Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
City Attorney Carmen Trutanich followed up top aide Jane Usher's email critical of the mayor's budget with his own communication, saying that Villaraigosa's spending plan "shows a remarkable lack of leadership and imagination" and is a management failure. The letter posted on Trutanich's website is his "most direct confrontation with the mayor in his nearly two years as city attorney," says Rick Orlov in the Daily News. What they're upset about is that, according to the Trutanich side, the mayor is trying to whack the city attorney's office budget by 18% — more than any other city department. Trutanich says it will cause the layoff of over 100 prosecutors and support staff, but Orlov's story says the 104 positions recommended for cutting are all currently vacant. "The city attorney's letter is based upon a fundamental misunderstanding of the mayor's proposed budget," Deputy Mayor Matt Szabo said. "We have not proposed to lay off a single city attorney." Szabo released emails that apparently show Trutanich's side refused meetings with the mayor's office over the budget. Fox11 also has a story.
Also: The MTA board unanimously endorsed Villaraigosa's so-called 30-10 plan to accelerate transit projects with help from a federal assistance program.