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ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Ah, Hollywood. The land of dreams, where even the most cash-flush titans could use a little help saving a buck—especially when Warner Bros. Discovery is writing off a casual $9 billion. So, what's a mogul like David Zaslav to do? Well, adopting a few of LA County’s 70,000 unhoused might be a start. He’s loaded, after all. Or maybe, just maybe, he could give back in another way—foster kids, anyone?
Meanwhile, Mayor Karen Bass is busy playing the hero for the big studios. Forget the kids, it’s all about those soundstages. With Executive Directive 42, she's bulldozing through red tape to streamline permits for seven new studios. That’s over 8 million square feet of Hollywood magic coming your way. And while it’s great for the economy, let’s not forget we’re subsidizing corporations, not families. NBC Universal has the Olympics!
While Bass packs her bags for Paris, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath is busy making waves closer to home. Just last week, she proudly handed out a $3 million check to the West Hollywood Recovery Center, complete with her name splashed across the cardboard like it was her personal donation.
Honorable Big Check Horvath.
Sure, it’s a noble cause, but should federal funds from the American Rescue Plan really be used to renovate the Log Cabin, a historic building in West Hollywood? Maybe, maybe not. But who can resist a little political theater?
Speaking of which, we could use some real security theater on the Metro. With practically daily stabbings and attacks, it’s clear that LA’s public transit is scarier than yer typical Hollywood Horror movie. Supervisor Janice Hahn, Metro board chair, is calling for a full investigation into the latest incident at a Pasadena station, while Kathryn Barger warns that urgent action is needed.
But first—Hahn and Horvath are off to Paris on the taxpayers’ dime. Nothing says public service like a little R&R in the City of Lights. Research & Reportbacks.
Coming Up This Friday at City Hall – Buckle Up!
The Democratic National Convention nominates the party's presidential candidate. Monica Rodriguez who is a delegate herself takes this role very seriously. Later this month, she will fly to Chicago from August 19-22 to join delegates, activists, and leaders as they get behind Harris Walz. But first, she’s set to designate the intersection at Van Nuys Boulevard and Kewen Avenue as “Nancy C. Avery - First African American Postmaster of a Major Post Office 1961 - 1984.” A permanent ceremonial sign will mark this historic achievement.
Councilmember Rodriguez is pushing for a report on potential sites to house community spaces for mobile crisis response teams. This includes exploring vacant space in city buildings or other properties, with a focus on making room for nonprofits. State, county, and federal properties are all in play! Lovely. This is not housing.
Get ready for five highly confusing items featuring our favorite wheeler dealers, Armbruster Goldsmith & Delvac LLP and ONNI Capital, LLC. These development maestros were knee-deep in shenanigans with the likes of Jose Huizar and Mitchell Englander, including current CD12-ist, Staffer B, John Lee. They’re mixing it up in Hugo Soto-Martinez's CD13 at 1330 – 1360 North Vine Street. Whether it’s a 33-story residential tower or a 17-story office high-rise, both options come with subterranean parking, retail space, and the rehabbing of six historic bungalows. Wasn't subterranean parking dodgy in that corridor?
[Shut him the fuck up!]
Suffice it to say "Pay and ye shall play" is the slogan du jour.
In a charming display of transparency, the City Controller and Records Destroyer, Kenneth Mejia is collaborating with the City Attorney to fast-track the destruction of records. It’s not necessarily in the public interest, but hey, at least they’re working well together as a team!
The Miracle of the 2024 & 2028 Olympics:
It’s nothing short of miraculous that former council members Herb Wesson and Paul Krekorian have managed to avoid indictment. As the gravy train for the Olympics rolls along, one can only imagine how many of the now-deposed councilmembers will hop aboard.
Keep an eye out for appearances by Wesson, Krekorian, and Englander—they all know how to play the game. And remember, TGIF at City Hall is always full of surprises! Vacation vacation vacation...
