Social Justice Magazine
Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at: Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net.
A’s City Council voted unanimously to authorize and direct the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment to conduct Neighborhood Council board member elections on a temporary basis during the 2012 Neighborhood Council Election cycle. The Office of the City Clerk retains the ability to conduct elections in 2014.This action took place after months of debate and hearings that began last year … [Read more...]
riter Dorothy Parker once described Los Angeles as 72 suburbs in search of a city. Since then the number has grown to almost 100, reflecting LA’s robust diversity and the fact that Angelenos tend to identify more with their neighborhood than with their city.Some of the most heated battles in recent history have taken place over neighborhood boundaries as communities seek to claim unique … [Read more...]
hen Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a citywide bike-share program that included 3,000 bikes in 300 docking stations, it must have stirred significant municipal envy in LA’s Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa because a few weeks later, he responded by announcing a citywide bike-share program of 4,000 bikes in 400 docking stations.Los Angeles is a late entry into the bike-share business, … [Read more...]
arry Sanders is the most recent member of LA’s civic elite to be honored for his contribution to society by having his name attached to a piece of LA’s public infrastructure, in this case the athletic field at Anthony C. Beilenson Park.There was a time when honors such as these were reserved for those who had retired or moved on, bestowed on the honored party as the community looked back … [Read more...]
A’s Fire Department has been turned upside down and placed in the hot seat, not for the actions of its rank and file, but for the creative accounting habits of its leadership. Turns out that the LAFD has been reporting its response rates more favorably than appropriate, counting anything up to six minutes as five minutes.This number is important to the LAFD because the Federal guidelines for … [Read more...]
Eight of the twelve registered candidates for Mayor of LA participated in a candidate forum at the Holman United Methodist Church, giving powerful testimony to the claim of some that politics is theatre.The candidates took to the stage one at a time, giving the opening act a bit of an advantage while the last three hopefuls faced a weary audience that had dwindled in size and faded in … [Read more...]
City Controller Wendy Greuel’s appearance at the AIA/LA’s Mayoral Candidate Forum allowed her to revel in her strengths, from humanizing the LA experience with personal anecdotes to invoking the legacy of other public figures to entertaining the audience with tales of bureaucratic foibles. Greuel was the fourth of five leading Mayoral Candidates to join City Planning Commission … [Read more...]
LA City Council President Herb Wesson has sent a clear message of contempt to the people of LA, one that communicates his complete dismissal of the civic engagement process.The current redistricting process has resulted in the complete evisceration of Koreatown, a move that disregards the well organized message “Keep Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council whole and in CD13.” This … [Read more...]
Warren Olney was joined by Jan Perry, Eric Garcetti, Kevin James, Wendy Greuel, and Austin Beutner for the mayoral campaign’s equivalent of speed dating, a one-hour forum that was fast and furious, introducing leaders from LA’s nonprofit world to their prospective civic partner-in-chief.The Mayoral Candidate Forum was the closing act for Tuesday’s Southern California Grantmakers … [Read more...]
This past Tuesday, “Mr. Brown” headed over to LA’s City Hall in order to attend the City Council’s regularly scheduled public meeting. He never made it.Mr. Brown knew that parking opportunities downtown were expensive and limited so he took the Metro, arriving at the Civic Center station and walking east, pausing to admire the impressive architecture of the Times building, the LAPD … [Read more...]
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the 11% Mayor who could balance the budget with his frequent flyer miles, has a long tradition of empowering a rotating cast of Deputy Mayors and General Managers in an effort to distance himself from his legacy of non-performance.The City Council, completely impotent in its ability to direct city staff, resorts to motions ordering studies and reports as tools of … [Read more...]
We, the people, have the right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies yet our elected officials regularly violate this right, creating obstacles to public attendance, participation, and free speech.This behavior may be due to simple ignorance, although it is hard to believe that elected officials, some having been in public service for more than three decades, are … [Read more...]
When LA’s City Hall wants something from the residents of LA, it sends a written demand with a threat of fees, fines, and penalties for noncompliance. The next round of nasty communication is also in writing and comes with a notice of potential garnishment, liens, and other legal action.Yet when City Hall makes a promise to the people of LA, it comes in a verbal assurance that gets bookended … [Read more...]
One of the simplest ways to reduce the traffic congestion that surrounds LA’s schools in the morning and in the afternoon is to support children as they walk and bicycle to school, yet the City of LA continues to engage in a charade that’s all talk and no walk (or ride!)All it would take is to fix the sidewalks and repair the streets that kids walk and ride as they commute to and from … [Read more...]
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LA City Hall: The Great Pabulum and Placebo Dispenser
LA’s leadership has a knack for dispensing with the restless residents who periodically take up pitchforks and torches, storming City Hall with demands for accountability in the delivery of city services.The first step is to feign interest in the opinions of the public in the hopes that the noise will stop.“Please, take my survey and tell me what you think!” says the Mayor as he … [Read more...]