6/28/2007
62 errant drivers make wrong turn in Gardena --- lose cars
From The Daily Breeze, 06/27/07
With help from Torrance, checkpoint officers "educate" those cited by having their vehicles towed.By Sandy MazzaStaff Writer
A phalanx of bewildered men, women and children waited at the side of the road after police took their cars for violating state law Wednesday afternoon.
It was the first safety checkpoint in Gardena in about six years. But the excuses had a familiar ring.
"One woman's husband had a valid license and yet she was driving the car (without one)," said Gardena traffic investigator Carl Freeman. "Why? He said she is too scared to get a license. But, she's not too scared to drive on the road with two kids in the car?"
Gardena and Torrance police officers screened drivers for valid licenses and safety violations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Redondo Beach and Crenshaw boulevards.
During the four-hour operation, 1,839 cars went through the checkpoint and 1,489 were stopped by officers. About 3 percent of those, or 62 vehicles, were towed - 49 for unlicensed drivers and 13 for a suspended license. Two vehicles were abandoned before reaching the checkpoint.
Citations were issued to 34 drivers for not wearing seat belts, having bald tires or tinted windows, or other safety violations.
"The goal here is not to take away people's cars. The goal is to turn unlicensed drivers into licensed drivers," Freeman said.
He said unlicensed drivers are more prone to accidents and also don't carry insurance.
Some got angry when police instructed them to leave their vehicles. Officers responded with a courteous but stern lecture.
"Driving in this state is not a right; it's a privilege," an officer told a man with a suspended license driving a new Infiniti SUV.
"Your car will be impounded. Go ahead and get any items you want to take out and leave the key in the ignition."
Gardena has not held a safety checkpoint since 2001.
"We did this for the safety of the community," Freeman said. "We were only there for four hours and under 2,000 cars went through the checkpoint. That means almost 2,000 drivers got educated."
Cars, vans and SUVs lined the secondary inspection area Wednesday, where officers handed out tickets and tow companies took the vehicles. The fee for the tow and 30-day vehicle storage is $1,200 per vehicle.
Many people who pulled up to the inspection area listened as officers scrutinized their identification and told them that their cars would be towed.
Some offered excuses.
One woman waited with her two young children and teenage son while her husband talked to police by the side of the road.
"I feel sad because my daughter is sick," she said. Her husband "was waiting for a vacation to go get a license."
Some didn't seem to care.
A woman who arrived to pick up her boyfriend, whose car was impounded, said she knew he had no license. Then they drove off offering no explanation.
As traffic backed up to Van Ness Avenue, an officer walked up to a white van and said: "Hi. Driver's license?"
The driver shook his head.
"No?" the officer said. He turned toward a secondary inspection area and yelled, "Got one coming in."
With help from Torrance, checkpoint officers "educate" those cited by having their vehicles towed.By Sandy MazzaStaff Writer
A phalanx of bewildered men, women and children waited at the side of the road after police took their cars for violating state law Wednesday afternoon.
It was the first safety checkpoint in Gardena in about six years. But the excuses had a familiar ring.
"One woman's husband had a valid license and yet she was driving the car (without one)," said Gardena traffic investigator Carl Freeman. "Why? He said she is too scared to get a license. But, she's not too scared to drive on the road with two kids in the car?"
Gardena and Torrance police officers screened drivers for valid licenses and safety violations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Redondo Beach and Crenshaw boulevards.
During the four-hour operation, 1,839 cars went through the checkpoint and 1,489 were stopped by officers. About 3 percent of those, or 62 vehicles, were towed - 49 for unlicensed drivers and 13 for a suspended license. Two vehicles were abandoned before reaching the checkpoint.
Citations were issued to 34 drivers for not wearing seat belts, having bald tires or tinted windows, or other safety violations.
"The goal here is not to take away people's cars. The goal is to turn unlicensed drivers into licensed drivers," Freeman said.
He said unlicensed drivers are more prone to accidents and also don't carry insurance.
Some got angry when police instructed them to leave their vehicles. Officers responded with a courteous but stern lecture.
"Driving in this state is not a right; it's a privilege," an officer told a man with a suspended license driving a new Infiniti SUV.
"Your car will be impounded. Go ahead and get any items you want to take out and leave the key in the ignition."
Gardena has not held a safety checkpoint since 2001.
"We did this for the safety of the community," Freeman said. "We were only there for four hours and under 2,000 cars went through the checkpoint. That means almost 2,000 drivers got educated."
