3424 or you can send an email to LAFD.

Brush.

ACCTG at LACity.org.

We understand that many people might be worried about their neighbors' property and that they might have a fire hazard because of some overgrown brush.

And how would you report that?

So, first off, we want you to know that the fire department wants to hear your concerns so we can provide the clearance necessary for our firefighters to protect your property and your neighborhood.

So you can report a brush fire hazard by email to LAFD brush at LACity.org.

Now please make sure that you include the exact location of the brush hazards, the address.

If you have the APN, that would be even better.

But of course, you need to put a brief description of what the hazards are and where those hazards are on the property.

And of course, it's best not to go looking at those hazards on that neighbor's property without permission.

You also can make your complaint by phone.

That same phone number we provided before to our brush clearance unit is 1-800-994-444.

And again, we welcome your complaint, but remember too that we have limited resources to take your call, and those hours are from 7 a.m.

to 3 p.m.

Monday through Friday.

But before a big project can become a reality.

You need big ideas.

Ideas that make a big impact that deliver the good.

To serve the greater good.

You have what it takes.

To make a lasting contribution.

Can you right to the occasion?

Are you ready to be part of something?

That's bigger than you.

Bigger than what you thought was possible, if so.

Come be a part of LADWP.

Be part of something big.

We're not prepared for a flood.

Sure, in the movies, this is all pretend, but in real life, you gotta be prepared for any type of an emergency.

You can't predict, but you can prepare.

Yeah.

How'd you know?

The ball called be prepared at LAFD.org.

Hello everyone, I'm Natalia Vilvao, and here's what's happening in LA this week.

Light is overcoming the darkness.

Council Member Nathia Rahman hosted a celebration of Duwali, known as the Festival of Lights at City Hall.

The Indian community came together to celebrate with all the joy that this spread festival brings.

We are here in Council Chambers, and we are doing our Diwali presentation, and we have two incredible guests.

As well as the new consul general for a new consulate that's opening up right here in Los Angeles, the second consulate here in the state of California.

Appropriate given the number of South Asians and people who want to travel to India, but it's incredibly exciting to welcome them as well as so many members of our community here.

So I'm so proud to return to City Hall for the first time in three years as a guest of Council Member Ramon to celebrate Diwali.

And the last two and a half years, I've been representing Los Angeles and representing our country as U.S.

ambassador in India.

And as exciting as Diwali is here, let me tell you, in India, it is a moment when the entire country celebrates.

You see lights and dias, these blessings that people put out, firecrackers going off, people dancing, singing, and really remembering the things that are about light, overcoming darkness, good, overcoming bad.

So this is very close to my heart because every other country has representation here, but our Indian consulate wasn't here.

So it means a lot that Diwali is brought to a lot of people and that we can share our culture as well as the teachings of our festival.

It's not religious, it's more victory of a good over evil, but it's more celebration of lights.

So that everybody is getting on the lighted path.

We are quite excited in the community, and also having opened the Indian consulate for the first time ever in Los Angeles.

We look forward for this collaboration and cooperation between the two countries, and especially with Los Angeles, which is so diverse today.

And so many Indian people with the Indian outfits coming to the city hall, which reaching here, it's not easy with the LA traffic, but a lot of Indian community came here to represent Diwali as now it is as our California state holiday.

So it means a lot to represent at this level.

It's such a proud moment for us Indian Americans to be celebrating Diwali, the Festival of Lights, uh the Los Angeles City Hall.

We've worked so hard, there's so many of us, and to have that representation in Los Angeles, it really means so much to us.

Definitely, it means so much to finally be represented on such a big stage, and very big special uh shout out to Councilwoman Nitya Rahman for all the work that she's done to put together such a wonderful, lovely event.

I know how hard it is to grow up without others knowing your culture.

So I felt it's very that it was very important for us to get Diwali approved within California.

Governor Newsom signed AB 286 into law this year, designating Diwali as a state holiday, only the third state in America to do so, and this was in no small part thanks to the efforts of the Valley Indian Seniors Association and Nishta Goal, who lobbied and pushed for this.

I found that there was a bill by a council member up north, and I created a petition on it and got thousands of people galvanized to send messages to the various governmental representatives to get Diwali approved.

This is amazing.

So we are felt like we are included, and the inclusive approach makes this city really great.

A global tech showcase of innovations took place on the waterfront.

Inventors and entrepreneurs gathered to display the startup ideas that could fuel the marine industry and blue economy.

We're celebrating innovation that's shaping the 22nd century at an event called Ignite 22.

Braid Theory serves as Alta C's incubator to bring these companies uh to commercial markets and start them from a very small startup level and then are able to branch out from here based on the curriculum that Brave Theory creates for them to allow them to go from a startup all the way through commercialization and then into a much bigger company over time.

And hopefully some of that lands here at Alta C because we want to see these jobs happen here at the Port of Los Angeles within our local community here in Los Angeles.

Alta C has open houses every other month to showcase projects that are going on here today, but also to showcase all the other tenants at Alta City.

So what we want to make sure is that people understand that the city of Los Angeles, the Port of Los Angeles is doing great things down here on the waterfront, trying to advance new technologies in the ocean, but also to educate the next group of people coming into the business world so that they understand that there's an opportunity to be educated here, to go through workhorse training here and to find a job in this new economy.

This year, one of the biggest things that was so much of interest is really bringing together our global community, and they get to see what's happening here in LA.

Right here, we are shaping the future.

We are creating and fostering solutions, worldwide connectivity is on display in the San Fernando Valley.

Taking an idea from Armenia, Tumo LA is an after-school center with a difference.

The technology there makes the center a gateway to a digital future.

Tumo is a technology learning center that is targeting students ages 12 to 18.

There's everything from robotics to 3D imaging, coding.

Everything that you can think of that touches technology and media is found right here in Tumo.

I know how important spaces like this are to young people to see themselves, not just as the users of technology, but as creators of technology, and having this down the street from your home, from your school is so important.

Two Los Angeles opened two weeks ago.

Right now we have 600 students enrolled.

Of our students, 44% are girls, and 80% of our students are families from low to moderate income hospitals.

This is a program that's gonna provide assistance not only on the technology front, but also to understand how to manage and become good leaders.

You just have to bring your curiosity to learn.

And we're here at the invitation of the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council to participate in their coffee with a copy bank.

Basically, just to build a partnership with the community, and we try to host them at various locations throughout the community so that we address each individual neighborhood, but get feedback from them, see what their problems are, how we can better address their problems, and uh educate them on what they can do to help.

The uh lead officers are very invested in the community.

Uh they're very sensitive to the needs of the people, and they really listen to 17 or graduating high school, or check out first.

A lot of bad news sells, and we want to get out.

Hey, this is what we actually do.

This is all the positive stuff that we bring to the table.

Then they can then take that to their community, to their neighborhood watch meetings, their neighborhood council meetings, and push that message about hey, actually, the LAPD North Hollywood does this, that, the other.

We have a community survey that we'd like everybody to spread and take so that we can learn how do we help you the best.

This is a wonderful casual uh setting that we can come and have the questions, our concerns, addressed to the police officers and in turn for them to to let us know how we can help them.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Alright.

The cops can be big, bad, and scary.

I I get it.

Um, but we're not.

We're all people too.

We all have normal human lives like everybody else, and we get to kind of display that a little bit more, but they also get to, you know, put a little bit of a face behind the badge.

And I think that just lets down the guard, lets down the tension a little bit, and that serves to bring more people in in the future.

Winter shelter program opens across LA County.

Granada Hill celebrates its 100th anniversary, and LAX looks for volunteers to create a friendly experience at the airport.

The stories up next on City Beat.

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, Lhasa, announced that its winter shelter program opens on November 1st.

The winter shelter program is for those experiencing homelessness during LA's colder months.

Shelters are located across Los Angeles County and will operate 24 hours a day from November 1st through March 31st, 2026.

The program offers overnight shelter, meals, showers, and case management services.

Those in need of a shelter place are urged to call 211 or 1800 548 6047.

For more information, visit lasa.org slash winner-shelter.

Councilmember John Lee joins the honorary mayor of Granada Hills, John V.

Chicarelli to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Granada Hills.

Previously known as Sunshine Ranch, the area consisted mostly of farms and orchards before being renamed in honor of the Spanish city of Granada in 1926.

In the 1950s, Granada Hills adopted the slogan, the valley's most neighborly town.

The centennial celebrates the area's history with a year's worth of events and festivities.

A gallop will be held on April 18th, 2026 to mark the official 100th anniversary of Granada Hills.

For more information, visit Granada Hills100.com.

Los Angeles International Airport, LAX is seeking volunteers to create a friendly and positive experience at the airport.

The Volunteer Information Professionals VIP program provides training and customer service, airport procedures, and emergency assistance.

VIPs assist in providing directions to facilities, helping passengers find transport, and aiding communications between travelers and airlines.

Volunteers are located in information booth on the arrivals level of each LAX terminal in the baggage claim area and nearby exits.

For more information, visit lawa.org/slash volunteer-opportunities.

The Cyclavia Heart of LA event marked 15 years of safe and open streets, showing us the slower pace of car-free places.

Council members, Eunices Hernandez, and Isabel Jurado welcomed everyone to enjoy a different view of LA, whether walking, biking, or skating across the city.

Today we are celebrating 15 years of Cyclavia with Cyclavia Heart of LA.

People are going to be going through little Tokyo, Chinatown, MacArthur Park, Pico Union, and enjoying open streets.

People can come and ride their bikes, walk, run, pose off the streets, and uh really enjoy the day without a car.

So we're really excited to be a part of a healthy, sustainable Los Angeles.

This is what LA is all about.

And having days like this where people can experience it slowly and outside of their cars is just part of what makes LA beautiful.

I'm born and raised in LA and I've watched Cyclovia grow so much.

I've just walked Ciclovia.

I've used my roller skates on Ciclovia, and so I'm really excited to test the new bike out today.

Cyclavia is one of those magical moments in LA.

You know, the importance of Cyclovia is more than just closing streets down and not allowing cars to be on the streets, but it's really about connecting communities.

Getting out and moving your body is a great way to see the places that we love and see people that you love and support businesses that you love.

When you're at Cyclavia, when there are no cars on the road, you begin to see the infrastructure that exists, the bike lanes, the protected bike lanes, the improved pedestrian projects that the city of LA has completed and is continuing to do more of.

You know, what what it reminds us is that streets are here for us to share.

It's not simply for cars and trucks.

Metro's been a part of really encouraging cities to look at different ways to encourage uh bicycle ridership through our bike share programs at Metro sponsored, and we actually fund through Measure M a number of cities in building bike lanes.

In our district, we are transit forward.

We want to have a multimodal approach to how you experience the city, whether you're on bike, whether you're on foot, and so having better signage and protected bike lanes that encourage people who are choosing to get out of their car and bike places can be protected and to make sure that there is safety and can encourage the kinds of lifestyles that we see today.

So there's not a lot of opportunities for you to be able to walk in the middle of the street safely or bike or take your child on their rollerblades.

Today we're doing that.

Today we're seeing that, and it's really a beautiful day.

Sharing the city streets in a multimodal way.

Trick or treat.

Council member Eunice Hernandez and the Department of Wreck and Parks came together to offer a howling good Halloween pumpkin patch with a costume contest and pumpkin photo ops.

It was a frightfully gourd time for all.

How is Lincoln Heights doing today?

That's right, that's right.

Happy Halloween, everybody.

Today we are here celebrating Halloween at Lincoln Heights Recreation Center.

We have games, jumpers, we have pumpkins, we have costume contests, high ED contest, donut eating contests, crafts.

It takes a village to create safe spaces where families feel confident enough to bring the loved ones.

You all came to the table to create a safe space.

So I want to thank you for that.

We saw that during the summer because of the raids, many of our parks and public facilities were not being utilized by families because they were scared.

But today we're creating safe spaces for our families and communities, they're building good memories.

But it has taken us some time for community to feel comfortable and safe again.

So there's gonna be a lot of events coming up, and if you want to find out more about them, you can go to cd1.lacity.gov for more information.

I hope you all have a wonderful time.

We're here to be of service.

Have a happy Halloween and have a safe Halloween.

Costumes and helmets at a Halloween bike ride on Broadway.

Community members got on their bikes in costume.

