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ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK - On Friday, Mayor Karen Bass and Matt Szabo, the CAO of Los Angeles will co-present to the City Council on how the Inside Safe program is progressing.
Earlier this week, Paul Krekorian, the city council president tried to defenestrate a brother for speaking up about the LA Alliance settlement agreement that was on the agenda, but tucked in a special section called: Do it, and you die!
The settlement is supposed to bring people indoors and help communities like Skid Row overcome decades of systemic marginalization. Craig Fiegener will have all the details ...
Incidentally, Audacy who owns KNX 97.1 where Fiegener tracks the mayor is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company which also owns 200 other stations says the new plan would reduce its debt by 80% from around $1.9 billion to about $350 million. Under the agreement, debtholders will receive equity in the reorganized company.
Also, in other media implosion news, Kevin Merida, the former ESPN guy, who served as Executive Editor of the Los Angeles Times is out, after just two short years.
This gives the Harvard-Westlake parent, Patrick Soon-Shiong, a clear shot on goal.
Jim Harbaugh is looking. He's a winner!
The people in LA need a game-changer at the helm of the Times.
It may not be Harbaugh's turf, but whoever takes over should consider doing what Michigan (Go Blue!) did to win the national championship.
Run it up the middle and sack the bad guys one by one.
Incidentally, Amazon (AMZN) announced on Wednesday that it will be eliminating several hundred roles across Prime Video and MGM Studios. And the company's video game livestreaming platform, Twitch, is also laying off more than 500 people.
Everyone prefers Ralphs to Whole Foods in Malibu. FYI
Smart Speaker: Thank you, it's Eric Preven from Studio City. I want to speak on the available items and a general public comment.
City Attorney, Jonathan Groat: So, you can speak to the available items now. So, you have three minutes for items 1 through 3 and seventeen through twenty-five.
Smart Speaker: What about the general public comment, are you making people wait...?
City Attorney, Jonathan Groat: So, that will be at the end of the meeting. So, please begin.
Smart Speaker: Right, but I'm registering under this name, Eric Preven, and I'd like to comment later, so you'll be denying me when you blow me off as you always do. Thank you. First of all, thank you to Hugo Soto-Martinez for reaching for Indigov the way Yaroslavsky did... this is a group that is expert at cultivating the people who you've brought in during campaigning; making promises and getting constituents behind you. And what they do is they get the government to pay the forty-five grand ($45,000) but you get to keep the good Indigov data, so that when you're thrown out of office... which will be soon, you know, you get all that great contact information. The whole premise is "we do a better job than actual city staff because we are - I don't want to say - AI."
Look it's all the same bullshit, Indigov feels that if you are working for Congress or the Senate or the County Board of Supervisors it's all the same bullshit. They know how to connect with people. Make them feel like you are doing a great job, and like they want to vote for you again.
"So, what is so wrong with that?"
If only representation were that easy... in terms of wine and liquor and spirits and all that, people don't need to be reminded that the city is doing a great job of running people down with motor vehicles daily. It's tragic beyond belief. Blumenfield, when he gets finished with Rabbi Hier will confirm that in his district they are motoring people down almost daily. So we have to curb the alcohol that we are pouring right into these motorists. This is not at a gas station as it was last week, while Krekorian -- by the way, today at the county board of supervisors there was a deeply moving Armenian presentation that went on for ninety minutes -
Paul Krekorian, Council President: That's not on our agenda, stick to the agenda or go.
Smart Speaker: Alright, I'll get back to ... look I was supportive, Krekorian. Don't be dickish. It's not necessary.
Paul Krekorian, Council President: Speak to the agenda item or I am going to cut off your time.
Smart Speaker: I'm going to item 17. Item 17 well... item 21 is graffiti busters. I have been a long-standing advocate for calling out the insanity of pouring hundreds of thousands into paint removal from people who can't afford it... it's a long-time scam, and we should crack down on it. And I'd like to thank Metro. You know, obviously Krekorian, Bonin, and now Yaroslavsky, the people who represent the city... for signing a contract with AECOM. Right after Garcetti left for India.
City Attorney, Jonathan Groat: This is not on the agenda so you've been warned multiple times, so you are forfeiting the rest of your time.
Smart Speaker: No, I'm on the right of entry... right of entry -- CUT OFF.
Paul Krekorian, Council President: Thank you, next caller, please.
Wednesday:
Smart Speaker: It's Eric Preven, I'd like to speak on the available items and a general public comment.
City Attorney, Jonathan Groat: Mr. Preven, you have three minutes for the items that will be fourteen through twenty-four. Please begin.
Smart Speaker: No sneaky bullshit and let's move forward, thank you.
Okay, for starters, let's take notice that the James Lawson Mile is being added to Adams Avenue between Crenshaw and Arlington. What a great leader he was... we remember when Mr. Harris-Dawson brought him down to chambers and told the story... What a great leader.
