Which Way, L.A.?
Taxation without Equal Sanitation
Mayor Garcetti promised to fight illegal dumping and clean up Los Angeles' dirty streets, but according to a pair of recent media investigations he isn't delivering on that promise in the city's poorest neighborhoods where sanitation workers reportedly ignore at least 15 percent of all requests to clear abandoned refuse from sidewalks and alleys. What does it take to get clean streets across all of Los Angeles -- not just in Venice and Encino.
By Barbara Bogaev • • 20m ListenMayor Garcetti's Clean Streets Initiative launched last spring with the promise it would ensure the highest level of service to the neediest neighborhoods, but according to recent reports by the LA Times and the LA Daily News, the clean-up is slow in coming to many underserved LA zip codes. In fact, at least 15 percent of the time complaints about illegally dumped refuse in certain neighborhoods are ignored completely by the department of sanitation. Now the City Council is demanding the sanitation department account for its practices and form a plan to prevent disparity in services. Barbara Bogaev guest hosts.
Photo: Chris