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Op/Ed: Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly Must Stop Ripping Off Americans With High Drug Prices

Reporters Desk
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Op/Ed: Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly Must Stop Ripping Off Americans With High Drug Prices



President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders
July 2, 2024

As president of the United States and the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in the Senate, we have long been concerned about the outrageous prices that the pharmaceutical industry charges the American people for prescription drugs.

There is no rational reason why Americans, for decades, have been forced to pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for the prescription drugs they need.

There is no rational reason why, for decades, one out of four Americans have been unable to afford the medicine their doctors prescribe.

And it is most certainly not Americans’ patriotic duty to pay high drug prices at home so others abroad can enjoy the fair prices that every American is entitled to.

That’s why over the last several years, working together, we have made substantial progress.

As a result of the Inflation Reduction Act that passed Congress without a single Republican vote, seniors with diabetes are paying no more than $35 a month for insulin. Starting in January, no senior in America will pay over $2,000 a year for prescription drugs. And, for the first time in history, Medicare is now doing what every other major country does: Negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of some of the most expensive drugs in America.

This commonsense policy is one that the American public overwhelmingly agrees with, including more than 60% of Republicans.

By working with some of the largest drug companies in the world, we also have managed to lower the cost of inhalers that millions of Americans, with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, need to breathe from as much as $645 down to just $35.

We are very proud of these achievements. The U.S. government is finally standing up to Big Pharma. But much more needs to be done to lower the unaffordable price of prescription drugs.

We plan to expand negotiations on drug prices

What does that mean?

It means that, at a time when many Americans are dealing with the myriads of chronic illnesses, no one in our country should be forced to pay over $2,000 a year for the prescription drugs they need, not just seniors. It also means that the number of prescription drugs up for price negotiation must be expanded to at least 50 a year. We are working together on legislation to do just that. We look forward to every member of Congress supporting this legislation.

But let’s be clear. It’s not just Congress that needs to act. Prescription drug companies also must stop ripping off the American people.

Let us give you one example — a major one. Today, tens of millions of Americans are struggling with Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The good news is that Novo Nordisk, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, has created new blockbuster drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, that effectively treat these conditions.

Obesity drugs are too expensive

The bad news is that Novo Nordisk is charging the American people unconscionably high prices for these prescription drugs. If your doctor prescribes you a GLP-1, the prices of Ozempic and Wegovy can be up to six times higher than prices in Canada, Germany, Denmark and other major countries. That’s unacceptable.

And it’s not just Novo Nordisk. Eli Lilly also is charging unconscionably high prices for Mounjaro, a drug with similar health effects as Ozempic. That cost is roughly $1,100 a month.

Why should people in Burlington, Vermont, pay so much more than people in Copenhagen or Berlin for the same drug? The simple fact of the matter is that people in Paris, Texas, shouldn’t be paying much higher prices for Ozempic and Wegovy as people in Paris, France.

These inequities are made even more stark when the profit margins of these companies are examined. For example, in March, a study from researchers at Yale University found these drugs could be profitably manufactured for less than $5 a month, or $57 per year.

The scientists at Novo Nordisk deserve great credit for developing Ozempic and Wegovy. These drugs have the potential to be a game changer for people throughout the world struggling with Type 2 diabetes and obesity. But, as important as these drugs are, they will not do any good for the millions of patients who cannot afford them.

Moreover, if the prices of these drugs are not substantially reduced, they have the potential to bankrupt the American health care system.

We will not allow that to happen.

If half of adults with obesity took Wegovy and the other new weight loss drugs, it could cost $411 billion per year − $5 billion more than what Americans spent on all prescription drugs at the pharmacy counter in 2022.

If half of all Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who are obese took Wegovy and other weight loss drugs, Medicare and Medicaid could spend $166 billion per year, rivaling what the two federal health programs spent on all retail prescription drugs in 2022.

This is not morally responsible or fiscally responsible.

Americans struggle while pharma companies make massive profits

Let’s be clear. Year after year, while so many Americans struggle to buy the prescription drugs they need, the pharmaceutical industry makes huge profits. In fact, 10 top pharmaceutical companies made over $110 billion in profits last year.

In 2023, for example, Novo Nordisk made over $12 billion in profits, in part by charging Americans over $1,000 a month for a prescription drug that can be profitably manufactured for less than $5. That is not making a reasonable return on investment. That is price gouging. That is corporate greed.

