L.A. Times reporter covering Los Angeles City Hall and other L.A.-related things. Ex-L.A. Weekly, Ex-Daily Breeze, ex cetera
Los Angeles, CA
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Inbox: The LAPD union weighed in this afternoon on allegations that police officers circulated a mock Valentine photo of George Floyd with the caption “You take my breath away”
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'Why would KTLA remove a popular anchor one day after she revealed that the President of the United States made a sexual overture towards her?' writes @MollyJongFast thedailybeast.com/was-this-e…
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L.A. County's vaccine system is, in many ways, a young person’s game, requiring tech savvy, reliable transportation and even physical stamina to obtain a coveted shot, writes @whereishayley. That leaves some of the most vulnerable seniors at a disadvantage latimes.com/california/story…
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The L.A. City Council just voted to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day as a municipal holiday
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Protest organizers have intentionally focused on some of L.A.’s most upscale retail areas, writes @AngelJennings. “We want to go to places of white affluence so that the pain and outrage that we feel can be put right in their faces” latimes.com/california/story…
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Urban planner Nithya Raman leads Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu in L.A.'s Silver Lake-to-Sherman Oaks district, 53.1% to Ryu's 46.8%
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Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz: "I am shocked and appalled by the jaw-droppingly terrible statements and behavior of Council President Nury Martinez."
"I think she should resign for the good of the city," he said.
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The Los Angeles City Council just voted 11 to 3 to prohibit homeless encampments near schools and daycare centers, following a raucous meeting where protesters blasted the new restrictions as inhumane
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L.A. Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell formally conceded this afternoon, confirming he has lost to labor organizer Hugo Soto-Martinez in the race to represent Hollywood, Echo Park, etc
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LAPD union official, speaking at press conference, just said that Mayor Eric Garcetti "panicked" this week and blamed police officers for his "failed leadership." The union official also pointed out that LAPD officers guard the mayor's home
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In California, Latinos ages 20 to 54 have died from COVID-19 at a rate more than eight times higher than white people of the same age, according to one USC study. Many died before vaccines were widely available, writes @r_valejandra latimes.com/california/story…
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Acting L.A. City Council President Mitch O’Farrell just said he is removing Councilmen Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo from various committee assignments -- budget, homelessness, etc
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L.A. Councilman David Ryu has conceded in his race for re-election against urban planner Nithya Raman. An excerpt:
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INBOX: The group that had been hoping to recall Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman has halted its signature gathering drive, saying it isn't capable of collecting enough by the Nov. 4 deadline
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The women in MacArthur Park were paying MS-13 gang members a weekly fee, or “taxes,” in exchange for the right to be left alone, @MatthewOrmseth & @melissamh_ report. So were area street vendors, shopkeepers, drug dealers and others latimes.com/california/story…
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INCOMING: The Feds have just announced the filing of corruption charges against former L.A. Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan, who handled economic development for Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2016 and 2017
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There was that wonderful moment at the LA Weekly when Jonathan Gold, his shirt soaking wet from champagne, drank from that huge glass while celebrating a Pulitzer with his wife (and editor in chief) @Laurie_Ochoa. So much happiness on that day laweekly.com/restaurants/jon…
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L.A. turned the Mayfair Hotel into temporary homeless housing for two years as part of Project Roomkey. Since then, the city has quietly paid the hotel $11.5 million to resolve claims of extensive damage incurred during that program latimes.com/california/story…
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"Eric, do you really believe that Los Angeles police officers are killers?" LAPPL board member Jamie McBride said. "The same officers that provide you 24-hour security at your residence 365 days a year?"
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Gloria Molina, the first Latina elected to the board, said that when she joined in 1991, it was fraught with sexism and subtle racism. When she challenged one decision, a male supervisor said Molina was upset and “having hot flashes” latimes.com/california/story… @jaclyncosgrove
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Just to catch folks up: I asked Zach Seidl, spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass, if Fire Chief Kristin Crowley was fired. He said no. I asked if she has resigned. Seidl said no. I asked if she's still fire chief. He said yes.
