That's right, that's right. And what we have now is a unique collection of over 400 different designs.

Wow!

And that's spread throughout the 470 square miles of the city, right?

And it pretty much, as you said, kind of grew up with the city.

Different neighborhoods as they would rise and they would want street lights, they would design their own.

So you have Wilshire Specials, you would have things like the Broadway Special, Hollywood Special, Van Nuys Special.

So there's just different ones that the neighborhoods would kind of adopt and say,

this is the one that we wanted.

I think they could legitimately be called art.

I mean, some of them have turned into art pieces.

Obviously, I think most people know Urban Light, which is in front of LACMA.

Are there other art installations that have been done with former practical lights

that are now not practical but still worth our attention?

Yes, Sheila Klein's Vermonica that actually shows the progression,

and a time progression of all the different street lights.

With all of the diversity of street lamps to choose from,

what is, as the executive director, your favorite?

Well, if you're gonna put me on the spot like that,

I would say the Wilshire special that we have

is an amazing piece, again, just because it kind of

harkens back to that origin of us.

And it's huge.

You would never expect, we have them in the field right now.

You would never expect that while you're walking on a sidewalk,

there's this five foot tall, you know, two foot wide,

like gargantuan street light.

When you have it next to you, it's that big, right?

But when it's up there, it just looks like any other street light,

not to say nondescript, but, you know,

like unassuming kind of light that has a great history.

One of the things that most people don't know about the Beirah Street Lighting, we're one of the largest municipal deployments of EV chargers on the right of way.

I was going to ask you.

So about 700, we expect to have about 900 by the end of this fiscal year.

And those are great opportunities for us to ensure that we are approaching transportation electrification in an equitable way.

And is it being rolled out in certain neighborhoods?

As you said, you were looking for an equitable solution to something like this when EV chargers may not be able to go into a neighborhood that had the resources for it.

So is it specific?

We're looking for existing markets and hoping to create emerging markets.

What I mean by that is we're going to places where there have been requests, high demand, where we've placed chargers.

we're looking at our analytics and seeing should we place another one close by right in order for

for people to have more usage but we're also trying to get into places that we we don't

necessarily see what i would say the private sector so we're trying to go into places like

Hyde Park right like South LA like the valley right so get away from just what traditionally

people would think that that is not just a privilege to have that's something that we should all have.

Are we ahead of the game when it comes to technology and advancements for something

like the Bureau of Street Lighting or are we looking to other cities to see how they are

doing it and then following soon? When you look at the world as a whole there's obviously going

to be some places that might do things better here or there and different types of technology.

On average though, I'd say LA is on the cutting edge, the further ahead than the pack.

And I'll say this for a couple things.

There's a reason why we became one of the first 5G cities in America.

And that's because we started attaching telecom equipment to our streetlights, right?

And so we made something that was originally a single use.

Now granted that single use was transformative.

We lit public spaces and made it so people can congregate, have commerce, made it feel

safer, right?

But the service was the street light.

Now we're adding other things that not only reduce the cost of infrastructure itself,

but make it so that there's new services that can go on to the city, like 5G connectivity.

So LA became one of the first 5G cities in America back in 2017, 2018.

And that's because we started working together with industry practitioners to see what else

we could do.

Very, very well.

All right, so you've worked with the city for a long time.

I mean, you've worked in the mayor's office, you know, through a couple of tenures of different

mayors and now you're here and you've been here.

What was the biggest surprise coming into this Bureau when you looked around and saw

what your opportunities were and what your challenges were?

scope of the Bureau, the opportunities in the Bureau, the history, the fun, the possibility?

What was it that you really went, oh wow, this is cool?

What I was most impressed with was the people when I came in here because of their willingness

to actually try new things.

And because of the people, we have tremendous potential, right?

So when we're talking about these new technologies, these more efficient ways to light the streets,

we're talking about connectivity with telecom partners, we're talking about dynamic lighting,

we're talking about air quality sensors that can help inform policymakers about what's

going on in their neighborhoods right now, right?

So the people actually led to some of these progressions, right, these new things and

these opportunities that we have.

And so the Bureau itself, with what it has, again, a quarter of a million streetlights,

an electrical system, this penultimate electrical system that when we're thinking about the

future of the city is going to empower a lot of the new services that we do now.

We actually see ourselves now more of a platform, right?

So yes, we have the street light, but there's many different things that you can attach to it, right?

There's many different services that you can kind of create from that point there

where we have a very valuable piece of real estate on the public right-of-way that has energy.

Well, people want to learn more about the 100th anniversary or just about how to call in

if they need some help with the lighting on their streets or just have any questions.

what's the best way for people to get in touch?

The best way for people to get in touch, well, two things, right?

If there's any issues that you have with street lighting,

please log your service requests with MyLA 311 or call 311 itself.

For all other things, and if you're inquisitive about our history,

please visit lalights.lacity.org.

Thank you so much. This was really, really fun.

And that's a wrap on this LA Currents.

Thank you.

Hello everyone, I'm Natalia Bobao and I'm here at the historic Watts Towers Arts Center

campus, a place that much like Los Angeles itself stands as a testament to creativity,

resilience and community.

Welcome to LA This Week.

More than six decades ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood before a nation at the March on Washington and shared a dream, one rooted in justice, equality, and hope.

This week in South Los Angeles, that dream continued to echo through the streets as Mayor Karen Bass, City Council members, and thousands of Angelenos came together to honor Dr. King's legacy and to reaffirm a commitment to keep his vision alive for future generations.

This is a time for us to certainly celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.

And we're reminded every day about the values, the principles that he died and he fought for.

We celebrate MLK every year here in Los Angeles, but this year is special because we're in a fight

and we're fighting over all the things that Martin Luther King stood for.

So freedom to work and freedom to be in your home and freedom to walk the streets as a human being to not be targeted because of how you talk or how you look.

Those are things that Dr. King left to us that we got to fight to make sure we leave to the next generation.

I've never been, so it's my first time.

Martin Luther King is kind of cool because he helped black people and white people come together as one.

So it's kind of cool to see that.

This day means a lot.

I think there's an effort being done to erase days like this,

and I think it's important to show up to events like this

so it can't be erased.

We're all equal, and we're all trying to enjoy the day,

a sunny day with MLK.

This voice of support for the color people who have been fighting for decades and we

believe it is important to continue for the generation that follows.

lean on each other we can make it so much easier.

When we begin to talk about what we're faced with in the headlines with immigration rights

and everything like that, at the epicenter of all of Dr. King's advocacy we're advancing

full citizenship rights.

We have the right to protest via the Constitution and so when we disagree with government then

we can peacefully protest and that was the foundation of his work.

I think it's important that people be able to look back and kind of see how we were able to move

without causing a lot of hostility and violence and still get our point across

and move us to where we are now.

He had no fear. He had courage.

And that is a role model for all of us, regardless of our ethnicities,

to attack racism in whatever form it is.

That's why I believe that this holiday is very important,

especially now with the current administration.

We are certainly experiencing some real challenges

from our federal government.

And it's important that we come together as a community

and stand in solidarity with each other.

We've got so many great movements in Southern California,

whether it's the peace patrols that helps tell people

where ICE is going to be, to everyday people who say,

you can come to our church and we'll help you out.

Those are the kinds of things that people can do

and are doing here in LA.

The state of the world, while it has changed, nothing has changed.

It's been many, many years, and how many of his teachings can still be applied today?

I think a lot.

The legacy is one of service, one of commitment, and one of not giving up.

And really, at the end of the day, it's about loving humanity.

Love one another, y'all.

We must always remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Change is taking place in South Los Angeles, where the revitalization of Jordan Downs is

bringing new life to a long-standing community.

As older housing makes way for new, modern units, city leaders and developers are keeping

a critical promise that progress will not come at the cost of displacement.

We are in the heart of Watts at Jordan Downs and we're here today to celebrate the completion

of another phase of our Jordan Downs revitalization, Cypress View, and it's 119 units of beautiful

housing.

Jordan Downs is a traditional public housing community of just over 700 units built in

the 1950s and over time grew dilapidated not enough federal investment and so we started

conversations with this neighborhood about redeveloping and really reimagining what this

community would look like from the beginning we said to the residents of this community

that the redevelopment would not lead to any displacement and this is a promise that we've kept

Bridge Housing has been around for 40 plus years now and has been 100% committed to providing

affordable housing.

Coming into communities of need like this, being able to guide it to the point that it

is right now, that's special.

El Nilo has been around for 100 years.

We provide a lot of supportive services in the community.

You know, we could open up these new facilities, but if families get into trouble and they

They lose their housing because they lost their job, because they got injured, because

they need counseling.

For example, we have the ICE race.

Some families can't go to work because of that.

There's so many things going on.

So making sure that the families are connected to the resources that's going to support them

and ensure that they're able to stay in their housing is very, very important.

This is a commitment we made to this community,

that we are going to bring a safe housing,

a quality housing, we are going to create more parks.

So today we celebrate the new park, Pearl Park.

And the vision of this community is that Watts

has the amenities that any other community in Los Angeles has.

Our history of the legacy of Jordan Down has been demolished

and so part of us too.

So I've been living here 46 years, really all my life.

That process is emotional.

It has a bittersweet moment, because it's my heritage

as well has been demolished.

A lot of heartfelt moments when you give birth to your kids

and your mom raise you there.

So to transfer them from there to here,

it's been a challenge mentally.

But now that I'm here, it's more because I'm older now,

it's more my speed.

I can walk around the park. I love to do that. I love to sit on my porch and read a book or so, or just take it all in. And then just my bathroom is my therapy. It's my sanctuary. So the help of counseling, therapy, therapists and people, coaching, you need to can't do it by yourself.

I grew up in this community.

I remember the challenges that were here in 1965.

And to see the transformation, it makes my heart feel good to see that families are starting to get the resources, services, and the type of facilities they deserve.

I think it's so important, you know, when we in government begin these efforts and these initiatives.

They really have to be centered on people and their dreams and aspirations.

The residents, right, they were here, they were cheering, they were celebrating,

and that's the barometer that we are on the right track.

The men and women who run toward danger are asking Angelinos for support.

The United Firefighters of Los Angeles City are currently gathering signatures for a November ballot initiative.

Their proposal? A half-cent sales tax aimed at funding new fire stations and upgrading equipment.

We're here today because we kicked off our campaign for our ballot measure to fund the L.A. Fire Department.

This is a perfect example of a fire station in the city of Los Angeles that is downsized.

We are not adequately staffed and resourced to serve the needs of our community.

They used to have two engines and a truck inside this fire station.

And now we only have an engine.

We cut a truck and an engine out of this fire station in 2011.

15 years later, we haven't got it back.

LAFD has been woefully underfunded.

I came on the job in 1992, and we have less firefighters today than we did in 1992.

And it's a shame.

This is a ballot measure that we are gathering signatures to get on the November ballot.

It's a half cent sales tax increase that will raise funds dedicated to building and maintaining

fire stations and adding staffing and equipment here in the City of LA.

From Angeleno's what we need right now is signatures, signatures, signatures in order

to qualify to get on the ballot for November of 2026.

There's signature gathers that will be in front of your grocery stores, in front of

other facilities please sign the petition and help support the lafd we urge everybody to sign the

petition have your friends have your neighbors sign it this is going to be an all hands on deck

effort for the next few months this is a ballot initiative that is being led directly by our

firefighters themselves not city hall it's money that cannot be used for other purposes

And it finally makes an investment in dragging our public safety resources into a modern century.

We're going to more fires, going to more medicals.

Our calls have gone from 100,000 to 500,000 from 1960 to this year.

We're going on more runs. We need more resources.

We're short-staffed. We're short-handed.

It's like the Dodgers playing baseball with eight people on the field instead of nine.

You can still play the game, but you're not as effective.

In South Central Los Angeles, a long awaited green space is now open and it's already bringing the community together.

Today we are at Richardson Family Park.

We are reopening the park after the council office spearheaded the complete renovation and modernization of the park.

We are very pleased that the improvements of the park

incorporate health and wellness,

and also green space in a much needed South LA community.

In communities like South Central LA,

you don't see a lot of green space.

And so when community members say,

we want to see this in our community,

you see the what comes of that, and it's incredible.

The fact that young people can come

and have a place where they feel safe,

and even the families themselves be able to say,

we want this, and we're going to fight for it.

We're going to fight for what our community needs and deserves.

That's what this is, and those are the results and the outcome of that.

So we changed out the apparatus, and we changed out the sandboxes and replaced them

with some more family-friendly materials.

Put up this new fence for the basketball court.

We're still gonna resurface the court

and put a mural in here.

There are other things that still need to be done,

but we've turned the place into a real community center.

And it is a center not just for the kids to come and play,

but also for the adults to come and learn and exercise.

It's really exciting for the neighborhood

to have a place like this where we can count

that it's a safe space

and that people can enjoy themselves without reservation.

Still ahead, a snapshot of some of the stories

making waves around the city.

An international honor for a local star educator,

a dedicated street life repair team,

Brighton and Council District 13,

and a new care-based services division launching at Metro.

These stories and more up next on City Beat.

Dr. Edwin Krupp, the director of Griffith Observatory, has been honored by the American

Astronomical Society.

The international organization recognized Krupp with its 2026 Education Prize.

It cited his outstanding contributions educating the public, students, and future astronomers.

CREP has been the director of the Landmark Griffith Observatory for over five decades

and has shown the workings of the cosmos to millions of visitors.

For more information, visit GriffithObservatory.org.

LA City Council has approved $1 million to establish a dedicated streetlight repair team

for Council District 13.

The team will work in the Council District to address long repair times that currently

exceed nine months.

Hiring is underway for electricians and laborers with repairs expected to begin in the next two months.

For more information, go to cd13.lacity.gov slash news.

Metro has launched a new care-based services division under its Department of Public Safety,

which includes transit ambassadors, outreach, and intervention teams.

The new crisis response teams will address behavior-related incidents.

Metro's priority is the safety of riders and employees.

Learn more at thesource.metro.net.

California history came to life this week at the Campo de Cahuenga.

The signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga marked a turning point in the state's past

And through a library enactment, that story is being preserved for younger generations.

Everybody ready? Here we go.

We're here in Council District 2 and my district celebrating the 179th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of the Campo.

It doesn't get any more historical of a site than the Campo.