They celebrated Halloween and supported safer streets in South LA on the soon to be completed Broadway Sur Project.

Today we are in South Central LA with our Broadway Fur project, our Halloween bike ride, celebrating our community.

So we want to make sure that our community understands that we want safety for our children, and we want to make sure that today we're not only dressing up and having a good time, but acknowledging that we need safer streets.

We know that public safety and community safety, you have to change the environment, but we're also making sure that people understand you just have to slow down.

We want to make sure that our kids feel safe, that our community feels safe, that pedestrians can walk around.

Today we're also honoring Michael Smith and the mom is here, the family is here.

We want to acknowledge, but we also want to stay safe.

It's very important for me to be at this event.

I lost Michael July of 2025, and I'm learning more about the culture of this event.

I'm happy to be here.

We don't want another tragedy to happen in these streets.

We don't want another kid that's just trying to safely ride their bike to get to the store or get to school to be heard.

We have to be visual when we turn right or left.

We have to look for the children.

We have to look for the riders.

Broadway Sour is a transformational investment.

Well over 80 million dollar project to do transform Broadway with protected bike lanes to save lives and decrease traffic accidents here on Broadway where people speed a lot and we lose a lot of lives every year.

The office has been working on this for seven years with the community since 2017 when we started applying for grants.

So it's been a long time coming.

We hope to finish in 2027.

We need people to not text and drive, do not use your cell phone.

Know that the streets are for children, for pedestrians, for community, especially during the holidays, you're gonna see a lot more people visiting the family members and loved ones.

We need everyone to please do their work collectively as a community and just slow down, get after phone, uh, and do the best.

Let's protect each other.

Trick or treat.

The answer is always safety, not scarce.

In this week's feature story, the city's Department of Cultural Affairs has a unique program supporting mural artists.

The results are popping up across the city, putting color onto neighborhood walls and connecting with the local communities.

We started funding this program in 2022, so we created a program where artists could propose artworks that had a social justice theme.

And is finally launching.

Now we're seeing several dozen murals come about throughout the city.

So I've been excited to see all the work they've done in the arts for many many years and being a grateful grant recipient as an organization.

This was the first time that I reached out to them and applied for a grant as an individual artist.

But I heard, like most people, I think, probably from the newsletter, and updates and announcements, and immediately knew it was something I wanted to do.

So my mural uh it addresses the issue of education disparity.

I think that education is a right, and that all children should have access to a quality education.

The initial impact of the color, I sort of would like that to draw them in.

I think that can kind of provide just like an immediate thing for your brain where you're like, What's that?

In some ways, I was sort of making it for kids.

I wanted to sort of leave something with like a younger audience and maybe get them excited about art and reading and thinking and questioning things.

My mural talks about homelessness.

It's a pretty straightforward message and how the bad economy affects everybody.

I want to remove the stigma that being homeless has and show that these are actual people, and everybody has their own individual story.

This mural, the feminine Together, talks about women and girls and females and the magic that they have inside of them.

So often when I do this work, I see that a lot of the women have this rich perspective, opinion, love, and they're quite silent about it.

And I wanted to create a mural that celebrated them that showed literally when they come together that they are more profound, more loving, more involving, and bring everyone together with such a warmth.

And that's what this mural was about for me.

This mural is called Maga Magiting Nababaye, Valiant Women.

And it basically is a mural that showcases Filipino Americans that have contributed to the Philippines, the United States, and California.

Just knowing they're gonna put a Filipino historic mural next to my restaurant.

It's exciting.

The process alone, it's really just uplifting for the community.

I just think that it's naturally the thing that is in my DNA, I guess.

I just grew up always uh bit shy.

And it's just like um doing visual things and working with my hands and creating just seemed more natural to me.

Yeah.

Something that is always really interesting to me is that when you are working on a wall, you are spending these huge stretches of time, generally on like one small corner or it's like a strip of sidewalk somewhere, and you really start to see all of the life that's happening around you, and the same people walk by, and there's noise, and there's animals and dogs, and like the businesses, and it's just like this crazy little like churning community around you, and I think that that's really cool to see.

Something that goes with that is when you complete a wall, it kind of like sinks into the environment that you've been existing in, and then it becomes like a part of it, which I think is is cool, and then hopefully it stays that way for a long time.

In this week's things to do, get drawn in to the mural arts scene, celebrate Native American Heritage Month at the Central Library, and show your support at the San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade.

All the sub next on things to do.

The QA will be followed by a reception with light snacks and beverages.

Head to the Campo de Cohenga Museum for murals in action on Saturday, November 8th at 12 p.m.

For more information, visit culture.lacity.gov slash events.

As part of its Native American Heritage Month series, the Los Angeles Public Library hosts Songs of the Earth on Saturday, November 8th.

This gathering highlights the vibrant indigenous communities within Los Angeles and their cultural contributions.

Many indigenous people in LA have been disconnected from their ancestral languages and traditions.

Songs of the Earth aims to create a space where people can share their truths in any form or language.

Celebrate indigenous survival and presence and enjoy drums and dancing, a Zapotec brass band, and a presentation of Pacific Islander cultures.

Head to the Central Library for Songs of the Earth on Saturday, November 8th at 2 p.m.

For more details, go to LAPL.org/slash events.

On the Veterans Day holiday, you're invited to honor all those who served past and present at the San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade.

Join Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez for the parade and enjoy representation from all the armed forces.

Bring family and friends to join marching bands, classic cars, community groups, and special tributes to veterans.

The San Fernando Valley Veterans' Day Parade is the largest event for veterans in LA County with around 20,000 residents coming out to pay tribute every year.

The San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade takes place on Tuesday, November 11th at 11 a.m.

Learn more at SFV Veterans Day Parade.com.

And that's a look at some things to do.

And that's all for this week.

I'm Natalia Belvale, and from all of us here at LA this week, thank you so much for joining us.

Remember that you can watch us online any time at LACityview dot org, and we're also on Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

See you next time for more LA this week.

Challenge yourself to conserve.

Turning off the faucet when you brush saves up to ten gallons of water.

Taking a five minute or less shower saves up to fifteen gallons of water.

Washing only full loads of laundry saves up to thirty gallons of water.

And fixing a running toilet can save up to fifty gallons of water.

Good morning and welcome to the regularly scheduled meeting of your Los Angeles City Council meeting in Van I City Hall.

Today is Friday, the thirty first day of October, Halloween 2025.

Public comment for this morning's meeting will be taken in person in this uh Van Eyes City Hall.

Mr.

Clerk, let's begin our proceedings by calling the role.

Yes, Mr.

President.

To members present the core, Mr.

President.

All right, first order of business.

Approval of the minutes of October 29th, 2025.

Council Member Hutt moves, Councilmember Boomenfield seconds.

What's next?

Coming to resolutions for approval.

Councilmember Padilla moves, Councilmember McCosker seconds.

Can we run through our agenda?

Yes, Mr.

President.

Items one through four on the regular agenda are items for which public hearings have been held.

Items five and six on the continuation agenda are also items for which public hearings have been held.

All right.

Yes, I want to pull uh item six just for comments.

All right, uh Councilmember Rodriguez.

Item five for a technical amendment that's been circulated seconded by Councilmember Hutt.

All right.

What items are available for votes at this time, Mr.

Clerk.

Mr.

President, the council may now vote on items one through four.

All right, let's open the roll on those items, close the roll, tabulate the vote.

Ten eyes.

Mr.

President, there's a request to send item four forthwith.

Without objection, that'll be the order.

What's next?

The council may now take up item six, call special by councilmember Padilla for comments.

Councilmember Padilla.

Thank you.

Uh good morning, everybody.

Uh happy Halloween twenty twenty-five.

Colleagues, today I rise and call on your support for item six, which authorizes a lease agreement with Metro for a lot in my district to be used as a temporary and I emphasize temporary RV site for under a two year for a two-year contract.

As we all know, our city continues to face a homelessness crisis, and the RV component of that crisis is one of the most frustrating.

Across Los Angeles, council offices, the mayor's office, Lhasa, and the county are trying to work together tirelessly to connect individuals to housing and services, and my dis and my council office um is constantly pushing to make sure we're all on the same page.

But particularly in areas with high concentrations of RVs, especially those of us who have industrial lots, we know how frustrating it has been.

For space to store RVs.

Before bringing this full item forward, my office met with the school that's Kitty Corner to the lot, neighborhood stakeholders, and we sent out meetings and hosted focus groups.

We know that we this is the right thing to do.

And we heard legitimate concerns about safety and visual impact.

In response, we have requested 24 7 on site security, in addition to cameras.

There will be an dedicated individual who will manage the site along with decorative fencing that incorporates art preventing blythe.

I also want to clarify that this is not going to be open to the public, only authorized personnel, and it will not serve as interim housing location.

Strictly short-term storage.

It will only store empty RVs for up to one to two months at a time before they are properly disposed of.

This is a necessary temporary solution, one that helps us respond to the need of our constituents and supports the broader effort to move forward from vehicles, people having people in vehicles to housing.

We need this space to continue expediating the removal of abandoned RVs on our streets.

It will take time to fully address the issue, but action starts now.

This is a tangible step forward for a safer, cleaner neighborhood and visible progress for the communities that I represent.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Padilla.

Councilmember Rodriguez.

Thank you.

This is I I recognize what a challenging dynamic this is, and it's something that is plaguing all of our uh communities.

But uh I also want to let your constituents know there was uh thankfully, because of uh Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez's bill, there is now an even more expedited process for that to help facilitate the disposition of these RVs, which is critical.

Uh, the public needs to understand that there is a legally required timeline to aid in the facilitation of the disposition of those RVs as though they are vacant.

Uh, but more importantly, I'm you know proud to have pioneered the work with the RV to home pilot that has accelerated the disposition of RVs, but that comes at the cooperation of the individuals turning over their pink slit.

And so this is going to be a much different process.

People need to understand that there are frankly two kind of timelines associated with this, but I want to thank assemblymember Gonzalez for his support in this uh to help correct our ability to help accelerate the disposition.

But this site is going to be critical in helping to aid us here in the San Fernando Valley.

All of those uh dis RVs that are just waiting for disposition.

They don't have to sit on our streets.

They can actually be transferred uh transferred intermittently to this location, and that's gonna help us a great deal.

So for that, I want to thank you for all of that work with your community because I understand the challenge that it causes and the frustrations, uh, but I look forward to working in partnership with you to support their needs as well to making sure that we can help clean up the streets of the San Fernando Valley and the balance of the city of Los Angeles.

So for that I would just wanted to thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Rodriguez, uh, for those words.

I think uh the council joins Councilmember Rodriguez in thanking you, Councilmember Padilla, for uh coming up with a solution, and these solutions are not easy to come by.

We know the work that it takes, struggle that it takes, the back and forth, the conversations, getting everybody on the same page.

So uh congratulations to you and thank you on behalf of the whole city for your work.

Um, you know, Councilmember Rodriguez um didn't point out that she was one of the first people to really take on RVs in a serious way in the San Fernando Valley.

Uh and it, you know, it continues to be a challenge, not just there but for the whole city.

So this is a good example for what's possible.

So thank you for that.

And with that, if there's nothing else, Councilmember Padilla, uh, we can uh open the role on this item, close the roll, tabulate the vote.

Eleven eyes.

All right.

What's next, Clerk?

Mr.

President, the council may now proceed to presentations.

All right, exciting to have presentations here in the wonderful San Fernando Valley, beginning with uh the gentle person from Canoga Park, Mr.

Bob Lumenfield of the Third Council District.

Good to see you.

Good, good.

Gather closure.

Come on.

Come on over.

Okay.

Colleagues.

I was very heartened on Wednesday of this week, we uh were making announcements, and a lot of my colleagues were announcing different Dia de los Muertos festivals that were happening in their different districts.

Well, today we are going to honor Main Street Canoga Park for hosting and celebrating twenty five years of the annual Dia de los Muertos Festival in Canoga Park.

And with me, you have some of the original founders of that first Dia in Los Angeles.

The very first Dia de los Muertos in Los Angeles was in Canoga Park just down the road.

And you'll you will introduce you to some of the folks who who put that forward as a bold idea to do.

And they worked with their councilwoman at the time, was Laura Chick, and with some CRA funds, and they were able to make it happen.

