Culver City Observer -

Friends, before I leave on a well-deserved vacation, I would like to enlighten you all on some problems that are easy to verify.

According to California State Senator Moorlach, California is ranked 42nd in financial soundness. The Golden State has 58 counties and Los Angeles County is ranked 47th for financial soundness. Culver City Unified School District is ranked 831 out of 940 districts in the entire state for fiscal soundness.

Finally, looking at our state’s 482 cities, we see Culver City is ranked 478. These figures were obtained from documents sent to Sacramento – which included the audited Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports. State Senator John Moorlach of Costa Mesa compiled the lists.

I have been hearing rumors that a group of local movers and shakers will try to name the Culver City Senior Citizens for former Mayor Steve Rose.

Perhaps you remember that I submitted a public document request regarding the inducements Culver City may have given to Apple to move approximately 10,000 jobs to their campus presently under construction. City Hall replied that none were offered.

In my opinion, this is a whooper of a lie because many of us saw on the news that New York offered Amazon (if my memory is correct) $3 billion to create/house 25,000 high paying jobs. I just hope the legislature in Sacramento will enact laws to correct these falsehoods.

For those of us who are big trade unionists, the South County Labor Monthly Breakfast will present the “2019 Dan Foley Outstanding Labor Leader Award” to Sergio Rascon, of Business Manager Laborers International Union local 300, on Saturday May 11. The event will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. at Double Tree Hotel, 2800 Via Cabrillo, San Pedro.

Once again, the Courts have ruled against a city hall in favor of the California Voting Rights Act. In Santa Monica, a judgment was issued in the case of Pico Neighborhood Association, et al. v City of Santa Monica. Adopting the judgment proposed by the plaintiffs, the court sustained claims that the City’s at-large election system violated the California Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution. The court further ordered that all further elections for seats on the Santa Monica City Council be based on a seven-district map drawn by an expert for the plaintiffs and that the City hold a special election on July 2, 2019, for all seven seats on the Santa Monica City Council using this new district map.

Just in case you missed the headline in the February 4th issue of Culver City Observer, Culver City now ranks fifth in the most expensive cities to rent. A one-bedroom apartment is $2160 while a two- bedroom apartment is $2720 -- that’s unbelievable. The landlords, in my opinion, should be horse-whipped. If the renters would register to vote, they could elect a majority of the Culver City Council and pass rent control. According to the Chamber of Commerce, 54 percent of Culver City residents are owners while 46 percent are renters. Median home value is $735,600.