Maybe Not the Message LADWP Wants to Send

SHORT, PERSONAL note to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power CEO David Nahai:

During a week when LADWP's busted water mains swallow a fire engine and drown a major traffic artery, you might not want to go with the casual mafia lieutenant look on the evening news.

Despite LADWP's alleged history of thuggery, nothing instills less confidence in a nervous public, worrying their street might be the next sinkhole, than a dude lounging on a leather sofa.

Sit up straight. Button the shirt. Maybe throw on a jacket. Or sit at a desk. Drop a couple grand on media training if you have to. At the very least, try and look like the guy who might be able to handle the problem.

Garcetti: "The Sprinkler is Off"

LOS ANGELES City Councilman Eric Garcetti, responding to my posts about over-watering at 3522 Garden Ave., replies via Facebook today: "The sprinkler is off and we have told Department of Transportation that they need to keep it off except when needed." See Garcetti's Facebook exchange.

Smell of Summer Sewer in the Air

STRANGE SMELLS are rising in Atwater Village. From a reader: "I wondered if you could post a note regarding the horrid smell that is coming up Hollydale Drive, and has been for weeks. Has anyone else noticed it? I know the LADWP are planning on replacing the lines along Hollydale at some point, but the smell is horrific! Any comments would be appreciated."

May Showers: Now at 120 Hours of Sprinkling

NEW PHOTO and an email update from a drought-tolerant reader, as of 11:15am Sunday, May 24, 2009: "Thanks for covering this story. We are approaching 120 hours of continuous sprinkler use on city property. This is a village spectacle. These sprinklers have to be spewing at least a gallon a minute. 4 calls to 311." See it in person: 3522 Garden Ave.

This Bed of Dirt Somehow Requires 75 Hours of Watering

FROM A READER: "For kicks, check out the city sprinklers that have been running non-stop for the last 75 hours in Atwater. I've called the city 311 two times and they are still running. The sprinklers are running at the entrance to the city parking lot #711. It is located directly east of 3522 Garden Ave, 90039. Go droughtbusters." Another angle shows the sprinklers aim at a single, leaning branch within a 10-foot bed of dirt and rocks.