Los Angeles City Council Meeting – June 12, 2026
Sitting in the trucks and getting to see how those work.
I really just couldn't be more impressed about how much there is to learn, all the freebies, all the activities, the food, and just the fun that we had.
It was very entertaining and very informative as well.
Do not litter.
All this trash that we see out there doesn't magically come from outer space.
Us human beings bought it and dropped it.
We get off the bus and we know exactly what to do.
All through the year we're going to schools.
We have an environmental education program about the impact of trash on the streets and when it rains, trash goes down to the storm drain and impacts the beaches and oceans.
So they're educated to that.
And then at the end of the school year, we bring out a few thousand of those kids to the beach and that's what's going on today.
When you pick up trash, it's kind of fun because you can see like a lot of people here on this beach are helping the planet.
I'll don't connect all the trash because I don't want animals to get extinct.
And it helps the environment too.
So it's fun for me to pick up the trash.
It's sad and it's fun.
We're finding a lot of plastic and we're also.
Oh look, what is this?
It's like part of a straw.
We've been finding a lot of plastic.
There's capsules, cups.
I hope that these cleanups will make the kids better environmental stewards.
Um it really does take all of us working together to keep our natural faces clean.
A lot of kids are not aware of what we need to do to take care of our earth.
So programs like this and celebrating earthly, it really makes us very conscious.
Anybody find their new trash?
I think it's important for their future and you know the earth's future and they get this experience and they learn that their actions can affect the community as a whole.
Anybody that you talk to that's involved in this environmental movement, when they were a kid, they were at the beach and they fell in love.
So this is a love project.
This is getting kids down here to fall in love.
Well, good morning, everyone.
Welcome to Parthenia Place.
This is home to about 160 residents.
I thank you all for being here to celebrate a major investment in this community.
We are very grateful uh and excited uh with today's announcement by Congresswoman Luz Rivas, who was able to secure 750,000 for the residents of Parthenia Place to be able to repurpose a room into a computer lab.
This building was uh built in 2021 and it houses formerly homeless um and other residents.
Uh so this computer lab will be a great way to bridge the digital divide.
Children and families will have access to technology and the internet.
They can use it for school, apply for jobs.
We want them to thrive in this building.
I mean, it's really going to heighten the experience here at Parthinian Ways.
I have teenagers.
I have all teenagers, and they need a place to do their homework.
And being upstairs with TV and their radio and their phone, it distracts them.
And actually having a computer lab for them to do their work is really good.
When I first heard it, I was like, oh my god, yes, away from my parents and away from my brother.
So I was very excited.
When we invest in the tools, the spaces and support systems our residents need.
We are investing in stability, dignity, and opportunity.
Residents will have access to technology, to internet, to uh also support for students, support with homework, for adults support with uh looking for a job or uh gaining access to their uh caretaker, or as the councilwoman said, also connecting with government.
Um so we think that it's really important that we bring um the resources and the support that uh residents need to be able to not just reach stability but also to get ahead.
I'm trying to go back to school as well, and I think having a computer here would be great.
My diet, my oldest is in college, have a high schooler, and sometimes it's hard for them to focus in the apartment.
There's TV, their phones, and everything.
They feel like having it here close to home.
They could do their work here.
Have a space to do it away from home, away from the noise, which I think is gonna be great.
There's always something happening across Los Angeles from cultural celebrations and local leaders to events bringing communities together.
Here's a closer look at the stories making an impact in neighborhoods across our city.
The Office of Public Accountability is the official ratepayer advocate for the people of Los Angeles.
The Office of Public Accountability is an independent department that evaluates the LA DWP, the Department of Water Empower that provides electric and water service for four million customers and over a quarter million businesses.
The Raypayer Advocate Office is separate from LADWP.
We're not a part of the utility.
We are outside to make sure that there's an independent voice in independent analysis over LA DWP decisions and investments.
We evaluate their programs, their policies, their decisions to make sure that they're reasonable and in the ratepayers' best interests to support affordability and transparency and accountability here in LA for the ratepayers.
People contact our office all the time with challenges that they're facing.
Maybe it's because their bill is too high.
Maybe they don't understand what affordability programs are available to them.
We help to communicate who they can contact at the department and to understand what some of the solutions are for them.
We also look at these issues in total to try to understand where ratepayers overall have concerns and challenges, and we communicate those trends and issues to the department and to city leaders so that we can be the best advocate possible.
So our office is working on a series of projects.
We've been holding community workshops to listen to the challenges that people are facing on affordability.
We've held three different workshops already in different parts of the city.
We've also been developing analysis around DWP rates and their bills and how they compare to other utilities.
To stay connected and updated on our work here at the Office of Public Accountability, the easiest way is to go to our website.
We've been redesigning it to make sure that it's accessible and understandable to all people.
We have information on where we are in the community, how to contact us by phone, by email, even our address here in City Hall has a welcome sign on the door.
We love people to come in because when people connect with us, that helps us be a better advocate.
So people should come and visit our community workshops, participate in our listening sessions, be a part of the conversation and give their voices.
Show up at DWP Board of Commissioner meetings that are on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month.
All of these are ways to contact and stay up to date with our office and to help us be the best ratepayer advocate possible.
We envision a country where every city, town, and village has responsive early care and education systems where children are nurtured, families are powered, and educators are valued.
We are at the LA Expo Center, and it is the first convening of the early childhood education consortium.
It's a program that uh started with a technical assistance grant from the National League of Cities.
It's such a joy to be in such good company of people who don't just want capacity or for capacity's sake or look to fill solutions without thinking about holistic needs and really wanting to be uh making sure that the decision makers are the ones closest to young children and families.
Early child care and educating convening is such an important piece.
It's our first ever in the city of Los Angeles, and it's to bring professionals together, but also the providers that we are contracting in the next fiscal year to really learn about the challenges and how do we as a collective as a profession move early child care forward and make it more accessible for our communities.
When you're working and you're trying to improve developmental outcomes for children, you always have to be mindful that you need to be working at a neighborhood level.
Rather than just sort of seeing things as hey, this is the fix.
One was to increase the number of early childhood educators to also help organize those educators and also to build the capacity of existing educators and early education providers.
We've been in the child care business for over 20 years, and not too many people know that, but we do have child care facilities on top of our recreation facilities as part of our amenities, and so uh we have a deep history in child care and just providing care for youth or in our community.
The city of Los Angeles is already doing a great job supporting the early childhood community.
They've undertaken a year-long process of working with child care providers, with advocates like me to both understand the workforce issues and the actual child care facilities where people operate and run their child care businesses.
There's no greater investment that we can make as a city than in children.
We spend so many dollars on trying to solve community and social problems, in my view, by not investing on the front end.
And I think sometimes early childhood, prenatal to three, prenatal five is an afterthought.
It's great to do, we'd like to do, and to me, it's an essential part of any city budget.
It's an essential part of any long-term transformation of community, particularly communities that have real community traumas and challenges.
So I think from a budgetary standpoint and also just from a moral standpoint that this has to be essential in every city, particularly where you have families who face real challenges.
We believe that every conversation can start and end with early childhood because the first several years of a child's life is so interconnected in all of those different components of the system.
In 2018, the voters of Los Angeles County passed proposition W, which in fact was a measure intended to reduce reliance on water from outside.
We receive approximately 36 million dollars a year that's allocated in different ways.
It's making sure that we reduce our reliance on water from outside the area.
In fact, for too long, we've ignored stormwater.
We do have 12 other safe clean water projects in progress.
These projects are meant for water capture and water quality, and they're currently within the design and construction phases.
The city has dedicated itself to improving water and air quality in neighborhoods within Los Angeles.
These projects are important as they're a direct investment to you know ourselves and then our community.
Los Angeles is powered by the people, places, and stories that connect our communities.
Coming up, we'll show you what's happening across the city and introduce you to the people making a difference right here at home.
Good mental health is what sets us up to handle life situations the best way we can possibly handle them.
Mental health really is about how you're doing socially, emotionally, psychologically, all those factors that impact your life and the ways you can function in your life.
This event is the result of months of planning in our service area.
It's meant to heighten mental health awareness, awareness about resources and the community, destigmatize mental health issues and concerns, and basically bring out to our student population, particularly, but other community members resources.
So we've got fun things around self-care like massage and sound bath and art and you know just different activations that folks can do to sort of work on their coping skills, manage mental health challenges when they come up.
And then add to that, we've got music about Power 106 here, and we've got some yummy food vendors from our local community: tacos, hamburgers, hot dogs, all kinds of stuff for people to just enjoy and celebrate with us and become more aware about mental health resources in our community.
Mental health is a very important thing.
So it's really cool to have events like this to spread awareness, you know, to like have resources, offer help to people, to students, you know.
I mean, we want everybody to be successful.
I think that's the most important thing as a human overall, but especially as a student.
Your overall educational experience is entirely determined by your mental health.
I feel like in my experience, there's some time where like I wasn't doing the best mentally, so I wasn't doing well in school, you know.
I reflected upon that and other things in my life as well.
That's a really big thing, and I think it's really nice to have this going on.
You know, it's offering support to people who really need it for sure.
Mental health really exists on a spectrum.
I think that's something that people don't always understand.
It's just like health, right?
You can be very well sometimes, or there are other times where you may not be doing very well.
There are a lot of different things that impact how a person does.
I think you can tell your mental health is at risk when you see changes going on.
Like maybe you aren't as interested in the activities you used to enjoy.
You're having problems functioning in school or at work or within your family.
There are so many resources now available to people to impact and improve their mental health.
We are the largest public department mental health in the country, and we have all kinds of programs, everything from high acuity services, crisis intervention to outpatient services to prevention, everything from kids to older adults.
We also have a 247 1800 number that's 1-800-854-771.
And that's our mental health and substance abuse helpline.
There's also our LA County Department of Mental Health website, dmh.lacounty.gov.
It has listings of all the services that we have, different things going on in the community.
A really wonderful resource to access.
Stay locked in.
Stay locked in.
Yeah, do what you gotta do.
Keep fishing.
Thank you all for coming together to celebrate the 10th annual Jewish American Heritage Month here in the city of Los Angeles.
This year's theme is playing it forward, and it's honoring uh basically the Jewish community in sports.
And uh and how that intersects with with Los Angeles.
And so it's uh it's a great event.
We had an unveiling of an exhibit at the bridge.
Three, two, one, woo!
And first, we have the legendary film and television actor, Jewish advocate Eric Braden.
He is a TV and film icon and Emmy Award-winning.
Uh he's the People's Choice award-winning actor, uh, is a television icon and arguably the most popular character in daytime history and has starred Victor Newman on the number one rated daytime uh drama series, The Young and the Restless.
He's been on that for over 46 years.
But today we are also celebrating him as part of the groundbreaking soccer team in Los Angeles.
So, Eric, please come forward.
Welcome.
