# Los Angeles DWP and Lost Angeles in general **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318 "2009-10-10T16:45:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/21 "2009-10-12T15:51:58Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > It’s the fucking (well, this is the Pit) trash fee. We went from no trash fee to a $25-a-month “Solid Waste Resources Fee.” I live in a four unit building and we all share trash bins. It costs $100 a month to pick up a few bins of trash? Really? I guess I don’t understand, you are being billed for the trash fee for the entire building? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/22 "2009-10-12T15:53:51Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Clean air, lower traffic, more efficient mass transit, affordable cost of living. Nothing big. 😃 In fairness, every city the size of Los Angeles has shitty traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/23 "2009-10-12T17:16:14Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I guess I don’t understand, you are being billed for the trash fee for the entire building? It’s $25 per month, per “household.” I live in a small apartment complex that only produces slightly more trash than a regular family home, yet the city charges each unit $25. The DWP just keeps finding ways to tack on more and more fees. My power bill five years ago was $15-25 every two months. Now it’s $90 every two months, and I’m using less power than I was five years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/24 "2009-10-12T23:18:38Z")
Prices rise. Film at 11. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/25 "2009-10-12T23:30:02Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Prices rise. Film at 11. Film prices rise. Audio at 11. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/26 "2009-10-12T23:35:32Z")
Good to know talk is still cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/27 "2009-10-13T08:54:10Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Clean air, lower traffic, more efficient mass transit, affordable cost of living. Nothing big. 😃 The air is pretty clean nowadays, thanks to modern emission control, traffic is bad in most cities, our transit system is really coming along, and we just passed a sales tax increase that will fund a drastic expansion, and my rent for a two bedroom with yard here in Burbank is $625 a month. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/28 "2009-10-13T15:39:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > In fairness, every city the size of Los Angeles has shitty traffic. Not all of them are as bad as LA, apparently. I live in the Chicago suburbs, and a friend of mine who used to live and work in downtown Chicago changed jobs a couple years ago and does a lot of work in LA. She’s appalled at how terrible the traffic was in comparison to Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![rowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@rowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowe)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/29 "2009-10-13T19:57:59Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > The air is pretty clean nowadays, thanks to modern emission control, traffic is bad in most cities, our transit system is really coming along, and we just passed a sales tax increase that will fund a drastic expansion, and my rent for a two bedroom with yard here in Burbank is $625 a month. I hope you’re not insinuating that $625 rent in Burbank is typical. That’s obviously a special situation of some kind. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/30 "2009-10-13T20:28:05Z")
Yeah, I read that and almost called out to **kaylasmom** , “Honey, we’re moivn’ to Burbank!” That extra $$$ would just about pay for a nightly round trip to work in Anaheim. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/31 "2009-10-13T20:40:25Z")
LA traffic is nothing compared to other cities I’ve been to. At least California drivers know how to drive! Unlike “drivers” in Oregon, say. Or Rome. And **mswas**? Walking around in a city is over-rated. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/32 "2009-10-13T20:58:29Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > Great weather, huge diverse population, close to outdoor wonders, amazing food, what else can you ask for? A way to get to more than one of those in a day. (Or after three drinks.) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/33 "2009-10-14T01:20:03Z")
I lived in the Washington DC area on and off for many years and I always thought the traffic there was unbearable. Anyone commuted regularly in DC and LA? How do they compare? The urban sprawl in the DC/Baltimore United Strip Mall Corridor is abysmal. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/34 "2009-10-14T01:23:49Z")
