Located between Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east, Echo Park Lake has been a central part of the community since the 19th century.

The lake was originally created in 1868 as a drinking water reservoir with water supplied by a ditch connecting it to the Los Angeles River near Los Files.

Soon after, 33 acres of land were donated to the city to establish a public park.

During landscaping in 1892, workers noticed sounds echoing across the area, inspiring the name Echo Park.

Today the lake features a flat one mile loop popular with walkers and runners.

Local running groups often train here, including members of the Los Angeles Fire Department, who were among the 27,000 runners participating in the Los Angeles Marathon.

We are at Dodger Stadium, and I believe it's about 6 30 a.m.

in the morning, half hour before the start time of the LA Marathon.

For me, this is my 10th year in a row running the LA Marathon, and every year I run it for a charity that hits close to home with us.

Widows, orphans, and disabled firefighters fun.

Personally, it's my first one, and I didn't fundraise, but Kelly here did.

By doing fundraising like this, it brings great attention to all the different foundations that you might not know about.

I think that's awesome.

And there's a bunch of different ones.

We are supporting my twin sister.

She had foot surgery like two years ago, so being in a marathon is like impossible to think of.

So it's great to see her out here proving us all wrong.

You only live once, so you might as well while you have the chance.

Go run it.

You gotta try it once.

Anything for a good cause, anything to promote health, nutrition, support the community as a whole.

My wife is running uh this is our first official full marathon.

She's running this for her 40th birthday.

She's had some health struggles that she's overcome, and so it's a huge achievement for her to accomplish this today.

Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Some kind of like use that metaphor in your head.

Just keep going, don't stop.

You face so many obstacles and hurdles in your life that you have to overcome, you have to persevere through.

Um, and I feel like running a marathon is exactly that.

I helped this year with putting together a fire department uh marathon team for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

I think it's uh it's good to get the legs going and uh keep the fitness standards up to where they should be with our department.

Being a part of this running community within our smaller organization has really motivated me to like train hard.

Being able to run through the city that you work in is actually a pretty awesome experience.

All running's gonna hurt regardless.

You definitely just have to go out and do it.

And once you're finished with it, it's so gratifying at the end, and it's infinitely worth it.

We are at almost a 26 mile marker.

It's just a lot of cheering people on and getting people excited and giving them that last little push before they cross the finish line.

Right here is where they need the last push the most.

Woo!

Let's go work.

They gave me some extra swag for 10 years in a row.

A little tenure medal.

To be a good firefighter for the city of Los Angeles, the number one thing is heart.

You've got to have dedication and you've gotta have a will to want to help people to be a public servant.

Here at Frank Hodgkin's Memorial Training Center, we're having the LAFD Career Expo.

It's where we're gonna have all kinds of tables where candidates can come in and speak to different people regarding the process, the application process, and ask questions how they can be part of our team.

We have approximately 700 people coming, and we have all the different departments that we have within the Los Angeles City Fire Department, which includes our brush unit, we have our drone section, we have our Thames teams, Arson, some of the helicopter pilots with all the people that are coming that are applying this week.

We want to see what options they have within the fire department if they should get hired.

I am in the uh application process, so I want to learn more about the profession, the opportunities.

I'm excited to learn about, especially the biddle.

I haven't taken that yet, so I'm excited to see, you know, the course for that and learn how I can better prepare myself, better my uh physical fitness.

I think it's important for the come to see these types of career expos as seeing that it's an achievable career for them to see all different types of people that have become firefighters.

I think it exhibits who we are as a city and it allows us to show them that it is available to them to work and serve their city.

I'm here today pretty much just to get more information, uh, how to become a firefighter, the route, the path.

If I get the job, I will serve my community day in and day out from sunrise and sunset.

Uh it's a commitment that I'm willing to take, and it's a commitment that I feel everyone should take because it's just for something bigger than me, it's for the department and for LA.

I think this is a fantastic profession.

I think there's just so much opportunity and growth, and this is something that I, you know, I'm meant to do.

I love the idea of service, and for people that are trying to, you know, figure out what they're doing in life.

I think it's important for them to try different things.

So we have everything online.

If you go to the section join lafb.org, it shows the whole application process we have to become a firefighter.

It runs through videos, explains what you have to do, which tests you have to take.

All the applicants, you need dedication, grit, hard work.

You have to stick with the process, you have to be physically fit, you have to put in the time to study.

It uses all aspects of your brain and your physical abilities.

If you've got the heart, you've got the willingness to be here, and you've got the desire to be a public servant, those are the things that make a good firefighter.

All the other things we can teach you, one text message could save your life.

Register for emergency alerts through Notify LA.

Notify LA is a free opt-in emergency alert service provided by the city of Los Angeles.

In emergencies, the city uses Notify LA to send alerts via phone, email, or text.

This information keeps residents informed, providing official guidance on how to stay safe.

For more information, visit emergency.gov.

Hey Angelinos, did you know any time is a great time to adopt a pet.

Come out to Tailwaggers in Hollywood for a special pet adoption event.

All adoptable pets are from LA Animal Services and are currently in foster care.

Meet, greet, and fall in love with your new furry friend on Saturday, March 21st from 11 a.m.

to 2 p.m.

To find out more, go to LA Animal Services.

In late 1910s, the area grew in prominence when it became a popular filming location for early motion picture companies along Alessandro Street, today known as Glendale Boulevard.

Construction is currently underway at the Los Angeles Convention Center, while new city legislation aims to keep film and television production in Los Angeles and preserve Hollywood's historic role as the heart of the movie industry.

Film work has been moving out of the city, out of the state, out of the country for a long time, and we're trying to work to bring work back to this town.

We have an entire dedicated labor pool here in LA County that is bread and born to make movies, make art, make entertainment.

And right now they're struggling.

Those jobs have gone away.

They're having trouble paying their rent, paying for health care, paying for basic necessities.

And so what the council did today was try to advance a series of motions that are going to bring that work back and start bringing stability back to the film industry in LA County.

Los Angeles is not clinging to outdated systems, and we are not surrendering our signature industry without a fight.

This offers hope to people who have been displaced, who have been looking for work, who used to be very busy maybe 10 years ago, a decade ago, or even five years ago, and their phone has stopped ringing, and they're on the cusp or verge of losing their insurance.

This, these measures are not going to turn the industry around right away, but they are letting the industry know Los Angeles is serious about making it easy to film here.

We want to keep the jobs here.

We want to make sure film shooting happens here.

We want those jobs back here.

This is the inch this is the backbone of the entertainment industry.

And it should be here in Los Angeles in Hollywood.

Mr.

Desarnier.

Thank you, Council President.

I just wanted to say, first of all, thank you to everyone that's here.

Everyone from the bona fide film nerd to everyone who has come and spoken about their uh experiences, uh, the impact that this industry has had on their lives and or the impact it is now having on potentially breaking up their families.

These are the stories that have culminated into these set, these set of seven motions that we're voting on today.

We can't afford complacency.

This industry sustains tens of thousands of working class jobs.

This is the finish line for only phase one.

Let's not hesitate.

Let's act, let's keep Hollywood home.

I respectfully ask for your I vote.

Thank you.

With that, uh, let's open the roll on this item.

Close the roll, tabulate the vote.

13 eyes.

All right, congratulations, everybody.

And this will go forthwith without objection.

We are moving in a positive direction towards bringing work back to California and back to the city of LA.

It's slow progress, it's slower than we all would have liked, but it is happening.

And I think over the next couple of months and the next couple of years, you are going to continue to see those programs expand.

I'm gonna quote the great Revan Jackson, keep hope alive.

We're here for a local higher outreach.

We're trying to bring new people into the trades, giving them an opportunity to work in the downtown community to revitalize downtown LA on this wonderful project that we have going on, getting ready for the Olympics in 2028.

Here at the convention center, we're working jointly with the city to make sure that we can be successful and shine and be proud of local Angelinos.

The criticality of today's event is every resource that somebody would need with no knowledge of construction whatsoever is here.

We have uh opportunities with every trade out here today.

We've got the union representatives from them.

We've also got some community-based organizations here to help show those paths to those opportunities.

We intentionally set up resources for somebody coming in that really has no construction experience whatsoever to find out what that path will look like to full-time employment within the trades.

It's a wonderful opportunity.

There's plenty of things to be gained here.

Aside from a career-based job where you can actually get a livable income.

If you're here, you can network here and make bonds and meet people that are involved in all sorts of great different things that can last a lifetime.

As you can see behind me, we've had over 1,300 people RSVP for this local outreach event.

Those are numbers that have never been done here in the city of LA.

The project we're building here specifically is an addition to the existing convention center.

So the existing convention center straddles both sides of Pico Boulevard.

We're creating a new addition between those two existing convention center spaces over top of Pico.

A new expansion hall adds hundreds of thousands of new square feet of expansion space as well as some other meeting spaces.

We're in dire need of more people coming into the trades, working union.

For every four people that are retiring now, only one new person is coming into the trades.

Without new people coming into the trades, we risk a chance of not having the opportunity to expose people to what it is to be in the trades, to have not only a good working environment, but also have a livable wage and a livable income to be able to provide to their family and their communities.

Smile and go out there and go shoot for the stars, man.

We are an environment where we take all walks of life.

Be genuine, be open, be honest, get involved with the union, get involved with the project.

Together, we will achieve great things.

Anybody looking for more information can go to Los Angeles Convention Center.com/slash expansion.

LA is home to 450 recreation and park locations, offering activities for every interest.

From basketball by the beach to pickleball and citywide soccer games.

There's something for everyone.

Their programs also provide spring classes, adaptive sports clinics through Play LA, and spaces dedicated to enjoying and participating in arts performances.

For residents, local parks often feel like an extension of home.

Perfect for evening concerts, family outings, or just enjoying the outdoors.

Recreation centers also play a vital role, offering classes, youth programs, and initiatives like Girls Play LA, which create inclusive spaces for empowerment, skill building, and personal growth.

Today we're celebrating our 2026 Pre-Damp Pink Girls Empowerment Conference with a theme of wicked defying gravity.

The importance of like sports and activities and other workshops is to keep our young girls involved.

So the more you have on the course, STEM, activities, which is what we do here in recreation and parks.

It keeps them busy, it keeps them healthy.

With sports, we focus on health.

I come every year to Pretty and Pink.

We've been doing pretty and peeing for like 15 years, and they just remember the impact that the conference had on them.

You know, changed their life.

They were exposed to different careers, they saw different role models.

Today we have a young 15-year-old DJ.

The DJ is 16 years old and she's already learning how to be a DJ.

She's good at it, she's doing it for different events.

I think the measure of success of an event like Pretty and Pink is the girls' faces, the questions they're asking, the connections, the hugs, the high fives.

That's success.

A girl walking away from today, having a moment to see all valued and loved and thought of to me is a huge success.

Okay, watch two from the top.

My mission for creating it was because I wasn't exposed to it when I was young.

So I wish I had these resources.

I wish I had, you know, people talking to me about, you know, social media, bullying, suicide.

Um, so that's my motivation because I want to expose them for something that I wasn't exposed.

Um, and I could tell year by year that we do make a difference on the girls.

So you could just, you know, see it in their smiles and their laughs.

Like we just touch their life, and it's just a spark of life or light that is addicting, and it just keeps me going year through year.

LA's rich multicultural landscape is celebrated each year by the Department of Recreation and Parks through its signature Lotus Festival, which highlights Asian and South Asian countries and cultures.

This event recognizes the diverse communities and nations that contribute to life in Los Angeles.

Living in Los Angeles often inspires collaboration and community-driven initiatives.

One recent project focused on supporting young people experiencing homelessness who have been overlooked by existing systems, highlighting the city's commitment to vulnerable populations.

At the same time, fostering and strengthening relationships between law enforcement and local communities remains an ongoing routine effort, reflecting LA's focus on connection, trust, and civic engagement.

As you can see today, we're meeting at 85 degrees, and we have community members, we have volunteers that come out, and it's really kind of like a free one-on-one, easygoing informal discussion with cops where the community members can ask questions about issues in the community.

They can get some statistics about the crime that's been happening within the community.

We can discuss with them what we're doing as a police department.

Our senior elite officers are very involved with the community and they do a great job, so it's really great chance for them to share this information with the community members.

I tend to inform our senior lead officers or the officers on patrol of any things that happen in my neighborhood, and they handle it real well.

Really great to see that they are involved in our community.

Really great to see that they are coming out and just trying to really uplift other small businesses as well.

I think it's amazing for both sides because obviously we only response to emergencies.

So to be able to do something like this, we're actually just very low-key and something that both sides enjoy.

I mean, I enjoy having a pastry with a cup of coffee or a cup of tea.

And another community members feel the same way.

I feel we need to support our police.

They are a very big resource we have, and I just love love them.

I do.

I mean, I pray for them every night, pray for their safety.

I just wish people would be a little more aware and informed about what they all do.

It's really great to see that people even come out, you know, to ask questions and to just be involved in the community as well and support.

So it's really great to have the cops here today.

I started off as youth in Skid Row at 17.

My mom asked me to sleep with her boyfriend for rent money.

I decided to say no and I left.

I winded up in Skid Row.

We're here today at a panel hosted by Social Model Recovery Systems to share my lived experience of being a youth in Skid Row.

Our work started in Skate Row in 1996.

The work that we're celebrating today is just the impact of our work with youth and skate row.

Everybody just went like this and didn't pay attention to these beautiful people.

Being in Skid Row was really hard.

I stayed in a tent, or I would be at Lafayette Park playing basketball until like two, three o'clock in the morning and then going to school at 8.

Playing sports in Skid Row like at Gladys Park helped me like cope throughout the day.

I was able to finish my homework a lot of times inside the park.

The kids in this community taught us where we live is not safe.

We need help.

Um, and they would say, Oh, take this and it'll make you feel warm.

You won't have to be so cold at night.

I decided to continue to say no, and then I was homeless for five years.

Our work is really grounded in looking at what makes a healthy community.

What is it that people need in their neighborhood to thrive and to be successful?

I got connected to Social Model Recovery Systems Prevention Program by another youth.

They shared with me housing opportunities and shelters.

I can't express how much their work has affected me in becoming a college graduate today.

Without stable housing and the support that goes along with stable housing, it's impossible to live to your full potential.

And as you can see, it can create cycles where people in poverty really have a very hard time getting out.

I'm working at Downtown Women's Center as a senior peer support specialist to assist those who are coming from shelters within Skid Row and who are coming from the streets in Skid Row into housing.

I can see what impact it has made.

Never give up on yourself and and for all of us in the stream, never give up on other people.

Join the LA Parks Foundation and Council Member Adrian Nazarion as they present the ongoing community classroom speaker series at the Campo de Coenga Museum on Lancasham.

On Saturday, March 21st, enjoy a talk themed for women's history month when film historian, author, and researcher Mary Mallory will be highlighting important women in film and how they shape early Hollywood.

Head to the Campo di Coanga for Important Women in Film, part of the community classroom speaker series on Saturday, March 21st at 12 p.m.

Learn more at LAParks.org.

Expo Park LA is celebrating World Water Day on Sunday, March 22nd with a community festival of yoga, wellness, and music.gov.

Join the Los Angeles Public Library for Art Lab, coloring junk journals and zines.

Art Lab is a therapeutic program for ages eleven years or older, happening one Saturday per month at the Canoga Park Branch Library.

Join in for two hours of multi-option art in a calm, low-stress atmosphere with lo-fi tunes.

Work independently on an LAPL Rotunda coloring sheet, create a junk journal using an old textbook, or learn all about zines and create your own.

Head to the Canoga Park Branch Library for Art Lab coloring junk journals and zines on Saturday, March 21st at 3 p.m.

Learn more at LAPL.

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

And the recently revitalized Echo Park Lake.

Following a 45 million dollar renovation, the lake now welcomes locals and visitors for paddle boating and serves as the centerpiece for recreational activities and its annual Lotus Festival.

From the top of the nearby Baxter Street Stairs, guests can get a great workout and enjoy stunning panoramic views of downtown Civic Center, the Griffith Observatory, and the iconic Hollywood side.

Come experience Echo Park for yourself and discover everything this vibrant neighborhood has to offer.

Thanks for joining us.

And you can watch these stories and more on Channel 35 or at LACity.gov slash TV and follow us at LA City on Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

Until next time, get out there and explore all that Los Angeles has to offer.

But does the family emergency plan include pets?

All right, good morning, and welcome to the regularly scheduled meeting of your Los Angeles City Council.

Today is Friday, the thirteenth day of March in the year twenty twenty-six.

Public comment for this morning's meeting will be taken in person.

All right, first order of business.

Approval of the minutes of March eleventh, twenty twenty-six.

Councilmember Park moves.

Councilmember McCosker seconds.

What's next?

Commendatory resolutions for approval.

Councilmember Hutt moves Council Member Soto Martinez seconds.

Can we go through our agenda?

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Would Council like all items on this on the agenda to go forth with today?

All items forthwith today, thank you.

Thank you.

Item number one is an item notice for public hearing.

Items two through twelve are items for which public hearings have been held.

The committee reports for items 11 and 12 have been posted and submitted to the respective council files.

Item 13 is an item for which public hearing has not been held.

Item 14 is a closed session item.

And item 15 on the continuation agenda is an item for which public hearings have been held.

All right.

Specials members, special for this morning's meeting.

Councilmember Hernandez.

Hi, Council President.

Thank you.

I'd like to call item nine special for comments, please.

Okay, item nine for comments.

Any other specials?

Councilmember Rodriguez.

16 and 19 for a separate vote and uh questions, and then uh item nine for an amendment.

All right.

Councilmember Hutt.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I rise to call item nine special for amendment.

I believe that it's being circulated.

And City Attorney, can you please read the amendment into the record?

Yeah, we don't.

If it's been circulated, we don't have to read it.

Thank you.

We do have it, yes.

Okay, Councilmember Yaroslavsky.

Thank you, Council President.

Um, for item 14.

I'd like to go into closed session.

One four closed session.

Okay.

Councilmember Rodriguez.

Also 17 for questions.

Questions on 17?

17.

All right.

Any other specials members?

Going once, all right.

Madam Clerk, what items are available for votes at this time.

The council may now vote on items two through eight and 10 through 12.

All right, let's open the roll, close the roll.

Tabulate the votes.

12 eyes.

All right.

What's next?

Would the council like to move on to presentations?

We would very much like to move on to presentations.

We will begin our exciting morning of presentations with our member from the 1-5, Councilmember McCosker.

And as he's coming to the table, I want to call on Councilmember Park for a special record recognition.

Thank you, Council President.

Today it is my pleasure to welcome the Consul General of Bulgaria to our Council Chambers this morning.

I'm here with Boyoko Ristov and his wife, as well as a special delegation from the Bulgarian community, as we recognize March 2026 as Bulgarian Cultural Heritage Month.

The City of LA proudly celebrates its rich multicultural heritage and recognizes the invaluable contributions of diverse communities that strengthen the social, cultural, and economic fabric of our city.

The month of March holds special significance for the Bulgarian people.

March 3rd marks Bulgaria's National Liberation Day, commemorating the restoration of Bulgarian statehood.

In honor of this occasion, City Hall was illuminated in the colors of the Bulgarian flag.

Bulgaria is one of Europe's oldest nations with more than 13 centuries of history and a remarkable cultural legacy.

The Bulgarian people have given the world the Cyrillic alphabet, an enduring contribution to global literacy used by hundreds of millions of people today.

March also brings Bulgaria's most cherished traditions, Baba Marta, when friends and family exchange red and white Martin Titsa bracelets as a symbol of health, good fortune, and the arrival of spring.

For those who've never had an opportunity to visit Bulgaria, it is a place of extraordinary beauty and history.

There are ancient cities of Plottiv, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe, and the famous Rose Valley Word, the world's finest rose oil has been produced for centuries.

So it is my honor to get to present the Consul General with this resolution this morning on behalf of the city of Los Angeles.

Welcome again to our council chambers.

It's lovely to have you with us.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Park, and welcome.

Our dear friends from uh Bulgaria.

Thank you so much, uh Councilmember Park.

And now I think we're gonna stay in the Northern Hemisphere with uh Councilmember McCosker.

Thank you so much.

First, I want to welcome Council General to the Council of Corps of the City of Los Angeles, the greatest Council of Corps in the world.

And I have other representatives from around the world, but on this Friday the 13th, I wanted to bring a little luck of the Irish to our chambers.

And don't worry, that's the last schmalty thing I'm gonna say about Ireland today.

Don't worry.

So today, members, Council President and members, uh, we are honored to be honoring the Irish spirit in City Hall to celebrate St.

Patrick's Day.

St.

Patrick's Day is celebrated around the world on March 17th in honor of St.

Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, although we cannot forget St.

