It's Official: Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles Fails, Gives Up on Torrance

Her head is in the right place. LIVES MATTER
should be the watchword from now on.

Big win for The Balanced City!

I have been receiving their emails for the last five years, just to know what this marxist hate group has been up to and all the evil they plot throughout Los Angeles County.

Their organizing efforts are pretty remarkable. Constitutionalists and general American patriot activists would learn so much on how to fight back against these left-wing bigots, if they learned to use their tactics against them.

For years, I would receive these emails, noting how they were urging people to show up to Torrance City Council meetings to scream and yell about the "murder" of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell, aka Cowboy, aka a black man who stole another black man's car, and had a rifle at his feet, and did not cooperate with the police.

The previous week, BLM-LA had sent out their to-do list, like below, and it did not mention the city of Torrance! I thought this omission was a fluke or a mistake, so I waited another week.

And here we are!

Black Lives Matter has been defeated!

They have given up. Not only have they failed to defund the Torrance Police Department (as if that would ever happen), but they failed to get a police oversight commission opened.

In fact, the city of Torrance just increased the initial pay for all lateral-entry police officers in the city of Torrance to $100,000!

Big fail for Black Lives Matter!

I also noticed at the last few city council meetingss, that the obnoxious activists like Sheila Bates were no longer showing up, or they were greatly outnumbered. It was quite pathetic! Only one of two of them would show up, and when Bates would launch into her racist, anti-law enforcement rant, she didn't stay at the podium and wear out the city council, or force the city council into closed session.

Wow! The significance of the passage of time!

Here's the whole eblast sent out by Black Lives Matter-LA this week. See for yourself! No more mention of the city of Torrance!

