On the road again

He's been home for a couple of weeks now and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is off again this week for another lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., this time with Police Chief Bill Bratton joining himm.

The two are scheduled to testify on Tuesday before a congressional committees to urge adoption of a comprehensive gang reduction legislation that would provide more money to local jursidictions.

Villaraigosa and Bratton will testify before the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate to voice support for Senator Dianne Feinstein*s Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2007, which would establish tougher federal penalties for gang violence and provides more than $1 billion in funding for prevention, intervention and suppression programs over five years.

Villaraigosa said the money is critical to supplement his gang reduction plan.