Your Government Inaction, Parts XXXV and XXXVI

I can't say that anything about inefficiency in government surprises me any more, but I've heard about a couple of more blood boiling episodes. First of all, the Iowa egg salmonella outbreak demonstrates once again that too many cooks spoil the broth. What is the government agency that oversees the processing and sale of eggs? The answer is, it depends based on whether the egg has been processed or not. If the eggs are not yet processed they're under the purview of the Agriculture department. After processing, it's the Food and Drug Administration in charge. As you know, the USDA focuses on things like grading agricultural products, so with eggs they're only concerned with the physical attributes of the egg and it's not their job to determine if the product is safe. That part falls on the FDA. Did anybody consider the fact that it might make sense for one agency to be in charge of eggs from the moment they're laid? Apparently not.

The next example involves the retail space near the southwest corner of Sunset and Western in Los Angeles. This was formerly home to Farm Fresh, a gem of a supermarket specializing in produce. They lost their lease and word was that a new Target store would be built there, not a bad exchange since that would be very convenient for us. Except that it's been a couple of years and nothing has been done with that space. Now word has leaked out as to what the hold up is. It seems like this retail site is in some kind of special district where the city of Los Angeles has mandated that any large operator has to provide free delivery service for their customers, something which Target is unwilling to do. Why, pray tell, is such a requirement imposed? Well, to permit people who ride bicycles or take public transit to the store to be able to purchase large items! Now nobody walks in L.A., and they don't bike or take public transit either. It is commendable to try to encourage people to do so, but to stop Target from opening up because you would like to encourage alternative means of getting to the retail site is lunacy. Indeed, this ranks right up there with Los Angeles city planners who deliberately did not provide parking space along Metrorail subway stops, because they wanted people to take connecting public transit to the subway instead of driving there. Naturally, as a result people have chosen not to take connecting public transit and not use the subway. Doesn't government ever learn? (Obviously not.)

Paparazzi At Work

Though a native Angeleno, I had never encountered the paparazzi in their true element. I did see a bunch once while I was waiting for Mrs. Chandavkl to come out after a Leonardo DiCaprio movie premiere (the studios need volunteers to fill up the theater during the premiere showing), but the photogs were cordoned off across the street and had to use their telephoto lenses from across the street.

However, on numerous occasions while driving home, we have seen the paps camped out in front of Katsuya restaurant on Hollywood and Vine. While I'm not particularly into celebrity culture, Katsuya is just down the hill from where we live, and my son indicated that the food there is actually pretty good. So when the kids asked me where they could take me for my birthday dinner, I chose Katsuya. We arrived for dinner at 7:30, well before celebrity hour, and while the diners were trendier looking that what I'm used to, I don't know if there was anybody recognizable inside patronizing the restaurant (though even if there were I probably wouldn't recognize them anyway).

By the time we had finished dinner around 9:15 pm, things had changed outside. Eight to ten paparazzi were gathered outside the entrance to the restaurant. While we were waiting for the valet to retrieve our car we asked one of the photographers whether they were waiting for anyone in particular. He indicated that Kim Kardashian had come and gone, but that otherwise they were waiting for whatever worthwhile celebrity might show up. After our car hadn't arrived after 15 minutes we began to get really impatient. But then there was a flurry of activity. The photographers scurried to the curb, and out comes Lamar Odom of the Lakers, and his wife Khloe Kardashian. Flashbulbs pop. Paps jockey for position. Photographers and diners alike fire away. I look at Odom and he has this resigned look on his face and I first think it's terrible to live a life where there's always a camera in your face and camera flashes going off. But then I think, nah, they put themselves in the limelight and actually eat it up. A big limo then pulls up, and then our car arrives. As we drive off we see the photogs scramble to the limo and the flashes explode again. Who's in that car, we wondered.

Watching the celebrity culture at work was an interesting end to an enjoyable birthday. But in a way, the post script was just as illuminating. After viewing the episode we were wondering what the economics were that would lead one to loll outside a restaurant with a camera in hopes that some random celebrity would show up. Is there that much of a market for those kinds of pictures? So the next morning I checked the Internet to see if there was any evidence of the previous night's activities online. It turns out that Lamar and Khloe's dinner at Katsuya was all over the Internet. There were three or four separate original reports, plus dozens of others that quoted the first reports. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but still it's a little mind-boggling that the short sequence we saw was so newsworthy. Oh, and the limo we saw as we drove off was carrying Kim Kardashian. I figured that out from a video clip on You Tube showing the limo's license plate.

