Politics and governing

Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti just announced that the chief of staff in his City Council office, Ana Guerrero, will fill the same role when Garcetti moves down to the mayor's third floor suite. "Ana was the key player in my work to cut budget costs and revitalize neighborhoods," Garcetti said in a statement. "Together, we're going to build on this foundation with new solutions to fix City Hall and strengthen communities citywide."

Take My Picture Gary Leonard runs on Thursdays at LA Observed.

Councilman Paul Koretz interrupted Dave Davies' encore at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills to present the former Kinks member with a proclamation — then he sang along on "Living on a Thin Line."

Having a single party controlling the legislature certainly helps things move along - as does an economy that's on the mend. Still, there's quite a bit to be concerned about.

Tax breaks are, in many cases, pretty dumb ideas, and enterprise zones could well be one of the dumbest. Does anyone seriously believe that the decision to plunk down a strip club or hamburger joint has anything to do with saving a few dollars on taxes?

The former television and LA Times political reporter fled to Oman after the Carmen Trutanich and Dennis Zine campaigns for City Hall fizzled. Now he's back: "Hope to see you around the city's political/media souk."

Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti has public events on his calendar most days already. On Sunday afternoon, he came to the annual Mar Vista Neighborhood Association block party on Barry Avenue with his wife, Amy Wakeland.

I drove over to the Van Nuys city hall Friday to see my friend June Sale honored by the Los Angeles City Council for her decades helping children. It was a fine event both for June and for the way it called attention to her vital programs.

As I mentioned earlier, the Obamajam potential for Friday's short visit by President Obama is not bad. He's coming in mid-morning and leaving early afternoon so the driving disruption should be localized. But it's still Santa Monica in tourist season, so traffic could be a challenge.

Former assemblyman Dario Frommer and attorney David Fleming, a big player in the San Fernando Valley secession crusade a decade ago, are the co-chairs of Robert Hertzberg's bid to get back into elected office.

When his term ends July 1, making Villaraigosa a bachelor free agent, he apparently wants to move even further to the west. A source tells LA Observed that Villaraigosa is looking hard at Venice (or already there.)

The FBI isn't saying why, citing a court's seal on the search warrant, but media reports say it relates to a corruption probe in Los Angeles County. Calderon is from Montebello.

President Obama will drop into Santa Monica on Friday for a Democratic Party fundraiser, but he won't be stopping into the Santa Monica High School graduation like some students hoped. The White House schedule has Obama arriving at LAX about 10:30 a.m. and leaving via Air Force One around 2 p.m.