Cars, vans and SUVs lined the secondary inspection area Wednesday, where officers handed out tickets and tow companies took the vehicles. The fee for the tow and 30-day vehicle storage is $1,200 per vehicle.
Many people who pulled up to the inspection area listened as officers scrutinized their identification and told them that their cars would be towed.
Some offered excuses.
One woman waited with her two young children and teenage son while her husband talked to police by the side of the road.
"I feel sad because my daughter is sick," she said. Her husband "was waiting for a vacation to go get a license."
Some didn't seem to care.
A woman who arrived to pick up her boyfriend, whose car was impounded, said she knew he had no license. Then they drove off offering no explanation.
As traffic backed up to Van Ness Avenue, an officer walked up to a white van and said: "Hi. Driver's license?"
The driver shook his head.
"No?" the officer said. He turned toward a secondary inspection area and yelled, "Got one coming in."
6/20/2007
6/18/2007
Charges fly over hauling of trash
A flap over collection contracts creates a stir in Gardena, a city with a history of trouble involving rubbish.
By Stuart Pfeifer, Times Staff WriterApril 9, 2007
Over the last four years, trash has brought only trouble to the Los Angeles County city of Gardena.Officials have been hit with lawsuits and a record $70,000 state fine for failing to recycle enough. And there have been allegations of political favoritism, poor service and unfair rate hikes.The two companies that hold city contracts include one hauler who used to run a business that was at the center of a bribery scandal. The other is owned by an executive with the Commerce Casino, known for donating generously to political candidates across the county.Some of those contributions have gone to several Gardena council members, including Los Angeles County Assistant Sheriff Paul K. Tanaka, who is Gardena's elected mayor.Tanaka accepted $5,000 in political donations from the Commerce Casino and its top executives in 2004 and then cast a deciding vote in 2005 to award an $8-million residential trash contract to a company owned by casino director Haig Papaian.
Of all the city's trash travails, however, none has been as publicly roiling as the one that recently threatened the reelection of Councilman Oscar Medrano Jr.One challenger accused Medrano of trying to pressure commercial waste hauler Kosti Shirvanian into giving up routes worth $360,000 per year and passing them to Papaian, who had publicly complained that his residential contract was not profitable enough.Medrano denied the allegation and was reelected — but not before another council member asked pointed questions about a private Jan. 18 dinner attended by Medrano and the two trash haulers.There are at least two versions of how their dinner conversation went — and one of the haulers, Papaian, declines to talk about it.The men met at Cherrystones Grotto & Grill a few days before the council was to consider starting a long process that would end Shirvanian's contract. (Unlike Papaian's contract, Shirvanian's included a provision requiring that the city give him five-years notice before severing their deal.)Customer complaintsThe council move was proposed by officials who said they had received customer complaints. Shirvanian's dealings with the city have been controversial dating to 2003, when competing haulers claimed the city unfairly granted him an exclusive right to haul trash, thus forcing them out of town.According to Shirvanian, Medrano said during the dinner that the council would stop plans to terminate his contract if he would turn over some business to Papaian's company, Phoenix Waste & Recycling. Another councilman, Steven C. Bradford, Shirvanian said, also stopped by. (Bradford denied he participated in the conversation.)Medrano has a different recollection: He said Shirvanian set up the dinner and volunteered to give up the business without any promises about his contract. The councilman said he never agreed to halt plans to terminate the contract with Shirvanian's firm, Waste Resources of Gardena. "What Kosti wanted was somebody to deliver something that couldn't be delivered," Medrano said. "Kosti wanted me to shift the votes around. But I can't do it. It's not how I do things. It's not me. He made it up out of thin air."Records show that the next day, Shirvanian sent Medrano and other city officials a letter outlining his intention to give some routes to his competitor and thanking the councilman for agreeing not to start the contract termination process. At the council's Jan. 23 meeting, however, officials proceeded to do the opposite and sent Shirvanian a contract-termination letter. Medrano voted in favor.During the meeting, Tanaka said it made good business sense to schedule the end of Shirvanian's contract. Vendors perform best, the mayor said, when they know they must rebid for a contract.
Councilman Ronald Ikejiri was the lone dissenting vote, saying he was concerned about Medrano's dinner with Shirvanian and Papaian. He said council members should conduct business in public and allow city staff to negotiate with vendors. "What was so perplexing to me is there was a meeting and it was only a few days before the Jan. 23 meeting," Ikejiri said of the dinner. "Our city attorney has always admonished us to always allow the professional staff to handle negotiations."