We here in Los Angeles have not the birthplace of California,

but the place that preceded by about 11 months the birthplace of California.

This is where Campo de Coenga is where the Treaty of the Campo was signed.

This is an amazing part of history.

It's really wonderful to have all the folks who are going to be doing the reenactment,

keeping this history alive.

General Adriana Zico, an offer to join America at this time.

We're just really here just really just to celebrate the museum and all of its history

and the history of California.

It's really important for us to remember the past, to learn from the past.

like this are critical to teach younger generations so they understand how the

history of California came about how California interacted with its indigenous

peoples so the Campo were situated at a crossroads where a mountain pass meets a

river ford and humans as long as they've been in California from the indigenous

to today pass through this pass that's why the armies that had been fighting

met here to end the fighting and transfer California.

And that's worth remembering.

The motivation is to teach California history.

This is the most historic site west of the Mississippi River

that no one knows about.

Equal rights and privileges are vouchsafed

to every citizen of California, as are

enjoyed by the citizens of the United States of North America.

Recreational parks just want to thank the Campo de Cahuenga

Historical Museum Association, just really for their support year round.

To learn more about our programs, please visit laparks.org.

From candy sculptures to a wall of wishes,

all shogatsu, the New Year's celebrations of Japanese Americans, brought the community

together in little Tokyo.

Today we're celebrating what we call Oshogatsu in Japanese. It's the new year and it's put on yearly by the Japanese American National Museum.

So this is our celebration of the new year. It's the Japanese New Year and the Japanese American New Year.

So we have lots of activities and performances

really geared towards kids.

And it's everything from Taiko demonstrations

from Kodana Taiko, where they're also pounding mochi

or rice cakes.

We have Sean the Candyman.

He's doing candy sculptures.

We have lots of crafts that are all Year of the Horse themed.

And lots of other community partners and activities

happening as well.

Totally recommend coming out here.

Enjoy the great food, great people.

It happens every year.

Come on down.

Have some fun.

We have a variety of performances from local artists, performers, and community members.

We also have a wide variety of stands that you can visit from our America's Wish Wall

to Discover Nikkei to Nikkei Progressives who have all come together here to share their

resources, activities, and different things for the community members to come do today.

We're Japanese, so it's always kind of nice to show the kids what our heritage is all about.

We celebrate our heritage.

It's a yearly thing.

There's a lot of custom to it, and it brings good luck.

As a museum, we want to keep upholding our history and our culture of Japanese immigrants

to the present day, Japanese American culture.

So it's really important for us to keep celebrating together.

My favorite part about these festivals is that you see families, different people, all

walks of life that come through here to come celebrate the culture, to come celebrate community

and to be together.

So it's a wonderful way to ring in the new year and we're really thankful for everyone

who's been a part of this and making this happen to everyone who's come to celebrate

with us.

They make it look effortless, but staying ready to save lives takes grit, endurance,

and constant training.

LA City lifeguards invited us behind the scenes to see the demanding recertification process

they must complete to stay on the job.

Let's dive in.

Today we're here at SLS King.

We are hosting the 2026 recertifications.

Behind me we have our life-saving staff, in which we will be testing them today in their

water skills.

We will be testing them in the 500 meter swim.

All right, swimmers, take your mark, go!

500 meters, which is about 22 laps in this pool.

It was a little bit tiring, but it's a good metric

for people to swim in open water.

We have to get in under 10 minutes,

so it's just to see that all lifeguards meet the requirements

to keep lifeguarding for the city of Los Angeles.

I think being a lifeguard's a great job

because you learn a lot of water safety skills.

For our dummy toe, it does take some skill and effort

to be able to bring out the dummy toe

from the bottom of the pool.

It does take experience and practice for a lifeguard

to be able to complete this event.

Swimming is a really important life-saving skill.

I myself have almost drowned when I was little,

so it was definitely a big motivator

for me to learn how to swim,

and I think anyone that has struggled in the water

knows that fear,

and it's definitely a good life-saving technique to have.

I grew up swimming my entire life and eventually started helping others swim, teaching lessons, teaching programs.

Finally, I started swimming open water, and that changed my entire perspective on lifeguarding,

what we do and how we prevent people from having a very unfortunate day.

Anybody that's interested in a job opportunity to work with aquatics,

they're more than welcome to visit any LA City pool.

There they can find resources and information about any job opportunities that they have.

Do you want to become lifeguards, locker tenants, or pool clerks?

It is open to anybody.

I came back this year to do another year as being a lifeguard for the city.

I really think it's one of the best jobs out there.

That's what brings me back every year.

LACC Lifeguards!

Now in its 45th year, the annual Black Doll Show at the William Grant Still Arts Center

continues to inspire and educate.

More than an exhibit, it's a celebration of identity, craftsmanship, and the power of

representation.

The Black Doll Show is something that goes on at William Grant Still Arts Center every

year.

It's been going on for the past 45 years.

There's a different theme every year.

The history is that we wanted to showcase dolls that represent people of color.

There have always been kind of a stigma, and this show exhibits how gorgeous dolls in all

colors are, and so we wanted to exhibit that and also honor the artists who make them.

We just have a wonderful time showing our black dolls.

The dolls are so unique in their own way.

The most unusual, very unusual doll show that you'll ever see.

I've been working here in the cultural affairs department for almost a year now.

And now I have my own piece in the black doll show.

A lot of people don't know how dolls are made,

and we also give classes after the show,

so it gives them a chance to see how they're made

and the variations of them, whether they're clay or cloth.

This highlights community, especially community of color,

and so I like to be involved in something powerful,

positive, and beautiful.

I feel honored to have a piece of work in this art show,

especially since it's been going on for 45 years,

the annual Black Doll Show.

And this is the first Black doll I've ever made.

And I'm just very happy to be a part of this show.

You're always welcome to come here to the center.

Right now we have the 45th annual Black Doll Show.

However, throughout the year we have different exhibits

that you can come and see.

They're free.

So don't just come for one art exhibit.

Come throughout the year.

If you're looking for something to do around LA, we've got you covered.

Check out what's happening this week on Things To Do. Celebrate all things green at the Central Library, support ocean conservation and sustainability at Alta Sea, and have a whale of a good time with the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.

All this up next on Things To Do.

Spring is coming and the Los Angeles Public Library has some advice, workshops and general help for your plants.

They are devoting a day to celebrating plants at the Central Library, where there will be keynote speakers, gardening tips and resources from LA Sanitation.

Learn how to repot your plants or paint the flower pots and experience the joy of connecting with nature.

Visit the Central Library for Plant Day, a celebration of plants, on Saturday, January 31st from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

For more details on the events, visit lapl.org slash plant dash day.

Alta C at the Port of Los Angeles invites you to their first open house of 2026.

On Saturday, January 31st, join the Alta Sea team from 10 a.m. to learn more about the Re-Up Our Ocean campaign,

which is turning plastic pollution into surfboard fins and other upcycled sustainable products.

The open house shares resources with the community through informative presentations, workshops, and exhibits

that aim to inspire ideas and fuel the blue economy while preserving the well-being of the ocean.

Head to the Port of LA for Alta Sea's open house, Re-Up Our Ocean, on Saturday, January 31st at 10 a.m.

For more information, visit altasea.org.

What better way to celebrate the beginning of whale watching season in California than by having a whale fiesta?

Join Cabrillo Marine Aquarium on Sunday, February 1st for whale fiesta,

which marks the start of the migration of the Pacific Great Whale.

This family fun day is filled with activities and exhibits for all,

and will include games, arts and crafts, puppet shows, expert guest lecturers, and festive music.

Experience the incredible life-size inflatable whales and the famous duct tape whale contest.

Visit Cabrillo for Whale Fiesta on Sunday, February 1st from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Find out more at cabrillomarinaquarium.org.

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

And that's all for this week.

Thank you so much to the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus

for hosting us today.

Check out their website for visiting ours.

And from all of us at L.A. City,

thank you so much for joining us.

Remember, you can watch us anytime online at lacityview.org

and follow us at L.A. City on Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

We'll see you next time.

We'll be right back.

We'll be right back.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I love you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

of your Los Angeles City Council. Today is Wednesday, the 28th day of January in the year

2026. Public comment for today's meeting will be taken in person in this chamber. Madam Clerk,

if you can get us started by calling the roll.

Blumenfield Harris Dawson Hernandez hut herado Lee McCosker Nazarian Padilla

Park price ramen Rodriguez so to Martinez Sierra Slavski 11 members present

and a quorum mr. President all right first order of business approval of the

minutes of January 27 2026 councilmember Rodriguez moves councilmember McCosker

seconds it's next commendatory resolutions for approval councilmember

Blumenfield moves councilmember Park seconds can we run through our agenda

yes mr. president items 1 through 11 or items for which public hearings have

been held for item 3 the trade travel and tourism committee report has been

submitted and for item 10 the planning and land use management committee report

has been submitted both reports have been posted to their respective council

files there is a request to continue item 10 to Wednesday February 4th 2026

items 12 through 24 are items for which public hearings have not been held items

25 through 42 are closed session items considered by the budget and finance committee.

In addition, item 41 was also considered in closed session by the planning and land

use management committee. There is also a request to send all items forthwith

today. Ten votes are required for consideration. All right.

Without objection, those items are now before us and all items

on today's agenda will go forthwith.

Are there any specials members? And my screen isn't working, so

You got to wave your hand.

Mr. Blumenfield.

Thanks.

I'd like to call items one special for comment.

Item five also special for comment,

but if we could hold five until after public comment.

Continue also to continue item number 10.

Item 11 for comments and amendment.

And item 20 for comments and a separate vote.

All right.

And item 10, do we have a date?

Yes, it has been stated for the record it will be continued one week to Wednesday February 4th, okay

All right

Councilmember we are slavsky

Thank you council president like to call and 22 and 23 for a discussion in closed session budget and finance waive

Consideration to have a full council discussion and on item 41

Like to move the budget and finance report. All right. Is there a second to the motion?

Seconded by Councilmember Rodriguez.

All right. Councilmember Rodriguez.

Okay, 23. Okay, good.

So, yeah, 23 I was going to have for a separate book.

We'll talk about it. I have an amendment for item 9.

Nine? Mm-hmm.

Got it. Councilmember Rahman?

All mine were already. Okay.

Councilmember Park, are you up for specials? No? All right.

Any other specials members? All right.

any other specials members all right pardon me mr. chair for item 9 is that

called special for Commons amendment yeah and it's being circulated okay the

council will now be able to vote on items 2 through 4 6 through 8 and that's all

items two through four and items six through eight are now before us let's

open the roll close the roll tabulate the vote 13 eyes all right what's next

Madam Clerk would the council like to move on to public comment all right

councilmember Blumenfield I'd like to make comments on one before we go to

public comment and okay take that up we've already heard it in committee okay

item one is now before us mr. Blumenfield great thank you colleagues I

rise to ask for your support on this item the rise of vertical content and

micro dramas reflect a fundamental shift in how audiences are consuming media

These stories are increasingly created in the 9 to 16 aspect ratio tailored to mobile viewing,

and many of these productions do not fit the needed requirements to apply for state tax credits.

I introduced this legislation to not only create new financial incentives to help keep lower budget production in Los Angeles,

but to let this emerging industry know that Hollywood and Los Angeles welcomes you.

Now, a lot of us, we get our inspiration for legislation from a variety of different sources.

Sometimes it's from the news.

Sometimes it's from a constituent, a colleague, another city.

Lots of different ways.

And sometimes it's even from family members.

And in this case, I have a family member who's in the production business.

And, you know, I just got tired every Thanksgiving and all these different meals of hearing how the industry is leaving Los Angeles.

and all these different things that we could do about it.

And I said, yeah, let's put our heads together

and figure out a way to do something about it.

And so my brother, who's in that industry,

was talking about the micro-industry

and how we are really having our lunch handed to us

by other countries and other states.

And this is a burgeoning part of the entertainment industry.

It's a $15 billion market by 2028.

And how we really need, as a city,

to make sure that we do everything we can to maintain this industry here in Los Angeles where

it should be, because it's also a feeder to other things, to television and to movies.

The market is, as I said, $15 billion by 2028. In the past few months, there are about 30 to 40

vertical short productions each month in Los Angeles, that's per Rolling Stone, and each

episode is usually one to two minutes with a series lasting 20 to 100 episodes. I'm sure you've

all seen them on your phone. It's a lot of production that we don't think about, a lot of

jobs and serious potential for growth. With budgets that are typically under $200,000,

micro drama productions often fall below the threshold to qualify for our California tax

credits. And the creators are simply relocating to other cities. You know, I asked my brother,

why are you always filming in other states and other countries? And this is the reason.

A recent survey showed 78% of local independent producers now shoot these projects outside

of Los Angeles, resulting in significant loss of jobs and revenue.

This is a problem that we need to fix.

So what are we voting on today?

We're here to help permitting and financially assisting this type of production.

We need to cut red tape, create new paths for permitting and offer assistance because

these are more smaller and nimble productions.

And the goal of the motion is to help create opportunities to assist vertical content creators

by establishing a grant program that provides upfront funding to incentivize local production.

And targeted support for micro production dramas is not only going to nurture a new generation

of creative talent, but it's also going to help future proof us in Los Angeles to be

that center of global entertainment that we have been and that we need to be in the future.

Since I introduced this motion, we've heard from many emerging filmmakers who voiced

how micro dramas have given them opportunities that they wouldn't have had with traditional

productions, from students to seasoned professionals.

This type of content is being made and we need to step up to the plate.

The financial incentive will help create opportunities to assist vertical content creators by establishing

a grant program that provides incentives.

The targeted support to micro drama production will not only nurture a new generation of

creative talent, but it will help, again, future proof.

We owe it to the filmmakers of the 21st century to bring these productions out of the shadow

and boost opportunity.

And this motion, well, it gets the ball rolling

to do the analysis that we need to see

what are the incentives, how can we cut the red tape

specifically for this new form of production

that is just growing gangbusters

that we need to get ahold of.

So for that, I ask for your aye vote.

Thank you so much, Mr. Blumenfield.

So item one is before us, let's open the roll,

close the roll, tabulate the vote.

14 ayes.

All right.

Before we go to public comment, I want to take a moment

and recognize Mr. Nazarian of the 2nd Council District

for a special announcement and recognition.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, colleagues.

