City family organized a parade, and the fans formed a sea of blue along the route to honor the team's back to back success.

Los Angeles is bad crazy for their Dodgers.

Back to back champions!

Woo!

This is represents LA.

Like Dodgers represent LA.

I hope to see all the players having a good time.

You know, just have the time of their life.

How about three in six years?

Go shop.

Forever at Dodgers.

Yamamoto is the go.

There's no being that dude.

Yama go.

Shout out him.

Hi Kiki!

This is why we want.

And game seven.

That last in the 11th inning came through in game seven.

Man, my house was bananas.

Like the whole series, it was just just like nil body.

Nobody.

Like literally nail bite.

I came out with a Dodger jersey.

Like when I was born, not even gonna lie.

Means the world, because I get to bring my son that baseball's his life right now.

The daughters, they're just like a community, like a family to us.

My mom's 87.

She'll be 88 in January.

And I'm trying to take her around and have her do things that she hasn't done in her lifetime.

That last game was amazing.

So that's it.

Mom, I'm picking you up in the morning, and we're going.

That's one thing the Dodgers do is bring everybody together.

Everybody together.

It's beautiful.

It's beautiful to be a part of this.

It's something bigger than all of us, you know.

No work because I'm sick right now.

This is the best day for LA.

Best day of my life.

Alright, Dodgers, we got two.

We gotta get the third one.

Let's get that three P.

Let's go, Dodgers.

Let's go, Dodgers!

The city's jobs and economic development initiative, or Jedi Zone, focuses on neighborhood areas that need some help.

Council member Tim McCosker introduced us to a new zone along Pacific Avenue, which is welcoming emerging business to the community.

We are in San Pedro, part of the one-five, and we're on Pacific Avenue, and Pacific Avenue is the recipient of a new Jedi Zone.

Jobs and Economic Development Initiative.

We are at a piece of property that is going to be reopened as Cafe Bodega.

We're here celebrating Sandy and Cafe Bodega, and we are excited the economic and workforce development department to support her and other businesses in our Jedi zones to become a Jedi zone.

You have to be located within an underserved area of the city.

So typically an area that is a low moderate income, an area that was previously a redevelopment area.

And so we look at those criteria and work with the council offices to establish a zone, and within that zone, we bring an infusion of all of our economic development and workforce development tools.

It can be micro loans, it can be waiver of permits, it can be technical assistance, it can be some efforts to make repairs at the front edge of the property, and it's all designed to be city services that can be waived or assisted so that we improve the economic development.

We approve the look of certain corridors within the city.

Well, it helped tremendously because of the micro loan.

It helped me finish up construction.

I'm still in construction, and then the equipment.

So coffee equipment's very pricey, and some of the kitchen um equipment and furnishings.

We just rolled out the microloan component of the Jedi Zone program a little over a couple of months ago.

And so Cafe Bill Deg is the first recipient of that loan.

And we're excited to be here.

Celebrate her and applaud her for going through our process.

Well, as a councilman of the 15, I'm really gratified to have the Jedi Zone because city processes and all government processes are really, really hard on small businesses.

And so when we put together the Jedi Zone, we are creating an opportunity to make those processes a little bit easier, and in some cases to make them actually beneficial and provide the services, cut a little bit of the red tape, and it's still a lot of effort to open a business and bring back corridors like Pacific Avenue or Wilmington Avenue or Avalon Boulevard.

Sandy has purchased this and she's revitalizing it for the community good.

And so coming here, this is the exact example of what we want to do in supporting her and other businesses, bringing goods and services to the community, bringing the community together, bringing more foot traffic and corridor, as well as bringing an economic base and opportunities for young folks to be employed in the community as well.

Please come and visit the economic and workforce development website, which is EWD.la City.gov.

The community comes to you was the message from Council Member Emilda Pidia's second annual health fair.

With services and providers on the ground, community members got free consultations and resources close to home.

Today we are in the 6th district for our now second annual health fair.

I'm with Syndicated Insurance Agency and we're happy to be here.

We're one of the sponsors of the Arita Health Fair.

We're here to help the community, answer any questions, consultations at no cost.

For our community to know where they can get their COVID shots, where they can get their flu shots, and also find out about where the local affordable clinics are for folks that don't necessarily have the proper insurance.

We want to make sure that we're a partner and letting folks know where they can go.

Everybody is welcome.

It's not just for residents of CD6.

We know that there is a lot of fear right now in our community to be able to take advantage of, you know, federally funded clinics.

But that is why it was important for our office to show folks that it's not just about you going to the community, the community also comes out to you.

A new LA Fire Department chief is announced.

The city fights copper wire theft and a nine million dollar state grant for LA City Housing.

These stories up next on City Beat.

Following a nationwide search, Mayor Karen Bass has named Jamie Moore as the new chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, LAFD.

An LAFD firefighter for over 30 years.

According to Bass, Moore will advance an agenda to better prepare LA for major emergencies, upcoming world events, and to improve responses to 911 calls citywide.

If confirmed by LA City Council, Moore will be the second Latino chief to lead the department and the first Spanish-speaking fire chief.

For more information, visit mayor.lacity.gov/slash press.

LA City Council has voted to approve a reward program in the fight against copper wire theft in Los Angeles.

The Metal and wire theft reward Program will offer up to five thousand dollars for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of felony offenders, or $1,000 for misdemeanor offenders.

According to Councilmember John Lee, who chairs the public safety committee, copper wire theft is costly for the city and requires extensive repairs to critical infrastructure.

The ordinance will cover metal and wire owned by the city or located on city property and will include plaques, tombstones, statues, light posts, and copper wire.

For more information, visit council.lacity.gov.

LA City Housing Authority, HACLA, announced that it has secured a nine million dollar state grant under the Hope Keep Plus Initiative to expand housing solutions for Angelinos.

Managed by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the program is designed to increase permanent supportive housing and services.

Under the program, Hackla will acquire a multifamily property in the Wilshire Center, Koreatown area, which will be converted into 28 units of permanent supportive housing.

Hackla provides affordable housing, rental assistance, and supportive services to more than 200,000 Angelinos.

For more information, visit Pacla.org.

If you know a salsa rhythm, you probably know the queen of salsa, Celia Cruz.

Councilmember Hugo Soto Martinez led family and friends of the late singer in a tribute to her unique sound, declaring Celia Cruz Day in Los Angeles.

Thank you to everyone who came out to City Hall today, including family members, loved ones, and super fans, to celebrate the life and legacy of a true legend, the Queen of Salsa Celia Cruz.

The first time I heard Celia Cruz was in my own household.

Uh, you know, my mom playing the music.

Uh it's probably a Saturday or a Sunday morning.

You know, she's cooking, she's cleaning, she's putting on salsa.

Uh, and of course, every time you go to a kidseñera or wedding, you know they're gonna play something from Celia Cruz.

And so, uh, yeah, it's just a wonderful person to be part of the fabric of who I am as a person as well.

During the presentation, we had a wonderful dance group come out.

We had like four-year-old kids and adults and folks were wearing different uh flags from different countries because we know Celia Cruz is is Cuban, but that music is listened by all of Latin America.

If you speak Spanish uh and you understand Spanish, most likely you know who she is and you listen to her music.

Oh my god.

Since I was a little girl, little girl, I remember listening to the radio, of course, and seeing her on TV.

She was the light, the light of the Cuban meal site.

Coming here today with her friends and and folks that was part of her history, it just felt like just a wonderful community.

You could see the love, you know, pouring out of them.

They were just so happy that we were doing this.

I do want to present uh certificate on behalf of the city of Los and City of Los Angeles, declaring today, October 17th, as Celia Cruz Day in the city of Los Angeles.

To be with people that did know her and how much they loved her and how much they feel happy that we're celebrating her.

It's just like a wonderful experience that I'll remember forever.

La musica de Celia is una musica impact in the mundo entero.

In the musica contagiosa, e de la manera que ya la expresa, it's todavía más contagiosa, porque la voz de Celia Cruz fue unica.

Es única.

To celebrate the spooky season, LA City's Department of Aging held a Halloween party for seniors.

You're never too old for some treats, and there was much more than candy to take away from the event.

Happy Halloween!

All you pumpkins.

Celebrating Halloween with our wonderful seniors from the community, but we're also offering other resources.

We have engaged other community partners to come out and also provide resources and connect seniors with uh a wide range of services that are available to them.

So this is an event to bring them together to celebrate Halloween.

I like the candy, of course, because I'm a kid in heart.

It feels fantastic.

It makes me feel like I went on an Audi.

I'm having fun like little kids.

The theme of Halloween is always candy and costume.

So it's just a little touch.

And it gives us the ability to show off our artistic ambition and our creativity.

And it's just a morale building for not only our staff but our participants, and they're excited to get their candy.

I'm over here checking bags because I want to make sure that they're not just getting candy.

Make sure you get some produce in there.

Come up here and get yourself some fresh vegetables.

Uh, we're trying to address food deserts and food insecurity.

That's what the primary goal is, and we're excited to be able to have the opportunity to provide that.

I put for myself, and it helps me a lot that we all have to go to the store.

And I say the money I wasn't getting to get what I got today, I can put on something else.

So it helps a whole lot.

Just like I'm going home, I said, What do I want to have for vegetables today?

And like we had romane lettuce, that's good for your heart and your arteries, and you have arthritis like me, you know.

And the pumpkin is good.

You can uh make a soup, that's what I'm thinking about doing.

We know that the federal government, the shutdown is creating a lot of anxiety for a lot of people, especially those that are relying on the CalFresh benefit.

So not only are seniors able to get a hot meal today, they're also able to connect to other services and support to get them through this crisis.

A lot of people are afraid, and we're just here to provide some sort of solace.

We're just trying to add it as much positivity to what's going on out there as possible.

I think today is really a great opportunity to interact with seniors.

They have you know so much heart and they are so full of energy, and so it's really it's recharging my own battery.

We encourage our seniors and anyone looking for more information to visit our website at aging.lacity.gov.

Councilwoman Katie Yaroslavsky held the third Great Pumpkin Bash.

Along with Wreckin Parks and LA Sanitation, everyone was invited to Pan Pacific Park to trash their post-Halloween pumpkins.

As always, this event is a smashing success.

So we're here at Pan Pacific Park for our third annual Great Pumpkin Bash, which is a great community family-friendly event where folks come the day after Halloween, they bring their pumpkins, come in costume, bring their kids, bring their families, and have a chance to smash their pumpkin and compost it and learn all about composting and sustainability.

The city of Los Angeles, especially with the Bureau of Sanitation, we're promoting recycling and organic, making sure that we're discarding trash properly from regular trash to recyclables to organic, making sure that our Angelinos know how to properly discard them.

And after Halloween, we have a lot of pumpkin.

So we're making sure that we're recycling them properly.

This is wonderful for the families.

Everybody can come and rejoice and have a great time.

We've got food, we've got bouncy houses and face painting.

It's a good opportunity to remind ourselves that we're part of this much bigger series of communities across Los Angeles, and it gives us a chance to get to know each other and spend time outside, and it's a beautiful day, so come on out.

It's a lot.

I also want to remind all Angelinos to please practice recycling and organic and composting 365 days of the year.

I absolutely love it.

Bright clothes, bright flowers, monarch butterflies, and favorite foods.

Dia de los Muertos unites the living and the dead.

It's a reason to gather, a traditional festival, and a colorful celebration to remember those who have passed on.

Today we're celebrating El Día de los Muertos here at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery.

And while this is an annual tradition, an event that my office has hosted many times.

We've joined forces with the archdiocese to really build out this treasured celebration here at the cemetery, especially when we have so many family members that are buried here.

It's a beautiful way for us to merge all of those traditions and honor the people that are placed here at the San Fernando Mission.

I have a lot of family here, great grandparents, grandparents, a special event, and to celebrate with the community, you know, the Minati music, the heritage, all that cities for the children.

A beautiful event to spend time together to learn about our culture.

The event is great.

It's actually another opportunity to bring in the community and to show that we are supporting each other.

This is what it is that the community is about.

And it's a way to remember their spirit and everything that they meant to us in celebrating their memory.

My brother passed away in January, and I just really wanted to come be around him and feel his energy.

And to celebrate for all the people who have passed, all of our loved ones.

It's about the happiness and joy that we have those moments together and really keeping their memory alive.

Because when we keep them alive in our celebrations and our thoughts and our daily words, they never really are apart from us.

We remember you on this day, and you actually do feel a lot closer to them.

And it's beautiful because we wear a lot of bright colors and we have a lot of fun, a lot of food, and it's a really good time.

This is a really beautiful way to welcome them back and continue to celebrate their beautiful contributions while they were with us on earth.

In this week's Feature Story, we highlight the Brotherhood of Sleeping Carporters and Maids.

LA City Council honored the 100th anniversary of this group.

They were the first African-American union in the country, and their formation was the beginning of a movement for civil rights.

It's significant because this is the first African American union formed in the country.