Bridget, right?

But today we're going to remember St.

Patrick.

It marks the anniversary of his death in the fifth century and has become a global celebration of Irish culture and culture and heritage around the world.

St.

Patrick's Day is an opportunity to reflect and appreciate Irish culture, history, and the contributions to the world of the Irish people, including in literature, in music and dance, and even in politics.

Whether you're Irish or just Irish at heart, St.

Patrick's Day is a day of celebration, joy, and community.

Tomorrow, for example, in the 15, uh, we are going to be hosting our annual Gaelic and Garlic celebration, so that we have the Italian American culture and the Irish culture united in our brand new Piazza Miramare in downtown San Pedro, which is home to so many people of Italian heritage as well as Irish heritage.

But back to today.

I want to introduce some guests.

And it's not spelled like that at all.

Cochlean represents Ireland in Southern California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, but most importantly to us in Los Angeles.

I'm honored to be joined also by this is a great, great honor, colleagues, to be joined by Verona Murphy, Ireland's Kian Corla.

Did I say it right?

Close enough, close enough for Irish politics.

Verona Murphy, the Kion Corla is the Speaker.

She is the Speaker of the Irish Parliament.

And Verona became the first woman in the history of the Republic of Ireland to hold this office, and she was elected in 2024.

And she is just a delight.

We've had an opportunity to meet before council.

She uh is here to come to the podium and to give us a few words.

So we are honored by Speaker Verona Murphy.

Thank you.

Members of City Council, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the warm welcome here in Los Angeles City Hall.

It's a great honor to visit this remarkable city on behalf of the Irish state and to bring you greetings from the Irish community.

Los Angeles and Ireland may be separated by thousands of miles, but we are connected by our people, our shared history, and our existing values.

For generations, Irish men and women have made their home in this city and all across California.

They have helped build communities, businesses, and institutions that come to shape Los Angeles today.

Today we're so proud of the Irish making their mark on Los Angeles and its creative industries.

And we will be cheering on our many nominees at the Oscars this coming Sunday.

Cities like Los Angeles remind us of the strength that comes from diversity and openness.

This is a city built on talent from every corner of the world, which demonstrates what can be achieved when communities work together with imagination and ambition.

In Ireland, our parliament, the Iraqtus, has long valued international friendships.

Parliamentary diplomacy and exchanges between governments, cities, and civic leaders play a very important role in strengthening those relationships.

But visits such as this one help us learn from one another.

Shared experiences, which deepen the bonds that already exist between our people.

And here in LA, that connection is especially visible in the arts and the businesses and in public life.

People like Councillor McCosker.

And I've also met this morning with the chief of police, Jim McDonald.

And in addition to these historic family ties, we enjoy a very strong economic relationship.

Irish companies in the US provide employment to over 200,000 Americans.

And Ireland is now the fifth biggest source of foreign direct investment in the US.

Ireland is one of many countries with the consulate general here.

A signal of the importance we attach to our relationship with this city.

As Kyoung Corle, well pronounced by Councillor McCosker, as Kyoung Corla of Doll Aaron, I also wish to acknowledge the importance of democratic institutions at every level, from national parliaments to city councils.

The work done in chambers like this one, serving local communities and responding to their needs, is the foundation of vibrant democracy.

Thank you again, in particular, to Councilmember McCosker for facilitating this engagement.

And I hope that this visit will continue to strengthen the friendship between Ireland and the people of Los Angeles, and that the connections between our communities grow stronger in the years ahead.

So what is your Irish American story?

Where are your people from?

And I told her that my grandmother was from New Ross in County Wexford.

That happens to be the district that she represents.

And she said, What was your grandmother's name?

Because McOscar's not a very usual Irish name.

I said, She was a she was very proud.

She was an orphan, but she was very proud to know that her family name was Power.

And Verona looked at me and she said, You look like a power.

So I'm just letting you know, I'll be gone, I'll be work, I'll be in New Ross working on the re-elect.

So this is the this is the time in the program that we so look forward to, year in and year out.

The Lions Academy and the One Five has been gracing us with their beauty and their art and their athleticism in Irish dance, and once again this year, they are here on the council floor to show us some of the best of Irish arts and culture.

The Lions Academy of Dance.

The Lions Academy.

The Lions Academy of Irish Dance.

Thank you so much.

And they will be performing tomorrow at Gaelic and Garlic, Piazza Mirabare.

I might even join them for a slip jig.

You never know.

So I want to thank uh I want to thank the speaker.

I want to thank the Council General.

We are also joined today, and let's hear it for Griffin Healy, the president of the Irish Fair Foundation.

Griffin, give a wave.

And with that, Mr.

President, I want to wish everybody a happy St.

Patrick's Day.

And Mr.

McCosker, we're uh happy to get our St.

Patrick's Day celebration kicked off with this great uh recognition this morning and uh uh excellent dancers that we look forward to every year.

We've got a few members on the queue, beginning with Mr.

Lee.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Councilmember McCosker, I think you know this about my family.

I want to say thank you for celebrating St.

Patrick's Day because uh, you know, my my family.

I have Irish in my family.

Not only do I have you know, half Irish, half Korean cousins, but my wife, Sheila, whose powers uh is uh Irish and visiting uh me today for spring break from UC San Diego happens to be my part Korean part Irish daughter, Jayda here like that.

And it's always a special occasion in our household, and I just want to thank you for always making sure that we celebrate it here as a city as well.

Thank you, Mr.

Coster.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Lee, Councilmember Padilla.

Councilmember McCosker served me memory serves me right.

Last year when I did uh Cinqua de Mayo, you said I really like your idea of taking back the holiday from a very like um Americanized, I was doing it Mexican American, you are about elevateing Irish Americans.

So I'm glad you had your presentation.

Really liked hearing the story about the Irish American uh friendship group and knowing that you're the largest one.

So congratulations on a beautiful um presentation, and um, I hope everyone does have a good holiday.

Thank you for being the one to bring this here.

Thank you, Councilman.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Padilla.

Councilmember Hutt.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Thank you, Mr.

McGosker for bringing this in.

It's so delightful to see these original dances on a gloomy Friday morning.

And we we really appreciate bringing culture into our community.

And it's important for all of us to hold on to our culture.

So I appreciate you reminding us.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Hutt.

Councilmember McCosker.

We have some beautiful certificates for our honored guests.

The board keeps lighting up.

Okay, the board keeps lighting up.

Every year that we watch them come perform, but they always do such a magnificent job, and I just want to congratulate them because I know how much work and practice goes into it.

Uh, it's such a beautiful representation of culture, and the preservation of that, I know it takes a great deal of work.

So I just wanted to take a moment to celebrate you all and to see some newer additions.

Ladies, with as high as your kicks are, I think you're made for politics.

So I want to think because you know we need to kick a few things around here.

So I want to just congratulate and thank you for coming every year for gracing us with your beautiful example of cultural pride and preservation.

It's really wonderful.

Congratulations and thank you for coming to council every year.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, uh, Councilmember Rodriguez.

Councilmember McCosker.

Thank you.

As long as you young ladies don't teach Councilmember Rodriguez those high kicks.

She's already has a tactical advantage here on the council floor.

We have beautiful certificates.

Uh, first for the Lions Academy of Irish Dance.

Yes.

Our diplomatic officer for the Lions Academy.

And now we have our good friend who's been here on the floor before, and we're so glad to have you, Katrine Higgins Nihaneda, Council General of Ireland.

Sorry.

And what a great honor.

Once again, the first female speaker of the Irish Parliament in the history of the country of Ireland.

Um, sharing that honor here in the state of California with our own mayor Karen Bass.

We have Verona Murphy.

Thank you, members.

Happy St.

Patrick's Day.

Thank you so much, Mr.

McCoster.

Another big round of applause.

And our next presentation will be brought to us by our member from the first district, Councilmember Anucis Hernandez.

We gotta we gotta get you up there, Councilmember.

We we might it looks like we might have a Brown Act uh violation of uh state legislators up here.

Hello, hello, come on.

Join in, join in, squeeze in.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for being here.

Squeeze in right.

Okay.

Come on in, everybody.

Thank you.

And uh city attorney, we have um uh Herman making some sounds and saying being loud back here.

So just can you give him his warning, please?

Of course.

So, Mr.

Herman, uh, you who the council member said that you are disrupting this meeting and this presentation.

So, this is your first and only formal warning.

You're not being removed at this time, but please do not disrupt this meeting.

If you do so again, you'll be subject to removal pursuant to rule seven and rule twelve.

I'm sorry, council member, go ahead.

Thank you.

Uh good morning, everyone.

As a Latina serving on this council, I know deeply that I do not get a seat in chambers by accident.

We are here because somebody before us did the heavy lifting.

We're here because somebody before us decided that it was better to be at the table than on the menu.

Today, we are here to celebrate the craftsmen of that table, Senator Richard Balanco, Richard G.

Polanco.

We are joined also by some heavy hitters, like you said earlier, Council President.

A lot of Senator Polanco's family and friends.

And to honor his legacy, we are brought together a star-studded lineup of some exciting folks that are gonna share some few words with us.

Our chambers are very lucky.

These are trailblazers who know exactly what it means to walk through the doors, Senator Polanco opened, and who have spent their lives fighting for justice and community empowerment.

I'm looking forward to hearing what they'll have to say, but I'll share a little bit about what inspires me and why I knew we had to make this presentation happen.

Senator Polanco started his work in the streets of our neighborhoods.

We are talking about a man born and raised in East Los Angeles who understood early on the deep economic hardships and the everyday struggles of working class families.

He was doing the rule work on the ground, showing up as a youth counselor at Casa Maravilla, organizing in the Maravilla housing projects with telecoup and fighting to make sure that mothers and elders in Highland Park had access to care by helping to establish the Royal Vista Family Health Center, which I went to as a kid, with sites in Highland Park and Lincoln Heights.

He is the kind of leader who knows that systemic change means investing in people and organizing communities to take on and lead the fight, and also building the pipeline of leaders, predominantly Latino leaders.

And that's exactly how you create people power and legacy.

He took his unapologetic ganas and neighborhood grounded fight to the California legislator in 1986, serving as state uh as Senate uh majority leader and passing over 250 bills.

He fundamentally transformed the landscape of our state.

Senator Polanco understood people power.

He understood that our communities had been locked off for too long, and because of his work and because of his work, um, we see it embedded in the very concrete and soil of Council District One that has been benefiting our communities for decades and also across Los Angeles.

Today we are making sure his legacy is forever edged into the city he loves.

We are moving to officially designate the inner intersection of Avenue 26 and North San Fernando Road by the LA River Center as Senator Richard Polanco Square.

Well, a lot of people are gonna talk about it, but Senator Polanco had a lot to do with bringing green space to Council District One and the City of Los Angeles.

And for that, I know generations of Angelinos are forever grateful.

And now to share a few words with us and to start us off, I'd like to welcome California State Senator Marta Scuta to share a few words.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Just to stand right here.

Thank you.

Escutia.

Apologies.

No apologies.

And I'm a former state senator, so I'm not elected any longer.

Your title, though.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Thank you, all council members.

Um, what can I say about Richard Polanco?

Uh he has not only been a big brother to me, the brother I never had, but he's also been a fabulous mentor.

And there are not enough words to say the ma to really describe the magnitude of this man.

Richard Polanco deserves the description of being described as the architect of the Latino State Legislative Caucus.

Um, which by the way, to go back to the 1980s, it was the visionary Richard Alator, who served here in the city council, who created the seats for the uh California State Legislature as well as Congress, but he did it with a vision towards empowering communities like the Latino community and the African American community.

So we had the vision by la Torre, but it took a man named Richard Polanco to create that to make that vision into reality and to implement it.

And so it is clear to me that Richard Polanco was the right man at the at the right time.

It was Richard Polanco in 1992 who recruit recruited Diane Martinez to run for assembly, literally when she was in the unemployment line.

It was also Richard Polanco who called up in Al Soto and told her, your time has come to run for office now, an older woman.

And told now she had to do it because her husband Phil, who served before in the 1960s, would be proud of her.

And it was also Richard Polanco who gave me the confidence to run by promising that I would not be alone.

You know, being alone for me is one of my biggest fears.

And Richard uh promised I wouldn't be alone.

They always do it when some of the most powerful women are speaking in chambers.

It's a conspiracy.

It's a conspiracy.

It's when it's the most powerful women speaking, so feel blessed on that.

That's a lawsuit.

That's a lawsuit.

No, we don't have money.

Oh, we don't have any.

I like you.

Anyways, I was telling you, um, Polanco gave a lot of us here our first break into electoral politics.

And if that was not enough, in 1996, uh Polanco actually told Speaker Willie Brown, you know what, Willie, I'm gonna run Latino caucus candidates against your Democratic Caucus candidates.

And Willie said, What?

And um Willie just, you know, he's a cool cat, and he wished Polanco, he wished Polanco a lot of luck, probably thinking that Polanco would fail.

And I think that Willie never understood the energetic discipline and the organizational skills that Senator Polanco had.

So to make a long story short, every candidate that we ran in 1994, 1996, the Latino caucus won.

The Latino caucus won.

We're one of them.

Tony was one of them.

I remember talking to Tony at Universal City.

So uh trying to recruit him.

So that I only tell that story because um elections have consequences.

So when Richard was able to not only win in 94, but also win in 96.

96 was critical, because by that time, Assembly Democrats lost the House.

We were controlled by Republicans, and it took Richard Polanco to bring back the assembly to the Democratic column.

Uh, because Willie lost the house in 94.

Of course, Willie doesn't say that too loud, but I do, you know, and um, and who's keeping score?

You know, Richard never keeps score, but I do.

I do, you know.

I do, ni modo.

You know, um, so that year, 96 was watershed for Latino Caucus because we elected the first Latino speaker, Cruz Bustamante.

We elected the first Latino majority leader, Antonio Villarregoza.

We elected the first chair of the budget committee, Latina, Denise Moreno Tuscany from Barrio Logan in San Diego, Barrio Logan.

And we elected the first chair, the first woman Latina to chair the judiciary committee ever in the history of California from Isele, yours truly, Marte Scutia.

So uh so the impact of all that was that in 1997, we had to stop the budget for one thing food stamps for legal immigrants.

Can you believe it that we had to fight for food stamps for legal immigrants?

And you know who we had to fight?

Not the Republicans, we had to fight our own Democrats in the Democratic Caucus.

So what did Richard Polanco and I and Denise and Antonio we all did?

We hid and we prevented a quorum so that the decision could not be made, and it gave time for Bustamante and Pete Wilson to negotiate the food stamps, and Pete agreed.

We just had to ask him, and he agreed.

So I tell that story because many times our opponents are our own allegedly allies.

And we have to fight our own democrats to get things done for our own community.

I can't believe still to this moment that we had to negotiate morality, because there is something very immoral about negotiating food stamps for poor people.

That to me is uh a non-issue, should never be on the table.

But we did it because we had the power, and we did it because Richard had a vision.

And so many times it takes an extraordinary person to deliver extraordinary effort to do very ordinary things.

A food stamp is something very ordinary, but but to that person it means a lot.

You know, and it was Richard who crisscrossed the state, literally crisscrossed the state in his car, finding people, recruiting candidates, promising them that he would not only you know endorse them, but also not leave them alone and and follow up with what we need, which is you know, fundraising efforts from somebody who was very good at that.

And Richard went beyond and above that because for Richard, he was not looking for political transactions.

Richard was looking for relationships, relationships based on the shared values that we all share.

So that's the Richard Polanco that I know.

That's the Richard Polanco that I respect, and that's the Richard Polanco that I love.

I am deeply grateful to you, Councilwoman Hernandez, for recognizing a man that many times does not get the recognition that he deserves.

I I thank the body, and I thank the council president for allowing us the time to honor this man the way he should be honored.

Thank you, Libby.

And Richard, uh, much gracias for Tollo Kasset.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you very much for all you've done for our community.

Gracias.

But I thank you so much for for everything that you have done for all of us.

I don't think there's enough time in this limited time that we have in this earth to really thank you for everything they have you have done for the community, Richard.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, Senator Scutia.

For joining us today.

Um, now uh we are gonna have a titan of the labor movement, uh, state senator Marilena Durazo share a few words with us.

Thank you.

Thank you, good morning, council members uh and community, and thank you, Councilwoman Hernandez.

It is an honor to be with all of you here today in the city council to celebrate a remarkable leader, a dear friend, and a true champion for our communities, Senator Richard Polanco.

I met Richard through my husband Miguel.

Through Miguel, as you all know, was really brilliant about politics.

Uh he was uh, you know, friends with with Richard through the farm workers union through being out there in East LA and doing voter registration, the real work, the really hard work.

People didn't get the ballot in the mail.

You had to, you know, they didn't get the voter registration.

It was hard, hard work one by one by one.

And I'm so grateful as um the newly elected head of the hotel and restaurant workers union that I had a friend in politics, that I had a friend who believed in hardworking people and poor people.

He's part of a generation of leaders who changed the face of California politics.

As my um dear friend Marta Scutia said, Assembly member Richard Alatore developed the master plan to create legislative districts where Latino communities would finally have the opportunity to elect representatives who reflected our community.

When Richard Polanco was elected to the assembly in 86, he took that vision and he turned it into reality.

He helped create one of the most important institutions in state government, the California Latino legislative caucus.

But Richard's legacy is not only about representation, it is also about justice.

Throughout his career, every everywhere he went to this day, he stood firmly with working people, with immigrants, with labor, with farm workers, and with women, with you just name it, he was always there to this day.

We are together fighting for something as simple as internet and connectivity for everyone.

Think about that.

To this day, Richard always led with courage.

A lot of people have power, but they don't have courage.

He always has courage.

There's an old sexist saying that behind every great man is a good woman.

Richard Polanco built the modern California Latino caucus by flipping that old saying on its head.

Richard recognized that by supporting Latinas, we could capitalize on the women's movement and break out of the barrios.

In the early 90s, he backed Marta Scutia, Liz Figueroa, Deborah Ortiz, Diane Martinez, Denise Ducene, Grace Napolitano, Hilda Solis, Jenny Oropesa, Sally Havis, and Nelsoto.

He brought the meaning of Cepude into the lives of Latinas in politics.

Today I am just one of the 22 Latinas serving in the state legislature.

He has been a good man behind some great women.

Just as he welcomed us, let us now welcome him today as we celebrate his 75th birthday.

Richard, on behalf of the California State Senate, my honor to present this resolution to you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Senator.

Now it is my pleasure to welcome and introduce former state senator and city council member.

Richard Anarco and share a few words with us.

Thank you.

Thank you, Julian.

First of all, having to having to speak after these two incredible women is uh is a task indeed, but uh we are here because uh Richard Polanco deserves to be recognized.

Not for him personally, he has plenty of recognitions hanging on his walls wherever he puts his recognition, uh, but they are all well deserved.

I want to, you know, I I'm not I don't want to go through the litany of things because it's impossible in in just one day to explain all the things that Richard has done legislatively.

Uh but I do want to mention that the reason so many uh elected officials throughout the state of California on school boards on water districts, on you name it, there are probably thousands of elected officials who benefited from the uh uh California um voting rights act, excuse me.

Um because they they these jurisdictions did not have district wide elections, they had general elections which excluded minorities, not just Latinos, but minorities from being elected in their in their communities, and so we stand on his shoulders, but I want to talk about Richard, uh the guy that that fought for me, and that was when I was in a race for say Senate, and at 11 o'clock on election night, I was losing by 600 votes, and even my staff left the little the the little restaurant we were at.

I didn't leave.

There were like three people there, and uh, you know, fortunately I was paying my campaign manager, so they were there.

But at 12 o'clock, I was losing by 400 votes.

At one o'clock, I was losing by 300 votes.

Okay, I I could be off a vote or two, but the bottom line is Richard stayed the whole time praying, praying Jesus.

Yes, to baby Jesus, praying for him to pull us through.

At 3 o'clock, uh, as you all know, I won by 29 votes.

It was the closest, it was the closest race in California history at the time.

But the point I'm trying to make is Richard, with those thousands of people that he's helped get elected, he's not just there in numerical counts, he's not just there to do publicity, he's there behind the scenes becoming their friend, becoming their advocate.

And finally, just let me say this.

Whatever you think about political uh stalwarts, Richard never asked me to change my opinion on a vote.

He always let whoever got elected under his wing, he always let them do what they needed to do as an individual.

And that's that's the strength of Richard Polanco.

That's why he continued to build, because his loyalty generated a return loyalty from all these people here and hundreds and hundreds more.

So we are here to celebrate, I believe, one of the most uh incredible politicians in history of California.

I'll tell you something.

The Energizer Buddy Bunny has nothing on this guy.

