For all those government employees and teachers: How do you fell about your retirement money being used to purchase the state’s debt?

Well, that’s one suggestion by a California lawmaker, according to the Sacramento Bee.

With California’s wallet emptying out faster than the cash is trickling in, state officials scrambling to pay the bills have set their sights on new lending sources: California’s two biggest public pension funds.

Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has proposed that the California Public Employees’ Retirement System purchase the state’s looming debt. The money would keep California operating – including paying state employee payroll and funding schools – into next year.

Florez outlined the plan in a letter to state Treasurer Bill Lockyer on Friday. Lockyer spokesman Tom Dresslar on Monday said his boss will also float the idea to the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. Lockyer sits on the boards of both funds.

“I just thought, ‘Nobody is talking about CalPERS as a possible investor,’ ” Florez said Monday. “They might be able to get us a better deal than the banks, and we might be able to give them a better return on their investment than the stock market, especially right now.”

But the idea doesn’t sit well with everyone.

“If the state can’t borrow money from the credit markets, why would CalPERS be interested?” said Keith Brainard, research director for the National Association of State Retirement Administrators.

Have you mustered up the strength yet to take a look at your 401k? If you have, here’s a pick-me-up:

Iowa man faces charges after hugging officer
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 09/29/2008 12:41:22 PM PDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa–A hug has landed an Iowa City man in hot water. An Iowa City man who thought a police officer just “needed a hug” faces several charges including assault on a peace officer and public intoxication.

Police said a 21-year-old man was arrested on Saturday. According to police records, the man ran up to the officer and stuck out his arms.

The officer told him to “get away,” but the man didn’t take the hint and embraced the officer.

When the officer told the man to put his hands behind his head, he refused. He was then handcuffed.

 

A small city is about to open its doors to the world wide web.

Today, the South El Monte City Council will vote on approving a contract with a company that will live stream council meetings onto the city’s Web site.

However, it will only be the audio.

The price tag will be $18,920, and an $815 monthly maintenance. The agreement will be with Granicus, Inc., a company used by other cities such as El Monte and now Rosemead.

As more and more cities move toward getting their meetings online, West Covina in July decided to cut off its broadcasts online and the television as a measure to save money during a deficit.

Illegal immigrants who return after deportation commit more crimes, the Los Angeles Times reported today.

By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 8, 2008

Illegal immigrants who have been deported at least once from the United States are far more likely than other immigrants to repeatedly commit crimes, according to a study by the nonprofit Rand Corp.

The data indicated that illegal immigrants, overall, were not a greater crime risk, according to the study, which looked at all inmates released from Los Angeles County Jail for a month in 2002.

But among those who previously had been deported, reentered the U.S. and were arrested and released from jail, nearly 75% went on to commit another crime within a year. And 28% were arrested three or more times during the one-year period.

The recidivism rate was much lower for illegal immigrants who had not been previously deported, with 32% of those inmates being rearrested within a year and 7% arrested three or more times during that year.

Since the data were collected in 2002, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has overhauled screening for illegal immigrants and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has poured resources into border security. But researchers said the analysis still could have public policy implications for L.A. County and other counties around the nation.

Read more.

This weekend, I visited the Petersen Automotive Museum. (Not by choice; my Dad wanted to see it.) But it ended up being a really interesting museum, and told a great story of how cars shaped the culture and landscape of Los Angeles.

One thing that caught my eye was a display of old gas pumps.

First, it was interesting because the gas prices are so low! (Yes, that says 28 cents a gallon!)

Secondly, one of the pumps resembled the pumps spotted at an abdandoned gas station on Shamrock in Monrovia. Any one know anything about that abandoned station?

The council meeting was still going on when I had to duck out at 10:15 p.m. to meet my deadline. I’ll just catch up on the televised meetings. Oh, wait. That’s right. West Covina cancelled that little feature. (I just crack myself up.)

Anywho, most of the meeting tonight was taken up by the nearly 20 residents that spoke about the pulling of the televised meetings. Most of them said they wanted to the meetings televised, one suggested alternative funding sources, and some suggested that the council cut other things in the budget, like trips to China and Japan, car allowances and getting rid of the horse property it is allegedly leasing. (I’ll follow up on the horse property claim tomorrow.)

But in the end, the council majority said, basically, that the economy stinks, everyone is making tough budget decisions both at their homes and at their work places, and that this is after all just a temporary decision.

Also coming out of tonight’s meeting: The council approved a master plan for Orangewood Park. As far as funding goes, that still has to be figured out. But this does mean bonified soccer fields so the hundreds of soccer players in the city.

Oh yeah, and Councilman Mike Touhey took a dig at Councilman Roger Hernandez, who asked the council to consider installing flagpoles at all city facilties. Hernandez was also the one asking the council to bring back the broadcasts of the meetings. Touhey said if it were him, he wouldn’t be asking for the reinstatement of the broadcasts of the meetings AND the installation of the flagpoles at the same meeting.

To those dedicated West Covina residents: What did we miss?

A graffiti program brought about after the deaths of several residents, including Pico Rivera resident Maria Hicks , who was shot and killed when she caught taggers in her neighborhood, will allow the county to recover costs for graffiti clean-up.

The county approved the program today, and it will become effective Sept. 18.

The new ordinance allows the county to declare itself a “graffiti victim” and recover costs for graffiti abatement — including enforcement, removal and damages.

The County can recoup unpaid costs through liens or special assessments against the property of the graffiti offender or guardian of offending minor.

Adult graffiti offenders are subject to a civil citation issued by the Sheriff for fines up to $1,000.