What they had to endure, what they agreed to go through for the betterment of their children for the betterment of people that they would never know, was just uh so incredibly selfless.

They were able to plot the course for improvement of an entire community, an entire race of people.

They were the on rap to the black middle class.

I think about how the Pullman Porters would wear these really nice suits and the hats and everything.

They were always very dignified, very respectful, but at home they were struggling.

The porters, when Mr.

Pullman brought them on, they had terrible working conditions.

It was just my ancestors tell me how bad the working conditions were.

So the union was called together to give us some rights.

It was A.

Philip Randolph, who was the architect behind the March on Washington, who actually organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Carporters.

They became like a conduit to African American communities because they traveled on trains across the country.

And so that was a springboard to the civil rights movement.

If it was not for A.

Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Putas, I would not be in my position I am in today.

They did the best of everything, they served, they cooked, they shined.

Many times without sleep because they wanted to present the right image for people to understand respect, not calling like they did everybody George.

Hey, George, do this.

George, do that.

It was just easy to call everybody George because they did not respect them enough of being called by a first name.

But that respect never left them for whoever they were working for, taking care of the children for, ironing clothes for, fixing food for.

What I believe the contribution of the Pullman Porter organization was over the decades.

Not only to civil rights, but to the wider society.

Well, it did a couple of things.

The first thing it did was show black people amazingly that we can organize and get something accomplished that's worthwhile for the betterment of the entire society.

Anytime everyone is doing well, it enriches the entire society.

So if black people are doing better, then everyone is gonna do better.

If you don't know your history, then you are doomed to, of course, repeat things that were not worthy of being repeated.

You really miss the richness of how things evolved, how you arrived to where you are.

Certainly, for me, the having the background of what my grandfather did really laid the foundation for my own ability to have my own home, to be college educated, came from his sacrifice as a Pullman Porter.

Now we're in position to do that for our children, and we know that we must.

That is a slice of American history that needs to be known.

The people that worked on the trains had much dignity, and they were chosen because they knew how to serve people and they were very humane.

So I can tell you in 2025 is that we need that still.

We need that humanity, we need that caring.

We need that taking care of each other.

Celebrate 100 years of the LAPD Pacific Division.

Gather with the friends of children and literature, and learn more about the Salt Marsh in San Pedro.

All this up next on Things to Do the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division is turning 100 and is celebrating the occasion on Saturday, November 15th at 11 a.m.

Join the division to honor their history, their officers, and their 100 years of service to the community.

There will be displays, community booths, and station tours along with free food and great music.

Head to the LAPD Pacific Division on Culver Boulevard for celebrating 100 years on Saturday, November 15th at 11 a.m.

To learn more, visit Pacificboosters.org or check the Instagram account of LAPD Pacific Division.

Join LA Public Library's Friends of Children and Literature, or FOGLE, for the presentation of the 2025 Focal Award on Saturday, November 15th.

Each year, the award goes to an author or illustrator whose work helps children appreciate and understand California history.

This year's prize winner is Cactus Queen by Lori Alexander with illustrations by Jen Ely.

The author and illustrator will talk about their process and the inspiration behind the book.

The ceremony will also feature the winners of the focal essay contest and will be followed by a reception.

Head to the Central Library for the 2025 Vocal Awards ceremony on Saturday, November 15th at 2 p.m.

For more information, visit LAPL.org/slash events.

LA's Department of Wreck and Parks invites you to visit the Cabrillo Beach Wetland Habitat, Salinas de San Pedro.

On Sunday, November 16th, educators from the Cabria Marine Aquarium will guide visitors in exploring the local salt marsh.

Discover the plants and animals that call this habitat home.

Using binoculars, magnifying glasses, and other tools, educators and volunteers will help you learn more about this natural environment.

For more information, check out the events calendar at some things to do.

And that's all for this week.

Remember that you can watch us online anytime at LA City View.

See you next time for more LA this week.

Okay.

Welcome, everybody.

Good morning, and welcome to your meeting of the Los Angeles City Council.

Today is Friday, November 7th.

We're going to take public comment in person in the council chamber for today's meeting.

And let's uh get officially started by having the clerk call the roll.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Blumenfield, Harris Dawson, Hernandez, Harado, Lee, McCosker, Nazarian, Padilla, Park, Price, Raman, Rodriguez, Sota Martinez, and Yaroslavsky.

Ten members present and a quorum, Mr.

President.

Great.

First order of business.

Approval of the minutes of November five, 2025.

Councilmember Hutt moves.

Councilmember Lee Seconds next.

Commendatory resolutions for approval.

Councilmember Price moves, Councilmember Rodriguez seconds next.

Mr.

President, would you like to run through the agenda?

Uh that sounds great.

Let's do it.

Thank you.

Items one through four are items for which public hearings have been held.

The housing and homelessness committee report for item four has been submitted and posted to council file twenty-five-one two nine four.

Item number five on the continuation agenda is an item for which public hearing has been held.

Ten votes are required for consideration.

Great, those are now before us.

Colleagues, does anyone have anything that they wish to call special?

Councilmember.

Yes, I'd like to call it five special for an amendment, which should be getting circulated.

Okay, five, we will hold five for an amendment.

Anyone else?

Colleagues.

Colleagues, any other specials?

Seeing none, then I believe we can take items one through three.

Yes, that is correct.

Okay, let's those items are now before us.

Any members wish to speak to these items?

Seeing no members on the queue, let's open the roll.

Close the roll, tally the votes.

Okay, those are now approved.

We have.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

The council may now move on to presentations.

Okay, before we do that, I believe uh Councilman Park has an announcement.

Thank you, Council President and colleagues.

Um, it is an absolute pleasure to welcome some very special guests to our council chambers this morning.

The incredible students from St.

Sebastian School in West Los Angeles are with us today.

St.

Sebastian's is a Catholic school that provides dual language immersion education, which prepares students from pre-K to eighth grade to become scholars, problem solvers, and so much more.

It's been really fun to support their educational journey, and it's fun to have them here in council learning about how government works and actually getting to see it in action.

So hi Saint Sebastian's, it's awesome to have you.

We'll see you soon.

Okay.

Mr.

Nazaren, did you have an announcement?

I think we'll hold off for now.

Okay.

Council President, thank you.

No problem.

All right then.

We will uh anything before moving to presentations.

Thank you.

We may now move forward to presentations.

Wonderful.

Our first presentation.

Um we're gonna do it once, maybe do it twice.

Just don't don't let go at any price.

Uh Councilwoman Rodriguez for our first uh very special presentation.

In Casadita, waiting to go on stage before some 70 odd thousand.

Uh nervous guys?

Yep, I am.

We have to admit we are pretty nervous.

About 45 minutes to kick off.

This is the largest gig we've done in America, so um, come on.

I just play for 100,000 in real ones.

Well, we played for 250,000 in Barcelona, Spain.

But this is the biggest gig we've done in America.

Oh, man, we were completely inspired by it.

Um when we finally got uh some keyboards that would actually play recognizable musical notes as opposed to the collection of junk that we'd accumulated and built ourselves that just made random noises.

It was essentially the first song we ever wrote.

You gotta say you.

Yes!

I love it!

All right, and the tracks are getting involved too.

I love it.

This is terrific.

Um, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, it is an incredible honor uh that today in the city of LA, we are declaring orchestral maneuvers in the dark day in the city of LA.

Please join us in a round of applause.

I am proud to be joined by Andy McCleskey.

Uh, unfortunately, Paul Humphreys was not able to join us today because he's actually in the air uh in route, uh, but also joined by Martin Cooper and Stuart Kershaw, who comprise OMD.

They are the band that helped shape a generation, and I am so honored to bring them into council chambers today.

Uh you know, this city council chamber is no stranger to honoring the incredible musical acts that have been part of the music of our lives.

And when people ask, you know, when I what music is such an important unifier, and I think no more important even now in amidst what we're all living through.

But it's those moments and the music that often heals us and helps to bring peace and happiness to what otherwise might be a very chaotic life.

And so when I think about OMD, I think about being this kid at Pacoima Junior High School being a little bit different because I was listening to music that many of my classmates weren't really listening to.

But those were some of the happiest moments that I reflect on.

And these are the songs, and these are the musicians that helped to do that for so many people.

And it's transcended so many generations.

Watching, going to their shows, I see how it's a younger crowd that now continues to show up because their music is infectious.

And it wasn't only instrumental in helping to bring us joy as we were growing up, but it's fun to watch so many other generations now coming to fall in love with the very thing that we all fell in love with so many years ago.

And I won't say how many years, but just it was a few years ago.

OMD's music has truly stood the test of time and continues to have a lasting influence on fans and artists alike.

From artists of this genre, which have historically not been recognized by Los Angeles City Council, I was proud to help change that trajectory and now add them to the list of those remarkable bands that have continued to frankly not get the recognition that they were deserving of.

And so it's why I am so proud that they have accepted and been and took a detour on their on resuming their tour, which will continue at the House of Blues on Sunday.

But I'm so excited that they've agreed to join us and allow us to celebrate them properly as Angelinos who have frankly been in love with their music going back to that first performance at Whiskey Agogo.

And you know, uh Richard Blade sadly was unable to join us today.

But I gotta give special recognition to Richard, who was so important when he was that DJ on K-Rock that helped to introduce us to all of these musical acts.

As I said to Andy earlier, you know, for those of us of my generation, you know, a lot of you have your Apple music now or your Spotify.

But for many of us, before we had the opportunity to go hit the Tower Records to go by our vinyl, we were waiting for Richard Blade to stop talking after he introduced the band so we could hit play record on our cassette tape, and we could continue to listen to the music for days to come.

The British alternative music of the 80s clearly struck a very deep chord with Angelino's and especially the Latino community.

The themes of melancholy, alienation, defiance mirrored our own experiences growing up between cultures.

For those of you not very familiar with OMD, they are the electronic synth pop band formed by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys in Mells, England in 1978.

Their innovative fusion of synth pop, new wave, and experimental soundscapes made an enduring mark on global music.

Their combination of poetic lyricism, emotional depth, and innovative use of synthesizer hook in place of a vocal chorus helped shape the modern alternative and electronic music scene.

From Depeche Mode in the 80s to the killers of the 2000s, the weekend's blinding lights of the 2020s, OMD's influence can be heard across a generation of artists.

I mentioned earlier, you know, I did a little teaser video talking about my favorite top five OMD songs.

But to be honest, it was hard to scale it down to only five because there's probably my top 25.

And when they're for their greatest and most notable hits, Inola Gay, electricity, souvenir, songs that defined an era and continue to resonate with fans around the world decades later.

It's no question why today in the city of Los Angeles, we are declaring OMD Day in LA.

So without further ado, I'd like to invite uh Andy McCluskey to come up and uh and again, thank you, Andy, and thank you all for joining us here.

We are so delighted to have you here in LA City Council chambers from all of your history, and you're making your musical mark here uh in the world.

We're just we're honored to have you here and proud to recognize you today.

But thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Wow.

Um thank you very much, Councilman Rodriguez.

Uh thank you, Los Angeles Council, and thank you to our fans in the LA area.

Um we have played many venues in LA, some really big ones, but I find this place quite intimidating, actually.

I shan't say on the customs as I am, but anyway, um, yes, apologize that Paul can't be here, he's in the air.

Um, but he's gonna rehearse with us later, or else.

So, it has been a remarkable and long journey for a customer who's in the dark, um, in this area of the city of Los Angeles.

Uh, as you mentioned, we played our first concert here at the Whiskey of Gogo back in 1981, staying at the infamous Tropicana Motel on Santa Monica with this black swimming pool.

Um, and that 10 years later I met Belinda Carlisle from the uh quintessential LA band, the Gogo's, who said that all of the go-go's were at the Whiskey of Go-Go uh club that day.

And then from The Whiskey of Go-Go, we went through, let me see.

I've I've condensed this, I could be here all day.

The Rock, the Roxy, the Receda Country Club, Perkins Palace, the Palace Theatre, the Fonda Theatre, the Variety Art Center, the Wilton, the Greek Universal Amphitheater, the Forum, and the Rose Bowl.

With a little band called the Pesh Mode.

And um, and and I I I I joked with Monica Baxter, I thought it's really nice that Los Angeles actually gave to Pesh Mode their day before us because it's nice for the um, well, I don't know, how how would I describe them?

The apprentices to get recognized before the masters.

So uh couldn't couldn't resist that.

And now, to cap off a whole list of places we played in the LA area, we are promised we're gonna play the Hollywood Bowl.

Once we've done that, we've got the full set, and then do we have to go back to the whiskey again?

I hope not.

Why not?

Um, both Paul and I actually do have personal connections with this amazing city.

Um I was here for a year in 1990 writing the Sugar Tax album.

Um Paul actually married a girl from Tarzanna, uh, lived in the valley for a long time, has a wonderful daughter called Madeline, who still lives here and works here, and it's we so we have this personal connection as well.