Now, pharma companies will claim that Americans may end up paying lower prices than they charge for their drugs because they rely on opaque discounting mechanisms run through middlemen. But these non-transparent tactics prevent payers from understanding what the drugs actually cost, thereby lowering their negotiating position.

Pharma will also claim that, even if the actual prices are exorbitantly high, reducing them would drive down innovation and make innovative drugs like Ozempic less likely to be developed in the future. But reaping the rewards of innovation is not in fundamental conflict with fair prices for consumers or helping the broadest set of possible people.

If Novo Nordisk and other pharmaceutical companies refuse to substantially lower prescription drug prices in our country and end their greed, we will do everything within our power to end it for them. Novo Nordisk must substantially reduce the price of Ozempic and Wegovy.

As Americans we must not rest until every person in our country can afford the prescription drugs they need to lead healthy, happy and productive lives.

Let us go forward together.

Supreme Court Closes Ranks With Trump

Paul Rosenberg
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Supreme Court Closes Ranks With Trump

 

On June 30, Donald Trump promoted two posts calling for the arbitrary, baseless jailing of more than a dozen of his political enemies — Democrats and Republicans — on his Twitter knock-off website. It was typical behavior for Trump — and unthinkable for any other former U.S. President.

The next day, the Supreme Court rewrote the Constitution to align it with Trump, so that he could act out his lawless fantasies. “The President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers,” the conservative supermajority wrote, effectively placing him above the law, just after explicitly denying they were doing so, by saying, “The president is not above the law.”

But their gaslighting didn’t confuse Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In her dissent, she spelled out exactly what that meant: “Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune.”

“It’s as if they are trying to set the stage for Donald Trump’s new monarchical presidency,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, a former professor of constitutional law, said on MSNBC.

The opinion “turns the Constitution’s text and structure inside out and upside down, saying things that are flatly contradicted by the document’s unambiguous letter and obvious spirit,” Yale constitutional law professor Akhil Reed Amar wrote in the Atlantic.

It’s also wildly unpopular. Repealing Roe v. Wade in Dobbs was opposed by 60-65% of Americans in various polls. Overturning presidential immunity was opposed by 70% of Americans in a CBS poll in early June.

The lawless alignment of the Supreme Court supermajority with Trump’s dictatorial ambitions starkly underscored the fundamental problem with President Joe Biden’s campaign. It’s not that Biden is too old, or performed badly in the debate, which has obsessed and distracted the political class, under the leadership of the New York Times. It’s that he fundamentally fails to grasp the full extent of the anti-democratic forces imperiling our democracy, of which Trump is merely a symptom and superspreader, not the underlying disease. See, for example, Biden’s refusal to even consider expanding the Supreme Court, when everything hinges on curbing its destructive power. Biden’s failure to recognize the full extent of the threat and respond accordingly is the fundamental weakness of his presidency and his campaign. But it’s a weakness shared by the party more broadly.

This was thrown into relief by something else that happened just before the Supreme Court’s lawless immunity ruling. On June 30, while hosting the BET Awards, Taraji P. Henson repeatedly highlighted the threat posed by Project 2025, a draconian plan supported by conservative Trump-aligned groups to dramatically expand presidential power, fire up to 50,000 government workers — replacing them with Trump loyalists — and enact an oppressive Christian nationalist agenda, including a nationwide abortion ban, restrictions on birth control and mass deportations of millions of long-time residents.

“Show up and show out when it’s time to vote, because it’s not just about the presidential election,” Henson said. “It’s time for us to play chess, not checkers. It’s about making decisions that will affect us as human beings. Our careers, our next generations to come. Did you know that it is now a crime to be homeless? Pay attention. It’s not a secret: Look it up. They are attacking our most vulnerable citizens. The Project 2025 plan is not a game. Look it up!”

And that’s just what people did, as searches for “Project 2025” skyrocketed immediately afterward.

Biden and the rest of the Democratic Party have been surprisingly quiet about Project 2025, and have done nothing to advance a similarly integrated progressive vision of how to advance a democracy that cares for all its people — an integrated vision, not a laundry list. Chess, not checkers, as Henson put it.

The clearest indication of the impact Henson had was Trump’s sudden — and typically incoherent — disavowal of Project 2025, which was drafted by scores of former Trump officials, and whose main goals align perfectly with his own stated priorities.

“I know nothing about Project 2025,” Trump posted, and then quickly both attacked it and wished for its success. “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal,” he said. Strong words for something he knows nothing about. But next, in another contradiction, he said, “Anything they do, I wish them luck,” before adding, “but I have nothing to do with them.” He also said, “I have no idea who is behind it,” even though the Heritage Foundation proudly and publicly spearheaded it, and the names of the co-authors and editors are public — 81% of whom worked in Trump’s administration or transition team, according to a tabulation by The Guardian.

