2010-02-27

 

Please Don't Litter!


It is so sad to see the lack of civic responsibility demonstrated time after time day after day. The LACMTA too, suffers from that lack. Proof of that lack is demonstrated by the extremely small fraction of buses which have trash bags deployed in a usable manner on-board.
Above is a photo of the typical situation at the LAXCBC, garbage all over the place. If there were a serious attempts made to limit smoking and ticket those who litter, the LAXCBC would be a much better place. And they could fund some of the art with fines rather than fare collections.

The Mole reads the papers (and other things) so you don't have to
A Daily News piece(1) takes on the LACMTA's disorganized and short sighted approach to litigation. I am not aware of the details but you Mole strongly believes that the usual poor contracting procedures, that we have come to expect from the LACMTA, leaves enough doubt as to who is responsible for what, and the issue inevitably ends up in court.
The story quotes the `extraordinary' $30M in [legal] fees over Red Line case. But the piece fails to tell us what, exactly, is at issue. You can find just slightly more here http://www.metro.net/about_us/finance/images/2008_Con_Disclose_State.pdf . And here, http://www.metro.net/board/Agendas/2009/12_december/20091210ARBM.pdf we can find four (4) suits listed.

Su Topo hasn’t given up on investigating the LACMTA’s money draining approach to things, but, it will likely take several months. For example, in addressing the over-budget, behind-schedule situation via-à-vis Boston’s “Big Dig” project, POGO (Project On Government Oversight) said this:
“… There is precedent for handling this disaster. The DOT has frozen Federal funding of a subway system in Los Angeles. In an October 5, 1994 press release, the DOT announced the work performed on the subway did not meet the standards that the Department of Transportation has established:

"Disturbed by continuing technical and management problems . . . U.S. Federal Transit Administrator Gordon J. Linton today suspended future Federal funding for the entire program and halted all tunneling . . . until numerous difficulties are resolved." [See
Appendix M, p. 1]

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena added, "These steps are meant to deliver a firm message that the Clinton Administration believes in the Red Line project, supports its continuation, but insists that it be built in a safe and fiscally responsible manner." [See
Appendix M, p. 2])

In a letter sent to the Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles project Gordon Linton stated, "The grantor-grantee relationship, however, is between the FTA [Federal Transit Administration] and the LACMTA [Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority], and it is LACMTA's responsibility to demonstrate that it is exercising proper stewardship of the Federal resources it has contracted to receive." [See
Appendix M, Attachment, p. 2])”. Just taking this description on the LACMTA’s work, this Mole suggests that things don’t look too bright for an organization which is so totally lacking in professionalism that it defies description.

Now, an important axiom is life is to “do it right the first time”. The three (3) important project components in accomplishing this were addressed last month: Good general management, Good project management and the highest average IQ which can be assembled and assigned to the project.

It is proved daily and reported on monthly, that the LACMTA is in violation of the axiom and lacks appropriate resources in some or all of the important project components.

To this Mole it appears that the LACMTA would rather muddle through and then try to fix it in the courts.

This is the same company that in depressed economic conditions will be spending MORE than $500,000 on art work for five “Orange Line” stations. You can read or listen to the report at KPCC’s web site: http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/02/01/metro-art/ .

Now art is important in life, but when people are attempting to scrape by, they could well get along with a couple of LACMTA posters in the bus “stations”, which are basically just wide parts in the bus lanes. Instead these “art lovers” at the LACMTA are spending 400,000 full fare equivalents for art for which they have already selected the medium, porcelain enamel. Perhaps they could just cast everyone involved in bronze and stand a couple of the dummies, er, castings up at each station.

But, really, what can one expect from a transportation organization which is, for all intents and purposes, managed by politicians. I am sorry, but la Taupe tends NOT to value politicians very highly. Mostly they are lawyers and it seems to this Mole that the lawyers who achieve the most success in life are those in private practice.

Attention Ms Wendy Greuel — City Controller, this could be a job for your staff. I would suggest an emphasis on the bidding process an interesting sidelight of which might be to see if there are connections between political contributions and bid winners. But, this will not be an easy task. The easier task might be to find out which failures in project management exist and specifically which failures in project management generate unproductive law suits like the one for $30 million mentioned above.

Ms Greuel, you might also want to find out how Snoble was able to spend $1,000,000 of taxpayer money to propagandize those same taxpayers regarding Metro’s “plans”.  I have the strong feeling that Snoble violated some law or regulation when he decided to spend monies intended for transportation in an attempt to convince voters how “good it would be”. It wasn’t that good, was it?, because Snoble left not too long after his advertizing campaign, successful though it was.

