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December 01 Talking about Going green at L.A. Auto Show
Quote Check it out... "Going green at L.A. Auto Show" August 17 Top 5 things... Top five things that Freshmen should look forward to this school term... #5. Waking up on a strangers couch, two cities over from school, three days from your last memory in four day old clothes. #4. Not attending a Canadian college. #3. Taking road trips with friends that become epic treks and the basis of urban legends. #2. Four years of binge drinking that turn into lost weekends, leading to (see #5). #1. Getting to class late and attending a lecture to a course that you did not even register for after doing #3 & #5 of course. October 01 "Last Marine in Squad"memoMemorandum Date: 09/30/05 To: Councilman George Martinez From: The Rondinelli Family, owners of EL INDIO MARKET Re: C.U.P. reaffirmed for "EL INDIO" located at 5000 E. 59th Place Maywood This note is to address the conversations we had regarding the dispute over the Conditional Use Permit for "El Indio" at the corner of 59th Place and Alamo Avenue. We believe that there has been a misunderstanding regarding the CUP granted by the City of Maywood to the owner of "El Indio", who at that time was Jose Carmelo Rondinelli (1978). As a tragedy (a robbery) occurred to Jose Carmelo Rondinelli on January 11, 1980 (died on 1/12/1980) at the said location, his spouse knew nothing of the CUP. For the next quarter century his widow, Haydee Rondinelli, had continued to work alone at "El Indio" without the knowledge of a CUP condition casting a penumbra over her ownership interest of said business. With all due respect, we, the Rondinelli family, have given both life and blood for that business. For the record, Haydee Rondinelli retired formally in late 2003. The business ("El Indio") however was never closed for three months straight. At holidays and special occasions, we, the Rondinelli family, have opened our doors at 59th Place and Alamo Avenue to give what surplus inventory was left from the normal business operations prior to late 2003. These unusual hours of operations were kept not for profit but for philanthropy. It is understandable that to the casual observer "El Indio" would seem to have closed or had ceased normal operations; nay, sir. Nothing has happened at random during our stewardship of "El Indio", so please note the following findings of fact. One. "El Indio has continued to pay all of its licenses and permits needed for normal operations (including paying the business license fee at Maywood City Hall for 2004 & 2005). Two, we have the testimony of numerous neighbors of "El Indio" that they have benefited from our unusual operational arrangement (said testimonies are available upon request, and said people have sworn to make statements into affidavits, if necessary). Three, Jose Ggiacomo Rondinelli & Jennifer Rondinelli have constantly made a point of opening the store "El Indio" when our neighbors have requested it, which has fortuitously always been at least once during any three month stretch. And finally four, we, the Rondinelli family, reasonably believe that there has been a lack of due process regarding the negation of the CUP for "El Indio". We, as interested parties to the machinations and vicissitudes occurring in the City of Maywood, encourage and support the work of the Building Department of the city. Yet it must be acknowledged that while violators have a public notice given to them when an infraction has occurred, the Director of the Building Department has placed no public notice stating that "El Indio" has ceased to have a viable claim to its CUP; thereby giving reasonable notice to we, the Rondinelli family, and its surrounding customers a just and fair opportunity to redress ours and their grievances (additionally, the Building Department has failed to produce the signed copy of the CUP which it used as its basis for its denial; also, it has been well over ten days since our request for the copy of the original CUP and the Building Department has not provided us a reasonable explanation as why it has not been produced as mandated by California law). In the final analysis, we, the Rondinelli family, honestly believe that this is a bureaucratic and procedural misunderstanding. The people (our customers and your constituents), which "El Indio" serves, have been an integral part of our lives for over a quarter of a century. In this new millennium, we all look forward to the Riverfront Park to be completed (as we have provided the EPA access to the interior of our store "El Indio" so that readings could be taken overnight). We only ask, humbly, that this matter be resolved as quickly as possible so that we may initiate our major renovations on "El Indio", so that it may continue to serve as an edifice and tribute to all minority small business owners and their willingness to make irrevocable sacrifices. That it may serve as a beacon to all that dream that American dream; that of owning their own business that also serves the needs of their community. Thank you for your time. j.g.r. The $100 Laptop!!!From BBC:
This is Big! If Prof. Negroponte, from MIT, is spot on with his claim then
my dear folks we have a digital "Copernican Revolution" on the near horizon. These laptops have specs that will give a clear informational advantage to those who have an urgent need. I gather that these machines (educational multipliers; akin to force multipliers in military speak) will not be available for sale to the general public. [ "Please note: these laptops are not in production. They are not—and will not—be available for purchase by individuals." source: http://laptop.media.mit.edu/ ] But, let us imagine just for a moment that Prof. Negroponte's "One Laptop per Child (OLPC)" group accomplishes what it has stated. It will give children of LDC's the opportunity to be on par with the children of say Newport Beach, California. If you accept the premise above, that children in the developing world would be put on an equal footing (at least on the question of the "digital divide") with most children in Orange County, California; then you must accept that these machines are needed throughout the Los Angeles basin. Anyone who has seen the poverty in Los Angeles ( I am in no way excluding that there are worse areas of poverty throughout the U.S.) can testify that there is a need to wire students into 21st century. Follow this... Empirical evidence already points to the easy access of video games ( the number of video games stores attest to that ) due to the relatively low price of video games consoles (e.g. Play Stations, XBoxs' ). Now look to the areas of large populations of Latinos and African Americans, anecdotally, there is a dearth of computer supply stores ( e.g. Fry's, CompUSA). As a lay economist, I affirm that these business entities have absolutely every right not to have stores in the areas previously mentioned. It would not make economic sense to do so, due to lack of demand. Yet, using sound economic theories, one can argue that "sub-$100" laptops would trigger a "positive feedback loop" [Bill Gates uses this term in regards to global health issues] creating a demand for computer stores and the ancillary businesses that would cater to that industry (e.g. look to the explosion of the availability of cell phones and the cellular phone stores that fill the need for cell phones; a luxury that has morphed into an everyday necessity). So what am I advocating...giving away free computers, subsidizing laptops to children who live under the poverty line? No, not all. I say what I've always said, "let the market do its thing" (not my quote at all). Technology, whether good or ill, has a tendency to provide goods to consumers with a point on the "price axis" that falls over time. This is a good development in technology and if taken to its logical conclusion (i.e. selling those laptops here in the U.S.) it will be good time too for all children who have been priced out of the digital revolution. September 24 And now for some silly remembrance...So long my old friend. You have been sold but not forgotten. May your new owner treat you kindly.
Wait, seriously...how can a rational person become so attached to chunk of metal? Oh well,
Bonne chance,
Bon voyage,
Au revoir;
and of course,
Quel dommage!!!
"Is a hedge-fund husband the answer,"Op-Ed piece in LA Times by Karen Stabiner:
What an excellent piece about what some may perceive to be as the recursion of the Women's Movement. Now, some could cogently argue what would a heterosexual male have any interest in the possible full circle return of highly educated women (or any women of any social or economic strata for that matter) to a position (i.e. mindset) held by that of their grandmothers. It is simple. Where women advance into positions of power (in the private sector workplace and or in elect positions in government) then inevitably people of color and all other minorities are surely to follow the trail blazed by these intrepid women. And that is something, perhaps, we all want.
j.g.r. |
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