National Harbor, MD--A Visit To The Twilight Zone

A recent trend in shopping center development is the outdoor "mall" where the center is laid out in street grid form, kind of like the old downtown Main Street shopping areas. A good example of this is the Americana in Glendale, a highly successful shopping (actually mixed use) area built on faux streets which do not appear in the Thomas guide.

Such a center exists along the Potomac River in Maryland, no more than 10 miles south of downtown Washington D.C. National Harbor is the Americana and more, the more being a number of convention sized hotels, full to the brim with people like myself attending business meetings. So why, then, are the streets of National Harbor deserted and its trendy stores and restaurants virtually devoid of patrons?

At first I thought that National Harbor had just opened up. However it's already been open for over 2 years, so that's not the explanation. As I walked the deserted streets, I also noticed that while there were plenty of higher end stores and restaurants such as Fossil, Godiva Chocolates, Dolce Restaurants, Rosa Mexicano, there wasn't anything in the way of ordinary retail--no chain drug stores (though one is under construction), no place to buy groceries (though a gourmet store is promised), no familiar casual or fast food dining options. Maybe I had fallen into an episode of the Twilight Zone that I hadn't remembered.

Part of the explanation is the weather. Crowds of people do come to the hotels of National Harbor for business meetings, but when it's 95 degrees and humid, none of them have any desire to step outside to explore the neighborhood, even if it is immediately adjacent. But the main problem seems to be the demographics. The closest housing to National Harbor (aside from the high end condos currently being peddled there) is apparently of the Section 8 ilk. The closest part of Washington D.C., is the Southeast quadrant, clearly the sketchiest part of the city. While crossing the border into Maryland does present a visually more suburban environment, the demographics are still working class. A more likely customer base lies on the other side of the Potomac in Arlington, VA, but there's no bridge over the river and you have to take a water taxi between the two.

Maybe there's more activity in National Harbor on weekends. Maybe there's more activity when it isn't so hot and humid. Maybe there will be more activity when the Cirque de Soleil theater opens up in a few weeks. Or maybe National Harbor was a bad idea built at a bad time.

Governmental Poison Pills - Not A Good Idea

In the corporate world there's a debate whether poison pill provisions, which trigger unpalatable consequences if outside interests acquire too much of the corporation's stock, is a good thing or a bad. One viewpoint is that they stop greedy corporate raiders from pillaging helpless enterprises, while the opposite view is that they protect entrenched management which may be operating inefficiently.

One clear thing, however, is that poison pills in the government context are absolutely ludicrous. But that's what we have here in the city of Los Angeles, which last year agreed with city unions that if the city laid off city workers, the remaining workers would automatically be entitled to a pay increase. This is the height of idiocy, particularly since this is a new provision that was actually crafted in a time of budget distress. Where labor costs both in the aggregate and per unit needed to be reduced, the city agrees to increase its cost of labor. All this proves is the oft made contention that the city of Los Angeles is controlled by the public employee unions. Incredibly, despite this poison pill provision, the city wants to lay off city employees, triggering this automatic pay increase for the survivors. This could make sense if you laid off enough employees to offset the cost of the pay increase, but that's not what they're doing.

However, this episode demonstrates a much wider shortcoming in the way government is operated. Politicians are always talking about cutting the fat and inefficiencies from government. Indeed, this is the rallying cry for anti-tax activists who resist increasing government revenues at all costs because there are so many inefficiencies in spending that can be attacked. But this is government we're talking about, Alice In Wonderland in its most extreme incarnation. The sad fact is that it is impossible to cut most of the fat out of government spending. Cutting the fat implies the existence of a surgical knife that can disintiguish between fat, muscle and bone. Such an instrument does not exist. It appears the only government tool available is a hacksaw which cuts equal portions of fat, musicle and bone. I have personally heard of two situations in different departments of city government where individuals are paid highly for doing nothing, but in this era of tight budgets, have absolutely no fear of losing their cushy jobs. My sources do not know why these people are protected, but this just adds to the tons of evidence that government is dysfunctional and is incapable of efficient financial operation. Sad but true.

