Things of local interest

Last night, I was at a Target store buying a lamp. Outside, next to a sign that was marked "NO Solicitations", was a couple of neighborly looking people. They had a table and clipboards and called out "Hey, do you want fair wages for all?". I thought to myself, "Of course, I do." I thought that this was a petition to increase the minimum wage. I went to sign the clipboard.

Then, I noticed that the petition was not attached to the signiture sheet. I asked to see it and a separate sheet was shown to me. I read what the petition was REALLY for...

Over a year ago, the hotel workers of LA went on strike because of the deplorable conditions and meager pay they were receiving without having even the security of a contract. Finally, after a long struggle, they won concessions and also gained a enough support for the LA City Council to vote to increase their pay by an act of law.

...This petition was to make things "fair" by repealing the city council vote in favor of the hotel workers. I was disgusted. These people were petitioning to take away a modest increase in wages to workers who barely survive on their meager salaries. I put down the pen an walked away telling them loudly, "I'm for fair wages to all...so you should have a petition to INCREASE the wages of all the other sectors of manual labor forces, not take away what the hotel workers worked so hard to do."

It made me mad to know how deceptive they were being in how they described the petition and that I was almost duped. I wanted to stand next to them to tell people the truth of what they were signing. (I didn't because I had errands to do and because I did not want to cause a scene.)

Another thing, I was going to find pizza with Elana on Monday night. I had been driving around after our trip to a bagel shop had failed because they were out of the soup we wanted. We went to open the door at Shalom Pizza on Pico Blvd. just east of Robertson...and it was locked. The lights were on and there was a guy behind the counter, but he waved and pointed to the sign on the window. The letter sign that has to appear in all LA food establishments was missing. In its place was a sign announcing that the pizzeria was closed due to insect/rodent infestation. I noticed the date on the sign. It was the same day. We may have been the first customers to arrive at the pizzeria after the health inspector left! I guess we dodged a bullet...no unsanitary pizza. But I felt sorry for the guy who looked like the type who might owned the place. We decided to go home and have pita with hummus. Yum.