Please don’t delay on this issue, statute of limitations, you know.

The Dailybreeze sure knows how to promote a good idea(2). The article describes how Homegirl Café, which is part of Father Greg Boyle's Homeboy Industries will be submitting a bid to provide food service at LAX. Full disclosure: Su Topo has eaten at the Homegirl Café, likes the food, and was, as an ordinary customer, treated well by a staff that was polite and ladylike.  Su Topo supports all of Father Boyle's work in any way he can –sorry, way too little he thinks.   I wish every success to the endeavor and wish that the Daily Breeze article gave the story a more positive vibe. This writer thinks that the reporter should visit the Home girl Cafe and then write an article that better reflects the restaurant.


I stop at a Starbucks to catch up o my e-mail before a trip. A high volume interview is on going when I enter. I walk by the table and glance down. The document on the table, in front of the coffee-drinking interviewer, is identified as a Harvard Pre-interview document. The coffee cup-less interviewee is a young lady who is apparently in her last year of high school. My first thought is, Harvard? --don't they have an office for this kind of thing?? The interviewer seems kind of insensitive. I have been interview in a public place but, it was always a restaurant which offered more than just an arms length separation from others.
Why oh why oh Wyoming?

I am at LAX, I have my camera and my flight is delayed. So I decide to check out the FlyAway buses and see if they are still using Wyoming license plates –Please see the photos above and below and click on the photos to [depending upon your Internet browser] see an enlargement. I find that about one third of the FlyAway buses which stop at the Bradley Terminal buses are still registered in WY.
Could this be a case of case of cheating the State of California and passing the savings on to you?
I don’t think so as the fare, since I first reported on the route (2006-03-25) has more than doubled, from $3 one way to $7 one way. And years have passed since I first showed you a photo of a Wyoming license plate on a FlyAway bus (2007-08-28).
In spite of the fact that these FlyAway buses are used mostly, as far as this Mole can tell, in the Los Angeles area, they are registered in Wyoming. It that legal, or just a way to use our local highways without paying for them?
Couple this tactic with the fact that our LACMTA makes no attempt to promote the 439 Line, at $1.80 as an inexpensive and not really so much longer in duration, alternative to the $7 FlyAway option




An am-NY.com (www.amNy.com) piece(3) by my favourite
transportation reporter, Ms Heather Haddon, tells us that a man
owes the New York City $2 million in fines for his illegal
posting of “cheap movers” posters around Manhattan Borough.
Which man may be close to being brought to justice.


I can’t help but contrast our own local situation where an illegal poster of extremely hard-to-remove bumper stickers –advertising a web site- has operated for years and is allowed complete freedom. This, in spite of the fact that several groups within the the LACMTA which one would suppose to have interest in the matter, have been provided with details of the poster’s whereabouts, contact information and etc., yet they remain rooted in inactivity.
Of all our institutions public education is the most important. Everything depends on it, the present and the future. It is essential that the morals and political ideas of the generation which is now growing up should no longer be dependent upon the news of the day or the circumstances of the moment. Above all we must secure unity: we must be able to cast a whole generation in the same mold.
Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821), in an 1807 meeting of the Council of State. Quoted in “The Life and Memoirs of Count Molé, written by Mathieu Louis Molé (1781-1855), edited by the Marquis de Noailles. 2v London, 1923, 61.
Ear to the Rail
Some weeks ago, KPFK (90.7Fm or www.kpfk.org ) began a new broadcast at 17:00~18:09 on Mondays through Fridays. It is called the “Daily Briefing” and is hosted by Ian Masters who you may recognise from his “Background Briefing” Sundays at 11:00~14:00 on KPFK.
This is NOT a “talk show” in the sense that people call in to be heard –even if they probably shouldn't be given a forum as they often are on other broadcasts, but rather, an intelligent, often lengthy conversation between a reporter, Masters, and his knowledgeable guests. One such guest was James Rickards, who is a financial markets expert. Simply search for “James Rickards” +piñata using you favourite search mechanism, I used Www.bing.com and you will see an article which is short and fairly easy to understand,about the EU's problems with Greece's finances.
Be careful, Daily Briefing is addictive, as is Background Briefing, so you may find yourself downloading the broadcast from http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/ when you are not near a radio at 17:00.
Cosmology
The December 2009 issue of Scientific American features an article on multiverses, i.e., multiple universes. Here is the link:

The link below will take you to the Multiverse notes and allow you to download a podcast on multiverses. Press (Page Down) once after linking, then look for the “Download MP3” or “Play Podcast” links on the lower left side of the second page.