I wonder if Lawson knows how long that Northridge Earthquake presentation was this morning... because it was a very very long presentation. Thinking about the folks who came to give public comment in conjunction with Rule number 7, you know, at or near the beginning of the meeting. Sheesh. That was a very very long and indulgent presentation. We have a report that some constituents had to take a little nap during it, but it was still deeply moving and I think people are supportive of Blumenfield's goatee.
City Attorney, Jonathan Groat: Let's go ahead and speak to the agenda
Smart Speaker: Well, I'm speaking about the James Lawson Mile...
Paul Krekorian, Council President: No, that's ridiculous, speak to the agenda -
Smart Speaker: What do you mean that's ridiculous? The guy is being honored and he's a great leader. How dare you? Keep your mouth shut, sir.
Now Raymond Regalado is the DONE guy, and we are allowed to talk about that. We can say what we like. You can't control our thoughts. You have this on-topic, off-topic obsession ... but Regalado is on the agenda, so be coherent.
City Attorney, Jonathan Groat: You've been warned multiple times by the council president.
Smart Speaker: Raymond Regalado is on the agenda --
City Attorney, Jonathan Groat: So you are forfeiting your time, you've received multiple warnings.
Smart Speaker: Raymond Regalado --
City Attorney, Jonathan Groat: Next Caller, which items would you like to speak on.
(silence). This is your final warning.
Smart Speaker: Yeah, it's Eric Preven in the General public comment. So, kindly no interruptions. My comment is really about that process because I think that public comment is a very important part of our civic duty. And the way you have just broken rule 7, shoved general comment to the back of the meeting, and then try to interrupt guys like me when we're speaking about Ray Regalado who I know quite well.
You'll recall, councilmember Krekorian when Studio City Neighborhood Council virtually took DONE to the FBI... before the city agreed to overturn the election that they'd stolen. A crook who works for you and all your crooks in city hall had his thumb on the grievance application scale -- it was very very bad.
But there are multiple layers of corruption with you, Sir. This is why people in the public must be allowed to speak freely... and to be able to talk about how Ray Regalado sat on the BONC commission like a lazy mediator doing very little to nothing in the face of a steady stream of legitimate grievances. And now he's being recycled onto another commission. I don't dislike the man, but I do think your process is in very bad shape and we need better, clearer rules, that you follow.
You should definitely follow the stated rules... you don't. No interrupting!
City Attorney, Jonathan Groat: Mr. Preven, your time has expired.
Smart Speaker: Yeah, it's Eric Preven, thank you. I'll give a one-minute general public comment. And for the record, once again, Mr. Groat lowered my hand without my consent, which is extremely confounding and difficult. Why don't you start by putting things like the LA Alliance Settlement item on the part of the public meeting agenda so that we can speak about it? It's important and represents a huge amount of taxpayer funds, and there should be transparency.
Maybe bulking up on LAPD communications department would be a good idea given all the challenges, but let's have some specifics on how that's going to work since we know there is a huge group on the council who try to de-emphasize law enforcement solutions to societal problems.
If you don't know, today is 9-8-8 day over at the county. There's a long long line of people lining up to praise 9-8-8 including a deputy from Senator Alex Padilla's office. The Senator from California and Nury Martinez are a thing. Not clear when she became such a trash talker or if he has the same sense of humor. He does. His wisecracking younger brother was Nury's top dog, chief of staff before he resigned abruptly ahead of the shit storm. Woof woof.
And didn't we hear from a 9-1-1 operator in public comment today who said that many operators are leaving... in droves! Is that true? Can Eunisses Hernandez or Monica Rodriquez or someone take a look at that?
And for the umpteenth time, why in the world are we not taking verbal testimony from the telephone in the city's committee meetings? Blumenfield, wake up! Yaroslavsky, are you kidding me? That's valuable information for and from members of the public.
People who are prepared to give voluntary public scrutiny of the corrupt--
Paul Krekorian, Council President: Alright, thank you, very much. Next caller, please.
City Clerk: There are no more speakers on the cue.
Lindsey P. Horvath: Irritating
This letter is in response to your December 14, 2023, e-mail, requesting copies of records pursuant to the California Public Records Act, Government Code sections 7920.000-7930.215.1 Specifically, you requested the following: …[A]ll memos or emails between the district board offices and the executive officer about the county's public meeting protocol and schedule. Including the rollback of meetings. Also, on what date were the current board rules approved by the board of supervisors? Were there any hearings? Outreach about the proposed changes?
On December 26, 2023, the County of Los Angeles ("County") extended the time to respond by 14 days due to the existence of unusual circumstances under section 7922.535. In our correspondence, we notified you that we expected to provide you with a determination on or before January 9, 2024, as to whether we are able to identify any disclosable public records.
Lindsey P. Horvath, Chair: Thank you.
Celia Zavala: Our next participant is Eric Preven, you may begin.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. Very interesting joint ventures are developing everywhere and I think the idea of bringing jobs to the North Valley is something that's come up a lot and hopefully, this time it will work.
I also notice that Metro is having tremendous financial difficulties right now and I'm just anxious that we don't give away too much with all the treasured partnering up...with our treasured partners. And I noticed that we signed a big deal with AECOM last week. Metro did.
