EDITORIAL HUSH MONEY COUNCIL SHOULD USE THE HARBOR SCANDAL TO START FIXING L.A. CITY GOVERNMENT.THE $540,000 payoff to former Harbor Department chief Larry Keller ought to be the starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting point terminus a quo commencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the for the Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. to clean up city government. Keller is a key witness in the widening ``pay-to-play'' scandal that has cast suspicion over contracting at the city's port, as well as at the city's airports and Department of Water and Power. He resigned under pressure in September, and soon after, the Harbor Commission - which is appointed by the mayor - voted to give the former shipping executive this lucrative three-year contract for marketing advice. The sweetheart deal Sweetheart Deal A merger or company sale where one company involved in the deal gives the other very attractive terms and conditions. Notes: In other words, a sweetheart deal is a transaction that a firm simply cannot pass-up. This is usually considered to be unethical. looks a lot like hush money hush money n. Informal A bribe paid to keep something secret. hush money Noun Slang money given to a person to ensure that something is kept secret Noun 1. - taxpayer cash in exchange for Keller's silence. It's so suspicious, in fact, that when it came before the City Council on Tuesday, members had little choice but to overcome the resistance of Mayor James Hahn's allies, and ask the Harbor Department to hand over all documents related to the contract. Since county investigators had already gone after much of the same information, their decision was a no-brainer. Council members don't deserve much credit for doing the right thing in this case since to do less would have made them complicitous in this waste of taxpayer money. But merely killing the payoff to Keller won't fix what's broken. That will take more than one tossed contract, a few jail sentences jail sentence jail n → peine f de prison or mudslinging mud·sling·er n. One who makes malicious charges and otherwise attempts to discredit an opponent, as in a political campaign. mud during the upcoming mayoral race. It will take a systematic effort on the part of the City Council to change the culture of City Hall. The council has the opportunity and the authority to use its scrutiny of this contract as an opening to root and weed out every back-room agreement and every dirty deal in city government. There's no doubt that there are plenty of such agreements and deals to be found, and there should be no doubt that the first step is to open up the processes at City Hall and let the public in on what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. . The only question is whether the 15 council members have the will - and the guts - to break free from the patterns of corruption that have taken hold. In the face of mounting evidence of dirty politics, there can no longer be any middle ground. Council members either support the continuing corruption, or they support genuine reforms that will lead to good government and a better city for all. |
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