I would like to recognize, first of all, Ellie Mamor, who was left pulled back in our team, and Marshal Hoffman, Sweeper, Abram Cohen, Pini Benzakin.
They were all my teammates.
You said something under Shematik to Ali Mamur, he would stand up to you immediately.
I learned from that experience.
Encounters you intelligence, genius is not only the purview of one group.
It is universal.
We just need to give people a chance.
Anyway, I'm here in LA, I love the city, been here for over 60 years, and let's straighten out the potholes.
Thank you very much.
To be honored in front of the council with such nice words that was said by everybody after we accepted our awards, just makes you feel super special.
I'm very proud.
I'm from Los Angeles, was born and raised out here.
Went away for a while for the last 12 years, but we recently came back, and it feels like we came home.
So I'm very happy to be here today.
Thank you so much.
It really is my honor to be here this morning.
Good morning to everybody.
My Jewish life and my gymnastics life actually started as a young boy in Van Ice, California.
I went to Stephen S.
Weiss Temple.
My mom and dad were actually uh founding members of the congregation.
And I spent many years there learning about the Jewish heritage and what it meant to be Jewish.
And I started my training at LA Valley College on trampoline of all events, where I learned that the love of flying was just what I was meant to do in life.
I love the feeling of flipping and twisting in the air, and that eventually morphed into the coaches wanting me to try this incredible sport of gymnastics.
Mitch Gaylord uh talked about uh the 1984 Olympics, where uh he had just come off a national championship in gymnastics with UCLA, and four months later he was winning a gold medal uh and scored the first perfect ten ever in gymnastics history right here at the uh at the LA Games in 1984.
Great moment of pride for UCLA fans, the LA community, and for uh for uh the Jewish community as well.
Our next honoree is Chelsea Goldberg, uh a SoCal native who started playing roller hockey at a young age and eventually took her passion to the ice, where she got recruited to play at Northeastern University.
Along the way, she broke both legs, which hurt her chances to make the U.S.
Olympic team.
Nonetheless, she was drafted by the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women's Hockey League.
One of the things I'm most grateful for is being able to combine two parts of my identity that means so much to me.
Hockey and Judaism.
I truly love the intersection of faith and sport and the way both can bring people together, inspire resilience, and build community.
It's really important for the city to recognize, you know, the Jewish uh population, the Jewish people, just because one, it is it is a very highly populated Jewish city, Los Angeles, but also there's not that many of us around the world, and uh the Jewish population itself is so close, and and when you're part of the Jewish family, we are a family, and so to recognize us and have everyone here to us recognize us in the history um behind us, I think it's very powerful.
It's really a great occasion to kind of come together and celebrate.
Especially at a time when, to be frank, you look at the numbers and you look at the the uh um stories that people are telling us in schools and in so many other places about the bias that they're experiencing, the anti-Semitism they're experiencing, and it's good to have the time to come together and to also celebrate and to be proud.
I'm at a loss for words today because I didn't expect to feel the way I felt when we were standing up there, hearing the guys from the soccer team, the famous actor that he came from Germany, represented not only his sport and soccer, but uh his heritage, and uh it really is a message of coming together for one another.
Three, two, one, today is our salute to recreation event.
This has been going on for 44 years.
This is our opportunity to really highlight some of the programs that we offer year round through the Wrecking Parks program, and it's our sort of celebration to celebrate all those.
We have carnival rides, we have a lot of vendors, amazing food, amazing performances, a lot of organizations giving out information, and a lot of competition for our youth and adults.
They have dancers, they have food, they have giveaways, we do so many great programs, whether they be sports programs, summer camps, aquatics, and it's just our chance to like bring out the dance crews, bring out all the different programs, and have their parents see what they've been working on.
These types of events are really to bring community together.
It's important for people to know that they can get together in love and civility.
I think it's something that's missing a little bit in our society today.
Having community in Los Angeles, it's really hard.
Being in places like these that can bring everybody together.
It's always um something to celebrate.
Los Angeles needs to spend more time together.
These are the things that bring really community together, but we have all different types of opportunities across the parks.gov slash TV, and follow at LA City on Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube.
Check out what's happening around Los Angeles.
Mountain pose, tree pose, warrior pose.
Find your inner yogi at the Los Angeles Public Libraries, Palms Rancho Park Branch.
Breathe.
Stretch and reset at Community Yoga on Friday, June 12th at 10 a.m.
This fun all levels class includes mats and blocks provided for participants.
Space is limited, so RSVP is encouraged.
Join Community Yoga Friday, June 12th at 10 a.m.
For details, visit LAPL.org.
For Father's Day, give Dad a sunset sail to remember.
On Saturday, June 13th, cruise through San Pedro Harbor aboard a historic tall ship and take in the ocean views.
Relax on deck or join the crew and help raise the sails.
For details, visit culture.gov.
The Los Angeles Public Library Central Library is hosting the fourth annual June Jubilee, a celebration of black excellence.
Join the fun on Saturday, June 13th at nine thirty AM for a day celebrating African American culture, community and creativity.
Enjoy health and wellness activities, arts and crafts, technology, genealogy, and more.
This free event is open to all.
For details, go to LAPL.
Raise the rainbow and hit Hollywood Boulevard for a colorful celebration featuring more than one hundred and forty bands, dancers, floats, and celebrities.
And that's your LA things to do.
In advance of uh calling the roll today is Friday, the twelfth day of June in the year 2026.
Um Madam Clerk, if you'll call the roll, we can begin our proceedings.
Thank you, Bloomenfield, Harris Dawson, Hernandez Hutt, Harado, Lee, McCosker, Nazarian, Padilla, Park, Price, Raman, Rodriguez, Otomartinez, Yaroslavsky, 10 members present and a quorum, Mr.
President.
All right.
Approval of the minutes of June 10, 2026.
Councilmember Lee Moose, Councilmember Hernandez Seconds.
Next.
Commendatory resolutions for approval.
Councilmember Judah moves.
Councilmember Raman seconds.
Madam Clerk, can we run through our agenda for this morning?
Yes, thank you.
Item number one is an item notice for public hearing.
Items two through four are items for which public hearings have been held.
Ten votes are required for consideration.
All right, without objection, those items are before us.
What's next?
Would any members like to call any items special?
Councilmember Rodriguez.
Yes, item three.
Uh, I have an amendment that's for item three.
All right.
Uh Councilmember Hernandez.
Thank you, Council President.
Uh, continue item two for two weeks.
All right.
Uh any other specialist members to my left, to my right.
Uh seeing none, Madam Clerk, what items are available for votes at this time.
Thank you.
Just to confirm for item two that will be continued two weeks to Friday, June 26, 2026.
So the only item available for council to vote on today is item item four at the moment.
All right, let's open the roll on that item, close the roll, tabulate the vote.
Ten eyes.
All right, what's next?
Would the council like to move on to presentations?
All right.
Um our first presentation, uh, a very exciting presentation that we do, and uh have a lot of bright young energy in the room will be led by council member Rodriguez of the 7th Council District.
How are you?
All right, good morning, colleagues.
Well, it is my honor to welcome and recognize the fourth cohort of the Olivia Mitchell Youth Council.
Please give them a round of applause.
Actually, guys, stand up.
You need to be you need to see you gotta let us see you.
Stand on up.
Yes, everyone standing.
Come on, stand up, stand up, get recognized.
Thank you.
Um, it's uh it's so special when you when having the honor of serving on the city council is an incredible privilege, but helping to create something that allows other young people to discover a potential passion and pathway for service in their city is doing this in the namesake of who I have always cherished and hello.
Who I've always someone that I've always cherished and actually was responsible for my first introduction into City Hall, Olivia Mitchell, uh, is really just a full circle moment.
And to have you all here as the fourth cohort, having established this Olivia Mitchell Youth Council for me is one of the most incredible privileges of my life that we are now going to see more and more young people getting introduced to the importance of the work that happens here at City Hall to learn how to be effective advocates of change.
And that's why I'm so delighted.
And when I look at the diversity from the cross section of the city that you all represent, making sure that everyone has a voice from every part of the city, this is just one of the best moments to every year be able to welcome the new cohort.
And I can't believe how quickly we just continue to ascend in this.
But it was back when I was student body president at San Fernando High School at my alma mater that I was first invited to City Hall by under the leadership of Mayor Tom Bradley and a Miss Olivia Mitchell, that I got my start, and I found my passion and my voice.
And I just hope that this experience for all of you is going to evolve into the very same thing for your for you and for your community.
And so with that, I want to say welcome and congratulations to the fourth cohort of the Olivia Mitchell Youth Council.
You know, as a member of the Youth Council, and the whole idea behind this is again to prepare you all and educate you on the inner workings of City Hall.
You know, a lot of people learn how to complain about things.
Very few people spend the time to learn how to fix it.
And your job is to work with our city departments and understand the inner workings of why how we spend money and how it is allocated, and how you can be involved with helping to shift those allocations.
For example, there's a whole host of reforms that are being proposed, including how much money we dedicate to investing in our park system.
And it's shameful that as a city we don't spend even a single full percent of resources in investing in our parks when parks are such a critical part of what so many communities and families you know really sustain their life on.
And so those are the types of decisions that are so critically important that I want this youth council to lean in on, start asking questions and getting a better understanding of so that together we can help build and deliver the very city that we're all incredibly proud of.
And so that's what this moment is all about today.
And so I'm just delighted to be to have you all here in council chambers and uh and to help you kick off on this journey over these next uh several months, which I think are gonna be transformative for each of you.
And I see some of the activists that were part of helping to lead the call for change in creating the city's youth development department here.
So when I talk about the power that is contained in these pews, it's palpable.
You all have the ability to lead change from where you are, and I just want to continue to foster and nurture that, and I know that's what's gonna happen as a result of your work here on the Olivia Mitchell Youth Council.
And so I uh at this time I'd like to invite the uh one of the members of the Olivia Mitchell Youth Council, Vice President Rebecca Garcia of Council District 6 to share a few words.
Good morning, everyone.
Um, as we were getting ready for today's culmination, I found myself thinking about thank you notes.
I considered writing one, but then I realized that if I included everything I wanted to say, we'd probably be here well past lunchtime.
So you're getting the condensed version.
When I looked back at this year, racking my brain for how I could articulate my experience accurately and briefly, I kept coming back to one idea: doors.
This program opened doors.
Some doors led to new opportunities, some led to new experiences, some led to conversations, connections, and rooms that many of us may not have found ourselves in otherwise.
And those doors did not open on their own.
To the staff, thank you for meeting young people where they were, for your enthusiasm, your willingness to answer questions, and for helping us helping connect us with the people, resources, and opportunities that made this experience possible.
To the family, friends, mentors, and loved ones in the room, thank you for supporting the young people in your lives.
Opportunities matter, but so does having someone in your corner encouraging you to take them.
And to my fellow cohort members, congratulations.