Amazing Stockton Street

On both an economic and cultural level, Stockton Street in San Francisco Chinatown, particularly between Jackson St. and Broadway is absolutely incredible. Due to the plethora of grocery stores here, if you lived anywhere in the vicinity you would have no need for a refrigerator, except perhaps to store leftovers. A dozen or more of these storefronts line both the east and west side of the street. Dry packaged goods take up a relatively small portion of the floor space of these stores, which allocate the lion's share of their premises to fresh produce, meat, and seafood. The volume of fresh food handled by these stores is mind-boggling. In each store you're likely to see probably six to ten butchers busily serving their customers. Meanwhile, a like number of produce ladies are continually taking fruits and vegetables out of their boxes and putting them on display. Think about it--each one of these tiny stores probably has a crew of produce, meat and seafood workers well in excess of what you see at your local Ralphs or Albertsons. These stores are packed with shoppers, all day long, from 7 am to 6 pm, and there's always a line to pay at the cashiers, who are stationed side by side against the wall.  And when fresh cartons are poured into the bins, stay out of the way, particularly from the little old Chinese ladies, who have no qualms about pushing or shoving their way to get the best new merchandise, or to get into line to pay.  (For proof, check out this television story about a fight over eggs on Stockton Street.)

And not only are Chinatown shoppers blessed with the convenience of fresh food, the prices at these stores are incredibly low. Why pay $4 a pound for cherries at Whole Foods when they're 69 cents a pound on Stockton Street. Yes, the Whole Foods cherries might be a little bit bigger, and you won't find any with double pits. But hey, for an 80 percent price discount, who cares? That's why every time we visit San Francisco, we come back with every day produce items purchased at the lowest price imaginable.

So how are the prices on Stockton Street so low?  Well with regards to the produce, it appears the trick is eliminating the middlemen.  San Francisco Chinatown is close enough to the agricultural fields of the San Joaquin Valley that many growers pack their trucks early in the morning and head straight to the grocery stores on Stockton Street in time for the 7am to 8am opening of those stores, bypassing the wholesale produce markets.  In addition there is very little spoilage because many of the Stockton Street stores discount that day's unsold produce at the end of the day, and if there's anything left, discount them more the next morning.   Plus with the volume and turnover, Stockton Street grocers can operate on a very thin margin and still do well.

Laura Ling Names Baby After Bill Clinton

I read today where journalist Laura Ling named her new baby after Bill Clinton. This is certainly understandable and a fine gesture given Clinton's role in getting the journalists released from North Korea. The problem is that the baby is a girl. How do you name a baby girl after Bill Clinton? Well, the baby's middle name is Jefferson. I hate to say it, but Jefferson is not an appropriate middle name for a girl. There's nothing wrong with using a surname as a middle name, but since Jefferson is both a surname and a boy's first name, that just doesn't sound right. It probably would have been more meaningful to use Clinton as the middle name.

I often wonder what Ling and Euna Lee thought when they were led out of their North Korean jail cells only to see Bill Clinton there in person. If it was me, I would have thought "Oh no! Now they've captured Bill Clinton."

Impeach Bud Selig! This Neanderthal Must Go

Baseball is the only popular 19th century sport still being played in the United States. Yes, football and basketball are 19th century creations, but they've changed with the times. Baseball, on the other hand, is still mired in a previous century, perhaps the early 20th century if not the 19th century. Only baseball has ridiculous rules preventing a player from re-entering a game, mandating an equal number of at-bats for all players, in the National league requiring pitchers to bat, silly rain-out rules that truncate, negate or result in no contest games, and others I can't think of immediately. And of course, almost no use of instant replay. It is fitting that such a backwards game is led by such a Neanderthal as Bud Selig. With Armando Galarraga being jobbed out a perfect game by an admittedly erroneous umpiring call, Selig could easily have reversed the decision, particularly since the mis-call came on an otherwise game ending play. But slug that he is, Selig declares it's back to the future and refuses to do the right thing. I'm surprised people still go to baseball games given the state of the sport.