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On an 8-4 vote, the L.A. City Council passed a law allowing police to arrest anyone who possesses a catalytic converter that's not connected to a vehicle -- and fails to show a receipt or other identifying information about the coveted car part latimes.com/california/story…
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“We don’t even see any businesspeople anymore," one Metro train operator told @racheluranga. "We don’t see anybody going to Universal. It’s just people who have no other choice [than] to ride the system, homeless people and drug users” latimes.com/california/story…
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Judge David O. Carter said the city & county must find single women and unaccompanied children on skid row a place to stay within 90 days, families within 120 days and provide every homeless person on skid row housing or shelter by Oct. 18 latimes.com/homeless-housing… @boreskes
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One expert called the state’s rejection of L.A.'s housing plan "politically bonkers," warning it could ultimately backfire. Lumping in L.A. with cities that are trying to evade the law could delegitimize the housing agency's actions, he said latimes.com/homeless-housing… w/@dillonliam
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Eight months after declining to take up a proposed anti-camping law, L.A. council members are fast tracking a new set of rules to restrict homeless camping near schools, parks, libraries and homeless shelters latimes.com/california/story… w/@boreskes
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One more: LAPD union rep said he's not "joking around" about notion that union officials are concerned about the mayor's mental health. "I think he should seek some help and maybe have somebody to talk to -- a counselor or something -- and reflect on some of his decisions"
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The L.A. City Council's Budget & Finance Committee just voted to recommend more than $133 million in cuts to the LAPD. It was a 4 to 1 vote, with Councilman Curren Price opposed
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Concerned about crowds, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti has announced the suspension of farmers' markets until they have submitted plans for social distancing
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NEW: L.A. City Clerk Holly Wolcott said she has notified the group seeking to recall Councilman Mike Bonin that its petitions were found by her office to be "insufficient" -- lacking the valid signatures to qualify for the ballot
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More McBride: "The same officers that came ... to your political rescue when crime was out of control, when shootings were exploding? The same officers you sent to address your failure to get homelessness under control? I don't think so, Eric."
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L.A. Councilman Mike Bonin responded to Buscaino on the arrest of an arson suspect in the Palisades fire. Bonin criticized Buscaino for highlighting the fact that the suspect is homeless, saying arson is "committed by an individual, and not by a person’s housing status"
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I asked Koretz if he thinks she should resign as president or resign from the council. "Both," he said
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Yaroslavsky said the first-place showing by Nithya Raman was a "political earthquake" -- and would have consequences for candidates in 2022. “Anybody at City Hall who doesn’t recognize the significance of this election," he said, "is making a mistake” latimes.com/california/story…
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The backstory latimes.com/california/story…
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So the scorecard is now Nury Martinez, resigned; Mark Ridley-Thomas, suspended and facing trial; Jose Huizar, indicted and heading to trial (he left in 2020); Mitchell Englander, convicted in an obstruction case (he left in 2018) latimes.com/california/story…
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Rep. Karen Bass, who was endorsed by Councilwoman Nury Martinez in her bid for L.A. mayor, said this afternoon that all four people on the recording should "resign from their offices immediately"
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In the wake of the City Hall recording scandal, council members issued calls today for a 2024 ballot measure to increase the size of the council, an independent redistricting commission in 2031 and a new reform committee to increase transparency and "limit corruption"
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A federal judge has sentenced former L.A. Councilman Mitchell Englander to 14 months in prison and imposed a $15,000 fine. The former councilman is the first figure to be sentenced in the sprawling corruption case into LA City Hall
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The Los Angeles City Council voted this morning to add 58 more anti-encampment zones to the city, over the opposition of homeless advocates from downtown, Venice and elsewhere. The vote was 11 to 2, with Mike Bonin and Nithya Raman opposed
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L.A. Councilman Kevin de León breaks his silence on his recorded convo with Council President Nury Martinez & crew, saying he "fell short of the expectations we set for our leaders"
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A jury just found real estate developer Dae Yong Lee guilty of bribery, fraud and obstruction of justice, in the first of three trials encompassing the federal government’s corruption case against former L.A. Councilman Jose Huizar.