I wanted to take a minute and, in light of what's going

on in Iran, speak to the recent events and share with you a

little bit about my own experience as well. Colleagues, in Iran where I was

born, people all over the country have taken to the streets to protest an

intolerable economic environment, crushing inflation, and the suffocating

grip of a brutal authoritarian regime. Once again, as in the past, the regime

has responded with shocking brutality. Although I have spoken publicly elsewhere

about these events, I've refrained from speaking of them in this chamber until today. These events

have awakened painful memories of my own departure from Iran. I wanted to place these events in

perspective before I spoke to you about them. I want to put them in perspective for you now

as a video plays in the background. To understand the protests unfolding in Iran today, it helps to

look at the country's modern political history. In 1953, Iran's democratically elected Prime

Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, was removed from power in a coup supported by the United States

and the United Kingdom. This occurred after Mossadegh nationalized Iran's oil industry,

which had previously been controlled by foreign companies. Following the coup,

the Shah was reinstated and ruled with strong backing from Western governments.

Over the next 25 years, Iran became closely aligned with the West,

but continued to finalize the nationalizing of its own oil resources

to keep the wealth internally in the country and grow its infrastructure.

But while the country modernized economically,

many Iranians felt excluded from political power and resentful,

which allowed Western influence to yet again penetrate Iran.

And by 1978, widespread protests erupted across Iran.

Demonstrations grew over the course of a year and were met with violence by the forces of the state.

In 1979, the Shah fled the country to avoid bloodshed, and a revolution brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power.

Iran became an Islamic republic where religious authorities,

conservative religious authorities,

wield power over the elected government.

In the decades that followed, Iran experienced war with Iraq,

internal political repression,

and increasing tensions with Western countries.

Sanctions were imposed on Iran to impose the regime's nuclear program

and its suppression of human rights.

These sanctions significantly affected Iran's economy, contributing to inflation,

unemployment, and reduced access to global markets.

Throughout this period, Iran has seen repeated waves of protests in 2009, 17, 2019,

the most recent events in 2022 where the Masa Amini Day were established thereafter.

often driven by economic pressures and political dissatisfaction and social restrictions.

Each time, authorities responded with media restrictions, mass arrests, and lethal force.

The current protests fit into this longer pattern. While recent demonstrations were triggered by

immediate economic hardship, they also reflect decades of accumulated frustration over the lack

of political freedoms, human rights abuses,

and living conditions.

Today's unrest is not happening in isolation.

It is part of a historic cycle shaped

by foreign intervention, authoritarian rule,

economic strain, and public demands for reform.

The regime in Iran has blocked access

to telecommunications, including internet.

So we do not know how many Iranians have died in the latest wave

of state-sponsored violence.

6,000, 36,000, upwards of even 50,000 are some estimates.

By any count, it is a massacre of historic proportions committed

by a government against its own people for exercising the human

and universal human right of peaceful protest.

This is a crime against humanity.

I know some of my colleagues would like to say a few words.

Council Member Yaroslavsky, would you like to be the first to speak?

Thank you, Council Member Nazarian.

I appreciate the opportunity to recognize the unfolding crisis in Iran

and in solidarity with the Iranian American community here in Los Angeles.

Just wanted to make some remarks.

Human rights organizations report thousands of Iranians have been killed

are detained amid nationwide protests.

A severe communications blackout

has made independent reporting impossible

and has left families here in Los Angeles

without clear answers about who remains alive.

It's heart-wrenching.

As we're all aware, Los Angeles is home

to one of the largest Iranian communities in the world.

Many Angelenos came here after the 1979 revolution,

and many of our constituents still have parents,

siblings, children, and loved ones in Iran.

Today, families here are watching events unfold with fear,

unable to reach the people they love

or confirm their safety.

Council District Five includes Westwood,

known to many as Tehrangelis,

the heart of Persian Los Angeles.

Last year, this council designated Masa Amini Square

in Westwood to honor a young woman

whose death came to represent courage

and the demand for basic human dignity.

I think it's important to recognize the grief, fear,

uncertainty carried by Angelino's waiting for news from family overseas and

our hearts are with every family in Los Angeles hoping for the safety of their

loved ones thank you thank you councilmember we have councilmember Rahman

on the queue as well thank you so much councilmember Nazarian for bringing this

forward and for the thoughtful way in which you explain the circumstances in

Iran today. I think a lot of people don't know the history and I appreciate that you illuminated that

and the fact that you're bringing attention to this issue in these chambers, especially because

as both you and Councilmember Jaroslavsky mentioned, Los Angeles is home to so many in the Iranian

diaspora who feel deep connections. They are our neighbors, they're business owners, they're members

of our community, public servants, scientists, on and on and on. And I think this city has really

been shaped by their presence. And so it is right that you bring these issues up in these chambers,

and I thank you for that. And I don't have much more to add to the words that both of you already

so eloquently shared, but really just to say that I think we all stand with Iranian Angelenos who

are worried about family abroad, who are concerned about rising rhetoric here at home, and asking

to speak out about these issues safely and fully in the city that they live in now, in the city

that they love, and we stand with them. I think Los Angeles has shown up for its varied communities,

its very diasporic communities, not only in moments of celebration, but also in times like these in

moments of real uncertainty and fear where family members are really terrified about

what's happening back home and I you know I have deep empathy for for what the

community is going through right now and I just wanted to thank you for

recognizing this moment for what it is and for allowing us to stand with you

thank you council president thank you again councilwoman Rahman and thank you

very much Councilwoman Yaroslavsky I just want to end this today by asking all of

all of us to rise and stand in a moment of silence for everyone that's perished

and many of whose names we will never know thank you very much

Thank you colleagues.

Thank you so much Mr. Nazarian and with that we'll go into public comment for this morning's

meeting.

To people providing public comment when it's your turn to speak please state which of the

agenda items you'd like to speak to you will have one minute per item up to three minutes

total for the items open for public comment we will tell you when your time is up when

speaking on the agenda items you must be on topic our goal is to get through as many speakers

as we can if you are not on topic or if we cannot tell whether you are on topic you will

get one brief warning from me or the council president at that point you need to get immediately

and clearly on topic.

If you do not do so, or if you again stray off topic,

you will forfeit the rest of your speaking time

and we will move on to the next speaker.

The items open for public comment

during this regular meeting are items 12 through 42.

So again, the items that are open for public comment

during the regular meeting are items 12 through 42.

Members of the public may also speak for up to one minute

for general public comment.

During general public comment, members of the public

may speak to any of the items or anything else within the city's subject matter jurisdiction.

One thing to note with regards to the items, if you are here for item 43, that is a part

of the special meeting agenda and so it is not currently open, but we will provide an

opportunity for public comment during that meeting later today.

I have a couple more announcements if I can 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.

If you need a Spanish interpreter, please pause after each sentence to give the interpreter

the opportunity to translate.

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 don't worry, we will pause the time while the interpreter is talking,

so they will have the same amount of time as the other people. Thank you.

Additionally, if you've made an accommodation request pursuant to the ADA with the clerk's office,

or if you would like to, in order to make use of the wireless handheld microphone,

once it's your turn to speak, please let the sergeants know so that they can provide you with the wireless microphone.

Finally, the order in which we call names is at random, that is to say it is randomly generated.

So in order to help us accommodate as many people as possible, we'd ask that you please wait until you hear the name that you signed up under called aloud before lining up to speak.

Thank you.

We will now begin to call the next few names.

Andrew G. Paloma B. Donna Washington, George B., and Paul.

All items and general public comment.

Okay, good morning.

You have three minutes for the items and one minute for general.

Go ahead.

So 20 is related to accepting grants

for open and slow streets.

Sounds like a good idea.

I assume this is like Cyclavia and such.

Those events are fairly well put on

and are okay for the community, I guess.

Item 21 is related to

securing the permits for the New Year's Eve celebration

at Grand Park on December 31st, 2025.

So a full month later.

So I guess they didn't secure the permits for that event.

Wow.

Okay.

So let's see.

We've got a number of lawsuits, more money to blow through because of your incompetent

leadership, not getting people housing and services, all kinds of fun stuff that you've

got lawsuits over because again the city is not not repairing the sidewalks its police department

is shooting and killing people left and right so you've got all these different lawsuits that are

going to blow through the city's budget and money just because you won't actually do your jobs and

fix the streets, hold the LAPD accountable, all that stuff.

And it's really to fund that department.

It's draining the city's resources and causing lots of violence.

Let's go to general public comment.

Okay, so you have one minute.

So Tracy, what's going on with your former communications deputy?

She's writing all kinds of really messed up shit about the community and things like that.

That's who Tracy Park employs on her staff.

It's these far-right weirdos who write all these lies about people who go to police commission to hold them accountable because they don't hold the LAPD accountable.

And then these weirdos that she used to employ go and write all these blatant lies and all this nonsense.

one of the most disgusting articles I've seen recently.

Basically trying to be an agitator at the meeting.

So that's who Tracy Park employs.

Fire Jim McDonald.

LAPD still aiding and abetting and ICE kidnappings.

Defund the police.

Yeah.

Good morning.

Which items would you like to speak to?

General comment, please.

Okay, so you have one minute. Go ahead. Thank you. My name is Paloma Gustos with the Sunita Jane

Anti-Trafficking Initiative, Aloyola Law School. As the city prepares to host the World Cup and the

Olympic Games, transparency and prevention matter. FIFA and LA28 were required to submit human rights

plans by December 31st, but those plans have not been released publicly. Without seeing them, the

community has no way of knowing how labor trafficking risks tied to these events will be

addressed. The World Cup is just six months away, which limits the time to put prevention measures

in place specially approaches focus on worker safety and access to services

before harm occurs our report which you all have received in your offices calls

on FIFA and LA 28 to reach to each set aside about 3 million from their own

budgets for prevention compared to the billions these games generate this is a

small investment but without funding a plan on paper doesn't protect anyone so

far 38 organizations across the city county and state groups that see

trafficking firsthand have signed on and support we urge the city to push for

transparency and ensure these organizing bodies contribute

meaningfully to prevention of human trafficking thank you before the next

speaker proceeds I'll be calling next few names Robert Dickinson Sarah let's

Cherie Bell Allison Riley and Laura FM good morning which items would you like

speak to good morning public comment in item number five so item number five is

not open for public comment but you can speak to it during general so you have

one minute go ahead okay my name is George Bocanegra I'm with the Western

States Regional Council of carpenters which real which represents over 45,000

hard-working carpenters across Southern California while the while we respect

the city's interest in seeking clarity and action that undermines the intent of

AB 2011 mainly as it relates to the state defined scope of commercial corridors risk undermining both

the creation of more housing units and good paying construction jobs to meet this moment

Los Angeles needs more housing built faster not new barriers of uncertainty the growth must be

paired with strong labor standards including a residential construction worker minimum wage

to protect workers and ensure the industry can recruit and retain the workforce necessary to build

the housing angelinos desperately needs as sponsors of ab 2011 our intent was clear to

reduce entitlement barriers strain labor standards and maximize un underutilized land

by transforming it into housing we respectfully ask the city engage with us on matters related

to ab 2011. thank you for your time

good morning which items would you like to speak to five let's see if one minute for general public

comment go ahead my name is Robert Dickerson this is relating to the proposed housing development

on the Woodland Hills Country Club my family and I have lived there adjacent to the club for 20

plus years. One of my daughters has recently moved into a house there as well. The area

is very densely populated. The streets south of the club we refer to as the spaghetti streets.

It's an apt description. The streets are windy, they're very narrow. Because of the cars parked

Because of cars parked on the streets, it's usually one-way traffic.

Recently in the Palisades fire, we got an evacuation notice.

We didn't ultimately have to evacuate, but my family packed up and moved out.

So the threat of an evacuation and a potential disaster there is not hypothetical.

It is real.

Yes, so we have to give everybody the same amount of time.

As for our regular attendees, you've heard this message before,

but if you'd like to provide additional public comment

because you run out of time or if we run out of time

and your name is not called, you can do so at lacouncilcomment.com.

Again, that is lacouncilcomment.com.

That URL is at the top of every agenda.

You can also do a quick Google search and it should be one

of the first things that comes up.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Good morning. Which items would you like to speak to?

22.

Okay, so you have one minute. Go ahead.

My name is Sarah Letts. I'm Executive Director of Hollywood Community Housing.

Please deny the request to spend $760,000 to pay Nossaman to fight the creation of affordable housing at Venice Del.

I also want to correct the record because project opponents in Nossaman's most recent brief are making false claims that there is fraud associated with a $3 million appraisal for Lot 731 and then subsequent appraisers over $25 million.

There is no fraud.

A city staff member commissioned the first appraisal for the city-owned parcel when Lot 731 was zoned for open space, and the low value reflects the open space zoning.

The subsequent appraisals were commissioned after this council approved rezoning lot 731 so it could accommodate affordable housing plus parking and retail.

Please don't waste more city funds on expensive lawyers and instead get behind the Venice L project, which was supported by this council with multiple votes between 2016 and 2022.

Next speaker.

Good morning.

Which items would you like to speak to?

Item 10 in general public comment.

So item 10 in general?

Yes, sir.

So item 10 is not open for public comment, but you can speak to it during general.

So you have one minute for general public comment.

Go ahead.

Okay, I'll try to go through this.

Hi, my name is Sheree Bell, and I am a filmmaker representing District 65.

I want to start by thanking you for voting yes on this bill.

I especially want to thank Mr. Gibson and thank Mr. Bloomingfield for laying out an initiative

so clearly and awesomely that she said this morning.

I completely agree with your vision that you presented,

and I appreciate the leadership that brought this forward.

Now that it has passed, the next step is making sure it has the resources needed to truly succeed.

This initiative has the power to transform lives, strengthen our creative economy,

and keep talent here in Los Angeles, but only if it's funded at the level that matches its potential.

As a filmmaker developing micro dramas and virtual cinemas and someone committed to hiring

work-abled special needs adults, I know just firsthand the impact this support can have.

And with proper funding, it can open doors for people who have never had a real chance

to participate in this industry.

Thank you all for this initiative, and I look forward to being a creator.

Thank you.

For you.

Good morning. Which items would you like to speak to?

22 and general public comment.

Okay, so you have one minute for the item and one minute for general. Go ahead.