And you'll hear some great stories, and you're seeing some pictures too behind you, some from the original, some from the ones that have gone on over the years.

So I wanted to start with a heartfelt thank you to Ada Lassio, Jacqueline Bernstein, Mary Patterson, the entire team of volunteers who've tirelessly worked to bring this event to life this year and each and every year for the last quarter century.

And what began uh 25 years ago in a small parking lot has grown into one of our most cherished community traditions, a celebration that brings us together to remember, honor, and uplift.

Dia de los Muertos is more than just an event, it's a living expression of love, remembrance, culture, and pride.

As I said, a quarter century, Main Street Canoga has been gathering place for families, neighbors, generations to connect and reflect.

It started, they'll talk about with just a few altars that were put up in place, and it's grown to a very large festival that has both the commercial element but also has main stayed true to the culture as well, with altars and folks coming together to preserve tradition, educate our youth, create a welcoming space where everyone feels seen, valued, and embraced.

And it reminds us that death is not an end, but a continuation of our connection with those who came before us through the altars, marigolds, food, and music.

We celebrate memory with joy and not sorrow.

Your presence and support this weekend help is going to help sustain not only the spirit of this festival, but the creativity and culture that fuel our local economy.

And you know, this festival also has given rise to to that area becoming really a center for culture.

Uh, we we're creating the Canoga Park Cultural Arts Hub, and have have done all sorts of things in that area, and it really it's it's all it's all linked, it's all inextricably linked.

And as your council member, I'm committed to ensuring that events like this continue to thrive with the support and recognition and resources they deserve.

Because our public spaces should reflect the people who live here.

And today, Main Street reflects the heart of our community.

And to those who have poured their time, energy, and love into this event over the years, thank you.

Thank you for making Main Street Canoga a home for heritage and healing.

And to everyone who's come here today, whether you're the some of the original founders or the current organizers or friends, uh, thank you for sharing your stories, your tradition, and your joy.

So let us continue to honor those who came before us by building a city where culture thrives and community leads.

Uh, and I want to start by introducing uh Ada Lassio, the board president of Main Street Canoga Park.

Buenos días.

I am one of the many volunteers that have helped in the festival since the early days.

Some are not here with us any longer.

We honor them too as we remember them.

I'm sure they are just as proud as we are today.

Thank you so much to all the city staff members for making the time to acknowledge our 25th anniversary of the A de los Muertos Family Festival, which has been taking place for the past 25 years, every first Sunday of November.

It's incredible what started with four altars set up in the street along Sherman Way.

It's now a mile long, full of colorful and meaningful tradition.

Our festival has grown more and more over the years.

This festival has planted its roots in my community in Canogo Park here in the San Fernando Valley, from which others have adopted our idea of bringing their community together by celebrating the tradition and culture of our highly populated Hispanic race.

Our Dia de los Muertos Family Festival is so powerful and well accepted among communities, which can only make us more proud.

The Dia de los Muertos is a celebration originated in Mexico, and it has been carried on for over 3,000 years.

It honors the life of those who have passed.

It is considered one of the most beautiful tradition, which is celebrated many countries around the world every November 2nd.

As a stakeholder and volunteer in my community, it makes me twice as proud.

Our festival, which brings more than 50,000 people throughout the day.

It is such a rewarding feeling seeing everyone around the festival with such a beautiful, joyful expression on their faces, which gives us the encouragement of doing it again and again and again each year.

Our festival not only attracts people from the community, it also brings other neighbors' communities together.

And for our local businesses, it increases the exposure exposure, excuse me, and revenue, and at the same time, it brings the opportunity to others.

I'm becoming a Canoga Park business owner.

If you haven't been at our festival, this is a great opportunity to come and get inspired and see what many dedicated community members have brought together for the better of the community.

On behalf of Main Street Canoga Park, the A de los Muertos Family Festival, and all the volunteers, we thank you so much for this acknowledgement and happy 25th anniversary of the A de los Muertos Family Festival to us.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Ada.

Next, I want to introduce Jaclyn Bernstein, the executive director of Main Street Canoga Park.

Jack.

Thank you.

Well, that's definitely a hard act to follow.

Community.

Community is a precious commodity.

It takes time to grow and nurture.

It has value that enriches the lives of everyone it touches.

Nowadays, community can mean a lot of things where you feel safe to be seen and show up, from who and how you are listened to.

It's in the residential area where your home is.

It is in the faces of your neighbors who you pass in those rushed mornings to get on with the day.

People who are at first strangers, but hopefully over time, become friends.

It is in the parents who you raise your children with, marking birthdays through adolescence, then graduations, creating a modern village.

It is in the third spaces of familiar coffee shops or parks, public plazas where you run into people, and a chance encounter can remind you that the world can still be quite friendly.

Community is in the people we live our life out with, alongside of.

Supported by dedicated staff and often unsung teams championing policy for street cleanups, proper development, and supportive measures for the arts, all on behalf of the residents and stakeholders, many of whom they may actually never know.

For Canoga Park, community is everything.

Canoga Park, the historic town of the West Valley that sits at the base of the LA River, the ancestral homelands of the Ferdaneño Tatavian, it is all that and more.

Once where the red car rambled from downtown Los Angeles, and the first telephone operator of the area sat connecting the West Valley to the world, Canoga Park has a history of reaching for the stars.

It's in the fabric of the district, a mix of mom and pop businesses along Main Street, over a dozen schools to nurture the youth, fortified by second and third and fourth generation families.

It is in the property owners who invest in maintaining the area through stewardship and numerous volunteers who have spent the last 25 years to keep a dream project alive.

Today we are honored for the work that has been held under the organizing umbrella of our organization, Main Street Canoga Park.

What began as a resolve to fill a void in community revitalization has stood the test of time.

Twenty-five years of Main Street Canoga Park, supported in large part by its sister organization, Canoga Park Improvement Association.

We would be remiss to not recognize the efforts of its long-standing executive director, Mary Patterson, who shepherded the festival and so many other projects through the years, along with numerous volunteers, elected officials, and their staffs who have cared deeply about this endeavor.

The heart of this project, the Dia de los Muertos Family Festival, a project that helped Canoga Park receive the All America City Award 20 years ago, a first for the city of Los Angeles, is fueled by community.

It is a holiday about grief, memory, and joy.

This festival was created and supported by a handful of community members, four of whom are here today, Doña Laura Gutierrez, and Aureli Esqueda.

Our car show curator, Jess Cookie Guarez Jr., and of course, Aida Lacio, now our board president.

Over the years, the festival and its leadership have included far too many names to mention, but today we honor you too.

We honor every altar maker who grieved lost loved ones, every car show club that brought out their very best in memory, honoring craftsmanship.

We honor our vendors and small businesses and all the artists who perform on the main stage, bringing a free arts experience to the community, and the innumerable community partners who show up as sponsors, resource tables, and suppliers of donated goods and services.

The festival is a living embodiment of community, and it has grown to be, if not the, but one of the longest-running and largest arts festivals in the West San Fernando Valley.

This year, thank you.

This year we have dozens of community organizations who will provide their resources to the community, over 100 volunteers, over 100 participating artists, and not to mention the best car show in Southern California, because if you haven't noticed, everyone nowadays is doing a car show, but it started in Canoga Park.

In recent years, the festival has embraced a nod towards the future, a marked characteristic of this town, soon to be officially recognized as a hub of art theater and culture.

Now home to our beloved Taxco Theater, as well as the Youth Arts Center and the Madrid, Canoga Park is where the arts live.

It has always been about community and always will.

And quite frankly, we need it more than ever.

Thank you to Councilmember Blumenfield and a special shout out to Jenny Portillo and Steve Hadamillo.

We appreciate this acknowledgement and share it with you in friendship, collaborative work, and community.

Thank you.

All right, uh Councilmember, we got a few members on the queue.

Before you hand out the big prize, Councilmember Padilla.

I don't have a lot to say, but I just wanted to say that it's actually kind of an honor to see all of you and meet all of you, because I've heard about your work throughout the years.

And you know, uh, when I first in my career moved out of the valley and then started working in greater Los Angeles, people would ask me about this place Canoga Park in the third, and who was it and who are they and what are they doing?

And really, there's Latinos throughout the entire valley.

I'm like, yes, including Canoga Park.

So now I see the faces.

Um I've known about your work.

I've I've um and I just want to congratulate you because 25 years is it's really impressive.

Um so I hope you guys have a wonderful celebration.

And it sounds like you guys started the party.

Well, I'm just somebody who's following it, and I hope that I can you know get it to your level someday too.

Thank you.

Councilmember Rodriguez.

Thank you, Mr.

Blumenfield, for bringing them in, and thank you to the all all the organizers and everyone that's involved.

Uh, it was 25 years ago.

I remember Juan Rodriguez.

Uh Juan and I, when I was working for Mayor Reardon, and you all started this endeavor.

Uh, you know, it was funny.

I forgot about my husband working out with Joe Vote uh when when the Madrid theater was uh renovated as and we were doing the work with the targeted neighborhood initiative at the time.

So uh I'm very honored to have been part of that very early history in Canoga Park, and it's wonderful to see how it's just continued to grow, and it's a reflection of our talent and our ability as a community to bring everyone together in celebrating what is such a beautiful and rich cultural heritage.

And so I just want to thank you for continuing that work for being that example and bringing that tremendous celebration in the San Fernando Valley.

You are the originators of that work, and so for that, I just wanted to congratulate you on having the endurance to continue to grow it.

Uh, you know, I was really proud that we when I was elected in 2017, and we had a small one that had proceeded in Pacoima City Hall.

When I got elected, I shut down the street and took it on Van I's Boulevard, and it's emblematic and and representative of very much the similar work that you all did.

Uh and that became the first time that in the 7th district, a street was ever closed for more than one day, more than just for a parade, and it's an opportunity for everyone else to embrace across the city because when we shut down our streets, much like we do for Cyclavia, when we shut it down and make it accessible for our community to come together, it helps to support the small businesses, give more exposure, but it gives everybody a purpose to come together in a constructive and positive manner.

So I just want to thank you for being that original example twenty-five years ago, and I forgot all of that history until you came and talked to me about it this morning, and so I look forward to visiting on Sunday with you all.

Uh, after I'm I'm I'd like to invite you all to be part of our first year.

We're uh doing it for the first time at the San Fernando Mission in partnership with the Archdiocese to bring that actual true to tradition uh to be embraced at the San Fernando Mission.

So I'd like to invite you.

We're doing that on Saturday with the Archdiocese, but congratulations and thank you all so much for doing this for so many years.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

Uh members, Mr.

Blumenfield.

Thank you.

Well, bringing you here, we wanted to formalize that with this beautiful certificate.

Uh it is signed not just by me, but it's signed by the mayor and everyone here around the horse, who all of the council members could to acknowledge what uh this 25 years.

So please, in fact, I will I will hand it to the two of the founders right now for the photo.

So hold on to it, and we can take a group photo.

Congratulations again.

Give it up for the main street Canoga Park for the Dia del Swartz 25 years.

What time do we start on Sunday Sunday?

10 a.m.

Excellent.

10 to 5 all day, everybody.

Okay, so we've got it.

I think that's a time to go ahead.

All right.

We'll move to our next presentation.

Should be led by the gentle person representing Granada Hills, Mr.

John Lee of the Twelfth District.

Good morning, everyone.

Uh today is an honor to recognize someone whose life has been defined by service not only to his country, to his community, but to the people of Los Angeles.

For more than a decade, uh Dr.

Jimmy Hara has served on the Los Angeles Board of Fire Commissioners, helping to guide one of the most respected fire departments in the world.

His thoughtful leadership, steady judgment, and deep compassion have been invaluable to the department and to the city as a whole.

Dr.

Hara's service extends far beyond these walls.

From his distinguished career in medicine and education to his humanitarian and veteran support work.

He has devoted his life to healing, h healing and helping others.

His time on the fire commission reflected those same values of commitment, fairness, and care for every Angelino.

Dr.

Hara, on behalf of the city of Los Angeles, thank you for your extraordinary contributions, your guidance, and your years of dedicated service to our fire department and our city.

It hasn't been it has been a privilege for all of us to work alongside you and to witness your unwavering dedication to public service.

And now I'd like to invite my colleague, Councilmember Blumenfield, to share a few words.

Thank you, Mr.

Lee, and thank you for putting this presentation together.