Um, you mentioned Richard Blade, um obviously a fellow Limey who's been adopted by Los Angeles.

Um, he was one of the only DJs that played us on K-rock when the other radio stations wouldn't touch us.

I think they didn't think our music was fit for human consumption, but it proved it was, and I guess now you're having your day here when you go, I told you this was cool music, I told you these guys are gonna change the world.

So it's um it's really wonderful.

So, really, it's a day of great thanks from the band to everybody here to say thank you, and uh long way our amazing journey with the city of Los Angeles continue.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Okay, we have some members of the queue.

Council Member Lee.

Thank you, Councilmember Rodriguez.

I can always count on you to bring us back to our time in the 80s.

Uh you know, OMD, you say that like where you went to high school, maybe you are one of the own people that knew them, but in the west side of the valley, we were all in love with OMD.

And you can play just the first few notes of certain songs, and it immediately brings you back to a moment in time when like uh if you leave like it as soon as you start playing it.

And so my wife, I was FaceTiming her, but then her boss walked in.

Uh, because she wanted me to tell you that you are the very first concert that you went to at the Rosewall with the Pesh mode where they recorded that song.

And so just thank you so much for all the great songs, all the years that you've been entertaining us, and just want to say thank you.

It's well deserved to have you as the OMD day in the city of Los Angeles.

Great, thank you, Ms.

Truly.

And I just want to add, um, Councilman Rodriguez, so grateful to you.

You always bring the best bands here to council, uh, and just and tickle that memory in all of us of of our youth and and the great music that we used to love to listen to.

So, and I I really want to thank you all for for being here.

You guys were truly pioneers in electronic music and and all of the great bands that have come after you in the in the late eighties and nineties.

They really owe it to you.

Uh, what I know you've been called the second British invasion, but it it really is uh amazing.

Not only your music, but what you inspired uh beyond that.

Really, to this day, the the underpinnings of a lot of what we hear, you know, can be traced back to some of the early work that you've done.

So I know you're you just flew in and I would just say, you know, uh, if you leave, don't leave now.

Uh, because we've got a whole day for you, and we we love you to be here and thank you so much, and I'll throw it back to Councilwoman Rodriguez.

I can always count on you, Bob.

Thank you.

I can always count on you.

Uh, you know, I I shared, I was sharing with uh uh some of my friends that I uh when when I did Morrissey Day when I I would make reference to the different songs uh when I met Robert Smith, and they were all like, oh God, please stop.

Please don't.

So I always appreciate that you can help deliver the line as well.

But uh, but uh colleagues, friends, fans, thank you for joining us and celebrating and declaring one of the greatest bands that have been such an influential part of our lives and our musical histories.

Ladies and gentlemen, help me thank and celebrate in the declaration of OMD Day in the City of LA.

Thank you.

Oh, thank you.

All right, as our superstars are exiting the stage, we'll ask Councilwoman Padilla to uh head to the podium.

She has uh a presentation.

Honoring Native American Heritage Month, which we are looking forward to.

Um, Padilla, the floor is yours, and we welcome all of your guests here today.

And look forward to this presentation.

Um, we're not going to be able to do that.

All right, good morning, everyone.

I want to start.

Um, we kind of already started this uh presentation earlier today over at the bridge, uh, presenting the the art uh for Native American Heritage Month.

Can we please give everybody a round of applause as we get this started?

I'm very excited to be leading this incredibly important presentation today.

It's a profound honor to welcome all of our guests to Los Angeles City Hall as we come together to celebrate the rich and profound Native American Heritage Culture and presence here in Los Angeles.

It's a time to honor the first peoples of this region and recognize their living cultures and celebrate their ongoing leadership in shaping our shared future today.

Before we bring to today's program, we have something very special to do, and it's my privilege to welcome Chief Chief Anthony Morales, Chairman of the Gabriolino Tango San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians to offer us a traditional welcome.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

Greetings and welcome to all of you.

My name is Chief Red Blood Anthony Morales, and I'm accompanied by my tribal members and my son Andrew Guiding Young Cloud, who will be conducting an opening prayer in our language.

This acknowledgment honors our honors our ancestors who inhabited our major village of Yangna, of which we are here today in Los Angeles.

It also honors our tribe, the Gabrielino San Gabriel Bana Mission Indians, the Fernadeno Tata Yam, and all Native Americans from all over the country that make Los Angeles their home.

This honoring gives our culture a voice and visibility.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

Next, though, I want to give the microphone over to our council colleague, Councilman Rodriguez, so that she can do a land acknowledgement and also talk a little bit about how we finally got to this place and where we're going.

Thank you, Councilmember Badilla, and welcome.

I, you know, it's an honor to have you all here.

I as someone who helped to lead this presentation over the last couple of years.

I'm really proud to take this opportunity to read for the first time in LA City Council Chambers the land acknowledgement that was helped and derived by the work of the commission, but most importantly, that it is now enshrined here in Los Angeles City Council Chambers in perpetuity, the appropriate recognition that the first peoples of this nation deserve to be recognized for.

And so it is with my honor that I will recite the land acknowledgement that has been adopted by this Los Angeles City Council.

The City of Los Angeles recognizes that we occupy land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Quiche, Tongva, Tatavian, and Chumash peoples.

We honor and pay respect to their elders and descendants, past, present, and emerging, as they continue their stewardship of these lands and waters.

We acknowledge that settler colonization resulted in land seizure, disease, subjugation, slavery, relocation, broken promises, genocide, multi-generational trauma, disruption of cultural practices, trade and tribal relations.

This acknowledgment demonstrates our responsibility and commitment to truth, healing, and reconciliation, and to elevating the stories, culture, and community of the original inhabitants of the city of Los Angeles.

We are grateful to have the opportunity to live and work on these ancestral lands.

Thank you so much.

It's been my honor to work with you all in enshrining this and saying it for the first time in these council chambers in the city's history.

God bless you all.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Rodriguez.

Native American Heritage Month is not just a commemoration of culture.

It's a recognition of history, resilience, and revitalization.

This month invites all of us to learn, reflect, and deepen our understanding of Native American histories, lands and third and communities.

In a time when simply being who we are can make us a target.

Moments like this that remind us of our history and our resilience are more important than ever.

It is vital that we continue to highlight the enduring presence of Native people, the first people, the original stewards of the land.

I'm proud to stand here today to recognize everything related to what the great people that are behind me have done to deepen our the continued presence in the city of Los Angeles.

So to everyone here today, thank you for your work, your advocacy, and your daily contributions, not just this month, but all the time, as we celebrate in this month, Native American Heritage.

Your strength and dedication ensures these stories and traditions continue to thrive to thrive.

And now I would like to invite Sean imitates dog to uh introduce the next portion of this presentation.

Say a few words as well.

Hello, my name is Sean Emma Tate Stag.

I'm Oglala Lakota from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

And I'm also the current chair of the Los Angeles Native American Indian Commission as well.

Thank you, Councilmember Padilla for taking the lead in hosting this year's Native American Heritage Month celebration here in Los Angeles.

On behalf of the Los Angeles City County Native American Union Commission, we are proud to celebrate Native American Heritage Month alongside the City of Los Angeles.

I'm especially honored and excited to share that this year actually marks the 49th year as a commission.

Nearly half a century of service, advocacy, and cultural preservation.

We begin by acknowledging the ancestral lands of the First Peoples of what is now known as Los Angeles City, the Tonga, Tateviam Kish, Shumash peoples, as well as all those who were brought here through the Indian Relocation Act of 1956.

Today, Los Angeles is home of the largest urban native populations in the country.

Over 300,000 Native people representing more than 200 tribes from across the United States.

We honor and respect the original stewards of this land and celebrate the rich diversity of our communities as we continue to share our language, culture, dance, and history with one another.

Each year, the Commission selects a theme for Native American Heritage Month, and our theme this year is Fire Keepers, honoring tribal firefighters, indigenous stewardship, and future ancestors.

The devastating fires that ravaged regions like Pacific Palisades and Altadena earlier this year serve as a stark and urgent reminder of our disconnection from the land.

This crisis highlights why it is absolutely vital to understand and protect our Native plants, responsible water use, and traditional ecological knowledge.

As Native American peoples, our relationship with the lands, waters, plants, and animals, it's not just ecological, it's deeply sacred.

For generations, our ancestors developed place-based stewardship practices, including responsible gathering protocols and cultural burns based on a profound understanding of working with the environment, not against it.

However, as documented in key regional reports such as the LA County Harms Report and California's fourth climate change assessment, colonization violently disrupted and outlawed these essential traditional land management practices.

This suppression in favor of Western style fire suppression has contributed directly to the current state of ecological imbalance and catastrophic, sorry, wildfire severity.

The logical conclusion and desired outcome of these facts is a call to action to formally recognize, restore, and fully integrate indigenous traditional ecological knowledge and place-based stewardship practices, such as cultural burning into contemporary regional land, water, and fire management policies.

Thank you.

This integration is not simply an act of justice, but a critical and proven necessity for increasing ecosystem resilience, reducing wildfire risk, and adapting effectively to the challenges posed by climate change.

In the fight to contain and put out the fires, we witnessed something truly powerful.

Fourteen nations from California, Oregon, and Arizona step forward to send aid, personnel, and resources to support recovery efforts.

We honor and thank those nations for their generosity and solidarity.

Their willingness to help came from a place of kinship, compassion, and shared responsibility.

We are honored today to have in chambers with us.

Morongo Fire Chief Abdul Ahmed.

Thank you, sir.

And we also have Barongo Fire Engineer Jason Carrizosa with us as well.

We would like to thank you all for the tremendous support you and your nations provided to our beloved Los Angeles.

Today we also get to celebrate the 2025 Native American Heritage Month honorees that were selected by the Commission earlier this year.

First, Tensha Chavez, who won the spirit of community honore.

And the chapter house, spirit of tradition honoree.

So, Wokila, thank you to the 14 nations for your support and to the three honorees doing the great work in our community to uplift our people.

As the commission now moves forward to the 50th year, we know our work is far from over.

The commission remains committed to standing united and strong for the greater native community here in Los Angeles, continuing to protect our rights, uplift our voices, and celebrate the enduring strength and beauty of Native people.

Thank you.

Okay, so now I would like to invite tribal members from the Gabrielino Tango San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians and tribal members of the Fernandeño Tetivian Band of Mission Indians to perform a song.

That would be the drummers, right?

Um I'm gonna sing the ancestors song.

Uh, this is honoring the ancestors who came before us, and it's for all the Native American ancestors and even all ancestors to Hobi.

So, members, as mentioned, this year's theme of honoring tribal firefighters, indigenous stewardship, and future ancestors recognizes the bravery and selflessness of firefighters for more than 10 tribal nations who came to support Los Angeles during the recent wildfires.

When our city our city needed help, these tribal nations answered the call.

In January 2025, as fires raged through our city and county, 14 tribal nations from California, Oregon, and Arizona sent firefighters to stand shoulder to shoulders with Los Angeles, City and County fire departments.

Their courage and solidarity, solidarity were a powerful reminder that even in the darkest moments, humanity shines its brightest.

I'm deeply moved by the compassion and strength everyone of these every one of these tribes demonstrated, and during an example of unity, courage, and care for our shared land.

This year, I have the esteemed honor of recognizing the following tribal nations and expressing our heartfelt gratitude for their unwavering support of our beloved city and residents.

Please excuse me if I butcher some of these names, but maybe you guys can help me.

So we have the Barona Band of Mission Indians, Dry Creek and Chidia Band of Fomo Indians, Klamath tribes, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Navajo Nation, Bala Band of Mission Indians.

You can keep yelling.

Pichenga Pachanga Band of Indians, Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians Indians, Santa Inez Band of Chumash Indians, Soboba band of Luiseño Indians, Tualami band of Mi Yuka Indians, Vija's band of Kumeyaya Indians, Deja Wintum Nation, Yuha Vatamo of San Manuel Nation, and you Rock Tribe.

Woo!

We give a round of applause.

And there's a lot of uh amazing people that made it here today.

I'm gonna just excuse me if we missed a few because I know folks kept uh uh RSV pain, but we're glad to have you all here.

We have in the group uh Chairman Charles Martin from the Morango Band of Mission Indians.

Can we give him a round of applause?

Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena from the Youhavitian of San Manuel Nation and Sofia Ortiz from the Yoka Di Wintum Nation.

Can we give a round of applause?

But now I would like to move over to as mentioned earlier.

There is three awards that the commission is proud to recognize.

If I could please have, um, for the spirit of community honori, Tencha Chavez.

Please join us to the front.

Okay, welcome.

Spirit of creativity, honori projects.

Where's the report?

Okay, great.

And the chapter house for the spirit of tradition, honori.

It is my honor to acknowledge and celebrate all of you, and let's give you each an opportunity to say a few words.

Welcome.

You have to put a timer for me because I could keep talking.

Yat e Chicago.

Good morning, everybody.