Greetings Beloved Community... #SonyaMassey, a 36-year-old Black mama of two, called 911 for help, fearing a prowler outside her Springfield, Illinois home. Instead, police demanded to see her identification, gave instructions (which she followed), and ultimately shot Sister Sonya in the face, killing her. The horrific bodycam footage was released earlier this week. Sean Grayson, the cop who pulled the trigger, worked for six different law enforcement agencies in four years and is thought to have linkages to white-supremacist groups and possible officer gangs. He has been arrested and charged, and we must stay vigilant to demand full accountability. Sister Sonya’s story is all too familiar, all too chilling, but normalized by a system of state-sanctioned violence that continues to dehumanize Black women. This brutal act is not an isolated incident but part of a horrifying pattern of violence against Black women by killer cops. Like #WakieshaWilson, #RedelJones, #MichelleShirley, and #NianiFinlayson, Sonya’s life was stolen by those who are allegedly there “to protect and serve.”   Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles stands in fierce solidarity with Sonya Massey’s family and community. We are outraged and heartbroken, but not defeated. We call for justice in the name of Sonya Massey and all Black women whose lives have been stolen by police violence. Grayson’s indictment on charges including first-degree murder is a step, but it is far from enough. We demand systemic change, accountability, and an end to the rampant brutality against Black bodies.   Sonya Massey’s life mattered. Her spirit, her love, and her faith mattered. We will not rest until justice is served for Sonya and every Black person wronged by this system. In the name of Sonya Massey, we demand an end to this cycle of violence. We rebuke this broken system and vow to fight for a future where Black lives are truly valued and protected.   Let’s turn up for Sonya Massey and all of our people on Wednesday at 4 PM across from the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) - 1313 W. 8th St.! Police associations like the LAPPL are paying for the killer cop’s defense and have enabled policies that allow cops like Grayson to hop from agency to agency without accountability.   60 Seconds for Justice (quick things you can do right now): DONATE to the family of #NianiFinlayson who, like Sonya Massey, was a Black mama killed by sheriffs after she called 911 for help. READ the Black Lives Matter Grassroots Action Report, which offers a glimpse into the powerful work of our organizers and 39 national chapters.  SIGN AND SHARE the petition to #FreeBrittanyMartin - Black mama and freedom fighter who remains in prison for organizing a #BlackLivesMatter march in 2020.   BLMLA Actions/Events (7/22/2024-7/29/2024): Tuesday, 7/23/2024 11AM - Demand a Freedom Campus after Police Violence at Cal State LA, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles - Join BLM Grassroots in supporting the Freedom Campus demands issued as a settlement offer by Melina Abdullah following the brutal assault on her by campus police in 2022. The university rejected every single point in the offer, including requiring permission or a warrant for campus police to enter faculty offices, making campus events accessible to the university community, and divesting from weapons manufacturers. Administrators then leveraged another legal action that threatened Dr. Abdullah with personal financial liability to force her to drop her suit against them.   Wednesday, 7/24/2024 4PM - #EndPoliceAssociations Rally in the Name of #SonyaMassey at 1313 W. 8th Street - Rally in the name of #SonyaMassey, a Black mama killed in her own home by sheriffs in Springfield, Illinois! Sister Sonya’s killer is being protected by a police association that is a sister organization to the Los Angeles Police Protective League. Stand in her name and in the name of all our people stolen by police violence to #EndPoliceAssociations! Bring your voices and energy!   Saturday, 7/27/2024 8-10AM - This Is Not a Drill! on KBLA 1580 AM or facebook.com/BLMLA - Tune in to This Is Not a Drill! every Saturday from 8-10 AM. This week, we’re scheduled to talk about the countywide effort to move funds away from jails and sheriffs and toward systems of care through Reimagine LA, spearheaded by our own Megan Castillo. Join the #MoreThanAHashtag conversation with the family of #FrankTyson.   Sunday, 7/28/2024, 4-6PM - Rally for #YongYang at Liberty Park, 3700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles - Yong Yang, a 40-year-old K-Town resident, was shot and killed by LAPD in his family home during a mental health crisis. The Yang family and Korean organizers are requesting support from BLMLA and have been at weekly Black Lives Matter protests to stand in solidarity. Join the demand for justice, accountability, and systemic change in Yong Yang’s name. Please bring water, drums, megaphones, and speakers to support the rally. Recap: At the LAPC Commission last Tuesday, Black Lives Matter-LA, Stop LAPD Spying, White People 4 Black Lives, LA CAN, and allies called out the LA Police Commission for refusing to hold killer cops accountable after they steal our loved ones and take much-needed resources away from our community.   Last Wednesday’s #EndPoliceAssociations rally marked the third one of the month, featuring drumming by Project Knucklehead! The families of #SkyYoung, #VanessaMarquez, #JamesMincey, and #YongYang were all present. We took to the streets to protest against the Los Angeles Police Protective League and all police associations.   On our radio program, This Is Not a Drill!, aired live on KBLA 1580 AM last Saturday, Pastor Cue JnMarie hosted with Kim Holmes in the co-host chair. They were joined by our own Dr. Melina Abdullah to talk about Project 2025 and other Republican antics used to oppress Black people in this country. The mother of #JabrilRobinson served as our #MoreThanAHashtag conversation, talking about Jabril’s life and her continued fight to bring him justice. Missed it? Watch here or listen to BLM’s This Is Not a Drill! wherever you get your podcasts.   Last Thursday, BLMLA joined a press conference to announce that LA Deputy Sheriff Ty Shelton has finally “been relieved of duty” after murdering Black mama #NianiFinlayson in front of her 9-year-old daughter last December. This comes after months of protest and organized actions in Niani’s name. Next up, we demand that Ty Shelton be prosecuted.   BLMLA in Media and Must-Reads: #BLMLA BLM LA 11th Anniversary (LA Progressive) What Black Lives Matter Wants to Accomplish In LA Right Now (LAist) Deputy accused in killing relieved of duty (Antelope Valley Press)    Additional Reads Illinois deputy charged with murder shot woman in face after ordering her to move pot of water (AP) Corporate Prison Reform Will Not Keep Us Safe: A Report from Los Angeles (Laura Flanders and Friends)  Kamala Harris's Black Woman Problem: Why Symbolism Alone Won't Secure Votes (EEW Magazine Online) Tune in – Move the Crowd airs every Monday morning at 7AM on 90.7FM KPFK kpfk.org. Listener calls around 7:40 at 818-985-5735. Tune in to This Is Not a Drill! every Saturday 8-10AM, with a rebroadcast on Sundays on KBLA Talk 1580 and kbla1580.com and on facebook.com/blmla.    Black Lives Matter is truly a labor of love, and our work produces real expenses. To support our work, please donate to gofundme.com/BLMLA and donate here to support the work of Black Lives Matter Grassroots. For the most updated information and more on our work, please visit our website at blmla.org and follow us on social media: @blmlosangeles on IG, @blmla on Twitter, and Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles on Facebook.   Peace, Health, and Justice, The Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles Team

Copyright © 2024 Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at one of our meetings or actions. Our mailing address is: Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles 808 E 6th St Los Angeles, CA 90021-1016

SAY HIS NAME! Aurelio Mattucci Beats Recall Effort (Where's the Money, Signatures, Jean?!)

