Posted on 08/29/2015 11:54:25 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Despite living in one of the most car-centric and image-conscious cities in the world, many Los Angeles drivers have cut their carwashes during the crippling drought.
Not so for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
The majority of the supervisors wash their take-home cars two or three times a week, service records show, and actually washed them more frequently after Gov. Jerry Brown ordered a 25 percent cut in urban water use. As the county’s washes continue to consume tap water, some other local governments have pledged to skip washes for months or are using recirculated water.
“When government takes the initiative, it really says something about their leadership,” said Rachel Stich, spokeswoman for Los Angeles Waterkeeper, an environmental group that started a pledge drive for dirty cars. “If they’re going to be asking their residents to conserve water, everybody needs to be stepping up.”
• Video: County employees wash officials’ cars downtown
MOST FREQUENT WASHER
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas had his cars washed more frequently than any of the others, according to the documents obtained under the state public records law. In 2014, Ridley-Thomas had one of his Chrysler 300 Limited sedans washed an average of 2.7 times per week. After the mandate in April, workers washed it 3.1 times per week.
• AUDIO: Reporter Mike Reicher talks about the Mark Ridley-Thomas car and car-wash situation on KABC-AM’s “McIntyre in the Morning”
And that was only one of his two black luxury cars. For most of last year he drove a newer Chrysler that was washed an average of 2.9 times a week.
Two other supervisors — Michael Antonovich and Don Knabe — both wash their take-home SUVs about two times a week, and both increased the frequency of washes after Brown’s April mandate (he first declared a state of emergency in January 2014).
The two newest supervisors, Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis, wash about once a week, and both cut back slightly after the mandate.
None of the supervisors’ representatives answered questions Tuesday about their use of carwashes.
OTHER CITIES CUT BACK
Meanwhile, city officials in Long Beach, Santa Monica, Burbank, Malibu and San Gabriel have all pledged to stop washing their cars for two months, as part of the L.A. Waterkeeper drive. About 15,000 people in total have signed up for the “Dirty Car Pledge,” Stich said. Santa Monica, she said, uses recirculated water.
Advertisement At Los Angeles City Hall, the Bureau of Sanitation and the Police Department have both reduced their washing, a spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Garcetti said. Garcetti called for city agencies to consider converting washes to recirculated water. About a third of the city’s carwashes reuse water.
But none of the county facilities use recirculated water. The typical conveyor carwash consumes 80 to 100 gallons of water, according to Eric Wulf, CEO of the International Carwash Association. That’s equal to the typical American’s daily personal water use.
COUNTY TO STUDY HOW TO SAVE WATER
County officials are studying how to save water at their carwashes, a representative said.
Top county officials get their cars washed in the basement of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration downtown, at one of three carwashes run by the county government. They can receive a car allowance, or have the government purchase them a vehicle, which is then washed, maintained and fueled by taxpayers.
While “executive” officials get their cars washed up to three times a week, the typical fleet vehicle used by a tax assessor, for instance, might get washed every other week. There are no set limits on the frequency of washes.
Party members have privileges.
In our little town there is a Head Start unit. Most people here drive 10-20 years old vehicles. They drive very new SUV’s and vans.
Of course, they’re doing enlightening work and so are entitled.
Tax leeches.
Meh, car washes these days use recycled water.
These libtwits are hypocrites in so many ways we don’t need to start making things up.
Do they wash them at home or at a car wash? A lot of car washes recycle their water.
According to OTHER, non-lib sources, that car wash does NOT use recycled water - but they are “studying doing so”.
Laws are for the Little People, not well-connected Democrat officials.
Maybe THAT car wash doesn’t, but this seems petty petty to me.
Much else MORE important to ridicule them on, IMHO.
Conservation is for the little people.
We all need to cut back on our use of water, electricity and other resources so that there will be more left over for the Important People.
Isn’t most of the water in CA used by agriculture and industry, anyway? The government is cracking down on the little people because they’ll use any excuse to do so.
Washing a car 3 times a week could be pretty expensive. Luckily there is a huge supply of cheap labor.
Entitled
Kylie Jenner and Tyga were recently cited for wasting water and had to pay a whopping $100 fine. Showbiz types are the main overusers of water in LA, same deal with employing illegals.
Can't we deport them. I'd rather have illegals here.
Show Business Kids making movies of themselves you know they don’t give a f-— about anybody else..
We drive ours through a local Wishy Washy automatic car wash maybe once a month. It works good & is cheap; but then Twinkie is not picky. Finding perfection in this life ain’t gonna happen. - Well, the SIL seems to “think” she has; but she’s all wet.
Love Steely Dan and love that song off of Pretzel Logic.
Thanks!
Get mine washed every week to 10 days since the dealer I bought it from offers free washes for its customers. Of course, S. MS isn’t suffering a drought like Kalifornia
Great tune. It does things. Some may think, or notice that it does those as part of that group's motif that runs counter to counter-culture posers.
The 1973 album released that included the track was
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