Thank you. Hi, my name is Allison Riley. I'm co-executive director of Venice Community Housing.

I'm here again asking the city council to live up to your commitments.

The city asked for the Venice Del Community Site to be built into affordable housing in 2016.

The co-developers won the right to do that, and the city approved its entitlements in 2021 and the Disposition and Development Agreement in 2022.

The city defended its actions in court in 2023 and 2024.

and then the new city council member reps at Tracy Park and our city attorney

have schemed and called stalled and delayed and made the up the theory that

the Board of Transportation Commission has the power to overturn this city

council's decisions they do not and now the city council is being asked to spend

nearly another three-quarters of a million dollars to fight and obstruct the

affordable housing it asked us to build and is under contract with us to build

The co-developers have continued to do everything the city has asked us to do, including spending millions of dollars to get the entitlements approved and are only seeking legal remedies because the city is not holding up its end of its obligations.

If the city continues to waste its public resources to stop affordable housing, then I'm afraid the city deserves what the Housing Accountability Unit will do, which is to take away the pro-housing designation.

But let's be clear, this is not what the people of Los Angeles deserve.

We need more affordable housing all over the city.

So we are asking you today to stop wasting public resources and tell the city attorney

and Tracy Park that you won't continue to believe their lives, that you care about affordable

housing, and that you will make sure that this deal gets built.

Thank you very much.

before the next speaker speaks I will be calling the last four names or excuse me three names

Linda Lux Valerie Berkeley um yeah that's it

good morning which items would you like to speak to good morning board um can I I want to just

touch on 21 and 22 and then public comment. Okay, so you have two minutes for the items and one

minute for general. Go ahead. Okay, so 21 and 22 I see relates a lot to finances and my biggest thing

here is get Scientology's money, whether that's through hiding front groups like the drug-free

world, any kind of programs like this, any kind of volunteer checks you're getting from author

or services or Galaxy Press or any other sort of financial checks coming from Scientology

is inhumane.

It is inhumane.

It's a child trafficking cult.

So please be aware while you're approving finances and getting more money for the homeless structures

and stuff to please make sure that that is not coming from the cult of Scientology's

pockets.

Okay.

And then I'll move on to general public comment.

Okay.

One minute.

I'm going to talk about Scientology's safe pointing with the city.

Safe pointing is a tactic used by the Church of Scientology to present itself as a trusted partner to authorities and community organizations while concealing its true purpose, recruitment, influence, and reputation management.

Scientology achieves this through front groups that appear to be a secular, secular charities,

drug education programs, human rights initiatives, or mental health alternatives, because Scientology

doesn't agree or believe, so to speak, in psychiatric mental health care.

Scientology is a recognized cult, or as a religion, but a high-controlled group in multiple

countries.

I hope y'all are listening still.

I know there's a lot of people talking, but you should be listening to the public comment.

Scientology is recognized as a cult or a high-controlled group in multiple countries,

and former members have documented extensive harm, including coercive control.

Next time, don't fucking talk while I'm trying to speak.

Speaker, your time has expired.

Next speaker.

Hello.

Good morning.

Good morning.

You have three minutes for the items and one minute for general.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

And I do want to applaud Mr. Lee, even though he still owes me an apology, Mr. President.

He was listening more often than anyone else.

So kudos to you, Mr. Lee, but you still owe me an apology.

But anyway, for the one about the New Year's, I'm glad that you're putting this stuff on the record for New Year's events.

but I want to know why you didn't put it on the record so the public could have analyzed it and

voted on it or discussed it for when Scientology got their shrine, a New Year's Eve event or New

Year's event, okay, where they shut down all four streets and sidewalks illegally, by the way,

because you're not allowed to prevent pedestrians from the sidewalks. But Mr. Curran's area,

colluded with street services and LAPD to make it where they did do that. And it's illegal,

and the city attorney should have intervened. But because this stuff doesn't come before you guys,

you don't discuss it. And I bet Smoke and Scan would agree with me that everything should be

transparent and that you shouldn't be shutting down four streets with a USC game going on

and Christmas and having Scientologists sit there and check the IDs of students to see if they belong there or not.

That's illegal in your doing this.

And it's because at least Mr. Lee is trying to make it a little bit more transparent and putting this stuff on the record.

But Mr. Lee, if you're listening, I would almost be willing to waive the apology.

I will not.

If you would put the next year's Shrine event on the record because it's ridiculous.

You guys are breaking the law.

You're going to be sued.

And so that one with the lawyer where you have to give them more money, of course you have to give them more money.

You have lawsuits up the wazoo coming.

And you know what?

And so you need to prepare.

So stop allowing things that are illegal, okay?

And then the one with the slower the streets, the street slowing.

I'm all for that.

But the problem is you can also help traffic.

because we've been telling you that L. Ron Hubbard is a public street,

but Scientology keeps acting as if it is not.

And so all the traffic is forced onto other streets,

which makes it more dangerous for the parents who have kids maybe playing,

you know, riding their bikes.

I don't think this is on the agenda.

It is on the agenda.

No, it's on the agenda.

You're welcome to speak to a recurring general if you'd like.

Number 21.

You need to speak to the actual item.

Okay, the street slowing.

Okay, I need you to find streets, okay,

to help slow traffic for other streets by making sure all public streets have access, right?

Like if you're trying to slow traffic down for one street, okay, and the other street's public,

but people are trying to provide, you know, slave labor is trying to prevent people from driving it,

that adds more traffic, right, to their surrounding streets.

So it is relevant, sir.

I disagree with you, and I bet smoke and skin will agree with me, okay?

You can have slowing down if you make sure all public streets are accessible.

General public comment.

Okay, now public comment.

you know we went to burbank yesterday oh what a different world they actually listen to you can

you imagine that as city council that actually not only listens but they afterwards they get to

respond to all the speakers and not and every last one of them thanked us for going and and

and applauded laura for being brave to come tell her story and for us being willing to basically

risk our safety our lives our reputations because they're trying to destroy us you know to you know

to be able to come forward. Okay. But, and, and you know what? And, and one of the council people

told us, cause I said, wow, it's so different in LA. No offense to LA, but, um, they, she said

that she, they came here. Okay. And spoke before you guys and, and, and nobody was listening. And

this is a city council person of another, of a surrounding city came here and you should go,

they were all on their phones. They're all talking. I should have told her how Mr. Lee is

really trying, you know, he is. He still owes me an apology though, Mr. President and Mr. Attorney

and Mr. Lee, because you were really rude to me before, but I applaud you for trying to listen.

Speaker, your time has expired. Next speaker. Before the next speaker commences, I will be

calling the next few names. Edger R. Alejandro Aguilar and S. Kahn. Good morning. Which items

would you like to speak to? Public comment or general comment. You have one minute. Go ahead.

Good morning, Council Members. My name is Valerie Berkley, Senior Public Policy Manager, commenting on behalf of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

I'll be speaking on Item 9. The Chamber opposes advancing a cashless retail ban framework.

Many restaurants and retailers adopted cashless systems in response to Department of Public Health guidance during COVID.

Forcing them to reverse course would undermine those investments.

Cashless systems also help reduce theft, improve efficiency, and address public safety concerns, especially in high crime or high volume settings.

while we share the council's commitment to equity and inclusion a one-size-fits-all

mandate fails to reflect the realities facing businesses there are more

effective ways to support underbanked communities without restricting business

models such as EBT we urge the council to work collaboratively with the

business community on solutions that promote inclusion without compromising

public safety or economic vitality thank you

Good morning, council members.

My name is Linda Lux.

I work with Venice Community Housing.

I've lived and worked in the Venice community since 1970.

And I'm here to remind you that Venice

and the city need affordable housing.

The city has already spent $620,000 to hire lawyers

to fight the Venice Dell project that's been approved twice

by this city council.

and now you're asking to spend another $760,000 to fight this?

The optics are horrible.

Just think about it.

Consider it.

It's just unconscionable to try to fight this project that's approved by everybody.

Please do not waste more money on expensive outside lawyers

to fight against affordable housing.

You also risk losing the pro-housing designation by the state and would lose many millions

of dollars.

And I know that the council does not want to risk that.

So be very careful in considering this vote.

Vote against.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Good morning.

morning which items would you like to speak to public comment okay so you have

one minute go ahead good morning everyone good morning country members my

name is Edgar Resinas and I used to work at Winstop but early earlier this month

I was terminated so before that we filed a complaint at Colosha because we were

exposed to burn hazards and forced to work being sick with COVID and not only

that one time one of the managers came to work being under influence of alcohol

and carrying out a gun. So my employer didn't focus on fixing the problems and

instead of that they were against us with regulations. So I believe I was

terminated because exercising my rights and for being a member of the workers

Union and I'm here one more time to ask you all to support the Fat Food Fake

Work ordinance thank you so much before the next speaker commences I'll be

calling the next few names Alon pick drew Tim Judy B and Kendra Kay good

Good morning. Which items would you like to speak to?

Good morning. I'm here to give out a public comment.

So you have one minute. Go ahead.

My name is Alejandra. I am a member of the Fast Food Workers Union,

and I work for Taco Bell in District 8.

We are sick of the abuse at work,

and we need tools to protect ourselves and each other.

I work at Taco Bell and filed a complaint form with Colosha

after I was chased behind the counter

by a man who was sexually harassing my coworkers.

Bodies like this occurs constant.

Since we never got training on how to protect ourselves,

so in a moment I grabbed a pizza cutter to defend myself.

We should have had a working panic button,

a prevention plan, but instead when I spoke about

what happened, they cut my hours off

and moved me to another store.

well, that's not gonna silence me.

Fast food workers need to know their rights

and training of how to, so we can enforce

all the laws together on how to protect ourselves.

Not instead keeping us silent and moving.

Thank you.

Good morning, which items would you like to speak to?

This will be for general public comment.

OK, so you have one minute.

Good morning.

I'm here to talk to you about the need to pass the Fast Food

Fair Work Ordinance.

I'm a barista and strike captain from a Starbucks

in Los Angeles, specifically by Miracle Mile.

Starbucks likes to tout that it offers the best job in retail.

But though the siren may sing a song of compassion and care,

like other fast food giants, Starbucks

would rather create disorder and destruction

in the lives of its workers if it means the stockholders

see growth.

As many of my coworkers learned, this September,

you can clock out on Wednesday with schedules

for the next two weeks, only to clock in on Thursday

and find your stores closing permanently that Saturday,

with no timeline on when or if the company will ask you

to return to work.

The reality that many of us face is an unstable,

understaffed workplace where being scheduled

less than 20 hours per week risks losing your health

insurance and other essential benefits,

despite being required to have 150% availability.

It is for these reasons and more that I urge you

to stand with 50,000 fast food workers

striving to feed and support our families and communities

through our work.

Hold these companies to account and ensure

the fast food fair work ordinance passes without delay.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Which items would you like to speak to?

A general public comment and 22.

OK, so you have one minute for the item

and one minute for general.

Go ahead.

Fine.

Hi.

My name is Judy Brathman.

I'm here to ask you to vote against allocating more money

to fight the Venice del Community Affordable Housing Project.

And I wanna give you a little context,

even though a lot of people aren't listening, too bad.

Two years ago, I and about 20 other Venice community members

did a research and arts project where we looked at,

took photos of all the buildings,

almost 300 that have been taken off the market

in Venice alone using the Ellis Act.

we saw over almost 1,400 units

that had been taken off the market that way,

and that did not include thousands removed by Airbnb,

and hundreds and hundreds removed by harassment,

landlord harassment of tenants.

And this is just in Venice.

You probably know across the city,

over 30,000 units have been lost to Ellis alone.

General public comment?

Thanks.

By fighting, continuing this fight for some crazy reason,

you're not only creating homelessness,

but spending our incredible precious tax money

to prevent solving the problem.

The solution is affordable housing, construction,

and even preventing evictions and homelessness

by ULA and other measures.

So live up to your commitments and,

you know, I haven't talked here for quite a while,

but it's really, really rude to have so many people

chattering in the background

and most of our council people not listening.

It's sad.

Thank you for voting against 22.

Good morning to my favorite 15 people.

Good morning.

All items in general public comment?

Morning, Grote.

For the record, I signed up as Drew Timmy, and I would like to speak on 21, 22, 23 in general comment.

Okay, so you have three minutes for the items and one minute for general.

Go ahead.

First, I just want to ask, I came in late, but did John Lee recuse himself from item 22?

I would save him some embarrassment because he does need to recuse himself from item 22.

He's been using this law firm for his legal defense efforts, and maybe that stopped.

I've heard that he's been getting passed around for non-payment of bills.

But he, as of the third quarter report, still owes Nassimian $44,000.

So that would seem to be a financial interest requiring recusal growth.

So let's just take care of that before it comes up for a vote. Speaking of his

debts, I ask everybody around the horseshoe to consider chipping in to his

campaign account or legal defense accounts. He really needs it. Between

those two and the fine that he picked up in December with the Ethics Commission,

he is in debt to the tune of $329,000. And that figure is probably going to

rise at the end of the week when we find out how much he actually picked up in

legal bills in that final fourth quarter. For item 23, it's really remarkable

to see how Heidi keeps on coming back for more money for outside counsel. It started as $900,000,

and that was disingenuous. We knew that there was no way Gibson, Dunn, and Kutcher would be under

that mount. And then she got another $5 million from you, and now she's looking for $1.8 million.

Some of you have met my dog, Rex. Super cute. I should also highlight he's really good luck.

Half of the counsel candidates that have met him have been elected to office.

he knows that he only gets a single treat after he eats his food and only if he eats it right away

like a good boy regardless of what he does after he eats his food he comes right in front of me and

sits in and stares at me with that sweet face asking for more like clockwork even if i give

him that treat he's going to come back and ask for more every single day i have to reject these

overtures. He knows the rules. It's not his fault. He's a dog. But if I can

reject his repeated overtures, I ask you to show the same discretion

with Heidi and her manipulative efforts to extract outside counsel

from you piece by piece. Item 21, this is a New Year's Eve

event at Grand Park, and I just got to say this year is cursed.

