Recently in Los Angeles Category

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, ending months of speculation and going back on his promise to voters in 2009, announced Thursday he plans to run for district attorney this year. Daily News.
Trutanich, who portrayed himself as the nonpolitician when he campaigned for city attorney against former Councilman Jack Weiss, said he decided to run in the June 5 election because of District Attorney Steve Cooley's decision against seeking a fourth term.

The 60-year-old Trutanich was in private practice and recruited by Cooley to run for city attorney.

A far-reaching plan to control development and landscaping along the Los Angeles River received approval from the City Planning Commission on Thursday, setting the stage for a testy debate as it heads to the City Council. Daily News.

The Planning Commission voted 5-0, with four members absent, to forward the L.A. River Improvement Overlay to the City Council.

"I'm a champion of this," Commission President Bill Roschen said, after an extensive public hearing. "I think as people review this it will get more and more support. To create a park of this size is unbelievable."

After almost 11 years together, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo of Burbank hope Tuesday's court ruling in favor of gay marriage means they can soon make it official.Daily News,

The couple, who are plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits seeking to overturn Proposition 8's ban on gay marriage, were thrilled that a federal appeals court ruled the ballot measure unconstitutional.

"I was holding the hand of the person that I love and want to marry, so I think we lost a little blood flow for a minute there," said Katami, 39, referring to his anxiety waiting for the court's decision. "We're ready for the next step in equality."

After just two years on the City Council, Paul Krekorian this week takes on one its most challenging jobs - chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee. Daily News,

The position has always been demanding. The committee oversees how the city spends its $6.7 billion general fund budget - from the filling of potholes to the amount of overtime paid police and firefighters.

But with Los Angeles still mired in a financial crisis that has spurred layoffs and service cuts, the chairman's job has taken on even greater importance.

Los Angeles Unified's budget deficit has swelled to $557 million, and the district faces layoffs of up to 7,500 employees and cuts to some of its most successful programs without a revenue trifecta to bring in cash, officials said Tuesday.Barbara Jones in the Daily News,

An outline of the 2012-13 financial plan set for a vote next Tuesday shows the district will have only enough state revenue to fund core K-12 programs, along with district facilities and critical health and safety services.

Lower on the list of priorities - and with no funding source guaranteed - are some of the district's most popular programs. According to officials and documents, those include adult and early-childhood education, after-school and arts programs, and even the high-profile Academic Decathlon and All District Honor Marching Band.
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Former Mayor James K. Hahn, the only man to hold all three citywide offices over a 24-year political career, will be honored with the renaming of City Hall East after him, the City Council voted on Tuesday.Daily News

The 14-0 vote was based on a motion introduced by Hahn's sister, former Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who now serves in the U.S. Congress. Officials said they hope to have a naming ceremony within the next three months.

Hahn, who now serves as a Superior Court judge in Santa Monica, said he was honored by the decision.

Tipoff: Developer Rick Caruso talks mayoral politics, Doidgers bid. Leiweke and Rosky both stay away from Super Bowl.

VALLEY GLEN - Standing at the Vanowen Street overpass above Tujunga Wash, one can take in two distinct views. Melissa Pamer in the Daily News,

To the north is a concrete-lined channel surrounded by a bleached, barren expanse of dirt. To the south, a landscape lush with plants and chirping birds.

The green portion is about to grow.

On Monday, workers are set to begin tearing up the dirt along the channel from Vanowen Street to Sherman Way. Within five months, native trees and shrubs will be growing there, alongside a meandering man-made stream, trails and benches.

Calling on elected officials to stop budget cuts that threaten public education, thousands of Los Angeles parents and educators rallied behind a single message Saturday: Students first. | See photo gallery.C.J. Lin in the Daily News,

Local officials urged parents to demand more high-quality schools across the city, better facilities, better teachers, and equal funding for all public schools.

"Without dedicated moms and dads, we will never turn around our public school system," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "We can win this battle.

SUN VALLEY - Businesses along Lankershim Boulevard managed to weather the recession, but another, more insidious problem threatens the stretch of family-owned auto body shops, granite cutters and plumbing stores. Dakota Smith in the Daily News,

Prostitution is on the rise along this commercial corridor, testing the patience of store owners and their customers.

Dan Schumacher, owner of the Muds Classic Parts & Restoration, watched last fall as two prostitutes in a fistfight fell into his parked Chrysler car, causing a $1,000 dent in the fender.

Under fire from city officials and conservative activists, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck on Thursday defended his controversial plan to stop the immediate impounding of vehicles of unlicensed drivers. C.J. Lin in the Daily News,

"If I had any inkling that what we were doing is illegal or a hazard to the public, then I wouldn't do it," Beck said, adding that the plan was crafted after meetings with immigration rights groups and local prosecutorial agencies.

Under Beck's proposed new policy - which comes before the Police Commission on Feb. 14 - an unlicensed driver who is stopped by police would not be subject to an immediate 30-day impound on a first offense.

Anschutz Entertainment Group and city officials on Thursday unveiled plans for a sleek, elevated convention center hall downtown.Dakota Smith in the Daily News,

The roughly 20,000 square foot new hall is planned as part of an expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center, first built in 1971.

Renderings presented before a city committee illustrated how the new facility - which would rise one story above Pico Boulevard, so cars could pass underneath - would connect the existing South Hall with AEG's proposed football stadium.

In a proposal that could affect the 2013 mayoral election, the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission is considering increasing the limits on campaign donations for the first time since 1985. Daily News

The commission began reviewing the issue Thursday, but public interest groups and commissioners said they wanted more time to study the proposal, which would more than double the amounts city officials can raise from donors.

City Council members are now limited to $500 per donor per election cycle, and citywide officials - mayor, controller and city attorney - can raise $1,000 per donor per election cycle.

ity Attorney Carmen Trutanich, who has raised more than $1 million for his exploratory campaign for district attorney, said Thursday he is getting closer to announcing a final decision on whether to seek the seat. Daily News.

"It will be within the next couple of weeks that there is an announcement," Trutanich said, just before a City Hall news conference on a lawsuit filed against Northern Trust Corp. for mishandling the city's pension assets.

The National Association of Latino Elected Officials will present Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa with the Edward R. Roybal Award for outstanding public service at a Washington, D.C., ceremony next week.
Villaraigosa will be honored by Interior Secretary Ken Salazr, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard at the event.
Roybal, a former Los Angeles City Councilman, went on to Washington, D.C., as a congressman and each year a Latino public officials is presented with the award in his name.
Villaraigosa, who is serving out his second term as mayor, previously served as a City Council member and Assembly speaker.