In the Los Angeles Harbor, some of the yachting traffic isn’t simply for pleasure. According to L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa, one of the boats is there on official business.
A 73-foot yacht named the Angelena II is an official tool of the Port of Los Angeles, a government agency. At a cost that can reach well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the boat is used to usher VIPs, stakeholders, and policy leaders around the port to highlight the inner workings of the heavily trafficked shipping center.
Reports allude to nearly $750,000 in planned maintenance costs this year. It caused some, including the LA Weekly Blog and CBS to ask the Mayor, should the money be spent on a yacht during though economic times? The answer, much like the defense of the Redevelopment Agencies, is that the port is a revenue generator for the city, and therefore isn’t costing taxpayers.
From the LA Weekly Blog:
Awww! L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says the darndest things when he’s caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Dogged CBS LA investigator David Goldstein asked the mayor why, so deep in a budget hole, the city is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain a million-dollar touring yacht at the Port of Los Angeles.
Read the full article here.