Also, do the balls affect the plants or animals in and around the lake?

So maybe it was just sloppy writing, because “running through” doesn’t mean calling and getting a name. “What their stories might say” is also awkward. Maybe this is the result of Zell’s brilliant new policy of axing experienced writers for cheaper inexperienced ones.

As for Montanez’ jobs, it’s the DWP job (paying $12,500/ month or upto $150,000/yr) which is one day a week. Guess the token job on the Unemployment Insurance Board (a traditional patronage position) is even better at one day a month for almost the same money. So the woman works 5 days a week, for about $280,000/yr. Why would anyone want to run for office or head a Dept., actually have to show up for work and take the crap.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/readers/2008/06/dmv-records.html

Short answer is, the DMV will give you a name if presented with a license plate number, and they looked up each name via directory assistance and other public records. They spent forty hours on the project, and got eight people to speak on the record.

Oh, and just for clarification, Montanez’ appointment to the unemployment appears insurance board is for one day of work a month, not one day of work a week. That’s a nice job, even nicer than Nahai’s!

Nahai is new to this political game, and local bloggers get very personal and nasty, so I’m a lot more sympathetic than some. His personal water bill and habits, like Zine’s and the rest, are arguably pertinent when these people are telling us to conserve, but I firmly feel family members and privacy of officials at this level are out of bounds. I’ll even argue that Nahai deserves his salary — like the Times argued in an earlier editorial supporting Council salaries which are half his, these people take a lot of rude shit and the lawyers among them could be paid a lot more outside. I’ll agree with Janet that the dozens of managers making over $200,000 plus cars is way too high compared to elected officials who spend a fortune running for their jobs. Although I’d hate to see Celeste sink to posting those records “for all to see,” the deliberate embarrassing of public employees for prurient reasons. That’s for the lowbrow Daily News and gossip blogs.

Issues involving DWP are another matter, like Nahai’s struggle against the powerful union head, his differences with volunteer Commission head and financial watchdog Nick Patsouris, or his agreeing to the patronage job of Cindy Montanez that’s all the news — how she got a $150,000/ one day a week gig with DWP, while she’s allowed to keep another part-time Commission gig paying $130,000. Patsouris argues that as our Sacramento lobbyist, seeing this as a p/t job shorts us of representation in getting our fair share.

All because she’d agreed not to challenge Richard Alarcon for Council or Felipe Fuentes for Assembly (the seat Alarcon just vacated after barely swearing in), playing ball with the Padilla/ Alarcon/ Cardenas/ Nunez etc. Eastside Machine. The same Felipe Fuentes who just pulled stealth bill AB212, designed to circumvent L A Councilmembers (especially Wendy Greuel) and communities opposed to mega-developments like Verdugo Hills and dense affordable housing schemes, after Greuel got wind of it and alerted her colleagues. Other than the same Alarcon/ Cardenas and Reyes, that is, who’d been secretly behind it and hoped Assembly would pass it before the City Council realized their powers over local development were stripped away. Historically DWP’s been used for patronage jobs, and I hope Patsouris makes headway in ending these salaries for part-time jobs.

I’ve admired Nahai’s work in this city and he’s always been a forthcoming source for me in the past. I’ve learned a lot from him. But I think the DWP has secrecy embedded in its DNA. The people over there haven’t responded to my PRA either, and it wasn’t that complicated.

Hey Al, wanna go in on a lawyer?

(You really should stay away from Nahai’s house in the future, though. It’s kind of creepy.)