Getty House

* The mayor’s official residence--the vastly remodeled and redecorated Getty House in Hancock Park--sends a depressing message from the Los Angeles power structure. We all know what goeth before a fall; and when tour guides proudly point out the cost of various items in the multimillion-dollar renovation--the $25,000 chandelier, the $81,000 carpet, etc.--one thinks of pre-revolutionary France.

Yes, the millions of dollars spent on the house were private, but the ostentation reflects contempt for those whose concern is the next meal, not a state-of-the-art kitchen. Elected representatives who speak frugality but live like potentates, flaunting a luxurious lifestyle at a time when the homeless are practically everywhere (Hancock Park is, of course, an exception), are emperors with neither clothes nor consciences. With this kind of leadership, “Let them eat cake” would be an appropriate slogan for Los Angeles.

CAROL KINNON