Off Topic: Los Angeles Members Please Check In

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by gregndodgers

This is crazy.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2kTrN...B0b2RheQ%3D%3D

Appalling, absolutely appalling! But the citizens of Los Angeles voted her into the position!

Originally Posted by ABC11

Seven months before the uncontrolled Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, the city's fire department budget for this fiscal year was cut by more than $17.5 million, records show.

Mayor Karen Bass signed the City of Los Angeles' budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The total budget for the city's fire department was $819.64 million.

Records show that for the previous fiscal year, the LAFD's total budget was $837.2 million. The total budget includes salaries, expenses and equipment.

I guess Mayor Karen Bass had other priorities....

[Peter_Spaeth]

And people probably applauded her for getting the budget more under control even if it was a small amount relatively. Can't have it both ways.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

And people probably applauded her for getting the budget more under control even if it was a small amount relatively. Can't have it both ways.

Oh?!

Originally Posted by Fox News

While Los Angeles officials were stripping millions in funding from their fire department ahead of one of the most destructive wildfires in state history, hundreds of thousands of dollars were allocated to fund programs such as a "Gay Men’s Chorus" and housing for the transgender homeless.

Deadly fires erupted across Southern California this week, which were amplified by fierce winds that resulted in about 10,000 homes and businesses being destroyed. After fire hydrants weren't producing water and homes burned to the ground, residents began calling out Democratic-led leadership in the state, who cut the Los Angeles Fire Department's (LAFD) funding by $17.6 million just months prior.

But even as the department funding was being pulled back, a Fox News Digital review of the L.A. County budget uncovered thousands of taxpayer dollars that were allocated to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and programs giving syringes to the homeless.

For example, the budget allocated $14,010 to the "Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles" this year, a group that seeks to "create musical experiences that strengthen our role as a leader among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and performing arts organizations."

Another $190,000 was allocated to the Homeless and HIV Program, which includes a "syringe exchange" program that gives sterile syringes to homeless drug addicts.

An additional $100,000 of county funds was put aside to pay for Juneteenth celebrations, while $13,000 was allocated to "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Heritage Month Programs."

The Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department was also granted $100,000 for a "Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe" to fund housing for homeless transgender individuals in Hollywood.

The county also granted $13,000 to "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Heritage Month Programs" and $4.5 million to the infrastructure of electric vehicle (EV) chargers. Appropriations for the General City Purposes saw $250,000 set aside for "equity and inclusion."

According to the report, homelessness funding was larger than the LAFD budget for the second year in a row.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Oh?!

Classic Fox News misdirection and bias. If only LA hadn't tried to take care of those degenerates with HIV, the fires could have been contained. I mean who can take this seriously? Agenda much? Never mind, I know who.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Classic Fox News misdirection and bias. If only LA hadn't tried to take care of those degenerates with HIV, the fires could have been contained. I mean who can take this seriously? Agenda much? Never mind, I know who.

You want to get political, you fucking loudmouth twat??? This is for you, asshole...

mediabidenCPR.jpg

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

You want to get political, you fucking loudmouth twat??? This is for you, asshole...

Ummm ... JollyElm ?? Are you OK ?? lol

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

Ummm ... JollyElm ?? Are you OK ?? lol

Yes, he's perfectly OK. That guy he is fed up with has been on net54 a long time, but is a know it all, who, like others on this forum, takes a contradictory stand on everything.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

Ummm ... JollyElm ?? Are you OK ?? lol

Yes, thanks (although you're probably just being facetious ). I am so tired of that opinionated loudmouth. He's so full of himself that he thinks everyone needs to hear his opinions on every single topic under the sun. The good news is, finally other people are seeing it, too. I have never come across a grown man who craves attention as much as he does, and I'm done with it.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

You want to get political, you fucking loudmouth twat??? This is for you, asshole...

Attachment 647021

He was hardly the 1st one to make it political in this thread.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

He was hardly the 1st one to make it political in this thread.

A few posts up from yours, I asked to keep the politics out of this thread (per forum rules, everyone knows them)
Can you help me understand how you accomplished that with your statement?
thanks


And thoughts and prayers to all those affected.
.