The Mole Rides Again, so that you don't have to wonder what your bus driver's last words will be when she returns her attention to driving and looks down to see a truck five feet away
A 42 Line bus, number 6456, idles at the LAXCBC, doing its' share to contribute to global warming.
An extremely filthy man sits on a bench at the LAXCBC, rock back and forth and makes moaning noises.

The person above is spending part of Super Sunday afternoon catching up on his rest. This is not unusual and, of course, there is absolutely NO security provided at this busy center.
Typical of the ambiance at the LAXCBC, is this habitué of the bus center.  With almost no security provided here, things only get worse after dark. The smell of smoke is pervasive, vendors frequent the center along with friendly people –who will come right up to you, greet you and ask for “spare change”.

Above we can see that someone has left a McDonald’s coffee cup on top of the newspaper dispenser in the foreground.
Look below, and see that Starbucks is there too. Starbucks, contribution to litter, is the cup on the ground between the curb and in back of the third newspaper dispenser.
This trash is located only steps from a trash container, all on the northwest corner of the Lincoln and Venice intersection.
Both McDonald’s, Starbucks and a host of other companies are factors in littering. Of course, they couldn’t do it without their customers! Who pays for the cleanup, if any? Why the taxpayers do!

2010-02-02 @ 13:00: I ride a 704 bus #9383 down Santa Monica BL to Santa Monica. A tall black man has draped himself over what your Mole considers to be a luggage rack, located on the right front side of the bus. He carries on a non-stop conversation with the driver, #29424, who seems so confidant that she doesn't use her seat belt. In spite of manoeuvring this big machine along a very busy street, easily holds up her end of the conversation. He: “... use cheaper materials but charge you more ...”. She: “I saw “The Unborn”on TV ...”. I have heard more than enough and move to the back of the bus –further away from the point of impact, I think, but apparently she hasn't as the conversation continues until the final stop. My new seat is near a native of India whose body odor causes me to move again.
I wait in Santa Monica, along with ten others for a 333 bus. A man adjusts his wife's coat collar. An ordinary act, yet it seems a somewhat rare momentary expression of tenderness.
A woman draws deeply on her cigarette until her cheeks are bisected by a line, then puffs up her cheeks while retaining the smoke in her mouth and lungs. After exhaling, she continues a self discussion which seems to be turning into an argument.
A seagull roosts on a corner at the top of a building. I think of Chekhov's work –”The Seagull”.
2010-02-04 @15:50: I am aboard a 429 Line bus driven by driver # 14223 –better known as Mr. Tape-it-up. Today about 40% of the right side front windshield has black plastic bag material taped over it. About 60% of the driver's side window is also covered. For this he used more black plastic bag material and his uniform jacket, which is hung over the visor.
I think of this driver as a sort of “Dracula” who cannot stand the light and I am always concerned that he may actually not be fit to drive in the daylight. However, today it seems, he is not swiveling around in his seat to face passengers with whom he is carrying out a conversation while the bus is traveling at speed on the Freeway. But he does seem to glance up to see their reflections in the mirror, distracted for short periods, which is not comforting to this Mole.
2010-02-06: I ride bus #6423 and note that the front, right, inside convex mirror, the one that allows the driver see what is directly in front of the right front wheel is covered with a white plastic bag –to this Mole it an obvious safety violation but the drivers apparently don't see fit to write it up nor do any mechanics see this glaring problem.

Here at the south most entry to the Green Line Mariposa Station one can easily see that the equipment will be exposed to a diurnal cycle of heating and cooling. In Japan, I have seen many similar gates which have always been somewhat protected and never exposed to the elements as these are at Mariposa Station and at other locations around the county.

At the northern entry to the Green Line Mariposa Station, it is not easy to distinguish between the plastic covering, which has bubbled up, and the water which has accumulated on top of the covering. To me this is much less than ideal siting for such equipment. It is yet another reason why doing it right the first time always pays off. Here they are trying to retrofit gear into a situation which has lots of limitations.