And so we are we are so gracious to have the opportunity to speak before this uh council.

Of course, Tony and I served here, and uh, and so we we are just honored to be here to tell you what a great man we had the pleasure to know and work with.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um thank you, Richard.

Finally, before we hear from the man of the hour, please welcome former Congressmember, City Councilmember Tony Cardinas to share a few words with us.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman, Councilmembers, and Council President.

This is truly an honor to have a few moments to speak about this great, great man.

The first person who ever endorsed me when I decided to run for office was State Senator Richard Polanco.

And uh, yes, and every moment with him was like going to school.

Um people don't some people don't realize it, but rabbi means teacher, and he is my rabbi.

He is my teacher.

I I was fortunate to get to Sacramento after winning that race, and we had literally on the docks where the United States Postal Service would not deliver that mail until they got the cashier's check.

We literally had bags and bags of mail on the docks, and the only person that was in the position to help me was Senator Richard Polanco with one phone call, we explained to him how much money we needed, and he sent Bill Maby with a cashier's check to my campaign the following morning, and we won that race.

When I got to Sacramento, I didn't even have a place to stay.

So I slept on the couch of Richard Polanco and uh then speaker uh Cruz Dustamante.

And the the thing about it is I didn't realize that they just wanted to have somebody to make fun of.

Uh because I was new to politics and they were veteranos, they really knew what they were doing.

So every night they would open up a bottle of wine, and I didn't know the difference between Ripple or Duck Corn or anything back then.

Because of him, I do know the difference.

But literally, they would ask me questions.

These veteranos would ask me questions, and then they would laugh and they would say, This guy doesn't know what happened in committee today.

Because I would tell them the answer, and they say, No, that's not what happened, and they would school me, they would teach me.

I tell all of you that because there's somebody in your life, somebody who's more experienced than you, somebody who's been there done that.

And if they afford the time to offer you their wisdom, please, please, please take it.

Because they will tell you the mistakes that they made so that you don't have to make them.

They will help you understand and read between the lines so that you understand how to do it for yourself.

That is what I learned from this man, and that's what I appreciate about him.

That's not the only thing.

So when I got elected, I went from the state legislature to the city council and to Washington, always with this man's support.

And when I got to Washington, I got there, and I said something along the lines of what Richard Polanco said when he got to Sacramento, he said, There's not enough Latinos here.

When I got to Washington, I said there's not enough Latinos here.

So I vied to be the chairman of the committee that elects Latinos on behalf of the Hispanic Caucus.

And they and they elected me.

They elected me, and I made some lofty promises.

But I knew in the back of my mind by channeling Richard Polanco and what he taught me, I could make it happen.

We the Hispanic Caucus had never been able to raise a million dollars or more in an election cycle.

And I was crazy enough to say we're gonna raise three million or more.

And people literally laughed at me, but they voted for me anyway.

This young man's got crazy energy, he doesn't know what he's doing.

Um he's a freshman, but hey, I like his energy.

So they elected me to be their chairman.

We raised six million dollars in the first term, and then an additional 11 million dollars in the next term, and then another 18 million dollars in the next term, and we went from 25 members of the Hispanic Caucus to 43 in just six years.

But that is what he did.

That is what this man did in Sacramento.

He more than doubled and tripled the number of Hispanics since the day he got there.

He is a rabbi, he is a teacher of the best kind.

And there's something else I'm gonna tell you.

People think that he only helped Latinos and Latinas get elected.

There's a person who is now, well, there's two people he helped get elected, who are now the United States Senators of California.

Senator Alex Padilla and Senator Adam Schiff.

Richard Polanco was the one who recruited Adam Schiff to run for the state senate.

And Richard Polanco muscled that good man into office, and he was grateful.

But there was not a quid pro quo, as was said earlier by Richard Alarco.

And there was not a quid pro quo because when Richard Polanco ran for pro tem of the state senate, he did not get the commitment of Senator State Senator Adam Shift at the time to vote for him for pro-temps.

You know why he didn't get the commitment?

Because it was not a condition.

And that is one of the things that I want to set straight here.

Especially when it comes to elected officials of color.

People assume that we don't have integrity.

People assume that we work on quid pro quos, and that is just not the case.

So when I got to Washington, D.C., immediately when I was able to do that for the Hispanic Caucus, I begged the black caucus to follow our lead.

I begged the woman's caucus, who didn't even have a pack at the time to open a pack.

I begged the gay caucus to do the same, the Asian caucus to do the same.

And that you know what?

They finally listened, and now together, and I did the count, together, last cycle, together we raised over 50 million dollars to elect people of our communities to Washington, DC.

And then for the first time, people who run for president of the United States have to meet with the Hispanic caucus if they want our endorsement.

That never happened.

That is true power, where it belongs.

I give you these examples, not because I was a part of it.

I give you these examples because if I didn't have the teacher to teach me how to be empowered, how to understand my power and how to follow my passion for improving the community for everyone, I would not have been able to do that.

And that is the truth.

That is the simple truth.

So I stand here grateful and honored to call this man my friend.

And even though back then I didn't used to say I love you, Richard, I will say it again before all of you.

Now that I'm a grandfather, now that I've learned how to say that more than ever, Richard, I love you, brother, and thank you so much for being you.

Thank you, Congressman.

Uh, thank you so much.

And before I pass it to the man of the hour, I want to make sure that we can recognize a few other Titans and leaders that are here with us today.

We have retired Senator Dean Flores with us here today.

We have Congresswoman Lucille Royball here with us today.

And retired assemblyman Manny Gomez, also joining us here today.

Manny Diaz, sorry, Manny Diaz joining us here today.

Um now it is my pleasure to introduce the man who taught us what it means to build true people power, what it looks like to build pipelines of leadership.

Please let's give a huge round of applause to welcome Senator Richard Polanco to the podium.

Mr.

President, members of the council, I want to thank you for the honor.

Estimado public, it's unplacer y un gran honor star aqui con cada uno.

Let me begin by acknowledging Senator Scutia, former Congress member, Tony Cárdenas, Senator Durazo, my former colleagues who are here, Assemblymember Manny Diaz, Lucille, Roy Ball Aller, Dean Flores, and Papachulo, which is the nickname we gave we gave to Senator Larcoy.

I'm one who believes and subscribes to the notion that no one makes it alone in this world.

At some point in our path, we were touched by a teacher who saw more in us than we saw in ourselves.

We were touched and blessed with parents who provided at times worked two jobs.

But before I go further, let me introduce my family.

Let me begin by introducing the foundation, the rock of the Polanco family.

A quick story.

Um, when we met, when we met, uh we were both in a different relationship.

Uh and my wife was engaged.

They're laughing, but it's a great story because we put it this way.

We ended up 47 years ago in marriage.

We we celebrate this year our 48th.

And it's not about the woman behind or a spouse, a good partner be.

They stand with you.

Next to you on that journey.

And so to my wife, Libby, thank you.

You're my partner, my soulmate, and te quiero mucho.

Let me introduce my siblings.

The oldest, Richard Jr.

Not siblings, your children.

Excuse me, my children.

My children.

He looks like my brother, so I'll introduce him as a brother.

No, my oldest son, uh Richard Jr., his son, my grandson, Rocco Polanco, also with us today is Gabriel right here, his wife, Melissa, my granddaughter, London, my granddaughter, Berlin, the joy of my life.

And the jewel, my precious one.

Liana Polanco, my daughter.

Please welcome them.

I'm a little nervous, and I don't know why.

So I just gonna put this away.

This is your house, Senator.

Thank you.

And be very, very uh short.

I got into politics because I believed that government could make a difference in people's lives.

I grew up in a period of time when the 60s and 70s, our country was torn apart, much like we see today.

Uh I it was a time when uh US students were protesting.

Uh our military National Guard had killed students at Kent State.

There are a lot of parallels that are happening today that I experienced, watched, and watched.

And and so my way of being based on a series of decades of events that occurred.

And so when I realized that we could either continue to do the marching and the protesting, of which I participated, stood in walkouts, Chicago moratorium, or we can get into the system and make the system work for the benefit of people.

And I got to see how government through the war on poverty, the great society, was able to invest money in making quality of life more pleasant, more enjoyable.

And so when I got to the legislature, um I made it a point to bring my experience.

The first hearings on HIV and AIDS, I remember tolding them at Plummer's Park.

From there came the legislation that I authored dealing with the issues of standards for hospice care.

And of the 250 bills that were signed by three different governors, majority of them were based on the following experiences that one had, or experiences that people brought to my attention.

For example, I see my dear friend Monica Lozano, the daughter of the uh Laopinion who's seated here.

Uh her reporter reported the abuse of Mexicanos, Salvadoreños, who would send money to Mexico, and it would not get there.

And so I met with her and make a long story short, today all of those money transmitters have standards, have bonding requirements, but it was the result of listening and watching and not being afraid, and not being um victim to circumstance and being able to deal with the process, because the process works.

You represent an entity of government in the state of California that can leverage, that can leverage procurement so that women and minority businesses can strive.

Why is that important?

Because when they strive, those communities and that economic growth within those communities grows.

Make sure they're not sending money to the equity managers who are funding the detention facilities.

Make sure that the businesses in Los Angeles are not allowing for surveillance without proper authorization of our people.

They're popping up everywhere.

And so I I want to just say to all of you, Mr.

President, to the members of the council, you have you have the power to make a difference.

Don't be afraid to exercise it.

Utilize it for the betterment of people.

Don't make it an agenda about you.

Make it agenda about community.

And with that, I want to give special acknowledgement to councilwoman.

To the councilwoman.

But I want to have my family who is here, my nieces, my great grandnieces, my cousins.

Please stand.

This is this is this is when I ran for office, it was like I had a team.

And so to my family that are here, thank you so much for being here.

To my brother John, my parents who are up in heaven.

I appreciate you.

I love you.

We miss you.

You're always in our hearts.

Again, councilwoman, Mili Gracias.

You have no idea.

No idea.

My feelings.

Thank you for letting me follow me on.

They have to know the shoulders we're standing on.

Thank you.

We have to know the shoulders that we're standing on.

Uh thank you, Senator.

I now want to offer my colleagues an opportunity to say a few words because I've also known that your your impact has reverberated here for many years.

So thank you so much, Councilmember Hernandez, and congratulations, uh, Senator Polanco.

It's a long list, so I'm gonna keep it short.

Councilmember Jurado, to start.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Councilmember Hernandez, and congratulations, Senator Polanco.

Your legacy has built our city, it has built our state, it has built my neighborhoods in CD 14, and I cannot understate and underscore exactly what Councilmember Hernandez said, which is we stand on the shoulders of giants, so many of them are right there, right there, and um I'm trying to fill the shoes and support the legacy and make sure it goes onwards.

And today, all of you and your words and what you embody just remind us to be courageous in this moment.

Um, what you just said about holding folks accountable to protect our communities.

Uh you fought so hard, all of you fought so hard to make sure that Latino communities were no longer iced out from government, positions of power and decision making, and want to make sure that we protect that and widen our ability to represent and govern ourselves.

And so just thank you so much for all that you've done.

You're I see you all everywhere in our neighborhoods because you're a true CD-14 uh resident or you know, um compañero, and this is the neighborhoods that you built, and you're really there.

So appreciate everything that you do, and thank you all of you for all the work that you've done.

Thank you so much.

Councilmember Rahman.

I just sir, you're uh disrupting the meeting.

This is your first warning, and that's your second warning, and you're leaving, and that's excellent because you're dismissed.

All right.

Councilmember Raman.

Thank you so much.

Councilmember Hernandez, thank you for bringing this presentation forward, Senator Polanco and everyone who is here.

It's just been really incredible to listen to your memories of building power and to understand that where we are today came about because of the work that and the vision that you had for it and every step that you took towards it.

It's been awe-inspiring to hear it and to understand um what it took to build it, and to know that if we want to continue building that power today, we have to be as deliberate as thoughtful, as generous to other people, as open to bringing more people into this work as you were, and I just want to say thank you.

And I just want to say thank you.

And thank you to everyone from the Polanco family and the community who's here.

I think it's this full house's recognition of what you brought for this city.

So thank you very much.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Hutt.

Thank you, Mr.

President, and thank you, Councilmember Hernandez, for really bringing someone that is a titan to our council and recognizing them and then bringing a street name after him.

You're doing a square name after him.

Because our children need to know what your work is.

And represent a representation really does matter.

And the group that you see today in front of us had the courage to fight when they were the only one.

And so we really appreciate the work that you've done to make it unified for all of us.

And this is about unity and courage.

And we really appreciate you acknowledging him, doing the I'd love to be there for the square dedication.

I think it'll be pretty exciting.

And I just want to thank you for the work you've done and thank your family for sharing you with our city and with our state.

So thank you.

And thank you, cousins and uncles, and everybody.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Hutt.

Councilmember Padilla.

And let me begin by saying that I want to be invited to the square opening as well.

So you know, I'm looking at my talking points, and I'm not gonna say anything that wasn't already said.

Um, because I think what's more important is for me to just take this opportunity to say thank you.

Um when I hear your guys' history, I uh I have a lot of gratitude for what it is that you did to at least have Latinos be taken seriously to run for office in general to start.

And I'm very grateful that because of that early work, now we're in a position where voters have multiple Latinos to choose from sometimes on the ballot, but that took work.

Um, and I it's nice to see everyone together who helped get us to that place.

You know, in a few um minutes, I'm supposed to do a video for um Women's History Month.

And one of the questions that I have to answer is what inspired you uh to get involved in politics.

And I'm like, what a day to answer that question, because two of the people that expose me first to local politics are right in front of me.

You know, Richard Arcon, my nephew still is now enjoying to today that um water slide that you put at Sun Valley Park, where I was invited in third grade to be part of the press conference.

And then Tony Cardanas, you were the first one that exposed me to working in campaigns.

Um, you were the first one to expose me to um what it's like to actually go into someone's living room and talk to them about the vision for the community.

And there is still so many projects in my district that you started that because it takes so long to finish something, I'm still working on them.

The community is still enjoying them.

But again, it's just a reminder that the exposure comes early, the work comes early, and it just continues.

So it's very refreshing to see the giants who started the work that inspired me, and that I like to think I'm continuing to move forward.

Thank you, Mr.

Polanco, because this is your day.

Councilmember Soto Martinez.

Thank you so much, Council President.

Uh, thank you so much, Councilmember Hernandez for putting this together, Senator Scutia, Mijefa, Maria Lena Duraso, Congressman Cardanas, and Senator Alatcoin.

You know, I um I love reading about history, uh, you know, American history, Latino history, Chicano history, the black civil rights history, and you all just gave me like an incredible history lesson of so much work being done in Southern California.

But it really crystallized when you started speaking, uh, Senator.

It's um you talked about the Great Society and the funding that came from the federal government to grassroots organizing.

I don't think a lot of people understand how incredible that was at the time.

Uh the time that you grow up in uh in the 60s, activism, uh, you're seeing the federal government move, creating these really incredible policies.

Uh, I felt like when you told that story, I understood the vision that was the seed that was put in your brain at that time and how all that work of the folks you pushing, what you're striving for, you need to write a book.

Like, like seriously.

You need to you need to write a book because you know, the difference I would say, as a historian of the civil uh, you know, an accomnister of the civil rights movement, there's less aversion to folks moving from protest to politics now.

I think there's a hunger for that among the youth, and I think uh Latinos don't have someone that we can look towards and say, you know what, I want to be like him.

You know, we talk about MLK and Ella Baker and all these amazing folks, but like you have to cement your your your history in the city, and so please write a book.

I want to read all the things that influence you as a child, as a teenager and growing up, and even to this day, as you see your family and all the offspring come uh or the folks that you help uplift, and I I hope to be at that uh the book signing when you do have the book.

Please write a book.

Thank you.

And Councilmember Rodriguez to close.

Thank you.

Well, first of all, I'm not gonna ask for an invitation because I will be at the square.

Um first of all, I want to take a moment.

When I looked across the chamber, I see Richard Zaldivar.

Can all the Richard Polanco fan club please rise and be acknowledged?

The family, get up, get up now.

Oh, I want all everybody that's here for Richard to stand up and be recognized.

Because it's not just all of the incredible leaders that are here today, Marta, Maria Elena, Tony, Richard, uh Dean.

You know, I didn't have to learn this history because I watched it live.

I got to live it.

Growing up, starting my career in the Northeast, watching your legacy unfold, watching you identify incredible female leaders and empower them.

At a time that even when I was eager to step into that role and was being told by others that didn't have the strength that you had to tell me to wait my turn.

I was never about to ask for permission, never have been, never will be.

You were the example that Machismo could be shelved for the advancement of our community.

You did all of this incredible work, and it wasn't just reverberated here in the and throughout Los Angeles, it's throughout the state of California.

You were in fact the winds of change.

I am incredibly grateful to the friendship and the mentorship that you have been in my life, to the examples, to activists everywhere that think by take merely taking an elected seat is sufficient in leading change.

We aren't here to just throw stones from the outside.

We're here to be effective leaders on the inside.

Your understanding of the rules runs deeper than your dimples.

And that is what's made you effective.

Understanding how to shift power and lead change isn't by noise alone.

It's by understanding the rules, understanding the structure of power, and understanding how to how to lead change.

And that's my friend, is what's made you an incredible elected leader that has made all of this change throughout our state.

So congratulations on this well-deserved recognition on the future square that will be adjacent to uh what was formerly Lori's.

I remember when it was Laurie's uh at the River Center, uh, and all the other things, you know, from the state park.

I know you and I talked about it, the work that you did on the state park.

There are so many legacy projects that you have that are deserving to have your name emblazoned on it because you were in fact the leader that led that change.

But thank you for continuing to be the example and to be alongside all of these individuals.

They're all here for you, Richard.

We're all here for you.

Because you actually taught us how to be better, and not just being the representation for our community, but how to lead the change that our community needed.

And you did it as recently as redistricting here in Los Angeles.

And while so many people want to have revisionist history about the importance of what that role was, you actually managed to ensure that our community had a very strong and unapologetic voice.

And I hope we continue together to be part of that voice for change.

I'm really proud, and I want to thank you.

A lot of people don't know.

Uh, you and Marta convening everybody with Lieder to bring all the elected officials and those concerned with what's happening in this country together last year.

Last year, you have not retired.

You have not slowed down.

You've continued to be that strong voice for our community.

And Libby, thank you.

Because I know that's a huge sacrifice.

And I know how much your family has sacrificed for everything that you have done to dedicate your life to public service.

I'm grateful that I continue to be a student and a uh a student of all of your work and your lessons and your example, but thank you for personally being a mentor and a dear friend to me.

I am incredibly grateful to you and look forward to the continued work that you will, the continuity leadership that you offer for our community, but not just the Latino community, for every working class community of color in the state of California.

You, my friend, have created that legacy in history for everyone, and they deserve you deserve a debt of gratitude to them.

So, congratulations on this well deserved honor.

I know this is just the start of more to come.

And since Heather accidentally mentioned a street, I think we should maybe consider that uh in front of Laurie's or in front of the river center.

We need to actually, it's it's been an intentional activation of mine to make sure that the streets of this city, as we have a president that continues to try and erase our stories, that we continue to emblazen and document this living history throughout the streets of Los Angeles, and I'm just glad that right now you are among those that are getting recognized for all of your incredible work.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much, uh Councilmember Rodriguez and our colleagues.

Uh, all of the words are deeply felt, uh, Senator Polanco on on behalf of this council.

We are very grateful uh to you on behalf of the city.

Uh, we have tremendous gratitude.

I'm just struck hearing your stories this morning and thinking just a week ago we were recognizing um the Reverend Jesse Jackson who had passed away.

And we talked about how in 84 when he ran, he kicked open the door and showed people we could win.

Uh and you were one of the first people to step up and run and run without an invitation from the from the ruling class.

And uh you kicked in a door, and once you kick down the door, the door doesn't ever come back.

And so uh we're all very grateful for that, and we all of us around this horseshoe, uh we are at our best when we build on your work and build on your example.

So thank you so much for everything that you have done and everything that you will do.

Councilmember Hernandez.

Thank you, Council President.

Um Senator, if you could please join me up here.

Uh happy belated 75th birthday.

The city is better because of you, and you deserve your flowers.

Now, therefore, uh, I just want to share a little bit of love and gratitude from the city of Los Angeles, and I want to express our profound gratitude to you, uh, to Senator Richard Polanco for his distinguished legislative career, uh, his transformative contributions to public policy and his enduring service to the residents of the city of LA and the Senate state of California, and many wishes of continued success into all your future endeavors.

Thank you for letting us recognize you and for being here today with us.

And then we'll take more pictures in the back.

Come on in, come on in.

We're gonna take more pictures in the back too.

