LA WATCHDOG

LA WATCHDOG - The opponents to the proposed development of the luxurious Bvlgari Hotel that is located in the environmentally sensitive hills of Benedict Canyon are mystified as to why the Planning Land Use Management (“PLUM”) Committee of the Los Angeles City Council has once again failed to act on a July 2021 motion that would stop this inappropriate development that is opposed by the surrounding neighborhood and numerous environmental groups. 

LA WATCHDOG - On December 8, 2021, Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Paul Krekorian submitted a motion (see below), seconded by City Council President Nury Martinez, instructing “the Chief Legislative Analyst ….

LA WATCHDOG - There is a saying in Los Angeles that nothing gets done at City Hall without a lawsuit or ballot measure.

LA WATCHDOG - Unions and other special interests have collected enough signatures to qualify four initiatives for the ballot. 

LA WATCHDOG - In March, the “City Council instructed the Department of Water and Power to prepare a Strategic Long Term Resource Plan that achieves 100% carbon-free energy by 2035, in a way that is equitable and has minimal adverse impact on Ratepayers.”  

LA WATCHDOG - The Department of Animal Services and its shelter system is in “crisis” according to a recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times. 

LA WATCHDOG - On June 10, the City Clerk certified that there were sufficient signatures for the SEIU-UHW sponsored Initiative Petition entitled Minimum Wage for Healthcare Employees Working at Healthcare Facilities* to qualify for the ballot. 

LA WATCHDOG - Carmel Partners, a multibillion dollar San Francisco based private equity firm specializing in multifamily real estate, has proposed to develop a 28 story residential tower with 290 units at 1050 South La Cienega Boulevard, just south of Olympic Boulevard.

LA WATCHDOG - In six years, the City of Los Angeles will be hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics. 

LA WATCHDOG - On November 6, 2018, 56% of the City’s voters rejected Charter Amendment B that would have allowed the City to establish a municipal bank. 

LA WATCHDOG - Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang certified that the City’s Assessed Valuation as of January 1 of its more than 793,000 real estate parcels increased by $50.7 billion (7%) to a record $774 billion. 

LA WATCHDOG - Councilman Paul Krekorian, the head of the Budget and Finance Committee, did not have a good week. 

LA WATCHDOG - Jade Enterprises is requesting incentive payments over the next 25 years of $63 million in connection with its development of a three star, 300 room hotel that will be located within a half mile of the Los Angeles Convention Center.  

LA WATCHDOG - In a rush to the ballot that did not include adequate planning, the ethically challenged Los Angeles City Council has placed the Parks and Recreational Facilities Parcel Tax on the November ballot.

LA WATCHDOG - Real estate developer Dae Young Lee (aka David Lee) was found guilty on June 27 by a jury of three federal criminal charges for his role in providing $500,000 in cash to then City Councilman Jose Huizar in exchange for his help in resolving an appeal by a group of construction trade unions of the permit for Lee’s 20 story residential development at 940 Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles.

LA WATCHDOG - In November, the City issued its Five Year Capital and Technology Improvement Program that outlined over 650 infrastructure projects with a project cost of $9.2 billion.

LA WATCHDOG - The FBI raided the offices and home of Councilman Jose Huizar over 3½ years ago, but nothing has been done to curb the corruption associated with the City’s land use policies.

LA WATCHDOG - Over the past year, the Department of Water and Power has considered asking the City Council to place three measures on the November 8^thballot. 

LA WATCHDOG - The City’s $11.76 Adopted Budget for the upcoming fiscal year (2022-23) is an improvement over the Mayor’s Proposed Budget because it has reduced its reliance on the City’s Reserve Fund. 

LA WATCHDOG - On March 26, Cynthia McClain-Hill, the President of the DWP Board of Commissioners, and Councilman Curren Price led the groundbreaking for the Senator Bill Greene Memorial Park at the corner of Figueroa and Slauson  

LA WATCHDOG - The City has three pension plans: the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System that covers the City’s civilian employees, the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension Plans, and the Water and Power Employees’ Retirement Plan.

LA WATCHDOG - Our Elected Elite are doing a conga line around City Hall, celebrating the approval of next year’s “balanced” budget (2022-23). 

LA WATCHDOG - The LA Watchdog’s Voters Guide for the June 7^th primary focuses on the local elections: the City, the County, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

LA WATCHDOG - Ron Galperin has earned our vote for State Controller because he has done an excellent job as the Controller for the City of Los Angeles. 

LA WATCHDOG - “The City Controller is the taxpayers' watchdog and the City's chief auditor and accountant.

LA WATCHDOG - The continuing drought has forced the Metropolitan Water District, the major source of water for the City of Los Angeles, to significantly reduce its allocation of water to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

LA WATCHDOG - The City’s General Fund revenues for the upcoming fiscal year are expected to be $7.4 billion, an increase of almost 9% over this year’s adopted budget. 

LA WATCHDOG - When Hydee Feldstein Soto told her friends that she was running to be our next City Attorney, they thought that she had lost her mind. 

LA WATCHDOG - In early March, the prospects for the City’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year (2022-23) were not promising.

LA WATCHDOG - On Wednesday, April 20, Mayor Eric Garcetti will submit his ninth and final budget to the City Council.