Archive: Cities

Jim Dear, the former mayor, walked out of last night's city council meeting after an "incoherent rant" that included a "Lord of the Flies" reference.

Eric Garcetti's deputy mayor for budget and innovation is a veteran local city official who formerly was mayor of Pasadena and the top staffer in Ventura.

Units that are really just vacation rental businesses will no longer be allowed to take in paying guests unless the resident is there too.

Sure, it's a whole city, but Inglewood is on the rise. So it counts.

Charles Belk was at an Emmy event in Beverly Hills when he went out to feed his meter. He was stopped by police, cuffed and taken away as a bank robbery suspect. He says its about walking while black and his Facebook post has gone huge.

After taking two weeks to arrive at a mixed bag of verdicts and undecided charges, one of the jurors has asked the judge if he or she can change their mind about Wednesday's guilty verdicts. (No, said Judge Kathleen Kennedy.) The judge ordered the jury to keep trying today to resolve dozens of pending charges, but it has not been going smoothly.

There hasn't been a stormier career lately in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department than that of Paul Tanaka. Today the department announced that Tanaka will step down as the number two sheriff's official and retire on August 1. He was reelected Tuesday to a third term as mayor of Gardena.

A judge issued a bench warrant today for former city of San Fernando mayor Mario Hernandez, who failed to show up and testify at the trial of his ex-girlfriend, the former San Fernando City Councilwoman Maribel De La Torre.

Residents in the city of San Fernando could not stop their J.C. Penney store from closing over the weekend. But they did manage to stop the dismantling of the store's long-time neon sign.

The Beverly Hills Police Department has opened its photo and case files to the authors of the newest book from Angel City Press — "Beverly Hills Confidential: A Century of Stars, Scandals and Murders." It's what it sounds like, only authorized.

Another former member of the Cudahy City Council, Osvaldo Conde, has agreed to plead guilty to federal extortion and bribery charges. He joins the former mayor, David Silva, and another official who formally agreed last week to plead guilty to federal charges.

Mario Hernandez, who resigned last week as a San Fernando City Councilman, said the DA's charges against Councilwoman (and ex-girlfriend) Maribel De La Torre over a violent argument should be dropped. He also said that he only filed for a restraining order against De La Torre at the urging of a biased San Fernando police sergeant who was motivated by revenge.

San Fernando city council member Maribel de la Torre was booked Friday on misdemeanor charges of vandalism and battery in connection with her stormy visit on June 28 to the home of her ex-lover and fellow city council member, Mario Hernandez. De Le Torre was released without bail, but she was fingerprinted.

The red-handed bribery in support of a marijuana store is bad enough. But it's the other corruption, including vote tampering, that's really chilling.

The city council of San Bernardino voted today to seek bankruptcy protection after being told the city faces a $45 million deficit and might not be able to make payroll next month.

Mario Hernandez, the elected and married San Fernando city council member who either was the victim of an assault by his estranged girlfriend — or the perpetrator — or both! — resigned from office before tonight's council meeting. While he didn't show his face at the meeting, his ex-girlfriend did.

The small but curiously interesting city of San Fernando has slid one more step into the bizarro world. Both of the City Council members who last year were reveled to be dating sought and received temporary restraining orders against the other, citing a violent argument over a disputed iPad.

Eric T. Fresch, the city of Vernon's attorney and top administrator during many of the years that have been under investigation lately for financial improprieties, was found dead by rangers last night on the shoreline of Angel Island State Park in San Francisco Bay. He had been dodging a state subpoena to talk about the city's finances.

It's the southeast cities corruption story du jour, I guess. The feds say that Santa Fe Springs city councilman Joseph Serrano Sr., who is 62, agreed to plead guilty to a bribery count that was filed in U.S. District County in Los Angeles this morning. Fascinating reading, actually.

The mayor of Cudahy, David Silva, and two other officials in the small southeast LA county municipality were indicted by the feds on charges of soliciting and accepting $17,000 in bribes for help to open a medical marijuana shop, the LA Times reports.

The City Council of Pomona tabled for a week its consideration of a budget plan that would close the city's only public library. The delay gave David Allen, the columnist for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the opening he needed to apply for a library card.

What was mostly at stake today was where to put the Century City station — the MTA board stayed with Constellation Avenue and Avenue of the Stars, inside the development.

The Pasadena Police Department and San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District flew over El Monte and Duarte on Tuesday and identified 21 dirty, abandoned or improperly drained swimming pools that could provide breeding environments for Asian tiger mosquitoes. San Gabriel Valley Tribune photographer Walt Mancini rode along.

Memorial Day will be extra special in the city of West Hollywood. The city that almost makes sport of ticketing parking violators will go easy on some of its citizens for the holiday.