The Daily BreezeThe Daily Breeze reported the news last week, but I was getting the updates from key contacts within the city, connected to city hall.

Of course, right after he got the news (May 31, 2024), Mattucci shared the news on his Facebook page:

Jean Adelsman has failed. She was not able to get the requisite number of signatures to recall Councilman Aurelio Mattucci.

She wanted to throw out an entire election because she lost. It's just that simple. She is a sore loser, and she wanted to pass on her bitterness to the city with another costly election.

What's really galling about this whole affair is that Adelsman opposed the recall of derelict LA County District Attorney George Gascon! He should be recalled, since he is deliberately, openly violating his oath of office, breaking the law, and not doing his job.

Councilman Mattucci HAS been doing his job. Is he rough around the edges for some people? Sure. Does he ruffle feathers here and there. Yes, and that is a good thing.

There is too much in Torrance politics that aims for moderation and quiescence. It's time for elected leaders to ask questions and push against the civil service status quo.

That "status quo" approach allowed young hoodlums to terrorize the Del Amo Mall for the last two years. No, a fresh approach to leaner, more effective government in order. Let's not fool ourselves, either on this point: the city of Torrance is not ready for the next economic downturn. The city of Torrance is still top heavy with administrative civil service bloat, and spends too much money.

All of this needs to be fixed, and it is not happening fast enough.

Jean Adelsman clearly had a problem with all of these reforms, or she just couldn't stand the fact that after working as a major opinion maker (supposedly) with the Daily Breeze all these years, she didn't have the pull or the political clout to get elected! After all, she was backed by every establishment interest in the city, Republican and Democrat, people who have gone with the "go with the flow" failed mentality for so long.

Yes, she lost by sixteen votes, a very close race, to be sure, but she lost. And there is no evidence of voter fraud, ballot stuffing, voter suppression, etc. In fact, Adelsman didn't even challenge the results! She was willing to let the whole thing go. Following her loss, she even reached out to Mattucci, asking him to join her for a cup of coffee so that they could discuss city issues going forward. What a betrayal that followed!

Now, the next questions come up, and I would ask Jean Adelsman these questions directly:

1. How much money did you raise for this recall effort? We know that you raised money, so what happened to the money? We want to see the financial records!

2. How many signatures did you actually collect, Jean? In Downey, CA, voters went to great pains, including two recall efforts, to get rid of pro-LGBT felon Catherine Alvarez, and they were not afraid to reveal that they were 34 signatures short on the first round. If you were so close, Jean, TELL US! How many recall signatures did you actually collect?!

Loser Jean Adelsman: Lying Hypocrite, Sore Loser (Trump Wannabe?)

 

Jean Adelsman ran against incumbent Torrance city councilman Aurelio Mattucci in 2022. She was the liberal candidate who pretended to be "bipartisan." She called herself "purple" on her website.

Of course, she lost. She's not on the city council dias today (thank goodness!)

She attempted to play nice shortly after the election, even reaching out to Aurelio briefly to have coffee with him.

That obviously went nowhere.

But she doesn't want to go away ...

Here we are now. Jean wants to recall Aurelio ... and Jon Kaji, too?

Why, now?

She and other wagging tongues in town say that it's due to Kaji and Mattuci's opposition to extending the LA Metro into Torrance. But let's get serious about this: they don't like the fact that a more conservative, a more principled set of politicos is now serving the city on the city council.

That bothers them.

They don't like the fact that the current mayor didn't kiss all the brass rings, from commissions to public sector unions, to become the next mayor of the city. He didn't go through the usual "Torrance Way" to become the next head of state for the city.

The same thing applies to Kaji, of course. He didn't kiss rings and glad-hand the "Good Ol' Boys" in Torrance in order to get elected. That bothers some people in The Balanced City.

It seems to bother Jean, as well.

But what about Aurelio? Why don't they like him? He did sit on commissions, and he participated in a number of city events. He even took pictures with local Congressmen Henry Waxman and Maxine Waters at one time.

They don't like that he speaks his mind, and that he wants--and gets--results. He has certainly disrupted business as usual, and he does not "play nice" with some people.

All of these reasons are not reasons at all. They are embittered excuses from sore losers who don't like the fact that creeping liberalism, and big-spending wastrelism are no longer the order of the day. One can be sure that the local Democratic Party is all over this, too. Jimmy Gow got stomped on--TWICE--after spending time and money and collecting every endorsement from every who's-who in the LA County Democrat zoo. 

He even posted non-stop about me on the Torrance Democratic Club Facebook page last year!