Trump is famously uninterested in serious policy — suggesting drinking bleach to fight COVID-19, for example — so one might half-believe his feigned ignorance. But Project 2025 is first and foremost about giving him unrestricted power, and that’s one thing he’s avidly interested in. So, in short, Henson struck a nerve and Trump reacted — exactly the way we’d expect him to.

As the media continues to obsess over whether Biden should drop out, Henson’s call out and the response reminds us that democracy is about we, the people, and what we choose to do. It will not be saved by institutions, as the Supreme Court so clearly showed us, and as Trump is so eager to demonstrate once again. It will not be saved by an ideal candidate defeating him, either. Because the threat to democracy goes far beyond Trump, and far beyond the Supreme Court he helped shape. But defeating Trump this November — along with Republicans up and down the ticket — is a necessary first step.

At Terminal Islanders Picnic, Growing Calls to Save Historic Tuna Street

RLn
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At Terminal Islanders Picnic, Growing Calls to Save Historic Tuna Street

By Emma Rault, Columnist

Last month saw the annual Terminal Islanders picnic. For more than fifty years, this multigenerational gathering has brought together the people who once called Terminal Island home and their descendants.

This year’s picnic took place not long after it came to light that the Port of Los Angeles is considering demolishing the only two surviving buildings from this community.

For over 40 years, Terminal Island — the manmade island connecting the twin ports of LA and Long Beach — was home to a thriving community of first- and second-generation Japanese Americans. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, amid a wave of anti-Japanese paranoia, they were forcibly displaced and imprisoned in concentration camps.

Soon after, the Navy bulldozed most of the Japanese fishing village. This added a new level of trauma to this dark chapter in Japanese American history — none of the Terminal Islanders ever went home again.

All that remains of historic Tāminaru today are two store buildings on Tuna Street, which used to be the main commercial thoroughfare.

The Port’s proposal to demolish them — described by author and historian Naomi Hirahara, when she spoke to Random Lengths in May, as “kind of like a replay” of the Navy’s razing of the fishing village back in 1942 — has triggered widespread community outcry.

More than half a dozen people spoke out against it at the Harbor Commission meeting on May 23rd. That same month, the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council passed a motion strongly opposing the demolition.

It was also a hot topic at the Terminal Islanders picnic, which took place in the city of Buena Park. In written comments delivered by secretary Midori Sanchez, incoming president Terry Hara urged those in attendance to make their views heard.

Almost two hundred people signed a paper petition that was passed around and Vice President Donna Reiko Cottrell told Random Lengths there were so many new people wanting to join the organization that they ran out of membership forms.

Three longtime members gave speeches calling for the preservation of historic Tuna Street. A shortened version of their remarks follows below.

The day also featured live music, ondo — a traditional circle dance, in which everyone is invited to join-in — the traditional tossing of mochi rice cakes for good luck, and a performance of the Terminal Island “Yogore” song.

Back in the day, Terminal Islanders had the reputation of being a little rough around the edges, and other Japanese Americans called them “yogores” — a derogatory nickname (meaning “dirty”) that they wore like a badge of honor. The “Yogore” song was written by Minoru Hinoki while interned at Manzanar.

With hundreds of people in attendance, the picnic showed that more than eighty years later, their relationship with the “Enchanted Island” — as former resident Charlie Hamasaki famously described it — still forges a powerful bond.

Derek-Satoshi-Nakamura-giving-his-speech-at-the-Terminal-Islanders-picnic.-Photo-by-Tim-Yuji-Yamamoto.
Derek-Satoshi-Nakamura-giving-his-speech-at-the-Terminal-Islanders-picnic.-Photo-by-Tim-Yuji-Yamamoto.

Derek Nakamura:
Charles Bukowski once wrote, “What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.” The Japanese fishing community on Terminal Island walked through the fire of adversity with resilience and dignity.

Preserving these buildings honors their strength and ensures that their story continues to inspire us. This is akin to the preservation of Manzanar and other historical sites that remind us of the trials and tribulations faced by immigrants and minorities throughout our nation’s history.

I propose (…) preserving this building, not just as a relic but as a living museum. It would serve as a place of education and reflection, ensuring that the sacrifices and contributions of these early immigrants are never forgotten.