Santa Monica's city hall and the Ocean Avenue landmark Chez Jay are not playing well together. The city is developing the parcel around Chez Jay into a park and wants a restaurant that will point inward to the park — not out to the street — and will serve healthier fare than the steaks and stuff drinks that Chez Jay's current patrons like.

The city bills the new parking meters as smarter and cooler. For drivers, though, they foretell some expensive lessons in how you can't cheat technology. Get ready for more tickets.

Prosecutors allege that former Glendale city councilman John Drayman embezzled between $304,000 and $880,000 from the weekly farmers market in Montrose, and filed false tax returns that did not reflect his true income.

The acting police chief in the city of San Fernando has been placed on administrative leave during an investigation into an allegation that he fixed a traffic ticket for Fred Flores, an aide to Rep. Howard Berman

San Fernando Mayor Mario Hernandez is expected to face a crowd calling for his resignation at next week's City Council meeting, but his girlfriend will be in Israel.

Image consultants hired by the city of Glendale reported back this week after a year of marketing research. Bad news.

Are any of the small cities in Los Angeles County not havens of crazy or worse?

Noah Margo, a write-in candidate for the Beverly Hills school board, has a family musical legacy.

Major turnover tonight in the tiny, anachronistic city of Vernon, population 112.

The new library at San Vicente and Melrose was dedicated with a big celebration on Saturday, leading into Sunday's West Hollywood Book Fair. The WeHo city council will meet from...

The Huntington Beach home of indicted former Bell official Robert Rizzo hit the multiple listings database last week.

ruce Malkenhorst Sr., at one time California's highest-paid public official — while employed by one of the state's least populated cities — pleaded guilty today to a charge of misappropriating public funds.

Pomona had apparently gotten used to being the fifth most populous city in Los Angeles County. Falling behind Palmdale and Lancaster hurts.

A Notice of Intent to Circulate a Petition that would make most circumcision a misdemeanor was filed with the city of Santa Monica this week.

Images from a new book, "The Ruins of Detroit,“ by French photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre.

Long Beach doesn't get a lot of respect around LA Observed, or around Los Angeles generally. It fell to 7th among California cities.

A new book on the importance of world-class airports suggests that Los Angeles is being passed over in global commerce due to LAX.

Robert Rizzo leaves on a gurney, Lindsay Lohan walks away but is told that she faces jail time if convicted or if she pleads out.

Rizzo brought too much heat for obscure Orange County museum.

Instant classic Steve Lopez column in tomorrow's L.A. Times. A tipster dropped me a line the other day to say she'd spotted an infamous former public official in Huntington Beach,...

This brings Robert Rizzo, the former city administrative officer in Bell, to 55 felony charges, mostly of misappropriation of public funds.

According to his lawyer, former Bell official Robert Rizzo is due payments from the city of Bell in a negotiated deal that led to his resignation this summer. He also wants the city to pay his legal bills.

NPR media reporter David Folkenflik devoted six minutes to the Los Angeles Times reporting on Bell and the related media coverage issues in a piece for Weekend Edition.

That's down from the $3.2 million originally set for ex-Bell city manager Robert Rizzo.

Arraignment is coming up for the eight current and former city of Bell officials who were arrested yesterday. "LA courtroom hallway jammed with friends, family, lawyers, bail bonds men, activists...

In Pomona, "even a feel-good wedding story turns out to be nuts."

Author and thoughtful Los Angeles observer D.J. Waldie is leaving his longtime day job with the city of Lakewood, his home town, at the end of the month.

The L.A. Times has rightfully been receiving a lot of credit for its disclosures of the corruption in the city of Bell (and probably too little criticism for enabling the...

How Bell's city hall and the police department tried to quash dissent by residents who wondered where all the money went.

It turns out that the property tax add-ons levied by the City of Bell have its residents paying a higher rate than in any local city but Industry.

My KCRW column this evening gives kudos to the Los Angeles Times for its city of Bell reportage, but also notes that high salaries there were possible in large part because the Times stopped covering small cities like Bell over the last decade or so. Plus media notes.

Tonight on WWLA, Warren Olney talks to Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk about last week's decision to build electric vehicles at the former NUMMI factory in Fremont — and not in Downey or Long Beach. Downey City Councilmember Mario Guerra and John O'Dell, Senior Editor of Edmunds' GreenCarAdvisor.com, are also on.

Each year around this time, the state's Department of Finance estimates the population for California and every city. Selected tidbits from the report.

The little shop on Huntley Drive where you or someone you know probably lined up for tart yogurt-like icy stuff — and possibly earned a parking ticket or two —...

It's not quite the return of Will Rogers, but when Jimmy Delshad rotates into the office of mayor tomorrow he will become the country's highest-ranking Iranian-American public official. Again.

The Patch approach of hyper-local news hubs debuted today on the West Coast with the unveiling of a site in the South Bay.