[G1911]

I doubt the $17.5M made a material difference here. I also doubt that California has to burn down every 1-3 years and we have to have water shortages frequently, and there is nothing we can do about the problems. Perhaps they could not direct as much fresh water into the ocean as they do now. A host of measures and ideas have been proposed long before this particular fire, with very little ever actually being done. Current California policy is clearly not working as this serious problem gets worse, but of course the most important thing is government never ever be held accountable or criticized since there is no meaningful opposition in the state to blame policy on. Attention is rarely focused on solving practical problems, instead of publicity stunts and virtue signaling about meaningless drivel.

[gregndodgers]

“Nearly 100 fire engines, trucks, and ambulances are out of service awaiting repairs. LAFD is already severely understaffed and experiencing unsustainable call levels and having these million dollar rigs out of service only makes things worse.”

~ LA Councilwoman Traci Park, Aug 6, 2024.

"As an all-risk fire and rescue agency serving more than four million people, the LAFD is one of the busiest and most understaffed big city fire departments in the entire country." United Firefighters of LA (UFLAC), Sept. 6, 2024

“My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded. "It’s not."

- LA Fire Chief Crowley. Jan 10, 2025.

The $7 million reduction in overtime hours "severely limited the Department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies.”

- LA Fire Chief Crowley. Dec 4, 2024

“The LAFD is extremely understaffed and under-resourced.”

- LA Fire Chief Crowley. Dec 17, 2024


Right, it does not appear that money was an issue.

[BioCRN]

Originally Posted by gregndodgers

“Nearly 100 fire engines, trucks, and ambulances are out of service awaiting repairs. LAFD is already severely understaffed and experiencing unsustainable call levels and having these million dollar rigs out of service only makes things worse.”

~ LA Councilwoman Traci Park, Aug 6, 2024.

“My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded. "It’s not."

- LA Fire Chief Crowley. Jan 10, 2025.

The $7 million reduction in overtime hours "severely limited the Department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies.”

- LA Fire Chief Crowley. Dec 4, 2024

Right, it does not appear that money was an issue.

Firetrucks, overtime hours, and training is not the droids you're looking for if you actually want things that could have or in the future will help the situation LA is currently experiencing.

This doesn't seem to be a left/right weird ass political issue.

This is a big deal that needs real solutions. The billions of personal property lost is a big deal. The displaced economic resources fighting this fire is a big deal.

If blame is really important, the damage is so extensive this very specific series of fires will be studied and results/suggestions will be made.

This event is so destructive it will change policy. What changes are to be made should matter more than anything. Money, hiring more people, and building new stations will most likely be part of these changes. While labor seems to be a major concern with these current fires, there is no amount of in-house labor or firetrucks driving to locations that have an impact on what is happening as much as water availability, localized water demand issues at a given moment, brush/land management, wind, etc...

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Classic Fox News misdirection and bias.

Not that a single word of what I quoted from Fox News was inaccurate. The only bias being shown here is your knee-jerk bias against Fox being the messenger.

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

If only LA hadn't tried to take care of those degenerates with HIV, the fires could have been contained.

Try this instead. If only L.A. hadn't wasted so much money on frivolously catering to its most favoured special interest groups, the fire department's budget would not have had to be cut. There then would have been more money to hire additional firemen, repair out of service fire trucks and perhaps install more pumping capacity to increase water pressure when needed.

May I also remind you that municipal governments are elected to take care of municipal matters such as water, sanitation, garbage removal and roads and not to advance any kind of social agenda?

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I mean who can take this seriously?

Only those who respect the taxpayers' dime which is a group it seems to which you don't belong.

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Agenda much?

Yes. I belong to the group that believes politicians should be accountable for their failures. That's my agenda.

It appears that yours is to make excuses for politicians wasting taxpayers' money so that less is available for what's really critical.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Yeah, we should let those homeless people rot and not take care of them, especially if they're gay or trans. Sure, SOME of these expenses listed by FOX seem egregious, but that's probably true of the budget of any major city anywhere, or state, or the federal government, regardless of the political leanings of the leadership. And as AJ posted, I don't think there's been any showing of any causal connection here. Nor has there been any showing that all the money spent on these programs would have gone to firefighting, there are probably lots of departments competing for city funds.