Steve Sherman, a 25-year Gardena resident who closely monitors politics in the city of 61,000, said he has watched with concern as the council awarded trash contracts to political donors."I wouldn't be a bit surprised if campaign contributions have an influence on them," Sherman said.
Papaian and the Commerce Casino have donated to Tanaka, Bradford and Councilwoman Rachel Johnson, records show. Bradford also accepted money from Shirvanian's employees in an unsuccessful run for state Assembly.And Medrano acknowledged in a recent interview that Shirvanian had twice bought him dinner since he was elected to the council — gifts he failed to report on state conflict-of-interest forms. In 2005, Tanaka and Bradford cast key votes in a 3-2 council decision to award the residential trash contract to Papaian's company. In addition to support for Tanaka's campaign, Papaian's casino and its employees have been strong supporters of the mayor's boss, Sheriff Lee Baca. The casino and its employees have contributed more than $25,000 to Baca's political campaigns. The casino also contributed more than $100,000 to Baca's charity, the Sheriff's Youth Foundation, on which Papaian sits as a board member. Neither Tanaka nor Papaian returned several calls for comment.In addition to operating what has been described as the world's largest poker club, Papaian has a lengthy background in the waste management industry. He helped run his father's company, Haig's Disposal, from 1971 to 1980, and then operated Haig & Haig Inc. until 1997. Gardena was the first city in which his new company, Phoenix, was awarded an exclusive contract.
Corruption scandalShirvanian, meanwhile, is the former owner of Western Waste Industries, which was entangled in a political corruption scandal more than a decade ago. In 1996, former Compton City Councilwoman Patricia Moore was convicted of extortion and tax fraud after confessing to receiving from $500 to $1,000 a month from a Western Waste vice president to ensure her support for the firm. Neither Shirvanian nor Western Waste was charged with any crime.
Councilman Medrano said he had allowed Shirvanian to buy him dinner in Pasadena last year and at Lawry's in Beverly Hills after he was elected to the council in 2003.Medrano said he failed to report the dinners — officials must reveal all gifts worth $50 or more — because he was not aware that dinners could be considered gifts. He said he recently amended his conflict-of-interest forms to add the Shirvanian dinners as gifts."We didn't have anything big," Medrano said, recalling the Shirvanian dinner in Beverly Hills. "It was an entree. My wife had probably one or two glasses of wine. It was $60 or $70 or maybe $80. For me and my wife it was under $100."When I went out to dinner with him in Beverly Hills," the councilman continued, "he had no contract. He wasn't doing business with the city. He was just creating a company." Asked who paid for the Jan. 18 dinner at Cherrystones, Medrano said, "I don't remember. It might have been Haig."
6/17/2007
Gardena changes law on utility-users tax
From an article in The Daily Breeze 01/13/05
Author: Eddie North-Hager DAILY BREEZE
Date: Jan 13, 2005
Text Word Count: 637
Abstract (Document Summary)
The Gardena City Council appeared to lay the groundwork this week to increase its utility-users' tax by changing the language of a law adopted 18 years ago. But some councilmen denied any plans to raise taxes despite the city's financial problems.
Though Waste Resources of Gardena and Phoenix Waste and Recycling Resources scored slightly higher in the analysis, Waste Management offered a lower monthly rate of $13.31 per household. The offer from Waste Management, which is the city's current residential hauler, was 29 cents lower than Waste Resources and Phoenix.
In 2003, Waste Resources, which is part of a joint venture with the city, was awarded Gardena's $6.5 million commercial waste account. But current haulers, including Waste Management, sued, claiming they weren't given enough notice of contract termination. The settlement allows Waste Resources to become the sole commercial hauler in 2006.
Author: Eddie North-Hager DAILY BREEZE
Date: Jan 13, 2005
Text Word Count: 637
Abstract (Document Summary)
The Gardena City Council appeared to lay the groundwork this week to increase its utility-users' tax by changing the language of a law adopted 18 years ago. But some councilmen denied any plans to raise taxes despite the city's financial problems.
Though Waste Resources of Gardena and Phoenix Waste and Recycling Resources scored slightly higher in the analysis, Waste Management offered a lower monthly rate of $13.31 per household. The offer from Waste Management, which is the city's current residential hauler, was 29 cents lower than Waste Resources and Phoenix.
In 2003, Waste Resources, which is part of a joint venture with the city, was awarded Gardena's $6.5 million commercial waste account. But current haulers, including Waste Management, sued, claiming they weren't given enough notice of contract termination. The settlement allows Waste Resources to become the sole commercial hauler in 2006.