District Weekly writer Steve Lowery grew up in Downey and revisits the home turf for a piece pegged to the city apparently beating out much-bigger Long Beach for the new Tesla electric car plant. Or is Downey toxic central?

The Inglewood Fox, closed since the 1980s, is up for sale with bids due on Friday.

Genser, in his third stint as mayor over 21 years on the Santa Monica City Council, had been ill since October and died on Saturday.

Residents of Santa Monica have been warned to expect low-flying military helicopters over the city during the lunch rush on Tuesday. It may look and sound like a war zone,...

The city of Burbank wants Debra Wong Yang, the Los Angeles police commissioner and former U.S. Attorney here, to help clean up whatever ails the Burbank Police Department. KPCC...

Tesla Motors will build its Model S, four-door, all-electric sedan in the city of Downey, the mayor there told the District Weekly....

I have no idea what is really going on at the Burbank police department, only that things seem pretty messed up. This afternoon, Chief Tim Stehr announced he would retire,...

The little West Hollywood Halloween strut along Santa Monica Boulevard has grown up. "What began as a primarily gay and lesbian event," says the official website, is now calling itself...

Talk about a story that's going nowhere fast (the above video is from 2007 and not much has happened since). As the FAA and the city of Santa Monica...

Self-described Glendale City Council gadfly Barry Allen will accept $100 checks asking him to continue his watchdog activities — or $100 to leave town. More at Jewel City Juice, the...

Another lawsuit has been filed against the city of Burbank by officers (or former officers) in the city's police department. This is the second suit alone by former detective Christopher...

An unidentified man was shot dead in his black Lexus about 11 a.m. today in the parking lot of Allstate Insurance in Glendale. Police were searching for a man who...

Steve Greenberg is traveling this week to the annual convention of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. While he's gone, we'll post some previously unpublished work. This one was...

You can now search the websites of Los Angeles County and all of the cities in the county simultaneously, using this custom Google search by Matthew Barrett of the MTA's...

Last week's news about the likely redevelopment of Hollywood Park in Inglewood got the attention of LA Sketchbook's Steve Greenberg. Click the cartoon to view it bigger. More by...

The Carson city council spent a chunk of its meeting last night talking about Lyndon LaRouche's "Homeowners and Bank Protection Act of 2007." The item was on the agenda at...

West Hollywood mayor Jeffrey Prang announced the death of the city's long-serving councilman, and one of the oldest elected officials in the state. From Prang's statement: He died peacefully this...

A web-only, video-rich feature at Newsweek's site says the city of Compton "has a new lease on life" after shedding its image as the region's murder capital. Excerpt: The community...

Jennifer McLain at the LANG papers in the SGV has pulled together the retiree medical costs facing 24 cities and finds this year's $11 million tab is due to rise...

An especially persnickety bunch of Escondido Canyon residents has won the fight to change the name of DeButts Terrace because, as Veronique de Turenne says at Here in Malibu, they...

Good column in today's L.A. Daily Journal (by former editor Martin Berg) about a storefront law office on East Compton Boulevard run by Luz Herrera. She's just your typical Tijuana-born,...

Residents of Culver City got robocalls on their home phones informing them that the city would be patrolled today by Santa Monica police, while Culver City police attended services for...

Poking around on a project I came across the state's latest population estimates for the 88 cities in Los Angeles County. Good to be reminded that most of the county's...

All five members of the Temple City city council and the city manager testified before the Los Angeles County grand jury this week in a probe into allegations by a...

South El Monte mayor Blanca Figueroa has been given an 11 p.m. curfew. She's been known to stay in her office at city hall deep into the pre-dawn hours, but...

Former LA Weekly writer Matthew Fleischer, now a senior editor at CityBeat, debuts in the paper with a piece on the city of Maywood and its controversial mayor, Felipe Aguirre,...

The city council of Bell Gardens has hired itself a new city manager — and it's Steve Simonian, the former chief of investigations for District Attorney Steve Cooley. What's intriguing...

Rick Cole, the city manager of coastal Ventura, Calif., writes a blog essay at New Geography comparing his current locale to Azusa, the San Gabriel foothills city where he used...

This monument — or is it art, a distraction, a ritual site? — is beside the Pomona Freeway at the Paramount exit in Montebello. See the whole scene at LA...

Gene Maddaus reports in the Daily Breeze that ties to Supervisor Yvonne Burke led to the Peace & Joy battered women's shelter in Carson being allowed to operate despite filth,...

Roosevelt Dorn is expected to be charged in connection with a low-income housing loan he reportedly received from the city of Inglewood, according to the Los Angeles Wave and contributing...

Oscar Medrano Jr., 47, was picked up by sheriff's deputies at his Gardena jewelry store on suspicion of molesting a 14-year-old girl. No charges filed as yet. Worth noting, I...

In a piece about how San Francisco's Castro district won't be the place for dressing up like Larry Craig tonight, the New York Times says gay enclaves are becoming less...