(This photo is one of my favorites!:)

Now, what is it about Jean Adelsman that makes her a lying hypocrite?

One of the voters in District Five made it plain as day:

Jean didn't support the recall of pro-criminal district attorney George Gascon becqause "she didn't believe in recalls." Now she suddenly believes in recalls? Really?

And she says that part of the reason for the recall is that Aurelio and others are opposing the extension of the LA Metro into Torrance. For the record, I confess that I supported this move, and did nothing it would be a big deal to have an extension of the metro rail from Redondo Beach to Torrance. But five years later, and with the rising crime, and the worsening conditions on the LA Metro, the fact that the Board of Supervisors have removed heavy police presence to protect riders on the Metro, and the fact that fewer people are using public transit, I am now inclined to oppose it.

So, Jean wants the LA Metro, she seems so upset about the current council opposing its extension.

And yet ...

Pamela Combar calls out Jean Adelsman for not even showing up to ANY OF THE MEETINGS on the proposed extension!

In short, Jean is making up excuses. She is a lying hypocrite and a sore (liberal) loser who can't stand the fact that she got beat by a stronger candidate who, despite almost every political force against him, prevailed in his re-election bid.

You know, for a lady who hates Trump so much, she is sure starting to sound a like like him,

She lost by a very slim margin in 2022, just as Trump did because of slim margins in key states in 2020.

She is belly-aching about losing, the same way she bellyaches about Trump, who contested his loss in 2020.

She is trying to overturn a legitimate election, and yet she criticizes Trump for doing the same thing regarding Election 2020 (for the record, it do believe that the election was stolen, but a big part of it was his own fault. See here).

She is all in on big government transportation projects, just like Trump.

She is talking about "Take Back Torrance," kind of like how Trump campaigned on "Make America Great Again." But she wants to take us backwards! Does she want Don Wilson to redline housing, too?

She is connecting with the previous Democratic establishment, the same way that Democrats have tried to attach themselves to Trump, who was connected with Democrat politicians for years. She wants to reach out to both sides, all while upsetting the Republican base. Trump wanted to make deals with both sides, he has upset his Republican base, too.

But the big thing is that she is staging an "insurrection" against city hall and trying to remove two duly, lawfully elected people from Torrance city council. It sure sounds like Trump when he shouted "Fight Like Hell!" on January 6th, 2021, but a handul of Antifa miscreants broke windows and assaulted police officers.

Still, the fact that she can't give up complaining aout losing ... yet at the same time she thinks Donald Trump lost and shouldn't complain at all. Wow, how the tables have turned in Torrance!

Coeur D'Alene City Councilman Makes Excuses, Defends Drag Show at Local Park

CDA Councilman Dan Gookin defended the drag show,
denied the perversion that took place

 

The Coeur D'Alene, Idaho City Council faced a much justified firestorm of outrage earlier this year.

In June 2022, the perverted hate group Northern Idaho Pride Alliance sponsored and pushed through a PRIDE event at Coeur D'Alene Park. It was an outrageous, vile, and incendiary program that brought out protesters throughout the state, throughout the region!

The performances were so vile, that one of them, a Satanic ritual "unbaptism" program, was cancelled. Sadly, the rest of the groomer operation took place. Massive protests ensued, including many suspected undercover feds. More to the city's shame, the police arrested a street preacher who was peacefully protesting!

I then found this article, exposing (no pun intended) something egregiously bad at the already disgusting PRIDE event:

I wrote to the Coeur D'Alene City Council:

You have an obligation to stop these PRIDE displays at the city park. There is NO First Amendment protections for any adult to flash his genitalia to an audience. NONE!

I am appalled that the event even took place as scheduled. The city is well within its rights--and its responsibilities--to deny a permit to the Norther Idaho Pride Coalition in the future.

https://en-volve.com/2022/09/12/watch-drag-queen-pulls-out-his-penis-in-front-of-kids-at-family-friendly-drag-show/

At the North Idaho Pride Alliance's "Pride in the Park" celebration in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, a male drag performer has been accused of showing his genitalia to

There is absolutely NOTHING family-friendly about drag queens being around children. There is nothing acceptable about this, and you have no right to allow such filth to be present in any public display on city property.

Who authorized this horrific event? Who allowed this travesty to take place?

And why hasn't any serious action been taken to ensure that it never happens again?!

One of the city councilmembers, Dan Gookin (who started the ... For Dummies books), responded to my email:

Mr. Schaper,

I was at the Pride event with our police. They did not see anyone flash genitalia at any time. If it would have happened, that person would have been arrested. For someone to say otherwise, is to doubt our police department. It didn't happen.