Tim Yuji Yamamoto:
Akimatsu Nakamura, the proprietor of the A. Nakamura Company store at 712 Tuna Street, was my grandfather. Akimatsu was arrested in 1942, a few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was incarcerated and taken to a detention area in Montana and one other location. By 1945 he was reunited with his family.

Being a child of older parents, I’m lucky to have heard about these experiences from them and others who lived through this time. What will happen when we are not around anymore?

Because of my family’s history and direct connection to the location, I feel strongly about the preservation of the buildings. They could be restored and turned into an interactive museum where younger generations can learn the colorful history, possibly tied into the Maritime Museum in San Pedro.

I strongly urge you to sign our petition and save the remaining buildings on Tuna Street and the once beloved “Taminaru.”

Paul-Hiroshi-Boyea-giving-his-speech-at-the-Terminal-Islanders-picnic-wearing-the-Terminal-Islander-happi-coat. Photo-by-Tim-Yuji-Yamamoto
Paul-Hiroshi-Boyea-giving-his-speech-at-the-Terminal-Islanders-picnic-wearing-the-Terminal-Islander-happi-coat. Photo-by-Tim-Yuji-Yamamoto

Paul Hiroshi Boyea:
Storytelling, the art of sharing experiences, is important for future generations to truly understand history. Storytelling becomes more difficult when there isn’t something physical to see or experience.

We have [an] opportunity today to reimagine the actual physical space of the two historic buildings still standing on Terminal Island and honor the first- and second-generation issei and nisei.
The preservation of these two historic buildings is very personal to anyone who grew up in Terminal Island and their families. My mom, Chizuru Nakaji Boyea, was born in Terminal Island in 1919, the eldest of five children.

My mom will always be my North Star because the North Star offers guidance, direction, stability, and purpose.

I want you to think of the legacy of the three thousand North Stars from Fish Harbor, Terminal Island, and East San Pedro.

To sign the petition, visit www.savetunastreet.com

Joe Biden isn’t Backing Down

James Preston Allen
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Joe Biden isn’t Backing Down

Nor should he be coaxed into not running for re-election

Almost all of the liberal corporate media is nervously focused on whether President Joe Biden is still fit for office. The New York Times has published hundreds of articles on this and seems to be leading the pack of journalists sensing blood in the water after the June debate. As I called it before, that debate was not going to be a debate, but rather a reality TV show starring Donald Trump and his usual bombastic antics of lying and deflection. Biden came prepared to debate the issues and his track record, while the moderators could hardly rein in the Trumpster or challenge any of the 34 lies that came out of his mouth, or make Trump answer the questions. CNN failed in their role as journalists. They were more like deers in the headlights and Biden was dumb-struck by the rapid-fire BS that the Orange Guy was dishing out. He should have been prepared for this.

Should this one TV appearance determine whether the President is fit to run again? No! The reaction to it reveals the kind of temerity of the liberal Democrats who are rightly terrified of the rise of a second Trump term in office, the rise of the White Christian Nationalists and the fascism to what the Republican party has now embraced. We should all be scared of this drift into extremist autocracy, enough so that it should motivate every single voter to turnout at the ballot box and make sure the MAGA virus doesn’t infect America’s body politic any further.

This hand-wringing by the American Left (though not in Congress!) regarding Biden’s fitness for office comes at the very same time as the Left in the United Kingdom and France have all come together to defeat their respective extreme right parties. Something I can see happening here if Biden can just be bold enough to call out the crimes, impeachments, and convictions of Trump while asking the essential question, “Who do you trust”?

Biden has come back swinging this week saying, “I’m the Democratic Party’s nominee. No one is pushing me out. I’m not leaving, I’m in this race to the end, and WE are going to win this election.”

Joe Biden, as we will see in the coming months, is not one to back down and give up, which is what the rightwing propagandists would like.

After President Joe Biden’s disastrous recent public appearance, he and his supporters are attacking media outlets for a double standard in coverage of him and his opponent ― an assessment more accurate than any reporting about the president’s mental capacity.

On one of the morning cable shows President Biden lectured a journalist with a reminder, “Trump Republicans lost in 2017. Trump Republicans lost in 2018. Trump Republicans lost in 2019. Trump Republicans lost in 2020. Trump Republicans lost in 2021. Trump Republicans lost in 2022. Trump Republicans lost in 2023 and it’s Trump Republicans talking about revolution because [they] can’t win at the ballot box.”