Gardena switches to 3-bin trash pickup system
From an article in The Daily Breeze 06/02/05
Daily Breeze - Torrance, Calif.
Author:
Eddie North-Hager DAILY BREEZE
Date:
Jun 2, 2005
Text Word Count:
681
Abstract (Document Summary)
On July 1 the city's residents will have their trash picked up by Phoenix Waste and Recycling Services, which brings Waste Management's 17-year rubbish-collection reign to an end.
Phoenix, which is owned by United Pacific Waste and Recycling Services of Pico Rivera, is a new trash hauler whose owner sold his previous trash business more than five years ago, [Michael Huls] said. Phoenix is a nonexclusive hauler in El Monte, where it has a significant market share of commercial and multifamily accounts, Huls said.
The city was also under pressure from the California Integrated Waste Management Board. It fined Gardena $70,000 for not meeting recycling mandates two years ago and has threatened to retroactively fine the city $10,000 a day if a recycling program wasn't in place by July 1, Huls said.
Daily Breeze - Torrance, Calif.
Author:
Eddie North-Hager DAILY BREEZE
Date:
Jun 2, 2005
Text Word Count:
681
Abstract (Document Summary)
On July 1 the city's residents will have their trash picked up by Phoenix Waste and Recycling Services, which brings Waste Management's 17-year rubbish-collection reign to an end.
Phoenix, which is owned by United Pacific Waste and Recycling Services of Pico Rivera, is a new trash hauler whose owner sold his previous trash business more than five years ago, [Michael Huls] said. Phoenix is a nonexclusive hauler in El Monte, where it has a significant market share of commercial and multifamily accounts, Huls said.
The city was also under pressure from the California Integrated Waste Management Board. It fined Gardena $70,000 for not meeting recycling mandates two years ago and has threatened to retroactively fine the city $10,000 a day if a recycling program wasn't in place by July 1, Huls said.
Gardena OKs 65-cent trash fee increase
From an article in The Daily Breeze 08/10/06
Daily Breeze - Torrance, Calif.
Author:
Gene Maddaus DAILY BREEZE
Date:
Aug 10, 2006
Text Word Count:
455
Abstract (Document Summary)
Phoenix Waste & Recycling, which has had the exclusive residential franchise for a little longer than a year, had sought an increase of as much as $5, citing the rising cost of gas.
Phoenix submitted a request in June to increase the residential rate to $18.95 per month. In subsequent discussions, Phoenix lowered its asking price to $17.44, and provided spreadsheets showing that its monthly cost of doing business, including a "modest profit," was $16.97 per customer.
City Manager Mitch Lansdell denied the requests, noting that under the contract, Phoenix had to ask for an increase by April 1. Lansdell granted a 4.8 percent increase based on the consumer price index, to $14.25.
Daily Breeze - Torrance, Calif.
Author:
Gene Maddaus DAILY BREEZE
Date:
Aug 10, 2006
Text Word Count:
455
Abstract (Document Summary)
Phoenix Waste & Recycling, which has had the exclusive residential franchise for a little longer than a year, had sought an increase of as much as $5, citing the rising cost of gas.
Phoenix submitted a request in June to increase the residential rate to $18.95 per month. In subsequent discussions, Phoenix lowered its asking price to $17.44, and provided spreadsheets showing that its monthly cost of doing business, including a "modest profit," was $16.97 per customer.
City Manager Mitch Lansdell denied the requests, noting that under the contract, Phoenix had to ask for an increase by April 1. Lansdell granted a 4.8 percent increase based on the consumer price index, to $14.25.
Tanaka says he told Medrano not to talk to haulers
From an article in The Daily Breezee 03/15/07
Daily Breeze - Torrance, Calif.
Author: Gene Maddaus STAFF WRITER
Date: Mar 15, 2007
Text Word Count: 593
Abstract (Document Summary)
Gardena Mayor Paul Tanaka said he warned Councilman Oscar Medrano not to meet privately with two trash haulers in January, marking the first time Tanaka has expressed any disapproval of the meeting.
Tanaka was also critical of Daily Breeze coverage of the issue, which he said made Medrano look like "some kind of buffoon and a crook." Tanaka also strenuously objected to being linked to the trash situation, saying it made him look bad in the community.
