DWP Scandal Prompts Flood of Questions

Re “Mayor’s Use of PR Firm Criticized,” Nov. 20: It is interesting to learn that every time I turned on my lights or TV set, I’ve been charged without my knowledge for the mayor’s speechwriters and miscellaneous public relations expenses. This is not the way to improve the city’s image, as the mayor claims, when you consider what kind of message it conveys about city operation. It raises the question of what other items the city hides in our electricity bills that are not related to the production or delivery of electricity, or operation of the city-owned utility. L.A. City Controller Laura Chick’s investigations are raising some very good questions.

Harvey Barkan

Studio City

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In the story about the city Department of Water and Power’s and the mayor’s use of Fleishman-Hilliard, there was one small item that deserves more comment. A paragraph stated: “Fleishman performed millions of dollars of work for the DWP that had nothing to do with the mayor’s office, including designing and managing the utility’s $750,000-a-year corporate sponsorship of the Dodgers.” You mean that the DWP spent my ratepayer dollars to give money to the billionaire who owned the Dodgers? This scandal goes deeper than I thought.

Emil Lawton

Sherman Oaks

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Re “Did Hahn’s Team Seek a Controller More to His Liking?” Nov. 22: So Mayor James Hahn wants somebody to run against Laura Chick as city controller because she’s delved into areas he’d rather not be made public. Former Mayor Richard Riordan also got someone to oppose Chick for the same reason. I knew she was doing something right!

Ken Goldman

Los Angeles

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Re “Firm Billed DWP for Work Tied to Hahn,” Nov. 18: Where we live the only choice on the utility provider we have is our telephone; water and power is billed by DWP, gas by the Gas Co. Gas and water and power are monopolies.

Please explain why a monopoly needs to hire a public relations firm at all! What possible excuse does the DWP have for spending our tax dollars on public relations?

Louise Bianco

Tarzana