                     
The photo above and the one below this section, are of another bus stop haunter. I spotted this from an eastbound 117 bus and got off. This guy is something else. A semi-aggressive panhandler, he shouts at the patrons of the fast-food place in the background, threads his way between the cars which are lined up for service and delivers his pitch. He even caused a young girl to run to her mother when he approached her babbling something unintelligible. Apparently this has been going on for months.
Where are the Inglewood police? Don't the Metro drivers report such encampments at bus stops along their routes?? Why didn't the restaurant managers take some action? Why should bus riders, restaurant patrons and others have to compete with this man for space which is rightfully theirs?
He has latterly taken over the bus stop. He has his shopping cart attached to the bus stop “flag” pole. He also has a bicycle (shown in the photo below) and assorted other possessions taking up more space. I was told that on rainy days he moves into the covered shelter. These are things that the LACMTA doesn't tell you in their expensive, glossy hype pieces prepared by their Marketing staff. The general ambiance in the near vicinity is well, funky.

Want to do more walking? Ride the Metro!
2010-02-15: I what seems like an all to rare day off and Molette and I plan to meet at Del Amo, to have lunch and do some shopping. I arrive early and have my morning coffee and decide to record what I observed about the LACMTA this morning.
Under the guise of “service improvements” they have eliminated some stops on the 344 Line which “serves” Hawthorne BL. They made these changes some weeks ago and would probably tell you that they solicited public comment on the change and there wasn't any. Of course it is difficult for bus riders to offer comment when at 18:00 (the usual time that the “Comment Meetings” end), the potential critics are more than an hour away from the venue waiting for the second bus of the three which will be required for the trip.
Anyway, the “service improvements” here involve eliminating some stops and using red “Rapidish” buses on the route. No as soon as I see that my bus will be a “Rapid”, I know that I'm in for some walking, usually no more than a mile.
In this case, it seems that due to their “main thoroughfare” fixation (MTF?), theywhenn eliminated all stops that would be convenient to those who travel along Hawthorne BL.
Is everyone at the LACMTA stupid? Or don't they ride the buses?, Or can't they read a map and understand distances? Or is it just a matter of not caring about the public which they misserve? Or all of the above?
I can just visualize the “planners” in action: “Well it's further than the width of my index finger but less than my thumb. That should be a short walk”. Convenience – duh, what does that mean?
These guys have big street fever but not the slightest idea about what “source of traffic” means.
Here again, we have the LACMTA forcing people who are unable to make long walks and cross busy streets onto Torrance Transit and required to pay an additional fare.
Here again, with the decrease in the value our bus passes we can feel first hand the result of the “less for more” philosophy of the LACMTA.
Now the LACMTA is not the only transportation agency that has short comings, the GMBL also could use some improvement. Now, when you want to use one of their lines, say line 5 which serves El Segundo BL between the Green Line and Blue Line intersection and Sepulveda BL in El Segundo. Actually, it spurs off to the south from the Imperial Blue Line Station, using 120th ST and then Compton BL, in order to intersect El Segundo BL and lays-over on Grand AV just a little south of Sepulveda, where the bus starts its next loop. You can see, kind of, the route here http://filebin.ca/oyeubu. The picture is not pretty, partly because I scanned the best copy which I could easily obtain which had apparently been in use on the bus for a while. My complaints with the document, I am not that satisfied with my scanning either, are several: (a) someone decided to use reverse printing for the Green Line station names, making them difficult to read on the scanned copy and near impossible using the paper copy; (b) the boxes containing the Legend and Map Notes, should have been (and should be) reoriented so that the map could be read more easily, that is stretched more on the north-south axis; (c) the “Legend” should be relocated to the west of Sepulveda after rotation it 90 degrees to the left; (d) the “Map Notes”, after a like rotation 90 degrees to the left, should be printed left to right below Alondra BL; and (e) reducing the size of the map title and printing it as one line frees “real estate” and makes possible an east west stretching of the map. Reformatting as I suggest allows for a larger map, you know the part we use. I suspect as with the LACMTA these maps are created by people who don’t ride the system. That said, the LACMTA seems to be making a real effort to improve the usability of the maps which are integrated into their schedules. This Mole would be unfair if he didn’t make reference to that fact. Oh, and GMBL, “You’re Welcome!”.

Although the photo above actually shows very little trash, it does depict an attitude held by some, a sort of “the world is my garbage can” way of looking at things. Or possibly they think “if the LACMTA won’t provide trash containers aboard buses then I will just try to conceal my trash”.