A week before Medrano met with the haulers, Tanaka removed the termination notice from the council's agenda, without explanation. Had Tanaka allowed discussion to proceed that night, Medrano would have had no leverage with which to negotiate the following week.
Daily Breeze - Torrance, Calif.
Author: Gene Maddaus STAFF WRITER
Date: Mar 15, 2007
Text Word Count: 593
Abstract (Document Summary)
Gardena Mayor Paul Tanaka said he warned Councilman Oscar Medrano not to meet privately with two trash haulers in January, marking the first time Tanaka has expressed any disapproval of the meeting.
Tanaka was also critical of Daily Breeze coverage of the issue, which he said made Medrano look like "some kind of buffoon and a crook." Tanaka also strenuously objected to being linked to the trash situation, saying it made him look bad in the community.
A week before Medrano met with the haulers, Tanaka removed the termination notice from the council's agenda, without explanation. Had Tanaka allowed discussion to proceed that night, Medrano would have had no leverage with which to negotiate the following week.
Trash hauler: City reneged on deal
From an article in The Daily Breeze, 02/05/07:
Daily Breeze - Torrance, Calif.
Author: Gene Maddaus STAFF WRITER
Date: Feb 5, 2007
Abstract (Document Summary)
When first asked about it, [Oscar Medrano] said he did not remember who called the meeting. Later, he said it was held at [Kosti Shirvanian]'s insistence. He also said that he agreed to attend as a "mediator" between the two haulers. But according to Shirvanian, Medrano called the meeting and was hardly impartial.
Once the deal was arranged, Medrano called Councilman Steve Bradford, and Bradford came to the meeting, according to Shirvanian. Medrano explained the deal to Bradford, and Bradford agreed to pull the termination notice off the upcoming council agenda, Shirvanian said.
To Shirvanian, the real reason for the notice was given by Medrano at a meeting at City Hall on Jan. 16. Shirvanian planned to meet only with [Mitch Lansdell] and his staff, but Medrano sat in. Shirvanian said that Lansdell discussed the complaints and other service issues, but Medrano wanted to talk about Papaian, who was losing $30,000 per month on the residential contract.
Daily Breeze - Torrance, Calif.
Author: Gene Maddaus STAFF WRITER
Date: Feb 5, 2007
Abstract (Document Summary)
When first asked about it, [Oscar Medrano] said he did not remember who called the meeting. Later, he said it was held at [Kosti Shirvanian]'s insistence. He also said that he agreed to attend as a "mediator" between the two haulers. But according to Shirvanian, Medrano called the meeting and was hardly impartial.
Once the deal was arranged, Medrano called Councilman Steve Bradford, and Bradford came to the meeting, according to Shirvanian. Medrano explained the deal to Bradford, and Bradford agreed to pull the termination notice off the upcoming council agenda, Shirvanian said.
To Shirvanian, the real reason for the notice was given by Medrano at a meeting at City Hall on Jan. 16. Shirvanian planned to meet only with [Mitch Lansdell] and his staff, but Medrano sat in. Shirvanian said that Lansdell discussed the complaints and other service issues, but Medrano wanted to talk about Papaian, who was losing $30,000 per month on the residential contract.
6/16/2007
Trash problems rile residents of Hawthorne
Customers gripe about missed pickups, garbage cans left in driveways and higher fees since a new hauler took over. By Doug IrvingStaff Writer
The complaints have been piling up ever since Hawthorne changed the way it collects trash and handed the job to a new hauler. And, for some residents, that's not all that's piled up.
City leaders have been peppered with claims of missed pickups and growing mounds of garbage.
They also have heard plenty about garbage cans dumped in driveways and higher charges turning up on trash bills ever since Allied Waste Services took over the city's routes this spring.
The change was supposed to solve an expensive problem for Hawthorne. Its former trash hauler had fallen further and further behind in its payments to the city and now owes an estimated $1.5 million.
But Hawthorne officials are finding that fixing the city's trash problems isn't quite as easy as slapping a new company's logo onto garbage cans and trash trucks. They say some bumps and hassles were to be expected during the changeover, and they hope to have them smoothed out soon.
"It's going to be resolved," said William Wilson III, the general manager of Allied's Gardena Division. "Within the course of the next two weeks, we should have no problems within the city of Hawthorne."
Trash collection has been a thorn in Hawthorne's side for more than a year. Before Allied took over, the city had worked almost exclusively for decades with H&C Disposal - which had slipped in its payment of routine city fees.
City leaders spent most of last year trying to coax the money out of H&C, then gave up this April and canceled the contract. It hired Allied to handle not just H&C's old residential routes, but also those for commercial buildings, apartments and offices.