Do you realize what the next five months entail? We're going to have to go through another

dumpster fire of a budget, and then after that, you're going to have to navigate the ballot initiative

wars between labor and business. At the same time, you're going to have to navigate all of the

revenue generating measures that you're punting down the line while also figuring out what to do

with ULA. Same time, we're going to have a primary happening. And lastly, you're going to have to

handle whatever heap of charter reform proposals Karen's commission comes up with. That's all

doable, but what's not workable is operating under this absurd setup where two people in this

building control and slow walk all of the above. This is why I came here last week and asked you

to get engaged with the Charter Reform Commission

so you don't get ended up with a hot mess in your plate.

General public comment?

In that same vein, I want to piggyback on yesterday's conversation

on ex parte communications.

And I think Council Member Blumenfield was a little bit of a diva

with his initial no vote, but he is 100% correct

on the lack of experience with this commission.

Made worse by the Council President poaching

the most experienced commissioner we had.

That has been made worse by the fact that the staff,

he and Karen picked are absolutely clueless about this city. It is essential that you and your staff

are talking to the commissioners. So to be 100% clear, I don't want to have any perception that

you will be criticized for talking to them. In fact, I will come back and criticize you

if I don't find out you and your staff are talking to them. So get on it.

Lastly, I just want to note one thing about one of the commissioners, the chair, Raymond

Mesa Jr. Hands down, one of the most deceitful, dishonest people I have ever encountered in

this building, and I don't say that lightly. So be very careful when words come out of

his mouth.

Next speaker.

We will now be calling the next few names before this speaker continues.

Linda Hamilton, Linda Lux, Siba, Susan Millman, Sylvia A., and Ty Foreman.

My name is Alan Pick.

I'm here to speak on item 22 and general comment.

Okay.

So you have one minute for the item and one minute for general.

Go ahead.

The overall question really here, and gets illustrated all the time, is I don't know

whether Los Angeles is governable.

I used to be a young man and I used to be idealistic about Los Angeles.

I've lived on the canals in Venice for 40 years now.

I love Los Angeles.

I love Venice.

But I take a look at what's going forward, that we're going to be having an Olympics

here that we're going to be having building a convention center, that we were going to

have the World Cup here. I don't know if any of those things are actually going to take

place and going to take place smoothly. And this, what we're talking about right now,

is really a great illustration of the Sisyphean tasks that we have to try to get anything done

here so I have been working on this project now as a volunteer for several

seven years and that's the Venice general deal product project we had

great hopes seven years ago I was here and the City Council unanimously approved

using city-owned property so there was no acquisition cost and and building

affordable houses and there was no housing. No question that we needed that.

But what's happened now these seven years later is virtually nothing. We have

done everything right. We have had scores of meetings, community meetings. We've

won every single court battle that we've been involved in and yet we're back here

again and there hasn't been a shovel full of earth turned in those last seven

years at some point somebody's got to say we've got to solve this we've got to

move forward and it's you they're gonna have to do that and we are counting on

you to be able to do it so please do your job please make sure that Los

Angeles can get things done and your time is expired next speaker

Hello, good morning everybody.

Thank you guys for being here, but you know, you're normally here.

I want to really speak on this past week up to now.

Being involved with some of the empowerment congresses throughout mostly South Central Los Angeles

has really, really given me a deep, more depth

on the issues that Los Angeles faces

and the attitudes and constructive opinions

and methods of cooperation that are affected

in the dialogue and discourse.

Reflecting on my ambition in participation

with these Congresses, with you all,

I hope to build up a resonance in the center that eschews this idea of mutual affirmation in projects that are not centered in a desire for self-aggrandizement, but in a collective progression.

That's it. Thank you guys so much. Y'all have a beautiful day.

Good morning, which items would you like to speak to good morning?

I'd like to speak on general public comment and on item 22

Okay, so you have one minute for the item and one minute for general go ahead

Hello, my name is Sylvia a rock, and I'm a very longtime resident of Venice

I have made a copy for each of you of Jesse's wicks excellent LA Times article

titled, LA is Sabotaging Itself on Housing.

If you could distribute these for me please.

According to Jesse, and I agree with this,

this issue dates back to the late 1960s

when anti-growth attitudes became intertwined

with progressive politics of the day.

A powerful nationwide consensus took root

that building fewer homes was better.

In moments of crisis, as is our current housing

homeless situation, we need leaders willing to make tough choices. Cities

that build housing do so because they declare it a top priority and act

accordingly. Cities that hedge and delay quietly sabotage themselves. The

fundamental question facing LA today is not whether we know how to build more

homes, it's whether we're willing to say yes to them and mean it. Not-

General public comment? Not spend millions of dollars trying to obstruct

them to placate NIMBY constituents thank you good morning which items would you

like to speak to public comment and 22 okay and before you begin feel free to

adjust the microphone if you'd like you have one minute for the item and one

minute for general go ahead all right good morning my name is Susan Millman I am a 50-year Venice

resident and homeowner Venice needs affordable housing we all can agree on that nearly every

day, the electeds and the papers declare that LA must have housing for its 40,000 homeless

people. Just yesterday, in the LA Times, there's an op-ed entitled, LA is sabotaging itself

on housing and it blamed this and it blamed this need for housing on lack of

political will. This is why the City Council approved Venice Del project

twice. The Coastal Commission gave it the go-ahead. The state funded it. It cost

the city's general fund nothing. Benesdel is 100% low-income housing that provides

a hundred and twenty units to families and unhoused who otherwise would be on

on the street, and yet, after a decade in development,

you are seeking $760,000 to fight this shovel-ready project,

all to satisfy a vocal contingent of NIMBYs

who have lost two court cases trying to block it.

the request is ridiculous wasteful and immoral you must reject it good morning

which items would you like to speak to general public comment today okay so

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

This is kind of a repeat, but because our city council, being the clowns, bankrupt the city,

giving $1 billion increase to LAPD, there are absolutely zero items, as usual, on the

agenda in which to really spend anything on.

$1 billion budget emergency incompetent clowns.

Clowns, tens of thousands homeless, epidemic, emergency, incompetent, $275 billion fire damage,

emergency incompetent clowns.

Let me introduce you.

As you know, our sleazy council president is Marquise Dawson, CD8, highest unemployment

rate in the entire country, over 12.5%, the highest homeless rate, the highest incarceration

rate.

I also formally protest anything that's outside of what needs to be done.

The Attorney General, the FBI, and the IRS currently...

Speaker, your time has expired.

Counselor President, all the names have been called for public comment.

All right, thank you so much to everyone who's come to share with us in this morning's meeting.

Madam Clerk, what item is before us at this time?

The council may now vote on items 12 through 19, 21, and 24.

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

Close the roll.

Tabulate the vote.

14 ayes.

All right, what's next?

The council may now vote on items 25 through 42.

All right.

Our budget chair has advised us that we can consider these items in open session.

If you can read the settlement arrangements into the record.

Thank you, Mr. President.

for item 25 in the case entitled downtown natural caregivers Inc there is a recommendation to waive

the complete amount of six hundred and one thousand one hundred fifty two dollars and ninety one cents

in business license taxes and settlement for item 26 in the case entitled Charles F wing versus city

of Los Angeles there is a recommendation to expend up to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in

settlement for item 27 in the case entitled Victor Emmanuel Yepes Collazo versus county of Los Angeles

at all there is a recommendation to expend up to two hundred and fifteen

thousand dollars in settlement for item 28 in the case entitled

Maria Del Carmen Elias versus City of Los Angeles there is a recommendation to

expend up to three hundred thousand dollars in settlement for item 29 in

the case entitled Stephen Nelson versus City of Los Angeles at all there is a

recommendation to expend up to three hundred thousand dollars in settlement

for item 30 in the case entitled Sonia Pierre Rissman versus City of Los

Angeles at all there is a recommendation to expend up to $340,000 in

settlement for item 31 in the case entitled DeNora Escorovar versus City

of Los Angeles there is a recommendation to expend up to $375,000

in settlement for item 32 and the case entitled Vonda Washington versus City of

Los Angeles at all there is a recommendation to expend up to $500,000

in settlement for item 33 in the case entitled dian Rios aka dian Rios versus

city of Los Angeles at all there is a recommendation to expand up to $700,000

in settlement for item 34 in the case entitled Rebecca Candelaria Ramirez

versus Jesus Miranda at all there is a recommendation to expand up to $950,000

in settlement for item 35 in the case entitled David Israel Velazquez versus

Jonathan Rafael Viramontes at all there is a recommendation to expand up to

$650,000 in settlement for item 36 in the case entitled grace Benitez Lopez

versus City of Los Angeles at all there is a recommendation to expand up to

$700,000 in settlement for item 37 in the case and title de a minor at all

versus City of Los Angeles at all there is a recommendation to expend up to 1

million dollars in settlement for item 38 in the case entitled David swarm

versus City of Los Angeles at all there is a recommendation to expend up to 1

million dollars in settlement and an additional two thousand nine hundred

hundred seventy four dollars and seventy three cents in accrued interest

for item 39 and the case entitled payment had a V versus City of Los Angeles at

all there is a recommendation to expand up to three million two hundred thirty

seven thousand two hundred and sixty eight dollars and seventy two cents plus

applicable interest at seven percent annually in settlement for item 40 in

the case entitled Emily Lorena Santiso versus City of Los Angeles at all there

is a recommendation to expend up to 180,000 dollars in settlement for item

41 in the case entitled strategic actions for a just economy versus City

of Los Angeles City of Los Angeles at all there is a recommendation to adopt

the motion Yaroslavsky Rodriguez to approve the recommendations from the

budget and Finance Committee for item 42 in the case entitled Arthur

Aceves Jimenez versus City of Los Angeles County of Los Angeles at all

there is a recommendation to substitute out the firm of Manning and Cass Alrod

Ramirez Truster LLP for the Nathan and Kamionski LLP firm and to issue payment

in fiscal year 2025 26 and 2026 27 and make any necessary technical adjustments

all right let's open the roll on those items close the roll tabulate the vote

14 eyes all right what's next the council may now move on to item 5 called

special by councilmember Blumenfield for comments councilmember Blumenfield

thank you on item 5 there are a lot of West Valley residents who have very deep

concerns about a proposal for an enormous development in the Woodland

Hills Country Club which alarmingly is located in a very high fire severity

zone. And while our zoning code gives the city discretion by allowing the city to require

a general plan amendment and a zone change, at least and potentially require a full EIR,

there are new state bills that are allowing this large project to be fast-tracked and

approved ministerially, with no CEQA, no public hearings, and absolutely no discretion by

this council. Despite being almost 400 units in a very high fire severity zone in the hillside,

among a vast amount of tangled spaghetti streets.

And I say this here not just because this is a big issue in my district,

but it is a warning to all of you because this law, this state law,

means that it can happen in your districts as well.

My district at the moment is the canary in the coal mine.

We have this happening in the district, and it is a huge issue,

and it can create a real danger for folks.

But I think these are some serious unintended consequences

of some of the state laws that have been passed.

While this particular proposal was very much alive, City Planning deemed the application incomplete

and temporarily paused it because the developer did not submit all the required documents they need

and they're going to make corrections to the project.

My staff and I are working on using any tool that is left in the City's hands

to help pause this potentially dangerous proposal and ensure that there is appropriate review and analysis.

And I'm grateful to the Board at the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy

because they voiced their serious concerns about the environmental threats and the safety hazards of this project.

I'm also working with Henry Stern, our senator, on state legislation to help deal with the unintended consequences of these state bills.

And Senator Stern has authored a letter that addresses how state laws,

some of them have severely limited the ability of our city to ensure proper environmental reviews and city input.

And look, the underlying bill that is allowing this, which is AB 2011, is actually a great bill.

And I support the idea of large mixed-use projects where appropriate.

And the intent of that bill is very good.

But what happened is there were subsequent bills to that one that changed definitions here and there in this last year

that specifically make it so easy to build these mixed, high-dense units in these areas.

In one of those bills, it allows on, you know, which the original bill allows it on a commercial corridor.

and then this follow-up bill redefines what a commercial corridor is

and completely divorces it from the uses of that street.

So that now a street up in the hillside, Canoga,

simply because of its width, with no real commercial development,

is being considered a commercial corridor

and given this extreme, streamlined review.

This is something that can happen to affordable apartments in South LA,

La Brea Coliseum, adjacent to the gas station,

There's all sorts of places that this is going to happen.

Again, this is the canary in the coal mine.

This is your warning for all of you.

The local legislation we're voting on today directs planning department and city attorney

to give us further clarity on how these laws are impacting our local control over development

in very high fire severity zones.

It's also asking whether or not there are any legal ways for the city to exert some discretion

over this proposal.

Basically, what's before us is really an attempt to get some better answers and to get the

departments working on that.

My hope is that some of the evacuation issues or fire safety issues may provide us some leverage

But I don't know and while the initial response from planning was not optimistic

My hope is that the city attorney and others may find something upon formal and more deeper analysis

And that's why I'm asking for that analysis and asking for your support of this legislation today. I ask for your aye vote

Thank you, mr

Bluenfield all right, let's open the roll on this item close the roll tabulate the vote

14 ayes.

All right.

I want to recognize Mr. Lee before we go to our next item.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Just out of an abundance of caution, I'm going to ask

to be recused from item number 22.

I know it's going to closed session.

All right.

Thank you.

Duly noted.

Mr. Kwan, that's your first warning for disrupting our meeting.

What's next, Madam Clerk?

Thank you.

on to may move on to item number nine called special by council member Rodriguez for an

amendment which has been posted and circulated all right let's open the roll on this item as

amended close the roll tabulate the vote 14 eyes all right what's next the council may move on to

item 11 called special by council member Blumenfield for comments and an amendment all right item number

11 is before us mr. Blumenfield colleagues I thought it's important to make sure that we

utilize shared housing as an option for TLS. I've had a lot of success with

shared housing in my district because it's more cost-effective and sustainable

for the clients. I use my discretionary dollars for an organization called

Share and it's it really is making a difference. While the TLS provides $1,700

for rental assistance we're going to have to overcome the challenge of finding

rental units to max this to match this maximum amount. At the same time even

though shared through even though shared housing for example like we would have

four people share a two-bedroom apartment at the cost of two TLS slots

for 3400 versus at 1700 so we're able to stretch the dollar further each client

in that case would pay 850 to sustain themselves I've also added ed1 to the

TLS funding because we've created thousands of affordable units through

ed1 but the county is gobbling up those units because they have all the money

for rental subsidies and ICMS.