The Republican conservative echo chamber is playing on Biden’s perceived weakness―his age while deflecting anything dealing with Trump’s age, mental condition (his rants about sharks no one can quite follow), his penchant for lying and grifting off the country with his many illegal acts of corruption.

In a letter sent to Democrats in Congress Biden said, “To make it clear: I am staying in this race, and we’re going to win. I have heard the concerns that people have, the good-faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this election. I am not blind to them. Believe me, I know better than anyone the responsibility and the burden the nominee of our party carries. But let me say clearly and unequivocally: I wouldn’t be running if I did not absolutely believe that I can and I will beat Donald Trump in November.”

The real issue at this point is that this is a rematch, a grudge match because Trump is still in denial of having lost the last election, he keeps on denying it and is laying the groundwork for a second insurrection when he loses again. He’s a desperate man with a desperate plan to get back into power and stay out of prison. His only shot at this is to get elected and to pardon himself and his co-conspirators. And he will stop at nothing short of this.

Biden and his supporters just need to learn how to punch back the same way one does with a play-ground bully. You can’t be polite with either the bully or a rabid dog. The current president needs to come out swinging because this isn’t a Harvard debate, it’s bare-knuckle American politics, like it or not it’s going to be a hot summer.

The job of the Biden/Harris campaign is to unite as a party. Focusing on efforts on defeating Trump the MAGA movement, on defending American democracy, and on protecting people’s freedoms.

Finally, he says, “I feel a deep obligation to trust the voters of the Democratic Party, Millions have cast ballots for me and Kamala in primaries across the country. That’s the process. It was a decision for voters to make ― not the press, the pundits, the big donors, or any powerful interest group.”

As long as the media focuses on one candidate’s “fitness for office” and not drawing a critical comparison of their actual accomplishments ― we, the voters, are being distracted from what’s really at stake. Does anybody really think that the Orange man feels any deep obligation to anything other than himself including the vote of the people?

Amazon Labor Union Votes to Affiliate with Teamsters Union

Mark Friedman
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Amazon Labor Union Votes to Affiliate with Teamsters Union

 

Staten Island, NY– As the votes were counted on June 17 in New York, it became clear that nearly 1,000 workers, over 98%, voted to affiliate with the Teamsters Union with certain preconditions. Only a few opposed it. This reporter was present on day one of the three-day voting.

The affiliation agreement charters a new local called Amazon Labor Union No. 1, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (ALU-IBT Local 1), for the five boroughs of New York City. It will have autonomy, ALU-IBT members will be elected to the Teamsters Amazon Division, the local will assist in organizing other Amazon facilities, and ratify its bylaws. The Teamsters will assist financially “until a collective bargaining agreement is reached and ALU-IBT 1 can financially support itself.”

“Together, with hard work, courage, and conviction, the Teamsters and ALU will fight fearlessly to ensure Amazon workers secure the good jobs and safe working conditions they deserve in a union contract,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a released statement June 17.

Outgoing union president (not running for president), Chris Smalls, told the press, “Having the support of 1.3 million Teamsters to take on Amazon gives us tremendous worker power and the opportunities to demand better conditions for our members, and most importantly, to secure a contract at JFK8.”

“The ratification vote by our members is a historic moment — and it sends a powerful reminder to Amazon that we’re not giving up in our years-long campaign for respect, better wages, and safe jobs,” said Connor Spence of the ALU Democratic Reform Caucus. “I think ultimately everybody came to realize that if we’re going to have the leverage to bring Amazon to

the table we need a national campaign,” he told this reporter in a recent interview.

“Affiliating with the Teamsters and chartering a strong, autonomous local union signals a new chapter for so many working people and this industry,” Spence said. “Amazon workers nationwide are going to win.”

Spence is running for local president and was one of the key organizers of the union drive at JFK8. Amazon fired him for “violations of its policy governing off-duty access to its facilities” and then arrested Sultana Hossain for “being on company property” at the beginning of the affiliation drive. Both have filed Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) with the National Labor Relations Board. Other ALU campaigners accused Amazon’s security of harassment.

The affiliation agreement reported in the press release says the Teamsters “will provide resources to effectuate an internal election for ALU-IBT Local 1 in a manner so that potential officers may reach, with equal access, as many eligible members in JKF8 as possible.” The jurisdiction of this new local is all five New York boroughs or approximately 20,000 workers, that would go through a similar affiliation process, Spence told this reporter.

