The LA Times, in a devastating editorial this morning, takes apart Measure B, the Los Angeles ballot initiative (on next Tuesday's ballot) to promote solar energy. The paper all but calls the initiative a fraud, a disguised attempt by politicians and the union that represents Department of Water and Power leaders to seize power over solar power from an independent board and private industry. It's the kind of disingenuous measure that has come to define LA politics in this era.

I can't say it better than the Times editors said it, so here goes:

"The important parts are not in the ballot arguments or the campaign literature. Measure B, if passed, would transfer oversight of in-basin solar power from a five-member commission, with at least a modicum of political independence, to the City Council. But because the measure would allow the council to change or suspend everything that's in it, the council's new authority would not be accompanied by new accountability.

"On the contrary, this measure would give the council sweeping political cover. If it's in the council's interest to proceed with the plan, it can claim voters told them to do it. If it's in the council's interest to stop well short of the 400 megawatts the voters think they're getting, they can claim voters told them to do it.

Mendocino County has voted to repeal loose standards that made the California county a haven for marijuana growers.

Last week, I hosted a panel in Los Angeles on the use of local land use ballot measures as tools of competition between businesses. Zocalo LA, the panel's sponsor, has now made available audio of the event here.

The panel included the consultants from either side of the Measure B fight in Thousand Oaks (Harvey Englander and Rob Stutzman), Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy co-founder and executive director Madeline Janis, and former Beverly Hills Mayor Steve Webb. And there was a bit of news: Englander, who also represents LAX-area hotels that have been the target of a union organizing effort and of an extension of the Los Angeles city "living wage" law, said his clients there had no plans to put the law -- which has survived court challenges -- to a referendum.

That means the "living wage" extension will take effect, more than a year after it was passed. The impact on workers is less clear. The hotels say that only a small number of their workers make less than minimum wage. Several hundred make minimum wage -- but receive far more when tips are counted. They could end up taking higher salaries but receiving less in tips. And, as with any change in wages, the higher pay might prompt hotel managers to hire or employ fewer  workers.

In yesterday's statewide primaries, Californians also voted in two local land use ballot measures that received national media attention. Now we have results. In San Francisco, Lennar Corp's redevelopment plan for Hunters Point, known as Prop G, won overwhelming approval from voters despite a strong no campaign from activists and a few local businesses. In the city of Thousand Oaks, the owner of a local chain of home improvement stores was losing in his ballot initiative campaign -- known as Measure B -- to limit big developments. Home Depot funded what appears to be a successful "no" campaign.

Neither result is a surprise. The winning side in each case is the one that spent the most money. And Californians, for all their professed concern about environmentalism and preserving open space, have demonstrated a fondness for big developments at the ballot box.

"Democracy Inc." is the headline the LA Times gave to a piece of mine that appeared in the paper Sunday. In the story, I look at the current municipal ballot initiative fight in Thousand Oaks between a California chain of hardware stores and Home Depot. (The voters weigh in June 3). The piece also discusses the trend of businesses adopting anti-growth initiatives -- a tactic long used by environmentalists, NIMBY neighborhood folks and other business tormentors -- to fight off competitors.

I'll be moderating a panel on this subject on May 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. It's open to the public. Both the panel sponsor, Zocalo LA, and I would love it if you joined us. More details here.