As part of the deal, Allied had to make an upfront payment of $1.5 million to the city - enough to cover the debt H&C had built up.
The company raised the monthly trash rate for most residential customers by about 5percent; but it also started charging some larger customers, such as apartment buildings, new service fees.
The complaints started ringing into City Hall shortly after Allied trucks began rolling. For one thing, Allied uses trucks with automated arms that lift and empty garbage cans - and don't always put the cans back where they should be.
Allied also has been learning the hard way that H&C and other previous trash haulers in Hawthorne didn't always keep the best records of their customers.
By the city's count, Allied inherited some 800 trash bins that had never shown up on accounts before.
The company has since brought in more drivers to work Hawthorne on more days, as well as helpers to walk the residential routes and make sure bins are left where they should be.
It also has posted a full-time customer-service representative at City Hall, who can be reached at 310-349-2986.
Company officials told the City Council this week that the problems were part of a rougher-than-expected transition, but that they would be taken care of. "It takes time to iron it out," Mayor Larry Guidi said.
H&C Disposal, meanwhile, has collapsed since losing the city's contract. It filed for bankruptcy and, in court documents, listed more than $3.8 million in outstanding claims against it.
The biggest of those claims, by far, is the $1.5 million that Hawthorne thinks the company owes.
In the past, members of the City Council have shown little interest in pursuing that money with a lawsuit, choosing instead to sever the company's contract and move on.
But City Attorney Glen Shishido indicated this week that Hawthorne would file a claim with the bankruptcy court. "Of course we'll do a filing," he told council members. "Oh, of course we'll petition for the full amount."
doug.irving@dailybreeze.com
The complaints have been piling up ever since Hawthorne changed the way it collects trash and handed the job to a new hauler. And, for some residents, that's not all that's piled up.
City leaders have been peppered with claims of missed pickups and growing mounds of garbage.
They also have heard plenty about garbage cans dumped in driveways and higher charges turning up on trash bills ever since Allied Waste Services took over the city's routes this spring.
The change was supposed to solve an expensive problem for Hawthorne. Its former trash hauler had fallen further and further behind in its payments to the city and now owes an estimated $1.5 million.
But Hawthorne officials are finding that fixing the city's trash problems isn't quite as easy as slapping a new company's logo onto garbage cans and trash trucks. They say some bumps and hassles were to be expected during the changeover, and they hope to have them smoothed out soon.
"It's going to be resolved," said William Wilson III, the general manager of Allied's Gardena Division. "Within the course of the next two weeks, we should have no problems within the city of Hawthorne."
Trash collection has been a thorn in Hawthorne's side for more than a year. Before Allied took over, the city had worked almost exclusively for decades with H&C Disposal - which had slipped in its payment of routine city fees.
City leaders spent most of last year trying to coax the money out of H&C, then gave up this April and canceled the contract. It hired Allied to handle not just H&C's old residential routes, but also those for commercial buildings, apartments and offices.
As part of the deal, Allied had to make an upfront payment of $1.5 million to the city - enough to cover the debt H&C had built up.
The company raised the monthly trash rate for most residential customers by about 5percent; but it also started charging some larger customers, such as apartment buildings, new service fees.
The complaints started ringing into City Hall shortly after Allied trucks began rolling. For one thing, Allied uses trucks with automated arms that lift and empty garbage cans - and don't always put the cans back where they should be.
Allied also has been learning the hard way that H&C and other previous trash haulers in Hawthorne didn't always keep the best records of their customers.
By the city's count, Allied inherited some 800 trash bins that had never shown up on accounts before.
The company has since brought in more drivers to work Hawthorne on more days, as well as helpers to walk the residential routes and make sure bins are left where they should be.
It also has posted a full-time customer-service representative at City Hall, who can be reached at 310-349-2986.
Company officials told the City Council this week that the problems were part of a rougher-than-expected transition, but that they would be taken care of. "It takes time to iron it out," Mayor Larry Guidi said.
H&C Disposal, meanwhile, has collapsed since losing the city's contract. It filed for bankruptcy and, in court documents, listed more than $3.8 million in outstanding claims against it.
The biggest of those claims, by far, is the $1.5 million that Hawthorne thinks the company owes.
In the past, members of the City Council have shown little interest in pursuing that money with a lawsuit, choosing instead to sever the company's contract and move on.