Each of us came into this program with different interests, different experiences, and different ideas of what we wanted to get out of it.
Some of us again discovered new opportunities, some of us built new skills.
Some of us found ourselves in rooms, conversations, and areas we could have never anticipated.
This program was not about creating one destined path for everyone to absolutely follow.
It was about introducing us to possibilities.
It was about giving us opportunities to learn, explore, ask questions, build connections, and delve deeper into the city.
One of the biggest lessons I've taken from this year is that the best opportunities, they don't end with the people who receive them.
They continue when that person turns around and holds that door open for someone else.
And as we celebrate today, I want that to be something we all carry forward.
I don't know where everyone's path leads from here.
Some of us may continue in public service, some of us may pursue entirely different passions, and some of us are just getting started on our journeys.
But wherever that journey takes you, this is a milestone worth celebrating.
Because potential isn't just a thing we possess, it is something we act on.
It's built every time we raise our hand, ask a question, take a chance, apply for something we're not sure we'll get, or step into a room where we don't know anyone yet.
Each step you take is expanding the potential of what's to come.
So be proud of what you've accomplished.
Be excited for what's ahead.
And wherever your journey takes you next, I hope you'll continue creating and pursuing opportunities, not only for yourself but for others as well.
Whether you were the person opening a door, supporting someone as they walk through it, or the person who chose to step through it yourself, thank you.
And to my fellow cohort members, congratulations.
I can't wait to see what's next.
Thank you.
Thank you.
In addition to each of these uh young people that have been part of this journey, uh, we had also introduced this council had adopted the introduction because we have uh two representatives per council district.
Uh it was, I believe, last year that I introduced the motion that this council adopted that we have two appointees from the indigenous community also represented on that cohort, and so I look forward to that being incorporated into this going forward so that we can really respect the true history of the city of Los Angeles.
And so I look forward to also that being part of the future cohort activity.
And so at this time, I'd also like to invite our executive director, uh general manager of the youth development department, Lisa Salazar.
Good morning, and and thank you.
Uh, thank you to uh councilwoman Rodriguez for being a great champion these past years.
Thank you to the city council, thank you to Mayor Bass for your continued support of the LA City Youth Council.
Um I want to tell you, this year, this group of young people have taken on some uh really impressive tasks.
They started the year by learning the budget process, they went deep on that, they were trained by the CAO's office, they put together a budget letter where they outlined their budget priorities, which was included in our department budget proposal.
Uh, then they quickly jumped into uh conversations, critical conversations regarding the creation of the new community investment department.
They met with the CAO staff and CLA staff, and let me tell you, after those meetings, those staff walked away and said, Whoa, these young people, they know their stuff.
Um, so appreciate your perspective on that and the work that you did there.
They've also uh co-designed a regional youth leadership uh summit that we had here in City Hall with over a hundred young leaders from not only the city of Los Angeles but the county of Los Angeles, where they came together and discussed policy issues that are important to them, drafted recommendations that are now in a report, and just uh last month they co-designed and um and hosted uh our fourth annual youth expo at LHI Tech, where we had hundreds of young people and their parents and families, along with close to a hundred exhibitors who were there to share resources and programs uh that are available to young people across the city, and and now um today their journey uh culminates with their capstone projects where they have uh looked into your committee's chosen uh policy that is pending uh going through your committees, have made recommendations, and they're going to present those recommendations this afternoon.
So I'm very excited uh for the future of this group of young people, our cohort four.
And uh let me tell you, if we can uh bring them back as a future workforce, uh the city will only be a better place.
Thank you.
Thank you, Lisa.
And so, with that, colleagues, again, congratulations to this fourth cohort.
You make our city proud, you make our communities proud, and we look forward to your continued service to the City of Angels.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, Councilwoman Rodriguez, and thank you to the Olivia Mitchell Youth Council.
Uh it is exciting to see uh who you will be and and what you will do uh in our great uh city.
All right, we'll move to our next uh presentation.
Uh I'll yield the floor to Councilmember Park of the 11th District.
That's not flat, be careful.
Thank you.
All right, good morning, council president and colleagues.
Today it is my great honor to recognize an extraordinary leader, advocate, and community servant whose dedication has helped guide the Pacific Palisades through the most challenging time in its history, the president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, Sue Cole.
In the aftermath of the fire, dozens of organizations emerged with unique missions and goals to support our recovery efforts.
These groups brought neighbors together, identified needs and next steps, and provided hope and clarity when it was needed most.
Yet among all of those remarkable community organizations, one stands out as a beacon of community advocacy, civic engagement, and unwavering spirit, and that's the PPCC.
During those early days following the disaster, when thousands of residents were displaced, heartbroken, and searching for answers, the PPCC became a community lifeline.
I'll never forget the very first Zoom meeting where more than a thousand people looking for information, reassurance, and a path forward joined the meeting.
Amid the uncertainty and the emotion, there was one leader who remained calm, composed, and focused.
She guided that meeting with remarkable poise and compassion, bringing order amid chaos and reminding everyone that they weren't alone.
What was so incredible though is that Sue, like so many others, had just lost her own home and her church, and her office, and her entire community, just like so many thousands of others.
But instead of focusing on her, Sue focused on literally every one else and set about the work of helping to account for and stabilize thousands of families.
Sue, you and I worked closely together before the fire, but I know now that there's a reason the universe made us friends long before I took office.
That bond we shared, that close communication provided the foundation that we needed for what lied ahead, especially as those countless hours and days stretched into weeks and months and tested us in ways that we just never could have imagined.
You aren't just my friend these days.
You're my family.
Through Sue's leadership, the PPCC served as a trusted advisor to my office, a vital partner in our recovery efforts, and a unifying force that kept the community connected and informed every step of the way.
Sue aligned and coordinated the dozens of grassroots organizations and integrated them into a PCC committee structure that mirrors the long-term recovery planning and work of our partner, AECOM.
Her commitment to service extends far beyond her role with the PPCC.
A graduate of Northwestern University, she built an impressive professional career as a respected realtor.
For more than 35 years, she's been with Berkshire Hathaway.
She and her husband Bob have an incredible family and have made the Palisades home for more than three decades.
Since joining the PPCC in 2013, Sue has served in numerous leadership positions from youth sports rep to area rep for the alphabets and village neighborhoods to vice president and ultimately as president, a role that she has served with distinction for the last two years.
Her community service portfolio is equally impressive, including support for the Westside Guild of Children's Hospital, College Bound Today, the Union Rescue Mission, the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness, and the Berkshire Hathaway Charitable Foundation.
What makes Sue truly exceptional is not only her leadership, but her character.
Throughout the recovery process, she has consistently acknowledged the work of city agencies, community organizations, volunteers, and residents.
She celebrated the accomplishments of others, elevated important voices, and fostered a spirit of collaboration that strengthened the Palisades during its most difficult moments.
Sue, while rebuilding your own home in the Alphabet streets, you never stopped showing up for your neighbors, you never stopped advocating for your community, and you never stopped believing in the future of the Pacific Palisades.
I'd like to bring forward now another extraordinary Palisadian, LA Unified District Director to Nick Melvoyne, Alison Polhill, who spent January 7th evacuating students out of the Palisades while her own home burned.
Alison Kamana.
Thank you.
Good morning, esteemed council members.
It is my honor, honor to recognize a remarkable leader, a neighbor, and a friend, Sue Cole.
Many of us know Sue as a successful realtor, a longtime resident of the Palisades, a devoted mother raising five, five children, and her love for our community.
For more than three decades, she has been woven into the fabric of the Palisades through our schools, sports programs, churches, businesses, and civic organizations.
But it is Sue's service to this community during its most difficult moments that bring us together today.
When the fire forced residents to evacuate on January 7th, Sue was facing uncertainty and fear, as was everyone else.
And as she left her home, she gathered a few essential belongings.
And among them were two Pacific Palisades community council binders.
Okay.
Not her valuable children's baby books, silver things, her two binders for the community council.
And that detail says everything about Sue.
It really does.
At a moment when most people would understandably be focused on themselves and their families, Sue was already thinking about our community.
And as president of the PPCC, she immediately stepped into that role that would demand extraordinary commitment, resilience, and leadership.
And the days, as Tracy said, Councilmember Park, excuse me, the weeks became months, and Sue never stopped showing up for us.
She attended meetings at every level of government.
She worked alongside of our electeds, public agencies, community leaders, and residents.
She answered questions, shared information, advocated for our families, and helped to ensure that the voices of the Palisades residents were heard during the recovery and rebuilding process.
And Sue possesses a rare gift, a very rare gift that has been a valuable throughout the recovery process.
She is incredibly diplomatic.
Palisadians are a lot, not gonna lie.
In a time when emotions run high and difficult decisions had to be made, she brings people together.
She listened respectfully to differing viewpoints, built bridges between residents and government officials, and found common ground where others saw obstacles.
Her ability to lead with both conviction and grace earned the trust of our community, and that was very hard to do.
Sue understands that effective leadership is not about creating division, it's about bringing people together.
And most importantly, she helped to provide something our community desperately needed during its most vulnerable time.
Hope, stability, and trust.
When people were overwhelmed, Sue was steady.
When people were frustrated, Sue listened.
When people wondered whether the Palisades would ever be the same again, Sue reminded us that our community's strength has never been found in building alone.
It's found building together.
And her leadership is totally not recognized by her own recognition.
In fact, this is incredibly uncomfortable for Sue, I imagine, not by seeking credit, but by doing the work.
That is what she has done.
Not by forcing on what was lost and focusing on that, but by helping us focus on what can be rebuilt.
Sue's love for Pacific Palisades, her dedication to its residents, her tireless, tireless efforts on behalf of this community have made an immeasurable difference.
And on behalf of our entire community, many people wanted to be here today as well, and they could not.
It is my privilege to honor Sue Cole for her extraordinary leadership, her unwavering commitment to the public service and her profound impact.
Sue, thank you so much.
Allison, thank you so much for the very, very kind words.
And now it is an extraordinary honor to get to introduce Sue Cole to say a few words.
Come on up, Sue.
Thanks very much, guys.
Hope this won't be too repetitive, and I hope I can keep breathing through this.
President Harris Dawson, Councilwoman Park, and fellow council members, family, friends, and neighbors.
It's an incredible privilege to stand before you today in this historic chamber at LA City Hall.
I want to begin by thanking Councilwoman Park from the bottom of my heart for her kindness, generosity, and friendship in bestowing this incredible honor upon me.
It means more than I could adequately express.
I also want to thank my dear friend Alison Haldorf Polehill for her kind words and constant encouragement during the past two years.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles and I've lived here my entire life, which you can probably tell is a really long time.
So standing in this hallowed place is especially meaningful.
For the past 32 years, Pacific Palisades has been my home.
For much of that time, I was busy raising five children, along sometimes with three steps.
And yes, I can assure you, eight is definitely enough.
Between family work and the everyday chaos of life, I never had much time to focus on local government.