You know, I I've always known and I've always said that constituents in the third district are very special.

But Dr.

Jimmy Hara truly sets the bar for what it means to be exceptional.

If we truly took time to look to mention every accolade of service, show every dedication to our community, uh, we'd be here all weekend.

He has done so much.

He has done it all and then some from associate dean at Charles uh Drew University of Medicine to professor of UCLA, uh David Geffen School of Medicine to a volunteer physician at multiple clinics, and now to fire commissioner of over ten years.

But we may what may surprise folks here is that Dr.

Hara is also an outspoken advocate for peace, being the annual keynote speaker for the uh Sataco Peace Day for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

He's also a veteran of the Vietnam War and and he is active in the wounded warrior organization.

In short, he does it all and then some.

We cannot thank you enough, Dr.

Hara, for all you have done for for our city for our community, for the third district, for our city, but also for our world.

Uh, if you talk about angels in the city of angels, uh, you are truly one of those, and we're happy to call you a a constituent as well.

So I hope to see you around, and as you learn what what free time means.

I don't know if you you're aware that there's such a thing, uh, because you do so much so often, but without further ado, let's hear from uh Dr.

Jimmy Hara.

I can start off by saying the reason I'm a fire commissioner is my former patient on Kaiser Permanente for 20 years was Eric Rossetti.

And he was the one who asked me to serve on the fire commission back then.

And uh in retrospect, I'm so happy he asked me to serve on the fire commission and not the police commission.

So, uh I actually uh right now I'm involved with the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of the US Navy.

Because as it turns out, I was on board the USS Turner Joy.

And the Turner Joy and the Maddox were the two destroyers that were fired upon by Vietnamese fishing boats in the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

And in the words of LBG, we replied.

So when I went overseas, the war was ending.

And at the point of the ceasefire, the Turner Joy was allowed to fire the last two rounds of naval gunfire prior to the ceasefire.

And so I was on board the Turner Joy, and we heard five, four, three, boom, boom, and that was the end of the Vietnam War.

And my in terms of the fire department, my bunk mate on board the USS Turner Joy, happened to be from Texas Instruments.

And they were pioneering a new technology.

It was called Forward Looking Infrared.

FLER is what the fire department uses now to find embers from Fire Safari and likewise uh warm bodies.

And um, and so once again, it's been my honor actually to serve on the fire commission, and um as uh I have we have a representative of the LAFD Historical Society, and every Saturday I am with them now, still taking part um uh with the fire department.

Thank you, Dr.

Hara.

I just want to say on behalf of the city of Los Angeles, just thank you so much for your commitment.

Every time I've been to any type of fire event, I always am sitting right next to you because you are there supporting this amazing department, and you are part of the piece that made this department the best department in the world.

And so, on behalf of the city council, I'd like to present you this.

Thank you for your 10 years of amazing service to the city of Los Angeles.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Lee, Mr.

Bloomfield, and Dr.

Hara.

Congratulations.

Our next presentation will be brought to us by the gentle person representing Van Ice, whose house we are in today, our host, Councilmember Padilla.

I don't know, like the interesting thank you.

I was actually kind of actually speaking, I think we should have the other costume on the house.

All righty.

Good morning, everyone.

I'm so proud to have council back in the valley.

Um and look at the packed house, right?

Um, honored to have an institution and family that represents the very best of who we are as Angelinos and Valley residents.

Local businesses like Ace Building Material are at the core of our economic vitality.

They create jobs, build opportunities, and serve as anchors for our neighborhood.

Their story is embedded into the history of the San Fernando Valley itself.

ACE began in 1950, right along what was then an active railroad track, now known as the Orange Line.

Back then, they were known as Ace Brick and Patio, helping supply the bricks that built homes, streets, and businesses across Los Angeles.

Over the decades, the company evolved while straying staying true to its roots.

When the Sakaria family took ownership in 1994, just as the Northridge earthquake struck, they were immediately faced with immense challenges and urgent need.

But rather than stepping back, they stepped up.

They leaned into the moment with dedication and heart, helping rebuild and restore our communities when it mattered the most.

Today, Ace Building Material continues that legacy, run by a dynamic duo, siblings Josh and Jessica.

They have expanded their services to include a comprehensive variety of building materials, all while maintaining the same location and community spirit first.

For three generations, they've shown up, supported the community, and remain part of the fabric of our region's economic growth.

So Ace Building Material is more than just the business.

It's a reminder that when local families invest in our neighborhood, they help build up a stronger, more resilient San Fernando Valley.

So with that, I want to invite Josh to the podium to say a few words.

Jessica's like that.

Jessica's gonna speak.

Come on up.

Thank you.

Of course.

Wow, thank you.

Thank you so much.

Yeah, of course.

Okay, that's yours.

Good morning, everyone.

What a wonderful treat here.

For Halloween, especially.

What a wonderful treat.

Councilmember Padilla.

Thank you for this great honor and recognizing our family business.

On behalf of Ace Building Materials and my family, we're grateful to you and your team.

So who we are?

We're a family-run business that grew up with this community in Council District 6.

Me and my family are so grateful to be here.

And we are right down the street here on August and Sepulveda for those of you who don't know where we're located.

We've been here for decades, learning from our customers, hiring locally, and trying to be useful.

By early loads before the sun rises, we stay late until after it sets.

We do whatever it takes.

That's our story.

We show up, we do the work, and we take care of people.

I have the great luxury of working alongside my brothers, Joshua, Joshua, and Jason, and we don't take that for granted.

Family is how we run ACE.

It's how we show up for this city.

Many of our employees have been with us for years and some for decades.

Our team members, our vendors, and our customers have literally become an extension of our family.

Each year around Cinco de Mayo, we host our annual customer appreciation day, where the whole community is invited.

Neighbors, local trades, families, everyone together.

And we are so grateful that Councilmember Padilla's team joined us earlier this year with a resource table connecting with our ACE community.

So that was really great to have you there.

And we're proud of our ongoing support for the Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles Police Department, standing with the men and women who protect our neighborhoods and families.

Looking ahead, our commitment is simple.

Help rebuild Los Angeles one home, one business, one street at a time.

We'll keep hiring and training locally and partnering with suppliers.

We're gonna step up for those tough projects that move our neighborhoods forward.

Councilmember Padilla and this entire city council, thank you again for this recognition.

And our employees, customers, and neighbors, you are the heart of Ace.

We are honored to keep building with you.

Thank you.

Any other brothers want to speak?

There's your chance.

It's the mark of a well-run family.

Yes, yes.

Leave the hard work to the sisters, similar to my family.

I love it.

Well, thank you all for being here.

But uh now, on behalf of the city of Los Angeles, hold on, Councilmember.

I got at least one member on the queue.

Okay.

Councilmember Raman.

Okay.

Thank you, Councilmember Padilla, for bringing this great family here and celebrating their legacy here in the city of Los Angeles.

And I know you're right on our border.

We met at your metro ceremony.

Oh, that's right, yeah.

At uh at ICON, and I just had the pleasure of speaking to them about an issue on our shared border and just beyond discussing the issue and talking about kind of the impacts to the community.

They just brought a spirit of joy and happiness to being there and to being part of the community and to being part of the community that you've fostered in your district.

So thank you so much for bringing them here today and recognizing their work for the city and congratulations to you for your successful business.

Thank you.

Councilmember Jurado.

Hi there.

Thank you, Councilmember Padilla.

I love your costume.

You're out of this world.

Exactly.

And I want to congratulate this family for their community-owned hardware and supply store.

We need more folks like you that are invested in our communities and have a lasting legacy and invested in all of us.

And so thank you for all that you do and supporting various districts and being our hardware local hardware experts and uh excited to see some stone and tiles uh down the street later this year.

So thank you.

Thank you.

And thank you, Councilmember Padilla for bringing this, and thank you to uh this family and this business, just FYI.

In case you haven't heard, there's a lot of work uh in the city of Los Angeles, so you all should be plenty busy.

Oh, yeah.

Uh you're exactly the kind of uh businesses that we uh need, especially in this time when some of the national uh hardware places that I won't name haven't exactly been upfront about resisting the activity of the national government.

Uh and please let the president speak.

Oh, thank you.

Um that haven't been uh as loud as they should be about defending the residents of the city of Los Angeles.

I appreciate the uh opportunity to recognize your work.

So thank you so much.

Councilmember Padilla.

Thank you.

So now, without further ado, on behalf of the city of Los Angeles and the 6th district, I'm honored to present the certificate in recognition of the decades of service and your unwavering commitment to the community.

Congratulations to the entire Ace Building Materials team, as well as um all of your workers, and I appreciate that you acknowledge them and mentioned what you do specifically for them because that's very important.

So here we go.

This is for you guys.

That's beautiful.

Yes.

Thank you very much.

All right, our next presentation will be brought to us uh by the member representing Silmar and neighborhoods around 7th Council District, Councilmember Rodriguez.

I'll be relevant.

Before Councilmember Rodriguez starts, I want to make sure we acknowledge the uh president of the the leader of the fire commission was with us, uh Commissioner Genetia Hudley Hayes, and former member of this body representing the one five council member Joe Buscaino was with us or is with us.

I want to welcome them.

You still got it, Councilmember Buscaino.

Go buckets.

Good morning, everyone.

Colleagues, I'm honored to be joined this morning by our Department of Recreation and Parks to celebrate and declare today as Coach LA Day in the City of LA.

Please give them a round of applause.

We are celebrating and honoring the profound dedication, passion, and transformative and positive impact that coaches bring to our communities.

As I've often said, one of the best investments that we can make for the future is the investment in our youth.

High quality coaching is a proven driver of youth well-being, improving persistence, confidence, fitness, teamwork, and a lifelong love of sport and healthy lifestyle.

Coach LA is the Department of Recreation and Parks initiative that equips volunteer and professional coaches with evidence-based training, mentorship, and resources that foster safe, supportive, and developmentally appropriate sport experiences for all participants.

Reckon Parks is implementing Coach LA as a citywide framework to standardize coaching levels and competencies across recreation centers, ensuring that youth and family, regardless of neighborhood, receives an excellent and consistent experience while participating in youth sports.

The successful launch of Coach LA was made possible through the generous support and partnership of Nike, whose multi-year investment in the program provides critical funding for curriculum development, ambassador training, and community outreach.

Coaches are more than instructors of sport.

They are mentors, role models, and community builders.

They teach our young people how to lead and follow, how to persevere, how to win with humility and lose with grace.

They do not only build teams, they build character.

And one of the, you know, when I think about the role that coaches play, and this is true of it transcends sports.

But coaches are an important part of how we teach young people the resilience, the strength that they need, and the know-how to pursue and achieve their wildest potential.

And so it's uh it's really apropos that not only with the impending Olympics that we have coming to Los Angeles, this is more about giving young people the tools that they need to understand that so much of their perseverance and their tenacity is within them to achieve anything that they put their mind to.

You know, my sister is a she started running the LA Marathon as a high school student at Bravo Medical Magnet.

And she has now become the teacher trainer for the LA Marathon for the students at Pocoima Junior High at our alma mater.

And when I think about the tools that coaches give, and I think about people like my sister who become the teacher trainer who were first inspired by those early uh instructors students around LA.

They taught these young people not just about how to run a marathon, but how much life is that marathon and how they can continue to build on the successes and the milestones each and every year or each and every day at those after-school runs to continue to help advance and accomplish their wildest dreams.

And so it's for that reason that we're recognizing, and I want to thank Recreation and Parks for this collaboration.

I want to thank, of course, Nike for their support, because no young person across this city should be denied that opportunity to build on that experience by the lack of resources in their neighborhoods.

We as a city have an obligation to continue to provide that critical support and expose every young people, every young person, irrespective of their zip code, the access to learn these critical life-changing skills in their neighborhoods.

And it's for that reason that I want to thank our Department of Recreation and Parks for being that critical example and for the fortitude to go out and pursue these collaborations that are going to continue to ensure that we provide these opportunities to young people across our city.

So I really want to thank you, Jimmy.

Uh, you have you're you're one of our, you know, in a moment in time where we continue to see uh leaders challenged.

Uh you've continued to be the example along with your incredible team at recreation and parks, uh, the incredible resiliency of your of your own team to continue to make things happen in the wake of very fiscal incredible fiscal challenges.

