Commentary

Commentary

Post Office Hours –Sebastian Ridley-Thomas And More

By Neil Rubenstein

Observer Columnist

The United States post office will soon have different hours. Here on Jefferson and Sepulveda one soon can transact business Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Help is one step away. I'm certain if Culver City registered voters are asked, "Who is Sebastian Ridley-Thomas?" there just might be 10 hands that go up. Consequently, in the next election for the 54th Assembly District I venture to say the county supervisor's son will have so many mailings the post office will be in the red no longer.

You can be sure his dad will assist in fundraising and getting the union troops knocking on your door. Regardless of Sebastian's claim that his great-grandparents came to Los Angeles in 1922, many of us believe a long track record of public service speaks for itself. I truly hope everybody in town will remember the wonderful job Chris Armenta did as city clerk and on the city council.

Governor Brown's new school funding formula (if approved by the legislature) would boost K-12 funding by $18 billion when it is fully implemented in eight years.

A new state law requires state and local government employees to pay for half of their own pension by 2018. But in Ventura County contract proposals call for employees to pay the 50% starting in 2014.

We should all be thankful Assemblyman Nazarian was elected. His bill AB 612 passed the Assembly on a 72-1 vote and is now in the State Senate. When signed by the Governor it would add an additional second over the current minimum to all yellow lights. Two years ago Los Angeles pulled the plug on its cameras. Now 50 cities in California have cameras and approximately 50 don't. New laws against the cameras are being proposed all the time -- maybe, just maybe, Mayor Cooper will jump on this issue.

From the file "It's about time," Los Angeles police officers suspected of racial profiling will meet their accusers face-to-face under a new experimental program to discuss the encounter.

Recently Sacramento passed a new law -- school construction bonds need only 55% to be passed.

And from the file "It ain't going to happen," even though the Democrats have two-thirds majorities in both houses in Sacramento, there will be no effort to amend Prop. 13 to allow commercial properties to be taxed on their market value.

Speaking of propositions and Sacramento, look to the November 2014 ballot. We will vote to increase the medical malpractice awards and a requirement to spend all the $3 billion of annual revenue each year from a Medi-Cal provider tax on health care services for the poor.