But eventually I came to understand how profoundly it shapes the life of every community.
I had heard of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, but I didn't really know what it was about.
What I did know was that I wanted to give something back to the community that had given so much to me and to my entire family.
So 14 years ago, I joined the community council.
Over the years, I had the privilege of serving as an area rep, vice president, and ultimately president.
Those years brought challenges that at the time seemed enormous.
We dealt with a motorcycle gang roaring through town, revving their engines every Wednesday night at 11.
People were very upset.
We debated a major development project in our village.
We celebrated the creation of George Wolfbird Park, and we tackled some serious public safety issues.
Teenagers on Friday nights at the Rec Center, having fights, setting off fireworks, and yes, even lighting fires, doing wheelies on motorbikes in the middle of sunset to disrupt traffic, just wreaking havoc wherever possible.
We thought those were the big challenges.
Now we look at those days really as the good old days.
Little did we know what was coming.
On January 7, 2025, the world as we knew it changed forever.
Virtually overnight, our homes disappeared.
Lifetimes of memories vanished.
Entire neighborhoods were destroyed.
Families were displaced.
Twelve people died.
The community we loved was completely obliterated.
Nothing can prepare you for that kind of loss.
The grief, the fear, the confusion and uncertainty.
It was absolutely heartbreaking and horrific.
And in those darkest moments, we asked ourselves, where do we go?
Where do we turn?
The answer came quickly.
Councilwoman Tracy Park and her extraordinary staff were there.
They were among the first booths on the ground, even before the flames were extinguished, and they've never left.
For the past 18 months, Tracy has stood with our community every step of the way, supporting us, holding us up all hours, day and night.
She has listened, advocated, comforted, fought for resources, and carried our concerns directly into the halls of government.
When we needed leadership, she was there.
When we needed answers, she was there.
When we simply needed someone to stand with us, to give us hugs, she was there.
And there's very powerful things going on in hugs.
For that we will always be grateful.
But we also turned to one another.
The community turned to our community council for guidance, information, and a path forward.
Our council members have worked tirelessly since the fire, day and night, giving their time, energy, and hearts to our community.
I could not be more proud to call them my colleagues.
And even more importantly, my good friends.
You will never find a more dedicated, compassionate, or generous group of people.
So today, my thanks are many.
Thank you, Tracy, for giving so much of yourself to our community over the past four years, and most especially these past 18 months.
Thank you, Arus and Starr, and to all of the remarkable staff, whom I will miss dearly.
Although hopefully, yeah.
Hopefully, I'll still be around.
We can still have some fun.
And thank you also to Mayor Bass, who has been very, very supportive to our community since the fire.
Thank you to my fellow community council members and to the residents of Pacific Palisades for your unwavering commitment to one another and to the common good.
And thank you to everyone who came here today.
Council members, friends, longtime friends, neighbors.
But we are definitely moving forward together.
We are resilient.
We are determined.
We are what's now known as Polly Strong.
And one day soon we'll be home again.
So thank you, and I love you all very much.
As you're making your presentation, Councilmember Park, I've got Councilmember Rodriguez on the queue.
Great.
I wasn't gonna miss this opportunity, Sue.
Um, you know, the words that everyone shared about you is uh the person that I've come to know and admire in the wake of such tragedy.
You have been such a calm stoic force for good, and in it in a time that many people have attempted to exploit the harm that your community has endured.
All everything that that you all have experienced, the trauma, and we've watched these very disgusting tactics that have attempted to insert themselves.
You have always been a very clear-eyed, calm, and stoic force for good, and it's been an honor uh over the course of the last uh year and a half to get to know you better and and and all the folks at the Palisades, those of you that have come to the ad hoc committees, those that I've met when I've been up in the Palisades multiple times.
You all are just incredibly, you know, we talk about resilience in the city, and it's really we we often refer to and talk about resilience as a construct of how we are, you know, the types of uh mitigation and prevention work that we do as a city.
Um, you're resilient in such a very different and profound way, and it's palpable, and it is really, it's just such a force multiplier for good.
So, thank you, Councilmember Park, for bringing in this uh incredible woman.
It's it's wonderful to have you here, and for you to get the flowers that you deserve, because this is tireless work, and um, and you know, government can't do it all.
It'll never be a single solution that we can just unilaterally do.
It really takes a combination of partnership with the people of the city to help make incredible change.
So, thank you for being, I think one of the greatest examples of that, and uh congratulations on this well-deserved honor.
Thank you so much, uh, Councilwoman Rodriguez.
Thank you, Councilmember Park, and thank you uh so much, uh Sue.
It's been so comforting to see your face in the various convenings and decision making processes.
Every time it just gives me it it just calms me down a little bit uh to know that you're there as a stakeholder and know that you're consistent and committed to the uh to the to the community.
There was a time there where my staff had to to correct me because I actually thought you were part of the CD 11 team because you were everywhere.
I thought you were, I was like, Oh, they uh got a new staff member.
So again, thank you for your your service to your neighbors and to this city.
Councilwoman Park.
Thank you, Council President, and for your ongoing support of our recovery work.
And Councilwoman Rodriguez, thank you.
You've been a tremendous partner, and we appreciate the support and the collaboration in all things Palisades Recovery.
You've just been great for us.
So, on behalf of the LA City Council, the mayor, and the countless thousands of residents whose lives you have touched.
We wanted to take a moment and say thank you and acknowledge you for your extraordinary service and leadership.
So, Sue, thank you.
Okay, all right.
Thank you, Council President.
Thank you so much.
Councilwoman Park.
Our uh next presentation, we're gonna ask uh council district seven, council member Rodriguez, and Council District 5, Councilmember Yaroslavski to lead us.
I love that.
Hi, I'm working out, but I'm working on the country.
Uh thank you, Council President, colleagues.
Today I'm very proud to recognize Alberto El Terrible Cortez, Elena Jovel, and Fernando Matamoros.
I also want to welcome Guatemala's Consul General, Patricia Ninezh Santizo Estrada de Calderón, who joins us today.
Council District Five is proud to be home to La Rasa 97.9.
So many people across Los Angeles start their mornings, drive to work, pick up their kids, and go about their day with this station in the background.
Alberto's voice has been part of those daily routines for years.
People know him and love him because he's funny, honest, and direct.
They also know how much he cares about the community he speaks to every day.
You see that in his work off the air as well, from food drives and toy drives to rental assistance efforts and support for families in difficult moments.
This recognition comes a few days after June 7th, which marked one year since federal immigration raids began terrorizing communities across Los Angeles.
For many families, the fear hasn't gone away.
Parents still worry when they leave for work.
Children still carry that fear with them.
People still need to know where they can turn for help.
Alberto understands that.
He uses his platform to reach families with information that they can trust.
Through Operacion Operacion Espan Esperanza, he helped families affected by the raids get food services and support from people they knew.
That work brought together community organizations, local leaders, and partners across Los Angeles.
Over the past year, LA has shown just how resilient we are in the face of so much fear and uncertainty.
That resilience doesn't happen on its own.
It comes from people who step forward, earn trust, and stay present when their communities need them.
Alberto has been one of those people.
We're also recognizing two people who also help make this effort possible.
Elena Jovel, program director at KLAX 97.9, La Rasa helped identify what families needed and coordinated support with urgency and care.
Fernando Matamoros of the RJC Foundation helped get food and resources to families through his work with the RJC food bank organization.
Alberto, Elena, and Fernando stepped up when families needed steady, trusted support.
Thank you all so much for your work on behalf of Los Angeles.
And I'd like to invite Councilwoman Rodriguez to share a few remarks as well.
Thank you, Councilwoman Yarosovsky and colleagues.
It's it's a privilege to be here and celebrating someone that has whose voice has been part of the airwaves for a decade over at La Rasa.
And it's important.
I want to also take a moment, in addition to recognizing Alberto, one of the things that Councilmember Yarosovsky indicated was that you are known for being funny, direct, and honest.
Is that what derived El Terrible?
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, then I might have to add that to my uh my moniker here.
Um, so I'd also like to take a moment to also welcome the Consul General of Guatemala, Patricia, uh Santis Santizo Estrada de Calderon, to the John Ferraro Chambers.
Welcome to LA City Hall.
Uh, but uh, and also to recognize Elena Juvel from La Rasa and Fernando Matamorros from JRC Food Bank Organization.
Thank you so much for your critical work that's helped to close the gap when so many of so many of our families are struggling.
You know, it's critically important that people find, you know, representation matters.
And the accessibility and communications that you all do on the radio are so critically important to reaching the millions of members of our community who are desperately looking for answers, needing the help during these incredibly difficult times.
And so I want to thank you because you know, our the city of Los Angeles, obviously, you know, we are half of the composition of Los Angeles is Latino, and for them to find a trusted voice on the radio with marrying humor, honesty, and direct communication is the best way to communicate to our community.
And so I want to thank you for uh your incredible work in being that voice.
I know it can be tough.
I know it's emotionally draining to experience so much of what we continue to have to speak of in terms of how our community continues to endure these assaults.
But I know we are so much better and so much stronger as a result of our leaning on each other during these most difficult times because again, it's not just the elected officials, it's all of us coming together in every media market to ensure that our voices are heard and that are spreading far and wide.
And so I want to thank you.
Um, you know, I want to thank you, Alberto, for your uh Operacion Esperanza and that work, because that is what we hope to all do is give hope to our community.
And with the work that you do, it's uh it's making a difference at a time when we are desperately under resourced, but we are pulling together as one community to show up and deliver for the people who need us most.
And for that, I want to thank you for all collectively being a force for catalytic change in our city, but well beyond the city limits, because we know the airwaves reach beyond the city of Los Angeles, and it's for that that I am proud to be a partner with you, Councilmember Yarosovsky, on helping to provide these well-deserved recognition to these individuals for all of your incredible work during these difficult times.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much, Councilman Rodriguez.
It's now my pleasure to introduce uh today's honoree, Alberto El Terrible Cortez.
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you very much.
I never I I don't remember being this nervous.
Uh uh back in the day when I say yes in front of the judge, but uh right now I'm very glad I am.
Thank you to the city of Los Angeles, all the council members and council member Yaroslavski.
Thank you for the honor of receiving this uh recognition.
Um I do believe that as a broadcaster, it's not just my labor to uh be up in the morning since 5 a.m.
Um cheering up our community or saying jokes or playing music.
I think it we have to give back to our community.
And um last year in March, when all this immigration raids started um in the city, the people was afraid to go out of their houses, so go out of work, and we wanted to do something, and I called Fernando here, right here with me uh from the food bank, come with me, Fernando, and and I said we have to do something, and we started uh finding a way to get a lot of food, and then I talked to my boss here, Elena.
I wanna give you an applause.
Come with come with me.
And we we have this plan of okay, organizing the community.
We did a radio tone, which is a broadcast all-day broadcast, and people from all communities came to the broadcast to bring us food.
