Jennifer Aidoo

Surely, no laws have been broken, but does that mean NBC Universal along with California's state legislature and other multi-billion dollar corporations in LA County do not share in responsibility for devastating economic losses to the state for the past several years?

While it is becoming increasingly evident that Proposition 13 has done more harm than good for Californians, one of the many questions we seek to find the answer to is who stands to benefit from Prop 13 as it stands and how much influence do these entities have on the government that has the ability to change things.

It turns out that the net taxable value for NBC studios in Burbank in 1978 was $7,094,410.  This was the value just before Prop 13 that made it so that the tax rate did not exceed 2 percent.  In 1978 NBC Studios was taxed at 2.53 percent for the 3000 Alameda Ave property.  The National Broadcasting Company paid $301,103.25 in property tax that year.

Interestingly enough, decades later in 2007, the property was valued $126,754,094. NBC paid $1,383,545.77 in property tax.  This proving that the property was reassessed at some time within those 29 years. Why does this matter?

It has been speculated by some that Prop 13, with its many flaws, has not been revised because of crooked private company interests. At first glance, this does not seem to be the case with the two NBC Universal properties in LA County, (the Burbank lot and the NBC Universal Building in Universal City).

With property taxes not to exceed 2 percent and no reassessment without resale of the property under Prop 13, one would expect the property tax to not have changed much since 1978. 

But it did, which begs the question, why was the property reassessed in the first place, if it didn't need to be?

As it stands, property values are not reassessed until there is a change in ownership.  Yet for some reason, between 1978 and 2007 when the Burbank lot was under the ownership of NBC the value was reassessed.

As for the Universal City property, it was not built until 1984, six years after the proposition took effect and therefore not an issue to be investigated.

But we're not out of the water yet.  The most recent tax bill from 2008, under new owner Catalina Media Development II LLC, shows a significant increase in property value and therefore the property tax.  Though, NBC had not been paying the same in property taxes since 1978, the company still was saving over $1 million in property tax, which is nothing to sneeze at. 

It appears, in the end, NBC comes out as the "Not so bad guys."  Nevertheless, along with other corporations in Los Angeles, they are contributing to the problem.  The not so simple task ahead is finding out from NBC why they received or if they are aware of their "sweetheart deal" from the government.
 

"I'm sorry ma'am there's nothing we can do." The customer service representative said to a clearly frustrated woman at the county office.  At first I thought it was a typical situation where the patron was behind in her payments and trying to intimidate the county worker into waiving whatever penalty she may have accrued. But then came another customer with the same problem, and then another, and then another who came to inquire about a loan modification for his mortgage.

Everyone is looking for some sort of relief in lieu of these dire economic times, even multibillion-dollar corporations like NBC Universal. Interestingly enough, it is easier for them to get it than the average LA County resident.
 
There are a lot of aggravated people at the County Administrators Office in Downtown Los Angeles and I soon became one of them, when I saw how nonsensical the itemized annual property tax bill for NBC Studios in Burbank was.

After having the 2007 and 2008 tax bills for the property on 3000 Alameda Ave in Burbank printed out for me, to say I was bewildered would be an understatement. "General Tax Levy," "Direct Assessments," what was all of this for?

I preceded upstairs to the Assessors Office in hopes that someone could help me make sense of this.  All I wanted was the value assessment for the property.  I took a number and waited to be called. I was assisted by a woman who told me that the net taxable value was the value assessment contrived by the county assessor.

For the National Broadcasting Company Inc that value in 2007 was $126,754,094.  Because they had no deductions to claim, that was also the net taxable value.  The majority of this tax came from the assessed value of the land and improvements made to the land, that is the studio buildings.

Just two years ago, the land was valued at $64,703,042.  The 2008 report revealed a price double that.  This is because the property changed ownership from NBC to a company by the name of Catalina Media Development II LLC.  NBC is said to be in the process of moving to another lot near its other property in Universal City.

Of course the everyday Angeleno may not be aware of this, since in these two years that has yet to happen. If you so happen to drive past the studios in Burbank, it still dawns the famous peacock on its outer walls. What's the deal with that?

In any case, since the property was under new ownership, the two percent rule on property tax reconfiguration did not apply and the value had to be reassessed.

But what I found perplexing was why a piece of commercial property worth so much cannot afford an increase in property tax as the value goes up.  Thanks to Prop 13, apparently, such a question doesn't need to be answered.

But it is my intention to get answer.  And as for the other properties owned by NBC Universal.  Universal Studios Hollywood (the amusement park and studio) has an annual tax bill that is broken up into four parts for the year 2008.  Each net taxable value for 2008 is between $200 and $300 million.  It is no wonder that the property tax is considerably more than the Burbank lot in 2007 because not only is it a larger piece of land but I can't help but wonder when the perspective properties were assessed.

Unfortunately, this information is not readily available at the assessor's office.  I had to put in an order for the bills from previous years to be mailed to me. Time will tell. 

The bill for 2009 is not yet available but it is my guess that it too will raise other questions regarding commercial businesses and property tax.
   

