A blow to the pockets of Angelenos is coming, because the budget proposed by Mayor Karen Bass for the fiscal year 2024-25, proposes increases in municipal rates, such as higher charges for ambulances and other Fire Department services; and so on in various departments. We also expect an increase in sewage rates, the charge for which usually appears on the water and electricity bill that arrives at homes every two months; and there will be more. Get ready!
The argument to justify such increases is that old infrastructure and pipelines need to be improved. The problem is that Angeleno workers’ salaries are not increased at the same rate and level as City Hall employees.
All these increases that seek to generate income must be approved by the Council. It will be very interesting to see which side progressive councilors take regarding the increase in municipal services. Whether on the side of the mayor’s proposal, or of the workers.
Bad decision
After finishing in a painful fourth place in her attempt to go to the Los Angeles Council, Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo has opened a campaign committee for the Senate in 2026, in the seat that will be vacated in December of that year by Senator María Elena Durazo. It will not be easy for Carrillo since believing that it would be a piece of cake to go to the Angelino Council, she abandoned the idea of re-electing herself in the Assembly when she could still do so; and now her period is ending at the end of this year. As a consequence, he will be on the bench for two years, and without a public position, selling his image will be complicated. To this we must add that after the defeat for the Council, raising electoral money to compete in another campaign will represent a challenge.
Jaloneos between Carrillo and Solís
The Salvadoran-American assemblywoman does not have everything with her, and she presented a bill, AB 2986, to carry out a feasibility study on the possibility of converting East Los Angeles into a special or incorporated district so that residents know what their taxes are spent on, because for years they have not known where they are going.
Immediately, supervisor Hilda Solís jumped in, since she has not seen Carrillo’s measure favorably, and has stated that the residents cannot afford to be incorporated; Immediately afterwards on social media, she accused the assemblywoman of confusing the public and state legislators.
According to Carrillo, the 120,000 residents of East Los Angeles have no local representation, which must not have gone down well with the only Latina we have on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Solís has a lot of power and great political strength, and it is advisable not to have her as a political enemy. Let’s also take into account that the efforts that have been made in the last six decades to incorporate East LA have all failed. We will see how Carrillo’s project of making East Los Angeles practically a city ends.
In trouble with fans
Surely Mayor Karen Bass gave her social media management team a good slap on the wrist, and they made a publication on her account on site X, related to the defeat of The Lakersthe Los Angeles basketball team, which was not well received by fans, even less so when it was used by supporters of other NBA teams to ridicule them for their early elimination.
“Tough season, but at least we won the tournament within the season. Proud of our team,” was published on the mayor’s official account.
Given the response generated, Bass’s networking team had no choice but to delete the unfortunate tweet; and they replaced it with another one, which said something like: “They left it all on the court, thank you @Lakers.”
However, it was too late, the fans’ sensibilities had already been hurt. Anyone can make a mistake in a publication on the networks, but one would hope that the experts on the subject who work for politicians were not amateurs.