The union was certified in January 2023, but Amazon challenged the election through the courts and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Refusing to bargain, Amazon spentmore than $3 millionon anti-union consultants last year. Last year, outgoing ALU President Chris Smalls revealed that the Teamsters committed $8 millionto support organizing, including tapping the union’s strike fund of $300 million.

Rank and file workers established a Democratic Reform Caucus last year because of the undemocratic functioning of the ALU. There has never been a union meeting, election of any officers on the executive board, establishment of any functioning committees, financial disclosures, or ratification of a constitution or by-laws, etc.

Facing these obstacles, the Caucus organized in the giant warehouse of 5,500 workers, a committee structure and pressed, with over 1,000 workers petitioning for a union meeting and election. Smalls and his hand-picked executive board rejected the petition. Only through a lawsuit did the Caucus win a date for the union election.

The Caucus slate includes Connor Spence for president, Brima Sylla for vice president, Kathleen Cole for secretary-treasurer and Sultana Hossain for recording secretary. Ballots go out by mail on June 27 and will be counted on July 19.

The latter three and seven other ALU workers recently participated in the “Labor and Youth Activists Delegation” to Cuba at the invitation of the Cuban Trade Union Federation (CTC) and the International Committee for Friendship with the People (ICAP). They participated in many activities including the CTC’s Pasantia, meetings with Cuban workers and unions, the May Day march, visits to the Fidel Center, and the International Cuba Solidarity Conference. Like others in the 55-member delegation of organizations and unions, the ALU workers brought much-needed medical aid. Upon returning to the U.S., they joined in local solidarity actions and were part of the LA Hands Off Cuba Steering Committee.

As the ALU struggled at the Staten Island warehouse, workers at the air cargo hub KCVG in Northern Kentucky, who had begun a card drive with the ALU, voted to affiliate with the Teamsters this past April. The tug and ramp workers at a nearby DHL facility had joined the Teamsters and won a lucrative first contract in January. The Teamsters brought together various organizing efforts and launched an Amazon Division last year.

David Levin, staff director for Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a reform group within the union that helped mobilize United Parcel Service workers during last year’ssuccessful contract campaign, said many Teamsters members involved in pressuring UPS were now helping Amazon workers organize.

Levin told the New York Times that the worker-leaders and activists are coming out of the UPS contract campaign and getting involved in building Amazon volunteer organizing committees.

Long Beach Water Department Policies, Inaction Give Known Violators Impunity

Greggory Moore
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Long Beach Water Department Policies, Inaction Give Known Violators Impunity

 

For the better part of a decade, during the region’s worst drought in 1,200 years, the City of Long Beach took literally no punitive action against any of the thousands of Long Beach Water Department customers reported for water-use violations each year — a streak of non-action that continued even after city, county, and state lawmakers tightened irrigation restrictions and the department solicited the general public for reports of violations.

When questioned last year, Dean Wang, the Long Beach Water Department’s manager of water resources, told Random Lengths News that because of staffing shortages and poor record-keeping the department may not have been sufficiently diligent in taking action against the worst chronic offenders; and that the department was rejiggering its database to keep better track of which customers are consistently alleged to violate pertinent regulations. “When there’s a drought and the need for these rules,” Wang said, “we will definitely be stepping up that enforcement.”

But in the wake of a single relatively rainy year, Long Beach Water has gone in the other direction, loosening restrictions while at the same time becoming less transparent than formerly regarding water-use complaints, denying the public the opportunity to get a sense of how many customers appear to be chronic violators.

In response to a 2023 request for records of water-use complaints, Random Lengths News ascertained that the Long Beach Water Department had hundreds of customers who between May 15 and October 15, 2022 were regularly accused of numerous violations, in some cases upwards of 20 separate occasions.

This year, in response to a request seeking the same records for May–December 2023, Long Beach Water redacted all 736 reported addresses of over 2,000 alleged violations, making it nearly impossible to ascertain whether any property owner is alleged to be guilty of a single violation or dozens.

But under current policy, it almost doesn’t matter. Although in response to alleged violations Long Beach Water may send a letter “to advise you of water-use restrictions” and that “include[s] a list of water saving tips,” the department will not issue an official warning letter — the first required step toward the possible issuance of a fine or water shut-off — unless staff directly witnesses a violation.

Does that mean, for example, that if the department received 100 videos from 100 different people documenting 100 separate violations at a single address within a single month, this would be insufficient for the department to issue a warning letter? “Correct,” Wang says.