My name is Tencha Chavez, I am Navajo Dine, born to the Meadow people for the Mexican people.

My family comes from the Eastern Navajo Agency of the Little Water Chapter in Crown Point, New Mexico.

However, I was born and raised here in Los Angeles County all my life, so I call Los Angeles my home.

I'm truly humbled to stand here this morning and accept the spirit of community award from the Los Angeles Native American Indian Commission and from Ms.

Padilla here.

Um to be recognized by the very community that helped me find my way back is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

When I think about what this award means, I think about October 22nd, 2017.

The day I made the decision to change my life.

That was the day I began my journey of recovery.

It wasn't an easy road, but I never walked this alone.

My community, our community, showed up for me in ways that reminded me what true belonging and kinship meant.

From mentors who believed in me when I couldn't believe in myself, to the friends who checked in, prayed with me, and made space for me.

You all carried me when I couldn't carry myself.

Our native community here in Los Angeles is built on that spirit, the strength of our ancestors, the love that binds us as relatives, and the hope that no one is ever beyond healing.

We lift each other up, we hold space for one another's pain, and we celebrate each other's victories, big and small.

This award isn't just mine, it belongs to everyone who has walked with me, everyone who continues to fight for healing, and everyone who chooses love and community over isolation and despair.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the commission, to my mentors, to my daughters, to my relatives, and to every person who believed in second chances.

This is our shared victory.

A chaha.

Thank you.

Uh good morning, everybody.

My name is Juan Garcia.

Um, we trolled on my father's side from the mountains of Jalisco.

On my mother's side, my grandmother was deported at eight years old.

She's a native woman born in Detroit, so deported to Mexico to a place she didn't know, never knew anybody there.

So that part of my family is disconnected.

And I say that to just illustrate the injustices that many of us have experienced that brought us here to Los Angeles, this place called Tobangar.

So I do want to thank the first peoples at this place, the Tatavium, the Tongva, who have hosted us, who for us for Betsli have trusted us with the work that we do.

We support artists, but we support artists, not because artists just do art for art's sake.

Or you know, the folks, native artists, indigenous artists do work to sustain the traditions and the worldviews of our people.

And I just kind of lost what I was saying because I'm just listening to OMD.

But I think that comes through, and I'm just remembering ditching and going to a party and listening to OMD, but I think that's coming through because it is those lack of resources in our communities that Metzli Projects has come together to build the system to support artists to build that ecosystem that our artists need to be able to grow and you know have exhibitions like the ones today.

We do our work so that the generations that follow us never have to wonder whether they can be artists and sustain their families.

We live in the creative capital of the world, and we still don't have the infrastructure for artists to fully, fully thrive, especially artists of color, especially neighborhood indigenous artists.

So that's that's the work that we do, and we couldn't do it without the support of the tribal communities here.

Um we are thankful and honored that the commission has recognized our work.

Much of our work is very contentious and and complicated at times.

But art lets us bring in a lot of beauty to complicated things, um, and we hope that with our work we will advance and uplift the work of all these people here so that in future years, you know, we don't have to say land acknowledgements, and that work is embodied in our life ways as guests on these lands.

Thank you.

Chapter House, good morning, everybody.

She Aya, Emma Robins, Yaneshia, Sontana and Sle, Hashkan had Zohe Bashishin.

I am Emma Robbins, and I am the founder and executive director of the chapter house.

We are okay.

We are an indigenous arts organization that's based here on Tongville land in Echo Park.

Um, I want to thank everybody for having us here and for this incredible honor.

I myself am from the Navajo Nation, and I am so blown away by the indigenous community here and how welcoming everybody has been.

I look around and I see this indigenous joy, which is all about the chapter house.

We bring folks together, centering around native joy, those who are from reservations, the first peoples of this land, uh, urban natives, and really focusing on how we can bring these uh spaces into public areas as well.

Um I'm so honored again, and I just want to also say come to the LA Indian Fleet on December 13th at the Broad.

Um, we would love to have everybody here because we will have native joy, we will have art, and we will have a lot of artists present.

Um, but thank you, everybody, and thank you to the commission for this amazing award, and shout out to all our community members and volunteers who came today, and shout out to our uh unofficial director of hospitality, my daughter.

Oh, right.

You want to talk?

Okay, um, yes, can we uh give a just a round of applause to the entire commission and the executive director, Alexandra Ferguson Valles, and where is she?

The executive director here, Miss Alexandra Ferguson Valez.

Was she able to make it after all?

Oh, she's outside of with getting ready to celebrate outside.

That's fine, but let's remember that it really took the village to put this together.

So thank you all.

Thank you all very much.

But now I want to invite someone over from the city family, Chris Concepcion from DCA, to say a few words.

Come on over.

Good morning, everyone.

It's a pleasure to be here with you today on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs.

My name is Assistant General Manager.

Not at all.

My name is Chris Concepcion, I'm the Assistant General Manager for the Department of Cultural Affairs.

And it's my pleasure to be here with you all today on behalf of our general manager, Daniel Tarika, who was unable to be here with us.

I'd like to start by thanking Mayor Bass, Councilmember Padilla, the chair of this year's Heritage Month, and the entire council for your continued commitment to honoring visibility, histories, and culture of the city's native nations and peoples.

Our mayor and council believe strongly in the importance of cultural visibility, building understanding, revealing identity, and empowering diverse communities.

Thank you for your leadership in this work.

It is so important, especially during these times.

I'd also like to thank the LA City County Native American Indian Commission and our community collaborators whose partnerships this month was vital to the creation of this year's Native American Heritage Month calendar and cultural guide.

As the city's arts and cultural agency, we believe that art is one of the oldest forms of storytelling, revealing history, conveying identity, and fostering understanding.

Through art, we have learned of the sacrality and history of this land and the diverse and vital contributions of many of the city's native nations.

The impact is grounding, far-reaching, and everlasting.

DCA is proud to help bring indigenous art into civic buildings, homes, and communities through our native or through our annual Native American Heritage Month calendar and cultural guide, which you can now view at culture.lacity.gov.

We invite you all to discover this month's events, festivals, and exhibitions listed in the publication happening in a community near you.

Also through this guide, we encourage you to experience the indigenous visual and literary artists.

Excuse me, there are artworks in there for 44 LA artists, including a special spotlight of the artwork of this year's cover artist, Katie Dormey.

Woo!

Before we talk more about the artwork and invite Katie up to speak, you know, we've had the pleasure of being joined by her today, and I'd just like to introduce her briefly to you all.

Katie Dorme is a Tongva visual artist of mixed indigenous and white ancestry born in Los Angeles.

She makes paintings and drawings that build her own directori, reclaiming, recasting, and reworking Hollywood and its land roles and history.

Dorme's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums such as the Autri Museum of the American West, Nazari and Curcio in Los Angeles, Guerrero Gallery in San Francisco, Form and Concept in Santa Fe, and more.

She attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe as an artist and residence and the interlude residency in New York.

Please join me in welcoming Katie Dorme.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Miyha Netwanya Ne Katie Dorme.

Kine Los Angeles, originally Tovangar.

Noneha Tongvet Nehonukvem Kimatme Guash kunecha.

So anything that he didn't say about my introduction was basically I'm Tongva and my ancestors were from the village of Kawashna.

Thank you so much for having me and including me in this month's celebration of Native American Heritage Month.

The paintings I are that are included in this guide are from a very special illustration project I did.

The first children's book I ever illustrated, and it's the first children's book published about toy Purina.

If you don't know who she is, you must and need to go find out about her by the children's book.

It's very informative.

She is an important figure in Los Angeles history, a Tonga medicine woman from the village of Japshabit, who led a rebellion against the San Gabriel Mission in 1785.

She is a striking example of strength and protest in a devastating situation.

She did what was right, no matter the cost, and I think we can all learn from her.

I did my best to illustrate it accurately, even though we, of course, have no photographs of that era.

And one of my biggest joys so far has been repopulating the LA landscapes, overflowing with native plants.

Thank you again and go plant some native plants on any land you have that's native to your area.

It's planting season.

Thank you.

Thank you all for that.

On behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Council Colleagues, I just want to emphasize, please make sure you're in communications with ECA to get your set of uh catalogs for this year.

They are a super underrated um piece that we don't distribute enough of in the city, and the department does a really good job at putting together these events.

I know that uh my office is very intentional about pushing them out, and you'd be surprised how much our constituents appreciate the cheat sheet of being able to do uh amazing things during this month related to its related theme.

So get your copies, put them in your lobbies, pass them out, make sure they're part of everything you do related to outreach.

So, with that, everyone, thank you all so much for being here.

Before you finish, we have a team members on the queue.

Uh, if I could uh give the floor to Councilwoman Herado, followed by Councilmember Lee.

Thank you, Council President.

I want to thank you, Councilmember Padilla, for inviting all of these folks here today.

Um, I appreciate your leadership in making sure that our arts and our history is inclusive of Native peoples and just making sure that our diversity is properly reflected in the people's house.

And you know, as a sci-fi reader, loving chapter house and the concept and how to bring us back to our truer reality.

I really appreciate you uh honoring them as well.

And as we continue to shape our history to be reflective of their truest selves, and I've often said that my role as an elected official is we steward the resources, and people already live the way that they lived, and it is the government that was created in opposition of that, and for us to bring you back in to show us the real way to tend the land and care for it and fight the John Locke philosophy of what use actually means and imbue our laws with what care actually is, which is what you are all doing in the first place.

So thank you so much for bringing this to light, Councilmember Padia.

Thank you all for doing what you do, and I really appreciate everything.

Thank you.

Councilmember Lee.

Thank you, Councilmember Padilla for being the all the tribes of uh City of Los Anderson today.

I just want to say uh to Rudy and Mark, I just appreciate the friendship over the years to talk, be able to talk openly about situations like um land acknowledgements and the what is behind that.

Because I think what we're really looking for is for opportunities uh for our youth, and I appreciate the relationship that we have, the partnership that we have in creating that youth program to keep our communities beautiful.

I think that um I believe that you are speaking at our educators' round table next week to come and speak to the schools about a program that we are co-creating to not not to help our kids understand that your history is a part of our history.

It's a history of land and more than just a land acknowledgement to actually learn to insert a program so the kids can learn when they're learning about American history.

They can actually learn about the land that they are living on, going to school in and working on.

And I just want to say thank you so much for the friendship over the years, and I believe, Mark, I owe you Korean food.

That's what we want.

Councilwoman Park.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Councilwoman Padilla, for bringing this really important presentation.

On behalf of myself and the residents of Council District 11, especially the Pacific Palisades, I want to say thank you to all of the tribes who helped fight the fire and provided mutual aid and support during that really horrific time.

Your partnership and generosity were incredibly instrumental.

I mean, as people were literally fleeing our burning hillsides, you all were rushing in to the face of danger.

You know its wins, its seasons, its patterns better than anyone.

Commissioner, I hear your call to action.

And colleagues, I hope you hear the call to action also.

Decades of poor land management policies and decisions absolutely contributed to the devastation that we faced here in Los Angeles.

As we as a community and as a region take the steps forward that we need to recover from these devastating events.

Again, on behalf of a very grateful council district and city of Los Angeles, I thank you so much, all of you, for what you've done.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Nazaria.

Thank you, Councilmember Padilla, for uh highlighting this important presentation.

I wasn't planning on speaking.

We have five presentations today.

So I thought the less number of uh council members speak the better.

Uh so everyone will have their equitable opportunity.

But this was too important for me.

Uh two quick reasons.

One, what you represent is so critically vital, especially in today's America.

If we just look at how long our nation, our country has taken to take restorative reparative steps to fix what it's done in the past, the harm, the horrific harm that it's done in the past, and yet here we are, 200 some 70 years later, still committing atrocities today, and how much how many generations, how many decades is it gonna take from today for us to constantly look back and apologize to our other brothers and sisters who are being impacted and targeted today.

Those are the two words that I've come to respect a lot in my adult life, because even in my heritage, I've seen how important it is to persevere through the challenging times and difficulties.

So uh thank you again, councilwoman, for bringing this important uh uh recognition and before us, and thank you all for what you do and for your perseverance.

Thank you.

What uh an incredible presentation, and I'd like to turn it back to you, Councilwoman, to close.

So we're gonna have a uh concluding uh performance here, and then everybody else invited to join us in the floor court for more music and delicious food, culture, community, and just a bunch of a ton of joy.

Wonderful.

No.

Okay, we just take some pictures and the next group can come on up.

Great.

Thank you so much for that wonderful presentation.

All right.

As they are leaving the podium, I'll ask Council Member Soto Martinez.

Step forward to the podium.

I also want to take a moment to recognize that we have uh one of our distinguished state senators here, Maria Elena Dorasso.

Thank you for being here.

Let's give her a hand.

She does so much for our city and for our state.

We're grateful.

Credible organization.

I see you're you're joined by our council president.

Who looks a little bit older today.

