South Bay Echo for Nov 5
AES forecloses, NBC News hatchet job on Redondo, MBUSD bombshell and Villanueva must go
Welcome to the 42nd edition of South Bay Echo, your source of local hometown news with a real estate angle.
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AES forecloses on Leo and company
Late last month it appears AES Redondo Beach, which operates the power plant, started foreclosure proceedings on Leo Pustilnikov and his group of undisclosed partners in the amount of $36.7 million.
Pustilnikov and company closed escrow on the 51-acre property in 2020 in a complicated deal with no clear total sales price. But it appears they aren’t paying their bills.
There were a lot of caveats in the deal and Pustilnikov has now set in motion plans to build up to 2,300 housing units on the site. At the same time, he is attempting to force the development through by suing the city and filing a “builders remedy” under Prop 330.
I am not exactly sure what’s going on here. This could be a strategic play by Pustilnikov and company, and they plan to make good on their debt. Or perhaps they will go away if they don’t win on these battles in court. Maybe they just don’t want to sink any more money into a losing battle.
In any case, this was serious enough for AES to file formal foreclosure papers. If Pustilnikov does walk away from the deal it reopens an opportunity for the city to once again establish a massive city park.
Hatchet job by NBC News on Redondo
NBC News reported last month on the proposed development at AES and how it relates to the fight over low-income housing, which served as a good PR move by the developers. And reporter Jake Ward blindly walked right into it.
Ward interviewed Pustilnikov, Councilman Todd Loewenstein and former Mayor Steve Aspel in what can only be described as a one-sided hatchet job.
The reporter got some major facts incorrect in the story, such as stating that Redondo was in default on its housing element. In fact, Redondo’s housing plan was approved by state regulators in August.
Pustilnikov was portrayed as an altruistic developer who just wants to build affordable housing on the beach. What a joke. Then comes Aspel to agree with the reporter that the motivation for opposing development at the site is entirely based on racism. “One hundred percent,” said Aspel. This is such an idiotic red herring in my opinion.
Finally, Loewenstein comes in to throw some cold water on the situation, stating honestly that perhaps oceanfront property is not the place for dense low income housing. Chatting after the piece about these remarks, the reporter and news anchor act flabbergasted. How dare Loewenstein state the obvious! Todd defended his remarks in this Easy Reader story last week.
I believe Redondo voters are more than happy to see some sort of development at the AES site. What they don’t want, based on two failed ballot measures and countless opposition movements, is an oversized project that leads to more overcrowding.
Aspel has been pushing a rock up a hill for deep pocketed developers for a long time now. Don’t ask me why. I hope for his sake there is some benefit to throwing his community under a bus. Playing the race card is an act of desperation.
Easy Reader drops bombshell
A report in the Easy Reader this week has landed like a stink bomb on the Manhattan Beach Unified School District race. In it, reporter Mark McDermott reveals the eclectic and not so flattering backgrounds of a slate of candidates termed the trifecta.
Candidate Johnny Uriostegui, it turns out, has a criminal record having been arrested twice for DUI, in 1989 and 1992, and twice for a suspended license, one of which in 2015 when he was also charged with driving on a sidewalk.
Candidate Christy Barnes, meanwhile, spent a decade working for two companies that pioneered payment processing for internet pornography and gambling sites. She had some role in producing the movie “Middle Men” with Luke Wilson, which is a great flick by the way. And her home is apparently in pre-foreclosure.
The article drew considerable heat, however, after errors were refuted by trifecta candidate Mike Welsh. The paper issued a retraction for statements in the print version about Welsh’s history. This appears to be a grave mistake that’s now been corrected on the record. Welsh said he was never contacted about the claims before deadline, which if true is unfortunate.
I haven’t followed this election too closely. The race appears to be led by false claims of student indoctrination and book censorship, more silliness if you ask me.
Sheriff Villanueva must go
If you have been paying attention to LA County politics over the past four years, there is no question that Sheriff Alex Villanueva is out of control. Villanueva, who campaigned as a reformer, has managed to turn nearly all of his major supporters against him through his brazen acts since taking office.