Best,

DAN

I find it particularly despicable when elected officials hide behind police officers to justify their insouciance or their flippant indifference to sexual perversion being put on full display for children. "Well, the cops didn't see it, so that means it didn't happen ..."

Give me a break.

I wrote back to Dan Gookin:

Dan:

I was born at night, not last night.

I have just showed you the photos below from the report, which clearly indicates that one of those perverted performers flashed his genitalia.

I am absolutely appalled that you are defending the PRIDE performances at Coeur D'Alene park. Furthermore, to hide behind the police department generally or in particular is just loathsome.

The police did NOT do a good job protecting the perimeter, by the way. The fact that a Bible preacher was arrested instead of these perverted adults grooming children is an absolute testimony to the failure of the police department's leadership--and the city's leadership, including yourself.

That entire PRIDE event should have never taken place. There is no First Amendment right to corrupt minors or undermine the public square with pornography and smut.

I am going to make your flippant, arrogant remarks below public for the entire Kootenai County community to see.

You need to be removed from office. Your arrogant indifference harms children and adults alike.

Here's the offending Drag Queen, in case you missed it:

LibsofTikTok exposed this salacious scene on Twitter, and the tweet ended up getting flagged and taken down. If Twitter stepped into to censor this scene, then surely the city council and police should have done something.

Instead, the cops were busy arrested street preachers.

But what is it with this Gookin guy, anyway?

Here's a little more information about Dan Gookin.

Gookin has been active in community theater and became the artistic director of Lake City Playhouse in 1997. He was elected to a seat in the Coeur d'Alene City Council in November 2011. He was a nominee for the Idaho Senate and the 2004 Libertarian nominee for the Coeur D'Alene city council.

So, Gookin is a Libertarian. That explains a lot of things. 

Libertarians are unwitting (or rather, witting) supporters of the regresive Left and other abject socialists. For the past 8 years, the Libertarian Party of the United States has supported homosexuality, transgenderism, Black Lives Matter, and the national party even complied with lockdown orders and mask mandates! Not very liberty-based, certainly.

And now, one of their few elected officials is on board with Drag Queens grooming kids in a public park, and he is more than happy to turn a blind eye to one of many brazen perverts flashing his private parts to the crowd.

Gookin has to go, and so does the rest of the city council for not wanting to stop this filthy, vile PRIDE event.

Contact the CDA City Council, and demand that they take action to stop these abusive programs in the future:

Coeur D’Alene City Council

City of Coeur d'Alene

710 E. Mullan Ave

Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814

Phone: 208.769.2300

Mayor Jim Hammond

jhammond@cdaid.org

Councilmember Dan Gookin

dgookin@cdaid.org

Councilmember Amy Evans

aevans@cdaid.org

Councilmember Christie Wood

cwood@cdaid.org

Councilmember Kiki Miller

(208) 661-2374

kmiller@cdaid.org

Councilmember Dan English

denglish@cdaid.org

Councilmember Woody McEvers

wmcevers@cdaid.org

(208) 691-5303

For more information or if you want to get involved stopping this filth taking over Northern Idaho, please contact MassResistance:

Maine Office: (781) 890-6001

Karen Van Wyk, Organizational Director: (781) 890-6004

Arthur Schaper, Field Director: (781) 474-3005

Dumb and Blind: Black Lives Matter Busybody Calls Minority City Councilmembers "White Supremacists"

Loudmouth Bass, Loudmouth Ass Baba Akili

Baba Akili, organizer for Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, is a nobody, an obnoxious busybody who shows up at public meetings to scream racism every time a black man is killed ... by a police officer, another black person, or if that black person accidentally kills himself.

He made a complete fool of himself disrupting the Torrance City Council meeting in May, 2019 when he shouted at the Torrance City Council, calling them all "white supremacists."

In his latest (boring) statement before the Torrance City Council, Akili said the following:

We've been coming here now for three years. And those of you who are new here, you need to understand and accept that we are going to call you out for the racism that exists here. I used to come here, and I've been here many times, I used to come here and say I'm coming to Torrance, Mississippi. But then I decided that that was a disservice to Mississippi. 

And so we come here now in the name of Christopher De'Andre Mitchell, and we'll continue to do that. And we call for first accountability ... the firing of ...

At this point, he couldn't readily recall which police officers he was supposed to be defaming that night. No doubt, he gives the shame spiel in city councils and county boards all over the state. It's hard keep hate straight in your bald pate!

