It’s official. South El Councilwoman Blanca Figueroa’s nocturnal ways is now an international story. Earlier today, it was just national.
Nocturnal councilwoman story not dimming
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Monthly Archives: December 2008
Another demand to hit $3 million? Not so fast…
I spoke with Victor Jacobovitz on Friday to see what the progress is with the potential lawsuit by city spokeswoman Sue Williams.
Jacobovitz said that she hasn’t filed a lawsuit yet because the way it works with a government entity is that the city has to reject a claim before a lawsuit is filed. The city has not yet rejected the claim. Jacobovitz said he is expecting to have some discussions with the city to see if there is some way to resolve the claim.
Jacobovitz is the same lawyer representing Chris Chung, West Covina’s Community Development Director who is demanding $3 million for the alleged hostile environment he was forced to endure while working with Mayor Roger Hernandez, according to the claim.
Jacobovitz said that Williams hasn’t sent a demand yet. “I don’t think Sue’s action would bring in quite as high an amount, because Chris has suffered a quite bit,” Jacobovitz said.
The update with Chung, Jacobovitz said, is that the city has agreed to go to mediation.
And who is Jacobovitz, you ask. Here’s a snipet from the ’80s:
SUIT FILED OVER DEATHS IN PUERTO RICO HOTEL FIRE
Daily News of Los Angeles (CA) – Wednesday, December 30, 1987
Author/Byline: KAREN E. KLEIN Daily News Staff Writer
Edition: Valley
Section: NEWS
Page: N5
Edition: Valley
Section: NEWS
Page: N5
Nearly 800 survivors and family members of people killed in a Puerto Rico hotel fire last New Year’s Eve have filed a civil suit in Los Angeles against the parent company of the hotel.
Los Angeles attorney Victor Jacobovitz , who filed the suit in federal court this week, said he was appointed to handle the case by a committee that represents the interests of victims of the blaze, which killed 97 people and injured 140 in the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan.
The hotel is owned by a company called Hotel Systems International, based in Santa Monica. Jacobovitz said Hotel Systems is a key defendant in the case, which names a total of 144 defendants.
No one at the company returned calls for comment on the lawsuit Tuesday.
“The defendant list looks like a Who’s Who of American corporations,” Jacobovitz said, noting that along with the hotel owner, the manufacturers of all the materials in the hotel that burned or caused noxious smoke are being sued.
The suit does not specify an exact amount of damages being sought by the victims and their families.
Three men, all members of the Teamsters Union, pleaded guilty in April to federal arson charges. One of the three also pleaded guilty to murder. They are currently serving sentences ranging from 75 to 99 years in prison.
Another man, Hector Escudero Aponte, 35, has confessed to lighting the blaze in the hotel’s ground-floor ballroom moments after a Teamsters’ meeting at which employees voted to strike.
He is scheduled to be tried in San Juan Feb. 3 on 96 counts of first- degree murder.
How proposed districts would impact WC Councilmembers
The five council district, as proposed by West Covina residents Fred Sykes and Alfred Williams, would divide the city into equal parts based on population. Four council members lives in district one, and Mayor Roger Hernandez lives in district four. Here’s the story.
PROPOSED NEW DISTRICTS
DISTRICT ONE: Starts at the intersection of Puente and Azusa avenues; extends to the city’s eastern boundary and south along Azusa to approximately Green Ridge Terrace.
DISTRICT TWO: Roughly encompasses the portion of the city that extends west from Azusa Avenue, north of the 10 Freeway.
DISTRICT THREE: Approximately south of the 10 Freeway to Cameron Avenue and west to the city limit at Francisquito Avenue.
DISTRICT FOUR: Defined as Cameron Avenue south to Francisquito on the west and south to Temple Avenue on the east.
DISTRICT FIVE: Approximately south of Green Ridge Terrace and along Nogales south to Valley Boulevard.
