By Neil Rubenstein

Observer Columnist

Lawyers, metal workers and police employed by the Los Angeles Unified School District were among many groups of employees who earned more on average than a typical teacher last year according to recently released payroll records, per the Los Angeles Daily News’ exclusive Los Angeles Unified School District salary data base.

Have you noticed the traffic lately? Why, it’s scandalous. I thought many would move out of the state but the population is almost 38.8 million. What a mess.

Who remembers the one and only Johnny Mathis? Well, I do!!! And I just bet you do as well since he has been in show business for almost 60 years. “Chances are,” “Misty” and “It’s not for me to say” were his biggest hits. Starting early next year Johnny will be touring again and his loyal fans cannot wait.

If you are on your way to school or your job and the MTA is running late you can call (213) 922-6235 and ask for a “delay verification.”

Are you a beer drinker? If you are a person who just loves an ice cold brewski, then you need to go to the craft brewers’ heaven or, as it is better known – Georgia. My friends, Georgia brewers charge for a tour but then the visitor receives a free souvenir to be drunk on site plus a free six pack to take home.

Bloomberg Businessweek magazine claims the average medical school grad’s debt upon graduation is $176,000.

I wouldn’t be surprised when cost of water gets so expensive that the owners of apartment houses put meters in each renter’s unit.

The Daily Courier of Prescott Arizona reported recently that the city may cut its general fund by $1.2 million and lay off staff as it grapples with growing costs in its public safety pension program.

The trucking companies are asking Congress to change certain laws and regulations so that 18-year-olds can drive semi trailers across state lines. Presently each trailer can be no longer than 28 feet apiece or 56 feet total. The new standard would be 33 feet apiece.

On an average day in the United States large trucks are involved in nearly 10 fatal crashes. In the majority of fatal accidents occupants of the smaller vehicle died. The next time you see Congresswoman Bass please ask her to vote “Yes” on highway safety.

Can it be true? At Beverly Hills City Hall they have 189 employees currently getting less than $15 per hour. According to a staff report an increase to $15 per hour would add $308,000 to the city budget in 2020.

San Francisco and Santa Monica have instituted a policy that it’s against the law for an adult without a child to frequent a playground or city park.

The Beverly Hills Unified School District just started an after school program for K-6th grade called Persian 101. Its goal is to inspire students to learn the Persian language and Iranian culture.

New moms are now eligible for up to 18 weeks of postpartum maternity leave, a United States Navy policy change that took effect on August 5. The number includes the six weeks that had already been available immediately after giving birth, according to a service-wide message released two months ago, and adds up to 12 weeks of “Additional Maternity Leave” that a new mom can take within the first year of her child’s life. This is welcome news for the nearly 5,000 sailors who have babies every year.

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The United States Navy, as of August 6 has 326,612 on active duty of which 54,728 are officers and 268,501 are enlisted. Of the personnel deployed 28,028 are afloat and 4,952 are ashore. There are 270 ships with 85 deployed and 3, 700+ aircraft operational.

Per the Navy Times, the carrier Harry S. Truman is/was in the Atlantic Ocean as of August 6 with carrier Chester Nimitz in Washington; carriers Abraham Lincoln, Dwight D. Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush in Virginia; the carrier George Washington in the Pacific Ocean; the carrier Theodore Roosevelt in the Persian Gulf; carriers John Stennis and Ronald Reagan in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the carrier Carl Vinson in California.

Two nonprofit groups have launched separate websites to help patients vet surgeons. Each site analyzes Medicare data to evaluate surgeons based on complications and death rates for operations ranging from gallbladder removal to knee replacement.

Surgeon Ratings (www.surgeonratings.org) identifies surgeons with better than average outcomes for 14 types of surgery. Adjusting for age, health and other factors, patients of the top ten percent of heart valve and bypass surgeons had death rates of less than three percent compared with eleven percent for the worst ten percent of doctors.

Surgeon Scorecard (http://projects.propublica.org/surgeons) from investigative news agency ProPublica is a database of nearly 17,000 surgeons evaluated on their results for eight common procedures. ProPublica found that eleven percent of the doctors accounted for about 25 percent of complications, as noted in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine.

For those who missed an article, all my commentaries can be found at http://www.culvercityobserver.com by placing Rubenstein in the website’s search box.