Um, but I'm really grateful to have you as a partner uh in our city family because as someone who grew up in Korea Town in our local parks, and uh you understand and embrace and embody all the things we want to see in our general managers.

And I'm really grateful for your leadership and uh what you bring to our city family.

And so, ladies and gentlemen I'd like to invite our incredible general manager for the Department of Recreation and Parks Jimmy Kim.

Well thank you for those kind words uh Councilmember Rodriguez good morning everybody um council members and guests um I am honored to be here today on behalf of the Department of Recreation and Parks as City Council considers this resolution to officially declare October 6th 2025 as Coach LA Day in the city of Los Angeles again I want to take uh just a quick moment to thank uh councilmember Rodriguez and this council for recognizing our coaches and volunteers whose incredible work creates safe and supportive sports environments embodying LA's core values coach LA is our commitment to raising the standard of coaching across this city this initiative equips all coaches with the necessary training and resources to foster positive character building and safe experiences for all participants we firmly believe every young athlete deserves a champion invested in their complete growth this success is only possible thanks to the powerful partnerships so I want to take a moment to acknowledge LA28 for their shared commitment to expanding youth sports and express our gratitude to Nike for their multi-year investment that funded the launch of Coach LA including curriculum development and outreach.

These collaborations demonstrate the shared purpose that strengthens our community through sports and opportunity coach LA ensures a single standard of inclusion and safety for every participant from the youngest athlete to the most seasoned coach today we celebrate the coaches partners and staff who leads this vital mission so I want to take a moment uh to recognize our coach ambassadors and some of our coaches that coach right here in the valley standing behind me so please uh be recognized um and on behalf of the department of recreation and parks we are incredibly grateful to the council for making this officially coach LA Day and with that um I would like to bring up uh Mr Eric Aldridge uh to share some words uh representing uh LA 28 uh olympic and paralympic games Mr.

Aldridge good morning council president members of the city council uh again my name is Eric Aldridge I serve as vice president of impact for LA 28 the organizing committee for the Olympic and Paralympic games coming to our hometown my hometown Los Angeles in 2028 our commitment to youth sports is anchored in our 160 million dollar commitment to the city of Los Angeles Department of Recreation Parks department and the Play LA program.

The program is really centered on creating access to high quality affordable youth sports to our city's youth in addition our adaptive sports program which gives every family that has a child with a disability the opportunity to participate in sport is a critical and a groundbreaking program that has been stood up by play LA and everyone that you see in front of you here.

Joining me today is one of my colleagues Noelani Day who's an Olympian a USC grad Noah Lani participated in the recent 2024 Paris games as a swimmer in the 50 meters Noah Lani has a non-traditional journey.

She represented team Tongva.

She began swimming in the open waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Before she swam in a pool, before she had a trained coach, she had people supporting her journey, one that led all the way to Paris, a journey that just most athletes don't have the opportunity to experience.

And so she is so representative of what this is all about and what Jimmy outlined, which is this opportunity that we have to develop our young people.

As a part of our 160 million dollar commitment, we have helped establish the Play Safe LA program.

That program is not just about teaching and training sports, it's also about creating safe spaces for our young athletes, both physically and emotionally.

I know for me as a young person that grew up here in this community.

I a coach named James Henry, who said, Eric Aldridge, young Eric Aldrich, if you master hitting and throwing this white stitched ball, it could take you a lot of places.

And so for me, that took me to college baseball, UC San Diego.

It took me to an incredible 30-year career in professional sports and live live entertainment and my current position at LA 28.

So I understand personally the power of sport.

All the coaches behind us here are the people who are leading the way each and every day.

They are really truly the change makers and the game changers when it comes to youth sports.

And so our purpose here is just to ensure that the games don't just come and go, but the legacy lives beyond 28, and youth sports uh is going to be critical to that legacy that it continues on long past the cauldron going out.

So thank you.

Thank you, Eric and Jimmy.

Yes, and I want to the Play Safe LA program.

I want to thank LA 28 for being instrumental in helping to craft that language to ensure that families can feel very confident about the quality of the coaching and the experiences that young people are having across this city.

It's a commitment to protect young people, but to ensure the quality and consistency of the programming that we're offering in our Department of Recreation Parks, coupled with the investment from LA 28, that 160 million dollars, which is now expanding to so many different, it's not just your traditional uh basketball swimming.

Uh now we've added the equestrian activities.

We've added such a large suite of programming opportunities for young people.

So I want to thank you for helping to ensure that we aren't just uh this isn't a one-and-done, this is a dedicated investment to our young people in the city, and I want to thank you uh for that.

So, uh colleagues, Mr.

President, I don't know.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

The button doesn't work.

That's why I was waving my broom.

Looking at the screen, I want to thank you uh so much, Councilmember Rodriguez.

As everyone knows, I'm a single mom.

I raised my kids in Los Angeles, uh recreation and parks.

I started writing them down.

They were at Baldwin, they were at Rancho, they were at Harvard, they were at Gardner, which is Pan Pacific now.

We moved them around because that's where the best coaches were.

And so it's really important to acknowledge the coaches.

They're not the ones getting a trophy when we have a little banquet.

So thank you for doing this.

It's really important, and I appreciate the uh collaboration with the partners that are investing in our youth.

It's super important.

I have one kid that went all the way to college rugby, another one that played college basketball, and that's because they started playing games at really at Gardner Park.

Y'all don't even know what that is because they changed the name.

So it's super important.

Um I want to thank the whole program so that you're lifting up coaches and encouraging more talent to give back to their community because uh it is it's really what we need.

Thank you so much, and thank you for acknowledging.

Super smart.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Soto Martinez, uh thank you so much, uh Mr.

President.

Uh uh, Councilwoman Rodriguez, thank you so much for for doing this presentation.

Um, you know, whenever I visit the rec centers and see the coaches uh volunteering, it's just uh a wonderful thing to see.

It's a lot of leadership that they take, and thank you so much uh to our general manager.

But I want to take this moment of privilege to acknowledge our own coach here who's on my staff.

Uh he coaches at Bellevue Rec Center.

Uh multiple teams and his team, even though they're called the Knicks, uh, they won.

I think you won the championship, right?

Well, three championships.

Three championships.

Okay.

So uh it's just a wonderful example of how these are folks that are are guided by just their love for sports, but love for community.

You know, uh the work oftentimes goes invisible, but I want to acknowledge everyone up here and of course my staff member and don't alias navas for doing that.

So thank you so much, Councilwoman.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Herado.

Oh, thank you, Councilmember Rodriguez, for putting this together, and congratulations to the Wreck and Parks uh department.

Mentorship in sports is so important.

I myself was a barracuda swimming at Highland Park.

Um I only got to varsity in high school for the lowest division team, so no career there, but Glassell Park is where my daughter started her athletic career, and it really, you know, she saw herself because of a good coach, you know, and found validation and community and a purpose that before that she just didn't really know.

And it started off with a cheap class for just skills, and it turned into a team and really that powerful, you know, setup of having coaches as mentors and developing that player mentality, which is so transferable to any part of your life.

And I've learned so much watching her have a great coach on how to like stay in the game, be a team player, you know, not be in your feelings and continue to be supportive and be part of the team and and deliver.

And so I see these young Olympians, and I'm kind of jealous.

I'm like, congratulations on your life and your parents.

Um, because you know, that's great.

Uh but um just the power of coaches and how they shape our youth here in LA and like council member uh Hutt, it was also like a place where for me to check my kid, and she became someone because of it as well.

So it was a saving grace for working class families like ours.

So thank you so much.

Thank you.

It's councilwoman Pidilla.

Yes, Councilmember Rodriguez, what a great day.

Uh, to what a great thing to name a day after uh dedicated to our coaches.

You know, I I've always uh considered myself somebody who's a big advocate for the our parks and rec's department, uh rec and parks department, as well as you know, continuing to build out more green space.

Um, you can never have too many parks, in my opinion.

Um, but we know that Play LA is uh one of the best programs that we're getting from LA28.

So thank you, um LA28 for that.

And also uh thank you for bringing up the fact that we've moved in the direction to also incorporate adaptive sports, right?

Because if we know anything about the special needs community, it's that they want to be active and they want to be contributors to society, they don't want to just be home and be institutionalized and be uh, you know, kept in the dark.

But I also want to say um to the coaches, you know, um I also have a staff member who's a coach, uh Franklin Perez from my strike team who will be here later.

He's actually really excited because his girls soccer team at Fernandelus Park just won mid-season tournament champs.

Um, you know, so good good job for them.

Congratulations, Fernandelist.

But I also want to say, you know, I I it's a lifestyle to be a coach, right?

It's it's a it's a lifestyle, it's something that you know you love.

Uh, it's something that you do because uh it's very much a part of your own personalities, um, and you are technically you know, semi-semi-babysitters, you know, and then and sometimes you become uh godparents to some of these kids, right?

That you coach.

I know that there is I go to barbecues, I go to birthday parties, and and there's a coach that gets invited because they're very much seen as part of the families, and over the years, you end up um I can like I said, becoming godparents.

So, so thank you for caring so much, and thank you so much for um choosing this as your hobby because there's so many other things that you could also possibly do with your time.

So, thanks again.

Thank you.

Yeah, it's it's all about the coaches, it makes such a difference in people's lives.

We're very grateful to you, and Councilwoman Rodriguez, thank you for bringing this forward.

Uh, back to you to close.

Thank you.

And again to uh those very well-paid volunteer coaches.

Our deepest and sincerest gratitude for helping to really change the lives of young people for the better uh throughout the city of Los Angeles and for generations.

Your work is gonna continue to reverberate in the lives of these young people, and with all of this uh support and education that you're getting from these partnerships, it's infinite the amount of impact that you will have for generations to come.

And it's for that reason that I am so proud uh to be here in partnership with our department of recreation and parks to dedicate this day, Coach Day in LA.

Congratulations.

Okay, I believe that uh concludes our presentations for today.

What's uh what's next on our agenda?

Mr.

President, the council may now consider item five, for which amending motion five A, Rodriguez Hutt, has been introduced, circulated and posted on bullets important.

Before we get to that, uh Councilwoman Padilla.

Request we move item six forthwith.

Okay, without objection, item six moved forth forthwith.

And now we can take up item five as amended.

Does anyone wish to speak to item five?

Seeing no members on the queue.

Uh let's open the roll on item five as amended.

Close the roll, tally the votes.

Eleven eyes.

Okay.

That measures adopted.

What's next?

The council may not proceed to public comment.

Okay, you could read the instructions.

Yes, Mr.

President.

So if you're here to provide public comment, uh you'll have up to one minute for general public comment today.

If you look at the agenda, uh public comment for the other items has been satisfied at the committee level.

So uh if you'd like to speak on general public comment, please make sure to sign up at the kiosks.

Uh, if you could please, in order to help us run an efficient public comment period and accommodate as many people as possible.

Uh wait until you hear the name that you signed up under, read aloud before lining up.

Believe it would be on your left hand side as well here.

Uh, and then we will proceed in that order.

The order in which names are read out is at random, which is to say it is randomly generated.

I have a couple more announcements as well.

If I could have the uh interpreters make this first one aloud to the room, please.

If you require a Spanish language interpreter, please make sure to pause every few sentences so the interpreters can interpret.

Don't worry, we will pause your time while the interpreters are interpreting, so you will get the same amount of time as everyone else.

Thank you.

Finally, if you've submitted an accommodation request a pursuant to the ADA, please let the sergeants know so that when you hear your name that you signed up under called out aloud, that they can provide you with I believe a a wireless mic.

Thank you.

Okay, let's call it in.

Hi, okay.

I will begin by calling the following names.

Mark Lambert, Eddie, Stefano Padilla, Ronnie G, Ariana, and Veronica.

All right.

Welcome, Mark.

Thank you.

Uh excuse me.

Welcome, Council Members.

Thank you for letting me speak.

Um, I'm here to support Council Member Padilla's motion, file number 22, 1545-531 regarding temporary storage facility at Balboa and Victory.

I'm the regional commissioner of AY SO 33 and Encino.

We have 1,500 people parents and kids there.

Every Saturday.

There is an RV, for instance, right now that has been parked for a week.

We have 100 special needs kids and families that come to me and they say we can't, we can't, there's nowhere to park.

It's very limited parking.

