Two weeks ago, in the early evening of a warm Friday night, Michael Duffin parked his car on Hazeltine Avenue, across the street from his home in Valley Glen, a quiet residential community in the south Valley of Los Angeles.
He pulled up behind two of his neighbors who had just parked on the street and who were standing next to their cars engaged in a conversation.
Hazeltine Avenue, in the half-mile stretch between Oxnard and Burbank, is a dimly lit street with parking on both sides, one lane of travel in each direction and a median strip to accommodate left turns. It has no crosswalks, no stop signs, no signals, no speed bumps, nothing to slow down the traffic that flows unimpeded through the neighborhood.
On April 9, 2007, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office issued a press release with the following title:
CITY ATTORNEY ROCKY DELGADILLO PROPOSES TOUGH NEW LEGISLATION TO ELIMINATE BILLBOARD BLIGHT.
The legislation referred to was State Senate Bill 563, which would have allowed cities like Los Angeles to require the removal of billboards over a period of years without paying monetary compensation. The bill would have also removed a section of state law that “presumes” a billboard to be legal if no official complaints have been lodged against it within five years.
In his press release, Delgadillo said “This legislation will give California some of the toughest billboard regulations in the nation, and put an end to the rampant outdoor advertising blighting our communities. When signed by the governor, this law will give cities and counties the ability to go after illegal billboards, pursue real sanctions against the worst violators, discourage future abuses, and reclaim our skyline.”
Despite an impassioned plea from President Nick Patsaouras, the LADWP on Tuesday voted to put their members on a proposed Rate Payer Advocate body, but refused … typical of its arrogant history … to allow the public a seat at the table.
Here’s some of what Ron Kaye wrote immediately after the exercise in futility:
To be honest, I was as excited as I was skeptical about the potential of freeway toll roads in L.A. County. Freeways are supposed to be free, right? Of course, I also know that the 91 Express Lanes I use once or twice a week when I travel to my part-time clinic as a dermatologist in Riverside County is pretty darn nice, and that these carpool lanes would probably never have been built in a timely fashion without the private sector intervening to build them.
The City By Ron Kaye (Posted first on RonKayeLA.com)
In a far-reaching opinion Superior Court Judge David Yaffe ruled this week that the city's efforts to use agendas to obscure what they're doing like referring to an item with major environmental consequences as ENV-2007-2939-MND violates state law.
How would anyone know what that means, which is the argument attorney Robert Silverstein made on behalf of the La Mirada Avenue neighborhood in Hollywood. The community claimed the city Planning Commission's agendas explained the issues before it except when it came to those that are often the most important -- issues covered by CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act.
I was at the first Congress of Neighborhoods six years ago and I’ve attended every citywide Congress since. It’s interesting how little the subjects on the program have changed.
The most fulfilling aspect of being a member of the Los Angeles School Board is the opportunity to help a school maneuver around (and sometimes over) government bureaucracies.
The Legal Theft of Homes from Elderly and Disabled
Golden State’s Dirty Secret By Glen Bell (First of a three-part series)
Imagine if you will that you are a 72 year old widow. Twenty five years ago, you and your husband of many years decided to buy a home in a lovely hamlet, to reside in for the remainder of your go...
Last May, CityWatch subscribers read about some tough challenges that this column felt would be faced by BongHwan Kim if he were to be confirmed as the permanent general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. Click Read more...
The Congress: Attend but Demand Results
Empowerment Report By Greg Nelson
The Congress of Neighborhoods will be held at City Hall on Saturday. I will go, but not enthusiastically, because I think it will end up being another missed opportunity for the system.
From September 11th to September 12th, we have come a long way. From the sadness of the Metrolink tragedy that occurred in Chatsworth, comes a learning lesson.
October 10, 2008 -- Pordenone, Italy -- Here at the annual convention of silent film scholars, fans, and audience members, distance provides perspective, and one small bit of that perspective involves our national inferiority complex over culture.
(County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s touching reflection on the Chatsworth train wreck has been distributed on a number of internet networks. In case you missed it, we offer this CityWatch posting.)
Points Political By Betty Pleasant (Posted first in the WAVE Newspapers)
(Mayor Villaraigosa has asked the city to block the eviction of a nonprofit organization instigated by County Supervisor candidate Bernard Parks. Many see the Parks move as strictly p...
(Soledad Garcia is the Chair of the newly formed LANCC DWP Committee. This is her just-in and unedited report on Tuesday’s success at the DWP Board of Commissioners meeting.)
Since the tragic train accident in Chatsworth, our transportation agencies have succeeded in directing our focus to the actions of the train conductor.
This week, three critically important meetings will be held at city hall on billboard issues that will directly affect the city’s ability to control outdoor advertising for many years to come. If people can attend any or all of t...
Much has been written about the controversy surrounding the sale of rights to one of our leading corporate citizens to put up 50,000 square feet of electrical billboards on the Convention Center.
Neighborhood councils are constantly in the news. It demonstrates the important role that they play in improving the quality of life throughout the&nbs...
The mayor and city manager of Claremont, CA determined that the best way for the city to face its fiscal problems was to involve the public beyond the typical public hearings, which put the public i...
Los Angeles newspapers, including CityWatch, told us of the heroic efforts of members of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council, who like so many other heroes before them,...
LA’s Department of Transportation and neighborhood councils have had their problems connecting over the years. Unlike, for example, NCs and the DWP or Planning or Public Works.
As I listen to talk radio and watch the talking heads on TV I am reminded that most of us have no real conception of what a Trillion Dollars represents. ...
Oct 11-
Congress of Neighboroods
***
CONGRESS OF
NEIGHBORHOODS
&
BUDGET DAY
October 11
City Hall
***
DWP Fall
Budget Workshops
for NCs
Oct 18 (9a-n)
DWP Hdqtrs
1st & Hope Streets
Two weeks ago, in the early evening of a warm Friday night, Michael Duffin parked his car on Hazeltine Avenue, across the street from his home in Valley Glen, a quiet residential community in the south Valley of Los Angeles. 
Despite an impassioned plea from President Nick Patsaouras, the LADWP on Tuesday voted to put their members on a proposed Rate Payer Advocate body, but refused … typical of its arrogant history … to allow the public a seat at the table.
To be honest, I was as excited as I was skeptical about the potential of freeway toll roads in L.A. County. Freeways are supposed to be free, right? Of course, I also know that the 91 Express Lanes I use once or twice a week when I travel to my part-time clinic as a dermatologist in Riverside County is pretty darn nice, and that these carpool lanes would probably never have been built in a timely fashion without the private sector intervening to build them.
In a far-reaching opinion Superior Court Judge David Yaffe ruled this week that the city's efforts to use agendas to obscure what they're doing like referring to an item with major environmental consequences as ENV-2007-2939-MND violates state law.