Check my tweet from the era: @mitchofarrell DENYING a street vacation request for @joseHuizar while revving up Richelle's campaign... #omg the mama-san* sending ppl upstairs to 'dialogue' with Jose! #InTheExecutiveWashRoom
Wile E. Coyote will bounce back from deep WB losses.
Billionaires On Buses:
From: Smart Speaker
To: Los Angeles County Supervisors
Subject: Networking, Philanthropy, and Parisian Fun—The Triple Threat!
Dear Supervisors,
As you embark on this week's Parisian adventure at the Olympics, let me just say—Bon courage! While you’re immersing yourselves in the excitement of gymnastics, marathons, and those irresistible croissants, don’t forget the real mission: networking with billionaires.
Supervisor Horvath, while you’re taking in the sights, why not pay a visit to the Bastille? I know, touring an old prison might not scream “vacation,” but here’s the twist: use this as your golden opportunity to remind our billionaires that if they think the Bastille was tough, they should see MCJ. And don’t forget to mention our triple-A bond rating—billionaires love that kind of thing -- also bring up the $45 billion dollar budget. Love that! Look, beggars can’t be choosers, but with the right investments, we can clean up all the beggars so everyone is a winner in 2028! Go USA!
Now, while you are there between August 8 and 12, please please please check out the marathon from Paris to Versailles. This isn’t just a chance to cheer on the athletes but also the perfect moment to hand out business cards to the many well-heeled philanthropists. Remember, the Olympic flame will be burning bright in the Tuileries Gardens, this is the perfect backdrop... it screams, "Invest in LA!"
I would not bring up your Yelp reviews fwiw—they’re not what Lindsey is capable of, though she's made an impact (even if that impact has irritated scores of Angeleno... Go USA.)
So, enjoy the marathon, work that crowd, and if you get a chance, remind those billionaires what it takes to support a city like ours. Bon Voyage, and happy networking!
Yours truly,
Smart Speaker
Free at last. AG Bonta declined to bring charges against Sheila Kuehl for ... anything.
Stupes:
Moderator: Our first participant is Eric Preven. Your line is open. If you are muted, please unmute and speak directly into your phone. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: Good morning. This is a very interesting item. I hear we’re going to try to acquire one of these big office buildings hulking around downtown, empty because people don’t like to go to the office after the pandemic. The County is looking at coughing up a huge amount of money because Davenport and others see an opportunity to get a good deal. Buying real estate low isn’t a bad idea. County Counsel will be there. This is very, very irritating. These are the lobbyists who we were we jumping over backward to hand things to years ago. Now they’re all out of business and want to cash out. Is there any way we can just fix things up on a timely basis? We spent millions—$20 million worth of AECOM consulting—getting a list of what we need to fix up, and now everything is in shambles. The county loves to move around county employees, upgrading their offices while bailing out greedy developers who are still making bank... every which way conceivable. Anyway, let's not bog down, I just hope that you lladies have a wonderful trip to Paris. I am so excited, I wish I was coming. What is the...
Executive Officer: Thank you, your time has expired. Next speaker, please.
Peter Eliasberg: Honorable Member of the Board, Peter Eliasberg, a few brief points on this presentation. First, I appreciate the board's focus on the gap. And I would say that culture change is reflected in behavior. Until the gap is eliminated, you will not know that the culture change has occurred.
I agree with Monitor Mitchell and ask the board to direct the Sheriff's Department to report not only on their own findings of violations, which are way too low, but also on what the monitors find. It shouldn't be up to the ACLU to inform the board that there is an enormous gap between what the monitors find and what the Sheriff's Department finds. CIFID is a good idea, but supervisors are overruling sergeants' findings of policy violations. I will add that the most recent report by the Inspector General pointed out two cases. Until supervisors are held responsible for overruling sergeants when they make the right findings about violations, they’re going to continue to be...
Sup. Lindsey Horvath, Chair: Thank you very much.