And in the same day, we were we were getting the food, we were taking it to the houses of the people.
So we were doing this for about two or three weeks, and then now every month we keep doing it and visiting all the communities around LA.
And I just want to say that with the help of a community, wasn't me alone, it was a community coming together to help each other in that time of need.
And thank you very much for this recognition, and we will continue.
I will continue to do it.
We want to continue to do it until God give us life.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Um, so in recognition of your extraordinary service and dedication to the people of Los Angeles, it's really my honor uh to present these certificates to Alberto El Terrible Cortez, Elena Jovel, and Fernando Matamoros.
And then I'll turn it over to you, Council President.
All right, another big round of applause for honores.
Mr.
Alberto, thank you so much for your service.
All right.
We'll go right into our next presentation.
Which will be led by the council member of the 14th District, Councilmember Jurado.
Good morning, colleagues.
Before I head to um our next presentation, I am proud to welcome the study LA Summer Fellows from Loyola Marymount University.
These students, come on, stand up.
These students are spending their summer gaining hands-on experience through internships across Los Angeles, and today they're visiting here as at City Hall.
So welcome.
This is your city hall go lions.
So thank you for being here.
All right, and now we are going into our next presentation.
Magandung Umaga Say Nyon Lahat, happy Philippine Independence Day.
It is my pleasure to welcome Miko Zuniga, who will perform the Philippine National Anthem.
If you can stretch out a leggings, please.
Thank you so much, Miko.
It's an honor to once again lead the City Council's celebration of Philippine Independence Day.
The day today, June 12th, is actually when we celebrate Philippine independence from Spain.
We celebrate Philippine independence from the United States on July 4th, 1946.
And in 1986, we celebrate a dictatorship ending in the Philippines.
It is not lost on me that last year was a specifically arduous year for us here in the city of LA.
As the first Filipina council member whose parents left the Philippines because of martial law here in the city of LA, we are faced with the onset and danger of martial law.
And that irony is not lost upon me, that was something that we faced here.
And there are so many lessons that we can learn.
And so this Philippine Independence Day has specific importance for me and for our community.
It has been years, 400 years of occupation, colonization, and you know, it was Spanish, it was a Japanese occupation under which my Lola fed Japanese soldiers in order to make sure that our fam her, the rest of her family was safe, and my other Lolas were prisoners of war during the Japanese occupation.
And after that, it was the American uh colonization.
And so even though we have our independence legally and internationally, that uh history of occupation and colonization stays in the Philippine psyche, and we continue to fight for our liberation in all the spaces that we are in, especially when our labor, especially women's labor throughout the world, is the primary export of a Philippines that is independent but not economically independent and rid of more moral corruption.
And so that's something that we continue to fight for, and so that's what the Aro Nang Kalayan, the day of freedom means to me and to all of us.
You know, this independence and those ideals, they cross oceans with our families for immigrants looking for opportunities, with workers organizing for fair wages, safe workplaces, and dignity on the job, with parents who work double shifts so their children could have an opportunity they never had, and they're alive right here in the city of LA.
Philipino communities are part of the LA story, and many of our families are seeking opportunity, but many of our families have seen success and stability, and that is through the hard work of our bachelor Filipino communities that migrated here and that have it also become part of who we are and carry our struggles with us and through us to succeed.
As a daughter of immigrants, this story is personal, you all know it, and that's why I'm so inspired by organizations that come to celebrate the immigrant experience and know what solidarity looks like, like.
Like Tangol Migrante, Migrante, Gabriela, Anakbayan, LA, Malaya Los Angeles, the Southern California Filipina, American Student Alliance, the Filipino Workers Center, and the countless community leaders, workers and advocates and volunteers who have stepped up during this moment.
Not because they had to, but because they understood that our liberation is tied together and that if one community is living in fear, all of us have a responsibility to show up.
And because that's what Bayanihan is.
That's what solidarity means in Capua, to know that is a deeply Filipino value.
It's the same value that brought Filipino farm workers and Latino farm workers together in the labor movement, the same value that built mutual aid networks together during the pandemic that shows up every day, and when neighbors help neighbors, families support families, and communities refuse to leave people behind.
And to me, that's what today is also about, not just celebrating freedom, but fighting to make sure everyone gets to experience it and not just honoring the sacrifices, but living up to them.
Not just asking whether we're free, but asking whether our neighbors are free too.
And that's why I'm so proud to be here today.
And so I get to stand on the shoulders of generations of Filipino Angelinos.
I like to say I stand on the shoulders of a lot of four foot giants in my family who made this moment possible.
Nurses, caregivers, teachers, city workers, let's give it up.
LA City Filipino employees, also known as La Face, you know us, our city controller, organizers, advocates, small business owners, labor leaders, public servants, and people who spent decades building the city, often without recognition, because they believed in living things better than they found them, and also not looking for the limelight and just doing their work.
And so really want to appreciate them and support them.
And it is my honor to welcome our city controller, Kenneth Mejia, for a few words.
Good morning, everyone.
But I just want to say, you know, 128 years of independence from Spanish colonial rule.
You know, we're here today now.
And a lot of the work that has been done here is because, like what Councilman Barrado said, is due to our ancestors and their struggle for freedom and for justice.
And so we're lucky to be here today to continue honoring them, whether it's in City Hall or it's in any other job perspective that we do, where it's we are nurses, whether we are accountants, whether we're in the post office or in the US Navy or wherever you think.
Us Filipinos, we're very proud.
And we're a strong people.
And I just want to thank the council uh for honoring us on this Independence Day.
I want to thank all the LaFace members and all the city employees as well.
The controller's office is nearly 30% Filipino.
I didn't make it that way.
It just happened to be like that.
And I just want to say thank you again for everyone and happy Philippine Independence Day.
Salam Apo, thank you.
Thank you, City Controller Mejia for being the first of all first for the Filipino community here.
And now it is my great honor to introduce Joan Tagley on behalf of the LA City Employee Association, La Face.
Good morning, everybody, good morning, esteemed council members.
I am uh here today to relay a message from our um Lafay's president, Lolita Mejia.
She is currently on her way from the airport.
So she has asked me to relay her message to you.
Uh good morning, everyone.
On behalf of the Los Angeles Filipino Association of City Employees, La Fez, I am deeply honored to welcome you to our celebration of the 128th Philippine Independence Day.
Today we gather not only as public servants, but as proud members of the global Filipino community here at Los Angeles City Hall, a space that symbolizes democracy, representation, and unity.
This is more than just a cultural celebration.
It is a powerful reminder of who we are, where we come from, and what we stand for.
On June 12th, 1898 in the Philippines, the Philippine flag was proudly raised, and the national anthem was played for the very first time.
After more than 300 years of colonial rule, the Philipino people declared their independence, a declaration rooted in courage, resilience, and the unwavering belief in freedom and dignity.
But the independence did not come easily, nor was it perfect or immediate.
Our ancestors endured hardship, made countless sacrifices, and pushed forward with a gift of endurance and determination.
That spirit of resistance, perseverance, and unity is something that we carry with us today, especially as Filipino Americans working in public service.
Here in Los Angeles, Filipinos make up one of the largest American communities.
And yet, for many years, we have remained underrepresented in leadership roles in policy decisions and in public perception.
But these things are changing.
Bit by bit our voices are growing louder, and our presence is becoming stronger.
Today, as city employees, we don't just serve the public.
We represent.
These aren't just cultural traits, they are leadership values, and they are exactly what our city needs now more than ever.
Laface is proud to uplift these values and to create a space where Filipino heritage is not just preserved, but celebrated and empowered.
Whether it's through mentorship, cultural awareness, or simply being visible, we honor our history by continuing to break barriers and create opportunities for future generations of Filipino Americans in public service.
So to our city leaders, elected officials, fellow civil servants, and special guests, thank you so much for standing with us today.
Your presence is a reminder that our stories matter, our voices matter, and our culture has a meaningful place in this city that we proudly serve.
To my fellow Filipinos, may we continue to lead with compassion, serve with dignity, and celebrate who we are with pride.
Thank you.
That was so beautiful.
Thank you so much.
Now it's my honor to present this resolution recognizing Filipino Independence Day and celebrating La Face for its decades of leadership, mentorship, and service.
Through its commitment to uplifting Filipino city employees and fostering the next generation of public service, LaFace has helped to ensure that Filipino leadership continues to thrive throughout this city government.
So please join me in congratulating and thanking LaFace for its enduring contributions to our community and the city of Los Angeles.
Thank you so much.
Councilwoman Grano and happy Philippine Independence Day.
Our next presentation will be brought to us by Councilmember Hutt of the Tenth District.
Come on, come on.
There you go.
Come on.
Thank you, Mr.
President and colleagues.
Today I rise to introduce a resolution proclaiming June 27th, 2026 as Play Day in the city of Los Angeles.
Play Day was envisioned as a National Day of Play and launched by one of CD 10's true treasures, the LA 84 Foundation.
For the past three years, the LA 84 Foundation in partnership with my office has hosted Play Day right in the heart of West Adams.
And I'm excited to announce that this year's event will even be bigger and better.
As Team USA takes the field later today at LA Stadium, it's important that we never forget the kids that play on the playground and soon become world-class athletes.
The idea behind Play Day is simple.
Every child deserves access to play.
Playday celebrates the power of sports, play, movement, and it brings communities together to help young people thrive.
I'm joined today by youth from Little Tokyo Service Center, the LA 84 Foundation grantee.
LA 84 Foundation board member Wendy Chen.
Oh, there you are.
And of course, Sam the Eagle.
In just a two years, as we all know, we'll welcome the world for the Olympics and Paralympics games.
As we prepare for that moment, we must ensure that every child can experience the benefits of play and physical activity.
As we enter a historic era of global sport, play day reminds us that the true legacy of these events begins with kids, having a place to play.
I invite all Angelinos to join us for Play Day on Saturday, June 27th from 10 a.m.
to 3 in front of the LA 84 Foundation headquarters at 2141 West Adams Boulevard.
This event is free and is open to the public, but registration is required, so go to LA84.org so that you can register to participate.
With Play Day just a few weeks away, I encourage everyone to come out, get active, experience the transformational power of play.
As you all remember during pandemic, our children were inside.
I call it diabetes.
And we have to prevent that as much as possible by making our parks available, by making sure that there is space for them to safely play.
So that's what this transformational day will be like.
An opportunity to move, dance, and play.
With that, it's my pleasure to introduce LA 84 Foundation board member, Wendy Chang.
Thank you.
Thank you, Santa.
Thank you so much, Council Woman Heather Hunt.
For your leadership on this resolution.
You were there with us from the beginning and champion for play equity, ensuring all kids have the right to play.
We are grateful and honored that this body is proclaiming June 27th as play day in the city of LA.
Thank you.
Joining us today are, as you mentioned, our youth from Little Tokyo Service Center, LTSC, which is a grantee of the LA 84 Foundation.
