I'm all kinds of confused

On Tuesday night, the City Council voted 3-1 to let the towing contract go out to bid. I'm all for the bidding process, but apparently, the towers, Royal Coaches, were offering to put ADDITIONAL money in the city coffers -- an additional $120,000 annually.

Wait, let us rewind for second. The council gave Athens (trash) a very nice extension with no bids and it didn't have half the public support Royal Coaches did. Plus, Athens didn't offer $120,000 additional dollars to the city coffers, except it's just taking money from taxpayers and basically doing less work.

Can someone please tell me what the thinking was here? I'm all for being fair, but if the Royal Coaches contract is going out for bid, I argue EVERY SINGLE contract in the city (including Athens) should also go out for bid when their time is up.

Fair's fair.

Plus, I got some news that my girl, Shelley wasn't there Tuesday. She's missed a few meetings these past few months, which is not at all like her. I hope everything's OK with you, Mrs. Sanderson.

(Maybe, though, she's the only smart one in the bunch and is gearing up NOT to run in the 2009 election. I wouldn't sit on that council if you paid me.)

If you ain't got da scratch....

Poor Anthony and Theresa Byrne.

In case you don't know, the Byrnes are a West Covina couple with a family, much like a lot of us here in this fair city. They had spent thousands on their quaint Crumley Street home by converting their garage into a bedroom.

Now, I know what you single-family home purists are thinking: That is illegal! Well, it's against city ordinance, and that's why they sought a variance from our illustrious City Council.

But I think what should be said here is that this bedroom is definitely not one of those mattress-on-the-ground, light bulb-hanging-from-the-roof, milk-crate-as-a-table places. This job was done up rather nicely. And no, the Byrnes aren't looking to rent the place out -- they stay there themselves as it is their master bedroom. They built a closet, a bathroom, the works!

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for the council, which voted 3-0-2 to strike down the Byrnes' appeal. And I got to thinking, "Why?" when I heard the news from a few of my readers.

I think I can tell you why: The Byrnes' probably haven't spent a dime in the 3's campaigns, unlike OTHERS who ask for variances and get them.

So, the Byrnes wanted ONE variance, right?

Back in May of 2007, the City Council was more than happy to not only approve a far more severe variance, but also an entire ZONE CHANGE for a 20-unit, 2-story condo complex to be built smack dab in the middle of some of West Covina's "beautiful homes."

So, the Council thinks it's OK to completely change the character of an entire neighborhood, but there's something fundamentally wrong about some regular Joe who wants to sleep in his pimped out garage? How does that make any kind of sense? (For the record, my girl, Shelley, and Roger were the two who abstained from the Byrne vote. They probably wanted to allow the variance, but didn't want to go on record as someone who 'ignores' city ordinances; also, Roger was the lone dissenting vote in the approval of the condos)

I'll tell you how: Bill McIntyre wanted to build those condos and he has poured thousands and thousands of dollars into the campaigns of those who approved the project, well except Councilman Mike "The Recuser" Touhey, who had to recuse himself from that vote because he is basically an employee of Good Ol' Bill's.

The Byrnes? I'd be surprised if they gave 50 bucks to any of those politicians for their campaigns.

Next up on "Pissing on the Little Guy: The West Covina Edition" Cell phone towers. About 3 or 4 parks have cell towers. Shadow Oak Park is the only one with two, and last night, a third carrier was added to that mix. Coincidentally (or not), the Shadow Oak Park issue is what united a bunch of residents who -- before they heard a portion of their park was likely to be sold to condo developers -- weren't even paying attention. They united, formed a group, and, somehow, helped to unite some homeowners who fought against that 20-unit condo project and beat it.

Payback, maybe? I'm just speculating. I may be "green behind the ears," but I know how to add, and the sum on this equation doesn't smell too good. (I love mixing metaphors in the morning)

What are your thoughts?

Off the air

I'd like to first thank all of the loyal readers who wrote me with what occurred at the West Covina City Council meeting last night.

As I understand it, the conversation went quite a while but, as suspected, the Foursome said budget constraints are keeping them from bringing back the broadcasts, even though the odd man out suggested a slew of other trimming options, including lofty contracts with lobbyists and some marketing firm. Why is there a marketing firm when the city has a Public Information Officer? Why, Lord, must common sense flee from our elected leaders in such large numbers?

My favorite email came from reader who I only know as "True Patriot":

"As suspected, the four -- especially Mike Touhey -- played the Public Safety card all goddamn night. He must be a Republican, but instead of using the word "terrorist" to justify his actions, he uses the word "public safety." If we bring cable back we'll have to fire all our officers and kill your puppies. Even though his more thoughtful colleague found ways to cut, they still didn't go for it. He also said something like, 'If you have a heart attack, you won't be looking at cable TV,' which I thought was in extremely poor taste considering his colleague had just lost his father to a heart attack."

Another reader who calls him or herself SWV said:

"Oh that Touhey and his crocodile tears! He was "offended" that Hernandez suggested cutting the public info officer position. He was all choked up. He must be friends with that person or something. I mean, $100 grand they spend on him or her AND they contract with another marketing firm? Yeah... that makes sense."

Apparently the man of the hour was a resident named John Solis who suggested the city look into a grant he had found on the Internets. Shouldn't that be the first thing City Staff look into? How come the council didn't take into consideration other options that were apparently mentioned at the meeting. One reader told me someone suggested volunteers. The equipment's already there!

Hey, whatever happened to just taping the damn thing yourself and posting it on the Internet? Any idiot with a camera phone and a connection can do that. In fact, I employ you, readers, to tape the meetings, send me the digital file and I'll post it right here on this very blog. How much money is that gonna cost? A helluva lot less than the alleged $150-180 thousand.

Although my readers really came through for me today, I'm just a tad disappointed. What was Shelley Sanderson wearing? No one bothered to tell me. I heard that she wouldn't mind doing away with the Herfert Herald, aka Discover West Covina.

Oh, Mrs. Sanderson. I know she probably doesn't like me very much because I constantly disagree with her, but you know how when a hot chick hates you it makes her even hotter? Well, if you're a guy you'd understand...

That's all for today, dear friends. Please...give me your input.

Biting the hand.....

According to a fellow named Dan at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Councilman Steve Herfert is feeling sick these days.

And no, it has nothing to do with him being out of shape, or horrid blond dye seeping into his skull. It has to do with an $8 million deficit in the city budget and the fact the city may start paying full medical benefits to to public safety, such as cops and firefighters.

I may or may not agree with that. I haven't made up my mind; all I know is my wife works at a University and her medical care is completely covered by her employer, but when we got married, we had to pay for myself and our kids. However, that sum was EXTREMELY low. Hey, my wife and I push papers around all day. What the guys do for the police and fire departments is much harder, I'm sure.

Whether you agree with the contract is not exactly the point of this rant. It has more to do with the fact that the police and fire departments ENDORSED Steve Herfert in the last election. Cops were even going door-to-door wearing polo shirts with embroidered badges dropping off his material. But not only that, they went on full-scale attack mode against Herfert's opponent/nemesis Councilman Roger Hernandez in the last days of the election.

Now, I don't mind Herfert's stance at all with regard to the benefits of public safety, but I do fault him for saying "I felt kind of sick when I saw the contract," after they worked so hard to get his sorry ass elected.