But City Attorney Glen Shishido indicated this week that Hawthorne would file a claim with the bankruptcy court. "Of course we'll do a filing," he told council members. "Oh, of course we'll petition for the full amount."
doug.irving@dailybreeze.com
6/14/2007
Gardena City Council weighs trash deal to help company
The firm that picks up residents' garbage is losing money; city leaders may try to help.
By Sandy MazzaStaff Writer (Daily Breeze 06/14/07)
The Gardena City Council rejected a rate-increase request from its residential trash hauler, Phoenix Waste and Recycling Services, but is instead considering suspending $160,000 in fees.
The council voted Tuesday to postpone its decision until the June 26 meeting and asked City Manager Mitch Lansdell to discuss alternatives with the trash hauler, which has said it's financially strapped.
The company is contractually entitled to raise customers' rates by 58 cents a month this year, but it asked for a much larger increase from the current $14.25 a month to $18.36.
Instead, the city proposed suspending two fees charged to the company - for the city's household hazardous waste and recycling compliance programs - totaling $80,000 a year for two years.
The council "directed me to go back to discuss with Phoenix some alternatives to the current proposal of suspending fees for two years. I'm not sure what form that will take," Lansdell said.
He said it may be similar to sales-tax-rebate programs the city has had with other businesses, such as its two card clubs and a Target retail store. In those cases, the companies were expected to return the money when business improved.
"They pay a fee to the city based on their gross receipts. The city returned a portion of that. … When their business grew to a certain level, they paid it back."
Though the city is not required to assist these businesses, it does so "to be a good business partner," Mayor Paul Tanaka said.
"This could be the city's way of `investing' in the trash company with the idea of ensuring their financial well-being so they can do the service needed to be done with no unnecessary (rate) increases," Tanaka said.
Phoenix Waste has struggled with finances and reports of improperly influencing council members since it won the trash-hauling contract in 2005.
The company may have been doomed from the start in bidding on a city proposal that was not viable, Phoenix Waste Vice President Haig Papaian said.
"We made a mistake in our books but not in our service," Papaian said.
He said unexpected increases in gas and dump fees, among other things, have caused the company to lose more than $400,000 a year on this contract.
Phoenix agreed to a low fee - compared with surrounding cities - for its services when it won the contract in 2005 because council members said they would not accept any bidders that would charge more than the monthly rate that the former hauler charged, Lansdell said.
When the city sent out the request for proposals in 2005, Gardena wanted a trash and recycling system that separates solid waste from recyclables for a monthly cost to the consumer of $13.60.
"That was the rate Waste Management was giving at the time," Lansdell said, though he acknowledged that Waste Management did not offer three carts or automated trucks.
Phoenix was the only company that agreed to the low rate. Papaian said he knew the figure was low but thought the company could eventually make a profit.
"We didn't know fuel (and dump fees) would go up that much," Papaian said.
Some residents said they were disappointed with Phoenix Waste's requests for raises above the allowances in their city contract.
"Trash always seems to be a problem in the city," resident Steve Sherman said. "These were business people. … They must not have known what they were doing when they took this contract if they're defaulting now."
Papaian's contributions to council members' campaigns before his company got the contract have become the focus of controversy.
He said he donated to the campaigns of of Mayor Paul Tanaka, Councilman Steve Bradford and Councilwoman Rachel Johnson in 2004 because he wanted to contribute to the city, not because he wanted to influence their future votes. None of his direct contributions, which totaled $3,000 to council members, were illegal.
"There were no illegal campaign contributions done. We did not contribute to anyone on this council while we had this contract," Papaian said.
The council gave the city's commercial trash hauler, Waste Resources Inc., a five-year termination notice this year because of complaints with its service, Lansdell said. Lansdell said Waste Resources also asked for a rate increase, and that request will be decided by the council in the next few months.
By Sandy MazzaStaff Writer (Daily Breeze 06/14/07)
The Gardena City Council rejected a rate-increase request from its residential trash hauler, Phoenix Waste and Recycling Services, but is instead considering suspending $160,000 in fees.
The council voted Tuesday to postpone its decision until the June 26 meeting and asked City Manager Mitch Lansdell to discuss alternatives with the trash hauler, which has said it's financially strapped.
The company is contractually entitled to raise customers' rates by 58 cents a month this year, but it asked for a much larger increase from the current $14.25 a month to $18.36.
Instead, the city proposed suspending two fees charged to the company - for the city's household hazardous waste and recycling compliance programs - totaling $80,000 a year for two years.
