Water district officials toasted with $55 bottles of wine, stayed at $400-a-night hotel

WINE AND DINE: Officials at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California appeared to spare little expense on trips in the last few years. The San Diego Union-Tribune reviewed expense records and found several cases of luxury spending by officials, including one official who stayed at the ritzy W Hotel in New York, at $419 a night. Another case:

The biggest bills were often on days when water leaders gathered for meals and Metropolitan picked up the tab -- such as the 20-person lunch in San Francisco in January 2010 that totaled $1,861.50, including six bottles of wine at about $55 each. That same month, San Diego’s water rates jumped 7.75 percent because city leaders said they needed to recoup the rising cost of water from Metropolitan.

...AND IN WEHO: More questionable expense have been uncovered at West Hollywood City Hall, including fancy meals and $370 Mont Blanc pens. (LA Weekly).

ART THEFT: More street art by Banksy stolen in L.A. (LA Observed).

NOT OPEN LATE: Residents fight a plan for extended entertainment hours at Santa Monica Place mall, reports the Santa Monica Daily Press:

If approved, patrons of Santa Monica Place could drink on eight of nine open-air patio spaces of restaurants until 2 a.m. or when the food kitchens closed. As drafted, restaurants could continue to serve alcohol at those hours seven days a week. Currently, guests must move to the indoor portion of the restaurants at midnight to continue imbibing.

-- Shelby Grad

Photo: Santa Monica Place. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Comments

[jay handal]

The water district people should be fired. Drinking 55 dollar bottles of wine on the tax paer dime and getting caught shows they are just plain stupid. Opus at 350.00 should have been the wine they get caught buying on our dime. Just shows they have no class.

[Nate Philips]

And where are these municipal crooks now?

[shadowpark]

Well at least we know our hard earns money is going to good use !

[Bobby P]

Don't try to create controversy where there is none... typical of modern-day media which lacks all professionalism.

A business dinner with a tab of $93 per person including tax and tip, $55 bottles of wine when the cheapest bottle on any menu is $29, and a $400 hotel room in NYC are not extravagant in 2011... In fact, it's quite reasonable. If you think it isn't, you need to get out more.