Put it down.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Another big round of applause, everybody.

Celebrate this giant try to give them a second to get to the back for photos as council member Jurado from the first district is coming forward for our next presentation.

Richard.

You're a talent.

At least we have a team development to someone.

Yeah.

Likewise.

Sorry about that.

It's okay.

You're good.

Thank you.

Okay, perfect.

Very, very nice.

By the end.

Yeah, they'll take a step back.

Good morning.

Okay.

Today was a great day to come to council.

Mega learning.

Irish dance scene.

I mean, I want my Irish scholars.

Oh, yeah.

I accidentally was.

I'm like smart Irish and you did not.

You too.

It's not.

Oh my gosh, exciting.

Hi, nice to see you guys.

You may see me time to time.

You may see me angry walking up and down the hill or looking for.

I've been trying to get 10,000 steps now.

Yay.

But then sometimes we want may not get 10, but I was like, I feel like that's a good thing.

All right.

It counts as double.

Right?

If we could get the shatter down to a low level.

And we will give the floor.

To our colleagues, Councilmembers Jurado and Soto Martinez.

Good morning, everyone.

It's an honor to recognize the service of Reverend Zachary Hoover, whose leadership, faith, and advocacy have supported our communities.

A man who has turned faith into action over and over again for a decade of service as an executive director of LA Voice.

I know many of us here have worked with LA Voice, where Reverend Zachary has helped bring together a remarkable coalition of congregations across LA County.

At his core, he is someone who believes deeply in people and in their dignity and their power when they come together.

During his time at LA Voice, that work has taken many forms.

Through organizing campaigns, he has expanded access to groceries in neighborhoods, long considered food deserts, and pushed major financial institutions to reinvest in their communities that too often been overlooked.

Reverend Zachary has also played a key role in efforts to expand affordable housing.

Through initiatives like the innovative faith and housing program, he helped make it easier for faith institutions to utilize their land to build affordable housing, bringing together faith-based communities and housing advocates to address one of the most urgent challenges is here in Los Angeles.

And what stands out about Reverend Zachary is not just what he does, but it's how he does it.

He listens first.

He treats people with respect.

Whether he's working with clergy, training organizers across the country, or collaborating with community leaders, he brings a humility and sincerity that people immediately feel.

That kind of faith that believes communities can overcome division and build something together.

So thank you, Zachary, Reverend Zachary.

And now I'd like to turn it over to uh my colleague, Councilmember Soto Martinez.

Thank you so much, Councilman Jurado.

It's great to be here to honor an incredible leader that I've had the privilege of working with many times during my own career.

Reverend Hoover has been a powerful voice for the poor and working people, worked the working class in the city of Los Angeles for almost for more than a decade in LA Voice, but if you add his entire career, almost two decades.

First, as an organizer, eventually as an executive director of LA Voice.

Through their organizing work, I've seen firsthand how LA Voice has present has protected immigrants, uplifted renters, and brought more opportunities to communities that have been that have been ignored by this by this by this city for decades.

Reverend Hoover is a true man of faith, one that believes our spirituality needs to be at the core of our activism and our organizing and our protest.

When I first met the Reverend, I was immediately, we was like immediately an immediate connection.

We started talking about how spirituality needs to be at front and center of the work that we do.

We talked about Reverend Lawson and nonviolent direct action and how when you fight, it's not about just trying to defeat your opponent, but trying to win over your opponent so they can see your point of view.

He places the needs of others first, and he's been an amazing ally in fighting for justice in the city.

No matter where he goes next, I'm certain we'll continue to see him out there fighting the good fight.

So, Reverend Hoover, thank you for all the work that you do for making us believe and believe in progress, and best of luck to you in your next chapter.

And now it's my distinct honor to welcome Reverend Zachary Hoover to share a few words.

Thank you both so much, uh, Councilmember Soto Martinez and my council member who I share a street with, uh, Councilmember Jurado.

It's really great to be here.

I remember when I started at LA Voice as an organizer, sometimes we had trouble even getting meetings in this building.

And now here we are, all together with staff and friends and people that we've done work with over the years.

Um your staff person Isabella told us that it might be at least 90 minutes before it would be our turn.

I told my wife and son, and she said, 90 minutes, and I said, babe, you're Latina and I'm Irish, it's gonna be 90 minutes.

So I just want to I want to thank the two of you for creating this opportunity.

Um for me, it's about the work that LA Voice has been able to do over the years with partners in this room and with grassroots leaders all across LA County, our board members, our staff, and folks from just regular folks from communities in Los Angeles.

I have fond memories.

It was fun, it was interesting.

It was cool to see uh Mr.

Alarcone here.

We worked together on the responsible banking ordinance, one of my first campaigns ever here.

And I also have very fond memories of being in this room as we were winning uh Band the Box with somebody who used to occupy your seat, presenting some challenges on that front.

So it's been great to have uh different point of view on some of those things and different seats in these chambers.

Um LA Voice is really special.

I had the opportunity to be there for 17 years as an organizer and as the ED, and I think what makes it special is a lot of what you captured in your remarks.

It's about people believing in each other, and that all of us, no matter how much power we think we have, we have more than we think.

And that we can go beyond ourselves to create the kind of communities that we want to live in.

Um I also want to thank the council president, Harris Dawson, who's been both a friend and a mentor over the years, um, helpful in thinking about leadership and leading organizations like ours, as well as helping me understand some of what was going on in politics in this county.

So thank you so much for your friendship and for your teaching.

Um I also get to introduce a couple people today and make sure that the council knows.

I think the council mostly knows who they are, but just to make sure, I want to cover all my bases.

So, first of all, um, last time I was here was at the passing of our late board chair, Umar Hakeem.

You all honored him really beautifully.

And um, I'm really on that sad note.

I'm also very happy to say that our new board chair who's just been elected is Sarah Montros, who's here with us today.

And um also uh I I'm so pleased to be followed by an excellent leader who is already taking LA Voice into its next steps and will work with the team and developing her own vision for the leadership and the power of LA Voice, and that's Dr.

Charity Chandler Cole.

Please raise your hand so everybody knows exactly she doesn't like it.

Um so just two final comments.

Uh first is I want to thank my family, my wife Saskia is here, my son Andres, who's 10 years old and is uh happily missing school and got a history lesson today.

And also, I'm taking him to Ireland on his spring break.

So we got a little pretty taste today, uh, which I'm excited about as my mom's a Flynn, so we could talk about that later.

Um I once had a grassroots leader say to me when I first started in Coachella Valley, his name was Gabriel, and he said, Sacarias, uh, nadie is indispensable, pero todos somos necesarios.

Zachary, no, no one is indispensable, but we're all necessary.

Every single one of us is required to do the work of building our communities and our cities and creating the kind of world that we want to live in.

So it's a great relief to not be indispensable, and it's a great gift to be necessary.

I wish the same experience for each of you.

Uh C.S.

Lewis, the great uh atheist churned Christian writer once said that when we die, God doesn't uh ask us who we were doing something good for, like if we were doing it for God.

But instead, God looks at what we did and says, whatever you did that was good, I take it as if you were doing it for me.

I think we need to view politics in the same way.

Whatever the reasons are that are leading to goodness in our communities, let's look for them.

Let's lift them up, and who cares who they're doing it for?

Let's just make sure that we're all doing that work together and meeting each other with grace.

So thank you both so much.

Thank you so much, Reverend Hoover, for your leadership and your service.

And our city is just so much stronger because of you, and I couldn't you put it so well.

And so now I want to pass it back to Council President in case there's any members on the queue.

There are members on the queue.

Councilmember Hutt.

I'm I'm excited about everybody today.

I have right.

So I I want to thank you both Councilmember Soto Martinez and Councilman Jorado for uh taking the time to really look at LA Voice and uh Reverend Zach for the work that he's done.

He's a unifier.

He's an organizer, and he definitely in my experience sees the value of what happens neighborhood by neighborhood.

So I just want to thank you for taking this time to acknowledge him and have a have a great spring break.

What you came on the perfect day, right?

You got a dance, and now he got the moves.

It'll be amazing.

So thank you so much for honoring him today.

Thanks.

Thank you so much, uh, Councilmember Soto Martinez and Councilmember Jurado for organizing this uh recognition and and having it fall on our uh St.

Patrick's Day uh celebration uh for for uh for one of our favorite uh Irishmen here in the city of uh Los Angeles and a great leader and somebody who's dedicated his time.

I think we might have an objection on the floor, Zach.

Uh but we thank you for the opportunity to recognize your work uh and bringing your family and friends here uh with you.

I think uh there's a lot to say about everything you've done.

I will pay you an extremely personal uh compliment.

It's probably one of the highest compliments I can I can uh pay to anybody.

Um my mother called me one Friday and you know, asked if I could come to service uh that weekend, and she said, Yeah, you should come because Zach and LA Voice are gonna be speaking during service.

And I was like, mom, you don't let me speak during service.

So who is this Zach?

And how did he get uh so familiar with uh with the parishioners at your congregation?

But that is the kind of confidence you build all over the city uh in communities of faith, and creating the pathway, which is not a small thing at all.

We take it for granted in this city, but creating the pathway for people of faith to engage in political struggle, as crazy as our political life is in this country.

Most people of faith say, like those people are them, I'm over here doing my thing, and we're gonna do good in our little box that we have.

And and you provide a way for them to get involved and help shape the world for all of us.

And so for that, uh, we're extremely grateful.

Councilmember Jurado.

Thank you, Council President.

And so, on behalf of the city of Los Angeles, we present this plaque to honor your legacy at LA Voice.

While the pictures are flashing, we've got another speaker.

Councilmember Yaroslavsky.

Yeah, just real fast, I want to add my voice to the chorus, thanking you, Reverend, for the work that you and LA Voice do at this moment right now, having inner faith work, um, moving Los Angeles forward in ways that benefit all Angelinos is something that we desperately need, and the space that you create, the community that you build to push forward toward a brighter future for our city is something that I'm really grateful for.

I'm really grateful for the partnership that you and my team have been able to build and develop.

And so, congratulations on this well-deserved honor.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Congratulations again, Reverend Zach Hoover and LA Voice.

All right.

Uh, as they are uh departing to do photos, we want to recognize council district 11.

All right, so this is so exciting.

So you have a smile and a wave.

All right, good morning, everyone, and thank you, Council President, for the opportunity to recognize Coach Dylan Smith from Pali High as the 2025 AFC Don Shula high school coach of the year.

As you all know, LA has a long and proud football tradition.

Programs like Crenshaw, Dorsey, Birmingham, Venice, and Loyola, just to name a few, have produced generations of great players in a city known for competing at the highest level.

And it's not just local pride.

California has produced more NFL players than any other state in the country.

That tells you something about the level of talent and competition at our high school programs every season.

So when a team like Pali Charter High puts together the kind of season they did in 2025, it means something.

Coach Smith was nominated by the LA Chargers.

He and Dave Edinger of Garden City High School in New York were recognized at the Pro Bowl game and attended the last Super Bowl as guests of the NFL NFL, where they got to walk the red carpets and get NFL honors.

The Don Shula High School Coach of the Year Award is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history.

Each year, all 32 NFL clubs nominate a high school coach for the honor, with one winner selected from each conference.

Nominees are judged on the values that Coach Shula exemplified.

Character, integrity, leadership, commitment to the community, player health and safety, and on field success.

Coach Smith earned this recognition after guiding the Dolphins through a season filled with undeniable adversity.

The Palisades fire destroyed the Pali High football field, the weight room, and equipment, leaving the program without a home base.

10 players lost their homes in the blaze.

But rather than walk away from the season, Coach Smith and his staff found a way to keep the program going.

The team practiced and played at alternate sites all over the city.

They borrowed equipment, they pulled together resources from anywhere they could.

Coach Smith even reached out to the LA Chargers, and the organization stepped up to support the team.

Under his leadership, Pali High completed a perfect 10-0 regular season and earned a birth in the city section open division playoffs.

That's awesome.

With that, we have a short video that we'd like to share.

Our Don Shula Coach of the Year award nominee to a coach who exemplifies integrity, achievement, and leadership.

Palisades high school coach Dylan Smith.

Last year I didn't know if I was gonna have a program.

We were debating on having a team.

We thought we lost the school, so we didn't know if kids were gonna transfer.

We didn't know if we're gonna have facilities.

Just next to me is Palis High School.

This is the high school to my left.

The high school is party.

My philosophy is just really to approach each day like it's your last.

You never know what tomorrow's gonna bring.

Obviously, with the fires, one day we were ready for the offseason.

The next day, you know, it was almost taken from us.

So I just have the kids approach each day like it's our last.

We practice hard from the first whistle to the last whistle.

And like I said, tomorrow's not promised to you.

Neither is a game.

You can get hurt on the next play, but is your last play gonna be your best play?

Again, wanted to thank you guys coming out.

I know obviously it's been a tough couple months.

We realize how powerful sports are and in particular football and you know, really what it means to a community.

The charges have been amazing since day one.

I remember emailing the the Chargers and saying, you know, if you guys have any old equipment that you guys are throwing away, we'll take it.

And Zach um called me the next day, and we talked for about 30 minutes, and he said he was gonna be with us, you know, for this whole ride, and he's done exactly what he said he was out to do.

The team overcame incredible odds.

Eleven players lost homes in the fire, practices were held at no less than 10 different venues with no campus to call home, and home games were played in two different sites, including senior night at Sofi Stadium.

He led the Dolphins to an undefeated regular season, turning the tragedy of the devastating Palisades fire into triumph.

Alright, guys, we got some news for you.

You ready?

Yes.

You were the Chargers nominee for NFL Coach of the Year.

You won!

The Don Shula AFC.

NFL coach of the year.

Congratulations.

Congratulations.

Between Zach, the Spider-Halls, the whole organization that you guys have been with us since day one, and for the rest of the NFL, this is what an organization means by community.

You guys have been on top of it since since last year.

I wanted to say thank you, Coach Smith, for everything you've done for us, you know, the team.

It really means a lot.

You're such an inspiration to us, and congrats on winning Coach of the Year.

Oh, by the way, you've won a brand new Toyota Tacoma.

Yeah.

When they give to me with the truck and turn around and saw the whole team there, it was just uh unbelievable feeling.

And it doesn't matter what I do if the kids aren't there every day to put their body on the line.

You know, nothing I do is gonna matter.

Wow.

Coach in uh year when we needed wins, you delivered.

Coach Smith himself has deep roots in Southern California football.

He was a quarterback at Santa Monica High, then he played at Santa Monica College before becoming the starting quarterback at the University of Kansas in 1999 and 2000.

After his playing career, he transitioned into coaching, serving two stints as an assistant at Malibu High, and then spending nine seasons as an assistant coach at the Brentwood School.

In February of 2023, he was hired as the 13th head football coach at Pali High.

The challenges his team faced last year mirrored the broader challenges faced by the entire Palisades high school community.

The fire, of course, damaged or destroyed most of the campus, forcing students to a temporary campus in Santa Monica in the Sears building.

Enrollment dropped, families were displaced, students faced long commutes and limited facilities.

And yet, through all of that, Pali High kept moving forward, and the football team played right through the adversity.

One year and 20 days after the fire, we proudly welcomed the Pali Dolphins back to their home campus.

The resilience of these students, these families, and this school community is something that the entire city should be proud of.

So at this time, I'd like to bring forward Stuart and Aidan Wilson Turner, a parent and student athlete, to say a few words.

Come on up.

Thank you.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Aidan Wilson Turner, and I play safety for Palisades High, where I'm currently in my junior year.

I'm glad today to talk about my coach, Coach Smith.

To most people, he's a football coach.

But to me and the rest of the team, he's someone who truly shapes who we will become as we continue to grow.

He teaches us discipline, accountability, and what it means to show up for your teammates every single day.

Football's a tough sport, and Coach Smith pushes us to work harder than we think we can.

But more importantly, he reminds us that the lessons we learn on the field, teamwork, perseverance, and respect carry into our lives off the field as well.

Coach believes in his players, and that belief pushes us to become better athletes, better students, and better people.

On behalf of all the players whose lives he's impacted on this team, I thank Coach Smith for making me especially, but the whole team better people overall.

Thank you.

Um I want to just quickly talk on a micro level about Dylan Smith.

As a parent, as your child gets older, you have less influence on them.

And who they will become.

And so you hope that the people that they hang out with, the parents and the teachers that they encounter on a daily basis will mirror what you have taught your child and the values that you instill in them.

Dian Smith is a strong quiet, emotionally intelligent man who leads by example in a sport where oftentimes being the loudest and being the wildest is oftentimes praised.

Dylan is a quiet, strong leader.

I am grateful, along with my wife Karen, and I'm sure many of the parents at Pally High to have Dylan be the influence that our high school players have had a chance to have in their son's upcoming fourth year.

Um I think it's very important to show different sides of who men are and what they can be.

And I am very, very, very happy to have Dylan as an influence, the kind of influence that I hold strong and that I hold here in my heart to lead my son.

And I am incredibly grateful that he is his coach for this year, and not only this year, but as he goes through his life.

I'm sure that Dylan will be around to champion Aiden as he moves forward in his life.

So, Dylan, thank you, brother.

When you look at what this team went through last year, losing their field, their school, their equipment, their homes, their town.

Having a perfect season really says something about the quality of the leadership that Coach Smith brings to this team and these incredible young men.

So it is now my honor to recognize Coach Dylan Smith with the certificate of recognition on behalf of the city of Los Angeles, the City Council, and Mayor Bass, acknowledging you and congratulating you for the extraordinary work and leadership that you showed during the last season, Coach.

This is amazing.

Thank you so much.

All right, Councilwoman, we've got a couple speakers on the queue.

Beginning with Councilmember Yarzlowski.

Okay, Councilmember Hutt.

Yes, thank you, Mr.

President.

Um, because I'm speaking every time you bring somebody up here.

But I I want to say uh my niece went to Palisades.

She has two CIF rings from basketball.

And when that devastating fire hit, she texts me before Tracy even knew because she loved that school so much.

We were so worried about what would happen with the students, you know, not just the education, but the sports.

But what you're showing us today is perseverance, perseverance and resilience.

And you gave these children and their families and the rest of the city hope.

And we really appreciate that.

I I was hauling back the tears, and I saw Tracy, and I had to look away because you know, um empath and get all emotional.

But this really means something to this city.

It really means something to the students, and we just appreciate everything you did.

It was all good for their mental health.

It was all good for our mental health.

So thank you so much and congratulations.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Hutt.

Councilmember Rodriguez.

Thank you.

I just thank you, Councilmember Park, for always bringing in these kind of shining lights and examples of what has really kind of happened out of the ashes, right?

It's uh your your contributions, the stories of resilience that continue to be brought forward, and the recognition, the well-deserved recognition and celebration of your body of work.

I just want to say thank you.

It's it's the example of how people can show up after incredibly devastating moments, but I'm happy to see that you're getting the recognition that you deserve.

So, congratulations, and thank you, Councilmember Park, because you're always bringing in these shining lights that I think after such you know, after such incredible odds, uh, that it's really wonderful to see the strength and the and the resiliency that of uh of the individuals that are still being in service to the community.

So, congratulations and thank you for being here.

Thank you so much, Councilmember.

Back to you, Councilmember Park.

Thank you.

And I know we've already done council comments, but I do want to ask Coach Smith to say a few words to close us out.

Coach, come on up.

Thank you, Councilwoman Park.

Uh thank you, Councilwoman Park and Council for this uh uh recognition, and I just want to say thank you to my family.

Um, they allowed me to you know be away from them and do what I do.

Um and my kids with Donin and Draken who's not here.

Um the parents who represent Stu.

Um, they say it takes a village, and all these people represent um everything that allow me to do what I do for the kids, and Stu is a parent and also one of our board members, and they were bringing water every day, equipment.

I mean, they're his car was his office, my office and equipment room, and a lot of parents just got together and did everything they needed to do for this community and this and this uh this team.

And you know, Aiden's here to represent the players, and obviously I wouldn't be standing up here without you know the the kids, their literal blood, sweat, and tears that they left on the field um to have a perfect season, and every single one of those kids did it for the community.

They could have transferred, they could have left, they could have gone to other schools.

They all said they wanted to stay here and do it for Palisades, and that's why I wake up every morning and lose sleep and watch film and whatever I have to do to make sure these kids succeed in life and on the football field.

So thank you, everybody, and I appreciate this.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Council President.

All right.

We'll move to our next uh presentation brought to us by Council District One and 13.

Right.

Right, UTLS first recognize it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Come on, man, come on, man.

Come on.

Hello, good morning, everyone.

Good afternoon now.

It's a pleasure to lead today's presentation to recognize United Teachers Los Angeles, UTLA, and SCIU Local 99 for their relentless work on the front lines of our public schools.

