Out of L.A.'s sweltering heat, a little fresh air

Nice to see Mayor Eric Garcetti focus on a back-to-basics approach to city governance in last night's address, especially as it relates to business and the economy. Another good sign was a low-key inauguration ceremony that fit well with Garcetti's restrained style, not to mention a city that's still in recovery mode from the recession. Of course, there's no way to know how things will play out - on the first day of a new job, we all tend to look at the bright side. Then reality comes into focus. In L.A.'s case, reality is a hacked-up government that desperately needs effective leadership. Some areas to keep an eye on in the opening months:

Growth: As we saw with the monstrous Casden mixed-use proposal at Sepulveda and Pico (significantly downsized last week after heated opposition), developers are anxious to find out what they're able to get away with under the Villaraigosa-led disaster known as "smart growth." Not to belabor the obvious, but developers do not care about making L.A. a more livable city - they care about making money.

Balancing priorities: Making it easier for businesses to get past the city's burdensome permit process is a no-brainer, but the real trick is streamlining the system while not rubber-stamping developments that require real scrutiny.

Business taxes: The issue is not so much eliminating them (a tough fiscal proposition), but making the city's overall tax code more coherent. And before bringing down any tax in the name of a friendlier business climate, city officials must figure out how to recoup the resulting lost revenue - and make no mistake, there will be lost revenue.

Union contracts: A tough go: Garcetti will need to forge an alliance with Council President Herb Wesson in bringing down those massive pension and retirement obligations. In a weird way, an improving economy could matters worse if it lessens the urgency of significant reform - something Gov. Brown recognized in his new budget.

Hollywood incentives: Making it easier to film in L.A. is fine (permit fees and the like), so long as it doesn't drift into financial giveaways that the city is hardly in a position to offer. It's also time officials recognized that runaway production is a more complicated issue than some in the community would have you believe.

Jobs: Constantly connecting policy initiatives with job creation makes for good politics, but not good leadership. Truth is, business owners make hiring decisions based on factors that often have nothing to do with what government does or does not do.

Innovation: Here's where the new mayor can really make a difference, especially on issues like traffic and customer service. Garcetti seems to realize that the old ways are not the only ways. Among his first meetings (and not just meet and greets) should be with Space X CEO Elon Musk and Google CEO Larry Page. Now that would provide some fresh air.