I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a very long time. And actually, before I start, I should be clear that I am writing this on my own personal time and my own personal computer. The why will become evident soon.

This really only affects you if you live in the City of Los Angeles.  Some things you should know about me. I’m a public librarian. I manage one of the 73 branches in the Los Angeles Public Library system. It’s the largest public library system in the country.

It’s also hurting greatly.

And that’s why I’m writing this. On the ballot for next Tuesday’s election, there is a measure up for vote. Measure L.  You can find out the basic information about the measure here: Measure L Information

Basically Measure L will increase the portion of the City’s budget that the Library receives from 1% to 3%. This will happen over a 4 year period. The funds will be used to restore the library hours, which were cut from 7 day service to 5 day service. It’ll be used to restore some (not all) the staff that were laid off last year. Due to the massive shortfall of the City’s budget last fiscal year, there were over 700 people laid off across the City. The Library system accounted for 1 in 7 over the layoff. L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti Claims Library Cuts Went ‘Under the Radar’ — Despite 10,000 Postcards to His Office, Billboard in His District This is the first time in the history of the Library system that 7 day service is not available. Even during the Great Depression, LAPL offered 7 day service.

A few things you should know about Measure L:

1. It is not a new tax. That one’s kind of important. You should know that what you pay in taxes will not at all be affected by this measure.

2. Last fiscal year the Mayor required 2 departments to take on all their operating costs. The Library Department was one of those 2 departments. That’s about 20 million dollars. Yup. MILLION. It takes a lot to run 73 branches. So whether or not L passes, that’s 20 million dollars we’re going to have to pay. And if L fails, well, people are going to get laid off and branches are going to close.

3. The Police Union and The League of Women Voters are against L. The Police Union for a couple reasons. One, because they kind of hate Bernard Parks. And two because they say that public safety will lose money if L passes. I’d just like to point out that police and fire get approximately 70% of the entire City budget. And they’re currently about 10 million dollars over in just their salary costs. 18 City Departments Could Be Combined $31.9M Over Salary Budgets (notice that the Library is not on that list? We’re the ONLY department in the City that stays within it’s budget every single year.) The Police Union claims that public safety will be adversely affected. But tell me, don’t you think that having a safe place like, oh, I don’t know, a library, increases public safely? Just a thought. The League of Women Voters calls it ballot box budgeting. Which it may be. But unfortunately, we really don’t have much other choice. And it was the City Council who proposed the Measure.

Some of you are probably saying, yeah, well it’s in your own self interest to push this. Yes. Of course it is. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.

So please, if you live in Los Angeles, I would really greatly appreciate it if you would please consider voting Yes on Measure L next Tuesday, March 8.

Granted, I know no one who reads Calitics with any sort of regularity would support Fiorina. Her voting record is abysmal. SFGate points out that Fiorina voting average is 1 in 4 elections. She voted in 5 of 18 elections. Hey! That’s better than Dick Cheney’s voting record! Whoo!

But that’s not really what I wanted to highlight. In reading her website, I ran across this gem from Steve Forbes:

Fiorina’s emergence on the political stage has revived debate over her HP legacy and created a backlash against the candidate by some high-tech workers. But Fiorina’s controversial tenure may make her more ready for politics than many other CEOs, who are often insulated from daily criticism, said Steve Forbes, the media magnate and two-time presidential candidate.

“She knows the treachery of internal politics from an entrenched circle,” he said.

It’s from an LA Times article: An ousted pioneer explores a new trail.

What’s that Steve? That article’s from last year you say? You’d like to modify those remarks?

Here’s Steve Forbes in an interview he’s done to promote his new book.

Q&A With Steve Forbes.

It’s not a very big quote, but it does raise questions about her decision making abilities.

So there’s real artistry involved, when to push, when to change, when to go along with what the people expect or particular cultures. And you see it all the time. Lou Gerstner goes into IBM  ( IBM –  news  –  people ), and he’s from American Express  ( AXP –  news  –  people ), to save a company on the verge of bankruptcy, very insular culture. How do you cope? Carly Fiorina goes into HP, does not cope as well. Not from a lack of ability but from a lack in the Xenophon sense of how you have the right antenna of knowing when to push and when to adjust to a culture.

bolding mine

Sounds, to me at least, that Steve Forbes doesn’t really think that Fiorina’s got any sort of admirable decision making skills.

And she’s considering running against Barbara Boxer? I think I’ve sprained my ribs from laughing so hard.

I think I tend to agree more with Portfolio’s assessment of Carly Fiorina:

Carly Fiorina

A consummate self-promoter, Fiorina was busy pontificating on the lecture circuit and posing for magazine covers while her company floundered. She paid herself handsome bonuses and perks while laying off thousands of employees to cut costs. The merger Fiorina orchestrated with Compaq in 2002 was widely seen as a failure. She was ousted in 2005.

THE STAT: HP stock lost half its value during Fiorina’s tenure.

20 Worst CEOs

Let her waste her fortune on an unsuccessful run. We’ll just continue to highlight her record.  

SFist is reporting the outbreak of a large fire on Angel Island. The fire has already burned about 10 acres and is about 25 acres wide at this time. It’s apparently about 20% contained. SFGate also has a story about the fire: Angel Island fire ‘a shocking sight’.

And in the Los Angeles area, the Marek fire continues to burn. This fire is about 20% contained and is expected to get worse, with the acceleration of the Santa Ana winds in the area.

We are quite literally 10 days short of a year since the terrible fires of last year. Let’s hope that this year does not bring a repeat of the events of last year.

And if you are in the area of either of the fires, please check in and let us know you are all right.  

The City of Los Angeles is joining San Francisco in putting into effect a ban on all plastic shopping bags. The Los Angeles City Council announced today that the plastic bag ban will go into effect July 1, 2010. The L.A. Times reports that the ban is at all grocery stores as well as retail markets. The regulation will only go into effect if the State fails to charge customers a $.25 fee for requesting plastic bags. San Francisco passed a similar ordinance back in 2007.

The City Council is hoping to cut the number of bags that wash into the Los Angeles river every year. The plastic bag industry, which has a lobbying group, filed a lawsuit last week challenging the plan. We’ll see what happens in the next two years.  

There’s positive news from the Writer’s strike. The L.A. Times is reporting that a contract has been negotiated between the two sides. The two sides have been engaged in unofficial negotiations for the past two weeks. And both sides have been very careful to keep all news blacked out.

The article says that the proposal will be presented to the union’s negotiating committee board by the negotiators on Monday.