Top links
Six are competiting for two seats on the Temple City Council amid accusations that two council members solicited bribes. Read more.
Walnut prepares for legal battle against city of Industry for the proposed NFL stadium. Read more.
West Covina community activists move forward in effort to get council districts in city. Read more. Read more.
La Puente files claim against county for missing $500,000. Read more.
Leftovers from City Hall column.
“Who throws a shoe? Honestly.”
Stimulus package may benefit local infrastructure projects. Read more.
Development could be central in Temple City race
6 file for 2 seats on Temple City City Council
By Alfred Lee, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/14/2008 10:48:45 PM PST
TEMPLE CITY – The balance of power in City Hall is at stake in the upcoming race for two City Council seats.
Four candidates will challenge incumbents Cathe Wilson and Ken Gillanders in their bids for re-election.
Tom Chavez, Silenus Ong, Chuck Souder and Vince Yu will join Wilson and Gillanders on the ballot in March, City Clerk Mary Flandrick said.
The race could very well be seen as a referendum on the performance of the current City Council, where Wilson, Gillanders and Councilman David Capra have formed a majority voting bloc over the past two years.
The trio have often controlled policy, over the opposition of council members Judy Wong and Fernando Vizcarra.
Both Wilson and Gillanders enjoy long-standing support in the community – Wilson was elected with more votes than any of the sitting council members – but the struggles of the City Council to bring redevelopment to the city could be a thorny issue.
In recent months, officials imposed and then cancelled a controversial ban on non-retail businesses; flirted with and then pulled out of a plan to buy a string of commercial properties on Las Tunas; and, most notably, saw further delays in the Piazza mall project.
Both Yu and Souder hope to capitalize on residents’ frustration.
Yu, a Temple City Planning Commissioner, is running on his experience with development as a former architect in the private sector and current head of an architectural unit in the county Department of Public Works. He has close ties to Wong and is also backed by Vizcarra.
“Like most Temple City residents, I’m a bit frustrated to see the lack of progress,” he said. “The things that we really wanted to do in the Planning Commission, when they got to the council, not a whole lot was done.”
Yu voted against the Piazza project while on the Planning Commission.
“I can look at plans and I can listen to the developer and the architect’s presentation, and I can tell based on my own experience how well they prepared and whether or not what they said can actually be done,” he said.
Souder, a two-time mayor and member of the City Council from 1994-2003, is running as the most vocal opponent of Wilson and Gillanders.
“I’m running to see if I can’t straighten out the City Council,” Souder said. “It’d be more business-friendly and put some transparency and integrity back into the City Council.”
He said the lack of transparency in City Hall was “absolutely disgusting,” and he also criticized the performance of current city manager-city attorney Charles Martin.
Wilson, Gillanders and Ong could not be reached last week.
Chavez, a Parks and Recreation Commissioner for Temple City who works as an attorney and adjunct professor in Pasadena, also stressed the need for redevelopment in the city.
“We need to seek additional sources of revenue for the city, but at the same time I’m in favor of keeping a small-town atmosphere,” he said.
Chavez said he is supported by Wilson but is not interested in lining up along the divisions on the council. Yu and Souder also said that they would vote independently.
“We do have a City Council that doesn’t seem to get along,” Chavez said. “It could be a problem and I think we need to try to clear that up and get us back on track.”
alfred.lee@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496
Glendora fields a crowded field of five for election
GLENDORA — Competition is tight in Glendora as councilman Mark Kelly has decided not to run for reelection leaving his City Council seat open for the taking. At the same time, Mayor Karen Davis is seeking reelection.
“I think during these challenging times that our state and our nation are facing, we as a community have fared better than other places,” said Davis.
Davis is one of five community members running for the City Council. Kristin Parisi, Brian Pagac, Gene Murabito and Yousef “Joseph” Tweini have also thrown in their hats.
Pagac and Parisi did not immediately return phone calls for this story.