The new Ordinance expands Supervisor Gloria Molina’s graffiti enforcement program which resulted in 168 arrests.

But tagging related deaths continue. On July 23, Joshua Rodriguez was shot dead in South Whittier at Mulberry Drive and Ruoff Avenue.

Authorities said that Rodriguez wasn’t a tagger. I shot these photos of Rodriguez’s shrine, which included writing comments with a Sharpie on the sidewalk.

The County Board of Supervisors, on the recommendation of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, increased a $10,000 reward to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of person(s) responsible for shooting and killing 16-year-old Samantha Salas on Jan. 26 as she was walking with a friend in area near Monrovia.

Billionare land developer Ed Roski, who wants to bring an NFL stadium to the city of Industry, is still jumping through the many hoops to find a team that wants to play in his state of the art facility.

But at least he’ll have the city of West Covina backing his plans. West Covina City Council will vote on a memorandum backing the stadium, which will be near the intersection of the 60 and 57 freeways.

BTW: Interesting that Roski has said in the past that traffic impacts in that area will be minimal if a stadium comes to town. Do you believe him?

Here’s the staff report:

City of West Covina
Memorandum
A G E N D A

ITEM NO. D – 8c
DATE August 19, 2008

TO: Andrew G. Pasmant, City Manager
and City Council

FROM: Chris Freeland, Assistant to the City Manager

SUBJECT: RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NFL STADIUM IN THE CITY OF INDUSTRY, CALIFORNIA

RECOMMENDATION:

It is recommended that the City Council adopt the following resolution:

RESOLUTION NO. _____________

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA DECLARING ITS SUPPORT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NFL STADIUM IN INDUSTRY, CALIFORNIA.

DISCUSSION:

On October 28, 2004, the City of Industry approved an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a 4.8 million square foot Industry Business Center to be located near the intersection of the 57 and 60 freeways in the City of Industry. On April 16, 2008, Majestic Realty Co. applied for modifications to the EIR to permit the development of a football stadium suitable for a National Football League (NFL) team and reduce the size of the Industry Business Center Development.

The proposed 592-acre development is to include:

Stadium (with Team Facilities): 75,000 Seats, including 11,000 Club seats and 175 Suites

Office Buildings: 1.49 million sq. ft.

Retail Shops: 833,000 sq. ft.

Restaurants: 162,000 sq. ft.

Live Theater: 5,000 seats (60,000 sq. ft.)

Movie Theater: 1,200 seats (60,000 sq. ft.)

Green and non-parking Open Space: 271 acres

The proposed stadium will include the following:

Total Seats: 75,000 (expandable to 80,000 for Super Bowl games)

Suites: 175

Club Level: 11,000 seats

Team Offices: 45,000 sq. ft.

National Football League (NFL) Attraction: 40,000 sq. ft.

Team Store and Other Sponsored Retail Stores: 30,000 sq. ft.

Restaurants: 30,000 sq. ft.

Banquet facilities: 20,000 sq. ft.

NFL Team Training Facility: 115,000 sq. ft.

Medical Center and Clinic: 100,000 sq. ft.

Parking Spaces: 25,000 spaces

According to Majestic Realty Co., the shape of the Los Angeles Stadium will be an asymmetrical bowl which will provide improved seat positions and site lines for both general admission and premium fans.

The Stadium will anchor nearly 3 million square feet of mixed-use (entertainment, retail, commercial, office) development designed to express the Southern California lifestyle and provide retail and entertainment to families year round. The proposed project will create thousands of new jobs in the region and based on Majestic Realty’s success with Staples Center, property values of the surrounding communities will increase.

City staff also anticipates that the development could create ancillary benefits, such as, increased property tax, hotel occupancy tax, sales tax revenues, and the opportunity for new commercial developments/tenants in West Covina if the proposed stadium is approved.

The proposed stadium is completely funded with private investment funds and will be constructed using recycled materials, water conservation features, and other “green” elements to be environmentally friendly, including the restoration of adjacent waterway and trails.

Attached is a resolution supporting the proposed stadium project, as well as, a rendering of the proposed development.

FISCAL IMPACT:
The anticipated increases in sales tax, property tax, hotel occupancy tax, and other revenues to West Covina from the proposed stadium are unknown at this time.

Prepared by:

___________________________
Chris Freeland
Assistant to the City Manager

If all the tax measures pass, including a one-cent sales tax hike that the Governor is allegedly suggesting, cities such as Pico Rivera will be paying as much as 10.75 percent in sales tax.

Here are the proposed city and county tax measures appearing on the November ballot affecting San Gabriel Valley voters:

El Monte
What: A half-cent sales tax for a period of five years
Expected revenue: $4.4 million a year
Reason: To preserve funding for public safety, street and storm drain maintenance, rebuild reserve funds, plug a $400,000 deficit

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
What: A half-cent sales tax increase for 30 years
Expected revenue: $30 – $40 billion
Reason: To improve traffic flow, expand public transportation, extend light rail with airport connections and provide clean-fuel buses

Pico Rivera
What: A one-cent sales tax increase
Expected revenue: $6 million
Reasons: To preserve public safety, community programs, plug a $4.8 million deficit, and maintain city infrastrcuture

Pomona
What: An increase of the utility users tax to 10 percent from 9 percent for 2 years and 2 months
Expected revenue: $1.8 million
Reasons: Maintain city services and capital improvement projects

San Gabriel
What: An increase in the utility users tax to 8 percent from 6 percent
Expected revenue: $1.2 million
Reasons: Improve police protection and investigations that reduce crime, preserve fire and paramedic emergency response times, plug a $600,000 deficit, and perform capital improvement projects.