LTSC is a trusted community institution serving the greater Little Tokyo neighborhood, expanding access to sports and play opportunities for youth through its Mikasa program and after school program and the sports youth leadership program.
LTSC provides sports play leadership development and mentorship opportunities that empower young people to become coaches as well as role models.
We believe in bringing the transformational power of sports and play to all children, regardless of gender, race, zip code, ability, sexual orientation, or social economic status, period.
Our vision for play day is to create a national day of play annually that celebrates the power of sport and movement in every community.
Think of it as an Earth Day for play.
Play Day honors that spirit that was the 1984 Olympic Games around culture, community, art, food, and of course sports.
The event will be hosted by MBC 4's Lolita Lopez and will feature over 20 sports activations and games from squash, skateboarding, our trade, soccer, and basketball.
And it wouldn't be a block party without food trucks.
We will also be joined by LA's pro sports teams, including Angel City Football Club, The Clippers, Kings, Galaxy, Rams, and The Sparks.
This year's musical performers represent the incredible talent and diversity of Los Angeles, featuring top shelf brass band, Plaza de la Rasa, Youth Mariachi Ensemble, Sierra Cellars, Drummers of Compton, Los Negrete Fam, Girls Make Beats, and Unique.
Council members, I hope to see many of you at Play Day on Saturday, June 27th at our headquarters on West Adams from 10 to 3 p.m.
It's free and open to all ages.
As mentioned, you would just simply register at la84.org to secure your spot.
Thank you again, Councilmember Hutt.
Thank you for the presentation of your work and your close in your work to close the play equity gap.
I will hopefully see you at the Double Dutch activation.
Oh, yeah.
Yes.
Thank you all and have a great day of play.
Thank you.
And so I have a recognition.
A certificate of recognition is here by presentative play day for 2026 from the 10th district.
Is signed by all members of the city council to recognize what a great initiative this is.
And then we can't for play day, and this is for the LA 84 Foundation for their work in recognizing how important play is.
Thank you.
So thank you, Council Woman.
We appreciate you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay.
Thank you, Mr.
President.
Mark Reese.
Hold on.
I am so sorry, Councilwoman Hudd in LA 84.
I have Councilmember Rodriguez on the queue.
Oh, hold up there.
Hold up.
Hold up.
Come on back, Sam and the whole crew.
Listen, you can't bring Sam the Eagle in and not let us talk about it.
Cause for those of us who are from Los Angeles, know how iconic Sam the Eagle is from it.
Yes.
Come on, Sam.
We'll let a little, we want more arms.
We want there it is.
Jesus.
That's right.
But you know, it's just a reminder.
You know, uh Councilmember Hutt, you underscored the incredible importance of our parks because none of this is possible without a very strong commitment to our parks and making sure that it is equitable across this city.
And so I want to thank you for all of your work.
Of course, LA 84 has done a remarkable job taking the proceeds from the greatest games uh in our city's history, and we just look forward to being able to continue that level of legacy with a responsible and productive implementation of these LA28 games.
But always happy to have Sam visit us in Council Chambers.
It's the best part of my.
Oh no, Sam, you're amazing.
And uh it's just one of the favorite childhood moments of the 80s.
So, yes, as chairwoman of the 80s caucus.
Thank you, Sam for being here today.
Uh members, if you look in your bag that LA 84 left, you get you have a pen with Sam the Eagle on the Yes.
All right.
Feel free to add it to your ensemble today.
Thank you, Councilwoman Hutton.
Thank you, Councilmember Rodriguez, and uh thank you to everybody that's here.
Uh Sam, you are now 42 years old.
Too old to be twerking.
Um everybody, and I don't remember any torquing in 84.
I'm just gonna say that.
Yeah, didn't you say?
Um, I don't know if you remember that, Councilwoman.
Yeah, Roger Rabbit was in 84.
So uh, but again, thank you all so much uh for the jewel that is uh the LA uh amateur athletic foundation LA 84.
Thank you so much.
All right, uh, Madam Kirk, I believe that takes us to public comment.
Thank you.
Yes, the council may now move on to public comment.
To people providing public comment, when it is your turn to uh speak, uh, please state whether you would like to uh speak to item number one, which is the item numbers one and three are the items available for public comment.
You will have one minute per item, up to three minutes, up to two minutes total for the items open for public comment.
When speaking on the agenda item, you must be on topic.
Our goal is to get through as many speakers as we can.
If you are not on topic or if we cannot tell whether you're on topic, you will get one brief warning from me or the president.
At that point, you need to get immediately and clearly on topic.
If you do not do so, or you again stray off topic, you will forfeit the rest of your speaking time and we will move on to the next speaker.
Um, and I made a mistake.
Okay, the items open for public comment today is item one.
Members of the public may also speak for up to one minute for general public comment.
During general public comment, members of the public may speak to any of the items or anything else within the city subject matter jurisdiction.
We will tell you when your time is up.
I have a few more announcements before we begin.
I'll ask that the interpreters please make this first announcement allowed to the room.
If you require a Spanish language interpreter, please make sure to pause every few sentences so the interpreters can interpret.
Don't worry, we will pause your time while the interpreters are interpreting.
So you will get the same time as everyone else.
Thank you.
Additionally, if you've made an accommodation request pursuant to the ADA with the clerk's office, or if you would like to make one today in order to make use of the wireless handheld microphone, after you hear the name you signed up under called aloud, please raise your hand so the sergeants can provide you with the wireless microphone.
Finally, to help us run efficient public comment period, please wait until you hear the name you signed up under, read aloud before lining up in any order to speak.
Thank you.
I'd like to begin public comment by calling up a few names.
Ember Knight, General Doggan, Ronnie, Joe, Sergeant Gunny, TCU, and John Camara.
Speaker, you'll have one minute for item one and one minute for general public comment.
Good to say if you need one good example in the state.
For you to take away your fucking belongings outside of your homes, motherfuckers.
It is my uh right to have my shit in my house because that's where I live, fuckers.
So you motherfuckers, if you're here to protest on your lanes, you come here and you do it just like I did.
Because it's unconstitutional for this fucking city to extort money from you and put you out of your fucking houses because they're a bunch of slimy fucking criminal, corrupted city, just like I said.
Now into my general public comment.
You know, case 26 E, MCM smoking scan, zero one two one zero-01 smoking scan.
It was all in pursuit of Pinot Code 20415 and 403 again.
I'm bringing it back because I am really emotionally irreversibly harmed by the fucking shit by this government.
Why does local government continue to allow violence and public meetings?
Why?
Because we have fucking racist, dumb bitch attorney that don't do their fucking jobs and do their homework, right?
42 1983.
How about Cohen versus California or how about Baghdazurian versus United States?
Baghdazarin versus United States.
What's the statement in that?
Shoot the nigger.
Speaker, would you like to speak to item one and or general public comment?
Hi, um, I'm uh I'm Ronnie.
Uh I live in uh Korea town and I'm a member of Migrante Los Angeles.
We we fight for the rights of uh Filipino migrants.
Uh I've been uh homeless before and approached the consulate of the Philippines for help, but they didn't uh give us assistance.
Uh I heard the city is talking to the consulate of Filipino Consulate about the Filipino, about housing the Filipino athlete.
Um we were wondering uh the what what about the Filipino workers?
Uh they need help too and uh some of us are facing homelessness.
Uh we are celebrating Independence Day today, but I don't see how the Philippines is free.
There are U.S.
military bases in the Philippines, and we are forced to leave our home to work out uh abroad.
Um, and we face uh abuse from our employers and neglect from our government.
That's all.
Before the next speaker begins, I'd like to call up a few more names.
Michael Ackerman, Greenspan, Jay Goates, Johnny G, Rogelio Martinez, and Cesar Lopez.
Thank you.
Speaker, would you like to speak to item one andor general public comment?
General public comment.
You'll have one minute.
Good morning, City Council.
I would like to wish all the elementary school kids a successful graduation.
I know that we have parochial and public schools initiating initiating graduation.
I would also like to acknowledge the teachers and staff who make sure as the preteens who go on to high school that they did all they could so these up and coming adults will be prepared for the real world.
Hopefully, all educators and students will realize that an ethical side society makes a better society.
Let's celebrate together as partners and communities so we can create a better tomorrow in Los Angeles and beyond.
Have a blessed summer to all summer 2026 graduates and congratulations.
Also, I would like to appreciate the Zhao family and congratulate Maywazau for her graduation tomorrow from UCLA.
Thank you.
Oh my god, sir.
Speaker, would you like to speak to item one and or general public comment?
Yes, item one and public comment.
You have one minute for each.
Thank you.
Number one was uh uh in regards to an appeal, and I apologize, I'm not as focused.
Uh, but I heard uh a previous speaker talk about all of this and that.
Uh and Mr.
Herman, you know, you're so such a specialist, and you seem to know everything, uh you know everything.
Uh you know, why don't you shut up and put up and uh maybe run for an office or something?
But it gets tiring uh hearing you uh be the expert uh on these kind of issues.
Uh I want to go into uh public comment quickly.
Wayne Spindler, boy.
I mean, I thought he was running for City Hall.
I thought he might be sitting over there.
He has all the answers.
He's an accountant, he's a lawyer.
Yet he doesn't give us any proof.
All of us are here to fight corruption.
But Mr.
Spindler, where were you when it came to the election?
You know what it takes?
It takes balls to run for to collect those signatures and get out there and face the public.
So hopefully next time you will.
Oh, and then where's Andrew uh Andrew?
What's his gravener?
He's the one that talks about uh Chief uh McDonald and says all these uh things are happening.
But wait a minute, isn't he and the uh lady Miss Dumont the ones that attacked a senior here in city council and caused almost 10,000 worth of uh uh teeth damage, mouth damage.
I mean, these guys talk about, but they can't stand behind their word, they have no substance.
So uh we all agree, all of us back here agree about corruption, we want to end that.
We want to end the Martinez curse.
So uh come on, guys.
Let's speaker.
Your time is up.
So, speaker, what time would you like to speak to?
Um, item one and then general.
Okay, you'll have one minute for each.
Please start with the item.
My name is Rogelio Martinez, Board of Supervisor District 4 candidate.
Uh, so regarding item one, um this one parcel is a very reactionary um item number.
What I recommend I would recommend as a best practice that I've seen a lot of municipalities do is list the number of properties within the city limits that have code violations for the sake of transparency, and then when it says that there is a lead, I'm sorry, a lien on said property, it does not state what type of lien.
Is it a mechanics lien?
Is it a property lien?
What type of lien?
Also, for the sake of transparency now.
Now moving on to general.
Today at 1 p.m.
I couldn't find the agenda or the meetings, but today there's gonna be three significant things that the council will be voting on.
One, council expansion, two, rank choice voting.
Three, more LAPD oversight.
So again, these are extremely important things.
