Woody, yes of course satellite towns like Beverly Hills have the right to do as they wish, but what irks me is the lack of awareness or appreciation by many that they benefit greatly from proximity to LA in terms of jobs, culture, prestige and social services including schooling, which enable THEM to maintain their affluent lifestyle.

If a tornado came and scooped up Beverly Hills whole and transplanted it more than 15 mins. from LA, instead of being splat in the middle of it, no one would go to Beverly Hills’ famed shops or hotels, etc. It would be “just another nice little town.” So pulling up the bridges over the moat whenever it suits them, but promoting themselves based on attractions in L A which our residents subsidize, just fuels these tensions.

Is the Obama Administration going to side with school reformers, or will it reward state and local teachers union affiliates that defend the status quo? This is a question states are asking as they prepare their applications for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top competitive grants.

…Unions are mainly opposed to teacher accountability reforms. …Collective-bargaining agreements that protect bad teachers also harm children. Unions, which put the interests of their members above those of students, aren’t bothered by this

On the other hand, schools that serve primarily blacks have great facilities but don’t have great results and they suffer from crime, too. My daughter lives in a neighborhood that borders on downtown and she substitutes at various schools, but I don’t want her going back to a top-flight city high school after some shootings there.

I understand about suburbs mooching off the central city. I’ve been there and didn’t like it, but that’s their right. In our area, we’re now seeing all the unincorporated areas going one step further by becoming pretty large towns in their own right, just to get out from under the sorry county commission and running their schools and goverment with more bang for the buck. BTW, they are contracting with private services versus doing a lot of the work themselves.

I’m in Tuscaloosa right now, and to give you an idea of what’s going on here, they have already announced school closings because of snow that’s predicted for Thursday. As a result of the weather, the football game apparently has been moved to L.A., thus I will be tailgating alone.

By comparison, I don’t know if there are still really wealthy areas of Atlanta proper, say, or maybe there, everyone’s already in Buckhead or Cobb County — leaving the “urban core” to rot. Certainly there’s much more of a sense there and many other cities, that one drives into the city to a museum or to work, but then goes “home.” This is pretty much the mentality of parts of ‘the valley’ and many do want to secede for that reason, but they ARE still a part of the city of L A.

LA is a much more integrated and vital city in that regard, where he have suburban areas IN the city and that is much of what makes them so appealing, and why people stay, to have the “excitement and diversity” without having to drive miles from some bedroom community: but still, we’re definitely feeling the economic tension, frankly, vs. the small cities surrounding us, including Santa Monica or West Hollywood even.

In return, though, I don’t think Beverly Hills and these other little towns are weighing into consideration enough what THEY get from us: our world-class museums, policies which create affordable housing and offer social services and mass transit to their maids and gardeners and nannies, proximity to Hollywood and jobs, and a great deal more. The condescending attitude from resident parents, as though “permit people” were beggars all of a sudden, is wrong.

California is a donor state? Well, the donor state wants $8 billion fron the recipient states.

You get so little for your money.

As far as your other frequent rant, that you’re subsidizing CA, we’re a donor state, paying a lot more to DC than we get back, which is one of our problems — so your endless griping about how you think you’re subsidizing CA is way off base.

However, it is true that a majority of residents may think we’re better off declaring bankruptcy and voiding all union contracts and starting from scratch — something we’re hearing more and more at the local level in L A, too, where we’re in an almost similar situation, or may be by next year. (With the state raiding our local gas taxes as it cuts educational funding, etc.) Throwing up our hands and inviting bankruptcy doesn’t sound sensible to me, but it reflects the helplessness and exasperation people feel.