Sweating the small stuff

Somehow I missed this: the L.A. city council wants its attorney to draft an ordinance requiring window flaps on dog houses. The Times's Jessica Garrison, suggesting the council has become absorbed with minor things, writes today that council members also want to limit how long dogs can be tethered. That's on top of the recent ban on silly string in Hollywood, the ban on beach smoking and their bumbling move to stop lap dancing last year that the council itself all but rescinded. Members say it's giving the people what they want, but there's also an admission that it's the easy-to-understand policies that voters can grasp.

"The reality is, I've gotten many more compliments from people about banning smoking on the beach than I have for increasing vigilance against terrorism," said Councilman Jack Weiss.

Meanwhile, the 4th Floor blog posts a little screed about the long-standing practice of council members in the chambers seeming not to listen during the public comment period of meetings.

Also: Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa resigns from the MTA board, probably so he can legally raise money for his mayoral campaign from people the agency does business with.