We cannot remove this motor vehicle, this RV that's taken up at least five spaces right now because there's nowhere to tow it to.

This is not an isolated incident.

Um I I urge you please to pass this as soon as possible.

It means a lot to the families and especially the special needs players and families in our region.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Good morning, Council President, Councilmembers Public Stefano Padilla on behalf of South Coast Air Quality Management District.

I'm here today to announce that South Coast AQMD has recently launched two major funding initiatives.

For more information, please visit InvestClean.org.

The purpose is to help residents and small businesses adopt uh space and water heaters.

I just want to note that it's on a first come first served basis.

Uh more funds are reserved for small businesses and underserved communities.

For more info, uh please visit AQMD.gov go zero.

And I just want to encourage fleet operators, businesses, uh, and residents to apply early.

Thank you.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call up Dana, BBC Boxer, Norm Grimes, David Evans, Raymond, and Alexander Barron.

Good morning.

Go ahead.

You have one minute.

Hi, good morning.

If accountability were on the agenda, I wouldn't need this microphone.

So here I am.

District one, Ms.

Hernandez.

Forgot who put her here apparently.

And district eight, Mr.

Marquise.

Yeah, you forgot what you said that you were fighting for.

You know, you say your community first, but that line dissolved the moment that the camera shut off.

Mr.

Marquise, you talk about loyalty, but your consistency disappears faster than your vows.

You managed to disappoint your wife, your advisor.

Quite the double act, really.

Now you screw the people.

You do not protect people because you don't care about us.

You don't care about your wife, and you're not even really paying attention to much now.

But we will continue to show up.

We will continue to be here for people while you debate budgets.

We are feeding families.

We are fixing what negligence this department has broke.

And we are the community that y'all keep scheduling around and keep underestimating, but we're not going anywhere, and we'll keep showing up.

Okay, next speaker.

Okay, next next speaker.

If I could ask everyone to keep keep quiet, we'll have the next speaker.

My name is Norm Grimes.

I am a business owner on Randall Street in Sun Valley, and I simply want to thank Councilmember Padilla and her staff for their efforts to help keep our neighborhood clean and safe.

Uh, we have a lot of business properties there that uh certainly appreciate your efforts and we hope this new project continues to improve this area.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Next speaker.

Good morning.

Go ahead, you have one minute.

Okay.

Um good morning.

My name is David Evans.

I'm calling, I guess I'm reaching out to uh vote yes on uh item number six.

Um, Councilwoman Padilla's uh motion um to provide temporary storage for uh RVs.

Uh that's my first issue.

Do I need to wait for general public comment?

Yeah, putting it in.

Do I need a way for it?

No, no, you're you have one minute for whatever you want to speak.

Oh, okay, okay.

Total.

All right, yeah, I'll make it really quickly.

Um I'm speaking in regards to the uh proposed change to the RSO formula.

Um, you know, represent a number of uh private property owners in South Los Angeles, and they can't uh deal with a lower uh rent increase, especially right now with their expenses triple the allowable rent increase.

So I'm saying please to every city council member, particularly the housing and Homeless committee.

Reconsider the RSO uh calculation formula.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Um, uh good morning.

Uh Consul President Blomandingo.

Uh so I'm here to talk about the uh uh American citizens are losing their food stamp snap benefit, and also American citizens are losing their medical services, so um we are not able to get any medications on a lot of community members in need of a Viagra, and they are not able to get it under Medical.

Especially you continue to cut the Medical and then continue to found your Palestinian lives matter in Hamas.

Um so I'm really concerned that American citizens are no longer having food benefit, Snap, uh Calfresh food stamp in Lake County, in California State in the at the federal level, continue to a government shot down because you'll continue to found a Palestinian lives matter, Hamas, continue to feel the war uh in Middle East.

Um so I'm just uh trying to advocate everybody can put more food on the table and uh everybody just continue to support the legal American citizen, not the illegal American citizen.

Okay, next speaker.

Please, we we cannot have people shouting out from the audience.

Everyone is entitled to speak.

Everyone is entitled to speak, and you can't yell out.

Otherwise, we have to remove you from the meeting.

Sorry.

If the people in the back need to keep quiet as well, so that everyone can hear the speaker.

Uh let's give everyone their attention.

Go ahead, ma'am.

The floor is yours.

One minute.

Hello, my name is Alexandra Barron.

I'm a citizen, I'm a mom, and I've I'm out of words to say, really, to figure out why the protesters that are trying to protect their community members are being brutalized by the LAPD.

I'm really confused because when I go out there and I march for my family, which has mixed status, and for my neighbors, I expect our police to protect me because A, I'm a citizen and I have that right, and B, if they're not protecting me, why are we paying them?

I pay taxes, and they keep going up.

All things considered, I'm a pretty moderate woman.

For me to take the day off of work and come down here, it's not right.

I appreciate the eye contact.

I've seen a woeful lack of dignity being granted by you guys to the citizens that come up here to speak.

And if I'm gonna miss out on work and not get paid today, and you guys are, least you can do is we can all sit here together and come up with a solution so our community members are not being brutalized while they are protecting the rights of others who are being illegally kidnapped.

Next speaker.

Mr.

Gus.

Um Daniel Gustave Substack.com, pursuant to government code 54954.3.

I want a second minute because you have a continuation agenda.

If you don't grant it for me and you're running my time now, I'll file a complaint and a claim.

So you'll spend thousands of dollars rather than giving me and everybody who wants the second minute, and this is procedural, you shouldn't be running my clock.

Daniel Gus.com.

Mr.

Groat.

You'll lose time.

So you you do you're not entitled to the second minute.

So understood.

You can continue with your 32 seconds.

Go ahead.

32 seconds, you're checking with Bloominfield to see if I have the time to speak at all.

So if you want to spend thousands of dollars, great, you'll get yourself acclaim.

You're gonna get yourself a claim, and that's gonna cost the city attorney's office thousands of dollars.

You watch and see.

Hey, so how many of you hypocrites are gonna be celebrating with the Dodgers if they game win game six tonight and game seven tomorrow?

You're gonna you're gonna be on the bus shaking hands with people that you said shouldn't go to the White House to celebrate with Trump, right?

Mr.

Hernandez, you talk about what this city government and this city council did to the people in Chavez Ravine.

Where are you?

Are you gonna celebrate with them?

Are you gonna be on the bus taking photos?

Or are you gonna be a hypocrite?

Okay.

All right, hold his time till he gets to the microphone and then he gets there, he'll have one minute.

Thank you.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call up Nito Flores, David Evans, George, Kitty Hollerith, and Stacey Cigara.

Uh does everybody know what red flag season is?

In Portner Ranch, we do.

Red flag means that according to uh Mark Christie on Channel 5, the winds get up between 60 and 70 miles an hour.

And we know what happened in Palisades, right?

A little cigarette burned down, homes, destroyed families, a little match, destroyed the uh the Eden community, and yet Mr.

Lee does nothing.

You know, the uh Channel 5 was up there with the and they had like 10 of the firemen, God bless the firemen.

Uh, but where were they at?

They were over by Mr.

Lee's house.

Not where the fires can start.

Not on Resita Boulevard where we've already seen three fires.

No!

They're going to protect his house.

So you know what I'm gonna do?

Mr.

Lee, I'm gonna move in with you, and you don't think I will?

Damn it, I'll take my motorhome up there and I'll drive right through your front gate.

Nothing's going to stop me because you are not protecting the people of Porter Ranch.

We're gonna have another Palisade uh event because Speaker, your time has expired.

Next speaker.

Okay.

Next speaker, welcome.

Good morning.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

You know, I wish I could speak here indefinitely, telling you everything and how I feel about everything that's going on.

But unfortunately I can't.

So I'm just gonna make really quick point.

You guys can all see.

You guys can all walk.

You guys can all speak.

You guys all have more functions.

The Los Angeles Police Department has made sure that on top of assaulting citizens and angelinos that they have removed those freedoms that we have.

I know people who have lost their corneas.

I know people who have grave concussions that affected their motor function.

I myself had a broken knee.

Yet still I stand before you all, taking a day off when I should be working to make sure that I have food in the table.

Just to let you guys know of what these people are doing.

The abhorrence of the infantile incompetency that's demonstrating time and time again before all of us from these very people that are supposed to represent us as beyond shameful.

Thank you for representing everybody but your constituency.

Next speaker.

Thank you.

Good morning.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

The NSSC enables ice raids.

So council votes to approve.

Police overtime.

Demonstrators are being brutalized.

What does council do?

Fun police overtime.

LAP it is afraid of the press.

LAPD is afraid of the press.

Well, people are displaced from their neighborhoods.

What does council do?

Ban bad words.

Da-da-da-da-da-da.

So many issues.

And none of them good.

What does council do?

Ban bad words.

Da-da-da-da-da-da.

Council is afraid of the word cunt.

Council is afraid of the word cunt.

Do do do to do to do do do do.

Council is afraid of the word cunt.

Do do do do do do.

Council is afraid of the word cunt.

Kind of insane how you're more offended by bad words than police brutalizing citizens and journalists in the streets.

Fuck ice and shout out smoking scan.

Let's read the rule.

I'm offended by that.

Please read the rule.

City attorney, would you read the rule?

Pulling up the the language, but basically, as you know, those that word is not allowed in this chamber.

And you're subject to removal for uh using that word, and you are being warned not to use that word again.

And the city attorney will read the official words in into the record.

Or if they have it.

Okay.

Well, they're looking that up.

Why don't we hear from the next speaker?

Hi, my name is uh Nato Flores, and I am a resident of Los Angeles.

Um, I'm a property owner, and I own uh apartment buildings, smaller ones, and I would like to speak out against the uh mandate being considered to force uh apartment owners to install air conditioning systems in apartments.

Uh you guys are really taking a very difficult method of cooling down buildings and ventilating them.

Uh it's going to increase the cost for small operators, gonna drive a lot of us out of the market.

You're gonna reduce the housing stock.

There are better ways to do it by using whole house fans that bring in cool air at night and allow the surfaces and masses inside the buildings to cool to be cooled down, and during the day they the house and the apartments stay cool all the way until very early evening.

That is uh what I came to say.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

First, I want to invite you all to Mayor Bass's town hall Monday at 5 30.

Um there is a town hall.

RSVP, uh, there's a QR code that you guys uh we gave you documents that you should look at.

Uh times are terrifying in this country.

It's essential that elected officials listen to the people.

Los Angeles, DC, Portland, Chicago, New York are being used as a backdrop to Stephen Miller and Peter Till's authoritarian takeover.

Global protests are on the rise, and they're going to continue to grow in size and frequency.

The First Amendment guarantees the freedmen freedom freedom of speech, press the right to peacefully assemble, and lastly, the freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Sadly, Angelinos are being harmed by LAPD.

See the images in front of you.

Chief of Police McDonnell has knowingly lied about the systematic anti-proct protest practices.

LEPD calling unlawful assembly is simply unconstitutional.

USS US citizens have a warped understanding of what protests are.

Protests do not require permits, protests don't end because the government wants it to end.

Protests are daily actions until the people's demands are met.

Again, protests are daily actions until the people's demands are met.

The mayor or two-thirds of city council can remove the chief of police.

Please remove Jim McDonnell.

Please help protesters.

We are fighting for your rights too.

Thank you very much.

Okay, next speaker, please.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call up Candido, Michael Ebencamp, Jennifer, Kathy Schreiner, and Lizbeth Huerta.

Okay, floor is yours.

Hi, my name's Katie LaFoon.

I want to know why the city council is approving taking funds earmarked for the unhoused to pay overtime for the LAPD in an area that's predominantly white and wealthy.

I'm sorry, are the white people scared right now?

Are they being terrorized by ICE?

It makes no sense to me.

The LAPD has a budget of over $5 billion, which is half the city's budget.

If they cannot work within that budget, they need new leadership.

Remove Jim McDonnell.

Additionally, you all unanimously voted for more oversight over permits over parades.

Interesting choice of the verb parade.

Councilwoman Hutt, you and I quote, when asked about this said, one of the great parts of being an American is having freedom of speech and the right to protest.

There are people who are having these events that aren't true protests.

And I want to ensure that the First Amendment events are protected for the resources needed to keep them safe and available and allocated.

I would like to know what you consider not a real protest that's happened this summer, because we've been out there and they do not issue permits.

