Off Topic: Los Angeles Members Please Check In

[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.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Never mind, not worth it.

[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.
.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Personal attacks calling people fucking twats are cool though.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Leon

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.
.

I didn't see your post when I posted my response.

Have plenty more to say on the matter...but...moving on.

This is not the place for it.

I feel for everybody who is being affected by this disaster. This is a horrible situation all around, and I can only hope it can bring people together to overcome this tragedy.

[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...

[gregndodgers]

Originally Posted by BioCRN

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.

As with any catastrophe which has a multitude of factors / causes all coming together simultaneously, a lack of funding appears to be one of the many problems. As I said in my post, "money was an issue." Never said it was the only one.

[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.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Perhaps you are skeptical of the CDC, and in some areas there is reason to be, but according to them, and probably many other agencies, needle exchange programs benefit more than the "abusers."


https://www.cdc.gov/syringe-services...php/index.html

[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.

[Peter_Spaeth]

It doesn't seem Ontario is doing much better. What do you suggest?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...bers-1.7426934