This is happening, I just heard about another project in my district.

This is happening right now.

We work hard with ED1.

We get this project up and running.

We want to get local folks from the district into that new project.

The county comes forward and says, we have the funding.

Since the city doesn't, they're moving people from all around the county into that.

They're not prioritizing the district at all for those ED1 projects.

And that's a big problem.

So that's why I added ED1.

And while I still believe the county should take greater ownership and share resources with the city who's creating these units,

until that dynamic shifts with the county, we need to utilize the TLS funding and to match them also to affordable units.

So again, my amendment is pretty simple.

It basically just adds in shared housing as an option, which I'm told by some folks that that's already there and that we don't need this amendment.

But then other times when I try to use it it told that we can't use it

So this is kind of a belt and suspenders make it real clear in the law that we can use TLS

For shared housing if appropriate. It's that simple. Thank you and I ask for your aye vote on the amendment

Thank you so much. Mr. Blumenfield. All right, let's open the roll on. Oh councilmember Rodriguez, sir

Thank you and thank you, Mr. Blumenfield for that amendment and that explanation and I just wanted to

to, you know, one of the concerns that I had about TLS was obviously some of it born out

of the audit that was originally conducted on LASA and the use of TLS and the commingling

of funds that actually raised larger concerns about how TLS was going to be distributed,

administered, and managed.

And as we have conversations with respect to how this applies for our fulfillment of

alliance agreement one of the concerns that I just wanted to raise and put on

everyone's radar and I my understanding I believe is that it's going to be in

part administered by the housing department is the accessibility for the

interventions and how that gets distributed and the reason why I raised

that concern is because we've seen the inequitable distribution of encampment

resolutions that have currently occurred under inside safe operations and so I

want to make sure that the way this is being approached and distributed and

accessed is going to be available for all council districts to be able to

address critical encampment resolutions in their own districts and so colleagues

I just I raise that for your awareness because you should be very mindful of

the service providers that are going to have the access to be able to make those

decisions and how it's applied and so this shouldn't be a political reward

system that continues to exploit a lot of what we've you know what we've already

seen in this process I want to make sure that this is something that we're all

very mindful and watching how it's distributed where it's distributed and

where it's accessed so just to keep that as the top of mind but I also want to

thank the CAO I know the CAO this was part of the plan that the CAO was always

trying to help us navigate and work towards in order to help fulfill our

alliance obligation and that's what we should all be focused on because it is

in fact I know no one likes it but it is a consent decree so we're under federal

court watching us with all of these decisions and given the failed three

years of failed compliance we got to make sure that we do this right so I

just want to make sure that we're looking at it in such a manner that it's

not just helping to check the bus but it's checking the box in an equitable

fashion so that every council district in no part of the city gets left off from

having encampment resolutions and accessing these resources to be able to

address the concerns in everyone's respective council district all right

thank you councilmember Rodriguez let's open the roll on this item close the

roll tabulate the vote 14 eyes all right what's next the council may move on to

item 20 called special by councilmember Blumenfield for comments and a separate

vote all right councilmember Blumenfield great thank you colleagues I strongly

support open streets for the two sick la VIAs that have been held in my

district I provided funding for the mailers entertainment stages other

elements to enhance the events. I'm a big believer in Ciclavia, but I cannot

support this item. I'm gonna make a protest vote on this item. This, I mean, I

know it's gonna pass, but I'm gonna vote no on it. The item recommends committing

almost 2 million in matching funds in order to accept 3 million from Metro for

nine open streets events. Of those nine events, only one is in the San Fernando

Valley where 40% of Angelenos reside. That single Valley event got less than half the

money the city requested. In Metro's last Open Streets cycle, the city got funding for

seven events, none of which were in the San Fernando Valley. None. One main purpose of

Open Streets events is to help demonstrate the demand for safe walking and cycling in

the city and to build community support for efforts to accomplish those goals.

That is just as important in the valley as in other parts of the city, I might say even

more important in the valley given our wide streets.

So it just angers me that this keeps happening.

And while I never like to say no to grant money coming in, and I get that, I've got

to do something.

And this is supposed to be a citywide program, and for Metro, a countywide program.

the city and Metro have failed in that regard. I'm voting no on this. Thank you.

Council Member Rodriguez. Well, Mr. Blumenfield, thank you for bringing this to our attention and

for those of us that represent the San Fernando Valley and especially our colleagues serving on

the Metro Board, we want to make sure that we get our fair share. That's one of the biggest hits

that we always take in the San Fernando Valley. So I'm going to join you in your protest vote. So

thank you for raising this issue. All right. Thank you, Council Member Rodriguez. Let's open

the roll on this item close the roll tabulate to vote 12 eyes 2 no's all

right what's next would the council like to recess the regular meeting and

convene the special meeting yes please call the roll on the special meeting

thank you mr. president Blumenfield Harris Dawson Hernandez hut herado Lee

McCosker Nazarian Padilla Park price ramen Rodriguez Soto Martinez

Jaroslavsky, 14 members present in a quorum, Mr. President.

All right.

What's before us?

Item number 43 is an item for which public hearing has been held.

Ten votes are required for consideration.

All right.

Without objection, that item is before us.

Mr. City Attorney.

That's fine.

Okay.

So for members of the public who are here for public comment during this special meeting,

the only item open for public comment is the only item on the agenda.

That's item number 43.

So again, if you're signed up, it's only for item 43.

There is no general public comment during the special meeting.

All right.

Do we have public comment speakers for this item?

If you're a public comment speaker on this item, please come forward now.

It's good to see you.

Happy New Year, Mr. Spindler.

I don't think I've seen you in 2026.

So I believe on in LA, go ahead.

You have one minute for item 43.

Okay.

Thank you.

I just want to say that, you know, when it comes to like their housing crisis, there's

a lot of things we can do.

And I know this report is trying to find things we can do.

Well, you know, Scientology is the biggest landowner in this city and all their buildings

for the most part are empty.

Okay.

Why don't you try to, you know, negotiate to buy back their buildings and you can then

use them for housing because there's so many empty, vacant buildings. It's just a land grab.

So they don't have to actually, you know, because with the 501c3, you know how you have to put the

money back to your people? They don't want to do that. So they'd rather just do a land grab.

And that would solve a lot of housing issues. You know, you could use the parking lots. You

could use the rooms. And I don't know why you don't look into that. They don't, they take,

take, take from the city. They don't give back. Here's their chance to stand up and give back

and open up. Even if you don't buy it, just ask them if you could use it. But I wouldn't want you

in bed with them like that, but still,

it's just a thought, you know, that they should

be, you know, since they take

and don't give, they should be able to give back.

And I'm serious. It's a lot of buildings.

Next speaker.

Before the next speaker

begins, I will call all of the names

on the special agenda. Andrew

Graepner, Audit LA, Laura

FM, Toxic Shrimp,

Scum, and Stink.

Okay.

So, this is an item

related to

LASA funds. Hopefully this money will go towards providing housing and services and things like

that because what we've seen in the past is that a lot of this money is not allocated very well

and people aren't getting the housing that they need. That's part of why there's so many people

out on the streets is that you aren't putting in the effort to actually have those housing available,

have it be reasonable conditions for unhoused people trying to get housing,

and that's one of the many reasons why there's so many people out on the street,

is that you don't have this housing and services available for unhoused people.

but you'll probably just misuse the funds

and continue sweeps and criminalizations

since that seems to be what you do.

Next speaker.

Hello, general public, but also this one for the housing.

So I'm going to add to what Audit LA just said.

Please, obviously the point is that we're not interested

in Scientology helping the homeless because they don't do that. But if you were to ask Scientology,

hey, why don't we use your empty buildings and hotels and parking lots and stuff like that?

Guess what they're going to tell you? No. You know why? Because they're just interested in

infiltrating the programs that help the homeless. But what they do is once they infiltrate those

programs, they're now leading these homeless people into horrible situations because they

don't believe in mental health care. They don't believe in actually giving them help. They also

don't help the city. They don't get their tax. They don't pay taxes. They don't do anything but

use the city up. They use up the fire department, the LAPD for private events. They have the money

to do that. But then when you go to ask them to help the city with the homelessness problem,

because they have billions of dollars, they own a majority, the biggest amount of

Estates on in LA. So please try to do that next speaker

Good morning money launderers. How are you doing today?

So let's see here. So you want to launder over ten million dollars from an unnamed source

for thirty million dollars

Now what do we call this? What does the FBI call this? Overt acts. You don't have

the money. So you're gonna spend money you don't have and try to launder it to

get it back into the general fund and you falsely claim that it has no fiscal

impact. That's fraud. You don't have this money. But anyway, you're just gonna keep

doing it. But anyway, just to remind you, your colleague Curran Price is not

going to be able to vote on this item he's across the street at the criminal

courts building so if you want to see something fun go over across the street

at the criminal courts building on the third floor and you can see the great

work current price has been doing fill in his pockets just like the rest of you

have a good day all right that concludes public comment for the special meeting

Madam Clerk, what's before us?

Would the council like to vote on item 43?

Yes.

Let's open the roll on 43.

Close the roll.

Tabulate the vote.

14 ayes.

All right.

What's next?

Would the council like item 43 to go forth with today?

Yes.

Please.

Thank you.

Would the council like to adjourn the special meeting and reconvene the regular meeting?

Yes.

Can we call the roll on the regular meeting?

Thank you, Mr. President.

Blumenfield Harris Dawson Hernandez hut herado Lee McCosker Nazarian Padilla Park price ramen Rodriguez Soto Martinez

Yaroslavsky 14 members present in a quorum mr. President all right, what's before us?

Excuse me would the council like to go to item 22 called special by councilmember Yaroslavsky to go into closed session

All right. Yes, we'll go to item 22. Mr. City Attorney if you can give us instructions on

closed session yes I'll give the instructions once we go into close for

members of the public who are here they are going into closed session that we

are not in recess so I would ask that you please exit the room expeditiously

so that we can go into closed session and I believe councilmember Lee has

recused on the closed session for I remember 22 all right and mr. City

attorney we're in closed session on items 22 and 23 do we need to do anything

special because it's two items no okay so we're in closed session on items 22 and 23

members uh several offices have asked to have uh up to two members of their team

on the floor for these discussions for a variety of reasons and so uh i'll ask everybody to respect

that normally we do one in this case will be two other than that if you are not uh here from a city

staff on the item we're discussing or a member of a council team where the city attorney's office

will ask you to leave the room

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Spring is coming and the Los Angeles Public Library has some advice, workshops and general

help for your plants.

They are devoting a day to celebrating plants at the Central Library where there will be

keynote speakers, gardening tips and resources from LA Sanitation.

Learn how to repot your plants or paint the flower pots and experience the joy of connecting

with nature. Visit the Central Library for Plant Day, a celebration of plants, on Saturday,

January 31st from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. For more details on the events, visit lapl.org

slash plant dash day.

Alta C at the Port of Los Angeles invites you to their first open house of 2026.

On Saturday, January 31st, join the Alta Sea team from 10 a.m. to learn more about the Re-Up Our Ocean campaign, which is turning plastic pollution into surfboard fins and other upcycled sustainable products.

The Open House shares resources with the community through informative presentations, workshops, and exhibits that aim to inspire ideas and fuel the blue economy while preserving the well-being of the ocean.

Head to the Port of LA for Alta Sea's open house, Re-Up Our Ocean, on Saturday, January 31st at 10 a.m.

For more information, visit altasea.org.

What better way to celebrate the beginning of whale watching season in California than by having a whale fiesta?

Join Cabrillo Marine Aquarium on Sunday, February 1st for whale fiesta,

which marks the start of the migration of the Pacific Great Whale.

This family fun day is filled with activities and exhibits for all,

and will include games, arts and crafts, puppet shows, expert guest lecturers, and festive music.

Experience the incredible life-size inflatable whales and the famous duct tape whale contest.

Visit Cabrillo for Whale Fiesta on Sunday, February 1st from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Find out more at cabrillomarinaquarium.org.

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

Thank you.

Thank you.

Every day, over 100 Americans die from secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke in children can cause asthma, ear infections, and increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

Go to smokefreehomesla.com.

Learn how you can protect your home from secondhand smoke.

Thank you.

Will try to try to try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try

Thank you.

Thank you.

Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will

Thank you.

Dr. Edwin Krupp, the director of the

of Griffith Observatory has been honored by the American Astronomical Society.

The international organization recognized Krupp with its 2026 Education Prize.

It cited his outstanding contributions educating the public, students, and future astronomers.

Krupp has been the director of the landmark Griffith Observatory for over five decades

and has shown the workings of the cosmos to millions of visitors.

For more information, visit GriffithObservatory.org.

LA City Council has approved $1 million to establish a dedicated streetlight repair team

for Council District 13.

The team will work in the Council District to address long repair times that currently

exceed 9 months.

Hiring is underway for electricians and laborers with repairs expected to begin in the next

two months.

For more information, go to CD13.lacity.gov slash news.

Metro has launched a new care-based services division under its Department of Public Safety,

which includes transit ambassadors, outreach and intervention teams.

The new crisis response teams will address behavior-related incidents.

Metro's priority is the safety of riders and employees.

Learn more at thesource.metro.net.

Thank you.

The irregularly scheduled meeting of the Los Angeles City Council.

Here's what's happening in L.A. this week.

This is L.A. Currents.

This is about all of us.

It's about choosing to believe in our city again

and proving it with action.

And no matter what our city faces,

LA never, ever gives up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Will try to try to try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The number one cause of preventable death

after injury is bleeding.

Someone who is severely bleeding can bleed to death

in as little as five minutes.

Minutes count, and your LAFD thanks you for learning

how to stop the bleed by following the ABCs.

If someone has an injury with blood spurting out of the wound,

clothing soaked in blood, bleeding that won't stop,

or loss of any part of an arm or leg,

you need to act quickly.

The first step is A for alert.

Have someone call 911.

The next step is B for bleeding.

Locate the bleeding injury and remove any clothing covering the area so you can see the injury.

The final step is C, compress.

If the injury is to the leg or arm, prepare to use the tourniquet.

Unwrap the tourniquet and apply it 2 to 3 inches above the wound.

Do not place the tourniquet onto a joint.

Go above the joint if necessary.

Pull the free end of the tourniquet and wrap it until it is tight.

