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L.A. Spends Nearly a Quarter Million per Month on 11,000 Unused Phone Lines

City Controller Wendy Greuel is at it again and this morning released a report showing off more wasteful spending in the city. With over 40,000 phone lines totaling $7.2 million a year in phone calls, she looked at phone call policies and if there is proper oversight in the justification employees making calls. Some findings her office released in a teaser are as follows:
- The City has up to 11,890 idle phone lines, which cost $237,800 per month to maintain.
- The City provides virtually no oversight on whether international calls made by City employees are justified.
- Some City phones don’t require a Telephone Access Code (Telcode) for long distance calls, even though the City’s policy states that “All long distance calls on City telephones MUST be made with a Telcode.”
- Out of a sample of long distance calls, nearly 40% did not require a Telcode. There may be as much as $100,000 in long distance calls that are untraceable.
- There are instances where phone lines have been specifically requested to be exempt from using a Telcode; nearly 63% of those requests have come from elected officials offices.
- There are 105 employees with multiple Telcodes, preventing accountability for excessive or unnecessary calls.
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It's been many, many years since we saw this much snow in our mountains. Going up there right now isn't safe, but here are some places where you can enjoy the view and snap a pic.
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April Valentine died at Centinela Hospital. Her daughter was born by emergency C-section. She'd gone into the pregnancy with a plan, knowing Black mothers like herself were at higher risk.
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A look at years past when snows creeped into our citified neighborhoods, away from the mountains and foothills.
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In the face of a drier future, that iconic piece of Americana is on its way out in Southern California.
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Another Missing Hiker Has Been Found Dead In San Gabriels As Search For Actor Julian Sands ContinuesBob Gregory, 62, went missing the same day as Sands. His body was recovered near Mount Islip.