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ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Why should someone ready, willing, and able be barred from participating remotely? They shouldn’t. Yet, instead of asking this basic question, the Los Angeles City Council spiraled into another round of procedural nonsense on Wednesday.
Marqueece Harris-Dawson, without a vote, snuffed out public participation and killed remote comment while the county—just up the street—enshrines phone-in access as a right. The city pretends it has better things to do than let people speak from where they are.
Nike’s Super Bowl Statement: “You Can’t? Watch Us.”
Nike’s first Super Bowl ad in 27 years wasn’t just a commercial—it was a challenge. Featuring Caitlin Clark, JuJu Watkins, A’ja Wilson, Sha’Carri Richardson, and more, with narration by Grammy-winner Doechii, the spot flipped every limit ever placed on women in sports.
You can’t be confident. So be confident.
You can’t dominate. So dominate.
You can’t fill a stadium. So fill that stadium.
You can’t break records. So break them.
You can’t win… so WIN.
Nike didn’t just sell sneakers—they dared women to defy expectations.
Don’t sing. Sing.
Stacy Segarra Bollinger rewrote 'Viva La Vida' as a tribute to the lost right of remote comment, performed it live—and now? Scrubbed from the transcript. The key lyric?
"Anyone in this body could / Call a point of order and you should too / Ask the president to reinstate / Telephone comment."
No one did. Shameful.
Clever... shaming of pathetic leadership.
Procedural Nonsense Over Substance
Instead, the council wasted time bickering over a minor amendment (Item 8A, a fire station bond data fix). Monica Rodriguez and Traci Park and Tim McOsker pushed, but the rest insisted on delay. A 10-5 vote to punt proved once again: Process over people. The agenda is to put a bond before the people as soon as possible... which means 'mo money. Sigh.
Sad song... moving to Rules Committee.
A Council Afraid of Its Own Public
Without critics, the council gets away with various labeling accountability “shenanigans.” The county and the Five Little Queens have phone-in access built into their DNA, despite Lindsey Horvath's efforts to continue the Sheila Kuehl era of silencing. The city is committed to building any barriers it can. The result?
- Public comment is dominated by NGO reps reading scripted talking points.
- Spontaneous, independent voices? Erased.
Lighting a New Fire
If Stacy Segarra Bollinger, carries the torch for public access. Harris-Dawson is becoming a meme for blowing it out.
A reader suggested selling Eric Preven candles to mark the occasion. In a city where public participation is being systematically extinguished, a little light is needed now more than ever.
Leaning in the house of liening.
Diverse public participation.
County Tue Step: County Board Meeting + Budget Hearing.
Round 1: Trying to Follow the Money
Smart Speaker: Item 19 looked like it was part of the budget hearing—so how much time for Item 19? Seven major departments, including:
- Natural History Museum & LACMA: Do a better job making everything free.
- Beaches & Harbors: Rolling in rising revenue, so if Supervisor Mitchell’s priority mountain needs a leg up—why not from the sweetheart lessees soaking up all that county rent?
Looking ahead, toward new agenda items. What's up with the $1.3M sheriff Taser lawsuit? We'll stipulate that the County, Ridley-Thomas, and the City all love Tasers, but they are costly killers—and Axon the parent co. still owes the City $7M after their “Year One Free” promo, was never delivered by Englander, Krekorian, and Blumenfield.
(What about President Marqueece Harris-Dawson? Couldn’t care less. Shameful.)
Round 2: Seven Items, Ninety Seconds.
Smart Speaker: First of all: The $250 billion regional impact from the Fires—how was that calculated? Love to see the math.
Then, our glamorous AAA bond rating—one of the best in the world—yet Gary Jones of Beaches & Harbors still needs five new waste management staff just to keep the restrooms functional. Seems problematic. (Though, Jones isspectacular.)
Before him, Santos Kreimann—silver-tongued, chip off the old Gloria Molina & Bill Fujioka block. He and his crew went right down to the rebar and turned Marina del Rey into a productive seaside cash register.
Meanwhile, Richard Volpert—legal mastermind—also locked in the Natural History Museum’s $1M annual structural increase. But is that money funding actual public benefit or just a web of invisible academics?
Holly Mitchell wants to be absolutely sure...
Then there’s Child Support Services—a billion-dollar machine that drains parents dry while preaching equity. Somehow, it’s always working men who get screwed.
Veterans Affairs: Smart move, reaching out to philanthropy. And hosting weddings? Sure, why not?
Weights & Measures: What a year. Nate Bargatze and the Washington Sketch?
Wet-your-pants funny.
You know—the dozen. "Do we have a word for other amounts?" “No. Don’t need one.”
Final Thought: If it’s in Exposition Park, it should be free. That includes the Natural History Museum, and yes, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
Looking at you, Solis, Mitchell, Horvath, Hahn, and Madame Chair!
County Fire – Budget, Bureaucracy & Bloat
Fire Dept: The Ask?
The Fire Chief, pragmatic as ever, wants $1.7B, mostly from property taxes. That buys: $1.8M for 12 positions, $7.2M for operations, $6.6M for OT, $2M for legal payouts, and $127M for helicopters. Meanwhile, 911 calls are up 15% in five years as service gaps push residents straight to paramedics.
Olympics? Disaster Readiness?
Fires don’t care about property tax fluctuations. Two Sikorsky and two more aircraft are needed—$127M. Seismic retrofits? Measure E’s $152M (starting next year) should help.
Revenue Fixes? Not Anytime Soon.
Negotiating better contracts could add $37M… in 2028. Meanwhile, 399 employees on home leave = OT bloat.Cutting that down might help, but let’s be real: fire season is now year-round.
