Archive: City Hall

Take my picture Gary Leonard.

Mayor Villaraigosa's budget calls for adding 50 more part-time parking officers to walk foot beats in crowded areas such as Downtown, Hollywood and North Hollywood. There already were 100 of these part-timers hired last year. It's all about bringing in more fines.

Residents of Grand View Drive in Laurel Canyon are mad as hell about a "scofflaw" builder who has already mansionized one lot on the street and started work on two other parcels. They have banded together to make an effective and informative video — and have a little piece of local rock and roll history in their film.

Word got out this morning that Austin Beutner was telling friends and supporters that his quest to become mayor of Los Angeles next year was over. Mark Lacter had an item earlier at LA Biz Observed. Here's Beutner's statement this afternoon.

Parking fines in Los Angeles are already way disproportionate to the crime, but in his desperation to balance his budget Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is planning to ask for the sixth increase in his time in office. Is it a policy move because parking violations are becoming some kind of civic nuisance? Uh, no. It's about money — and parking after the street sweeper comes could cost you a day's pay.

Superior Court judge Kathleen Kennedy dismissed the DA's two-year-old perjury and voter fraud case against City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife, Flora Montes de Oca Alarcon, saying the prosecution failed to present evidence to the grand jury that undercut its case. Prosecutors indicated they would refile the charges.

I missed this note on Alice Walton's site this morning. The City Hall reporter who launched The City Maven in 2010 as a newly minted master's degree holder will now blog on the KPCC website. Read more

City Attorney opinions "failed to exercise the skill, prudence, and diligence required of attorneys when they are formulating advice," says the mayor's lawyer. The chief deputy city attorney scoffs in response.

Jon Regardie, editor of the Downtown News, has some Mobius Strip-inspired fun with the Los Angeles Fire Department's confusing messages about its response time on fire and ambulance calls.

Mayor Villaraigosa just announced that he's appointing the police department's former crime stats head as Interim Director of Statistical Analysis and Review at the fire department.

Mayoral candidate Austin Beutner is providing this map letting residents click on any Los Angeles Fire Department station to see the local response time stats.

The Carmen Trutanich for DA campaign paid marketing firms to rustle up YouTube views for his campaign videos, then sent out a press release crowing about how the videos' popularity showed the city attorney had broad support, the LA Times reports.

For Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino's inaugural party in San Pedro on Saturday, the other members of the City Council butcher his name for fun on video.

Assessor John Noguez under investigation, Sheriff Baca sorry for breaking the law, Rep. Brad Sherman not moving and more.

Assemblyman Mike Feuer formally announced his candidacy for City Attorney this morning. He lost to Rocky Delgadillo in 2001.

Martin Gomez, the head librarian for Los Angeles since 2009, will become vice dean in the USC Libraries on April 2.

Judy Graeme noticed an especially bad sidewalk rupture on Prosser Avenue, just below Pico in Rancho Park.

He shows up at the Lakers training gym going up against Rick Fox, and at the LAPD asking then-Chief Bernard Parks for a detective job, in this 2001 video spoof.

As City Attorney Carmen Trutanich inches closer to his inevitable admission that, yes, he is running for DA despite previously saying he wouldn't, some law enforcement say his campaign has been fudging its endorsement list.

Councilmembers Jan Perry and Bill Rosendahl reacted generally positively to the design, while Councilman Ed Reyes said the project should include more benefits for the area's residents.

When the last campaign fundraising reports came in six months ago, Austin Beutner's camp crowed how he was setting the money pace for the 2013 candidates for mayor. This time, they are pooh-poohing any of that.

Periodic campaign reports are due Tuesday, so the day before brings the press releases trying to grab a headline (or prevent a headline) for a factoid that matters little at this stage.

KCET's weekly news show "SoCal Connected" will receive this year's Public Service Award from the Los Angeles Press Club for exposing "lavish and out of control spending at the Los Angeles Housing Authority.

Ace Smith and Sean Clegg, the longtime Nothern California-based political advisers to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, have left the mayoral campaign of businessman Austin Beutner in the days since he gave a policy speech criticizing City Hall.

Greuel joins City Council President Herb Wesson and the Times in backing the LAPD cop in the race. For the Times, the endorsement comes with a caution that Buscaino is not all that impressive.

The office of City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has just distributed a summary of Occupy members charged, sentenced or awaiting a resolution of their arrests in the Nov. 30 raid outside City Hall

It can't be a bad sign for your chances when the incoming president of the City Council publicly endorses your campaign to be elected to said council.

City Councilman Paul Krekorian's latest emailed newsletter got my attention, and not for any of the headlines or stories.

In stories posted within minutes of each other, one top deputy to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says the mayor most everything, and another says he knew nothing.

Even though Mayor Villaraigosa's office now admits the boss approved the sweet golden parachute with Rudolf Montiel, interim Housing Authority chief Ken Simmons "is resigning at the Mayor's request."

KCET quotes deputy chief of staff saying Villaraiogsa knew of and approved deal with Rudolf Montiel.

Controller Wendy Greuel and her predecessor issue letters on the deal given Rudolf Montiel.

Photographer Iris Schneider has been documenting the Occupy LA camp almost from the start, and she went back this morning to see what remains.

The breakdown is 290 booked for failure to disperse, one for battery on a police officer and one for interfering with an officer.

Raid looks like it's about to happen.

Deputy Mayor Matt Szabo told reporters today that Occupy LA will be cleared out some time next week, and the mayor's office followed with a statement.

Current president Eric Garcetti will nominate Councilman Herb Wesson to succeed him.

Bids are due on Friday to work four months for the City Council's redistricting commission, for as much as $100,000.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry talks with Conan Nolan on NBC 4's News Conference about the city's redistricting process being tainted by politics.

The news site has been a welcome addition from day one, reporting on City Hall moves and politics without rants, hidden agendas or anonymous comments.

It appears the relationship is chilling between City Hall's politicos and the encampment of protesters outside on the lawn.

Many cities ban plastic bags, but Los Angeles city councilman Paul Koretz also wants to forbid stores from providing you with paper bags.

The latest to form a fundraising committee is Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, who filed so he can accept checks to finance a run for District Attorney, if DA Steve Cooley decides not to seek reelection in 2012.