Councilmember Soto Martinez and I are proud to welcome you to the people's house.

By bringing your fight here, you're showing the city of Los Angeles that we stand shoulder to shoulder with you.

And when you sit at the bargaining table with LAUSD, you are not alone because the people are with you.

We are with you.

We have a powerhouse lineup today.

We should be lucky.

This normally, you know, we get a lot of great people that come in, but one day to have this many number of great people is pretty exciting.

Uh we have Yvonne Wheeler, president of the LA Fed joining us, who's with us here today.

Julie Van Winkle, UTLA AFT Vice President, Max Adias, executive director of SCIU 99, Titans in the world of labor.

In a few moments, they will lay out the cold hard facts.

They will speak about the struggles of working class families and the very real struggle for a fair contract.

But before we move on, I think it's only right that I restate the obvious.

The history of public education is a history of struggle.

It's as if some people forgot that the right to public education was fought and won.

Today, that fight continues.

And when we talk about fighting for our public schools, and when we talk about throwing down for our youth, we must understand that it also means fighting for the people who educate them, who feed them and care for them, our young people every single day.

Throwing down for the future of Los Angeles means throwing down for educators.

Isn't that right, UTLA?

Throwing down means good working conditions, good benefits.

Isn't that right, SCIU 99?

Yeah.

That's right.

We cannot expect our students to thrive if the workers supporting them are struggling to survive.

Educators are fighting to build schools where educators are proud to work, where students are fully supported, and where every single family is proud to send their children.

And so I urge LAUSD to do the right thing by the people and call and I call on Angelinos to stand with educators always.

Now, please make some noise for our next speaker, my colleague, Councilmember Hugo Sotomartinez.

Thank you so much, Councilwoman Hernandez, and thank you for introducing and bringing forth so many amazing, powerful folks from the labor movement.

It's always good to have the House of Labor here, but it wouldn't be a House of Labor if we didn't have a union clap.

So how do we get that started, huh?

Thank you so much.

We are here today to recognize two incredible unions that have been fighting for students, families, and the future future generations of Angelinos.

Nelson Mandela said it best.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

And the workers of SCIU 99 and UTLA dedicate their lives to that very simple idea.

And as a student of nonviolent direct action, we know that young people and educators have always been at the core of social justice movements from apartheid in South Africa with Steve Biko to colonial India to the civil rights movement here at home with SNCC.

It is young people and educators that have been a part at the tip of the spear.

We saw that leadership firsthand when the federal government invaded our communities last summer, and as they continue to rip our families apart to this day.

Our educators organized, mobilized, and built a network within weeks to ensure that safe passage was available to our children and our families.

These heroes stepped up for our communities, and now they need our support as they fight for their own dignity and their own futures.

But they're not asking for us to do it for them.

They're asking us to be there with them in solidarity.

And that's what was at the heart of the labor movement.

Our education workers, the teaching aids, bus drivers, support staff, and everyone who makes sure that our kids are safe and have a loving place to learn, cannot afford to live in the city that they work in.

Too many of these workers rely on public assistance to put food on the table.

Too many of them have to work a second job just to make ends meet.

Too many of them have experienced homelessness even as they hold jobs with the school board with LAUSD.

That is not a reality that we should be willing to accept any single day.

Not now, not yesterday, not in the future.

These are the people caring for all tri for our children, and they deserve fair wages, stable working conditions, and respect in the workplace.

It doesn't matter if it's a private employer or public sector employer, they deserve it regardless of what that of who they're working for.

That's why we need to support them right now, just like they support our communities every single day.

So today I want to celebrate our educators and encourage all of you to join them in their fight for a fair contract.

Because if they aren't listening now, we'll make sure that they have no choice but to listen to us.

Se puede.

All right, thank you so much.

Thank you.

And now please make some noise for the icon, Yvonne Wheeler, president of the LA Fed.

Good afternoon, Council President and distinguished members of the city council.

My name is Yvonne Wheeler, and I'm the president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, representing over 800,000 union members and over 300 union affiliates in Los Angeles County.

And I'm proud to stand here in solidarity with the workers of the United Teachers of Los Angeles, UTLA, and SCIU LOCA 99.

Public education is one of the most transformative economic mobilities in our nation's history.

Empowering millions of people to build lives and dignity and security.

But none of this happens by accident.

It is the countless hours that educators, counselors, nurses, and social workers of UTLA spend instructing and caring for our students that make public schools places a possibility.

It is hard, the hard work of the bus drivers, teachers' aides, and cafeteria workers, custodians of SEIU Local 99 who keep our students safe, fit, and care for every single day.

These workers are like love their profession.

They love their students and they love their communities that they live in.

Yet to far too many educators and educated workers of struggling to make ends meet.

Too many have been forced to make into impossible situations and heartbreaking sacrifices just to continue serving their students.

Meanwhile, LAUSD is sitting on more than a five billion dollars in reserve.

Yet workers have left been left without a fair contract for years.

Instead of investing in the people who make the schools work, the district continues to contracting out essential programs to multi-billion dollar corporations.

These workers are not only fighting for themselves, they are fighting for the fully staffed and fully funded public schools that anchor our communities.

Our public dollars should not go to corporations, they should go into the classrooms and serve the students.

It is long time and long past time for LAUSD to give them a fair contract, and I urge this body to stand with the educators, stand with SCIU Local 99, stand with UTLA and stand with these workers and divert get the contract that they fairly deserve.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Now please join me in welcoming Julie Van Winkle, UTLA AFT Vice President.

Thank you, Council members.

Thank you, Council President, and the entire city council for the opportunity to speak with you today.

We are the public school educators of Los Angeles.

UT UTLA represents 38,000 teachers, special educators, counselors, nurses, social workers, librarians, and more.

My fellow educators and I are proud to have dedicated our profession to serving students, families, and communities of Los Angeles.

We believe deeply in the need and value of public schools now more than ever.

We know that our public education is under attack, not just by the Trump administration, but by billionaire privatizers who are hell-bent on turning our students into profits.

They've come after economic sustainability of our profession, and UTLA educators are struggling to survive.

You can see in this presentation here that 21% of our members, your teachers and your your children's teachers qualify for low house, low-income housing assistance.

One in three new educators leave the profession within the first five years.

And almost a third of UTLA members work a second job just to make ends meet.

This is not even, I mean, it used to be, we used to complain that LA Unified educators couldn't afford to buy a home in LA.

Now we're struggling just to afford rent anywhere within the district boundaries.

We've received a lot of heartbreaking testimonials from our members who share that they're putting off starting families or they're not able to retire because they just don't make enough money.

And this is not right, and it's certainly not sustainable.

For years, our district has prioritized contracting over meeting the needs and demands of our educators and education workers.

In the last few years, LA Unified has spent over 6.7 billion dollars of public money on private contracts and private companies.

And many of these are in big tech.

And this is while failing to meet the state requirements on spending in classroom instruction.

The district, as Yvonne said, is currently sitting on over $5 billion in reserves and is projected to receive increased funding from the state this year.

There's more than enough money to strengthen our schools.

It's not about not having the money, it's about not having the priorities, and we need the district to have priority to make sure that educators are able to live in the city and that our schools have the supports right now that they deserve.

Our fight is about making sure that today's dollars go into our classrooms and not into the pockets of billionaires.

Our working conditions are our students' learning conditions.

Our contract demands were developed democratically by educators, parents, students, and community members, and they reflect the needs of our schools.

We're fighting for fair pay, smaller class sizes, more mental health supports, increased arts and PE education, more support for special education, and much, much more.

And I'm asking all of you on the council, everybody watching this, you can even scan the QR code there to join us on March 18th for our rally for the fight for LA.

We need to show the leaders of LA Unified, some of which own six or seven houses here in California and in Florida.

Well, our our workers and the schools can't even afford to pay rents.

Thank you so much.

Absolutely.

We are uh we're not gonna let them continue to get away with that, and I think that's why we're here today to show you that we are with you.

Um now let's hear for our uh let's hear it up for our final speaker, Max Adias, executive director of SCIU 99.

Woo!

Woohoo!

Good afternoon by now, uh council members.

Uh appreciate the opportunity.

My name is Max Arias, I'm executive director elected of SCAU Local 99 Education Workers United.

We are over 50,000 education workers strong, representing child care providers, TK12 Casified employees as well as community college classified.

Um, next, please.

At the at the LA Unified School District, we represent 30,000 uh workers.

Next slide, please.

Uh, and that is who we are paraeducators, bus drivers, etc.

You can see there are over a hundred classifications.

Without our members, the district does not wake up.

Children will not get to school, children will not eat nutritious meals, and teachers need the support that our members give them in the classroom, especially if we continue to have these large classroom sizes.

We need to change that too.

Um who we are, our demographics.

We are predominantly black and brown workforce.

In fact, over 90 90% of classified workers are people of color.

Further, it's a majority of women's workforce.

And just remind, we're right now a woman's history month.

Uh so it's important to note that we need to start doing something about it.

It's too late in society to have this situation.

Uh, and 43% of classified employees are parents of school-aged children, many who attend LUSD schools.

However, how do we treat these women and students of the district, right?

You can see right there.

Uh, local 99 members get paid poverty wages.

I'm just gonna put it out there.

The average classified employee makes only $35,000 a year, some as little as $29,000 a year.

This is way below salut, way below the poverty line, way below just about any poverty line, especially in the city of LA, where it takes 57,000 for an individual to be able to.

Well, actually, that's the poverty line.

So that's not okay.

So, as a result, 99% of our members cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment in LA.

99%.

65% or 20,000 people struggle with food insecurity because they cannot afford food.

One in three or 10,000 people are on public assistance, and 10% of our members, 3,000 people, have expressed housing insecurity while working or the largest district in the state, which is the second largest district in the nation.

This has impact on students.

The low staffing of custodial staff, which is staffed that only 40% of what the district needs, leads to bathrooms being closed, and not every school in the district having the cleanliness it needs.

It deserves that students deserve to be able to learn in dignity.

Uh you know, so what are we demanding at the end of the day?

We have been bargaining for the district for two years.

Two years let that sink in.

In 23, we had to strike.

Where 25,000 was the average wage in 23.

We got it to 35,000.

That's still not enough.

And we had to strike for the same reason disrespect and harassment.

For two years we've been bargaining, the district has stalled us.

The district has harassed our members to the point where we've had to file multiple and multiple ULPs that that's charges against them for not respecting workers' rights.

And our members took a strike vote.

97% are ready to walk out because of this treatment, and because they are struggling, and we have had enough of this.

So, what are our demands?

Let's restore ours to provide essential student services.

We cannot continue to cut workers' hours consistently to try to balance the budget.

It doesn't balance the budget.

You've heard of the layoffs the district is trying to implement.

They're trying to save 25 million dollars, and it really has a horrible impact on people's lives and students in in the school sites.

We're also demanding higher wages.

Higher wages.

I I don't have to give any justification why they work for the school district, they educate the children of LA and the students of LA.

So why should they be living on poverty wages in which they can they have to worry about what to eat?

No, it is completely unacceptable.

We are demanding that they stop outsourcing to private for profit companies.

Ever since the new superintendent came in, I won't say a name because right now he's in some process.

They've spent $150 million a year in contracting out services.

Before he came, it was $250 million a year, which is also obscene.

But $650 million a year, that is not so.

When they tell you they spend more than they receive, we ask them where.

When we hear five billion, we don't really think about what that means.

Those reserves themselves are more than double the budget of LAX.

And $5 billion is 35% of the city's operating budget.

That's what much they have sitting in the bank.

While our school employees continue to suffer, executive pay continues to climb.

There are over 200 LAUs, the executives who make more than the government of California.

Workers are a breaking point.

We ask the LA City Council to stand in solidarity with the workers who support our children and keep our campuses clean, safe, and supportive.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Uh members, we've got a couple members on the queue, beginning with council member McCosker.

Thank you so much, Council members, for bringing UTLA, UTLA and 99 in today.

And thank you so much, Councilmembers Hernandez and Hugo Soto Martinez for giving me the opportunity to second, among other members, a motion in support of your efforts.

In support of your efforts.

I'm quite confident that we will be unanimously in support of your efforts as UTLA and SEIU 99.

Many of you know my wife is a retired UTLA teacher.

She was in adult education for about 30 years, which means they laid her off about three or four times.

And they cut her hours so that they could save on benefits and did all kinds of things to her.

And every single time she turned to UTLA and you had her back every single time.

Teaching ESL and citizenship and parenting education has had more effect in just a year of her practice that she did for 30 years than I will ever have.

Than I will ever have.

Because the work that you do in the classroom and the work you do on the campuses is so critically important to the future of our city and the future of our society.

You affect our world more than this horseshoe ever will.

It is us, it is all of us.

This is our public system, and we need to all own it.

We need to all own the fact that this is how we currently today in 2026 are teaching, are treating teachers and professionals who keep our schools open and keep our schools safe and keep them clean and keep them well equipped.

And so we need to be there at the rally, we need to be there on the line with you.

We need to make sure that if we own this, we need to make sure it's right for our kids.

So thank you and your work, and we we will we will win this one together.

Thank you, Mr.

McCosker.

Councilmember Padilla.

Thank you, Councilmember Hernandez and Soto Martinez for bringing um all of our partners from education here.

You know, my only react my immediate reaction when I found out that you guys are once again in this position is like, really, again, I feel like almost every other year we are in a position where we have to push and hit the streets to get some serious attention related to what educators and those who support our educators on the campus deserve.

I can't believe we're still trying to convince the board and those who are um in charge of the school district that community schools are important, that workforce development is important, that the SCIU members who do all of the extra work also should not have their health care cut.

I was at a public library at an event that I hosted, and I had SCIU members wearing their t-shirts, proudly enjoying my event, and they told me that this was happening because I continue to talk to the people that are your members because they live in my district.

Can you imagine if they didn't have their health care?

So I want to let you know that I appreciate you also pushing for the art component and the PE component.

How do we not have a strong physical education component in our schools in the generation when the Olympics are coming back to Los Angeles, right?

How do we not have a strong education uh arts education component when we know that there's a mandate now on behalf of the state to make it happen?

We are working so hard to bring back Hollywood jobs.

You know, if you want the Hollywood Bowl to thrive, if you want Hollywood to thrive, you need to have strong arts education.

So thank you for the fight.

And please know that in this building you have allies.

So keep pushing hard.

Um as I mentioned in another presentation.

I'm about to do a video about you know women's history month and what inspired me to get into politics.

It wasn't just looking at my local leaders.

A lot of why I am here today has a lot to do with my teachers.

I can still name every single one of my teachers from kindergarten to uh senior year because they played such a crucial role in my development and my leadership and my love and passion for Los Angeles.

If you go back to all the times I ran for office, I'm the one that made a quota say I'm an LAUSD alum.

Post that everyone now says I'm an LAUSD alum.

And I know you guys know that, and I'm gonna keep saying that.

So thank you, and please know that we have your backs.

Councilmember Hutt.

I am compelled.

Um, a couple of things that you might want to know.

First, I want to say thank you to council members Saddamartinez, councilwoman uh Hernandez.

I am a LA USD alum.

My mom uh was a UTLA teacher in the 60s at Jordan High School, and she did adult schools, so this really means something to me.

I also just want to echo my colleagues.

I I just want this to go by without saying the things that council member Padilla said are true.

We don't understand why we have to fight so hard every couple of years for our children, our teachers, our workers, and so we all stand in solidarity with you.

And so um, even though it's a recess day, I guess we'll be in the streets on the 18th.

Is that is that the day?

Okay, thank you, Herman.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Hutt, Councilmember Rahman.

Um, thank you so much, Councilmember Soto Martinez and Hernandez for bringing this presentation forward, and I just wanted to stand up and echo the words of some of my colleagues also as a L USD mom.

I know the work that UTLA and 99 members bring to the classrooms, bring to the schools.

Um my children are they love their school and they love their teachers and they love the staff that work there and the environment that they have is a product of the care and love that your members bring every single day to the to those schools, and I'm so grateful for that.

It's it's just incredible.

They when they get sick, they don't want to miss school, they are upset about not going to school.

And so, you know, it and it's all because of who is there and the environment that they create for them.

And so we're just as parents in Los Angeles, I know how grateful we all are for what you do, and I know that parents will stand with you in in your efforts to fight for justice at the workplace.

So thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

Members, uh, back to you, Councilmember Hernandez.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, colleagues.

Um I'm really excited that everybody's has a connection to UTLA because I hope that they don't have to, but if they have to go on strike, then it's gonna be wonderful to see all of our faces out there striking with them to making sure that LAUSD knows that they need to come through for our workers, for our teachers, for the people that make their schools run.

So on behalf of the city of Los Angeles, I want to present SCIU local ninety-nine with the resolution, thanking you for your efforts for your fight.

And we have also here with us today uh one for UTLA.

Julie, thank you.

Thank you, everybody.

Thank you.

All right, thank you all so much.

Thank you so much.

Mr.

City Attorney, I'll ask that you read the instructions for public comment into the record.

Yes, Mr.

President.

So for members of the public who are here, just to reminder, this is the regular meeting.

There is a special meeting at a uh later on in the day.

Uh so this public comment period is only for the items that are on the regular agenda.

And with that, I will read the instructions.

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.

If you are if you we cannot tell whether you're on topic or if you stray off 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 on the regular meeting agenda are items number one, items 13 and 14, and it also includes item 15 on the continuation agenda.

So again, the items that are open for public comment on the regular agenda are items one, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen.

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 in the city's subject matter jurisdiction.

A couple more announcements, if I could please have the interpreters make the first one allowed to the room.

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

So you will get the same amount of time as everyone else.

Thank you.

It's a whole thing.

Um I like to speak on all items and non-agenda public comments, smoke and scan.

Thank you.

Um it's versus Los Angeles.

I brought this to the attention of the city two years ago, everyone, smoke and scan.

And ever since I started threatening them with Bardin versus Sacramento, these bitches on item 14 of closed session now are aware that our Sacramento government is gonna fuck Los Angeles on item 14 closed session.

Well, it's ETAL versus City of Los Angeles for not having adequate curbs or ramps, curb cuts, and safe sidewalks.

But you know, I'm not here to cuss.

You know, you ever hear me cuss?

I never swear, I never use vulgarity.

I use art.

I'm an artist, and I believe in the ADA 2010 standard.

And that's the fucking reason why I brought up Barden versus smoking scan.

Yay, yay, yay!

Alright, now let me go into 13 dickhead.

Um item 13 regarding Jeffrey Emstein.

Well, in Scientology, they do it.

LAPD was known for fucking cadets.

Any different than that?

LA County Sheriffs were fucking cadets, but they don't call them cadets.

They have another name for that.

Um Miss Uh Padilla might know because she's stupid.

You know, when you go to L USD like me, you learn things about Rodriguez and Pedia and public safety.

You've been given white land.

I'm on 13 item 13, then connect it to item 13.

This is your only warning.

Go ahead.

Well, um, it's it's on regular regular meeting, right?

Yeah, referring to item uh I I'm asking you to connect your comments to item 13.

It is okay.

Okay, so now on item one, everyone.

Well, that was rudely interrupted on 25-090 S for suck 53 and CD8 monkeys.

Um, I just want to remind everyone in smoke and scan to call in on March 18, 2026 at 10 a.m.

And we will have a live stream access live stream at Zoom ID 1618580186.

And here's the passcode, smoke and scan, folks.

Prop 218, fuck the police.

Yeah.

Then we go into item of um.

Oh wait, I'm gonna I wish to speak on special items.

Is that up yet?

If you were listening to the instructions earlier, and this goes for everybody.

I don't listen to instructions.

I'm not sure.

I can tell you don't listen to the instructions.

They are not open for public comment currently.

Now into my non-public comment, because I'm the narrative.

So ladies and gentlemen of Los Angeles and to the fucking police of Al Monty in the city of Al Monty.

When you put your hands on a person's dick, Mr.

Herman, yeah.

You have said that you're speaking about the police in the city of El Monte that is not within the subject matter.

I understand that, but you need to speak to something within the jurisdiction of this body.

Go ahead.

Okay, everyone.

In Los Angeles, I'm putting on record smoke and scan about smoke and scan, you know, when an adult grabs me by the nuts and says if I have a weapon, it's not a weapon, it's a dick, you dick.

So when an officer asked me who ate all the pussy, well, that's right here on my shirt.

That's not a weapon.

I'm just saying 42 is 1983 smoking scan.

Fuck the police and fuck you, grow, you dare.

And your time is expired.

Uh sir.

Yeah, all that's correct.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Uh what would you like?

Good afternoon.

What would you like to speak to?

So Gloria Villavicencio.

Okay, so one minute, go ahead.

Southway.