I saw a fresh “whois” bumper sticker on a bus and immediately, OK, quickly, had two thoughts: (1) The LACMTA can spend $30 million on legal cases but can’t spend $150 for a C & D order for the person who has made a career out of defacing buses and (2) Cell phones authorised (See the 2009-12-31 posting) for Metro employee usage should have a “Metro” decal affixed to them –they can buy the decals from Mr. “Whois”, because they are next to impossible to remove.
2010-02-25 @ 11:20: I am on Line 111 bus, #6323, driven by driver #14863 who is a, how shall I say this?, rotund woman. Rotund to the point where she wears her “lap belt” across the top of her legs. I estimate the belt to be positioned about midway between her hips and knees.
It doesn’t look safe. I think about the physics involved in a crash and decide that her legs likely would be broken. This would make them more “flexible” and significantly reduce their restraining effect, so that as he upper body went through the windshield; her legs would follow right along.
The solution? Equip buses with a shoulder harness, as aircraft pilots use, to ensure that drivers retain their seats in the event of a crash. The probability that Metro would be that concerned about its passengers is, unfortunately, extremely low.


Dedicated to the Dulcinea of my dreams
"Then if it be essential that every knight-errant should be in love," said the traveller, "it may be fairly supposed that your worship is so, as you are of the order; and if you do not pride yourself on being as reticent as Don Galaor, I entreat you as earnestly as I can, in the name of all this company and in my own, to inform us of the name, country, rank, and beauty of your lady, for she will esteem herself fortunate if all the world knows that she is loved and served by such a knight as your
worship seems to be."

At this Don Quixote heaved a deep sigh and said, "I cannot say positively whether my sweet enemy is pleased or not that the world should know I serve her; I can only say in answer to what has been so courteously asked of me, that her name is Dulcinea, her country El Toboso, a village of La Mancha, her rank must be at least that of a princess, since she is my queen and lady, and her beauty superhuman, since all the impossible and fanciful attributes of beauty which the poets apply to their ladies are
verified in her; for her hairs are gold, her forehead Elysian fields, her eyebrows rainbows, her eyes suns, her cheeks roses, her lips coral, her teeth pearls, her neck alabaster, her bosom marble, her hands ivory, her fairness snow, and what modesty conceals from sight such, I think and imagine, as rational reflection can only extol, not compare."

"We should like to know her lineage, race, and ancestry," said Vivaldo.

To which Don Quixote replied, "She is not of the ancient Roman Curtii, Caii, or Scipios, nor of the modern Colonnas or Orsini, nor of the Moncadas or Requesenes of Catalonia, nor yet of the Rebellas or Villanovas of Valencia; Palafoxes, Nuzas, Rocabertis, Corellas, Lunas, Alagones, Urreas, Foces, or Gurreas of Aragon; Cerdas, Manriques, Mendozas, or Guzmans of Castile; Alencastros, Pallas, or Meneses of Portugal; but she is of those of El Toboso of La Mancha, a lineage that though modern, may furnish a source of gentle blood for the most illustrious families of the ages that are to come, and this let none
dispute with me save on the condition that Zerbino placed at the foot of the trophy of Orlando's arms, saying,

'These let none move Who dareth not his might with Roland prove.'"

"Although mine is of the Cachopins of Laredo," said the traveller, "I will not venture to compare it with that of El Toboso of La Mancha, though, to tell the truth, no such surname has until now ever reached my ears."

"What!" said Don Quixote, "has that never reached them?" ’

Miguel De Cervantes (1547-1616), Don Quixote (1605), http://www.literaturecollection.com/a/cervantes/don-quixote/1/ ,
Chapter XIII


Fare Box Score Box and related Lists of Shame
I.D. Numbers of buses with Out of Order Fare Boxes: 6496;
Note: No or few entries above do not necessarily mean all fare boxes are in operation.
I.D.Numbers of Distracted Drivers: (i)(ii)(iii);
None noted this period.
Codes: (i) Extended conversation(s) with passenger(s) or (ii) cell phone call(s). Frequently, details can be found in the text above, (iii) Self-distracted. This code will ALWAYS be explained in the posting.
I.D. Numbers of Buses Defaced by WhoIs stickers: 6378; 9383+UR; 6371; 6384;
~UR or +UR = (+UR) whois sticker and the ugly residue left after passengers partly remove the sticker. (~UR) = Only the ugly residue left after passengers almost completely remove the sticker. +L = an old (legacy) sticker black letters on a plain white background –these are the original form of defacement.
* Another reason for displaying the operator's ID on the internal display and the headsign.