Chavez and Matthew Concannon, but more importantly, your city is under investigation. Half of your police force is under investigation.

That is so false, it's laughable. 18 police officers have been placed on leave because of a texting scandal, and a former police officer was charged for vandalism. That's not even close to half the police force.

And you have done nothing about it. We will continue to come here and call you out. We will continue to come here and call you the racists and white supremacists that you are. And we will continue to demand justice for Christopher DeAndre Mitchell.

These people are a joke. Akili reminds me of the old loser (like John Kasich) who crashes the party, who was not invited, and who refuses to leave:

Is he blind or just dumb?

The Torrance city council has three Asian-Americans, two immigrants, a Hispanic woman, and he calls them "white supremacists."

The audience was quiet and even somewhat amused by Akili's comments. Does this guy even take himself seriously?

He didn't even understand that Torrance is in California, not Mississippi.

On top of that, every legal challenge has been ajudicated on the police shooting from December 9th, 2018. Settlements have been issued, the city council has rejected an consideration of a police oversight commission.

It's over. The city of Torrance has moved on, and more importantly everyone knows that Black Lives Matter is a massive, corrupt grift. Even the Attorney General of California ordered the Black Lives Matter organization to stop accepting donations, because there was no oversight, transparency, or accountability for how the donations were collected, stored, and dispersed.

There is only one proper image left for Akili:

CALLED IT: LA City Council Cracking Down on Homeless Because of LAUSD Plummeting Enrollment

Why is the LA City Council taking these drastic measures to curb homeless encampments around LAUSD schools and daycare centers?

It's not all hearts and flowers, good will and generosity. It's a cold necessity to keep LAUSD from imploding due to the plummeting student enrollment.

Check out LA City Council President Nury Martinez' comments on this issue:

"Who's left at LAUSD?" asks LA's council president just before voting to criminalize homelessness outside the schools of the second-largest district in the country — yet somehow she fails to acknowledge that "who's left" includes 17,000 LAUSD students who are themselves homeless https://t.co/M492a54gaJ pic.twitter.com/tTYUjXMQDl

— Alissa Walker (@awalkerinLA) August 3, 2022

Reality bites, and it is biting Los Angeles hard.

Government schools are not safe for kids anymore, that's for sure.

Check out this editorial from the LA Daily News:

On many fronts, it will take years before the full toll of the coronavirus pandemic and the responses to it is understood.

The impact on education and the children who experienced learning loss due will certainly be something to keep an eye on.

Thomas Peele recently reported for Edsource on the findings of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho about the extent of public school enrollment declines over the last two years.

“California’s K-12 enrollment decline of more than 270,000 students since the pandemic began is largely attributable to people leaving the state, not enrolling children in transitional kindergarten or kindergarten, or deciding to home-school their children but failing to file the paperwork to account for them,” Peele reported.

For LAUSD, the biggest school district in the state and one of the biggest in the country, this decline merely hastened an ongoing decline in enrollment.

“The district has 58% of the student population it had at its peak in the early 2000s, now at 430,000 students,” Peele notes.

The disruption to the education of students across the state cannot be understated, despite United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz’s absurd claim that learning loss doesn’t exist.

LAUSD cannot lie about it. Everyone knows that LAUSD is in full free-fall.

Students missed out on the wide range of learning opportunities school allow, including socialization, and had to endure often subpar remote learning arrangements.

And the teachers unions didn't care.

California’s prolonged closure of in-person education didn’t help things. Nor did it help that California’s K-12 system is already among the worst performing in the nation. Since even before the pandemic, most students in California’s K-12 system couldn’t read and do math at grade level.

K-12 Education is a crock in California. It's base indoctrination, nothing more.

Meanwhile, increasing portions of education budgets will be going not to educating students but to cover pension debt for public school employees.  The ongoing trend of increased payments for pension debt and other obligations versus declining enrollment makes for a challenging fiscal situation and a challenging situation to ensure the K-12 system properly serves the needs of students.

The extra money was never about the kids. Ever.

No wonder people are leaving the system.

And now there are studies sounding the alarm on rising school violence. (Click here)

Torrance City Council Election 2022, Reflections: City Council District One

 

The election for Torrance City Council District One was the most contentious.

Four candidates!

Two Democrats, one Republican, and an Independent: Jon Kaji.

And Kaji carried the seat by the widest margin of any of the candidates running for office in the city of Torrance!