Moderator: Our first participant is Eric Preven. Your line is open. Please unmute if you are muted and speak directly into your phone. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: Yeah, it’s Eric Preven, and it’s very hot outside. But this is an outrage. First of all, my name is not Mark Payton, and you just blew past several important items I wanted to comment on. Skipping me entirely. Calling up someone else as if I was supposed to know—oops.
So the only downside, is I lost my opportunity to speak on the Rosas agreement. Something I know a lot about. I was here before Supervisors Solis even listened to the promises about getting the iPads ready. Listening to the monitors—they should be given a box of chocolates, a thank-you note, and good riddance. This is not the kind of monitoring we need. And the culture change is not evident if we don’t have any data or any meaningful facts. This is just a snow job. And I cannot believe you segregated me from those items, Supervisor Horvath. Do you know how long—how many years we've conveyed—how crazy it is to not have an iPad grievance system for run-of-the-mill problems?
Sup. Lindsey Horvath, Chair: You have indicated that you called in on other items. The system we have indicates that it was Mark Payton who was in the queue. I’m not sure if that was you and misidentified or someone else named Mark Payton, which is why I continued to call that name. I apologize for any misunderstanding or miscommunication that has happened. But you were not shown as in queue in the monitoring system from where we sit. Moderator, if you can, please take a look at how calls are coming in to make sure people are correctly identified in the queue. We’ll go to speakers in person, please. Go ahead. Let’s make sure her mic works.
Moderator: Next is Eric Preven. Your line is open. If you are muted, please unmute and speak directly into your phone. Mr. Preven?
Smart Speaker: Call me Mark Payton.
That’s a joke—please do not call me Mark Payton. I’m not Mark Payton. That was a mistake—let's move forward. This is about our great metro system -- You know who has a great metro system? Paris! They have nice rubber wheels; it’s a great product. But this has to do with the Lifeline program. There are a few problems—everyone knows, that not enough of the eligible population opt in. Translates into: Outreach could be better. It could. But the idea of NOT charging people to ride the metro was a good idea, but it’s been upended by Paul Krekorian, who wants to tag all riders coming and going. This is not great, and worse now Costco is starting to scan cards at entry.
Here’s the thing: our metro system, under the influence of the Olympics, is serving Mayor James Butts and his unquenchable desire for big splashy athletic competitions. Not the people. It is not intended to help ordinary Angelenos who ride the bus to get to work. We ought to rejigger that calculus. But time is short, the planes are leaving for France tonight, but we’ll get into this once you're back. I hope you have a great—
Executive Officer: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
Moderator: Our next participant is Eric Preven. One moment, Mr. Preven, there’s a little glitch on the screen here. Okay, Mr. Preven, thank you for your patience. Your line is open. Unmute and speak directly into your phone.
Smart Speaker: Thank you, Jeeves. And of course, it’s exciting to have this kind of Free non-political but political even under the banner of the Olympics. We are checking, but we believe there’s a record that’s been set even as we speak in Los Angeles for the longest trip out of town ever taken by a seated Councilmember—Paul Krekorian, who will be in Paris from the beginning of the Games all the way through to the end, where Supervisor Hahn will snuff out the torch—or whatever you do at a closing ceremony. My recommendation is to leave about 30 minutes before the closing ceremony to avoid terrible traffic. Listen, France in August is lovely.* Has anybody thought about the temperature here in Los Angeles in 2028? I’m worried we will have athletes evaporating right in front of us. It does worry me, I have to say. How about the fans who get the cheap seats bused in to make it look like there are people around when it’s 114 in the shade? I hope that they get water— And thank you Supervisor Barger for reminding everyone of the $1 tickets at Hollywood Bowl... what BS... the Park and ride for a family of four is $28.
Executive Officer: Thank you, your time has expired. Next speaker, please.