Yes, my name is Gloria Viacencio.

I am a fast food worker in Subway.

I am asking you urgently to approve the fast food fair work ordinance without further delay.

Yes, the training that I learned about uh workers' rights allowed me to gain power in the fight against uh managers who were guilty of wage theft against me.

How do I know my rights?

I'm doing everything possible to obtain justice.

But I'm also worried about the workers of the other stores that are owned that is under the same owner that are going through the similar things.

And we ask urgently, please approve the fast food fair work ordinance so that the fast food workers can be aware of their rights and can fight against injustices.

For so that they can also defend their uh their co-workers as well as the clients' rights too.

That is all thank you so much to everybody.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call up Harry Elliott, Fatima Murieta, Simon, Nick, Miller, Sage Michi Mendoza, and LA Valley.

Good morning.

What would you like to speak to?

Hello, my name is Kevin Paxtor.

I work at Winners Mitchell and District 5 in Los Angeles.

I asked you urgently to please approve the fast food fair work ordinance without further delay.

The roof and the wiener's nutshell at the location that I am working has been broken for several years.

When the union found us, we learned of our rights.

What would you like to speak to?

You have one minute.

Go ahead.

Close men's central jail.

There's way too much death there.

Get rid of Wasserstein and anyone involved with Epstein.

Wasserman, I mean Recall Padill, and defund the El Monte Police Department.

Good morning.

So you have one minute for item 13 and one minute for general public comment.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

We're made up of a hundred organizations, including unions, community groups, housing advocates, and immigration leaders.

We support Councilmember Rodriguez and Padilla's resolution.

Our coalition has expressed similar concerns.

The Fair Game Coalition demands an inclusive process to choose the next leader of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Workers, community leaders, and elected officials must have a real voice.

The games belong to the working people of Los Angeles, and their leadership must reflect our city's values of transparency, accountability, and respect for working families.

Thank you for your attention to this really important matter.

Okay.

Good afternoon.

What would you like to speak to?

Good afternoon, Groat.

I'll take all items and general public comment.

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

Go ahead.

Great, thank you.

Um, so one of the items is a closed session item regarding uh settlement for lawsuit for ADA violations and an injury on the sidewalk.

Uh the sidewalks in LA.

The places there are sidewalks are in immense disrepair.

Um, and then a lot of places don't even have sidewalks.

For example, in District 2.

I don't know where Adrin is.

Um, but on Vineland, between like um Ventura and Whipple, there's a lot of places just missing sidewalks, and school children are with their families pushing their stroller basically in the gutter by the street with cars going 40 miles per hour.

Um, we really need to invest more in our pedestrian infrastructure.

That's one of the few ways we're gonna get people out of their cars is to make it safer to walk and reduce these liability payouts.

Um item $30,000 for legal services related to charter reform.

Um there was a time when I would have wanted to support something like this because charter reform is badly needed.

Um, but the way this commission has been set up and the way it's played out has been really messy.

Um, and there's a lot of evidence that there's um that they're more of a rubber stamp body than actually listening to the public, which was the whole point of the commission in the first place, right?

Um the the word is that it was instated because of the Fed tapes, although I'm suspicious that that's not really the case because a lot of what they're trying to do is manipulate how these power structure works, give more power to the mayor, reduce the controllers' power.

Um, so in my opinion, I think we just need to throw out this commission and instate an elected commission that can truly serve the interests of the people.

They've been doing some okay work, and commissioners Thomas and Fuentes are great, but other than that, it's been a mess.

Casey Wasserman got the position with the Olympics.

What is his business?

Is he a witness?

Crimes against children shouldn't be holding heaven control in this kind of moment.

We've got to focus on what's important, remove corruption.

All that you've got are some mealy mouth words, gross and balls, y'all.

Glain Maxwell is a genuinely dangerous woman.

Casey slept with her and did all kinds of things that he shouldn't.

Flew on Epstein's jet like that, cheated on his wife, that's bad.

What else does he have to hide?

Ghlain Maxwell is a genuinely dangerous woman.

General.

Thank you.

Hugo said he wouldn't do harmful homeless sweeps, and opposed the rule we call 4118.

But when he took office, I guess he changed his mind.

Because in his district, sweeps happen all the time.

He wasn't there when it started, but arrest started.

Rise in the first year he took office, increased over five fold.

And what does Hugo do?

Let sweeps continue.

But the joke's not on us because it's election season and Hugo Your seat is up.

So let me thank the comedians who backed out of your fundraiser because of your 4118 actions.

Now who's gonna vote for you?

Fuck guys, shout out smoking scan.

Next speaker.

I don't know why it was.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call a Bobby M, Joe C, Gunny Sergeant, Joe, SIBA, and Audit LA.

Good morning.

Good afternoon.

What would you like to speak to?

Um, I'm sorry, uh, city attorney.

Could you repeat for me what items are available?

Um the items that are open for public comment on the agenda are items one and 13 through 15 for the regular meeting.

So I saw that.

Okay.

It's on the continuation agenda.

Oh, okay, okay.

Gotcha.

All right.

Um, I think those as well as general comment, please.

Sorry to cut you off.

Three minutes for the items and one minute for general.

Please begin with the items.

Always a pleasure.

Um item 15, I believe, is a uh $30,000 for outside legal counsel for the charter reform commission.

Um they're gonna need probably more than that, considering they've been breaking all kinds of uh ethics guidelines and laws and rules, probably.

Uh they've been doing a weird communications with your um city council offices.

They had to pass an ex parte communication thing.

I don't speak Latin despite being Latin based.

Um, but that basically means you know, if you talk to a council office or the mayor, you have to disclose what those uh what those communications were in the meetings, and of course, no one's really disclosing anything, um, even though we know those conversations are probably still happening.

Uh it's kind of just a warning to let people know, like, hey guys, you know, the block is hot right now, like y'all need to chill.

Um, and then you know, we'll find out years later when somebody writes a book or the LAS writes an article how fucked up the whole thing was.

Cancel the commission, it's a bunch of horse shit.

Um I don't remember uh there's an item about Casey Wasterman.

Um I'm not a big uh I don't like rumor and gossip and shit like that.

So whoever did whoever with, you know, on whoever's time on whoever's bed is really none of my business.

Um in my younger days, I spent time climbing out of windows of bedrooms.

I probably shouldn't have been in.

So I know it is what it is.

We're all humans here.

You know, that's not the big deal.

The big deal is that this dude's name is connected to probably the biggest scandal of our lifetimes.

Um, and just the optics of that's wild.

And so this weak motion basically calling for like more information.

I'm not sure what you guys are gonna find that uh we're not privy to already through the US government uh website.

You're not gonna get any insights on a federal investigation that's happening.

So honestly, this is a bunch of piecemeal bullshit.

Um item number uh one is uh sorry, it's a light district.

So the d the street the streets be looking pretty dark.

Um it's fucked up.

We heard a lot of reasons a few weeks ago about why, but we also heard from the lighting people that it was it'll take not that long to get the whole city looking pretty lit up.

Um so you guys maybe should not cut their budgets uh in favor of more settlement pay payouts.

You know, I think keeping the lights on is really important, and I'm sure if we have a lighting district on the agenda, the people that have lived in the area have been calling for that street light for probably fucking a long time before this.

Uh otherwise it wouldn't have you end up on the agenda.

You blame copy wire theft and and then go ahead and cut the budget of the uh street lighting department or whatever bureau of streets lights and shit.

It's pretty ridiculous.

You guys are not paying attention, you guys are all having conversations.

You got UNICES and Katie Arzlovski up there with the president in the middle of public comment.

Nitya Ram is running for mayor.

She was talking during someone's public comment.

And um, I don't understand how listen, I I met Tracy once outside of here.

She was very polite.

Um I could be a lot more cordial than you think, even though I have an aggressive personality.

But I don't know.

I I get it, you know.

I'm an emotional person.

I cry a lot, tear up and shit.

Um, I know we're just like me standing next to somebody that you went through something with, or maybe your town, or whatever.

But I don't know.

You know, it really escapes me how you could have tears during that moment.

But when you have all these people coming up talking about being evicted, about being uh threatened by their landlord, about getting unpaid wages, about sleeping out in the street.

How does that not pull no fucking tears out of your faces?

Um also I keep forgetting to say this.

There's a lot of fake leftist, fake progressive shit from Hugo, Isabel, Nithya, um, sure, some of y'all pay that shit.

So Hugo, and yet, you know, there's not a single Palestinian flag.

You know, if you zoom in, none of them have the Palestine flag on their shit.

Uh I know there's a lot of Ireland flags, but no one said free Ireland, even though they're still uh not independent.

Free Palestine, y'all are full of shit.

Nitha, you need to get your shit together.

Stop here.

Speaker, your time has expired.

Next speaker.

Katie Nestis.

Good afternoon.

What would you like to speak to?

Uh, all items and uh nobody, nobody needs to pay attention.

So you have three minutes for the items and one minute for general.

Go ahead.

All right, if I can remember all those.

First of all, uh to senior lead officer uh E.

L'Oriaga, you're retiree, sir.

Thank you for all the time that you've been kind to us.

You've been good.

Can you hold his time, Mr.

Candido?

Listen, this is about the agenda.

I'm able to speak because that matters.

Time is paused.

Make sure that I'm gonna do it.

Mr.

Kendido.

Yes, sir.

Your time is paused.

So I'm trying to assist you so you can provide with public comment.

The items that are open for public comment are items number one and items 13 through 15.

If you would like to speak to us, if you'd like to continue, you can do it during general.

But I'm gonna ask that you you requested time for the items.

I'm gonna ask you to stick to the items.

I'm not being disrespectful, but thank you again.

All of you.

Uh let's see, item 13.

You know, uh are we gonna we're gonna sit on this bomb, Wasserman, Epstein, Wasterman, Epstein.

And when that bomb hits us, is it gonna be you who are the are gonna have everything all over your faces?

Because I mean, what has to happen that you folks realize uh this is not good.

This man is not good for the city.

This is one of gonna be one of the best events uh that we'll ever have in this uh in this city, and yet honestly, I don't see anybody taking the leadership on this.

So, you know, child abuse is is horrible, and uh a lot of lives are destroyed.

So I'm I'm hoping this council has uh enough guts to stand up to that.

Um let's see, what was the I forget sometimes.

Oh you know, we're looking for uh public comment.

We're looking towards the uh 28 uh Olympics, and you know, we have an old song from 1984, we love LA.

So, Stacy, I hope that you'll lead us in finding a song, a new song for LA, okay?

And I'm gonna throw a few words out for you guys and tell me what you think.

The city of today is the city of LA.

Come winter, spring, or fall, LA's got it all.

From its mountains to the sea, this town's made for you and me.

White, yellow, black, or brown.

This is LA.

This is everybody's town.

LA's the town where the stars are bound, Rolls Royce is in caviar.

Everybody thinks they're superstars.

New York, Detroit, Chicago, they all have that glow.

But LA's the town where John Wayne was found for Sinatra sang a song, and we're Fred Isdare danced on air, because this is LA superstar town.

So bring your dreams and fantasies to this town of make believe.

Because this is LA, my town.

This is LA, your town, this is LA, everybody's town.

Okay, so Stacey and whoever can make a song, put something together.

And to Miss Ms.

Park, I wanna, Miss Park, I want to thank you.

You don't have to look at me, but you are very nice on the side of nice McFile.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Oh, and I'm gonna before the next speaker begins.

I would like to call up Derek, Eddie, Rabbi, Roosevelt, Gordy, Tino M, Cindy L, Hawkser M, Manny, Jesse G, Chris M, and Teddy Roosevelt.

Good afternoon.

What would you like to speak to?

Not you.

So good afternoon.

What would you like to speak to?

Uh general public comment, please.

Okay, so you have one minute.

Go ahead.

Uh let's see.

General public comment.

Public Marquisi Dawson, CD8 is a food does it.

The highest unemployment rate in the entire country, the highest homeless rate.

Sleazy Marquisi evicted the Ephiva Center, the black community's 20-year-old community and cultural center, and turned it into a COVID testing site with votes of Nithya Raman, Bob Gaza Genocide Bloomfield.

That is what they really think about black culture.

Our city, state, and federal tax dollars are being used to drop bombs and yet another war for Israel and demand and I demand an immediate resolution for this criminal coward council that condemns yet another war against the Iranian people at the behest of Israel.

We the people are starving while these council cowards are silent while this government drops bombs for Israel and Bob Genocide Bloomfield.

Here is a clown solution.

Let's elect Nithya Rahman Mayor.

Public.

Okay, next speaker.

Look at that.

Good afternoon.

What would you like to speak to?

13 and general public comments.

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

Go ahead.

Um I'm glad that you guys are doing something about Wasserman.

Um I kind of was shocked to see it on the agenda.

Um as a nation, we should be all doing something about the Epstein files.

This is very serious.

And we know that the president is in the files.

We know that Wasserman's in the files, and we need justice for those victims.

It's I don't know why everybody's not in the streets fighting protesting.

This government is corrupt, and we're not doing anything about it.

Like literally, you guys are our theaters.

I started coming here April of last year because I believe that you guys had power.

And I realize that we all have power.

We just are not using it collectively.

And I'm talking about the American citizens.

So please do more than just telling a warning to that telling.

Just remove Westerman.

General.

You know what's right.

General public comment.

Marquise, I saw your testimony about LAPD last last week, and it was a very powerful statement.

And you have so much power.

You could do something about it.

Not all black men can have the power that you do.

Keith Porter, Keith Porter came his mother came here thanks to Hernandez.

And have we prosecuted his killer?

No.

We haven't done anything.

Remember, justice for Keith Porter, justice for every American that we just we have headline news, and then we forget about it.

Anyway, I hope you guys do something.

And we probably need a general strike, and you guys should prepare for a general strike.

We also need election integrity.

We're gonna have ICE agents at the polling stations.

Will people feel safe to go vote?

Thank you, bye.

Why are you talking five calling?

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

Okay.

All right, Madam Clerk, what's next?

Actually, before we begin, Mr.

President, I believe item number one is a protest hearing for a street lighting district.

So I I do recommend that we exhaust to the extent that we haven't.

So if there's anyone here who has not yet been given the opportunity to speak.

So Mr.

Herman, you already had your opportunity to speak.

So if you have not had the opportunity to speak on item number one, that is the protest hearing for the the uh the street lighting district, please raise your hand so we can see if we've exhausted going once, going twice.

Okay, Mr.

President, I believe we have exhausted public comment on item number one, uh, and we can continue.

All right, madam clerk.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Would the council like to recess the regular meeting and convene the special meeting?

Yes, please call the roll.

Bloomenfield, Harris Dawson, Hernandez, Hut, Herado, Lee, McCosker, Nazarian, Padilla, Park, Price, Raman, Rodriguez, Soto, Martinez, Yarzlovsky, 12 members present in a quorum, Mr.

President.

All right, what's next?

Would count would the council like all items on the special agenda to go forth with today?

Yes, please.

Items 16 and 19 are items for which public hearings have not been held.

Items 17 and 18 are items for which public hearings have been held.

Ten votes are required for consideration, and just to confirm that uh items 16, 17, and 19 have been called special by council member Rodriguez for a separate vote, and there has been an amendment circulated for item 19.

All right.

Umber Rodriguez, can we take 16 and 17 together?

Yes, hold on.

16 and 17.

Which one is the 15 minutes?

Gotcha.

Okay.

Uh, Madam Clerk, what items are available for votes at this time.

Uh, would the council actually like to go straight to public comment?

Sure, let's do public comment only uh for the special agenda, Mr.

City Attorney.

Yes, so I'm not gonna read the all of the instructions in again, but if you are here for the special meeting agenda and you would like to speak on items 16 through 19, any of those items, uh please make sure you sign up.

Uh if we have the names, we can start reading them after this announcement.

Uh the you will have up to three minutes for the items.

There are is no there's no general public comment because we are in a special meeting.

Okay.

I would like to call up Shanik Williams, Batman, Fisher, Jesus Rojas of El Monte, Stacey, Segura Bollinger, Ade LA, and LA Valley.

Good afternoon.

You have three minutes for the items.

Go ahead.

Hold on, smoke and scam.

Was that number nine now?

Smoke and scan.

All right.

Regarding all this housing fucking bullshit.

David O'Carter has told you guys repeatedly that this city is incompetent and coherent, and all your fucking outside council sucks a big dick like you, Mr.

Attorney.

Although I know you don't suck dick, because you're a Korean.

All right, let me go to another item.

How about 17 housing and homeless committee?

So deep program attending alliance settlement agreement burger between the fucking city of Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority to be consistent with the redesign program by David O'Connor on the record and special master fuck Los Angeles, motherfucker.

Do you hear me now?

Thank you, smoking scan.

So everybody, I got another item here.

Uh that was 17 for the record.

Dickhead.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Um CD8, the Uncle Tom on Housing and Homelessness Committee, the report on tax equity, TEFRA.

Oh, this is number 18th, by the way, uh, dickhead.

And so what's happening with the responsibility act of 1982, Donald J.

Trump, these fucking assholes from Los Angeles, and CD8, that fucking monkey up there who scratches his face and wipes his sweat off because he knows Donald J.

Trump is an excellent president of the United States.

Donald J.

Trump is gonna do something about housing and homelessness in the committees in Los Angeles because he has an executive order to keep fat pig Hernandez and the other idiots, Soto out of our sanctuary cities, because Donald J.

Trump like me and God hate Sanctuary Cities.

This is your only warning.

Stick to the agenda items, or you're gonna forfeit your speaking time.

Yeah, that was that was um smoke and scan.

Tell the dick kid it was item 18 for the record.

Just because you say the number doesn't mean it's related to the item.

Yeah.

Now the last item, folks.

Public budget and finance.

You see all these fucking vultures behind me on the budget.

You see them all in the crowd behind me, smoke and scan.

They're here to institute maintenance assessments in the city of Los Angeles street light maintenance.

And the reason is because Philip Jonathan Grote sucks it and your time is expired.

Next speaker.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call the last two speakers on the list.

Derek D.

Blas and Mikaela Gibson.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

Which items would you like to speak to?

Um, I guess I'll take all items if they're available.

Okay, so you have three minutes for the items.

Go ahead.

Okay, so this is um by and large reports from the housing and homelessness committee and well, the budget and finance committee.

Um item 17 is related to the alliance settlement.

Uh basically, we're we're doing a lot um on paper to address the crisis of homelessness, the huge unhoused resident population.

Um I I know that recently it's been said that mortality rates among the unhoused population has slightly gone down, although deaths of unhoused residents by um because of traffic related issues, car collisions has actually increased.

Um I don't know what the current number is, but up until recently the average was um six unhoused people dying every single day in the city of Los Angeles.

And you know, we can move all kinds of money around to on paper, deal with legal settlements, um, deal with mismanagement.

Um this is all costing the city so much more than it would cost to just house people.

Um, it would be more fiscally responsible to just take all this money that's being funneled through nonprofits that have huge administrative buzz budgets, administrators with six-figure salaries.

Um, it would make more sense to just give these people housing unconditionally, or to just give each unhoused resident a few thousand dollars um every month to find their own housing.

Um, and if if some people on this body actually cared as much as they say they do about the unhoused resident population, I think things would look a little bit different.

But unfortunately, it's pretty disgusting.

Um this crisis is leveraged towards um political careers and used as an excuse to give developers handback.

Okay.

That's all I have to say.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Before the next speaker begins, I would like to call up an additional name, Simon.

Good afternoon.

Which items would you like to speak to?

Um, I believe they're all open, right?

So it would be 16 through 19.

Okay, I'll take those.

Okay.

So you have three minutes for those items.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

Um we have a funding report for uh homelessness uh committee.

Um I'm sorry.

It's a budget and finance committee report.

Um, I believe the chair of the homeless and human services committee, Nitha Rama is not even in the room right now.

If she is, she's on the wall somewhere, stuck probably to a piece of gum.

Um I think it's really pathetic.

Uh I I've noticed that in uh neighborhood council meetings, uh the chair of a committee or someone that was involved in uh in an item.

Let's say it was a budget involving a uh some kind of outing related to that committee.

The person that was in charge of that committee would be there.

Council rules are not on the agenda.

No, it's not on the stock.

I'm not talking about council rules.

I'm talking about that the homelessness uh funds go primarily through the um the hands of people that organize a homeless and human services committee, and then that chair of that committee is not here while the item for the budget and finance committee involving homelessness is being uh handled right now.

Uh there's uh there's like such shits about the lawsuits regarding uh LA Alliance or whatever.

It's a whole thing.

You heard a little bit about Judge Carter.

I love Herman, all the people he's very uh polarizing, but he's very educational.