Like George Chen, Lauren Cotner, and even Aurelio Mattucci, Jon Kaji ran as an outsider. He had never served on a Torrance commission, and he did not brown-nose a bunch of political insiders to get their support.

In fact, the RINO establishment pick for this race was David Kartsonis, the same candidate who had racked up every major endorsement across the political spectrum in his bid to become a member of the El Camino College Board of Trustees ... and lost.

He was too young, according to a number of people in the city, and he was too connected with the political status quo. Even some of the more engaged Republican activists were turned off to Kartsonis' campaign when they found out he was connected, supported by the local teachers union. Of course he would have their support, since he had garnered the backing of a number of government public sector unions during his time with the El Camino College district.

Then there were two Democrats: David Zygielbaum and Jimmy Gow (please, stop laughing).

Zygielbaum is a good dude. He's a respectable guy. He cares about public safety, and he listens to other people with a willing ear. I have met him a few times at the Torrance Commission trainings in the past. I have no qualms with him per se. Yes, Pat Furey endorsed him, but that's not the end of the world for me.

Jimmy Gow, on the other hand, was the clearcut partisan favorite for every activist Democrat in the city and throughout Los Angeles County. Jimmy Gow boasted endorsements from every Democratic Party elected official in the region!

• Congresswoman Maxine Waters
• Congresman Ted Lieu
• Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi
• LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn

Jimmy Gow had a veritable Who's Who of the California Democratic Party lined up behind him.

Yet he not only lost, but the other Democrat in the race, Zygielbaum, got more votes than he did! It's pretty shocking, to put in mildly. District One is about 70% Democrat, based on the latest census data that I have read.

And yet voters went for a registered Independent!

I was really honored to participate in this fight. I am glad that I could help (a little) to get Jon Kaji across the finish line. Of course, Kaji, who has extensive connections and a long history of contacts and support with the city of Torrance, relied on a great deal of support from many others, too.

Kaji was endorsed by Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.

Kaji raised a considerable amount of money for the city council race, too, around $120,000. His extensive business and cultural networks enabled him to do very well in this race--and he certainly deserved to win.

This race was a big victory for the everyday citizen and the outsiders generally. The RINO establishment lined up behind Kartsonis, and the Democratic Establishment lined up behind Gow, and they both not only lost, but they were the bottom two vote-getters of the four candidates, too.

Which brings up another set of observations ...

1. It's become crystal clear to me that Torrance voters are not interested in crass, outspoken partisanship. They want real representation and good governance. They want able adults to do their job, to keep the city safe and to keep the funding stable for all core services. 

2. Torrance is not like Santa Monica or West Hollywood, not just in terms of ideological bent, but in terms of the fact that city residents are not interested in political posturing of any kind from their elected officials. The voters here are rightfully consensus-based conservatives, not so much looking for right-wing political agitation, but they want deliberate changes, if there must be changes at all.

3. Torrance residents wants the city council and mayor to represent their interests and listen to their concerns. They are tired of the political class focusing on themselves and not listening to residents. They are fed up with the Furey-Scotto phalanx which allows for business-as-usual while ignoring the needs of everyone else.

Jon Kaji won a blow-out victory in District One. He was attentive to the needs and concerns of residents throughout the district. He stuck to local issues, and relied on years of good will that he built up with local residents and business owners throughout the region. We need more city councilmembers with the same kind of drive and attention to detail.

Open Letter to Torrance City Council: Reject Ferrer's Mandates, No More Masks, Open the City Fully

 Dear Torrance City Council:

I recently learned about a letter issued from a number of  locally elected officials throughout the South Bay:

We, the undersigned mayors and council members from the South Bay Cities demand the reversal of the latest county health order on behalf of our constituents. At a minimum, we appeal to be exempted based on our vaccination rates and much lower COVID case numbers.

We need a director and a health department that sets warranted policies based on our unique service area demands and needs. We need a credible director and a health department that we can trust.

In the most populated county with more than 10 million residents and the size of several countries in Europe, Dr. Ferrer calls 1902 new cases “alarming.” These are 1902 cases where more than 98% will recover, according to medical literature. While we recognize that every death is tragic, she reports that six died out of 10 million people. That data is being used out of context to establish a health order that punishes fully vaccinated and compliant citizens. For the same period, the lives lost under varying circumstances such as car accidents, overdose, cancer should put into perspective the percentage of Covid related deaths. Further, we think it is imperative to consider how many took their own lives out of desperation and financial ruin due to this pandemic and how the new policies will add to this growing number. Reporting this data and establishing health orders based on it without the proper context does not help us develop sound and balanced public health policy.