The council "directed me to go back to discuss with Phoenix some alternatives to the current proposal of suspending fees for two years. I'm not sure what form that will take," Lansdell said.
He said it may be similar to sales-tax-rebate programs the city has had with other businesses, such as its two card clubs and a Target retail store. In those cases, the companies were expected to return the money when business improved.
"They pay a fee to the city based on their gross receipts. The city returned a portion of that. … When their business grew to a certain level, they paid it back."
Though the city is not required to assist these businesses, it does so "to be a good business partner," Mayor Paul Tanaka said.
"This could be the city's way of `investing' in the trash company with the idea of ensuring their financial well-being so they can do the service needed to be done with no unnecessary (rate) increases," Tanaka said.
Phoenix Waste has struggled with finances and reports of improperly influencing council members since it won the trash-hauling contract in 2005.
The company may have been doomed from the start in bidding on a city proposal that was not viable, Phoenix Waste Vice President Haig Papaian said.
"We made a mistake in our books but not in our service," Papaian said.
He said unexpected increases in gas and dump fees, among other things, have caused the company to lose more than $400,000 a year on this contract.
Phoenix agreed to a low fee - compared with surrounding cities - for its services when it won the contract in 2005 because council members said they would not accept any bidders that would charge more than the monthly rate that the former hauler charged, Lansdell said.
When the city sent out the request for proposals in 2005, Gardena wanted a trash and recycling system that separates solid waste from recyclables for a monthly cost to the consumer of $13.60.
"That was the rate Waste Management was giving at the time," Lansdell said, though he acknowledged that Waste Management did not offer three carts or automated trucks.
Phoenix was the only company that agreed to the low rate. Papaian said he knew the figure was low but thought the company could eventually make a profit.
"We didn't know fuel (and dump fees) would go up that much," Papaian said.
Some residents said they were disappointed with Phoenix Waste's requests for raises above the allowances in their city contract.
"Trash always seems to be a problem in the city," resident Steve Sherman said. "These were business people. … They must not have known what they were doing when they took this contract if they're defaulting now."
Papaian's contributions to council members' campaigns before his company got the contract have become the focus of controversy.
He said he donated to the campaigns of of Mayor Paul Tanaka, Councilman Steve Bradford and Councilwoman Rachel Johnson in 2004 because he wanted to contribute to the city, not because he wanted to influence their future votes. None of his direct contributions, which totaled $3,000 to council members, were illegal.
"There were no illegal campaign contributions done. We did not contribute to anyone on this council while we had this contract," Papaian said.
The council gave the city's commercial trash hauler, Waste Resources Inc., a five-year termination notice this year because of complaints with its service, Lansdell said. Lansdell said Waste Resources also asked for a rate increase, and that request will be decided by the council in the next few months.
6/11/2007
Red Light Cameras at Intersections in Gardena
Some of Gardena's tickets can be ignored. If your "ticket" does not have the Superior Court's name and address on it, it is what some people call a "Snitch Ticket." For more details, see the Snitch Ticket section on the Your Ticket page.
On Oct. 6, 2004 RedFlex announced that Gardena had awarded it a contract for up to ten cameras, for a fixed fee of $6070 per camera per month ( = up to $728,400 per year ), for a term of five to nine years.The contract, signed Sept. 28, 2004, includes a "cost neutrality" clause, whereby the city will not have to pay RedFlex the full rent if there aren't enough fines to cover the cost. (Other cities with similar clauses are Capitola, Davis, Laguna Woods, Loma Linda, Los Alamitos, Marysville, Modesto, Murrieta, Paramount, Rocklin, San Leandro, San Mateo, and Union City. See Defect # 10.)
http://www.highwayrobbery.net/redlightcamsdocsGardenaMain.html to view past intersection ticketing.
On Oct. 6, 2004 RedFlex announced that Gardena had awarded it a contract for up to ten cameras, for a fixed fee of $6070 per camera per month ( = up to $728,400 per year ), for a term of five to nine years.The contract, signed Sept. 28, 2004, includes a "cost neutrality" clause, whereby the city will not have to pay RedFlex the full rent if there aren't enough fines to cover the cost. (Other cities with similar clauses are Capitola, Davis, Laguna Woods, Loma Linda, Los Alamitos, Marysville, Modesto, Murrieta, Paramount, Rocklin, San Leandro, San Mateo, and Union City. See Defect # 10.)
http://www.highwayrobbery.net/redlightcamsdocsGardenaMain.html to view past intersection ticketing.
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