The LAPD does not issue permits.

It is our right to, it is our right to protest.

It is our right.

We do not need a permit.

Thank you, Speaker.

Okay.

Next speaker.

Councilmember Hudd.

This is not about First Amendment to protest.

It has nothing to do with the councilman.

It's about you can't have a back and forth.

I'm sorry.

Uh we we need to go back to the speaker.

Okay, we we cannot have a back and forth.

It's now up to uh the next speaker.

Go ahead, sir.

Good morning, Council George Balyan here, representing San Valley Caregivers located on Randall Street in San Valley, California.

For at least three years, Randall Street was occupied by illegally parked RVs, which created a lot of sanitary and safety hardships for our employees and customers.

With the help of Council Member Imelda Padilla, her staff and our neighbor neighborhood council Randall Street got cleaned up.

We'd support item number six.

Council Member Padilla, thank you so much for your attention to this matter.

Thank you, everybody.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Good morning.

My name is Jennifer Kozak.

And I'm here today to demand accountability.

When appointed as LAPD chief back in November 2024, Jim McDonnell in his own words said that his goals were to enhance public safety, grow LAPD back to full strength through recruitment and retention, strengthen public trust, further develop community relationships, and ensure respectful and constitutional policing practices.

Actions speak louder than words.

Time and time again, Chief McDonnell has demonstrated that he is unable to uphold his oath as police chief to support the Constitution, enforce laws without prejudice, and to serve our community with integrity.

He lacks the courage to hold both himself and other officers accountable for their actions.

No one could have predicted themselves to be living in this current dystopian timeline in America, but fear will not let us get anywhere.

Bowing down to fascist regime will not get us anywhere.

And that's exactly why we need better leadership.

Not just from Jim McDonald, but from all of you, especially Mayor Karen Bass.

We are not the enemy.

We don't know who to trust anymore.

We don't understand why there's complicity with ICE and DHS from our local leadership and it is unacceptable.

Okay, thank you.

Next speaker.

Yes, good morning.

My name is Kathy Schreiner.

I'm speaking as an individual, but as president of the Van Ice Neighborhood Council.

I welcome you back to Van Ice.

Thank you for being here.

I'm here to speak on behalf of California Native Trees.

I don't know if you know that only 3% of the street trees in Los Angeles are California native trees.

And those are tree and all those other trees don't attract the biodiversity, the bug the insects, the butterflies, the birds, those sorts of things, and they're not adapted to this climate.

So I really hope that you will start to help us advocate with urban forestry to do um more specifying California native trees whenever there are opportunities to plant um street trees in Los Angeles.

Right now we're trying, um, there's a tartar school um that in Van Ise that has to plant trees, and all the trees that are specified are non-native trees.

So we really think that's not the right approach, and we hope that you will help us in um urging a more of a focus on California native trees, both um on the street trees and also um we also are advocating to beckon parks and their commission to plant more native trees.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Before the next, before the next speaker begins.

Is it working?

Oh, before the next speaker begins, I would like to call up Johnny G, Jake Hart, Courtier, Andrew Grabener, and Joe.

Good morning, go ahead.

You have one minute.

Good morning.

My name is Michael Ebbinkamp.

I'm a resident here of the valley.

As you've heard from public comment, there is a large demand to remove Chief McDonald from the LEPD, and rightfully so.

Under his leadership, the department is very clearly protecting ice instead of the people of Los Angeles, all under the guise of neutrality.

It's beginning to resemble the LEPD of the 1990s.

And I stand with the others demanding accountability.

I'm also here to raise another issue ignored by the members of the public safety committee.

The after action reports detailing LEPD's violent response during the week where the military and National Guard were deployed to our city.

Civilians were shot with less leaveful rounds and beaten by officers.

Yet no one has motioned or agendized looking into those after action reports.

Council Member Lee, as chair, your silence is unacceptable.

You should be looking and agendizing these reports as part of the public safety committee.

It is unacceptable to not have any of these reports agendized or none of these items motioned to be agendized.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Speak of the devil.

Next speaker.

Good morning.

You have one minute.

You're running on my time already.

Can you snake on?

Go ahead.

You have one minute.

Thank you.

Um, I don't know if you guys have noticed, but they never thank the taxpayers for funding all the different departments and all the different projects and all the different programs.

Um, and if you know if you notice, they take joy in the public hating them.

And that's a bad sign.

Especially when they have all this fake support for the public when they bring items to Van Eyes and they don't even leave them open for comment.

Um, and la uh within the last few meetings, they they try to abruptly shut down the meeting.

The president here under a false pretense of losing quorum.

The city clerk had to let them know that they didn't lose quorum.

So if they really want to support the public, they can start by listening.

Um they are so focused on the Olympics 2028 while we're worried about tomorrow, and they grovel at the foot of the c of corporations because there isn't funding because we're being bled dry by liability claims all over that you go into closed sessions and then you come back.

We're not even allowed to comment on closed session items.

You just show up the next day talking about 750,000 here, 500,000 here, 125,000 there, like it's nothing when it comes out of our pockets, not yours.

And every time you buy a fucking pack of gum that comes out of our pockets, not yours.

Never forget that shit.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Good morning.

Go ahead and at least I can I don't have to do anything for Halloween tonight.

I'm scared enough coming here.

This crap.

So if you actually cared about the public, you would have had a motion introduced, emergency motion introduced today to provide food aid to close the gaps being put in place by Trump illegally withholding food aid to the people of LA.

But you don't have any motion for that.

You could take it from the three billion dollars to go to the LAPD while they terrorize and brutalize the city.

Why is Jim McDonald still chief of police?

Why was he ever chief of police?

He's you knew before you even appointed him that he was going to protect Trump, that we just look at his history from when he was sheriff.

That's what he did.

And look what he's doing now.

LAPD's assisting ICE, terrorizing the public, and you know, remove Jim McDonnell.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call it Petra Rodriguez and Katie LaFoon.

Go ahead, sir.

Okay, I start.

Hi, my name is Jake Hart, uh, Councilman Soto Martinez.

You're my councilman, a writer's guild member.

I was very proud to have voted for you when you stood with us the first day of the uh strike at Netflix.

Councilwoman Hernandez, I drive for the Highland Park Food Distro every other Friday.

You give us dozens of bags of food a week and it gives us life.

These were moral acts.

These were compassionate acts.

They were also politically wise.

So too would be removing police chief Jim McDonald for failing to protect the rights and the physical well-being of protesters and the press.

At a time when trust in the National Democratic Party is at its lowest, we need majority democratic local and state bodies like this to show the rest of the country you will do what's right.

You will stand up against conservative officials trying to put a boot on the life liberty and pursuit of happiness of this country.

I'm a political organizer, I have a national network.

I would love to go wide with Democrats doing righteous acts.

The two party system is all we have.

I feel like if the faith in the party fails, we're gonna let the GOP run rampant over this country, and the existential threats we face are gonna get worse.

Please please remove Jim McDonald.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Welcome.

Floor is yours.

Good morning.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

Um, good morning.

I'd like to raise awareness, if possible, I'd like to petition that a motion to dismiss financial responsibility from the United States citizens be implemented.

And I'll do the best I can to make it happen.

The emotional distress, anxiety, and fear is causing human suffering, addictions and war within and around the neglect of clear distress is abusive on our government's part, and I am requesting freedom for all on freely given land and freely given bodies with freely given resources.

We've been enslaved to the monetary system.

A concept created to maintain and distribute is now burdening and hindering human beings and the necessary resources.

One to get sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

I'm nervous.

But the point is that I would like to petition that the responsibility no longer be on the United States citizens.

Thank you.

Thank you, next speaker.

Thank you.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call up Michelle and John Mattingley.

Good morning.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

To the constituents of LA, I say good morning to the members of this council.

I say shame.

Shame for shutting down forum last Friday, leaving five of your voters without a voice to express their rightful anger at LAPD's violence against peaceful protesters and journalists.

You would think for a city that wants to host the Olympics in three years that shooting members of the international press would be a line you would not cross, but apparently we have to have that conversation.

Secondly, we demand the resignation of LA police chief Jim McDonnell and to the members of LAP LAPD.

I ask if you want to regain trust in the citizenship of Los Angeles, you would treat your citizens with respect when they are trying to exercise their first amendment rights.

I have seen them work complacency side by side with ICE and DHS.

And you know the atrocities ICE is carrying out among the communities of Los Angeles, and you can't even bring yourself to say the name of Home Depot.

So to that I say you will be voted out next year.

Long live Los Angeles and long live the people of LA.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call up Jed Clampett, Daniel Gus, San Juana Medina, Jesse Artie, and Steve Hill.

Good morning, you have one minute.

Go ahead.

Yeah, hi.

My name is Jeff Fowler, the president of the Apartment Owners Association of California.

Want to thank Amelda Padilla for uh item six that she's brought forward.

We want to support that.

And her, we are stakeholders in District 6 and personally in District 12.

So appreciate all of you.

I know you have um next week the rent controls on the agenda.

A lot of people ask the question, why is the rent so damn high?

And I have to point to the 1970s where GDP and people's wages used to track across what's happened with robots replacing people.

Is all of a sudden, instead of that happening, GDP has gone up and people's wages have been stagnant since then.

AI is gonna make it worse.

It's not the landlord's fault you can't artificially lower the rent.

Um the next people that come in are paying an inflated price.

Why don't you carve out the rich people from it?

It should be for the poor and not for across the board everybody.

And funds for shouldn't go to attorneys, it should go to people who the tenants who actually need it.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, next speaker.

Good morning.

Uh, we are demanding the removal of Chief McDonald.

Sorry, before we start a time, can you move the microphone to just a little bit?

So a little hard to hear you.

Go ahead, you have one minute.

Go ahead.

Right.

Good morning.

Uh we are demanding the removal of Chief McDonald.

We deserve our 60th chief of police today.

Why are we allowing the police to brutalize citizens, protesters, and journalists?

We demand change and we deserve we deserve answers.

On Sunday, we were protesting at the mayor's house, and we were met with unhinged and angry cops slamming a protester to the floor and arresting him.

And he had no weapons on him.

We demand a defund or a regroup.

We are not afraid of the good old boys, and I promise you guys that.

Moving forward, we will be seen, we will be heard.

You will know our names because we will keep coming back and we will keep demanding justice for every Angelino.

And like always, que vive la resistencia and chinga la migra.

Next speaker, go ahead.

Hello, my name is Steve Hill.

Good morning, United States Marine Corps veteran, retired peace officer.

I just recently moved down here into LA proper.

I've been appraising real estate in the Antelope Valley for the last 20 years.

Everybody knows where the Antelope Valley is, that place nobody wants to go.

But you send all your homeless there, and I've witnessed it over the last 20 years as an appraiser.

I don't know who my district member is yet because the website is so confusing.

But we need to talk, and I would like to schedule a formal meeting with you to talk about property values because I notice we have no homelessness issues.

I live right down the street from Skid Row.

I'm like Skid Row adjacent.

Something can be done.

A lot of your zoning down here is antiquated.

Your buildings are not at highest and best use.

Kind of like your policing.

Highest and best use to help the people.

So I need to get with whoever I live at 32nd and San Pedro.

So whoever my district member is, I would like to schedule a meeting with you.

And I think that protesters should be able to protest.

That's what America's about.

Thank you, speaker.

Next speaker.

And uh as the next speaker comes up, there's a bunch of names that are on here.

A lot of them are fake.

So anyone here who has not spoken who has come to speak and wishes to speak, go ahead and line up.

We're not going to read any more names, but if you're if you're here to speak, you're free to line up if you haven't spoken already.

Uh go ahead, sir.

You have one minute.

I'm here to ask the council to replace LAPD McDonald.

He is mismanaging this department.

At these protests, LAPD creates the problem by uh introducing tension to the situation.

More often than not, their solution to the problem they create a disescalation, arrest, intimidations, and injuries.

When tensions arise, protesters chant de-escalate, but LAPD grabs their batons and tightens their grip.

I was there on October 18th when the crowd was starting to dissipate.

I heard an incoherent message from a helicopter and imagined it was a dispersal order.

So my friends and I decided to leave.

But we were not able to leave because police were blocking our exit.

They told us to turn around.

They told us to leave, but block three of our exits.

If the goal was for us to leave, they would have let us leave.