I could not find the material, nor anything that validated that these three things are gonna be speak were spoken about at 1 p.m.
today.
But I just wanted to let everybody know that hopefully, oh, and I'm sorry.
The point of that was that ironically, there's a World Cup game being held at the same time.
So hopefully the council did not say let's speak about these three items when people's attention was going to be elsewhere.
One more time.
My name is Rogelio Martinez, supervisor for District 4.
Thank you.
Speaker, which items would you like to speak to?
I'm here to give a public comment.
Okay, you'll have one minute.
I have one minute.
My name is César Lopez.
I'm here to ask for your support in passing the fast food fair work ordinance.
I work in a fast food restaurant subway, and I think vacation time and paid time off is necessary.
If I had vacation time or paid time off, I would look into learning more about my rights, interested careers and education, like social studies, environmental studies, electronics, law, and medical fields.
I would also use here to get plenty of rest and go to the beach or to the park and enjoy the city I live in.
I think this is something every worker deserves the right to have, no matter our job, we all want to be able to count on paid time off.
We need your support to make paid time off for fast food workers a legal right in our jobs.
Please support the fast food fair work ordinance.
General comment?
I have been informed by Mr.
Armando Herman that I have not been making my point clearly enough.
So here it is.
I would like each of you to publicly ask the governor to have criminal investigators from the National Guard look into police misconduct.
I am convinced that a military-level investigation is the only way to confront entrenched corruption, and nothing will improve until this happens.
So to anyone here in the audience, if this makes sense to you and if you truly want to stop this horrifying misconduct, I urge you to repeat it here yourselves.
And if it doesn't make sense, please go to my Twitter and educate me about what you think I'm getting wrong.
It's at M-A-C-K-E-R-M-2.
Um my name is.
Do you like to get general public comment?
Basically, I'm here a picture uh basing right now.
Um I live almost um years.
Um, uh my mom uh almost 26 years.
Um stop RSM me at my house and um my gosh.
Um my gosh.
Um, I just made me to a house.
Uh you stop me uh, over here today.
And that's it.
Good job.
I'm going to bring out my channel.
Hi, hi everyone.
My name is Mimi.
Which items would you like to speak to?
I'm sorry.
Which items would you like to speak to item one or general public comment or both?
General public comment.
Okay, one minute.
Hi everyone, my name is Mimi.
I am part of Migrante, which is an organization of Filipino migrant workers.
I'm also part of the same organization as Vic.
And the reason we are here today is because Vic and his mother, who lives in historic Filipino town for more than 20 years, is facing eviction.
And they have been brought to court for nearly now the third time by a slum landlord named Mark Nasab and North Oak property management.
This is a pattern we're seeing all over historic Filipino town, LA, and it's a Filipino migrants that are being that are suffering because of this.
And we want to see the city take action to actually protect Filipino migrants, tenants, and other workers, especially at this time when we see ISIS attacking our communities.
I also want to add that just three days ago, there was a Filipino caregiver that was kidnapped and detained to Adelanto, whose family is from Pasadena.
And we've been working to fight for the rights of migrants.
So please uh work with us to um continue to defend migrants' rights.
Speaker, which items would you like to speak to?
Uh general public comment, please.
You'll have one minute.
Hi, Council.
My name is Jay.
I'm a student at UCLA and a member of Anakma and UCLA.
Um, yesterday we learned that the UCLA School of Engineering received funding from semiconductor companies that have offices in the Philippines.
The Philippine government surrendered 4,000 acres of land to the US under the Paxilica Initiative for semiconductor manufacturing.
Semiconductors act as the brain of modern warfare, driving everything from guided missile systems to unmanned combat drones and radar tracking.
In 1991, Filipinos came together and kicked U.S.
troops out of the Philippines because we refused to be a colony of the US.
But I'm alarmed that the Philippines is being turned into one big U.S.
military base under the Trump Marcos regime.
Last month, the Philippine government also hosted the biggest joint military training exercises between the Philippines and US military in Philippine history.
These exercises launched the day after 19 people, including two Filipino Americans, Kai Swarm from Seattle and Lyo Prijoles from San Diego were killed by the Philippine military while helping farm workers in a rural community.
This is the opposite of independence.
As a youth, we don't want this war.
We don't want to fight in this war, and we don't want our schools involved in killing my people back home.
That's why we call upon the council to sort of.
Your time is up.
Hi, I will be speaking on the general um comment.
My name is Love.
I'm a member of Gabriella LA, a Filipino women's organization.
I want to talk about one of our members, Ate E, a mother of two small children, who is now homeless after escaping her abusive husband.
She is now in a shelter where they are given spoiled food, banned from accessing, accessing the fridge, or the ability to cook.
Filipino women like Atee do not come from an independent Philippines since they are forced to escape poverty and forced by a deeply corrupt government, a government empowered and funded by the U.S.
government only to be forced to come here and be homeless.
Forced to live in an inadequate in an inadequate privatized shelter because LA City government opts out of its responsibility to provide ample uh public service.
Um I would like to love to speak with those who care about people like Atea and work with them for genuine solutions.
Thank you.
Speaker, which items would you like to speak to?
Uh my name is Jonathan.
Uh, General Public.
Okay, you'll have one minute.
Okay.
Uh, yeah, I wanted to speak as International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines.
We're a coalition exposing and opposing the human rights violations being conducted in the Philippines.
And as ICH, we've seen the poor conditions created by the forced US bases in the Philippines that are testing its weapons on the Filipino people and on the land, poisoning the land and reaping its resources from its people.
We've conducted fact-finding missions that the US backed and funded the attacks of Nagos 19 that killed two Filipino Americans.
Kyle Lyle, who's part of IWS.
The Philippine government uh and concept spends its money on harassing and spying on Filipino Americans rather than providing services.
I wanted to ask like questions.
Why is there a Philippine National Police Office here in Los Angeles?
Rat tagging activists and banning Filipino Americans from going to the Philippines.
Why are overseas Filipino activists being put on blacklists banned from traveling to their home country?
We're calling for US out of the Philippines and PMP out of LA.
Thank you.
Speaker, you'll have one minute for item number one and one minute for general public comment.
So that's it.
Number one.
That's right.
That's good.
You cover up that shiny bald head.
Let's give Marquis a hand.
The light reflects off your head and blinds me.
Thank you for that, sir.
And item number one, Marquis of the Pimp, 717 West 98th Street, pimping again.
Pimping his constituents for 4,259 for goddamn lean.
Nobody can afford it, bold head.
Nobody's got money in CD8.
I drive through there, even in this will not go through there.
Isabel has never been there.
And of course, Buckethead don't even know what I'm talking about.
So as you see, I call on the mighty buckethead to wave the lean on item one.
Help the ghetto.
So again, now we're honoring voter fraud.
Yes, everybody, voter fraud.
Woo!
I love voter fraud.
If you see one of these and you're gonna see thousands of them all over the city, ask yourself a question.
Did I really vote?
Did my vote really matter?
Was my ballot fuck?
No!
Because every time you vote, eight of these Nithia voters vote against you so you see your vote doesn't count.
It's not one person, one vote.
It's one goddamn homeowner and ten grifters to vote.
That's what we do.
Now, as you see, Marquis, you letting them scream at me.
You letting them come here.
But remember, I told you my real daddy was really a black man.
I'm black too, motherfucker.
I gonna be here to watch the FBI arrest your ass.
Before the next speaker begins, I'd like to make a quick announcement.
Because we have more names than we have people in the chambers.
If you haven't been called and would like to give public comment, please come up to your left right now.
Thank you.
Uh LA can speak on general public comment.
Uh from here's for council member Gerardo.
Yesterday in Operation Healthy Street Suite popped up on 6th Street next to our office.
This block had not been swelled in months, and people as always had no idea it was coming.
Our human and civil rights committee sent a letter a month ago to you, Gerardo, and haven't received response yet.
Uh nearly every day we get members telling us about the traumatic and violent impacts these weeks are posing on them.
And through all the stories, the one thing that's always consistent is uh no notice or either not enough time to uh retrieve their stuff.
And so um while the council offers claims to work with LAPD and the beards to coordinate sweeps, the only people who don't know that the sweep is happening is your constituents on the block, right?
And and so this is a problem because uh you got CCEA that's putting in uh complaints and stuff like that, and they're not there or either nobody from your office CD 14 is to facilitate or coordinate your complaint, so it always ends up in the wrong place.
The time is up, speaker, would you like to speak to item number one and or general public comment?
General comment.
Okay, you'll have one minute.
The honorable council.
My name is Queen AJ.
Pronouns your majesty.
I'm a member of LA Can here, and I came to speak on a general comment.
Um, I'm just wondering why are House of folks in Skid Roll not offered the same warnings about these violent sweeps as other members across the district in the city.
Speaking specifically to the honorable council Herado, we know that.
Well, the paper says that we know you understand these concerns, but personally, I'm not sure of that because we've never seen your office do any outreach during the sweep.
We've never seen your staff at any of the sweeps, nor have we seen you before, during or after to see how people's lives are dramatically impacted once you allow the sweeps to happen.
So while we are 100% against sweeps happening at all, at the very least, can we get the same treatment for other communities as the members in your district?
Which includes sufficient notice for the sweeps.
I would ask why do we not deserve that?
But I'm going to give you an answer.
We deserve that.
Do something, Councilmember Herado.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Speaker, would you like to speak to item one or general comment?
Okay, y'all have one minute.
Uh, my name is Jessica, and I'm with LA Ken.
Um, and I'm a resident of Skid Row here to speak on general comment.
Council Member Herado.
About a month ago, LA can sent your office a letter outlining the need for better notices instead of the medal signs for Operation Howdy Streets.
Since we sent a letter, LA can members have come here weekly to continue raised awareness.
Uh, and we're requesting action, at least respond to our letter.
Why hasn't your office replied?
Some uh so my question is simple.
What is the plan to address these issues?
And when do you plan to respond?
Our community deserves more than silence.
Weekly, we do community watch in your district.
Not once have we seen anyone from your office doing outreach before, during or after sweeps, but we continuously witness people being harassed, displaced, and pushed from block to block and watch everything they own being destroyed or thrown away, all the while struggling to survive.
LA County is 100% against the OHS, but if the city insists on carrying them out, then Skidwell residents will be here.
All right, that concludes uh public comment for today's uh meeting.
Want to thank everybody that came to share with us, madam clerk.
What's before us?
Item number one.
All right, let's open the roll, close the roll tabulate to vote.
11 ayes.
All right, what's next?
Item number three, as amended by motion three A.
Alright, let's open the roll on that item.
Close the roll, tabulate to vote.
11 ayes.
All right, what's next?
The council has motions for posting and referral.
They're posted and referred announcements members.
Councilmember Rodriguez.
