By Brian Hews
Last week, the Los Angles Times graded Mayor Garcetti, and other Los Angeles politicians, giving him a “C” as Mayor of Los Angeles.
I guess all of a sudden the LA Times fancies themselves the Tom Torlakson of Los Angeles, taking on the role of Superintendent of Politicians in LA (SOPLA).
Imagine that, the LA Times’ own values and ideals of their “Editorial Board” grading local politicians.
Who is on the Editorial Board? The LA Times Editorial Board is a collection of LA Times employees.
I shall call them SOPLANS.
The mere fact that SOPLANS chose to “grade politicians” using their own criteria is very arrogant and pompous to those in East and Southeast Los Angeles, the part of L.A. County the LA Times completely ignores.
To those residents, if the LA Times was a teacher, it would have been banned to the infamous LAUSD Teacher’s Jail years ago, along with Central Basin Director James “Jimmy” Roybal.
Hews Media Group-Community News would like to appoint itself, much like the L.A. Times did, and GRADE NEWSPAPERS for their coverage of news in Los Angeles.
HMG-CN will call this new position Superintendent of Newspapers in Los Angeles, (SONLA).
For its first grade, HMG-CN gives the LA Times an F for ignoring the massive amount of public corruption going on in Los Angeles these days.
Unless it is on the Westide of Los Angeles, and involves well-known politicians or people, the LA Times will not report on it.
And even then, they might ignore it given the consequences.
The Veterans Affairs property fiasco in West Los Angeles is one of the biggest land fraud scandals in the history of the United States, robbing Veterans coming home from war their rightful place to live.
HMG-CN exposed the land fraud last year, tying many West L.A. politicians, other officials, even Senator Feinstein into the story.
The fraud was ignored by the LA Times until a television reporter found out that the VA Hospital on the property was not run well. Only then did they start looking at the illegal leases, some only $10,000 for acres of land, and report on it.
It is a well-known fact, especially to all East and Southeast L.A. residents, that the LA Times ignores the huge corruption occurring in any other area of L.A. that does not have West in it.
Witness the tiny City of Commerce.
Commerce has three elected officials, Mayor Lilia Leon, Mayor pro tem Tina Baca Del Rio, and Councilman Ivan Altamirano, supported by compliant City Attorney Eddie Olivo, well known for the 2006 Vernon voting fiasco, basically running the city.
They allowed Steve Craig, the owner of the Citadel Outlet Mall, to retain his outdoor billboards even though the billboards violated City and State laws.
Leon, Baca del Rio, and Altamirano, with the help of Olivo, passed an ordinance, specifically for the Citadel Outlet Mall and his billboards, and the LA Times ignored it.
The LA Times likes to ignore big developers, much like they ignore anything Rick Caruso does.
But then again, Caruso and Craig throw big advertising dollars at LA Times.
Put the word West in front of Commerce and they might report on it.
And what about the far-reaching, and ongoing, corruption scandal at Central Basin Municipal Water District (CB), ground zero for the Calderon corruption saga, completely ignored by the LA Times until the Calderons were implicated.
Once they got wind of the scandal, the LA Times sent out their little attack dog reporters who befriended CB Director Leticia Vasquez.
Like most people who befriend Vasquez, LA Times reporters got burned and manipulated by Vasquez, then ran away.
The reporters completely ignored the fact she was recalled as Mayor in Lynwood, and is a party plaintiff in a $2 million whistleblower lawsuit against CB, suing the very agency she was elected to serve.
The LA Times also ignored Robert “Tag Team” Apodaca and his several sexual harassment lawsuits that have cost CB millions.
Maybe if they did not ignore Apodaca, he would not have been re-elected.
And then there is the John Noguez corruption scandal, what Steve Cooley called “the biggest corruption scandal in the history of Los Angeles.”
The LA Times laughed at HMG-CN for three months, only catching up after we exposed Noguez and his buddies.
And that’s exactly the way it is with the LA Times.
Unless it is a huge East Los Angeles story, like Bell or the latest fiasco in Huntington Park with the appointment of undocumented workers to Commissioner positions by a City Councilman, the LA Times will ignore it.
There has been several times where people called HMG-CN to give us a tip.
We investigated and found there was corruption.
The people who called said that the LA Times scoffed at them about the story.
Now with their well-know history of ignoring anything in L.A. that does not have Bell or West included, the LA Times anoints itself the teacher of L.A., giving all politicians grades, when nobody is grading the Times?
Well, HMG-CN/SONLA will.
And given the many legitimate stories they have ignored in LA that are “fit to print,” SONLA, and many other people in “Los Angeles East of the West,” give the Los Angeles Times an F.
Mayor Garcetti should too.
Eric has been city best Mayor. City has more programs then ever before. Construction is roaring in Downtown LA. Unemployment is 5%. Homeless housing is under way. Aver wage earner is making $24Per Hr. Hope he can lure more big clean business to make LA their home. Hurray for Democrat Eric G.
First time in LA history since WW2, we have so many regional programs, to bring social culture back to city. LA is awesome city in the country, 2nd largest city in USA.
Eric, (3) failures, no public restrooms in LA freeway grid, no LA city campgrounds, to attract tourism and our solar system ( roof top collectors) is not accelerating compared to Nation. Eric it is long commute, for city residents on the South East county lines, to commute to your city, without peeing/pooping on 5-105 freeways underpasses during rush hr commute.
Balderdash! Eric is a dyed in the wool liberal demo-creep! The always UBER liberal LA city council NEVER does anything REMOTELY like HELPING constituents! All they wanna do is punish law abiding gun owners and make em all criminals! LA city has the WORST anti-business laws and climate in the state!