Why did supervisors think their cars were exempt from drought mandate? Opinion - LA Daily News
Apparently some of the Los Angeles County Supervisors are more interested in keeping their cars shiny than saving water like the rest of us. Gov. Jerry Brown in April ordered urban dwellers to slash water use by 25 percent, but it looks as though Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas, Michael Antonovich and Don Knabe figured they were exempt. Earlier this week, reporter Mike Reicher revealed Ridley-Thomas was keeping county employees busy, having them wash his county take-home car three times a week. What’s so absurd is that Ridley-Thomas actually washed his car more often after the mandate was in place. Both had their SUVs washed at least twice a week, lest too much freeway grit accumulate on their windshields. Figures out today show that Californians cut their water use by 31 percent in July, compared to the same month in 2013. Too bad the supervisors had to be publicly shamed before they would start to get with the program. A typical conveyor carwash from non-recirculated water is 80 to 100 gallons, equivalent to the average American’s daily personal water. It’s unclear how much the supervisors are using per car wash, but it’s enough that it should be cut back. On Wednesday, in response to the story, county officials limited their car washes to once a week. Supervisors Shelia Kuehl and Hilda Solis had their cars cleaned once a week and reduced that again after Brown ordered that urbanites save water. Source: www.dailynews.com