Yes, well, uh the World Cup has kicked off with uh a very exciting game, but I know we each have some of our uh games happening this weekend in our community, but I wanted to share our watch parties that uh commence tomorrow with Brazil versus Morocco at uh Silmar Park, then to follow on Thursday, June 18th, Mexico versus Korea.
And I know Councilmember Hutt, you've got quite the show that's gonna be happening for that program.
And uh on Thursday, July 9th, obviously for the quarterfinals, that will be determined.
But we want to invite everybody to come out to Silmar Park.
We've got some really exciting activations, including uh folks being able to design their own jerseys.
So, want to invite you out, and we'll start doing our celebrations tomorrow.
Thanks.
Thank you uh so much.
Councilmember Hutt.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
I want to announce that tonight, 6 o'clock, we're gonna have movies in the park at Rainier Park in our South Robertson area.
That'll be really uh fun for the kids and schools out now.
And then next week, June 18th, Mexico versus Korea.
Korea versus Mexico, whichever way you want to say it.
They both have uh one game, so it's gonna be truly exciting.
That'll be at So International Park, Normandy, and Olympic.
Alright.
And Councilmember Hutt, you're gonna have to pick a side between Mexico and South Korea.
I'm just saying.
Councilmember McCosker.
I have an announcement where we don't have to pick a side, we're all on the same side.
Tomorrow, we are going to be once again hosting Juneteenth at Peck Park, Peck Park in San Peter from 10 to 7.
It's uh with the San Pedro Community Network, which is our oldest black organization uh in the harbor area, really, uh, continuing organization in the harbor area, and we have our traditional Peck Park event, which will be great barbecue, we'll have presentations, we'll have music, we'll have a lot of fun, all free.
Come on out to Peck Park tomorrow, 10 a.m., 7 p.m.
All right.
Thank you, Mr.
McCosper, Councilmember Hernandez.
Thank you, Council President.
Uh on Monday, January 5th, sorry, January, June 15th, starting at 9 a.m., uh, we're gonna be streaming four games at MacArthur Park.
So please join us at MacArthur Park this Monday, June 15th.
We're gonna have Spain versus Cape Verde, Belgium versus Egypt, Saudi Arabia versus Uruguay, and Iran versus New Zealand.
All right.
Thank you so much, everybody.
Uh, and uh congratulations to everybody, all of our restaurants and parks and bars and uh folks that had activation last night.
The city looked and felt uh alive and energetic last night.
And the crown jewel was uh council district nine with what was it, 48,000 people inside the Coliseum to see the Mexico game.
It was huge and it was uh beautiful.
So uh congratulations, it was they're great pictures.
Um, a sea of green uh representing Mexico, uh right, uh in Council District 9.
So again, thank everybody and all the offices that have uh participated to bring uh FIFA uh World Cup to life here in the city of LA.
Uh, seeing no other announcements, members, I'll ask everybody in the chamber to rise for adjourning motions.
I'll look to my left first.
I see Councilmember Hernandez.
Thank you, Council President.
Okay.
Thank you, colleagues.
Thank you, Council President.
I would like to adjourn today's meeting in remembrance of Mutulingam Sinadorae.
Mutulingum Sinadora, loving lovingly known to many here in the U.S.
as Matt, was a pillar for his family and the Sri Lankan immigrant community in the Antelope Valley.
His life journey began, began in Pungay Idutivo, near Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in 1946, and carried him across three beautiful continents and countries.
In Wales, he studied mathematics, and in London, he studied computer science and accounting.
It was there that he met his wife, Van Mudi.
Shortly after their marriage, they welcomed their first daughter, Darushina, marking the beginning of a new chapter.
After completing his studies, he journeyed to Lancaster to join his older brother, Morty Sinadora.
It was in the Antelope Valley that his family grew, welcoming his next children.
Doction and Shobano.
He followed an eclectic and innovative career.
He worked in accountancy and studied business administration at Calcutta Lane and florist in entrepreneurship, running a photo lab, shipping center, jewelry retail, and real estate.
Mutulingum was endlessly energetic.
Evident in the joyful rhythms of his days, whether he was walking his granddog at 5 a.m., hitting the gym every morning, befriending neighborhood crows with food, and playing with his grandchildren until their stomachs hurt with laughter.
In a world where strength is increasingly equated with anger and subjugation, Mutulingum constantly showed through his actions that true strength lies in compassion and empathy.
He proved that strength is not how hard you can strike someone down, but how gracefully you can lift someone up.
That success is not measured by how much you have, but how much you give.
And he gave and sacrificed so much for the people he loved.
He is survived by his wife, his three children, and three grandchildren, Yishan, Anaka, and Raya.
He especially loved playing with the three of them, and his youthful energy brought them endless joy.
His grandkids were always so excited when they heard Tata was coming to visit.
Wherever life took him from Jaffna to London to Lancaster to Berkeley to St.
Louis and to the globe, his presence moved every community he touched.
His infectious laugh and loving demeanor will be deeply missed.
Through all the years and journeys, his spirit remained forever young, twenty-seven years old to be exact.
May he be resting in the warm embrace of our ancestors.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, Councilmember Hernandez.
And to my left, looking to my right.
Seeing no other journey, motions were adjourned.
Thank you so much, everybody.
Discussion Breakdown
Summary
Los Angeles City Council Meeting – June 12, 2026
The Los Angeles City Council convened on Friday, June 12, 2026, with 10 members present. The meeting featured multiple presentations honoring community leaders, youth councils, and cultural milestones, along with routine agenda items and public comment.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the minutes of June 10, 2026, was moved by Councilmember Lee and seconded by Councilmember Hernandez.
- Commendatory resolutions were approved without objection.
Agenda Items
- Item 1 (Notice for public hearing): Passed with 11 ayes.
- Item 2: Continued for two weeks to Friday, June 26, 2026, per Councilmember Hernandez's motion.
- Item 3 (Public hearing held): An amendment was introduced by Councilmember Rodriguez. The item, as amended by motion 3A, passed with 11 ayes.
- Item 4 (Public hearing held): Passed with 10 ayes.
Presentations & Recognitions
- Olivia Mitchell Youth Council (Cohort 4): Councilmember Rodriguez welcomed the fourth cohort, emphasizing the program's role in preparing young people for civic engagement. Youth Council Vice President Rebecca Garcia spoke about the program opening doors to opportunities. Executive Director Lisa Salazar highlighted the cohort's work on the budget process, community investment department, and a regional youth leadership summit.
- Sue Cole, President of Pacific Palisades Community Council: Councilmember Park and Alison Polhill honored Sue Cole for her leadership after the Palisades fire. Cole lost her own home but continued to guide the community through recovery. She thanked the council and community for their support.
- Alberto "El Terrible" Cortez, Elena Jovel, and Fernando Matamoros: Councilmembers Yaroslavsky and Rodriguez recognized the trio for their work during immigration raids. Cortez, a radio host on KLAX 97.9, helped organize food drives and resource distribution through "Operación Esperanza."
- Philippine Independence Day: Councilmember Jurado led the celebration, noting the 128th anniversary of Philippine independence. City Controller Kenneth Mejia and La Face (Los Angeles Filipino Association of City Employees) were recognized for their contributions.
- Play Day Proclamation: Councilmember Hutt introduced a resolution declaring June 27, 2026, as Play Day in Los Angeles, in partnership with the LA84 Foundation. The event will feature sports activations, food trucks, and performances, emphasizing play equity.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Several speakers voiced concerns about street sweeps in Skid Row, urging Councilmember Jurado to provide better notice and outreach. Speakers from LA Can and other organizations stated they are "100% against" the sweeps and criticized the lack of response from the council office.
- A speaker expressed support for the Fast Food Fair Work Ordinance, arguing paid time off is a right all workers deserve.
- Multiple speakers from Migrante and allied groups addressed evictions, homelessness, and the treatment of Filipino migrants, calling for city action.
- One speaker urged the council to request the governor to have criminal investigators from the National Guard look into police misconduct.
- A public commenter contested the accuracy of voter fraud claims made by a previous speaker.
Key Outcomes
- Items 1 and 3 (as amended) were approved with 11 ayes each.
- Item 2 was continued to June 26, 2026.
- Resolutions honoring the Olivia Mitchell Youth Council, Sue Cole, Alberto Cortez and colleagues, Philippine Independence Day/La Face, and Play Day were adopted.
- Motions for posting and referral were referred without objection.
Meeting Transcript
Sitting in the trucks and getting to see how those work. I really just couldn't be more impressed about how much there is to learn, all the freebies, all the activities, the food, and just the fun that we had. It was very entertaining and very informative as well. Do not litter. All this trash that we see out there doesn't magically come from outer space. Us human beings bought it and dropped it. We get off the bus and we know exactly what to do. All through the year we're going to schools. We have an environmental education program about the impact of trash on the streets and when it rains, trash goes down to the storm drain and impacts the beaches and oceans. So they're educated to that. And then at the end of the school year, we bring out a few thousand of those kids to the beach and that's what's going on today. When you pick up trash, it's kind of fun because you can see like a lot of people here on this beach are helping the planet. I'll don't connect all the trash because I don't want animals to get extinct. And it helps the environment too. So it's fun for me to pick up the trash. It's sad and it's fun. We're finding a lot of plastic and we're also. Oh look, what is this? It's like part of a straw. We've been finding a lot of plastic. There's capsules, cups. I hope that these cleanups will make the kids better environmental stewards. Um it really does take all of us working together to keep our natural faces clean. A lot of kids are not aware of what we need to do to take care of our earth. So programs like this and celebrating earthly, it really makes us very conscious. Anybody find their new trash? I think it's important for their future and you know the earth's future and they get this experience and they learn that their actions can affect the community as a whole. Anybody that you talk to that's involved in this environmental movement, when they were a kid, they were at the beach and they fell in love. So this is a love project. This is getting kids down here to fall in love. Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome to Parthenia Place. This is home to about 160 residents. I thank you all for being here to celebrate a major investment in this community. We are very grateful uh and excited uh with today's announcement by Congresswoman Luz Rivas, who was able to secure 750,000 for the residents of Parthenia Place to be able to repurpose a room into a computer lab. This building was uh built in 2021 and it houses formerly homeless um and other residents. Uh so this computer lab will be a great way to bridge the digital divide. Children and families will have access to technology and the internet. They can use it for school, apply for jobs. We want them to thrive in this building. I mean, it's really going to heighten the experience here at Parthinian Ways. I have teenagers. I have all teenagers, and they need a place to do their homework. And being upstairs with TV and their radio and their phone, it distracts them. And actually having a computer lab for them to do their work is really good. When I first heard it, I was like, oh my god, yes, away from my parents and away from my brother. So I was very excited. When we invest in the tools, the spaces and support systems our residents need. We are investing in stability, dignity, and opportunity. Residents will have access to technology, to internet, to uh also support for students, support with homework, for adults support with uh looking for a job or uh gaining access to their uh caretaker, or as the councilwoman said, also connecting with government.