[G1911]

There is a wide reasonable chasm between funding drug needles for abusing illegal substances and transgender cafes for homeless people and not giving a rats ass. I'd love to stop having my money spent on the dumbest anti-science shit and enabling drug addicts. There is plenty of tax money to solve the real, actual problems in this state, from fires to homeless.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Yeah, we should let those homeless people rot and not take care of them, especially if they're gay or trans.

California's policy has been to facilitate homelessness by enabling those with substance abuse and psychiatric problems to squat on city, i.e. taxpayers', property! Letting a problem spread is no way to fight it.

[gregndodgers]

"While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish wildfires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors."

~ Governor Gavin Newsom

Exactly. if the city (fire hydrant) water system had been re-charged from local reservoirs (there are two large ones within 30 miles of the Eaton fire), could more homes have been saved?

A local Altadena man's charred body was found next to his house, and in his hands was the water hose he was using to try to save his house.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

I guess Mayor Karen Bass had other priorities....

They say that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. But at least he didn't leave town. Meanwhile L.A.'s Mayor Bass flew off to Ghana on a taxpayer funded junket in the midst of the conflagration devouring the city.

[BioCRN]

Are some of you actually pretending $500K to other city services would keep fires from burning houses?

This is LA. The city gives 1.9 billion to cops.

Billions. 1.9 of them.

900 million to the fire department, cutting 17.5 million of it burnt down a bunch of houses?

This isn't a money or budgeting issue.

It is perfectly fine to think your money is funding stuff that isn't needed, or it's wasted, or whatever, but budget allocations to other things and small fire training cuts aren't helping save houses. Houses aren't burning because incompetent people don't know how to put out fires.

Water, water availability, land/scrub management, wind...some things can be controlled, some can't, but it's not money keeping things from happening.

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

They say that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. But at least he didn't leave town. Meanwhile L.A.'s Mayor Bass flew off to Ghana on a taxpayer funded junket in the midst of the conflagration devouring the city.

She left for Ghana before any fires broke out. She didn't fly out in the "midst" of anything. Not like Ted Cruz did flying to Mexico in the midst of the Texas winter storm that killed 246 Texans in 2021. But I digress.

Tired of idiots spreading lies and misinformation when people are suffering.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

She left for Ghana before any fires broke out. She didn't fly out in the "midst" of anything. Not like Ted Cruz did flying to Mexico in the midst of the Texas winter storm that killed 246 Texans in 2021. But I digress.

Tired of idiots spreading lies and misinformation when people are suffering.

I can't speak to her competence overall, but it seems clear once she received word, she flew back immediately and was actively engaged as best she could during her return. Agree that the scapegoating is not productive.

[gregndodgers]

Maybe Gossage or Hrabosky are free to help fight the fires? They were excellent firemen in their prime. Maybe they still got it!

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

She left for Ghana before any fires broke out. She didn't fly out in the "midst" of anything.

Oh?!

Originally Posted by LA Times

Bass left town on Saturday as part of a presidential delegation to Ghana, just as the National Weather Service began ratcheting up its warnings about the coming windstorm. On Tuesday, she attended the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, leaving City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson as L.A.’s acting mayor when the Palisades fire broke out.

What? She flew out to beat the windstorm which might impede her ability to fly out? And what is a municipal politician doing at the inauguration of a foreign head of state anyway? Her job is to look after things like roads and sewers.

Originally Posted by LA Times

Tired of idiots spreading lies and misinformation when people are suffering.

And I'm very tired of apologists for the misuse of public funds by elected representatives.

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Oh?!



What? She flew out to beat the windstorm which might impede her ability to fly out? And what is a municipal politician doing at the inauguration of a foreign head of state anyway? Her job is to look after things like roads and sewers.



And I'm very tired of apologists for the misuse of public funds by elected representatives.

Don't think I ever argued that there were misused funds. I'd be open to seeing evidence thereof and would be against it as well. Fact of the matter is, the Mayor being out of the country when the fires started and the LAFD budget had no bearing whatsoever on the cause and outcome of this catastrophe. But the citizens of LA appreciate everyone's empathy and any help you can give to those affected would be much appreciated. At the very least the American Red Cross had to cancel dozens of blood drives and is always in need of blood donations. If you have extra funds and want to donate, my son's science teacher, his wife and two young kids lost their house in Altadena. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-alta...3a20a2300fd527

[Balticfox]

Okay, done.