Wind the windlass until the bleeding stops.

Secure the windlass in place.

Note the time the tourniquet was applied and write it down, if you can or tell first responders

when they arrive.

Thank you.

The Lancashire Arts Center was

constructed in 1939. When it was opened in 1939, it was originally a LA Department of

Water and Power building. The City of LA became the owner of the Lancashire Arts Center when

it was declared as a historical cultural monument. On the plaque, its purpose was that it is

an example of adaptive reuse. The front building is actually an example of

streamlined modern design.

And then if you come here after I think it's like five or six o'clock

there's like lighting panels that will turn on and then you get to see the

full kind of marquee of the Lancashire Arts Center.

We host a bevy of productions, be it dance productions, music productions.

Sometimes we'll have a film screening.

Art, I think that sort of flexibility is something that brings me back every time.

The theater is very intimate here.

It really feels like you're just right up in front of the talent when you come watch

a show here.

We also do youth programming here.

We work with different local artists to be able to provide free programming for children

to learn how to sew.

We have a fashion class.

We have music classes specifically for percussion and drums.

We also have another music class for piano.

And then we also have a dance studio.

It's in our mezzanine.

That is for our dance class that we have here.

Our mission here is just to grow the performing arts, really.

So whether it be someone trying to bring out their own original productions or like sometimes

we even have different groups come in to teach after school classes.

Being able to grow the performing arts in a community is what makes Lancashire Arts Center

stand out.

The city investing into places like this is because it gives a place for people that were

not as confident the ability to express themselves and give a space for people that are a little

bit different, another space to play because being able to play is so important just for

our mental health as well as for the health of the community and it just makes the world

a better place.

We look forward to having you here at Lancashire Mart Center, whether it be taking part in

our free programming as well as being able to come and just watch a movie or watch a

show.

We look forward to having you over here.

On Instagram, our Instagram handle is dca underscore lnk.

You can also find out more about us on culture.lacity.gov.

That's our website.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Petosco Theater is located in Canoga Park.

There is so much already here to offer.

Cultural events, performances, folks do annual Dia de los Muertos festivals, there is art

walks, there is musical events, there's jazz.

And I feel like we have the privilege to be added in that offering.

The space had been left a little bit weary.

And so when the city came in to renovate the space, it was offered another chance to breathe

new life into the arts here.

The Tosco Theatre is here for everyone.

It is here for young artists who are just starting out, to the professional artists

who are here to dream up their new vision, and we're here for the community at large

at all of our community events.

One of our signature events is called Walking in Our Light.

This idea of how we help people to encourage them to think about the light that they bring

and to show appreciation for those who helped to nurture that light.

So from that idea, we thought, well, let's walk in our light.

Let us have stories along the way where people can stop and hear performances

and storytelling of other people saying, this is my light, this is how I shine it,

and these are the people I want to show appreciation to.

So we do this walk around the block, and then we end up with a little gathering,

performances inside and lots of time to just reflect on, yeah, this is my life, you know,

and these are the people who've helped me get there.

Our communities don't always see what the city of Los Angeles provides them,

providing access to the arts.

Says to me, that's a city that's proud of the stories it wants to tell,

the people who want to tell them and the ways that they want to tell them.

A space like this gives opportunity for folks of all ages, cultures, experience to say,

I can be seen, I can be heard.

And I'm walking in these doors and it feels welcoming, it feels nurturing, and people are excited to listen to me and to hear me.

We don't have that all the time.

So it's a live space that's here to welcome and nurture those sparks of inspiration and vision.

There's a few ways to find us. We are always on social media. So we are on Instagram. We have a

Facebook page. You can go to the Department of Cultural Affairs, their website. You'll find the

Tosco Theater. It may take a few clicks here and there, but we try to stay present in any way that we can.

Thank you.

Using the MyLA 311 app is easy.

Download the MyLA 311 app from the App Store or Google Play.

Use Google Translate to view the page in up to 200 languages.

Select the service need, either by typing a topic in the new request search box, or

select from the most popular service requests, like street pavement issues or potholes.

Answer a few questions.

You can add a comment or even upload a picture.

Keep track of your request via email, text, or create an Angelino account to become a

registered user.

Using MyLA 311 keeps our city safe and clean.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll be right back.

Thank you.

We'll be right back.

Thank you.

BAM!

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will

Thank you.

Thank you.

Spring is coming and the Los Angeles Public Library has some advice, workshops and general

help for your plants.

They are devoting a day to celebrating plants at the Central Library where there will be

keynote speakers, gardening tips, and resources from LA Sanitation. Learn how to repot your plants

or paint the flower pots and experience the joy of connecting with nature. Visit the Central

Library for Plant Day, a celebration of plants, on Saturday, January 31st from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

For more details on the events, visit lapl.org slash plant dash day.

All to see at the Port of Los Angeles invites you to their first open house of 2026.

On Saturday, January 31st, join the All to See team from 10am to learn more about the

Re-Up Our Ocean campaign, which is turning plastic pollution into surfboard fins and

other upcycled sustainable products.

The open house shares resources with the community through informative presentations, workshops

and exhibits that aim to inspire ideas

and fuel the blue economy

while preserving the wellbeing of the ocean.

Head to the Port of LA for Alta Sea's open house,

Re-Up Our Ocean on Saturday, January 31st at 10 a.m.

For more information, visit altasea.org.

What better way to celebrate the beginning

of whale watching season in California

than by having a whale fiesta?

Join Cabrillo Marine Aquarium on Sunday, February 1st

for Whale Fiesta, which marks the start

of the migration of the Pacific Great Whale.

This family fun day is filled with activities

and exhibits for all, and will include games,

arts and crafts, puppet shows, expert guest lecturers,

and festive music.

Experience the incredible life-size inflatable whales

and the famous duct tape whale contest.

Visit Cabrillo for Well Fiesta on Sunday, February 1st from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Find out more at cabrillomarineaquarium.org.

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

Will Will Will

Thank you.

Thank you.

Every day, over 100 Americans die from secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke in children can cause asthma, ear infections, and increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

Go to smokefreehomesla.com.

Learn how you can protect your home from secondhand smoke.

I love you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Will try to try to try to try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try

Will try to try to try to try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try

Thank you.

Dr. Edwin Krupp, the director of the

of Griffith Observatory has been honored

by the American Astronomical Society.

The international organization recognized Krupp

with its 2026 Education Prize.

It cited his outstanding contributions,

educating the public, students, and future astronomers.

Krupp has been the director of the landmark Griffith Observatory

for over five decades,

and has shown the workings of the cosmos

to millions of visitors.

For more information, visit griffithobservatory.org.

LA City Council has approved $1 million

to establish a dedicated streetlight repair team

for Council District 13.

The team will work in the Council District

to address long repair times that currently exceed nine months.

Hiring is underway for electricians and laborers

with repairs expected to begin in the next two months.

For more information, go to cd13.lacity.gov slash news.

Metro has launched a new care-based services division

under its Department of Public Safety,

which includes transit ambassadors,

outreach and intervention teams.

The new crisis response teams

will address behavior-related incidents.

Metro's priority is the safety of riders and employees.

Learn more at thesource.metro.net.

Thank you.

Your regularly scheduled meeting of the Los Angeles City Council.

Here's what's happening in L.A. this week.

This is L.A. Currents.

This is about all of us.

It's about choosing to believe in our city again and proving it with action.

And no matter what our city faces, L.A. never, ever gives up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The number one cause of preventable death after injury is bleeding.

Someone who is severely bleeding can bleed to death in as little as five minutes.

Minutes count, and your LAFD thanks you for learning how to stop the bleed by following the ABCs.

If someone has an injury with blood spurting out of the wound, clothing soaked in blood,

bleeding that won't stop, or loss of any part of an arm or leg, you need to act quickly.

The first step is A for alert. Have someone call 911.

The next step is B for bleeding. Locate the bleeding injury and remove any clothing covering the area so you can see the injury.

The final step is C, compress. If the injury is to the leg or arm, prepare to use the tourniquet.

Unwrap the tourniquet and apply it 2 to 3 inches above the wound.

Do not place the tourniquet onto a joint. Go above the joint if necessary.

Pull the free end of the tourniquet and wrap it until it is tight.

Wind the windlass until the bleeding stops. Secure the windlass in place.

Note the time the tourniquet was applied and write it down, if you can or tell first responders when they arrive.

Thank you.

The Lancashire Arts Center was constructed in 1939.

it was opened in 1939. It was originally a LA Department of Water and Power building.

The city of LA became the owner of the Lancashire Arts Center when it was declared as a historical

cultural monument. On the plaque, its purpose was that it is an example of adaptive reuse.

The front building is actually an example of streamlined modern design.

And then if you come here after, I think it's like 5 or 6 o'clock, there's like lighting panels that will turn on and then you get to see the full kind of marquee of the Lancashire Arts Center.

center. We host a bevy of productions, be it dance

productions, music productions. Sometimes we'll have a film

screening. Art, I think that sort of flexibility is something

that brings me back every time. The theater is very intimate

here. It really feels like you're just right up in front of the

talent when you come watch a show here. We also do youth

programming here. We work with different local artists to be able to provide free programming

for children to learn how to sew. We have a fashion class. We have music classes specifically for

percussion and drums. We also have another music class for piano. And then we also have a dance

studio. It's in our mezzanine. That is for our dance class that we have here.

Our mission here is just to grow the performing arts, really.

So whether it be someone trying to bring out their own original productions or like sometimes

we even have different groups come in to teach after school classes, being able to grow the

performing arts in a community is what makes Lancashire Arts Center stand out.

The city investing into places like this is because it gives a place for people that were

not as confident the ability to express themselves and give a space for people that are a little

bit different another space to play because being able to play is so important just for

our mental health as well as for the health of the community and it just makes the world

a better place.

We look forward to having you here at Lancashire Mart Center, whether it be taking part in our free

programming as well as being able to come and just watch a movie or watch a show. We look forward to

having you over here. On Instagram, our Instagram handle is dca underscore lnk. You can also find

out more about us on culture.lacity.gov that's our website.

Thank you.

The Tosco Theatre is located in Canoga Park.

There is so much already here to offer, cultural events, performances, folks do annual Dia de

Los Muertos festivals, there is art walks, there is musical events, there is jazz.

And I feel like we have the privilege to be added in that offering.

The space had been left a little bit weary.

And so when the city came in to renovate the space, it was offered another chance to breathe

new life into the arts here.

The Tosco Theatre is here for everyone.

It is here for young artists who are just starting out, to the professional artists

who are here to dream up their new vision, and we're here for the community at large

at all of our community events.

One of our signature events is called Walking in Our Light.

This idea of how we help people to encourage them to think about the light that they bring

and to show appreciation for those who help to nurture that light.

So from that idea, we thought, well, let's walk in our light.

Let us have stories along the way where people can stop and hear performances and storytelling

of other people saying, this is my light, this is how I shine it, and these are the people I

want to show appreciation to. So we do this walk around the block and then we end up with a little

gathering, performances inside, and lots of time to just reflect on, yeah, this is my light, you know,

and these are the people who've helped me get there.

Our communities don't always see what the City of Los Angeles provides them, providing access to the

the Arts says to me that's a city that's proud of the stories it wants to tell, the people

who want to tell them, and the ways that they want to tell them.

A space like this gives opportunity for folks of all ages, cultures, experience to say,

I can be seen, I can be heard.

And I'm walking in these doors and it feels welcoming, it feels nurturing, and people are

excited to listen to me and to hear me.

We don't have that all the time.

So it's a live space that's here to welcome and nurture those sparks of inspiration and

vision.

There's a few ways to find us.

We are always on social media.

So we are on Instagram.

We have a Facebook page.

You can go to the Department of Cultural Affairs, their website.

You'll find the Tosco Theater.

It may take a few clicks here and there, but we try to stay present in any way that we

can.

The MyLA 311 app is easy.

Download the MyLA 311 app from the App Store or Google Play.

Use Google Translate to view the page in up to 200 languages.

Select the service need, either by typing a topic in the new request search box, or select from the most popular service requests, like street pavement issues or potholes.

Answer a few questions. You can add a comment or even upload a picture.

Keep track of your request via email, text, or create an Angeleno account to become a registered user.

Using MyLA 311 keeps our city safe and clean.

We'll be right back.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Spring is coming and the Los Angeles Public Library

has some advice, workshops, and general help for your plants.

They are devoting a day to celebrating plants at the Central Library,

where there will be keynote speakers, gardening tips, and resources from LA Sanitation.

Learn how to repot your plants or paint the flower pots,

and experience the joy of connecting with nature.

Visit the Central Library for Plant Day, a celebration of plants,

on Saturday, January 31st from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

For more details on the events, visit lapl.org slash plant dash day.

Alta Sea at the Port of Los Angeles invites you to their first open house of 2026.

On Saturday, January 31st, join the Alta Sea team from 10 a.m. to learn more about the Re-Up Our Ocean campaign,

which is turning plastic pollution into surfboard fins and other upcycled sustainable products.

The open house shares resources with the community through informative presentations, workshops, and exhibits that aim to inspire ideas and fuel the blue economy while preserving the well-being of the ocean.

Head to the Port of LA for Alta Sea's open house, Re-Up Our Ocean, on Saturday, January 31st at 10 a.m.

For more information, visit altasea.org.

What better way to celebrate the beginning of whale watching season in California than by having a whale fiesta.

Join Cabrillo Marine Aquarium on Sunday, February 1st for Whale Fiesta, which marks the start of the migration of the Pacific Great Whale.

This family fun day is filled with activities and exhibits for all and will include games, arts and crafts, puppet shows, expert guest lecturers, and festive music.

Experience the incredible life-size inflatable whales

and the famous duct tape whale contest.

Visit Cabrillo for Whale Fiesta on Sunday, February 1st

from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Find out more at cabrillomarinaquarium.org.

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

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Every day, over 100 Americans die from secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke in children can cause asthma, ear infections, and increased risk of sudden

infant death syndrome.

Go to smokefreehomesla.com.

Learn how you can protect your home from secondhand smoke.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I love you.

Dr. Edwin Krupp, the director of Griffith Observatory, has been honored by the American

Astronomical Society.

The international organization recognized Krupp with its 2026 Education Prize.

cited his outstanding contributions educating the public, students, and future astronomers.

