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Mayor Eric Garcetti's state of the city address, delivered last evening at the Valley Performing Arts Center at Cal State Northridge: Expanded Metro division and gang units and a new community policing division of the LAPD in response to rising crime, all without new officers. Allowing Uber and Lyft to pick up at LAX and pay the same fee as taxis. Taxing AirBnB rentals. 5,000 new trash cans on city streets. LAT, DN, KPCC
Sample:
Today, I am proud to report to you that our back-to-basics agenda is delivering results.
Los Angeles and your City Hall are roaring back, and the state of our city is strong.You can see it across Los Angeles -- from the cranes soaring over Downtown and Warner Center, to the new rail lines that are being laid on Crenshaw, and west to the Pacific.
You can see it in once-empty storefronts -- from Mar Vista to Highland Park-- filled with new businesses and new energy.
You can feel the difference.
But was anyone really listening, Times City Hall reporter Peter Jamison asks: "Garcetti's second State of the City speech Tuesday night had many of the trappings of a landmark address on public policy: an elegant setting on a university campus, a rapt crowd of reporters and guests handpicked from Los Angeles' political and business elite. One thing Garcetti might not have had is the attention of the people who elected him leader of America's second-largest city."
"This is a city in which people do not pay attention to City Hall as much as they do in, say, New York or Chicago," said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A.
How strongly will Hollywood's check writers back Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign? Hollywood support is reluctant in some quarters, writes Tina Daunt in the Hollywood Reporter. But in the LA Times, Company Town reports that Hollywood is "divided no longer" and quotes consultant Andy Spahn: "I've got an inbox full of people offering to hold events for Hillary."
Kate McKinnon's "genius Hillary impersonation." New Yorker
Politico will soon launch a morning Playbook newsletter for California, part of an expansion that includes Capital New York re-branding as Politico New York. Todd Purdum and Dylan Byers are based in LA for Politico. Capital NY
Ezra Klein, Nate Silver, Mike Allen and Ben Smith are the most influential political journalists on Twitter, according to a new survey from the social analytics firm StatSocial. The method attempts to judge "pull" and is influenced by the share of followers who are interested in politics. Arianna Huffington is fifth on the list. Michelle Malkin leads the sub-list of most influential among the audience on he right. Politico
Michael Soller, a former editor on the op-ed pages at the LA Times, was named communications director for the California Democratic Party.
Assemblywoman Patty Lopez, last fall's surprise winner from the Northeast Valley, is proving to be a slow learner in Sacramento amid pressure to resign and questions about whether she's really with the Democrats. LAT
Republican state Sen. Robert Huff of Diamond Bar and Assemblyman Scott Will of Santa Clarita are among the possible candidates for the Mike Antonovich seat on the Board of Supervisors, as is the City Council's only Republican, Mitchell Englander. LAT
Hermosa Beach City Councilwoman Nanette Barragan says she will run in the race to succeed Rep. Janice Hahn, who is running for a Supervisors seat. LAT
In the 4th City Council district runoff, David Ryu took aim Tuesday at what he called "secret slush funds" for Councilman Tom LaBonge, vowing that if elected he would seek reforms in how council discretionary money is spent. Carolyn Ramsay's campaign called it "another gimmick from David Ryu." LAT
The "usual suspects" have written checks to help retire City Councilman Paul Krekorian's debt from an earlier race, says columnist Doug McIntrye: "In the radio business it’s called payola. In politics, it’s called civic involvement." DN
in liberal Los Angeles, people tend to vote by race, says a writer for the LA Weekly: Can millennials change that? LAW
The Los Angeles City Council voted formally on Tuesday to rename the third floor press room at City Hall the Rick Orlov Memorial Media Center. DN
The Los Angeles Unified school board Tuesday unanimously voted to support state legislation that eliminates parent choice when it comes to vaccinations. DN
The board also voted to open its first two all-girls schools in the fall. LAT
A mixed bag of "reason, outrage, begging and accusations" rang through the Pasadena Convention Center Tuesday at the second public hearing on closing a 4.5-mile 710 Freeway gap. DN
Runyon Canyon's hiking area could be the site of a nearly 3,000-foot-long zip line if a pair of backers have their way. LA Weekly
The presidential campaign trail as social circle for the reporters?
Pretty disappointed I did not see a single #CampaignFashionReport from Iowa 2day. You all were supposed to help while I'm on maternity leave
— Maeve Reston (@MaeveReston) April 14, 2015