Uh Judge Carter relates to the is a whole case going on right now involving the uh city and these different fucking nonprofits and uh it's funny that they're called nonprofits because the people that work for them are all looking pretty comfortable.

Um but basically the city made all the money for the homelessness programs disappear.

Uh people have been coming here saying that you should call the inside starving.

I think it's funny that the president of the council listens to cut you off.

You got Isabel over here munching down.

Um it's really funny.

I don't know, y'all ruined my appetite, so I don't know how you're gonna sit here either.

So you've exhausted your two minutes on 16 and 17.

Um, can I get this last minute uh reset so I can start the next item, please?

Because you were giving me instructions.

I was I was just being given instructions by the city attorney.

Can I have my time have a thank you?

Um so now for item uh I believe it's 19.

Uh item 19 uh is about more street lighting stuff.

Um what's interesting is that a lot of these items, I believe including this one, uh, oftentimes uh don't involve a fiscal impact statement.

This is being one of them.

Um I don't know how that's possible.

I don't know how these items could not have a fiscal impact on the city.

Uh when people when the lights aren't there, you're gonna hit something, either a person, a piece of city furniture or whatever.

I would call that a fiscal impact.

Um I don't know.

That's like I'm not a lawyer.

I don't know if there's like certain parameters you need to meet for something to be considered a fiscal impact, but I would think that's a fiscal impact.

I don't know, you got the president on his phone.

Y'all are being kind of a joke.

Um it's really pathetic.

Uh I think the only one here that has balls is actually doesn't have literal balls, but Monica over here is not afraid to talk and calling out the mayor and stuff.

Y'all can learn.

That's your time.

That's your time.

Good afternoon.

What would you like to speak to?

Which items?

Item 19.

Okay, so you have one minute.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

Good morning.

I mean, good afternoon.

My name is Michaela Gibson, and I'm here on behalf of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, or VICA.

VICA currently does not have an official official position, but I'm here to express our deep concerns.

This assessment would nearly triple what property owners pay from roughly 45 million to 125 million a year.

Even as a city faces a budget deficit of more than 100 million, property owners being asked to shoulder that increase deserve clear guarantees that the lights on their streets will actually work.

Los Angeles does not have broadband shortage, it has a street light reliability problem.

We are in a severe street lighting crisis that affects public safety, yet this proposal would expand the Bureau of Street Lighting into broadband deployment and fiber policy.

The city should get back to basics, fix the broken street lights first, demonstrate reliable service, and only then ask property owners to consider funding anything beyond that as an obligation, that core obligation.

Thank you.

Thank you, next speaker.

Which items would you like to speak to?

Sixteen.

Okay, so you have one minute.

Go ahead.

Okay.

Destroy and burn down the entire El Monte Civic Center.

Okay, next speaker.

That concludes our public comment for the special meeting.

Madam Clerk, what's before us?

The council may now vote on item 18.

All right, let's open the roll in 18.

I have uh all right, close the roll.

Tabulate the vote.

12 ayes.

All right, what's next?

Would the council like to move on to items 16 and 17 called special by council member Rodriguez for assessment?

16 and 17 are reforced, Councilmember Rodriguez.

Yes, um, I had questions regarding uh 17, all right.

Four uh CAO and or housing, whoever's hi, good afternoon, thank you.

So just to kind of set the table, colleagues, no one has been a bigger advocate from day one about working to get into compliance with our alliance agreement.

There have been many obstructions and detours and avoidance of that, but I'm glad to see that we are here now actively working on fulfilling that compliance.

However, I I did have questions regarding the time-limited subsidies.

So one of the items that it was I I want to better understand in terms of the placement of the individuals in TLS.

Now, many people in the public don't understand, so we have a combination of housing solutions that we are offering to help address the unhoused population.

On we have the interim housing, we have the permanent supportive, both have rather robust uh support case management uh systems, but when it comes to TLS, you're talking about a broad distribution of how people are placed.

Can you just explain for the public and uh for those that may not be aware how TLS is implemented?

Good afternoon, Councilmember's Nathaniel Regal, Deputy Chief Program Officer at Lhasa.

So uh this is a question specifically about the services provided or how or where people are housed.

How are individuals selected to participate in TLS and what is the corresponding case management uh approach?

Because it would so just as it just to frame it.

When we have an interim housing location, like what I have in Silmar, we have on-site case management people that are assigned to helping to address the circumstances and needs of the individuals in those facilities.

When we talk about permanent supportive housing, that is even frankly, even more so in terms of the the depth of services, the quote the the level of services that those individuals are securing.

Now we have a very dynamic circumstance with the level of acuity that many of the individuals that we are placing into housing have.

We have a responsibility to attempt, and I recognize the challenge with that, attempt the proper placement with individuals, should they be perhaps experiencing severe experiencing severe uh mental health or substance use disorder issues in coordination with the county.

What I wanted to better understand in terms of the TLS is what is the level of acuity of the individuals, what is the level of case management and support services that are going to be offered to these individuals that are going to be really assessed and surveyed for efficacy.

And the reason why is because these individuals are not all placed in one location, right?

So I just want to better understand how that is going to be addressed.

How are you, how are those individuals, on what basis are individuals being selected?

What is the procedure?

So that because I'll allow, I want to give you the opportunity to explain how people are selected, how uh locations are determined, what are the how does TLS work?

And I think it's important for everyone to understand how TLS works, how we are going to be measuring the results of it, but more importantly, how do you ensure the placement of individuals and not disrupting perhaps if they're in a residential or which they will be in a residential unit or what have you, depending on the circumstances.

How how we mitigate any possible risk about it?

Go ahead.

Thank you.

Uh Sophia Rice, uh Chief Program Officer at Lhassa.

Thank you for the questions.

I think uh a lot of what you're speaking to gets to the reasons for some of the strengthening of the new City Alliance TLS program that we've worked on.

The sort of beauty of the TLS design in general is that it does help encourage throughput in the system.

So we are for the uh city TLS program, the new TLS program.

It will prioritize individuals who are in city funded interim housing who have stayed for a long time.

So stabilized.

Right.

They've been in interim housing for 12 months or more at first, um, and and really prioritizing helping to get people into a TLS slot so that they can have the support to be able to move through the TLS program and um and and move into a more permanent um uh situation, whether that be permanent supportive housing or they take over the rent and um or or an affordable unit.

So part of the redesign for uh the new city TLS program is to actually call out those three separate tracks.

Um so when people enter the TLS program, they'll be working with um they'll be working with a variety of different supports, they'll be assessed with a new assessment that we're developing with the help of uh GPL to really be able to designate where um where we think that uh the that people will sort of complete the program in which path.

So that's either you know you're somebody who can get employment support and you can grow your income, and then you're able to take over your rent, whether that be a lease in place where you were with TLS, or whether you move move into a unit that maybe is more affordable or a roommate situation or what have you.

You also have people who um we know are on fixed income, they may not need significant uh support, like I like an intensive case management service, um, but we know that their income is going to be limited, and that's going to be sort of prohibitive for them to be able to transition out of TLS, and so the work will be more geared towards getting them on a lot of wait lists for affordable housing throughout LA County.

There's you know, the sort of a web of um of different wait lists to navigate, so support there.

Um, and then there are the people who will need additional supports in a permanent supportive housing placement and sort of wrapping around the services for them.

So the goal is really to move people out of interim housing to be able to also free up slots and interim housing beds, which is you know great, we all want that, um, and then be able to move people into TLS where we can um get a better idea of really what their needs are and be able to help them through the system and move into more permanent placement.

So, my question is obviously now that the county has pulled out of LASA, and the city is the primary source of funding, in terms of the individuals that are in interim or that could be utilized for TLS, will they be exclusively LA City?

Yes, they will be their current current um individuals who are staying at uh city funded interim housing.

That is who is uh being moved into TLC.

And then who is determining the acuity level or the preparedness of these individuals to be able to matriculate into TLS?

Yeah.

So it depends on how long the participant it depends on how long the participant has stayed in their interim housing.

Interim housing providers should be doing uh assessments for permanent supportive housing need uh within 90 days of entering the shelter since we're prioritizing long stayers, they will have likely uh they should have certainly been assessed uh before we are linking them to TLS.

Uh as uh Sophia mentioned, we are also going to be doing an additional assessment once folks move into their TLS placement.

Because once folks get into an apartment out of shelter that can be more chaotic of an environment than your own apartment where you can close the door and lock it, uh folks tend to stabilize, and so we want to be able to continue to assess need so that we're not putting people on a track to permit supportive housing that is not necessarily really what they need.

So the beauty of TLS is it allows us to continue that assessment uh so that we're not utilizing high cost resources for folks who don't truly need those.

Right.

They don't need to meet the threshold for PSH to be able to move into the TLS to be that's something that we would.

Independent and it really could be a mix, and also circumstances change for people, that's why the you know assessments are ongoing.

And what is the prioritization around families?

There's been a lot of conversations with respect to the homeless response that we've had in this city, and the biggest failure has been around the lack of options for a number of families.

Uh, what is the opportunity with TLS to help address that population?

Yeah.

So uh families can be eligible for this project.

Uh at this point, the rate of uh uh for each slot has been designed for single individuals because families tend to need larger units, which uh come with a larger rental cost.

Right.

So it would impact uh overall either the need for potential additional investment if we have a large number of families that cost more per person or per household, um, or it would cut down on the number of households we could serve.

Uh so the the initial design was primarily uh based on serving individuals, but we have the capacity to serve families.

So is this just to get us to our minimum our min the minimum threshold of what we need to fulfill in order to achieve our alliance goals?

It's funded for 2,000 slots uh for um at the individual rate, correct?

Okay, what solutions are being brought forward to address what is a growing circumstance of a number of families and what is the estimated impact cost of helping to like you know, and I don't even know what the numbers are in terms of families right now, but it's one of the most critical areas that we can address.

And when we talk about a per unit cost, and I understand what you're saying, but at the same time, depending upon where they go in this city, it actually might be the same level of subsidy.

So has that been evaluated to help address that critical population?

Uh, because we got a lot of families, you got a lot of families in Skid Row, you got a lot of families all over the city that are struggling, and so how are we or how are you identifying pathways to help address that population need?

Yeah.

Well, one thing I'll say is just that part of the redesign for this program as well, is um centralizing the housing location in collaboration with Lhasa, um, but hopefully with our uh uh our um partners at home Inc.

uh who have a lot of experience in developing um you know landlord connections and uh and and affordable housing resources, and so one of the um benefits to centralizing those services is it also allows home to really build a large pool of affordable resources across the city.

Um so the so in my former life I was at Brilliant Corners overseeing the flexible housing subsidy pool, if anybody knows that program, and we did a lot of housing location and acquisition, and one thing that was um the services are different than than home, but they're somewhat the same in that um a lot of what we found is that when you make connections with um with landlord partners, usually we're talking about studios and one bedrooms or SROs, um but once you make those connections, you often have access to a whole portfolio if uh you know once you build that relationship of other unit sizes, um, so two bedrooms and even some three bedrooms, and to your point, on the whole, those bigger units are gonna be more costly, but not always, um, not always the case, and especially if you have built those good relationships with the property providers and are assessing for rent reasonableness and working very diligently with a centralized provider like home, sort of negotiate those rents to affordability.

So you know, I don't want to give the impression that um that uh families cannot be included in in the TLS program.

Okay, and and then just in terms of the queuing of those that become eligible for the TLS, I just want to be clear and just to affirm that because you've got a lot of individuals that have been in uh in the interim for an extended period of time, waiting for that opportunity to matriculate out.

Uh, how is the queuing for lack of a better word in terms of the prioritization?

How is that going to work?

Who's determining that?

Is it based on any one particular program, or is it based on who's been placed in that interim solution the longest?

Is it you kind of have uh first in kind of first out dynamic?

What's what's the procedure?

Yeah.

Yeah, so the uh prioritization criteria for participants will be based on uh longer stairs and in interim housing and dependent on length of time.

Um, we also have uh we're building out sort of a ramp up uh schedule of providers because you know, we sort of understand that um we're uh we're working at a very fast pace right now because of the sort of deadline with getting leased up and the um and the funding, and so we are um proposing to um ramp up the slots based on providers who uh are uh already have capacity because you know, at the same time as we're ramping up the alliance program, we're also ramping down um some TLS programs as you mentioned related to some of the funding changes, and uh so we wanted to make sure that those the initial tranche of uh service providers that were able to uh work with folks in the TLS program were ones that already had the capacity or already working with uh home Inc.

as a fiscal agent, um and so we're familiar with those processes.

So we'll be looking at those couple of providers to for this first initial push.

Um, and so the prioritization will be for long stairs and interim health.

So, you know, I just wanted to I've asked multiple times from LASA about what is the methodology to evaluate uh the service providers that are actually doing that case management monitoring, and we've seen you know, we've had a few black eyes on this.

And when you have TLS and you enter into that, yes, it becomes even more critical that you have reputable agencies engaged in that work to monitor because you could potentially undermine the ability to continue to sustain this work.

It's like any other facility.

If it fails to perform or it becomes a nuisance or becomes a bigger problem, you're gonna have more resistance from people willing to participate.

Point well taken.

Um, and and part of the RFP process for this particular program was also a hot high weighted scoring for um providers that were providing uh currently either a TLS program through LASA or a very similar program, and we looked very closely at their key performance indicators to ensure that they were scoring very high on just the the basics of data quality, so entering entering in their data, but also that they were able to help people who were you know trying to grow their income, transitioning people to PSH who are qualified quickly, so that was very forefront of mind.

And then uh the other thing I'll say is that around the redesign, part of um what we're working on currently is uh building out um even better and easier to use monitoring tools for for doing exactly that.

So, really again making sure that people are clearly designated on one of these three paths, which we know can change over time.

It's you know, there's the flexibility, but also then being able to assess how well folks are able to move through the program and and successfully transition out.

So it's a very good uh it's a very good point.

Okay, well, I again I just wanted to better understand in terms of procedure, making sure that the acuity levels of the individuals that we're talking about aren't that we we're not having a circumstance where in the effort to try and accelerate those placements of individuals or perhaps move them from the street, if you do it too quickly, right?

Then you're setting yourself up for failure and a failure of the whole effort.

And so I just I wanted to better understand procedurally how that was gonna happen because this is something that I know we'll all be monitoring very closely, it's critically important, not just because we want to be in compliance with the alliance agreement, but uh it shouldn't be an accelerator to help advance certain placements of individuals that perhaps are not prepared to be in the living in that type of circumstance, and more importantly, I really want to make sure that what we can do going forward is to maximize the opportunities for us to also aid families uh who are frankly just part of that economic shortfall of being able to sustain themselves, and so the acuity levels are really born out of economics, which is not all the other circumstances generally, and so to the extent that we can help uh support that population is critically important.

And so the acuity levels are really born out of economics, which is not all the other circumstances generally, and so to the extent that we can help uh support that population is critically important.

And I think we've seen a huge need for that.

Um, I think the current TLS program that is ramping down is very strong and has had strong outcomes, but we also were able to see that there were gaps there and and really be thoughtful about designing this new uh program to be in response to some of those gaps.

And so there are a couple other things I'll just very quickly say um that I think you know would be helpful is that um again the you know it'll be the longest stayers that have been more stabilized in interim housing for uh 12 months or more initially, uh, and then also the um TLS case management support that they'll be getting.

It's very intensive, it's more intensive at the beginning of the program.

So also recognizing that as people are moving into a new location and moving out of interim housing, that we really need to um ensure that all of that wraparound support is really front-loaded so that we can determine what their needs are and help to really keep them stabilized and put them on the right path to be able to transition out, whether that's at you know 24 months, which is the goal of the program is 24 months or less, um, or sooner for some people.

There are some people who really need you know uh a couple of really intensive months and then are able um to sort of get back on their feet or or go to a different um uh housing setting.

Okay.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, uh Councilmember Rodriguez, and thank you all for answering the questions.

I I think there's a lot of excitement that this program is getting refined and redesigned, and certainly the issues that council member Rodriguez raised are important.

And also on the other side of that coin, you know, just I can say in my bridge home shelter now, I have people who get up and go to work every day.

Absolutely.

So they they don't need to stay there for nine months or a year or whatever.

They really just need a bridge between where they were living that they lost and where they are now.

And so the better this program gets, hopefully, we achieve efficiencies for the city, but also for the folks uh who are uh find themselves houseless.

Councilmember Park.

Thank you, Council President.

I I I just wanted to ask to clarify with respect to this third group of individuals.

Um who require intensive case management services for high acuity.

So I'm just wondering how and why we have this category assigned to City of Los Angeles responsibility at all.

And I I mean, are we expanding the scope of our liability and what we're responsible for by taking on this category?

I thought that was pretty pretty clearly carved out in the agreements previously.

Sure.

Uh Matt Zabo, City Administrative Officer.

So the um the portion of the settlement did uh did contemplate um uh establishing the number or required number that we uh need to comply with that we need to establish in terms of beds uh or units of housing by 2027 based on um the the um the term in the settlement is not the best term or the most artful, but it is city shelter appropriate.

That that term is used to determine the number that would be required for us to build the it is within the city's discretion to establish whatever type of housing that it chooses to as an example uh the majority of our of our housing that we have established and that will make up our final um our final commitment is permanent supportive housing, much of which is used for high acuity individuals.

The issue is that as it relates to the county MOU, the county uh has agreed for the term of the settlement to pay for the services both and serve both in permanent housing and interim housing for alliance compliant beds.

Um in this case, we're talking about uh a program that we haven't that we intend to add to our alliance goals, but isn't uh explicitly uh discussed in the MOU.

It is generally, it is not explicitly in terms of time-limited subsidies because it's in a in kind of in the middle between a permanent housing that we would construct from the ground up and and true interim housing.

It's not considered interim housing.

We are in um ongoing conversations with the county um to include uh TLS, the services component of TLS in their obligation pursuant to the MOU.

Well, it seems to me, regardless of what type of housing intervention they're placed in, whether it is interim congregate shelter, an inside safe motel room, TLS or something else, isn't it the county's responsibility to pay for and provide those higher level services?

And are they paying for them in these TLS placements?

So I I'll I'll be returning to the council with a resolution of that of that last question.

Where we're in conversations with the county currently to include the services component in their obligation if those conversations are ongoing, so I will report back to you on that.

Okay.

It it can I'm just gonna say this because it concerns me though that there is even a category of high acuity coming out of our interim and other placements.

Why are there folks that still have this level of health and behavioral health issues that have exhausted their time in those other programs?

How is putting them in a private apartment with maybe occasional visits, whatever that level of service, how is that gonna solve the underlying problem?

I'm not sure if if anyone from anyone else wants to address it.

I'll just I'll just say that we um we currently house with city funds in with city resources, city housing individuals, uh high acuity individuals, and we we do that, we do that now.

And we do that with the inside safe program, we do that with other interim housing programs, and so we want to we want a TLS program that could accommodate uh individuals that are currently in city funded interim housing and can accommodate their transition to permanent housing um regardless of their acuity.

That is not an that is not in any way um conceding that the uh high acuity individuals should be the primary responsibility of the county, but it also recognizes the reality that we have high acuity individuals in city funded interim housing today.

And I get that, but our city funded interim housing has on-site services and partnerships that manage the effects of the high acuity behavior.

How is that going to repeat in a privately owned apartment building where we're just paying a rental subsidy?

I uh what are the guardrails to make sure that person is stabilized and not causing a problem for everyone else?

Absolutely.

Um so hi, Sarah Solon from HRNA Advisors.

So just to kind of build on what CO CAO Zabo just said, um, as of the latest data, 70% of people who are living in city funded interim housing are eligible for permanent supportive housing.

So it's a it's a large proportion.

Um and the TLS slot cost is now for a single adult about 29,000 dollars.

Of that, 22 is at 22,000 per year is for rental subsidies, and the balance is for intensive services that will help people to stabilize and will help people will help to deal with some of the issues that you're naming.

Which location how is that adequate?

Which is um consistent with the the cost per slot for ICMS services, the intensive case management services that serve people with acute needs in our region.

So that is how it's regionally priced right now.

Um that's how it's regionally priced right now, and I think that um it may be helpful to hear a little bit more about in the current TLS program that's regionally funded, 55% of participants are people who are eligible for permanent supportive housing.

So the current iteration of the time-limited SUSCD program is already serving people with pretty acute needs.

Um, and there has been quite a bit of success this year in helping those households to stabilize in their own homes to get ongoing services and to get the support that they need to transition to permanent supportive housing.

And we have learned some things, and so the slot cost for TLS that council approved in January for the new city program is higher.

The the services costs are higher.

So we think that under the new city program, it will be possible to have slightly lower uh case manager to client ratios to provide more intensive services for people with acute needs.