The LB Water Dept. says it is speculative to assume that these photos taken by staff document irrigation within the previous 56 hours despite no rain and daytime highs of 80 degrees.
The LB Water Dept. says it is speculative to assume that these photos taken by staff document irrigation within the previous 56 hours despite no rain and daytime highs of 80 degrees.

But even when staff does witness repeated violations at a single location, at least sometimes the department chooses not to act. A case in point is 100 Oceangate, a commercial customer whose chronic water-use violations Random Lengths News has independently verified and regularly reported to Long Beach Water — in each case with video evidence — for over two years. Wang claims the department spent “many hours over the past year in-person at 100 Oceangate to try and observe the irrigation system running on the wrong days/times or causing excessive runoff” but “did not witness those violations occurring during our numerous in-person inspections.” Wang says no records no records were kept of this field time beyond “[p]hotographs taken during inspections.”

Ten days later staff caught these violations in progress yet the department still failed to send a warning letter. Courtesy of LBWD
Ten days later staff caught these violations in progress yet the department still failed to send a warning letter. Courtesy of LBWD

But contrary to Wang’s claim, those photographs confirm that on July 31, 2023, and then again on August 9 and September 25, Long Beach Water staff photographed evidence of various violations, including watering landscape on prohibited days/times and “watering landscape or using water that results in runoff that flows onto neighboring properties, sidewalks […] roadways, parking lots or structures.”

Wang justifies department inaction in the wake of the July 31 violations by calling the evidence “circumstantial,” saying, “A violation was not actively occurring when our staff was present. It would be speculative to assume when an actual violation occurred.” However, because the photographs, taken on a Monday, documented standing water at the bottom of planters and runoff into the gutter, the only way a violation did not occur was if the flora had been irrigated the prior Friday and the water still had not evaporated as of Monday morning — a physical impossibility, considering that there was no rainfall that weekend and daytime highs in the 80s each day.

A month and a half later staff confirmed that the same violations continued-unabated and a warning letter was finally sent. Courtesy of Long Beach Water Department
A month and a half later staff confirmed that the same violations continued-unabated and a warning letter was finally sent. Courtesy of Long Beach Water Department

Ten days later, staff caught 100 Oceangate in the act of committing the same violations, yet the department still chose not to issue a warning. It was only the following month, when staff caught 100 Oceangate committing the same violations yet again, that Wang says a warning letter was finally sent (though no copy exists: according to Wang, the department does not keep copies). To date, 100 Oceangate has never received a fine, although Random Lengths News has documented violations on multiple occasions since September.

Because of unusually high rainfall totals last year, California has emerged from its three driest years in recorded history. But as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) notes, “Drought in California and Nevada is a common occurrence that can last for multiple years.” And almost 50% of the Colorado River Basin — which supplies Southern California with over 30% of our water — remains either in drought or “abnormally dry.”

Nonetheless, under current Long Beach Water policies and practices, even the most chronic violators may be able to flaunt City of Long Beach water-use prohibitions with impunity, regardless of who sees them do it.

Board of the LGBTQ Center Long Beach appoints Ellie Perez as an Executive Director

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Board of the LGBTQ Center Long Beach appoints Ellie Perez as an Executive Director

After an extensive search, Ellie Perez has been appointed as the permanent executive director of the LGBTQ Center Long Beach. Ellie has been an instrumental part of the LGBTQ Center team for the past 11 months as interim director, and her commitment to the Centers’ community has already led to significant advancements.

A Southern California native and the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Ellie’s life has been a testament to resilience and advocacy. From battling discrimination to championing the rights of queer and marginalized voices, her journey has equipped her to lead the Center. Under her leadership, the Center has strengthened its core services and launched new initiatives to make its services more inclusive and supportive.

The Center with Perez aims to expand its impact and ensure the LGBTQ Center remains a sanctuary for anyone needing support or community, from STI/HIV testing to mental health resources.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/lgbtq-center-long-beach

Port of Los Angeles Completes $73 Million On-Dock Rail Expansion Project on Pier 400

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Port of Los Angeles Completes $73 Million On-Dock Rail Expansion Project on Pier 400

 

LOS ANGELES — The Port of Los Angeles July 10 announced it has completed construction of a major rail expansion project on Pier 400 that will improve cargo flow, reduce emissions and improve roadway safety at the nation’s busiest port.

“This $73 million rail project will increase cargo efficiency while reducing emissions — a cornerstone of the Port’s blueprint for sustainable growth,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “Advancing capital improvement initiatives like this are key to ensuring the Port remains competitive.”