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LA City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, acting as president, attempts to start the meeting and is immediately booed
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The L.A. City Council just voted 13 to 0 to approve DTLA 2040, the new community plan for downtown, which seeks to increase housing capacity by 100,000 housing units over the next 20 years
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The Los Angeles City Council just voted 11 to 3 to seek the repeal of L.A. County's proposed outdoor dining restrictions, which are scheduled to take effect Wednesday
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When a protester smashed the front window of the Whole Foods with a hammer, some screamed “Don’t do that! Please!” while others cheered latimes.com/california/story…
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L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian just told me he's interested in serving as council president, replacing Nury Martinez, who just resigned. He said he would offer "stable, experienced leadership" to lead the city through "this latest crisis"
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A plan for installing bus and bicycle lanes across the city has received enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. “We needed a nuclear option," said Michael Schneider, who heads the advocacy group Streets for All latimes.com/california/story… @racheluranga
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Big shift in the latest election tally this afternoon: labor organizer Hugo Soto-Martinez is now leading L.A. City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell in an Echo Park-Hollywood district
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The LAPD union delivered a broadside against Garcetti over his remarks Thursday in South L.A. “He smeared every single police officer in Los Angeles and across the nation by calling us killers," said one @LAPPL official latimes.com/california/story… w/@dakotacdsmith
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L.A. Councilman Kevin de León is accusing homeless activists of trying to persuade people to stay on the street. Activists say he is lying about volunteers who bring supplies to the city's neediest latimes.com/california/story…
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With L.A. facing a $600 million shortfall, city officials are ‘seriously contemplating’ laying off police officers, LAPD chief says latimes.com/california/story… w/@dakotacdsmith
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In leaked audio, L.A. council members make racially charged remarks, mock colleagues latimes.com/california/story… w/@sherlyholmes, @boreskes & @dakotacdsmith
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Seven Costco stores in L.A. County have reported clusters of COVID-19 cases, including one where 71 staffers tested positive for the virus and another that had 50, according to data from the Department of Public Health latimes.com/california/story…
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Turns out the LAT's old regime was good at monetizing content after all
You're the editor of the LA Times. You find out the CEO is an anti-Semite. Do you: a) confront him? b) assign an investigative reporter to expose him? Or c) use the information to get a $2.5M personal payout at a time the company is laying off journalists and closing bureaus?
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Councilman Joe Buscaino and City Atty. Mike Feuer, who were both at 4% in the February survey, are now at 1% and 2%, respectively. Meanwhile, community activist Gina Viola, who has called for the abolition of the LAPD, now shows 2% latimes.com/california/story… @boreskes
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The L.A. City Council just voted unanimously for Councilman Paul Krekorian to be the council's newest president. It was a 10 to 0 vote
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L.A. elected officials recently signed off on a plan to add nearly half a million homes over eight years. Now, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation wants a judge to torpedo that decision latimes.com/california/story…
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So this one is pretty incredible. Cardenas backed Nury Martinez in her first bid for City Council in 2013, and she inherited many of his staffers when he went to D.C.
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Political consultant Josh Androsky, who advised the campaigns of Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez, said L.A.’s left had its "biggest electoral victory ever” in the primary. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’ve never seen anything like this” latimes.com/california/story…
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Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas just told a group at the Palm restaurant that he will NOT run for mayor
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The L.A. Police Protective League -- the LAPD's rank-and-file officers' union -- is planning to spend nearly $2 million on campaign activities opposing Rep. Karen Bass for mayor, according to info added today to the city's Ethics Commission website
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With more than 100,000 votes tallied, L.A. city council candidate Nithya Raman has 52.5% of the vote, compared to 47.5% for Councilman David Ryu
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Melina Abdullah, from Black Lives Matter-LA, said more LAPD patrols are not the answer. “We have to recognize that if someone can be murdered in broad daylight in a bustling place like Grand Central Market and not be caught, that policing is not effective” latimes.com/california/story…
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The Los Angeles City Council just voted to draft a new anti-camping measure spelling out where the city will prohibit sleeping, sitting and storing property. The vote was 12 to 3, with council members Mike Bonin, Joe Buscaino and Nithya Raman opposed
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No one at L.A. City Hall was more essential to getting the project built than LA Councilman Herb Wesson, who voted to rezone the site, eliminate the height limit and strip out language requiring city-regulated affordable housing latimes.com/california/story… w/@AlpertReyes