So we're trying to build on what has worked and do it a little bit better under the next model.

Okay.

So that's good to know.

But so if you are going to place somebody that has high acuity addiction or mental health needs into an apartment building with other residents, what are the guardrails to make sure that person is not causing a problem or derailing the progress of others?

Sure.

Do you want to talk about how it's fine now?

Yeah.

We're hoping the answer is that you won't place someone like that in an apartment and walk away.

So we we certainly never place somebody in an apartment and walk away.

So also I think it's important to note that in permanent supportive housing, there are also tenant-based permanent supportive housing, meaning scattered sites where folks are in private apartments.

So this this work is done all the time currently across the nation and here in Los Angeles for permanent supportive housing as well as in the time-limited subsidies.

So as Sophia pointed out earlier, we have designed the program so that there is more intensive services when folks initially move in, so that we are wrapping folks with services as they move in in that transition, which can be the most tumultuous point for a participant, where they're coming out of a shelter that they an environment that they know, they're moving into an apartment potentially for the first time in a long time where they've lived on their own.

So we wrap services around for that initial period more intensively than uh than they may necessarily need throughout the their stay in the time limit subsidy.

Uh the expectations in terms of the case managers in the TLS, is that they're also accessing additional services available in the community.

So if a participant has mental health needs, that they are ensuring that they're connected with the Department of Mental Health for outpatient services at various levels, whether that's the full service partnership, which is a really high-intensive level of uh wraparound services uh provided by the Department of Mental Health, or just a more standard connection to an outpatient clinic where folks can go in for their medication and therapy services on a scheduled basis.

But the the expectation is that those case managers in TLS are ensuring that those connections are made both for physical health, mental health, and substance use.

So again, connection with uh substance abuse prevention and control for folks who have substance use issues.

Uh so regardless of their needs, whether it's uh employment programs for folks who uh may already be working but may need to increase their income, have capacity to ink to work but are not yet, we're working to make sure that they're connected to those resources.

For folks who have challenges with their mental health, they will be making sure that they're connected to the department of mental health for those services, uh, for physical health, making sure that they're connected to a local clinic, an FQHC or a DHS provided clinic.

Um, and similarly for mental health that they're connected with uh a low uh uh substance use services that are connected with a local substance abuse provider.

So the goal is to wrap those services around intensively at the beginning uh and then based on their service need potentially taper off because they're getting the connection with the mental the mental health provider, getting additional case management through there that then also frees up uh some services for them as a new person comes in to really wrap around that new person.

So there's a blend of services based on uh the individual needs of the participant.

The only other thing I would add uh to what I agree with what Nathaniel said, but um also part of the um thinking behind the redesign in uh being able to sort of assess individuals for these three tracks is that it also helps document that and you know, building out tools that make that easier for our providers so that they're also able to staff around that.

Of course, again, it's flexible, things change with an individual depending on what's going on with them, but the provider organizations are gonna be able to craft caseloads for their case managers that allow them to have the capacity to support with more of their time, individuals who have more of that acute need, especially initially, um, and then they might have individuals who need other types of support, like we said, applying for waiting lists, but it's not as much of that high acuity need, so they'll be able to have a mixed caseload in a way that sort of works to be able to create that capacity that um that I think gets at what you're talking about.

If I may add in one last piece, which is uh for those individuals who are in shelter who are exhibiting really problematic behaviors that are going to be exceptionally challenging, our work is with the interim housing providers to get them connected to board and care level services or uh or you know, more high acuity services even then permanent supportive housing.

Uh so our goal is to be able to get people through the shelter system so we can move more folks off of the streets and into shelter, um, but making sure that there are various pathways, including for those folks who have really significant uh behavioral health challenges, including connecting them to higher levels of care even than permanent supportive housing.

But that ideally would happen ideally it would happen from directly from the street, but if they've come into the shelter and are exhibiting those issues, we're working with the interim housing providers to get them connected to that higher level of care directly from the shelter.

I hear what you're saying, and I appreciate it.

Um it just troubles me that we have individuals coming out of our program who still require that wraparound intensive services at all, and that we're not putting them into permanent supportive housing where they have those on site services.

We're putting them into an independent apartment and hoping that these connections that we're trying to make stick.

I mean, it's great if people can go by and check on them, but that is an entirely different set of circumstances than placing someone with high acuity needs into PSH where they have the services on site.

I don't know, I just find it a very, very strange distinction, and I'm very, very worried about the impacts that folks with high acuity needs, if they are not getting the treatment and care that they need, or they're not following through on the connections that have been made, can cause a huge problem, and then you're gonna lose participation and support.

And I don't want that to happen, and so that's why I'm asking what are the guardrails.

Because what I'm hearing described are people that are unable to move into an independent apartment and require minimum months of intensive wraparound services to be stabilized.

That is not my understanding of where folks should be coming out of our other housing programs.

Thank you.

Uh thank you, Councilmember Park.

Uh if you guys have I feel like you guys have answered this question a couple times, and it's still your answers, I think still leave questions.

Uh but council member Raman, if you yeah, could I just if I could just um I I think what you're saying, Councilmember Park is absolutely right, and I think the county does have significant responsibilities for providing support to our highest acuity residents in our shelters and across our and on our streets, that which they're not providing.

I do want to flag though that a program like this with even less support, we've funded for thousands of slots, and have had better results from TLS in terms of the success of participants to be able to stay housed and to stay indoors and to graduate to self-sufficiency than a congregate shelter where there's staff there 24-7 and other kinds of sites that we fund through the city, which are actually significantly more expensive.

This program is less expensive and has had significantly higher outcomes, positive outcomes, and we've funded thousands of slots across the entire city and county already.

So I understand the concerns, and I think that there's ways to address them, and I think we should be asking much more specifically from the county for the kinds of intensive case management that only they can provide, and only they're funded to provide.

At the same time, I don't think that negates this intervention as a positive intervention for addressing some of our longest stayers in in our very expensive shelter sites.

We've had great results with TLS, but we don't put people with high acuity addiction and mental health challenges who are in an acute state into those property.

We do currently serve uh folks who are assessed to need PSH in TLS.

Currently, yeah, and our providers that we're working with happening we're using that for people who are stabilized and ready to live independently.

And and I see that thank you, Councilmember Park.

Um, you know, as an amateur with no expertise in this area, it just a person with high acuity mental health conditions.

At one point in history, those people are hospitalized.

And I I just it seems like when people are sick, the idea when when someone has a health condition, it seems odd to put them in an apartment.

But we've discussed it at length here today.

Uh any other speakers on this item?

Uh all right, madam clerk, we're ready.

Could you remind us on what we're what we're voting on and I can open the roll?

Thank you.

If the council would like to start with item 17.

All right, let's open the roll on 17.

Close the roll, tabulate the vote.

12 eyes.

All right, what's next?

If the council would like to take up item 16.

All right.

Councilmember Yaroslavsky.

Thank you, Council President.

I ask uh that we move um the BNF report.

Um this item.

Yeah.

All right.

Let's open the roll on that item.

Close the roll, tabulate the vote.

11 ayes, one no.

All right.

What's next?

If the council would like to take up item 19 as amended.

All right.

Open the roll on 19 as amended.

Close the roll.

You no open open the roll.

19.

Excuse me.

Oh, 19.

19, we're going in to close.

No, no.

19, we need to talk about amendment A, 19A to make sure that it doesn't slow down.

Okay, so there's discussion on 19.

All right.

We can begin our discussion with Councilmember Yarzlavski.

Um yes, so if we could get uh BSL up here, would be great to just answer one question I have.

Thank you.

Um so colleagues, it's my understanding that we need to vote on this today, um, so that if it's not unanimous, it trails to next Tuesday so that it the ballots can go out.

Is that correct?

That's correct.

Okay.

Um so my question on on uh Ms.

Parks uh Councilwoman Parks Amendment 19A.

Um would that in any way, if we adopt it today, would it anyway slow down or hinder our ability to get the ballots out the door in April?

Uh Miguel San Long, director of Bureau Sheet Lighting, should have introduced myself earlier.

Um my understanding is the amendment is a report.

The report itself uh would not affect our timeline.

That was that would be something that I would have to produce a report and present to council in subsequent days.

Okay.

Um is city attorney here.

I just I want to make sure that this is legal under state law around assessment fees.

I just want to make sure we're not doing something by voting on this today, because it directs a plan to stay the assessment.

Um I want to make sure that that plan comes back for a vote and conversation before we it's adopted.

I have concerns about whether or not it's legal under 218 law.

Uh yes, uh Ted Jordan, assistant uh city attorney, we we actually have uh assessment council that works more directly on these things, but if you could repeat your question, I will thank you, Mr.

Jordan.

The question is whether we adopt 19 as amended by A today.

Have you seen 19A?

Yes.

Whether that in any way would slow us down or potentially create challenges with the overall assessment.

My understanding of 19A is that it just it calls for our understanding, I think is that it calls for a report.

Um, but I'm reading it right now, and it says instruct the Bureau to report in 30 days on a plan to stay the assessment for properties in the Pacific Palace.

I don't know if that's legal.

I'm wondering if that's something that you're allowed to do to stay an assessment in one part of an assessment district.

And whether or not by voting on this today were in any way compromising the overall assessment.

My understanding that 19A is a report back to report on a plan.

It's a report back.

Okay.

The report back will be a plan.

So that's a report back.

Okay.

You're under no obligation to take action on the plan.

That's it.

Okay.

So we're voting then on 19A or A 19 as amended by A that calls for a report back on carving out um the palisades.

I'm fine with that as long as it's allowed and it doesn't slow down this assessment moving forward.

We have to vote on it today, and then we made it in a second vote next to the side.

And I'm not advising in any way what uh what could be done in terms of what the re what the plan might say, you know, whether you can carve things out, whether you could do all of that, that I'm not advising on that.

This is just this motion though calls for a report back and nothing more than a report back.

Okay.

It doesn't stop anything.

All right.

Um that's good.

I'm good.

Thank you.

All right.

So there's not going to be anybody sitting in that table telling us, oops, we can't do the assessment on time because you did this amendment.

Because you asked for a report back.

Yeah.

That should not ever happen.

All right, great.

Any other uh council member Rodriguez?

Yes, on this uh proposed, you know, you guys were here, I guess last week.

And some of my concerns that I addressed was in terms of the order in which uh how you're accelerating and maximizing the resources that you currently have available to you for the restoration of the street lighting infrastructure.

Additional money or not.

Sometimes it's not always about money.

Sometimes it's about how you prioritize your resources to address the concerns.

How have you been actively recalibrating approaching the street light restoration?

Uh I know I just we had a lengthy conversation last week, and I know Fabian I had asked you to to kind of identify how we could kind of coordinate and arrange uh the restorations in a manner that actually could maximize our staffing resources in an effective way.

And I ask this because what the people deserve is to know that you're gonna have the highest and best use.

We know how undersubscribed the resources have been for the department for decades with the 218 assessments.

We know this.

But we've never been in such a situation where we have been so far under water with the restorations of copper wire theft.

When in copper wire theft, we've been living with this, at least I can think of for the last 15 or so plus years.

Um, what measures are being adopted?

Should the public commit additional resources through this assessment process?

What is going to change?

What is going to change in terms of how you approach this challenge and not just expend it all in overtime usage or what have you?

How are we going to curtail it?

How are you going to uh what mess what efforts have you taken uh in terms of protecting that infrastructure with some of the other uh you know partners that I've raised to you previously?

Yep.

I can answer that uh excuse me.

Um to summarize, it has changed, will continue to change, and then we'll continue to evolve well after.

We have a suite of solutions we have deployed from again restoration, fortification.

There is a constant review of data and um and and the practices on the field with in terms of construction and restoration.

Uh we have an ongoing uh monthly Comstat essentially within the the Bureau to analyze every uh uh action we've taken to a debrief and look into what we can do better.

We continue to deploy uh technologies that include the smart nodes to make sure that we're able to understand what's going on out in the field much quicker.

We have been uh changing the the deployment meeting.

Uh you hadn't installed them on the new on the restorations.

So did that just change?

That that has been in practice now since the beginning of this fiscal year where we are installing smart nodes alongside any piece of infrastructure that we touch.

We have been we had previously installed smart nodes as part of our uh LED replacement program.

Uh that is something that is uh built into our long-term plan for any type of uh maintenance uh chain uh I'm sorry, maintenance and uh lifecycle replacement that we have.

Uh in addition to that, we've also done um several clue crew deployment uh deployment uh realignments where we have added more the heavier crews uh to the valley that um where we have uh essentially heavy crews that deal with theft and vandalism that usually require more materials.

We have stationed one very specifically for the valley in the single yard shared yard that we have.

Uh we have obviously gotten additional uh help through the help of city council for uh increased staffing uh and uh and and additionally again with one of the things that I think is the most visible and uh transformative change that we've had solar lights that we've been deploying as well.

So the whole slew of uh uh the whole slew of solutions, the whole suite of solutions uh that that we've have continued to practice that have been proven effective.

It is now at a point though where we do not have the funds to even do the most basic of things that we do.

The LED program is non existent.

So uh so that is a a huge liability for the city.

Again, 100,000 street lights have their LEDs that we consider end of life.

Uh some are broken and some have fallen as well, failed as well.

So what's the life of uh solar?

Life of solar, we estimate it to be around eight to ten years.

Okay, and what is the cost of replacement?

Right now for us about six thousand to six thousand five hundred, depending on what piece of equipment that you're using.

And what is the life cycle of the traditional, assuming it's uh preserved and it's what it's uh untouched.

If you're referring to just the non-vandalized, non-vandalized non-theft, what is the life cycle of a traditional versus what's the comparison?

A LED street light itself has the uh what what we're saying is about a 10-year lifespan and 10-year warranty for the things that we have.

Okay, so and just and again, I want to make sure what we're doing is maximizing the resources that we have.

When you're telling me that we have a an eight-year life cycle on LED, or excuse me, on solar.

I I just want to be honest with the public in making sure that we understand what the costs of replacements are gonna be, and because I know we're talking about it as a as a permanent solution, but the details about the length of time in in should that infrastructure stay.

I mean, we we know we have lights that have been around, you know, uh most of that infrastructure if undisturbed, you know, is longer than a decade or two with with the exception of a replacement of a bulb, but LEDs last a lot longer.

And so I just want to make sure that uh the details of what you're proposing.

See, this this is what happens.

This is what my concern is.

You get a windfall of money without a plan.

And if we're not really strategic about what our plan is, that becomes a big problem.

Because a lot of it, that's that's what happens when like we see that in homelessness.

We see it when everyone's got all of a sudden a ton of money.

I want to make sure there's a really thoughtful plan in place about how you prioritize the restoration, how you're maintaining or or fortifying our existing resources, and how we're making sure we're going to uh light up this city in a manner that actually protects it going forward.

And so I need to make sure all the guardrails are up because we just had this conversation last week.

The the comment that you're giving me now about the nodes is different than the con the response you gave me last week.

Because when I was asking you specifically about the nodes, to which you said I believe it was 20,000.

And I and again, I'm just pulling off the ticker tape.

But when I asked you about the restorations that my colleagues and I have paid for, and those that were out, you indicated that they weren't being installed on that.

So I and and that was a problem.

So I I just want to know what the real answers are and what the plan is on paper as we go forward with these things.

That that really matters to me because it's important that you know we've seen absent a plan, there's a lot of money that gets availed, and then all of a sudden, what have we actually materially made different?

Um, and I I'm so I just want to make sure that that uh I'd like to see I'd like to see a plan with how these dollars are gonna get spent.

That's absolutely the your concern is absolutely the reason why in 2022 we created the long-term operational plan for the Bureau that actually lays out the entire per person per per unit per um staff member per material for what we plan to spend the 125 uh million dollar assessment that we're proposing to city council today.

Uh and that's augmented given the new solar packages and all the other requests that have gone in?

The the that plan was created in 2022, reflecting all the things that we need to do in order to do uh life cycle replacement, uh maintain uh the system and also address the issues of theft and vandalism.

It does also include a component to uh build out a larger solar program, which we saw at that time as very effective and something that we should actually start investing in as well.

So those are things are we are still working uh as a whole for the Bureau uh to figure out what amount of solar is the right fit.

We had originally uh we had a report out where we expect probably about 60,000 or so uh street lights that can actually be eligible for solar replacement.

We have two engineers that are working on that, and it is essentially transforming an electrical system to a new type of power source and use.

And so we do uh need additional resources.

Part of the reason why we're building a solar program within the assessment is because we need to have a longer term outlook for all the things that we're doing.

So is it going to be updated in 26?

Because that's a four-year-old plan.

So is it going to be updated given what's being proposed and when is that going to be available?

I have um shared with council before that for the first year of the assessment.

Our plan is to hire as quickly as possible with regards to using targeted local hire, bridge to jobs, and other methods, including I'm asking for the whatever the document, whatever you said you had in 22.

What's the one that you have available for 26, given that we're looking at this proposal?

And I want to know, again, you know, you can sell us on targeted local hire.

You can sell us on, oh, we're gonna make sure that all your community gets jobs.

Cool.

What I want is the actual document.

So when is that going to be updated to reflect the 2026 circumstances?

Given that these monies are now being considered.

The Bureau stands behind its plan in 2022 as it does today with 2026.

We will update it as necessary.

We have not seen a need for us to update the long-term plan at this moment.

Okay.

I I think with a substantial amount of money, the the taxpayers deserve to see a current plan.

And if you're saying that it hasn't changed, uh, I think the circumstances have changed significantly since 22 in terms of uh the cost of materials, the cost of labor, and so I think the people deserve to have a 2026 plan.

So I would hope that that's something that's going to be made available to those considering this.

Yes, ma'am.

Councilmember Hernandez.

Uh point of order, Council President.

Uh, can I uh call the question on this?

You are allowed to call the question.

Thank you.

Is there any objection?

All right.

Seeing no objection, let's uh open the roll on this item as amended, close the roll, tabulate the vote.

All right, what's next?

I voted no.

Okay, was that the vote?

No, I voted no.

I voted no.

It came up, it turned out red.

No, we didn't need a vote, there was no objection.

That was on the item.

We didn't we didn't need a vote.

There was no objection to calling the question.

So we call the question on the we called the roll on the item.

On the item, but I voted no.

Okay, so council member Rodriguez would like to be noted as a no vote.

So that will be 11 ayes and one no adopted forthwith, but the ordinance will be held over to Tuesday, March 24th for a second reading.

Got it.

All right.

What's next?

Thank you.

That uh it takes care of all of the items on the special agenda.

They have all been adopted forthwith.

Would the council like to adjourn the special meeting and reconvene the regular meetings?

Yes, please call the roll.

Thank you.

Blumenfield, Harris Dawson, Hernandez, Hut Herado, Lee, McCosker, Nazarian, Padilla, Park, Price, Raman, Rodriguez, Sotomartinez, Yaroslavsky, 12 members present in a quorum, Mr.

Betsy.

All right, what item is before us.

Would the council like to go into closed session for item 14?

All right, let's go into closed session on item 14.

We'll ask everybody who is not uh staff of the department, a council office, or an elected office to vacate the chambers at this time.

Remind everybody that over 4,000 choking related deaths occur each year, with a very young and the elderly being the most at-risk groups.

The key to helping someone survive a choking incident is being able to immediately recognize the signs they are in trouble.

These are the most common signs someone is choking.

One or both of their hands clutched to the throat.

Look of panic, shock, or confusion.

Inability to talk or cough, color changing to blue or gray.

If the person can cough forcefully, encourage them to keep coughing.

If the person cannot cough or talk, you need to quickly take action and perform abdominal thrusts.

For an adult, stand behind the person with one foot slightly in front of the other for balance.

Wrap your arms around the waist and tip the person forward slightly.

Make a fist and put it just above the person's navel.

Grasp your fist with your other hand and press it into their stomach with a quick upward thrust, as if you're trying to lift the person up.

Give five abdominal thrust, then check if the blockage is cleared.

If it is not clear, repeat as needed.

If the person is pregnant or you cannot get your arms around their stomach, give chest thrust instead.

Put your hands at the base of the breastbone.

Press hard into the chest with a quick thrust.

Perform five thrust and check if the blockage is clear.

And a fun fact about this building is that the architect was the architect of Union Station.

So when you see the vast expanse, you're in like a little mini Union Station.

It's a cultural monument.

It's on the Register of Historic Places.

The mission of Center for the Arts Eagle Rock is to be a cultural hub for the Northeast Los Angeles community and beyond.

We provide a creative environment for artists and members of our community to make art together and feel creatively inspired and connect them to the transcendent power of the arts.

We also have for families, we have a weekly doodle hour where children and their parents come and they draw like Matisse, they draw like Picasso, they learn to do character art, they do illustrations.