City Council rejects water pressure

Yes, the headline is intentional. The City Council voted 14-zip today to reject a drought surcharge on water bills for now. The vote had as much to do with the klutzy way the DWP and mayor pushed the issue on the council. Rick Orlov at the Daily News:

An angry Los Angeles City Council rejected a proposal Wednesday to impose a drought surcharge on residents, saying they resented being forced to face a last-minute deadline to adopt the plan.

The council brushed aside pleas from Department of Water and Power officials who said the surcharge is needed to reduce water consumption as the city and state face the third year of a drought.

The issue will now go to Jan Perry's Energy and Environment Committee and, I suspect, come back for passage before long.

Also at City Hall: Three council members proposed forcing the Los Angeles Marathon to return to a Sunday date...And two Florida contributors to Mayor Villaraigosa's 2005 campaign have agreed to $108,000 in fines from the Ethics Commission for trying to conceal the sources of donations. They are Sean Anderson and Richard Manhire, owners of Miami-based Travel Traders.