ID numbers of Buses whose Head and Tail signs disagree: 6580 117/111; 6362 42/0; 6411 111/0;
Format is Bus number followed by Headsign number/Tailsign number.

La Taupe's Abréviations
ASAS = Automatic Stop Announcement System the GPS (Global Positioning System) driven mechanism for generating audio for the upcoming stops. N.B. Because of the low power (read weak) processors used in the on-board stops may be too close to identify stops separately. This is know as a granularity problem. Then too, if the driver operates the bus at speed above the speed limit you will find the system “back announcing” stops which you have already passed. I find that this will NOT keep some drivers from complaining “that you didn’t signal (ring) in time. They don’t understand their relationship to the system and how, by driving faster than the GPS computer, they can bias it .
BBB = Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus
CC or CCMBL = Culver City (Municipal) Bus (Lines)
CCTC = Culver City Transportation Center this is the place formerly known as FHMTC = the Fox Hills Mall Transportation Center (Sepulveda & Slauson)
FFE = Full Fare Equivalent (presently $1.25)
LAXCBC = the LAX City Bus Center.
TT = Torrance Transit.
T1 = the normal type of driver/staff.
T2 = is the non-stop talker type of driver/staff, on the phone or to passengers,
T3 = the uncommunicative type of driver/staff, sometimes surly.
WLATC = the West Los Angeles Transportation Center (Fairfax & Apple)
Su Topo’s Disclaimer and apologia
Your Mole always attempts to write an easy-on-the-eyes page using text input. Blogger.com however, has other ideas and will often not stay with a single font type or point size, produces extraneous spacing and etc. I wish I had time to debug the HTML which they produce, it is NOT the straight text which I pasted into the form, but I don’t. Therefore, I apologize on behalf of Blogger.com for the changes which they make, of which I do not approve. Sometimes, what I see, thankfully you don’t, is 24 point type –it is giant and other times they swallow my text, although it still seems to be there. In fairness to them, things seem better, although this is partly because I do understand which of their “features” do the most damage to me and consequently do not use them. Communicating these problems to them, for me, is something like having teeth extracted without the benefit of anesthetic, actually it is less fun than that. By their design, there is no simple e-mailing them with "Please look at my say, posting of 2009-06-28, it is weird!” I am hoping that one of their developers will some day read this, copy my code and improve their text to HTML engine. Until then, lo siento.
Mole’s Copyright Statement
All photographs and original written materials are copyrighted © 2007~2009 by LAmetroMole. Clicking a photo will often* present you with an enlargement. *This feature is dependent upon the Internet browser which you use and possibly other factors.
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This site contains or provides links to copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, sustainable development, environmental, community and worker health, public disclosure, corporate accountability, and etc. We have often included relatively brief quotes from articles and etc., sometimes in addition to a simple link, because we have found that links frequently go "bad" or change over time. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without fee or payment of any kind to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes and to those who access the site via any and all other channels. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Music or other recorded material on this site, or referred to by this site are copyrighted by their respective artists and are made available here for evaluation purposes only. Please support the artists you like by buying their commercial CDs, MP3s and downloads.
Your Mole’s Conflict of Interest Statement
This is to certify that I, the blogger who is known as the LAmetroMole, with respect to this blog, except as described below, am not now nor at any time during the past year have been, nor it my current intention to ever be:
1) A participant, directly or indirectly, in any arrangement, agreement, investment, or other activity with any vendor, supplier, or other party doing business with any of the entities about which I have written, which has resulted or could result in personal benefit to me.
2) A recipient, directly or indirectly, of any salary payments or loans or gifts of any kind or any free service or discounts or other fees from or on behalf of any person or organization engaged in any transaction with any of the entities about which I have written.
Any exceptions to 1 or 2 above are stated below with a full description of the transactions and of the interest, whether direct or indirect, which I have (or have had during the past year) in the persons or organizations having transactions with any of the entities about which I have written.
There are no exceptions.
Date: 2009-06-24 S/ LametroMole


Bibliography/References
(1) Anderson,Troy Staff Writer “MTA legal dealings called 'shocking'” Daily News. http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_14320232?IADID=Search-www.dailynews.com-www.dailynews.com Last Viewed: 02/02/2010 06:53:42 PM PST
(2) Marroquin, Art. “Ex-gang members part of LAX eatery bid”. Dailybreeze. 31 Jan. 2010:A3.
(3) Haddon, Heather. “Mysterious mover investigated for illegal posters” am-NY.com. 11 Feb. 2010:p04
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