He does look a little bit older, right?

One year older today, if I'm not mistaken.

Happy birthday to our birthday, Marquise.

Well, uh, thank you so much, Mr.

Chair, for uh uh calling us up.

And you know, it is my honor to welcome uh Catalyst California as we celebrate their twenty-five year anniversary.

Give them a huge round of applause.

And uh to everyone from Catalyst California.

Uh I want to thank you for being here today for all the amazing work that you do for twenty-five years, Catalyst California has been a leading force for racial equity and systemic change.

Originally known as the Advancement Project California, they were founded with the mission of building a more just and inclusive California by shifting power back into the hands of communities of color.

In the past two and a half decades, they've had some incredible wins that we all can continue to build off as the movement evolves and grows.

They have launched the Budget Power Project, training dozens of grassroots groups in working class communities of color to engage directly in local and state budget decisions.

They've released groundbreaking research exposing systemic bias and police traffic stop data.

And they've helped pass a truly independent redistricting commission for the city of Los Angeles for the first time in our history.

These are all been incredible wins here in the city and in the state.

They have hosted countless convenings across Los Angeles, providing spaces for residents to discuss solutions on housing, education, public safety, and local investment.

So thank you, Catalyst California, for being such a for being dedicated stewards of our democracy and partner and partners in the fight for justice for every working class person in the city and in the state.

Now we have a special message, the video message from one of their longtime collaborators.

So please turn your attention to the screens for Dr.

Manuel Pastor.

We are at the 25th anniversary of Catalyst California, which of course began as the advancement project.

And what I've been able to see over the years is an effective marshaling of data analysis research to be able to assist community organizations as they're struggling and fighting for equity, justice, and inclusion.

But what's been really incredible is to watch over that quarter century, how closely Catalyst has stood side by side with these community organizations, and particularly how in this moment in which authoritarianism is threatening all of us.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Soto Mark Martinez, and thank you, Mr.

Chair, for allowing me to be a part of this amazing presentation.

The uh Catalyst California is the greatest partner and co-pilot that the social justice movement has in all of California and especially Southern California.

If we we think now and we take for granted our ability to access data on the internet and the ability to be able to go on our computers and ask AI about data about one zip code or another zip code or cancer rates or all these other things, Catalyst California was the organization to pioneer that work.

So you could go to neighborhoods, census tracks, zip codes, and find out what was happening in the neighborhoods along the one tin freeway or the neighborhoods near Aliso Canyon in the valley.

And in addition to doing that work, they led some of the most important civil rights legal work that we've seen.

So we see shiny new schools, new campuses that are being built.

You should know that the state of California didn't start off giving Los Angeles a lot of money for new schools.

That happened because Catalyst California went to court on behalf of LAUSD and our city, and all of our great um civil rights lawyers, Connie Rice and so many others, I won't go down the lists, have been a part of or on the board of Calos California for so many years.

And they a very dear friend of mine, and uh uh a champion for justice and equity and an innovator uh in that cause over the years has been John Kim, who I want everybody to give a big round of applause, especially his team, clap it up for him.

Uh he served as the leader and visionary for this organization and helped push the organization to new levels, and uh, and as a result, uh, push the social justice movement even further than it would have gone without him.

Uh, ladies and gentlemen, members of the council, John Kim.

Uh, thank you, Councilmember Soda Martinez, thank you, Council President, birthday boy, Marquis Harris Dawson, uh, and to the entire council for this recognition.

Um, 25 years really is something to celebrate from our extraordinary founders like Connie Rice and Molly Munger and Steve English, getting us started here in Los Angeles to decades of impact and growth throughout the state.

We've helped to massively expand and transform school facilities across California to transform how we approach gang violence here in Los Angeles from changing how we actually use data and facts to make better and smarter decisions that help to equitably allocate billions of public dollars and standing by our community partners during COVID, during the fires, and during the federal invasion of Los Angeles.

We have always stayed focused on our founding vision of multiracial solidarity and being unflinching in the face of injustice.

I think it's meaningful that we are founded here in Los Angeles.

We are a statewide organization, but the ethos of LA runs through our veins.

There is complexity and contradiction in this city that pushed our organization to be more rigorous.

There is scale and size to this city that has pushed us to be more audacious, and LA has seen its fair share of crises, and that has made us all battle tested and ready for whatever is next.

It is great to see so many colleagues and friends and allies around the horseshoe today because we need your leadership in such a critical moment for this city, given all the chaos that is coming from DC.

It is not always clear what is our new assignment in this new world from the ice disappearances, HR1, the loss of SNAP benefits.

We are at the opening stage of a wave of mass poverty that will sweep over everything.

And they're undermining our democracy at the same time, and can't keep our airports running at full capacity.

Yes, given all of this chaos, it is hard to understand what is our new assignment in this new world.

But luckily, for the council, for you all next week, it'll be crystal clear what your assignment is.

On Wednesday, you have a critical vote around the rent stabilization ordinance.

It is an opportunity to make real historic and lasting change for this city.

You will have the opportunity to face head on this wave of mass poverty through the passage of the housing and homeless committee's recommendations on the rent stabilization ordinance without any adjustments and as recommended.

It has been researched and debated, it has been scrutinized and organized around.

She is handing you a gift to take next week to do something real, to do something historic, to do something that so many low and moderate income tenants in the city need immediately.

We thank you again for this recognition for the organization, and we urge you to approve H and H's recommendations next week.

Thank you so much.

Just as a good organizer, you never miss the opportunity to push something.

That's what organizing is about.

You got to be able to do it any situation.

John, thank you so much for for your wonderful words, for your energy, for the passion that we all need to feel in this moment.

I think I agree with everything that you said today.

And so uh without further ado, uh, I would like the council president and I would like to present catalysts California.

We have a member on the queue, too.

We have members in the queue.

All right.

So maybe we do that.

We never get this right as a council.

Like, do we go after the presentation?

Anyway, however, however, you want to do it, it's fine.

But uh, we council member price.

I'd like to say a few words.

Thank you, Miss President.

I just want to thank uh Councilman Martinez and Council President Marquisius Dawson for bringing uh catalysts to us today, officers, members, and friends of catalysts.

Catalyst has really been a unique tool uh in our community for 25 and more years.

Uh and I just want to let you know that uh certainly my constituents in CD9 have benefited greatly from your advocacy from your leadership, from uh your commitment to making things better.

And we just want to say thank you.

Congratulations.

Keep up the good work.

All right.

Back to you to close this incredible presentation.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Chair.

So, on behalf of uh the entire uh city council, we'd like to present this certificate to Catalyst California for 25 amazing years, and here's the 25 more.

Please give them another round of applause.

Awesome people.

Thank you so much.

Okay, as they make their way uh off the podium.

We have uh Councilwoman Park headed to the podium for a colorful presentation, believe.

Welcome, Councilwoman Park, and the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President and colleagues.

It is a really special morning here in City Hall, and I am proud to welcome some of our very own from the Pacific Palisades, the team behind the Crayon Collection and their inspiring banners of hope project.

Those banners now hang proudly.

Oh, let me go back.

Let me start at the actual beginning.

Founded by Palisadian Sheila Nora Vadi and her daughter Sophia in 2013, Crayon Collection started from a simple idea.

Rescuing crayons that restaurants would otherwise throw away and getting them into the hands of kids who needed them most.

It began as a small local act of kindness to uplift LA by promoting sustainability, increasing access to art materials, and offering free art education to underserved schools.

But it blossomed into an international movement, reaching classrooms in all 50 states and a dozen countries, and even earning a Guinness World Record for donating more than one million crayons.

Sheila's mission has always been about two things: caring for our planet and naturing creativity and children.

This year, her team's work took on an even deeper meaning.

After the devastating fire on January 7th, our community really needed something to lift our hearts and remind us who we are.

They worked with teachers to prompt students to reflect on what had happened while remembering what they loved most about their community.

That's how Banners of Hope for Pacific Palisades was born.

A collaboration among 11 local schools whose students created beautiful works of art and chose three words of hope to represent the future they imagine for their hometown.

Those banners now proudly hang from every light pole across the Palisades and parts of Brentwood.

A ribbon of color, spirit, and resilience that tells the story of how we rise together after a tragedy.

The Banners of Hope Palisades project was acknowledged by the Museum of Contemporary Art LA, and the banners were on display on October 25th as part of the Grand Avenue Arts All Access 2025 event.

Crayon Collection didn't just stop there.

They restocked art supply closets for every participating school and launched free arts-based programs to help students process loss and find joy again.

It's a powerful reminder of how creativity can heal a community.

And just for perspective, they donated over 3,500 pounds of brand new art supplies to each of our participating schools.

So today we're honoring Sheila Moravati, Sophia Moravati, and the entire Crane Collection team.

Jasmine Recendez, Chloe Patterson, Kristen Gabriel, Shandel Hakeem, and all 11 participating schools for giving our city something to be truly hopeful about.

Sheila and Sophia, thank you so much for reminding us that even after our darkest days, color always finds its way back.

So we have a video queued up that we'd love to play.

The Palisades is a really tight-knit community that is filled with truly incredible people.

January 7th was a day we'll never forget.

It changed our entire lives.

When we found out that we were getting evacuated from school, it was really crazy happened also quickly.

For me personally, when the Palisades fires hit, there was no wrapping my head around the magnitude of what was gonna happen.

Driving through the Palisades Village was a moment that really kind of brought me to my knees.

I don't even think ghost town is the right word.

It was just devastation.

There was no sign of us.

The best part of the Palisades, in my opinion, the people, the community.

It was a realization that in order to bring this community together, we need something to unite us.

So Banners of Hope was born with the intention to get all the students and the schools within the burn zone that have been deeply affected by the fires involved on a public art installation, essentially.

Each school was asked to create one artwork representing the future of the Palisades.

And the results were actually incredible.

There's no like limits to art.

It sort of like calms me down.

It was incredible to see all of my students connect over just images that they were creating.

They started to really turn into some beautiful, vibrant artwork.

Those artworks were later turned into banners of hope.

And they're going to be lining up Sunset Boulevard from the very beginning of the village all the way to Pacific Coast Highway.

They were pretty excited about that.

I was excited about it.

I was really excited about it too, feeling very proud.

I think it would be really cool to continue it each year.

It's gonna be this incredible memory of a point of coming together and creating something beautiful.

We hope that Banners of Hope continues to grow.

I think the Palisades community and the kids coming back and seeing their artwork will give them a sense of pride, and I think they're going to feel like there's hope.

Banners of Hope is an effort of togetherness.

Please join us.

Participate, contribute, be a part of it.

Visit Crayon Collection.org for more information.

Wow, it's still incredibly hard to see those images and these incredible acts of service.

This extraordinary community.

Thank you for that.

It is my huge privilege and honor to introduce Sophia Moravati, someone who has been creating color and joy to tell us more about what she's doing.

Okay.

Thank you so much to all of the council for this incredible honor.

My name is Sophia Moravati, and I'm the co-founder of Crayon Collection.

On behalf of all of us, we are so grateful to be recognized for our Banners of Hope project here in the Pacific Palisades.

Seeing the place I've called home for the past 18 years, devastated by the Palisades fires was truly heartbreaking.

Our response was to help through creativity, to use art as a way to heal and recreate reconnect with our community.

Watching each school come together and create something meaningful during such a difficult time was so inspiring, and seeing those works displayed on light poles throughout the Palisades was deeply uplifting.

At Grand Collection, we remain committed to bringing art education to all children, especially those experiencing trauma.

Through banners of hope, we're proud to have shared messages of kindness, unity, and resilience.

Transforming our village into a colorful reflection of the spirit that defines the Palisades.

Thank you again to Council Member Park, our amazing schools, and the Palisades community for embracing this collaboration.

Let's continue to spread hope, one crayon and one banner at a time.

Thank you.

Absolutely extraordinary.

And now it is my pleasure to bring up Sophia Moravati, a very proud mama.

Sheila, I'm sorry, Sheila.

Come on up.

Thank you, Council Member Park.

To say that you are our hero is an understatement.

What you've done for our community this entire past year is truly remarkable.

And you stepped up to the plate like we couldn't have asked for a bigger, better angel to come in and represent our district.

So thank you on behalf of all of us.

You deserve the biggest award there is.

And thank you very much to the rest of the council for this honor, and we are truly, truly grateful.

What I began doing 15 years ago with right here, Sophia was going to restaurants because she didn't like my cooking, and every time we'd go to restaurants, she ate.

And so we'd get free crayons each time, and at the end of the meal, those crayons would go in the trash.

And something deep in my heart told me there's something wrong with this picture.

I'm teaching my child to participate in a throwaway society, while so many students just down the street in LA would love to have those crayons, and teachers are spending over $900 of their personal dollars on classroom supplies.

So the crayon collection was born to funnel those crayons that are lightly used from restaurants into underserved schools that are Title I or Head Start Centers, alongside first in-class art education curriculum made by LA artists so that we could reinsert the arts into all classrooms because, in my opinion, every child deserves the right to create and deserves a right to have art education.

