The city of Bell scandal, in which employees and elected officials were earning astronomical salaries, prompted local governments across California to try to be a little more open with how much they pay workers. Los Angeles became one of those municipalities when City Controller (and likely Mayoral hopeful) Wendy Greuel quickly jumped in and released a massive database -- actually, it's a one long PDF file -- detailing the salaries of some 37,000 employees. more ›

Once again, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's vision of a clean energy city is coming under fire. It's not the goal--have L.A. powered by 20% renewable energy by the end of 2010--it's the how you get there part, says the Los Angeles Times in an editorial today. more ›

Have a frank talk with an LADWP official this month and they'll tell you it's been a tough few weeks. The perception of the city-owned utility has gone downhill amid a series of water main breaks, the sudden resignation of David Nahai (however, with a comfy consulting gig) and one moderate rainstorm knocking out electricity service to nearly 50,000 customers. more ›

Obama's California campaign manager Mitchell Schwartz was all about Measure B, the solar power initiative that barely failed on the March 3rd ballot. His tune is changing, at least in regards to the city's leadership on the measure. “When something that should be very popular doesn’t pass, it is a wakeup call to the mayor and the City Hall establishment," he said to the LA Weekly. "There was something that went on that the mayor and others need to look at and understand. There is some discontent out there which is directed at the powerful.” At issue was transparency for many voters and it shows without it, big budgets only buy so much. "Yes on B spent nearly $1.6 million only to fail against the tiny $74,451 mustered by No on Measure B," the Weekly found. more ›