Moderator: Our first participant is Eric Preven. If you are muted, please unmute. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. Can you hear me? Yes. Thanks to Supervisor Mitchell for recognizing that the county has contributed to very hard times for foster youth. Nobody shakes the guaranteed income tree better than Mitchell. The only problem with the guaranteed income tree is that it’s like the guy is charging too much for rent, so we’ll pay half of your rent. The guy is still getting big rent. That’s where we need a little attention.
Coming up with government dollars to help transition-aged youth is good. That period for all kids, not just foster kids is a period of transition and a lot of people struggle there. Even if you are doing everything right—you have two parents who are authenticated by someone or something like that—it’s still hard. How much is this guaranteed income, by the way? How much do you get—a couple hundred bucks a week? I don’t know. Paris has a terrific program.
Executive Officer: Thank you, your time has expired. Next speaker, please.
Moderator: The first participant is Eric Preven. Your line is open. If you are muted, please unmute.
Smart Speaker: You sound very far back—can you turn—your volume is very low.
Sup. Kathryn Barger: Go ahead, your time has started.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. It’s okay. Well, I do not like sole-source contracts in general. That means giving to whomever we like. Here, Mitchell adopted the idea that that is right. You want to give it to people with equity in mind—people who don’t typically get government contracts. So, yeah, I can see that. But who hands them out? And I don’t like licking our paws about the billions and billions. I mean, you know, the idea that it’s not distributed—first of all, there has to be... What we don’t want is a payment to somebody who is not providing the service at a fair price. That’s just not what we want. We want equity and inclusion, sure. Make it possible. The way to make it possible is to lower the ISD degree of difficulty to get an approvable application in for a contract with the county. The process is too complicated—
Executive Officer: Thank you, your time has expired.
City Council Deselection:
Smart Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Groat, you worthless POS. And thank you to Blumenfield for denying me the right to speak -- just cuz.
I agree with Mr. Quan that it is a double standard to tell speakers that you are barred from talking to them -- and honestly what right do you have to demand that a speaker tell you what language he or she or they was speaking? If they don't have a translator because they didn't give 72 hours' notice, so be it, the city has no right to grill that person and make demands. And then, after virtually grilling him, Blumenfield turns around and says he won't speak.... You sound like a lunatic, which, incidentally you are.
Now, items 9 and 10 both deal with the vacation of city property -- one is a preliminary request from Traci Park in CD11 so we will draw a circle around that and watch closely. The other is from CD13 where Hugo Soto-Martinez wears the Che Guevara shirt and beret. This is the sacred Tongva land where Mitchell O'Farrell used to don the Speedo.
High Wide Shot:
In Big Sur California one always the feeling that we are along for a ride on a giant beautiful planet, but when you hang over the Pacific in the mineral bath at Esalen you can practically detect the curvature of the earth. Almost.
I wrote about the army psychiatrists in the section called Sacred Ground.
I was a strong proponent of Esalen and went several times during the short period of loathing superficial Hollywood people … myself included. The solution, drive up the majestic coast with the window open … I didn’t obsess about which whacky workshop to attend at the center because they were all sold out... like the Olympics!
My destiny was Musical Theater! lol Exactly the sort of performative expectation bullshit I had been trying to avoid.
The one-week program I took was conceived as a way to connect through song and performance.
Sing your song... of self-hate. I sang “Why must I be a teenager in love?” and magically hooked up with a nutty woman from Culver City. I returned a few years later and took a poetry workshop.
The truth is almost any kind of self-reflection is a good thing and the mineral baths at Esalen are healing but one can get unlucky. It can be very traumatizing to bump into someone you know in birthday suits.
Esalen's fresh garden, excellent healthy food, healing mineral baths and world class massage, make it well worth the trip. Being around individuals who are working on being themselves is rather healing. Four Stars!
Note: The Esselen are a Native American people belonging to a linguistic group in the hypothetical Hokan language family, who are Indigenous to the Santa Lucia Mountains of a region south of the Big Sur River in California.
(Eric Preven is a longtime community activist and is a contributor to CityWatch.)