Villanueva has been so insubordinate to the County of Board of Supervisors that they’ve placed a measure on the ballot giving them authority to remove a sitting Sheriff in the future if they continue to not listen.
The list is long of his offenses, though just considering his latest act of defiance should be enough for voters to send him packing. I’m referring to the unjustified home search and staged perp walk of Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. The CA Attorney General subsequently stripped the Sheriff of control over the investigation and demanded he return materials that were seized.
The other day I was driving down the 405 and saw a banner pasted to the fence of an overpass. It said voters don’t know the real Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, Villanueva’s opponent, promoting TheRealRobertLuna.com paid for by Villanueva’s campaign. On the site it claims Luna is “anti-black.” These are sleazy campaign tactics for a sleazy Sheriff. Villanueva has got to go!
A note on the midterms
Voters head to the polls on Tuesday to decide the fate of Congress. Whether Democrats will retain control seems unlikely. And why wouldn’t Republicans be rewarded in a year when they excused a violent insurrection, denied election results and took away a woman’s fundamental rights.
I am being facetious of course. That GOP candidates are even in the running is a reflection not to the horrors of a party that has gone off the rails, but to just how unpalatable the Democrats have become to many Americans.
So what’s the problem? First off, leading a political charge with geriatrics doesn’t exactly fire up the base of energized young people. It’s long since time for new leaders.
Excusing the age factor for a moment, Democrats have taken the blame for economic conditions beyond their control. The hope that abortion rights would drive voters to the polls have been eclipsed by fears over the economy. But these factors, such as inflation, oil prices and the war in Ukraine are completely beyond the President’s control.
Inflation was caused by Federal Reserve policy, global conditions and stimulus checks approved by BOTH PARTIES. Oil prices are controlled by an international monopoly. And Ukraine, well, it’s being driven by a madman.
As Americans, we are seeing this year just how fragile our democracy really is. Our wise and blessed forefathers realized the only thing that could truly preserve a democracy was the power of the people and their right to vote. When this process is undermined, it erodes the very foundation of our democracy. There is no threat more grave to our country, in my opinion. But what happens when the people are too dumb to realize or even give a shit?
Today we have a party willing to throw it all away for their own personal gain. Party before country is the new mantra. Sadly, Trump may as well be Caesar, proudly flushing a few hundred years of our republic down the toilet, like scraps of hastily shredded notes, just to fuel his own ego.
The fear and loathing runs deep.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading… If you like it please share it and leave a comment.
Sadly true, the fear and loathing runs deep. It's hard to understand the former president's control of the party. A 60 Minutes interwire pretty much tells it all. https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1586859240530092033
Excellent edition, David. Your investigative skills are on display as you dig up the dead bodies on development, the school board and the rest of the shenanigans. I love the racist charge. If one can't form an argument hurl racism. As to Villanueva I don't know. When Dawyn Harrison the acting or perhaps actual county counsel tugged Kuehl's coat on the warrant I thought "conflict" as the county counsel represents the sheriff's department as well. This would be a mortal sin in private practice; however, a friend a former high ranking county counsel who advised the board said no. He had raised the issue of conflict and was told by his superior that the CC represented the Board, first, last and foremost. That raises another question. The county counsel represents the Board as a body not its individual members. Finally, I am hesitant of the constitutionality of one elected body cancelling the electorate's choice on an another elected official. Obviously the Board controls the purse strings for all the department's including the sheriff's. I will be watching the results of the various dogfights Tuesday night w my popcorn. Yes, vote. My dad always said, "If you don't vote you're just part of the mob.". The republic will stand. It's just with today's communication we peasants are in on the shenanigans. Tammany Hall on NYC, vote early and vote often in Chicago and of course my all time favorite of diversity, equity and inclusivity by Nury Martinez et. al. It was funny w the exception of picking on a toddler. Thanks for keeping us posted.