Lifeguards & Infrastructure:
- $72M total budget, mostly General Fund.
- $6M is needed for Baywatch station replacement, 80 paddleboards, and more paramedic units.
Aircraft: Lease or Buy?
We lease Quebec’s Super Scoopers—a county classic—but nine helicopters are currently down. CH-47 Chinooks (SoCal Edison-funded, $31M for flight time) help, but we’re still behind.
Solutions?
Solis wants reentry workers on the fire line. Judge Armstead’s camps-to-careers program is in motion.
Liability & Risk Management:
With lawsuits piling up, employee training and risk management need to be top priorities.
DCBA: More Work, Less Money
$76M, 186 positions to cover economic justice, consumer protections, and cracking down on bad actors. However unlicensed, uninsured businesses still operate freely.
Needs vs. Reality:
- Rent Stabilization: 8 positions.
- Community Centers: 2 positions.
- Immigrant Affairs: Every public speaker today demanded more staff.
- Eviction Prevention: $7.4M short for Stay Housed LA.
- Legal Aid: Self-help centers = vital, but underfunded.
- Cannabis Regulation: Illicit market thrives, bridge funding needed.
- Field Staff & Overtime: 12-17% out in the field, stretched thin.
Solis: Frustrated, But Committed
DCBA grew from 67 staff to 186, thanks to federal funding—but those dollars are drying up.
Represent LA: The Yearly Battle
Legal aid for immigrants? 5,000 served, 600 with assigned attorneys. But funding was extended only to April.
Bottom Line:
DCBA does far more than the City of LA, but without stable funding, eviction prevention, legal aid, and enforcement are wishful thinking. Meanwhile, $50M in limbo, and immigrant services dominate the debate.
Aging: Barely Holding It Together
$225M, 595 positions, 68% federally funded—meaning it could vanish overnight.
Key Issues & Needs:
- Community Centers: Need generators for power outages.
- Senior Services Gap: Altadena Senior Center was destroyed.
- Wellness Calls: 11,000+ calls made to keep seniors connected.
- Library Partnership: Filling the senior center gap.
- APS (Adult Protective Services): 5,000-6,000 abuse and neglect cases/month. Staff cuts threaten services.
Solis & Mitchell: Warning Signs
Solis: "Hard times, friendship, camaraderie."
Mitchell: "If Older Americans Act funding disappears, so do critical services."
Bottom Line:
Seniors need more resources, but funding is shrinking. If federal money dries up, thousands are left without a safety net.
Animal Control: Creepy Pricing Alert
Volunteer vets = amazing. But $500 a dose for anything, even with foundation money? That needs scrutiny. Sounds like a pharmaceutical shakedown.
Medical Examiner: The Forgotten Dead
We used to have a Coroner. Now, we have a barely-credited Medical Examiner, building a shiny new office while the actual dead fade into bureaucratic oblivion.
If Supervisor Hahn wants to honor forgotten county residents, she should put her name on the new building and call it what it is:
"The J. Hahn Hall of Forgotten County Residents."
After all, yeoman duty deserves recognition. Annually.
HR: Too Many Layers, Too Many Meetings
595 staff to guide departments that already have HR? Classic county bloat.
Hiring Innovations or Headaches?
- Unproctored testing: Fast, but merit-obsessed climate says nope.
- Proctored testing: Now with webcam surveillance.
- Situational judgment & "lived experience" testing: JCOD-backed, values-driven.
- Emergency hiring: Touted as a diversity booster, but should be skill-based.
- Separate branch to speed up hiring: Because hiring moves at a glacial pace.
Horvath’s Take:
"If it doesn’t have a staff person, it’s not a priority."
Translation: If you want something done, throw a body at it.
Wellness—A Priority (Sort Of)
- Wellness fairs galore: Physical, mental, financial, social, and emotional.
- Important, but buried in Tier 3.
Bottom Line:
HR remains bloated, hiring remains slow, and layers remain layered.
Construction Crisis: No Workers, No Wildfire Recovery
LA County’s construction workforce: 150,800, just 2% below peak.
Translation: No surplus labor.
- Wildfire recovery needs 10,000+ homes rebuilt + infrastructure.
- Higher costs, longer delays, and pulling workers off existing projects.
According to the Orange County Register, SoCal’s construction sector is at 98% of peak staffing. Without a real plan—fast-tracking permits, importing labor, maybe even gasp paying workers more—recovery efforts will stall before they start.
Davenport will think this through.
President Harris-Dawson and Trump’s Plight: “Why Won’t Anyone Stand Up to Me?”
The King and I (1951, Rodgers & Hammerstein) tells the story of a ruler frustrated by his people's blind obedience—a theme that feels eerily relevant today. The song "A Puzzlement" captures his inner conflict, as absolute power meets weak-kneed submission.
For those feeling déjà vu watching Harris-Dawson’s council reign or Trump’s MAGA loyalists, these lyrics say it all:
Playing the part of a toad?
Crawling around on your elbows and knees,
Eating the dust in the road!
Toads! Toads! All of your people are toads!
Yes, Your Majesty! No, Your Majesty!
Tell us how low to go, Your Majesty!
Make some more decrees, Your Majesty!
Don’t let us up off our knees, Your Majesty!
Give us a kick, if it please Your Majesty!
Give us a kick, if you would, Your Majesty!
Oh! That was good, Your Majesty!
Some things never change.
(Eric Preven is a Studio City-based TV writer-producer, award-winning journalist, and longtime community activist who won two landmark open government cases in California.)