Krupp has been the director of the Landmark Griffith Observatory for over five decades

and has shown the workings of the cosmos to millions of visitors.

For more information, visit griffithobservatory.org.

LA City Council has approved one million dollars to establish a dedicated streetlight repair team

for Council District 13. The team will work in the Council District to address long repair times

that currently exceed nine months. Hiring is underway for electricians and laborers with

repairs expected to begin in the next two months. For more information go to cd13.lacity.gov.

Metro has launched a new care-based services division under its Department of Public Safety

which includes transit ambassadors, outreach and intervention teams. The new crisis response teams

will address behavior-related incidents. Metro's priority is the safety of riders and employees.

Learn more at thesource.metro.net.

Thank you.

The

irregularly scheduled meeting of the Los Angeles City Council.

Here's what's happening in LA this week.

This is LA Currents.

This is about all of us.

It's about choosing to believe in our city again

and proving it with action.

And no matter what our city faces,

LA never, ever gives up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Will try to try to try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try

Thank you.

Thank you.

I love you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The number one cause of preventable death after injury is bleeding.

Someone who is severely bleeding can bleed to death in as little as five minutes.

Minutes count and your LAFD thanks you for learning how to stop the bleed by following

the ABCs.

If someone has an injury with blood spurting out of the wound, clothing soaked in blood,

bleeding that won't stop, or loss of any part of an arm or leg, you need to act quickly.

The first step is A for alert.

Have someone call 911.

The next step is B for bleeding.

Locate the bleeding injury and remove any clothing covering the area so you can see

the injury.

The final step is C, compress.

If the injury is to the leg or arm, prepare to use the tourniquet.

Unwrap the tourniquet and apply it 2 to 3 inches above the wound.

Do not place the tourniquet onto a joint.

Go above the joint if necessary.

Pull the free end of the tourniquet and wrap it until it is tight.

Wind the whine lass until the bleeding stops.

Secure the whine lass in place.

Note the time the tourniquet was applied and write it down.

if you can or tell first responders when they arrive.

Thank you.

The Lancashire Arts Center was constructed in 1939.

When it was opened in 1939, it was originally a L.A. Department of Water and Power building.

The city of LA became the owner of the Lancashire Arts Center when it was declared as a historical

cultural monument.

On the plaque, its purpose was that it is an example of adaptive reuse.

The front building is actually an example of streamlined modern design.

And then if you come here after, I think it's like 5 or 6 o'clock, there's like lighting

panels that will turn on and then you get to see the full kind of marquee of the Lancashire

Arts Center.

We host a bevy of productions, be it dance productions, music productions.

Sometimes we'll have a film screening.

Art, I think that sort of flexibility is something that brings me back every time.

The theater is very intimate here.

It really feels like you're just right up in front of the talent when you come watch

a show here.

We also do youth programming here.

We work with different local artists to be able to provide free programming for children

to learn how to sew.

We have a fashion class.

We have music classes specifically for percussion and drums.

We also have another music class for piano.

And then we also have a dance studio.

It's in our mezzanine.

That is for our dance class that we have here.

Our mission here is just to grow the performing arts, really.

So whether it be someone trying to bring out their own original productions or like sometimes

we even have different groups come in to teach after school classes.

Being able to grow the performing arts in a community is what makes Lancashire Arts Center

stand out.

The city investing into places like this is because it gives a place for people that were

not as confident the ability to express themselves.

is so important just for our mental health as well as for the health of the community,

and it just makes the world a better place.

We look forward to having you here at Lancashire Arts Center,

whether it be taking part in our free programming

as well as being able to come and just watch a movie or watch a show.

We look forward to having you over here.

On Instagram, our Instagram handle is dca underscore lnk.

You can also find out more about us on culture.lacity.gov.

That's our website.

Will try to try to try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try

Thank you.

Petosco Theater is located in Canoga Park.

There is so much already here to offer, cultural events, performances, folks do annual Vídeos

Muertos festivals, there is art walks, there is musical events, there's jazz.

And I feel like we have the privilege to be added in that offering.

The space had been left a little bit weary, and so when the city came in to renovate the

space, it was offered another chance to breathe new life into the arts here.

The Tosco Theatre is here for everyone.

It is here for young artists who are just starting out, to the professional artists

who are here to dream up their new vision.

And we're here for the community at large

at all of our community events.

One of our signature events is called Walking in Our Light.

This idea of how we help people to encourage them

to think about the light that they bring

and to show appreciation for those

who help to nurture that light.

So from that idea, we thought,

well, let's walk in our light.

Let us have stories along the way where people can stop and hear performances and storytelling of other people saying, this is my light.

This is how I shine it. And these are the people I want to show appreciation to.

So we do this walk around the block and then we end up with a little gathering, performances inside and lots of time to just reflect on.

Yeah, this is my light, you know, and these are the people who've helped me get there.

Our communities don't always see what the city of Los Angeles provides them, providing

access to the arts.

It says to me, that's a city that's proud of the stories it wants to tell, the people

who want to tell them, and the ways that they want to tell them.

A space like this gives opportunity for folks of all ages, cultures, experience to say,

I can be seen, I can be heard.

And I'm walking in these doors and it feels welcoming, it feels nurturing,

and people are excited to listen to me and to hear me.

We don't have that all the time.

So it's a live space that's here to welcome and nurture those sparks of inspiration and vision.

There's a few ways to find us. We are always on social media, so we are on Instagram. We have a

Facebook page. You can go to the Department of Cultural Affairs, their website. You'll find the

Tosco Theater. It may take a few clicks here and there, but we try to stay present in any way that

we can.

The MyLA 311 app is easy.

Download the MyLA 311 app from the App Store or Google Play.

Use Google Translate to view the page in up to 200 languages.

Select the service need, either by typing a topic in the new request search box, or

select from the most popular service requests, like street pavement issues or potholes.

Answer a few questions.

You can add a comment or even upload a picture.

Keep track of your request via email, text, or create an Angelino account to become a

registered user.

Using MyLA 311 keeps our city safe and clean.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

BAM!

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Will try to try to try to try to try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try

Spring is coming and the Los Angeles Public Library has some advice, workshops and general

help for your plants.

They are devoting a day to celebrating plants at the Central Library where there will be

keynote speakers, gardening tips,

and resources from LA Sanitation.

Learn how to repot your plants or paint the flower pots

and experience the joy of connecting with nature.

Visit the Central Library for Plant Day,

a celebration of plants,

on Saturday, January 31st from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

For more details on the events,

visit lapl.org slash plant dash day.

All to see at the Port of Los Angeles invites you to their first open house of 2026 on Saturday, January 31st, join the all to see team from 10am to learn more about the re up our ocean campaign, which is turning plastic pollution into surfboard fins and other upcycled sustainable products.

The open house shares resources with the community

through informative presentations, workshops,

and exhibits that aim to inspire ideas

and fuel the blue economy

while preserving the wellbeing of the ocean.

Head to the Port of LA for Alta Sea's open house,

Re-Up Our Ocean on Saturday, January 31st at 10 a.m.

For more information, visit altasea.org.

What better way to celebrate the beginning

whale watching season in California than by having a whale fiesta. Join Cabrillo Marine Aquarium on

Sunday, February 1st for Whale Fiesta, which marks the start of the migration of the Pacific Great

Whale. This family fun day is filled with activities and exhibits for all and will include games, arts

and crafts, puppet shows, expert guest lecturers and festive music. Experience the incredible

life-size inflatable wells and the famous duct tape well contest.

Visit Cabrillo for Well Fiesta on Sunday, February 1st from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Find out more at cabrillomarinaquarium.org.

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

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Every day, over 100 Americans die from secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke in children can cause asthma, ear infections, and increased risk of sudden

infant death syndrome.

Go to smokefreehomesla.com.

Learn how you can protect your home from secondhand smoke.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Blumenfield, Harris-Dawson, Hernandez, Hutt,

Gerardo, Lee, McCosker, Nazarian, Padilla,

Park, Price, Rahman, Rodriguez, Soto-Martinez,

Zieroslavsky, 12 members present in a quorum, Mr. President.

All right, Mr. City Attorney,

anything to report on a closed session?

There's nothing to report on a closed session,

but the council will need to approve of the additional funding if it so chooses

in open session all right we'll first begin with item number 23 if we can read

the recommendation into the record we would start with item 22 sorry 22 if we

could read the recommendation into the record all right I would move that we

amend recommendation or instruction number one as follows authorize the city attorney to amend

contract number c-146250 with Nassim and LLP to increase the funding by $650,000 through March

2026 all right it's been moved is there a second second by councilmember Padilla

all right let's open the roll on that recommendation and I believe there are

funding instructions as well if the city attorney could read those into the

record please to add to add a second recommendation to that one that six

hundred and fifty thousand dollars be transferred to the Nassim and contract

to assist in this matter and transfer to City Attorney Fund number 100 slash 12

account number 009301 for that contract number 146250

and then these two are still going to vote on, correct?

Councilwoman, are you okay amending your motion

to include the control and instructions?

Thank you.

So we still need a second.

All right, Madam Clerk, Mr. Grode, are we good to vote?

Yes, thank you.

That would be item 22 as amended by motion Park-Padilla,

which includes both the recommendation

from Council Member Park and the city attorney.

All right, let's open the roll on that item.

close the roll. Would you like to vote?

Nine nines,

three no's. All right.

That takes us to

the next item.

We'll bring Mr. Lee back.

All right.

If we can read the recommendation

into the record.

Thank you for item

I believe the city attorney has further transfer instructions.

Yes. So the further recommendation there is that the amount

of $1.8 million be transferred to the contract with Gibson,

Dunn, and Crutcher and transferred to city attorney fund number 100

account number 009301 for contract number...

201616.

Thank you.

Yes.

Did I say?

Just hit attorney number 100 slash 12.

I count number 009301.

And can somebody make that motion and second?

I'll move.

Is there a second?

Seconded by Mr. Bloomenfield.

All right. Open the roll on this item.

Close the roll. Tabulate the vote.

9 nines, 4 noes.

All right.

What's next?

Council has motions for posting and referral.

They are posted and referred.

Announcements, members.

All right.

Hearing no announcements, I will note that this council will not be in session on Friday,

and so everybody who wants to participate in the national day of protest on February 30, you can do that.

That is not the stated reason for our lack of counsel on Friday,

but we encourage everybody who wants to participate in that to use that as an opportunity to avail themselves as such.

And with that, I'll ask everybody to rise for adjourning motions.

look to my left for adjourning motions look to my right for adjourning motions

all right with that we're adjourned thank you so much everybody see you next week

Thank you.

As many times as we could, we asked for the maximum sentence for each charge, and then

we would stack the charges and ask the court to run the sentences consecutively.

So even though I'm only responsible for the prosecution of misdemeanors committed by adults

within the city of LA, we have put child sex abusers behind bars for up to 11 years.

Misdemeanor is only one year and we take these crimes incredibly seriously.

It is said that failure is an orphan, success has many fathers.

I think it isn't just that success has many fathers.

I think that it is only by coming together, it is only with the jurisdiction of the district

Attorney's Office that goes to Long Beach where I can't go, that goes to Pomona where I can't go,

that really treats these crimes with felony that we will finally, finally make a real lasting dent

in the open-air exploitation of our young people. I thank you all for being here and for giving this

issue your attention and I join our District Attorney and our Chief of Police and our

our Council President in urging our community to come forward and help us do this work.

Let's keep the young people safe.

Let's shut down the places where trafficking occurs.

Let's put Johns behind bars if that's what it takes to give them the seriousness of the

consequences and let's put the predators away for a long time.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, our city attorney, Heidi Feldstein Soto.

I'd now like to call another elected leader to speak, who has demonstrated a commitment,

not just over months, but over years, to ending human trafficking, our Los Angeles City Council

President, Marquees Harris-Dawson.

Thank you so much to all of our law enforcement leaders that are with us, and community leaders,

faith leaders that are with us today.

I can always be counted on and always appreciate the opportunity to stand and look at this

problem which has been along this corridor my entire life.

And I'm not young, I'll just put it that way.

This problem has been there my entire life and one thing we wanted to do as an elected

official was confront it, confront it directly and try to do so in an effective way.

And when we got on the phone and started calling people and saying, you need to see what's

happening on Figueroa, what's happening to the parishioners who come to church, the people

who live here, the small businesses, but most importantly, the victims of sex trafficking,

we think you'll join up and want to do something about it.

And I couldn't be more grateful to our, to anyone more than I am our city attorney, who

when we took the city attorney on the ride along,

she expressed the shock, she expressed the anger,

and the disgust about what was happening to our people

here on Figueroa in our city, in the city of Los Angeles,

and got busy right away.

And literally every time I spoke to her after that,

it was something about Figueroa.

And she pulled together a task force,

which included all of the law enforcement agencies

that you see with us today and got busy.

When our district attorney was elected,

our very first conversation, I think we said,

hello, nice to meet you, by the way, Figueroa.

And he said, yes, Heidi already talked to me about it.

So we're on top of it.

And they put extra octane into the gas tank

in dealing with this problem.

And our chief of police and LAPD has had fits and starts

with Figueroa for decades and decades and decades.

But at a time when resources are getting tighter and tighter

for the police department, I'm extremely grateful

to the department that they've continued to prioritize

Figueroa and dealing with this issue.

And there is progress being made.

The folks who live here and go to church here

and do business here, they can tell you,

it's not perfect, it's not what it should be,

but it's a little bit better than it was the week before

and a lot better than it was the year before.

With the help of the city attorney's office

and the police department, we've closed six of the motels

that were the most notorious for trafficking.

We've installed cameras and folks who know me know

I'm not a big fan of government surveillance,

but if you're gonna get out of your bed

and get in your car and drive to Figueroa

to buy sex with a minor, then we're gonna surveil you

and we're gonna hold you accountable.

So if you look up there to the north, to my left, you'll see a little camera on the top of the light pole.

We're keeping track of who's coming, when you're coming, when you pull over, and when you stop.

And you'll get everybody a Dear John letter from now the district attorney and the city attorney saying,

hey, you were in an area where trafficking is going on, and here's a picture of your car and your driver's license number.

And we just hope that the trafficker isn't the only person in the house that sees that letter.

is all I'm going to say about that.

And so we're excited about the progress that we're making.

We think much more need.