But their goal was to intimidate, arrest, and injure.

I challenge any of you still listening to attend a protest and see for yourself.

I promise you they are peaceful.

You could be in a crowd of 50, 500, 5,000, or 50,000, and you will be safe as long as you're not standing across from a police officer.

Chief McDonald's responsible for this.

I urge the council replaced Chief McDonald with responsible leadership that is working in the interests of the people and this council.

Next speaker, come forward.

Thank you.

Good morning.

My name is San Juana Medina.

I'm a worker de comida rapida.

Fast food.

I come here today.

To ask for your nueva ordinanza for the new ordinance.

Many workers, like myself, beneficiarse, can be can benefit from this.

With training.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

My name is Joanne Lightfoot.

With ICE terrorizing our neighborhoods and all that entails, I don't think that Chief McDonald's leadership is meeting the moment.

Citizens are rightfully angry and want to exercise the First Amendment right to protest.

Why are they calling for unlawful assemblies when protests are largely peaceful?

LAPD should be de-escalating situations, but instead what I've seen is they have been escalating them.

They have shot at press who posed no threat and used excessive force on citizens.

As a taxpayer, I want to know who will hold this department accountable.

Our city is already in debt.

It is imperative for LAPD leadership to change their strategies and find ways to de-escalate and allow for peaceful protesting.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Good morning.

You have one minute, go ahead.

Hi, my name is Addie McKean, and I'm our constituent of Destrict 4.

Um recently, my representative Nithy Raman, along with my congresswoman Laura Friedman, celebrated a signalized crosswalk in Los Feliz because they claim to care about uh public safety improvements in our neighborhood and saving lives.

But then tell me what are they doing about the public safety emergency that we are experiencing right now with ice and which we haven't been experiencing for the past several months, which is made up of a group of bounty hunters illegally terrorizing our city.

Now in New York and Newark, public officials are getting arrested for protecting their constituents, they're joining them at sit-ins, they are leading them and inspiring them at protests and rallies in Chicago.

They're going on ice patrol.

They're driving ice out of their neighborhood to protect their residents and to look out for public safety.

In LA, they're giving the LAPD, they're giving the LAPD more and more money from our taxpayer dollars, though they say we are in a fiscal crisis and allocating more for the homeless to the LAPD, which my representative Nithya Roman claims to care so much about the homeless uh housing crisis.

They're allocating, uh they're allowing LAPD to protect ice while they go after innocent bystanders, people, peaceful protesters, members of the press.

The police need to be arresting ICE.

Your time has expired.

Next speaker.

Good morning.

You have one of the distribute these letters here.

Yes, so before we start as time.

So if you hand them to the sergeants, you should be able to distribute them.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

My name is Daniel Sosa.

Please remove LA police chief Jim McDonald with a two-thirds vote.

The way protesters and press have been treated by LAPD since June is unacceptable.

LAPD is consistently assaulting peaceful protesters and press.

They continue to do it even after court orders, court injunctions, and motions by this body.

They declare unlawful assemblies on peaceful crowds.

They are using 4118 to cite and arrest protesters and seize their belongings.

They are using prior restraint to block off streets in anticipation of protests.

The list goes on, they are doing so many illegal things, and they're opening the city up to liability time and time again.

We need a new police chief.

Chief McDonald is being influenced by the Trump administration on personnel decisions as reported by the LA Times on October 18th.

His oath is not to the Trump administration, it is to the people of Los Angeles.

Please remove LA police chief Jim McDonald with a two-thirds vote.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Go ahead.

Uh my name is Armin Koray.

I work in Lake Balboa.

I own property in Lake Balboa, and I'm here to support Constable Man Padilla's uh motion for the RV storage.

I have a request.

I want to make sure that there is fencing with uh proper screening so he doesn't become an ISOR for the neighborhood.

And I request additional funding for cleanup of the streets.

The streets are filthy and they remain fealty for long time.

You guys need to spend more time cleaning the streets.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Hello.

I'm also here to request the removal of Chief McDonnell.

Um, I think everyone's already spoken on that, so I'm not gonna speak more.

I do have a story to tell, and that's a few months ago.

Um, there was a SWAT training on my block, and they did not let the neighbors know that this was happening.

And I want to understand why the fuck you're having militarized police set off explosives in residential neighborhoods without the knowledge or consent of the residents.

What the hell?

Don't we have any say in whether there should be militarized police trainings on our blocks?

When I went to speak to a police officer, they were like back up, back up, back up.

When I finally backed up, I was like, will you talk to me now?

They said no.

And I said, I'm a resident here, and I had no idea this was happening.

I was sitting in the backyard with my friends, and there's explosives going off on my street, and now there's 30 SWAT officers in full fucking military gear walking down my block, militarized vehicles and everything.

Speaker, your time has expired.

Next speaker.

Okay, we we can't have yelling from the audience, so please uh keep quiet until we can hear the speaker.

Go ahead, speaker.

Okay.

Cool.

Hi, my name's uh Davina.

Um there's no lights on my street, but we have enough money to pay for like 50 police officers to show up to a protest of 20 people.

Uh I was punched in the head a year ago, a block away from where I lived, called the police.

The police took 20 minutes to show up, but we have them show up 10 minutes into a protest.

Like I I it's kind of insane.

Like, I'm a veteran, I walk around these streets.

You guys tell me all the time, thank you for your service.

But here I am getting punched in the back of my head, a block away from where I freaking live, and you guys can't solve that crime.

Thank you.

Okay, is anyone else here wishing to speak?

Seeing nobody coming forward, that exhausts public comment.

Public comment is officially closed.

Um, you already spoke, ma'am.

Uh, okay, public comment is closed.

Uh what's uh what's next?

Mr.

President, councilman has motions for posting a referral.

Okay, without objection.

They are posted and referred.

But this is clear, sir.

Desk is clear.

Okay, we'll move on to announcements.

Councilwoman Arrado, you have an announcement.

Are you trying to make announcement?

Yes, yes, yes.

I'm sorry, Mr.

Thank you.

The meeting is still going on, so if I could ask everyone to keep quiet in the audience, we have announcements and adjourning motions, and then the meeting will be over.

Okay, if you're gonna keep uh you want to get removed at the end of this meeting, just just wait a few minutes till the meeting is over.

We're talking about okay.

Okay, you gotta go.

Please remove the black polo shirt.

This is your first and only.

It's already been warned.

You're removed.

You were warned.

Okay.

Go ahead with your announcement.

Okay, thank you, council member uh chair.

I would like to.

This is a sad day for the city of LA.

Uh it's Halloween, and it's a very uh it's a very sad day for the city of LA, as we say goodbye to someone who has worked in multiple council offices for eleven, one, and fourteen.

Uh, and we're like to say thank you so much for your public service to the city of LA, Zanthy Sheps.

Come here, Zanthi.

There is a petition going around that's saying, please don't let her go.

Um if you haven't signed it, I urge you to sign it because we should don't want to say it's so.

And if all I guess if all the council members that she's worked for, or just want to come up and take your photo with you.

But if you want to say a couple words, Santhe, I know this is uncomfortable for you, but I'm supposed to talk.

Well, you uh will not be soon, so I think it's you know, you've given so much to the city of LA, you have a wealth of knowledge.

I've learned so much from you.

And um, I know you love the city so much, and this must be hard, but I think um I I know I've appreciated your mentorship and guidance and challenges, and I know your next adventure is gonna be fun because that's who you are, and you just bring so much to this work, and so really want to thank you.

But yes, in case you have something you'd like to say, um, um, I would like to thank all of you because I have learned so incredibly much.

Um, and it's been the honor of my life to serve the city that raised me.

Um, and I'm just grateful for the mentorship of everyone in this room, um, and the friendship of everyone in this room.

And um I'm probably not gonna be going very far.

And I I'm gonna be excited to see all of you and and keep in touch and see what see what's going on.

So thank you.

I think we have some other members who wish to speak to this.

Uh councilman Hernandez.

Thank you Council President.

Zanty, you were my first uh legislative deputy on my team.

I can still remember the first day that we walked down a chambers in City Hall.

Like I was walking down the stairs, and I could feel like my heart pumping out of my chest because I was so nervous.

But I remember that I felt you you were the person who in particular who made me feel safe in a room that I had never been in, that I had to start making incredibly difficult decisions about.

Um I feel like you set me up for success and you made me feel safe in a space where again I I was really scared.

So I'm grateful for that for building confidence in me in this space to take up space in chambers uh in my analysis to trust my analysis and to trust the team.

I'm jealous of wherever else you go, um, whatever else city that you get to work for that will grow and benefit because of your work and your vision.

Um just don't go too far and know that you always can lean on us.

But thank you.

Thank you for making me feel safe.

Thank you for helping us build the plane while we were flying it when we came in, and I look forward to continuous success.

Thank you.

Great and councilwoman Rodriguez.

Thank you, Zanthy.

I just I want to wish you the very best.

You know, uh council members only as good as their staff, and you embody all of the right characteristics that actually helped whatever member you were working for, you actually were a bridge of trust.

And I just wanted to personally thank you for uh, you know, in all the different roles that you've had, you and you alone were so much of the reason why many of the staffs were able to really work and collaborate together.

Uh so I just wanted to personally thank you and wish you the very best in whatever you do because frankly uh there's no limit to your potential, and I just uh I wanted to thank you for your service to the people of Los Angeles.

You and you alone were instrumental in helping to bridge a lot of gaps.

So I just wanted to say thank you for that and wish you the very best always.

Councilwoman Padilla.

Centre, I don't know if they told you, but I was actually really irritated when I got the news that you were leaving.

Um, because just like Councilmember Rodriguez said, you are someone who knows how to think outside the box and think of collaboration in a way that really solves things we're all thinking about.

And to be more specific, um, I know there's people on this council that know how frustrated I am that I can't hire goats to clear brush.

I really want to do that.

But uh I'm not gonna give up on that, but I do want to make sure that before you leave, I give credit that it was your idea that we should probably have like a petting zoo um at one of our major parks, whether it be uh a handsome dam or whether it be at um uh Griffith Park or the basin, uh, so that then we can use these goats at a petting zoo to help us with the work of also clearing brush.

What a wonderful idea.

And I'm sad that you're not gonna be able to help us put it together, but it's your idea, and we're gonna work on it.

Um, but just always thank you for being so friendly, and um, like I said, thinking outside the box in a way that'll help us all.

We're gonna miss you.

Councilwoman Hood.

Zanthy, you know, I lived with you on one side, and then the next thing I know, I thought you were going to the wrong member, and then I was like, what's going on here?

Yeah, but I really appreciated uh your work ethic.

You gave the same attention to the newer member than you did to the other member, and it was fun to watch.

It was fun to watch their confidence because you were there, and so I appreciate you.

I know that you were diligent with your work.

I also know when a cat came in, you were like, I'll pick him, I'll adopt him.

And it was really cute.

You know, we're gonna miss your energy.

I think um we're gonna miss uh your protectiveness because you protect your members, and but on I signed the petition, and I um was against signing it, but I did write live your life, and that's what we want you to do.

Appreciate you.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Okay.

Are there any other announcements?

Members on the queue for announcements.

Councilwoman Rodriguez.

Um, I believe we have the flyer available for tomorrow's El Dia de los Muertos at the uh San Fernando uh cemetery, uh mission cemetery, and we want to invite everyone to come.

This is the first time I'm actually taking it from Van I's Boulevard, which it where it has been held for the last eight years.

Uh we are now doing it in partnership with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

And so I want to invite uh all members of the community to come out to celebrate at Dia de los Muertos uh tomorrow from one thirty to six and at four o'clock.

Uh we have a Catrina contest for the young people to participate in, and it's been highly competitive each and every year.

So we want to invite the public to come on out and join us tomorrow.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Seeing no other announcements, are there any uh adjourning motions?

Looking to my left for adjourning motions, to my right for adjourning motions.

Seems that we do not have adjourning motions today, so folks uh get out there and have a spooky weekend, happy Halloween, and serve the city well.

This meeting is adjourned.

The Sparks Community Outreach Team, we discussed this partnership of getting seniors active, getting them moving.

They excitedly said yes, and so here we are.

We're with the Los Angeles Department of Aging.

Um it's a great partnership because it's an opportunity for us to give back to the community but get some new fans for for the Sparks, but then also coming and making our visits.