And unfortunately these days, not everyone does have that.

What began with Crayon Collection evolved into a more uh larger change-making organization that is also called Habits of Waste.

We spearheaded the world's first plastic straw and cutlery ban in the city of Malibu, and then later on we started working with the city of LA and convinced all food delivery applications to change their default settings so users only get plastic cutlery upon request, resulting in over one billion pieces of plastic cutlery being saved from entering the waste stream.

This year, January 7th hit, and we were stunned.

The images you saw in the video were from my backyard.

We are still displaced, still trying to figure out what we're going to do thanks to insurance companies and nobody answering us.

But in all honesty, there was only one thing I knew to do, and that was to lean into my community and support and help them wherever I could.

And what I know is that art helps and art heals.

And with that in mind, I invited all 11 schools that had burnt down in the Palisades to participate by donating or contributing one work of art with their students along with Three Words of Hope.

Today we have some of the teachers here who made room in their curriculum for this during the most trying time as they were trying to really rebuild a school out of nowhere, somewhere.

Some were in office buildings, somewhere in places that you know I don't even know how they managed to put together a school within weeks, and we're so grateful that they did, and they delivered the most incredible art and putting those up and down Sunset Boulevard on those light pole banners that you saw made us feel like we were able to contribute something and represent the people of the Palisades because in all honesty, it feels like that was the one thing we we couldn't kind of hold.

It was signs for lawyers and rubble removal, but what about us?

And those banners represented us.

And so for this, we are so grateful.

We hope to continue the work in Altatina and other areas, and we are just so thankful once again for this honor.

Thank you so much.

Um, really truly, this has just been uh such an inspirational project, and in the wake of the disaster, for those of you who were there to bear witness, you saw it it was an awful sight.

No matter which direction you looked, what was in front of you was absolutely horrifying to see.

And so these bright bits of light, this ribbon of color stretched stretching through the heart of the community, has been absolutely game changing, and a way for students to express themselves as well after these incredibly huge challenges that they've all been through as young people.

So I wanted to just take a quick moment to acknowledge the supporting team and schools.

Um, I've already mentioned Jasmine Recendez, Chloe Patterson, Kristen Gabriel, and Shandel Hakeem.

But I also want to acknowledge Seven Arrows Elementary, Calvary Christian School, Marquez Charter Elementary, KI Early Childhood Education Center, St.

Matthew's, Pali High, Pali Elementary, Methodist Preschool of Pacific Palisades, Corpus Christi, and Village School.

So colleagues, with that, I would like to take the opportunity on behalf of the city of Los Angeles and our council to recognize the Crayon Collection for their exemplary service.

Their work truly has been instrumental in preparing this next generation of students and artists, and they have been at the helm of leading hope and recovery in the Pacific Palisades.

Congratulations.

Councilmember Park, we have one member on the queue, Councilmember Rodriguez.

Thank you, Councilmember Park and Sheila and all of you.

I just want to thank you.

This is a beautiful presentation.

And in the wake of the devastation and having been up to the Palisades, you know, to join you on more than one occasion.

It's beautiful to see how the support is really growing from the community up and from the young people.

I think you nailed it when you talk about the importance of art, just you know, earlier today we were celebrating music.

Uh, but that level of expression is so incredibly healing, and it's so important for young people to have access to it to heal the traumas and to be able to express themselves.

And sadly, that is something that continues to evade a lot of our schools, and we watch that those are often the first things that get cut in a budget, is some of the most fundamental and important parts of what young people need to be successful and to learn how to express themselves in very positive ways.

So I want to thank you for bringing this all together and for putting these young people, putting their expression, their hope, their uh healing on full display as a beacon of hope for the entire community for what I think will be an aspirational return for the Palisades.

So, congratulations and thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Park.

Thank you for highlighting these organizations that you know bring healing to your community, and thank you to you for all your support of these amazing organizations.

Thank you, Council President, and congratulations and thank you to Crown Collection.

Thank you.

I believe we have Councilmember Rodriguez and Council Member Soda Martinez for joint presentation.

Thank you so much.

Okay.

All right.

Good morning, colleagues.

I am thrilled to be joined.

Wow, look at this.

This is great.

I am joined to be, I'm thrilled to be joined today by the Sandra Firoa Via fan club here in Los Angeles City Hall.

To honor and celebrate a woman that for many needs needs no introduction.

You know, it's uh I recently celebrated 30 years that I first entered this building.

And I always reflect back on the individuals that made such an indelible mark on my life that helped to inspire and teach me and guide me in helping to shape the kind of leader that I would become.

And you know, when I think about, you know, I I made the declaration that uh Olivia Mitchell was the patron saint of young people.

Uh, you know, we recently honored Marianne Hayashi.

But when I think about the legacy of the East Side, when I think of the legacy of the individuals that have had such a profound effect for the voices of young people, but most importantly, the disenfranchised communities that were so often overlooked, ignored, and attempted to have our voices silenced.

I can think of no one other than Sandra Firoa Villa to be recognized and celebrated for her contributions in the city of Los Angeles.

Sandra has had an incredible history, uh, and and I would be remiss if I didn't obviously saw Chi and Jesse that are an important part of her story, but there's no there's no surprise why there's such a crowd that's here to celebrate and recognize her today, including our former assembly member and of course our state senator Maria Elena Lurazzo.

It's all of these individuals are here because there's no question the level of contribution in history that she has made.

And it's important that we celebrate these titans of our community and celebrate them in a manner that they are deserving of because while their contributions to our city live on in so many of us and inspire so many of us to shepherd on and do the work that we do.

We have to tell these stories, and we have to enshrine it in the history books.

Because as we're watching a president today that continues to try to erode our contributions, here in the city of Los Angeles, we're going to make sure that it's permanently enshrined for the storytellers and the people that fought for us when no one else did.

For decades, Sandra dedicated her career to lifting up Los Angeles through compassion, advocacy, and her leadership.

As the executive director of El Centro del Pueblo, for 45 years, she worked tirelessly to empower our youth, strengthen families, create opportunities for those who too often go unheard.

She transformed the organization facing a $25,000 deficit with only two part-time staff into a nationally recognized social service provider with 80 employees and an annual budget of 10 million dollars.

Through her vision and leadership, El Centro del Pueblo became debt-free by 2005 and purchased an 8,000 square foot facility that now houses the Echo Park Family Source Center while also developing a 10,000 square foot building to expand clinical programs and generate sustainable income for the services through community mind uh community-minded leasing.

She was also a distinguished member of our of our police commission as an appointee of Mayor Eric Garcetti's in 2013, where she played a pivotal role in creating policies that guide police officer interactions with unhoused individuals and in drafting the LAPD's de-escalation focused use of force policy, both of which are models for 21st century policing.

Her commitment extends far beyond her title.

She has been a mentor, a problem solver, and a fierce advocate for social justice, public safety, and education.

And through her steady leadership has helped shape policies that protect and uplift some of our most vulnerable residents.

Again, it was when I was a 20-year-old starting at City Hall that I went CD1 used to CD1 and CD 13 used to split Echo Park.

And those council boundaries never meant a damn thing.

We were always there working in partnership with each other.

I remember when I was working for Mike in Jackie Goldberg's office, Gorrado was there.

Like, there is so much beautiful history about how we used to have to come together and work with very little resources.

For an institution that so often didn't recognize our community, we had a fight and scrimp to get the resources that we needed.

And sadly, as we've continued, so much of that work is what inspired me to work with youth leaders to create the city's youth development department.

We taught all those young people about how to use their voice and demand change.

I wish I could say that this city government continued to be responsive to those demands.

Sadly, that doesn't always happen.

And we watch the erosion of some of that critical work, but it's your legacy and example that helped me get up every day, determined to do the work that I do and be an unapologetic voice to do what's right.

Because there's never a wrong time to do what's right.

And you exemplify that.

And you always have with your leadership, Sandra, and I want to thank you for being that example.

It's a it's a sign, it's an example that frankly, not all real leaders are elected.

She ran what I want to say about that though is I ran against Mike Hernandez.

I know, yes.

And she was an intern, or she, I met her through that office, and back then she wanted to meet with me and talk to me about the campaign and how to run, and then she told me I want to be a city council person back then, and look at her now.

Thank you.

You know, I just wanted to be part of the change and making it work for our community.

But it was your example that taught me some of those important early fundamental lessons about how to do it, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

And I want to thank my colleague Hugo Soto Martinez, because clearly, this is a different, this is not my part of the city that I proudly represent.

But I'm proud that I have a history and a relationship with this part of the city because it helped teach me the fundamental lessons that I need to be a strong leader for my own community.

So for that, I want to thank you for being that example.

And of course, I want to thank Sochi and Jess.

You guys, I know it's a lot of sacrifice.

It's a lot of sacrifice of time of family time.

She has been just relentless in this work for justice for our community.

And so I just uh I'm so proud to be an elected member at this time when we can celebrate and honor the true pillars of our communities that so often don't get recognized.

And I look forward to our future unveiling of Sandra Fieroa Via Square in Echo Car.

Because those are the apellidos that need to be enshrined across this city.

And so with that, it is my honor and uh again my thanks to Councilmember Hugo Sota Martinez because I know we have a shared love for this woman.

Uh and uh I want to thank you for allowing me because to be part of this and to do this, uh, because there were so many critical people that were so influential in my life, and I just wanted to take the opportunity to tell all of you.

Well, I had the opportunity to do so.

Thank you for everything that you've done, not just for me, but for our community, and so with that, I thank you.

Uh, ladies and gentlemen, Councilmember Hugo Sota Martinez.

Thank you so much, uh, council councilwoman for uh doing this together.

I know we talked about it a few months ago, and it's coming true, and it's it feels joyful, and it feels very good to be here.

Thank you for Senator Durazzo, from the former assembly woman, uh Wendy Carrillo, and so we have your board of trustee here, Steve Verrez on the side as well, and all the folks that are here from El Centro del Pueblo.

You know, it's um it's always great to uplift uh a member of the community, uh, someone like Sandra.

Um, and you know, El Centro del Pueblo is literally next door to our field office uh in Echo Park.

Uh, and I know she's been serving there as an executive director for almost four 45 years now, but I first met Sandra um right as I was finishing uh my campaign, and uh, you know, we I remember meeting at your house uh talking, and uh just meeting her, there was an immediate connection.

Uh, there's an immediate connection because of of the work of the people that we knew, of the values, and and just what we wanted to see in this world.

It's like uh, and it's not often that you meet someone uh that you have that immediate connection.

Uh now I've spent uh 16 years and my former employer, and I thought that was a long time, but being the executive director since 1980 means you gotta have a certain kind of personality, a certain kind of uh energy or workload and vision uh to continue to be the pillar in the community, and you know, El Centro del Pueblo does so much.

Um, when you show up there, you're gonna see folks feeling loved, feeling valued, uh, and we do so much out of that space, um, from giving away uh, you know, backpack giveaways, toy giveaways, uh, you know, basketball tournaments, you name it, like that space is part of the community space, and I don't know how you do it because I've asked, I was like how do you get so many people here?

And I'm like, but they show up hundreds and hundreds of people show up, and it's just been wonderful time uh wonderful time there.

Uh, you know, one of my more joyful and saddest moments uh is with your invitation to your basketball tournament.

Uh, you know, they have a beautiful basketball uh court that was been designed-like sort of low rider uh style uh design, and so my team and I uh we know I had Andoni who's six foot four, but I'm not gonna talk about the outcome of that game, but we didn't do very well.

Uh, we like to win in CD 13, but it was fun being there with the community with the kids and so many folks uh there as well.

But what I think gives me a lot of inspiration about about Sandra and her team is that they're not satisfied, they want to continue to evolve and continue to bring a vision, and so a few months ago, um actually not a few months ago, uh maybe late late last year.

Uh we were like, how can we uh you know bring in sort of the unite HRE organizing style and develop folks and do do more organizing?

You know, I love doing that stuff.

And Sandra was like, let's do it.

Let's do it.

Let's let's bring a more intense, like organizing structure to the community leaders that we already have, uh, to make it even stronger.

And she was like, and she's like, we're gonna do it, and so and and we have benefited from that, we've benefited from that collaboration uh with CD 13 because when the raids started happening and the attacks started having our community, we had that uh those synergies, we had those relationships to be able to respond to everything that was going on in the community.

We quickly deployed food distributions and rental assistance and whatever the community needed, and that gave that just made me incredibly proud because it's not often that you have someone in the community who has that same vision about what the city should look like in this moment.

And so it's just been wonderful to have you here to continue to celebrate celebrate you.

And I know we'll continue to work on so many things.

And I just want to say that uh Sandra es una guerrera is una chingona, right?

And as a young kid say uh as a youth, like she's a real baddie.

And so we're happy to have you.

Thank you so much.

Now I'll pass it back to uh councilwoman uh Rodriguez.