Our constituents are questioning why they were told to vaccinate to see normalcy because our constituents did follow protocol and vaccinate themselves. The vaccination rates in our cities have reached what many scientific journals label “herd immunity” for vaccines with 95% efficacy. With this herd immunity established, why are these individuals now being told to wear masks again? We must be exempt.

We have had enough of these policies! We demand that you stop this one-size-fits-all approach to health and health outcomes. If the goal is to have more people vaccinated, then the health department needs to contextualize that data by service area and establish health directives by using the power of data and persuasion instead of setting mandates that defy common sense and science. This most recent order will drive people away from the vaccine. We, as community leaders, did, and continue to do, our jobs to lead our communities to be fully vaccinated. In our cases, the evidence is clear. We need Dr. Ferrer out of our way.

We are not alone in our strong disagreement with this order. The CDC and even our state policies do not align with this recent order. Even county officials are not in agreement with the order. The utter confusion and anguish caused by this order in our communities are unnecessary and painful. We see no reason to punish this county when 57 counties in this state are open to business and not requiring mask-wearing for individuals who have been vaccinated.

We implore you to modify this recent order, engage with us, and set a policy that better reflects the unique context of our area. The arbitrary nature of these health policies only contributes to the instability of our individual and collective recovery from this pandemic.

Most respectfully,

Hon. Drew Boyles, Mayor City of El Segundo

Hon. Suzanne Hadley, Mayor of Manhattan Beach

Hon. Mike Griffiths, Mayor Pro Tem City of Torrance

Hon. Aurelio Mattucci, Council Member City of Torrance

Hon. Heidi Ashcraft, Council Member City of Torrance

Hon. Michael Kemps, Mayor City of Palos Verdes Estates

Hon. David McGowan, Council Member City of Palos Verdes Estates

Hon. Eric Alegria, Mayor City of Rancho Palos Verdes

Hon. John Cruikshank, Council Member City of Rancho Palos Verdes

Hon. Frank V. Zerunyan, Mayor Pro Tem City of Rolling Hills Estates

Hon. Velveth Schmitz, Council Member City of Rolling Hills Estates

First of all, I wish to commend Councilmembers Griffiths, Ashcraft, and Mattucci for joining this letter.

Second, I urge the remaining members of the Torrance City Council--Walser, Kalani, Chen, and Mayor Furey--to join this letter.

Third, the Torrance City Council must issue a clear directive via resolution to every business and every property owner in the city of Torrance that the city will not enforce any so-called mandate from LA County Health Director Barbara Ferrer. This unconstitutional, unscientific madness must cease. It is the government's job to protect the rights of the citizens. It is not the government's job to protect the citizenry's health. It is not the government's job to protect every citizen from death, to paraphrase Manhattan Beach city councilwoman Suzanne Hadley.

Last of all, the city of Torrance should repeal the Local Emergency declarations once and for all. The city may lose government money in the short-term with this action, but businesses will be able to thrive and conduct commerce once again, more than making up for any losses from missing out on COVID-19 relief. Other cities in Southern California (Yorba Linda, Laguna Niguel) have already repealed their emergency orders. Torrance should do the same.

Cities must rise up against this overreach. As Councilwoman Ashcraft had shared with me a few weeks ago, we all simply need to learn to live with COVID-19, or any other pathogen. This whole pandemic overreach has never been about public health or public safety. This whole scam has been about control. It's time for the city of Torrance to take back its control, and let the citizens control their lives to the fullest extent possible.

Sincerely,

Arthur Schaper

Contact the Torrance City Council, and tell them to:

1. Reject Ferrer's Mandates

2. Tell all businesses and property owners that the city will not enforce mask mandates

3. Repeal the Local Emergency Order and Let the City of Torrance Open Fully

Torrance City Council Contacts

 

Pat Furey (pfurey@torranceca.gov);

George Chen (gchen@torranceca.gov);

Aurelio Mattucci (amattucci@torranceca.gov);

Sharon Kalani (skalani@torranceca.gov)

Mike Griffiths (mgriffiths@torranceca.gov);

Heidi Ashcraft (hashcraft@torranceca.gov);

Jack Walser (jwalser@torranceca.gov);

 

City Clerk Rebecca Poirier (rpoirier@torranceca.gov);

 

City Manager Aram Chaparyan (achaparyan@torranceca.gov);

City Attorney Patrick Sullivan (psullivan@torranceca.gov);

Chief of Police Jon Megeff (jmegeff@torranceca.gov)

 

Phone:   (310) 618-2801