> [@pinkyvee](#): > > What the hell? > My DWP bill increased $200 from last billing period! > And mayor Antonio Villaraigosa - FUCK YOU! > The fact that any “surplus” DWP funds goes to the General Fund for the City … which is a sneaky way Mayor Anthony V … AKA Mayor Antonio Voldemort … raises taxes without saying he’s raised taxes. > > I’m so G-Damned sick of fees.:mad: > Hurry me away from this dishonest and greedy city I used to enjoy. I think I will start calling him Mayor Voldemort too. As a resident of L.A., I’ve had the FUCK YOU attitude for years. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/35 "2009-10-14T02:22:32Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I lived in the Washington DC area on and off for many years and I always thought the traffic there was unbearable. Anyone commuted regularly in DC and LA? How do they compare? The urban sprawl in the DC/Baltimore United Strip Mall Corridor is abysmal. Traffic in DC sucks, but at least you’ve got Metro, so you’ve got an alternative. LA’s rapid transit system doesn’t really go anywhere you’d want to go, and considering the massive sprawl of the LA megalopolis, it’s hell trying to get from one place to another anyway. Trust me, DC’s got nothin’ on LA for traffic or transit problems. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/36 "2009-10-14T02:30:56Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Department of Water and Power. That name always reminds me of the EVIL villain from Tank Girl. I wonder why :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/37 "2009-10-17T03:03:50Z")
The DWP bills every other month, more or less. I suppose it all depends on one’s point of view. For illustration, we were charged as follows: Electric Read Electric Charges 09/30/09 $110.41 - 07/31/09 $90.63 - 06/02/09 $127.30 - 04/02/09 $142.39 - 02/03/09 $118.38 - We don’t pay for water, and I’m leaving out the sanitation charge which is negligible. Much to my distaste, everything here is electric, including the stove and heat. We’ve used the air conditioner a lot more, this summer, than I would have liked, but it’s uncharacteristically humid here. I think it’s because we’re right over a natural underground stream that keeps messing up the street in front of the building. But…I honestly am not too displeased with these amounts. They are substantially less than what we paid at our former, much larger apartment. As someone said, prices go up. But a difference of $200 is hard to fathom. To the OP, does the bill say anything about why or what? Is it a mistake? Is it a water assessment? We don’t own a house so I know little of water assessments, but there’s no way they could be assessing every house owner by that amount, for water. They would be besieging City Hall, and I’ve heard nothing in the news about that. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/38 "2009-10-17T03:17:13Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > A way to get to more than one of those in a day. (Or after three drinks.) Some more transit would be nice. But seriously, I’ve never understood what people mean by this. Who the hell wants to go to the beach in the morning, and then to Lake Big Bear in the afternoon? Cutting short a good day at the beach to do some other “sightseeing” is like planning to have those three drinks before lunch and afterward planning something that requires sober mental alertness, like buying clothes or auditioning for _Jeopardy_. It would be like going to Golden Gate Park for forty-five minutes and thinking you’ve seen that, now it’s time for the next item on the schedule; maybe catching a ride out to Sausalito and walking back over on the bridge. As **Stan** said, there’s amazing food, but there’s amazing food all over the city. If you’re at the beach you don’t _have_ to go to the East Side to get it. It’s not like all the good restaurants are in one neighborhood, the beaches in another, and the museums in still another. There are plenty of places, through the innovative strategy of propinquity, right near the beach. You can take a taxi if you’re too schnockered to drive, we have those here. Or you can have the three drinks _at_ the restaurant, killing two birds with one stone as it were. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/39 "2009-10-17T03:23:46Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Clean air, lower traffic, more efficient mass transit, affordable cost of living. Nothing big. 😃 I defy you to name any city that (a) has comprehensive rapid transit, (b) is in a G7 (hell, let’s make it G8) country, and is “affordable”, as I understand the term is used in America to mean what things cost (i) where it’s cold, or (ii) rural, (iii) or both. SF and NYC certainly aren’t “affordable” by that yardstick. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318/40 "2009-10-17T03:30:16Z")
If this is something the rest of us haven’t seen yet, because we’re on a different billing cycle from the OP, and I should prepare for a shock next month, then, well…resource shortages suck. Overpopulation sucks. A lot of us tried to warn people about that, when the environmental movement was just beginning to roll, but that ball got dropped a long time ago. The choice we made was for overpopulation, and now we have to live with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-dwp-and-lost-angeles-in-general/513318.md?page=3)