Murabito, who serves on the Glendora Planning Commission, had been planning a run for City Council in 2008 for about five years.
“I think the council overall has done a good job,” he said. “Can we improve? Absolutely.”
Murabito worked in aerospace for 25 years before he left that in 1999. He then opened an accounting service that is based in Glendora.
“In my business we are always looking for ways to change and improve, rather than get passed up,” he said. “My strength is in my character.”
Tweini, a chemical engineer, ran for the City Council in 2007 and received the least amount of votes of the candidates. But that experience and opportunity for residents to get to know him will help him this time around, he said.
“This time it is going to be different,” said Tweini. “I am a manager, so I can manage things, manage budgets. I do have the overall picture of what the city is looking for.”
A graduate of UCLA and a resident of Glendora for 15 years, Tweini hopes for the opportunity to serve the residents.
“I am not running against anybody, I am running to serve the community and the people of Glendora,” he said. “If (the people) like the person and vote for them, I will support the decision of the people.”
Where’s the (election) beef?
I am a little confused, but aren’t elections supposed to be heated contests between people who think they are doing a good job and those who disagree whole-heartedly?
Wild accusations, yelling matches, negative campaigning, snickering remarks, low voter turnout – these all all things I put with city council elections.
Not in La Verne.
All four candidates for city council spoke highly of each other. And not that – I am running a campaign focused on what I can do for the city and not against any other person – stuff. They each sincerely expressed the idea that each candidate would make an excellent council member.
Two of them have worked with each other at the University of La Verne (Donna Nasmyth and Robin Carder), they all know each other, and they all have great things to say about the city and the current council.
Where’s the anger? Where’s the disdain? Where’s scandal? Where’s Terrel Owens when you need him?
Here is a quote from candidate Charlie Rosales I never thought I would hear covering city council elections.
“If you are looking for controversy, you are not going to find any.”
I’m checking out.
‘Oh, I’m the Mayor’
There seemed to be some confusion at a Montebello City Council meeting Wednesday over the mayorship.
Newly sworn-in Mayor Rosie Vasquez repeatedly addressed former Mayor Bill Molinari as “Mr. Mayor.”
It happened so many times that City Attorney Arnold Alvarez-Glasman had to tell Vasquez to stop referring to Molinari as the mayor.
Vasquez laughed, looked at the audience and said, “oh, I’m the Mayor.”
Councilman Robert Urteaga slipped a couple times as well. He said he needs to get used to the new rotation.
El Monte fulfills records request, kind of
You may remember me blogging about a records request I submitted to El Monte a few weeks ago. It was for the police report detailing Mayor Ernie Gutierrez’ arrest last month.
Well, I didn’t quite receive the report, but I did receive a report with limited details about that night.
Here’s a narrative provided to me:
The Suspect and Victim have a dating relationship. A week after the incident occurred, Suspect and Victim report the Suspect assaulted the Victim and that she in turn assaulted the Suspect.
A uniformed officer officially interviewed the Victim and the Victim changed her statement regarding the incident, stating she fell down. The Suspect was arrested at his home in El Monte and the case was presented to the District Attorney’s Office after completion of the investigation.
Gutierrez’ wife has said on the record before that she was not the alleged assault victim that night.
See the docs I received from El Monte here:
Job interviews in La Puente Saturday
The La Puente City Council is holding a closed session meeting Saturday to interview between five and six candidates for the city manager position.
Mayor Louie Lujan said all of the applicants have had some sort of management experience, and they all have master’s degrees in public administration.
Transition Manager Frank Tripepi said the candidates were narrowed down from a pool of applicants who responded to wanted ads in a job bank and a city manager newsletter. He said he was not involved in that selection process and he will not be involved in the interviews.
Councilman John Solis said Thursday he didn’t know the city had even been reviewing applications. Solis and Lujan were appointed to an ad hoc committee earlier this year to oversee the application process. Looks like someone was out of the loop.