"Si se puede. Yes we can!"  The crowd chants outside the Federal Building in West Los Angeles following its 10-mile march down Wilshire Boulevard. 

Despite the pouring rain Thursday, labor union members from across Los Angeles County gathered in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.  Covered from head to toe in rain gear, bearing signs that read "What would MLK do, Stand Up for Fair Wages," "Good Jobs Clean Air," "LA Workers the Fight for Good jobs" and countless other slogans, hundreds of people surrounded the stage as they listened to supporters and representatives from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO) speak words of encouragement. 
 
Judy Chu is the representative for the California State Board of Equalization 4th District Los Angeles.  On a podium overlooking the large group she shouts, "Are we going to pass the Employee Free Choice Act?"  The crowd responds with an excited "Yes" followed by loud cheering.
 
Those who gathered outside the Federal Building demonstrated a great spirit of unity and intense vigor.   A people beaten by a devastated economy and an uncertain employment future, it was clear that it was going to take more than a little rain to waver their sense of determination.  "These are tough times with so many layoffs, with these big companies like Home Depot laying off people, with Circuit City closing down, with a 9.3 percent unemployment rate," said Chu.  "But what's going to turn this around? Union jobs!"

Proponents of the Employee Free Choice Act say unions are the answer many blue-collar workers are looking for.  It is said that this measure with help to solidify people in their employment, making it harder for employers to take advantage of their workers.
 
In her speech, Chu expressed a sense of urgency and a call to action for workers to support the measure.  She urged the people to contact their legislature and tell them to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act.  She stressed the importance of unions and outlined the benefits of workers organizing.  "We know that it's the union that provides better jobs, we know that it is the union that gives us a 30 percent higher salary, that gives us four times a greater chance to get a pension, that gives us a greater chance to have health benefits."

Attendants of the rally seemed to be motivated by Chu's words.  "Its good to see a little rain didn't kill the union spirit or put out that union fire," said Chico Rubio, a Rite Aid employee.  Rubio is 43 years old and has worked at Rite Aid for 8 years, two of which he spent fighting for the establishment of a union.
 
The Employee Free Choice Act seeks to benefit people just like Rubio, who work for low wages and limited benefits.  The act is said to put into place a "card-check system" where employees can sign membership cards indicating their desire to unionize.  Once a majority is reached, the federal government recognizes the group as a union.   "But you know what, in our quest to get a union we have too many companies that harass, that intimidate that prevent workers from getting the union that they want and so that's why we have to make sure that we fight to get a card-check program where people can sign, where people can make sure that they express their desire to join a union in the comfort of their own place," Chu stated.   Also under the measure's stipulations, employees who seek to join a union are protected from company interference and or intimidation.
   
Following Chu's speech, Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary -Treasurer for AFL-CIO called for a moment of silence in honoring a man by the name of Pablo Antonio Garcia.  Garcia was a truck driver who was killed on the job in an accident on the Los Angeles port.  According to Durazo, he fought alongside the Teamsters in an effort to form an organization for port drivers that would provide better safety measures. "Now brothers and sisters, it's a shame that that brother, who put in so much of his time and his families time to win a union did not benefit from seeing all the things that could have come from having a union," she said.

Chu encouraged the crowd to fight for what is rightfully theirs--their civil rights.  Minorities made up a significant number of those in attendance, adding to thoughts that the act favors individuals of color.

Whether or not such speculations are true, people were empowered by the march.  For Rubio, the enactment of this measure identifies him as a citizen of this country.  "That's freedom, that's America and that's how it should be done and we need this Employee Free Choice Act."

The Tea fire is fully contained but the courageousness possessed by firefighters throughout California knows no measure. They place their lives in harms way so that others might enjoy their own and don't give the idea of heroism a second thought.  For Fire Captain Arthur Burgess, it's just another day on the job. He was dispatched to the wildfire in Montecito last week and recounted his time there as nothing surprising or out of the ordinary.  But do not be confused; Burgess' experience is not that of a man jaded by 29 years of working the same job. Quite the contrary, he demonstrates a great sense of humility and reverence for his work as a firefighter.  Fighting fires has been as much a part of his life as breathing.  "Being a fireman is a lifestyle change, it's a different way of life and I can't imagine anything else I'd rather be doing," he says.

A crude play on the words of the not so appropriate R. Kelly, but nonetheless thousands of people who attended the Obama for America Party in Downtown Los Angeles truly embodied that statement. It was a moment the entire world will remember, the moment when it was announced that the next president of the United States would be Barack Obama.

It would appear the declaration of the first African American president would mark a special moment for Black America, and it did.  But there was more to it than that; at the Obama for America Party there was an overwhelming sense of unity between all ethnicities, cultures, backgrounds, and ages.  The lines were blurred, if for only that moment, and we were just Americans.

 

John McCain doesn't have too many "friends" at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA; at least none that revealed themselves as such at the student organized watch party for Tuesday's presidential debate.  The school cafeteria was packed with art students and faculty who listened intently to the candidates as they sparred against each other during the televised event.