Thank you, Councilmember Sothamartinez.

And now I'd like to invite our distinguished senator from the 26th Senate District, Maria Elena Durazo.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning, and uh thank Council members Rodriguez and Soto Martinez for this motion.

It is such an honor to recognize a woman whose legacy is woven into the very fabric of Echo Park and all of Los Angeles.

So we celebrate not just naming a street corner, but a lifetime, a lifetime of service, advocacy, and change.

Sandra Figueroa Villa.

Yes, sounds beautiful.

But she has spent over four decades uplifting our communities, becoming the executive director of Centro del Pueblo, two part-time staff, a deficit, but she walked in those doors and she changed El Centro, and as a result of that, she changed our community, building a nationally recognized social service provider with eight employees and a 10 million dollar budget.

She has become, she has made El Centro a sanctuary for our families, for our youth and little kids and older kids and teenagers, and you see our seniors, they all have a place there.

Day treatment programs, culturally competent services to reduce violence and strengthen our families.

Naming this intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Lemoine Street as the Sandra Figueroa Villa Square is more than symbolic.

It's a permanent tribute to a woman who has turned compassion into infrastructure.

This corner, by the way, my district office is in her building.

And uh, you know, it's uh uh I I walk when I'm walking into my office, I take a shortcut and I walk through the offices of El Centro.

So I see the work at different hours of the day.

I see the work that she and the staff and the organizers do every single day.

They distribute food, um, uh especially in these times when the Trump administration is cutting back, they're stepping up to provide more.

I see young people in the boxing program, taking skateboarding classes, or just simply stopping by and taking part in any one of their many recreation programs.

It was the center of Earth Day, it was the center and the um uh place for Pride Echo Park, it was the center for mental health services.

People know our community knows where to go when they need help, and they learn how to become volunteers for the programs that other people need.

She served on the board of police commissioners, so she's looked at the whole city and the policies of de-escalation and humane treatment of unhoused individuals.

She reminds us leadership.

She reminds us leadership is not about titles, it's about being there.

It's about showing up day after day, year after year for the people who need us most.

And even when she was facing her own personal health struggles, she never stopped caring about our community and fighting for our community.

That's it.

And again, thank you to Sochil and to Jesse for allowing her to do so much for our community and supporting her so much.

So Sandra, the Sandra Villaroa Villa Square will inspire our future generations that they ought to be committed with heart, with integrity, and an unwavering commitment to justice.

Giviva, Sandra Figaroa Mia.

Thank you so much, Senator.

And now our honoree and someone who obviously has meant so much to so many of us.

Ladies and gentlemen, Sandra Figaro via.

Thank you.

Thank you, everyone.

Good morning.

Standing here at City Hall means so much to me.

This building isn't just where decisions are made, it's where the heart of our city lives.

And it was in this building in the 80s.

I wasn't really involved in government.

I was kind of protesting a lot and doing a lot of that stuff.

And then I thought, oh no, now I have to be the executive director.

And kind of open my heart to what I'm doing it for, is what ended up happening to me.

And I learned how city government worked here.

And it was painful for me, but look at us now, you know.

I just I just had to put my own personal agenda, I guess, aside and just focus on the people that were serving.

I was born and raised right here in Los Angeles.

The city has given me everything, my values, my sense of purpose, and my deep belief in community.

I've seen how strong we can be when we come together through good times and through challenges.

Today, oh God, today, as I stand here at 71 years old, I feel proud to be considered an elder, someone who has witnessed the growth, the struggles, and the beauty of this city over so many years.

I carry the lessons of those who came before me, and I hope to pass a few along to the next generation.

Especially Olivia Mitchell was one of my mentors, and David Sandoval sitting over here to my right.

This ceremony isn't just about one person, it's about all of us.

The people who love the city enough to keep showing up, to keep fighting for fairness, for opportunity for each other.

Every act of service, every moment of courage, every voice that speaks up, that's what makes Los Angeles shine.

I'm deeply grateful to everyone who continues to serve with heart, compassion, and integrity.

And I'm so proud to stand here today as someone who believes with all my heart in the spirit of this city and people.

At this point, I'm blessed to have an amazing staff here.

They're my team.

They're the ones that make it happen for the community.

And I would not be here today had they not done from the very beginning, starting with two, three, four until we grew, and we and the services we have, community asked for.

We did lots of surveys in the community.

Um I have friends here from high school.

I have friends here who drove from San Diego, Eltadina, you know, and uh who knows, and then and and I have friends here from that are following my healing journey and recovery and health and everything else.

Um, many who have touched my heart.

But most of all, my husband and daughter.

When I took over El Centro, I had no money, and I told my husband I was ready to go to Oxy and make a little salary and work with the kids, going to college.

But my husband says, if we can do this, we can do this.

He was working on his career in education.

What I found out, so I said yes.

What that really meant was while I do this work, he will continue his career and and support me.

Thank you, Jesse.

I love you.

And my daughter Sochi, you know, then we had a baby.

At 42 years old, mind you, I wasn't ready back then.

You know, I was too busy doing political work.

And um, and here she is, you know, she's 39 years old, and she's amazing.

29, sorry, 29.

Yeah, she's 29 years old now.

And when I first got sick with my health and cancer, she was probably not even 20 and in college, and and it was so painful for me to see her, you know, go through that, you know, and because she hadn't go to school.

But you know what?

I just I I'm almost five years in remission.

And so here I am, you know.

I just get up with a lot of gratitude in the morning, and I take advantage of my land, you know, like the Native Americans and and councilwoman Hira Jura that was talking about earlier.

Um, you know, we have a big piece of land, and we I take advantage of that, especially when I have to take the dogs for a walk.

It's almost half an acre, so I just walk around it like two, three times.

That's my activity.

But anyway, thank you, councilwoman Monica.

You know, I've just known her for so long, and I love her husband, Raul.

He's amazing.

Um council member Hugo, it's so refreshing to have a council member that really works with our community and in Centro del Pueblo.

So thank you, Hugo.

And Wendy assembly member, you know, she really got involved with El Centro, and I appreciate her and love her so much, you know.

We've gone through some things together, and it's been amazing.

But and Maria Lena over here, La Jeff, I just love her, and I'm gonna miss her when she goes to the county because she is gonna go.

All right.

Yeah, I love you.

You know, her staff, we're we're like a big family, you know.

Centro team, you know I hope you know that you feel like it's a big family.

Um, council, you all are part of my extended family, and I love you all so much.

So thank you for this honor.

Thank you.

So, colleagues, with that, please help me celebrate and honor this incredible woman in the one way we we know she deserves with a thunderous round of applause.

But we honor Sandra Ferro Villa for all her immeasurable, I mean, just so many contributions that have left a mark on so many lives, but we look forward to the dedication of Sandra Fiero Square for everyone to see and know the name of the contributions of this remarkable woman, que viva Sandra.

Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez Soga Martinez for the last that presentation.

We're gonna move on to business, Madam Clerk, what's next?

Uh Mr.

President, there is a request to continue item number four and amending motion 4A to Wednesday, November 12th.

Without objection, that'll be the order.

The council may now move on to public comment.

All right, thank you.

We're now moving on to public comment on agenda items noticed for public hearing and items for which public hearings have not been held.

Public comment will be taken in person in the council chamber only.

Uh madam uh sorry, Mr.

City Attorney, would you please explain the speaking rules to members of the public and council chambers wishing to speak?

Yes, Mr.

President.

So today there are not any opens that there are not any items that have been noticed for public hearing, as public hearing has been satisfied and public comment has been satisfied at the committee level.

So members of the public who would like to provide public comment will have up to one minute for general public comment.

Please keep in mind that during general public comment, you still need to speak to something that's within the subject matter jurisdiction of the council, while we recognize that that is quite broad.

Um it is not everything uh under the sun.

So just please keep that in mind.

Uh I have a couple more announcements.

If I could have the interpreters make the 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.

If you have made an accommodation request pursuant to the ADA, or if you would like to, and you would like to utilize the wireless handheld microphone, when it is your turn to speak, please raise your hand and let the sergeants know so that they can provide you with the wireless microphone.

Uh, one final announcement.

In order to help us run an efficient public comment period, we would ask that you please wait until you hear the name that you signed up under before lining up to speak.

Uh, the names will be read aloud and they are called at random, which is to say the order is randomly generated.

Uh, once you hear the name that you signed up under read aloud, you can line up in any order on your left hand side of the council chambers.

Thank you.

I will begin by calling the following names.

Rose Quak, Manny Moreles, Boxer, Jen Ann, and Aaron Rodriguez.

Good afternoon.

You have speaker.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

Yeah, yes, to all you you assholes who don't give a fuck, and who don't give a shit about anything that uh about any of these Mexicans, fuck you.

And for this reason, Donald J.

Trump has done a great thing.

That is to stop you dumb motherfuckers from doing your dirty business, criminal corruption, organized crime, and in the name of Donald J.

Trump and Pam Bondi.

Fuck you, America.

You're doomed.

The Chinese, the Russians, and all those fucking camel jocks like Nazarian.

You're gonna learn a lesson.

You don't fuck with Turkey.

You want ton soup and comb your hair asshole, so can scan.

And your time has expired.

Members of the public, we do apologize while Mr.

Herman managed to keep a lid on it for most of the meeting, for which I will admit I am grateful.

Uh he is allowed to provide public comment.

Uh, we appreciate your patience again.

They do not represent the views of this body collectively or individually.

Uh the best way to get through it is just to ignore it.

Thank you very much.

Next speaker.

Good afternoon.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

Good afternoon to my fellow constituency of Los Angeles and again to the city council.

I ask when are you going to actually get off your hands and demand the resignation of police chief Jim McDonnell?

In the past two and a half years, LAPD has cost the LA taxpayer over 400 million dollars in settlement fees.

And with that money, we could have provided free transportation to every Angelino for a year.

So I ask you and Mayor Karen Bass to actually listen to the facts rather than flat out ignore them.

And to the officers in this courtroom, I ask if you want to reestablish trust among your citizenry, please treat us with respect, and we will treat you with respect.

Do not shoot tear gas into a residential neighborhood off of Sunset Boulevard that can cause respiratory issues in minors and reproductive health issues in women.

Long live the working people of Los Angeles, and there will be a change coming next year, and we will vote a socialist democrat like Mondani.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call up Michael Ackerman, Sim Bilal, Manuel M, Agrabat, Mary F, Danny T, Jennifer, and Ron G.

Good afternoon.

Go ahead.

You have one minute.

Hello, good morning, Council members.

Uh, my name is Manny Morelis, and I'm with Sage in South LA, and I'm currently a renter in uh District 14.

I'm here because ULA is working and has kept more than 10,000 families housed, helped fund nearly 800 new affordable homes, and is building the foundation of 13,000 more over the next decade.

So far, it's provided rent relief to more than 4,000 households.

ULA is making a difference.

There are families to avoid an eviction and new housing that's already motion.

Projects that wouldn't exist without ULA.

It is funding.

If this funding were reduced, thousands of renters will lose their safety net and hundreds of affordable homes will never be built.

Our city would have fewer tools to prevent homeless homelessness at the very moment when the need is the greatest.

This community fought for ULA to make housing more affordable, but city delays are holding it back.

These delays hurt real people.

Families are wanting for relief, waiting for relief.

And then give our opposition ammunition to say the program is not working.

We need transparency, urgency, and community involvement.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Hold my time, sir.

Hold my time.

Thank you, sir.

Good afternoon.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

To the people from the Palisades, thank you for some of the information that's been given.

Because every six months they change it, and if you're not covered, you're gonna lose out, especially on the endorsements, which is usually about 20%.

Please make sure your insurance is updated.

And then also make sure that if you have a home that's in a trust, make sure that the trust is on that property on that policy because if not, you're gonna have uh problems with the insurance company.

So uh is Mr.

Price here.

I want to uh welcome him back and tell him my prayers are with him.

Uh secondly, I I think it was what in 2009, I was back there, and um the chief of police was there, uh McDonald, and he was he had lost out to Beck, and I told him you have greater things to do.

This is not it, Mr.

Chief McDonald.

This is not your time has expired.

Next speaker.

Thank you.

Speaker, your time is expired.

We need to move on to the next speaker.

Do a better job.

Good next, sorry.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call up Callie, Benita L, Jesse G, Christilla T, Scarlet M, Daisy, Gordy, Harry Kim, Chief Total, Margie L, Dahlia Luceto, and Sylvia F.

Good afternoon.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

I come here week after week saying the same thing.

The police aren't doing the most basic part of their jobs.

They aren't making required records and they aren't doing serious investigations.

And the only solution is for you to ask the governor to send a handful of investigators from the National Guard to look into possible police misconduct.

It's the governor's job to do this, but he won't step on local officials' toes.

So it's really your responsibility to make the request.

People won't report crimes like extortion, so there will be no evidence, no petitions, and no protests.

You shouldn't expect them.