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Legal Aid attorney Shayla Myers fears the Echo Park closure was not an isolated strategy. Singling out camps, flooding them with resources to house people temporarily & then barring people with fences, signs or policing is “incredibly dangerous,” she said latimes.com/california/story…
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Labor organizer Hugo Soto-Martinez now has an 8-point lead over Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, which spells big trouble for the incumbent this fall
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So far, the biggest delight of today's corruption probe filing is that we finally learn how L.A. Councilman Jose Huizar resolved his sexual harassment case back in 2014
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When L.A. cut $150 million from the police budget, it was a big, symbolic moment. But behind the scenes, the city ramped up its practice of 'overtime banking' --having officers work hundreds of thousands of hours but not paying them for years, even decades latimes.com/california/story…
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A tipster told the FBI that Secor moved back in with his mother, got rid of his cellphone and bragged that he wouldn't get caught for his involvement in the Capitol riot, per @LAcrimes latimes.com/california/story…
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"Your decision to not physically distance yourself may kill someone," Garcetti said
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city, after consulting with health officials, is halting group sports at its park and recreation facilities, including public golf courses. Parking lots near the beach will be closed to cut down on crowds
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In one ruling, a judge pointed out that AIDS Healthcare was attempting to block real estate projects that would add 2,096 homes during "an acknowledged housing crisis” latimes.com/california/story…
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About two-thirds of patients who have tested positive at hospitals run by L.A. County's Dept. of Health Services were admitted for something other than the coronavirus, one health official told the @latimes. That's starkly different from earlier surges latimes.com/california/story…
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I live on the assumption that almost everything in L.A. will be erased at some point, but the closure of Pacific Dining Car still took me aback latimes.com/food/story/2020-…
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One lawsuit, filed by oil company Warren Resources, says the city failed to do a proper environmental study of the effects of halting oil extraction, per @dakotacdsmith latimes.com/california/story…
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Like many in L.A. who are fatally shot, Arroyos was of this city, a young man of color who had potential and a life to live, only to have it snatched away. Story by @kevrector, @campadrenews, @LAcrimes & @LAJourno latimes.com/california/story…
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Urban planner Nithya Raman and County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas are scheduled to take their seats on the City Council on Dec. 14 latimes.com/california/story…
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The LA City Council just voted 11 to 1, with Councilman Mike Bonin opposed, to move forward with furloughs for more than 15,000 civilian city employees
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“I personally find it appalling that the personnel of a department charged with public safety would willfully, intentionally and brazenly endanger the lives of those who they have taken an oath to protect,” said Police Commission President William Briggs latimes.com/california/story… .
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Everything is so terrible I almost cried reading this
We live in different places, but families are always together in our hearts. ♥️ I had so much fun spending time with my cousin @soy_abelardo this weekend! #ThisIsMyStreet
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The Los Angeles City Council rejected a proposal this afternoon to remove LAPD employees -- sworn or civilian -- from even being considered for possible layoffs during the ongoing budget crisis. The proposal failed on an 11 to 4 vote
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Los Angeles will convert dozens of recreation centers into temporary shelters for homeless residents, providing 6,000 new beds in an effort aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus latimes.com/homeless-housing…
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Real estate developer Samuel Leung pleaded guilty today to felony conspiracy to commit campaign money laundering, admitting his role in a scheme that benefited L.A.-area politicians between 2009 and 2015
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“What we’re seeing already is that the big bad wolf huffed and he puffed and he blew $40 million and he still couldn’t take Karen Bass down,” said L.A. City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, a Bass supporter latimes.com/california/story… @RaineyTime, @boreskes & @sherlyholmes
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“We have suspended all Google ad placements while we review and make sure that they are going to the places we want them to go to,” the spokesman said. “We had no intention of having an ad placed on that site” latimes.com/california/story…
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L.A. City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez called this week for the city’s policy analysts to determine whether the council has the power to require that every police officer assigned to council meetings be unarmed latimes.com/california/story…
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If approved by the city, the project called 4th and Central would include 10 buildings and feature a 42-story residential tower, with 949 apartments and 572 condominiums, writes @rogervincent latimes.com/business/story/2…
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They're big, they're bright, and if you're on the 10 Freeway thru downtown L.A., you can't miss 'em. This is a tale of three new digital billboards, a city councilman and some well-timed donations for his re-election latimes.com/california/story… w/@AlpertReyes
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