By increasing use of the Pier 400 on-dock rail yard, the project will in turn create additional rail capacity for all Port of Los Angeles terminal operators. The rail yard serves as a link between the San Pedro Bay port complex and the Alameda Corridor, which carries about 10% of all waterborne containers entering and exiting the United States.

As rail demand increases, the expanded rail yard is projected to eliminate an estimated 1,200 truck trips per day by 2040.

Construction of the upgraded, expanded intermodal rail storage yard near the container terminal operated by APM Terminals began in 2021. The project added 31,000 linear feet of track with five new railroad storage tracks, a concrete rail bridge with lighting, an asphalt access roadway, new crossovers and turnouts and modifications to the compressed air system.

Work also included the relocation of a portion of the lead track onto Port of Los Angeles property, realignment of the track connection to the rail storage yard, modifications to Reeves Ave., and relocation of the at-grade crossing from Nimitz Ave. to Reeves Ave.

Construction was completed by contractors Herzog/Stacy and Witbeck Joint Venture.

The Port received $21.6 million in grant funding from the California Trade Corridor Enhancement Program or TCEP, which funds improving freight corridors in the State. The port funded the remaining cost of nearly $51.6 million.

Preventing Homelessness: Mayor Bass and Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles Announce Partnership to Serve Foster Youth At Risk of Homelessness

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Preventing Homelessness: Mayor Bass and Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles Announce Partnership to Serve Foster Youth At Risk of Homelessness

 

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass July 9 joined the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, Children’s Law Center of California and The RightWay Foundation to announce a partnership that will help connect young adults leaving foster care in Los Angeles with services including housing navigation, job readiness and job placement, financial education and more.

Homelessness disproportionately impacts Angelenos who have spent time in the child welfare system. When a foster youth turns 18 or 21, they are cut off from all support and left to fend for themselves. At least 30% of former foster youth become homeless or incarcerated within two years of leaving the system. To address homelessness generally, Los Angeles is working to confront the policies that lead to causes of homelessness within the child welfare system, the criminal justice system, the mental health and addiction treatment system, and more. This partnership builds on the announcement made by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority or LAHSA last month with the results of the 2024 Homeless Point-In-Time Count, which showed a decline in homelessness in the City of Los Angeles for the first time in six years and historic reductions in street homelessness.

The Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles is an independent 501(c)(3) which brings together business, philanthropy, the nonprofit sector and local government to address urgent needs of all Angelenos. Their primary homelessness prevention program, We Are LA, connects residents at risk of eviction with resources available to help them stay in their homes or otherwise stabilize their housing. Program caseworkers screen and connect residents to programs they already qualify for, like CalFresh, MediCal, child care assistance and earned tax credits. About 60% of the individuals and families the program has served report stable housing, with many others still working through the process.

The We Are LA Children and Youth program will extend this same model to youth exiting foster care, pairing each young person aging out of the system with a trained caseworker who has been in the foster care system themselves to connect them to available resources and to help secure housing for them. We Are LA is partnering with the Children’s Law Center and The RightWay Foundation to provide these new services.

The results of the 2024 Homeless Point-In-Time Count also saw a 17% increase in the number of people moved off the streets.

 

Homicide Detectives Investigating the Shooting Death of a Male Adult.

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Homicide Detectives Investigating the Shooting Death of a Male Adult.

 

On July 8, about 9 p.m., officers responded to the 4900 block of Long Beach Boulevard, regarding multiple gunshots heard and at least one person who was shot inside of a local business.

Upon arrival, officers located a male adult subject suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body. Officers rendered medical aid and attempted life saving measures until being relieved by Long Beach Fire Department personnel who determined the subject deceased at the scene.

Homicide Detectives responded to the scene to investigate the incident. Through preliminary investigations, detectives determined two armed suspects entered the bar to assault a patron. The bar patron was also armed, and shots were fired between the parties. The following injuries were reported:

  • Suspect #1 – was struck by gunfire and determined deceased at the scene, who was identified as Arthur Rainey III, a 38-year-old resident of the city of Los Angeles.
  • Suspect #2 – fled the scene before officers’ arrival.
  • Bar patron – was struck in lower body and transported to a local hospital.
  • Uninvolved victim – sustained a minor injury to upper body and was treated on scene.

The investigation to determine the motive for the shooting remains under investigation.

Detectives believe there were additional witnesses in the area and are encouraging them to come forward.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact Homicide Detectives Ethan Shear or Chasen Contreras 562-570-7244 or anonymously at 800-222-8477; www.lacrimestoppers.org

 

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