILL ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54957(e) TO CONSIDER PUBLIC EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL/RELEASE
Looks like someone is getting the boot.
Last month the City Council met in closed session to do a performance evaluation on City Attorney James Casso.
When it was all over, Casso announced that the Council gave staff direction on a 3-2 vote. He did not say what that “direction” was, but obviously it had something to do with Casso’s evaluation. Descending votes came from Council members John solis and Lola Storing. Could Casso be the one on the outs?
No permanent city manager in Covina, yet
Covina officials held a meeting earlier today to discuss the appointment of a full-time city manager. Nothing was finalized, though Mayor Walter Allen said he hoped to “come to a conclusion by Monday or Tuesday.”
“We’re still in deliberation,” he said. “We had a positive meeting today on this issue and we hope to have something as early as the beginning of this coming week.”
The position is temporarily being filled by former Pasadena City Manager Cynthia Kurtz.
Enforcing the state’s open meeting law
The L.A. Times tackles a story about the number of Brown Act violations investigated by the District Attorney’s office, which receives dozens of complaints a year from constiuents across Los Angeles county. The Brown Act is the state’s open meeting law.
Among the cities mentioned in the story is Walnut, which was threatened with litigation for a closed door meeting in which, “Mayor Joaquin Lim was said to have led a council discussion and polled his colleagues about opposing construction of an NFL stadium in the neighboring city of Industry,” according to the Times article.
But as Terry Francke points out in the story, it is very difficult to see criminal charges come from Brown Act violations.
But criminal charges are nearly impossible to bring, said Terry Francke, a lawyer and author of a guide to the state’s open meetings law. Prosecutors must show that an official intentionally violated the law, a difficult standard to meet in court, he said.
“The idea of a letter, firing a shot across the offender’s bow, is a very good one,” Francke said.
As reporters, we frequently receive news tips from people alerting us of a possible Brown Act violation, such as when a majority of council members allegedly make a decision before an item ever appears on the agenda. But even proving that is especially difficult since elected officials can simply say, “No, I did not violate the Brown Act.”
SGV morning round-up
Assemblyman Anthony Adams served with recall papers. Read more.
Updated story on the resingation of Rosemead City Manager Oliver Chi. Read more.
Higher than normal number of candidates gearing up for Monrovia election. Read more.
More from my interview with ‘Monk’
Yesterday I did an interview with actor Tony Shalhoub who stars as Monk in the USA Network television show of the same name since they were filming parts of an episode in downtown Covina. While we got some quotes from Tony Shalhoub into the newspaper, I thought I would post some more of the interview here since it was a rare opportunity to take 15-20 minutes to talk to the award winning character actor.
A producer for the show said they didn’t know when the episode they were filming in downtown Covina would air because the show isn’t serialized so the show order won’t be determined yet, but they start airing in July. “You’ll just have to watch” he said. But he did say he had a feeling this would be one of the stronger episodes, so it may be early in the season.
Here are the quotes from Shalhoub:
On it being the Monk’s eighth and final season:
“I have a feeling it’s going to be our best season. I am not just saying that.”
On what he will take with him after the show is finished:
“I think I have become a little more observant in the way Monk is so focused on the smallest details. When I am examining something, I seem to have more patience for it.”
On being a character actor and the rise of character driven shows on television:
“It adds diversity and variety to television. It is more fun to do a character than to be just a mouth piece.”
“There are some (television shows) that are about the headlines, or the story … or the high tech as opposed to being about the odd or in our case funny characters. And that is thing thing, all the characters on Monk are slightly off.”
On Monk’s popularity:
“Is he charming? I don’t know. It’s not my job to make him charming. That is more the writing and the trappings of the show. And at times he isn’t charming. He can be self-centered and insensitive to other people’s problems.”
On playing the same role for 8 years (One of my favorite quotes from the interview):
“There is a danger it can become less interesting. But the writers have done a good job of changing it up. They have written in good contradictions. People are complicated and contradictory. It makes it more well rounded, more human. I always get kind of … sort of taken a back when I hear ‘my character wouldn’t do that.’ In life, we do things that aren’t really predictable. There are moments where we are more adventurous and more careless than other (moments).”
On what people can expect in the final season:
“The writers are determined to solve (Monk’s wife’s murder) case for sure. That will release Monk somewhat, give him some closure then. It will be a part of his recovery. A cure, maybe not 100 percent. They will also probably figure out a way to get him reinstated into the police force.”
Chi departure: UPDATE
Aside from the nearly $330,000 severance package, Rebecca Kimitch said that former Rosemead City Manager will also keep his city car: a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited.
Afternoon round-up
Redistricting plan to appear on West Covina’s November ballot. Read more.
Diamond Bar gets $20 million settlement deal from Industry over the proposed NFL stadium. Read more.
Aurora Charter Oak Hospital in Covina won’t expand after all, Covina City Council voted Tuesday night.
Still no word yet on who the new Covina City Manager will be.
Rosemead spends $330,000 for a ‘new direction’
Looks like my head was up my rear afterall, as one of our readers noted.
Oliver Chi got a nearly $330,000 severance package, and the council will offer Jeffrey Stewart, a former Rosemead employee and former city manager of El Segundo, as interim city manager, Rebecca Kimitch reports.
This takes the tally up to nearly $600,000 that the council has paid out over the past two years in severance packages to its fired city managers. Andy Lazzarretto got a nearly $262,000 severance package when he was fired in 2007.
But is the price worth it to fire another city manager? Absolutely, Councilwoman Margaret Clark said.
Asked if that price was worth terminating Chi, Clark said, “yes, to get a new direction, yes.”
Congressional candidates face off
Voters following the race to replace Hilda Solis and represent the 32nd Congressional District mark your calendars – the East San Gabriel Valley League of Women Voters is planning a candidates’ forum May 6, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
The event will be crowded – all 12 candidates are invited.
It will be held at the Baldwin Park Community Center, 4100 Baldwin Park Blvd.