Bell residents were outraged to discover that their poor community was going broke paying extravagant salaries to city leaders. Eight staffers have now been arrested for misappropriating funds.
City Manager Robert Rizzo was the worst of the bunch, reportedly paying himself in salary and benefits up to $1.5 million each year:
""This, needless to say, is corruption on steroids," said Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley in announcing the charges," according to the Los Angeles Times.
"Interim Bell City Manager Pedro Carrillo released a statement Tuesday saying that the charges marked a sad day for the city and showed that Rizzo and Spaccia "were at the root of the cancer that has afflicted the City of Bell.""
Read the full story: 8 Bell Leaders Arrested for Misappropriating $5.5 Million
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
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