Water Conservation w/ Wyland
On March 30 in the city of Glendale, children were painting murals in the name of water conservation. I had to be there.
West Hollywood Republicans Speak
Upon first glance, the term “West Hollywood Republican” may appear to be an enigma or even an oxymoron, but although they are significantly outnumbered, Republicans do live in the city and not all of them are hiding that fact.
Brad Torgan, an environmental lawyer and Republican resident of West Hollywood estimated the city’s Republican registration to be about 12 percent. “It can get pretty lonely sometimes,” said Torgan.
Scott Schmidt, a 10-year resident of West Hollywood, also knows the feeling.
“I believe in conservative values like limited government, fundamental freedoms, personal responsibility and on the large majority of issues, that leads me to agree with the Republican Party,” said Schmidt. “That makes it a little difficult in a town like West Hollywood, because we’re about 11 percent of the voters here, so there aren’t too many people like us in the city.”
In the 28 years since the city was incorporated, a Republican has never won a seat on the West Hollywood City Council although a former Republican has been elected.
Both Torgan and Schmidt are gay Republicans. Like Torgan and Schmidt, Dan Blatt, a blogger for GayPatriot.net, is a gay Republican who resides in West Hollywood. Read more >>
NBA Lockout Cripples Local Businesses
Every year, in early October, local businesses in Downtown Los Angeles expect the Clippers and Lakers to begin attracting large crowds to the area, but this year a protracted NBA Lockout kept customers away.
Bryan Lytle, general manager of the Palm Restaurant, which is located a block away from the Staples Center on South Flower Street, was one of many restaurant managers and employees who dispelled the myth that the NBA lockout merely hurt the players, team owners and fans.
“The financial aspect of it runs far deeper than just the players and the owners,” said Lytle. “(There is) the impact on the overall cities and you know we have two NBA teams, so you can say double the impact.”
Abe Kim, assistant manager at the Downtown LA Hooters, agreed.
“I know Downtown LA is more of a business-oriented city, so whatever is going on in the city affects businesses all over,” said Kim.
“With the lockout, I know a few restaurants I used to go to in Downtown LA are hurting, because they bank on those revenues coming from the fans and the people going to these games to generate those revenues in sales.”
By late October, various restaurants located in the LA Live entertainment complex that is adjacent to the Staples Center were already feeling the effects of significantly less foot traffic. Read more >>
Inside Look: Albert Pujols’ Plate Appearances
When the time comes, first baseman Albert Pujols will undoubtedly be enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The 31-year-old Dominican native won his second World Series title on Oct. 28, 2011 after his St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in seven thrilling games. Although the series MVP was awarded to Pujols’ teammate, David Freese, Pujols also contributed to the team, most notably blasting three home runs in Game 3 of the Fall Classic. With Pujols set to become a free agent this offseason, many teams have to decide whether or not they want to try to sign Pujols, a player who will surely be demanding a great deal of money. Let’s look at the pie chart below that depicts the likelihood of possible scenarios when the slugger steps to the plate. Here’s the graph, followed by a more detailed explanation below:
The entire pie (all 100 percent) represents the 7,433 plate appearances Albert Pujols has had throughout his career. The slices of the pie depict the distributions of various scenarios when he bats.
Non-baseball fans may wonder how Albert Pujols could be a definite Hall of Famer, given that he gets out 58 percent (23.5+25+9.5 or fly outs+ground outs+strike outs) of the time he comes to the plate. For one, hitting a baseball that is thrown up to 100 miles per hour (sometimes faster) can be extremely difficult. In addition, pitchers strive to confuse opposing batters with slower pitchers that move rapidly, such as curveballs and sliders. For those reasons, hitters that can reach base 35 percent of the time are lauded for their abilities; Pujols boasts an impressive career on-base percentage of .420 (100 minus the 58 percent of the time he gets out). Pujols’ .420 on-base percentage places him tied with Mickey Mantle for 18th all-time in that category.
Interestingly enough, Pujols hits a home run six percent of the time he comes to the plate. Again, that may not seem like a robust number, but Pujols is widely regarded as one of the best home run hitters in the MLB. Throughout his career, the first baseman has been one of the most efficient home run hitters to ever play the game. In fact, Pujols’ 14.18 at bats per home run clip ranks seventh all-time behind such celebrated home run hitters as Mark McGwire, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, among others.