We know you aren't allowed to read to respond to public comments during the meeting, but you can absolutely do it afterward.

Please explain what the problem is.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Good afternoon.

You have one.

This past week, if you've probably seen federal agents have ramped up their operations across Los Angeles County and most of Southern California.

In Ontario, a US citizen was shot in the shoulder from behind by a federal agent.

At the Home Depot in Cypress Park the other day, seven people, including a US citizen father and his toddler, were kidnapped by federal agents.

One of those same agents was seen just last week aiming his gun at rapid responders in Santa Anna.

Not sure if you've seen the video footage yourselves, but it's pretty horrifying.

Abandoned street vendor carts, vehicles with doors left wide open, windows smashed in, haunting screams of human beings getting dragged away by mass agents.

This is what's happening every day here in LA.

And now even US citizens are not even safe from this reign of tyranny.

This is not normal, it should never be normalized.

With all this imaginable unimaginable terror happening here in our other communities, why has LAPD's priorities been to continuously brutalize Angelinos, use chemical agents against them?

I don't want to hear that they're here to protect us and serve us.

There's zero accountability.

And it's making a real difference.

And it's already provided rent relief for more than 4,000 families.

These are families who have been able to avoid eviction and homelessness.

As long as we keep our families housed.

Thank you.

We will need interpretation.

Yes, good morning.

So you have one minute.

Go ahead.

So yes, my name is Alia Lucero.

It has provided rent relief for more than four uh thousand uh apartments or living spaces, and as well as provided new housing for more than 800 uh new new living spaces as well.

It's about families that have that have evaded uh eviction and new uh ordinances or new uh things that are now in in uh that are now functioning.

Projectos can sinula.

Los Angeles.

Projects that wouldn't exist without Ulla, but Los Angelinos votaron por la ULA para crear solutions de viviendas duraderas.

And Angelino's voted for ULA to have solutions that will last.

Please please uh defend what the voters uh were asking for, and please continue to to allow them to keep funding this.

Muchas gracias.

Just thank you so much.

Good afternoon, you have one minute.

I'm feeling fabulous today.

I know the presiding officer knows a lot about fabulous given his time in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, accepting bribes with his former um boss, Mitchell Englander.

So it really symbolism's not really entirely lost on me here.

That after there's a lot of people here who would like to speak to you about the violence, the impending fascism from the federal government.

And we have to sit through two hours of presentations, not allowed to speak on any of the agenda items, even though I don't think any of them have had actually had a hearing before every council member.

And we've got this Republican who changed his party affiliation to full voters, presiding over the meeting, who's bought and paid for by the LA PPL, who's the N the LAPD, who's repeatedly assisting ICE, fire Jim McDonald.

Let's start actually.

Good afternoon.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

Thank you, City Council.

I am Mario Zermino.

We peaceful protesters at the Metropolitan Detention Center are there to represent the most marginalized members of our community.

Documented or not.

While they are being inhumanely dragged through horrors by an unconstitutional police force, we want them to know that we see them, that they have worth, and that they are not invisible.

I want everyone in this room to know that while you receive your deserved accolades from this council, just down the street, there are kidnapped children being dragged through the darkest times of their lives by our government, and they don't know why they deserve this.

As peaceful protesters, we have been violently assaulted by those that have sworn to serve and protect us, yet we return every day.

Right?

God bless this land and protect this land because it's very evident that you will not.

Next speaker.

Hi, in the spirit of no kings, I just want to read this quick passage from the Declaration of Independence.

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men driving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and it's institute new government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to affect their safety and happiness.

So I put this question before the council.

Are we not in the moment?

To do something about it.

We can all do this together.

We need to work together.

And I'd love to have a couple minutes of any council members' time after this to talk about what we can do to all work together in this moment.

And with that in mind, I'd also speaker.

Good afternoon.

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

Yes, my name is Alex Gerwer, and I'm not going to recite what Jennifer cited earlier, the few of the all too many atrocities that the federal government is perpetrating in the city.

We all know about them.

What I really don't get is that we're all citizens much more alike than we are apart.

And even the police officers in this room are a diverse group of people that should understand that they and their family members are even subject to the kind of things that ICE and the federal agents are doing here in this town.

And we need to stop this.

I'm the only child of two concentration camp survivors, and I know Hitler when I see him.

We've got a guy 3,000 miles away, creating distrust and divert division in this city, needlessly, a city that hasn't seen this kind of division in God knows how many years.

She's not here, she's not in Rex and Center meetings, she's nowhere to be fine found.

Either she's pro-Dodgers and she sticks with them, or she's with us, being attacked by all these people kidnapping us, right?

Police overstepping, like they have full immunity is wrong.

And yet we see LEPD on horses beating on people.

The mayor is already spoken on her stance, and she says she does not want for him to be released.

So you guys have the power.

Please make that choice.

Good afternoon, you have one minute.

Yes, my name is Ismala Negrete from Community Organization, but I'm a person who knows their neighbors and the people around them and know that knows about their necessities every day.

Those delays are affecting current families that are waiting for help right now.

And we are here to make Los Angeles not a city for the rich people, but a city for working class people for elder people and for immigrants.

And for the communities of low resources to be able to live with stability and with dignity.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

You have one minute.

And we won it with a democratic vote.

And why do you guys want to want to stop it in its tracks right now?

Who is ULA bothering?

The rich and the corporations.

And that's why I'm telling you as public servants to protect ULA.

Because ULA will create more housing for our communities.

And maintaining our communities housed and being able to be defended in a court by legal representation.

And ULA is created as a new alternative for housing, which is a social housing.

This is what our communities deserve.

And that's why as a member of the community, I am asking you with urgency to please protect ULA.

Thank you, next speaker.

Good afternoon, you have one minute.

Go ahead.

It is pleased.

It is something that the community needs, and as we said, if it was something that was voted democratically, then obviously it's something that we really need.

Gracias.

Please allow ULA to show its potential, making a difference for our communities.

Thank you.

And Mr.

President, I believe you announced earlier if anybody wanted to provide public comment they can line up.

I believe we have exhausted public comment as I do not see anyone else lined up.

Okay, now that we have taken public comment, I am now closing public comment on all items in general public comment.

The council may go to item five called special by Councilmember Padilla for an amendment.

All right, Councilmember Padilla, I believe that item has been circulated your amendment.

Yes, it has.

Okay.

Alright, Madam Clerk, can you please open the roll on this item?

Close the roll, tabulate the vote.

Ten ayes.

Alright, thank you.

Um, what's next on the agenda?

The council has motions for posting and referral.

Posted and referred.

The desk is clear.

All right.

Members, any announcements?

Councilman Nazari.

Go ahead, go ahead.

Well, we'll also uh well, no, because we'll be on holidays.

So I want to invite everybody.

You know, Veterans Day is uh next week, and we will be hosting.

I want to thank Councilmember Blumenfield.

Uh, but in my district, uh we have the only Veterans Day parade in the city of Los Angeles on 1111.

And I want to thank Councilmember Blumenfield, who was one of the original founders of the San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade.

Uh, but it's held in the 7th district and has been for a couple of decades now.

Uh, but I want to thank him for his financial support.

Uh tragically, among the challenges that we're finding as a city is that the very same civic activities that we used to sponsor and support as a city uh are now being done so at great and tremendous cost to community organizations that want to host uh these types of traditions like a parade.

It we received a bill or the organizers received a bill of over $30,000 for DOT to be able to uh support this event.

And so I want to thank Councilmember Bloomfield and want to thank uh all the San Fernando Valley Council members that will be participating in this event.

Uh, but again, it's just a reminder about the financial impacts of the decisions that are being made that are actually going to hinder more of these types of very important community events that have been celebrated throughout our city's history.

But I want to thank Fred Flores and the organizers of the San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade, and I look forward to everyone joining us at the commencement uh at the location of Brand Boulevard and Laurel Canyon, and it starts at 1111.

So come on out, honor our veterans with the respect that they deserve.

Thank you.

Alright, any other special announcements on my right?

Special announcements on my left, Councilmember Nazario.

Thank you.

And thank you, Councilwoman, for uh highlighting the important event that you're helping lead.

Uh, it's very critical that we continue to remember and honor our service members.

Um, I wanted to take a moment, Council President, and recognize a wonderful individual and a member of our city family who is uh gonna be moving on to greener pastures and say a few words about him.

Uh Saha Gedalian B began his career with the city of Los Angeles in 2013 as a caseworker for Council Member Paul Krikorian, my predecessor in Council District 2.

Sahag worked with communities across the second district to coordinate special events at the time.

Uh we can thank him for the creation of the Nohow summer nights, the series of free movies and concerts in North Hollywood Park, and have which have become a summer tradition in North Hollywood.

I'm not uh exaggerating when I say that Sahag is a extremely hard worker.

Uh it's no surprise that he rose quickly from caseworker to field deputy and then to transportation director and became his boss's deputy on the metro board while council member Quickorian served as a director on the board.

Transportation policy is a nuts and bolts kind of field, as we all know, and it could be very cold and bureaucratic at times, but there's nothing cold or bureaucratic about Sahog.

In fact, he's brought quite a bit of warmth to the arena.

The constituents in the district became very attached to Sahog, and we're sorry to see him go.

If you know him, it's uh it's uh easy to see why.

He's a warm individual as I've uh ever met in government, and he treats every stakeholders' concern as though it's just uh as important to him as it is to them.

As a director of uh as the district two transportation director, he worked on everything from the Chandler bike path improvements to one of the largest Alfresco street closures in Los Angeles.

There's a speed hump at every elementary school now in Los Angeles because Sahog worked on doing that, starting with CD Council District 2.

As the Metro Board Deputy, he helped expand the Metro Bike Share Program and participated in the planning of the District Noho development.

The Noho to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit Corridor and the East San Fernando Valley right light rail project two years ago when Sahog and his wife Christina welcomed their beautiful daughter Lori into this world.

Sahog left Council District 2 office and joined the Bureau of Street Services.

For the last two years, he served as liaison between Streets LA and all of our elected offices and other governmental agencies.

He helped develop the sidewalk and transportation amenities program, which is bringing benches, shade, and other amenities to bus riders across the city.

In his 12 years with the city of Los Angeles, Sahog has improved the quality of life for countless Angelinos for years to come.

Now he's leaving uh LA, Los Angeles City, to work for LA Metro, where I know he will continue to deliver positive change for the people of all of Los Angeles County.

I know I speak for all of the staff and constituents of Council District 2 who know him best when I say we wish him very best in everything to come in the future months and years ahead.

And I need to also add to all of this that I did not add to my talking points, that I met first met Sahag many, many years ago when he was a high school student.

I saw the spark in him, I saw the talent in him.

And so a little over 10 years ago, I don't want to aging myself, but about 50 almost 15 years ago, when I was running for office for the first time, I brought him on board.

He worked very diligently, very hard, very hard.

Uh and uh uh and and you know you you have small budgets in assembly races.

Uh so it was uh uh extremely important the work that he did, and I uh the budgets in the assembly, even more after you get elected are pretty small.

So I asked Councilmember Krikorian if he had a spot for a hardworking individual uh on his staff so that he can bring him on and uh and watch him grow.

And Paul took me up on the offer, uh brought him in, he started as caseworker and rose up, and so it's wonderful to see that you know, when when we invest in one another, how wonderful things can burgeon uh in years to come.

And I can't believe 15 years later Sahog is here, uh married with a child, uh with a family, and now moving on to bigger and better pastures.

Well, I don't know if necessarily better, but bigger pastures and place that we can all continue working together.

So thank you very much.

Congratulations.

Our loss is uh LA Metro's gain, but can look forward to continuing to work with you.

Thank you, Councilmember Nazarian.

Any other announcements?

Yes, Councilmember Slossy.

You were incredibly helpful to us as we stepped into that role, and my team and I are really grateful to you for that.

Of a long speech, I'm not going to read it because it's been a long meeting.

Um, Councilwoman Raman also extended congratulations to read something on moving over to Metro.

She couldn't be here today, but um wanted to acknowledge your work.

Um, so this is Councilwoman Raman's remarks.

Uh colleagues, I'm sorry to not be there in person to share my joy and embody my staff's joy when we think of our dear Sahog.

Sahog was one of the first people, many people many on my staff met when I came into office.

With his big smile, he reached out to us as a new office to make sure we had what we needed to navigate this complex place as a city hall veteran.

Whether it was how best to participate in metro meetings to strike for strategic and creative approaches of working with departments to get potholes fixed, bus shelters built, and bike lanes striped, Sahog was and remains open, excited, and genuinely big hearted uh in sharing his knowledge.

While he's not going far, he will be deeply missed in the building, and we wish him the best of luck on this new endeavor.

Congratulations.

Any other announcements?

Look to my right.

Any adjourning motions on my right?

Any adjourning motions on my left?

Seeing none, this meeting is adjourned.

Happy Veterans Day, everyone.

We will see you next Wednesday.