That's the firm that paid for Eric Garcetti's inauguration... so (eyes narrowing) AECOM announced a massive joint venture partnership on the Vermont Corridor. What we like to call MRT country. "Hi, Supervisor Mitchell. Any feedback on the former Federal Investigators/defense attorneys from Covington & Burling LLP having a look into county contracting? "
Anyway, I wonder if some of those nice jobs at AECOM could be delivered, you know to the people. Because training programs way up in the north are kind of a fantastic verging on quixotic. Mike Antonovich's fantasy was a women's jail with Valley Fever.
Hopefully, this new iteration will work but remember it's very far up north and the Fifth district has a large appetite for Chinese equipment, so to reverse-engineer everything will be uphill.
For now, let's celebrate that Eric Garcetti's rammed another AECOM contract up our butt. AECOM, the folks who capably presided over the giant incarcerator rework, while billing heavily to come up with something climate-friendly, efficient, and also inhumane.
Finally, another big contract with the County of Los Angeles. Or metro, same difference. Hurray!
What a cushy gig... nothing ever actually happens.
Executive Officer: Thank you, your time expired. Moderator, may we have the next speaker, please?
Moderator: Our next participant is Eric Preven, you may begin.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. So a rape exam costs $1,800 but the county only pays $1,100. Incidentally, your embarrassing telephone problems made it impossible for me to crack into the conversation ... during the Barger fundraiser. Thanks for hosting a massive rally while Horvath makes all the regular people in the county who want to speak about county items in your jurisdiction, not necessarily international crises of well-heeled civically engaged groups. Pffft.
As for rape kit cost discrepancies. We should close the gap. Very important, and it raises a very important question: why has the county been paying so little? Where has Fiscal pioneer Holly J. Mitchell's been? Routine costs have escalated substantially...and unless I am wrong, this board still brags fortnightly about the county's triple-A bond rating. Let's upgrade that from fortnightly to every conceivable opportunity!
I suggest we close this gap stat, and I appreciate Supervisor Hahn recognizing that it is the Sheriff who administers this. Oy.
Thank you once again to Peace Over Violence, Patty Giggans and other organizations provide plenty of services, and gift cards.
Where are these services provided, you say? Not so fast. One new approach, that's come up with the City Attorney of Los Angeles, Hydee Feldstein-Soto recently: She wants to block information about hotels that house homeless residents. Nothing can be disclosed publicly, if you agree with her... because bad actors might do PRAs and compromise safety.
Interesting. I don't think people are doing public record act requests to target selected victims. That might be fiction created by a sociopath attempting to dim the lights on a bad situation. Certainly not what we need. What we do need, is clarity, Zavala, so that we can manage the county appropriately.
Celia Zavala: Our next participant is Eric Preven, you may begin.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. Well, what a refreshing idea; 25 higher road jobs in the county. And finding a way to link with people who understand the County's power over companies, and might be able to wield it... with a velvet glove, of course.
We at the county are not an onerous, imperious entity that's neglectful all over the place, and engaging attorneys to fight endlessly a variety of disgusting scorched earth legal battles in direct opposition to any conceivabe public interest. Obviously.
Of course not. What we are is a compassionate, forward-thinking organization, that recognizes that doing business with AECOM, who are now up in there at the MTA, is good enough.
There's a lot to celebrate about these guys at AECOM who promised to handle the big jail plan in 2012, but listen, could they provide some upper-echelon jobs for local Angelenos?
Sit down, Mr. Preven.
Celia Zavala: Our next participant is Eric Preven, you may begin.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. It is Eric Preven from Studio City, and this is a very interesting item, and many of us out in the public have learned a lot, hearing this well-put-together group testify en masse. The cell phone has to be tied to the local provider not to the home number because someone in Minnesota won't be able to help a person who is having a mental health crisis on Hollywood Boulevard with their iphone.
Now, you may be asking, why is Senator Alex Padilla involved in this?
Great question. The answer is we need his federal expertise to push through the right telecom regulations to make the 988 work.
Telecoms, like AT&T, incidentally, who should be deeply embarrassed about this meeting. I mean, it's quite clear that to cater to an expected Armenian support group, you screwed up half of Supervisor Horvath's first really big meeting. Sad.
Anyway, I'm sure you will get it right so we can find a way to move forward with geo-calling. This will allow, Senator Alex Padilla, currently running for office, to set the right tone of influence.
Approximately, 20 million Americans called in to 988 in crisis last year. It's true that only a small fraction of that twenty million needed mental health delivered live and in person on the street, but certainly thank you to Supervisor Hahn and Barger for recognizing from time to time it's okay to help the big telephone companies and dag nab it, 9-8-8 is easy to remember! Thank you, Supervisors.
Moderator: Our next participant is Eric Preven. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. I do appreciate this one. You got Mark, Pestrella in there from public works and he's trying to set up the concierge program to make it a little more -- he's trying to make it a little easier by helping people comply with the law.
What s sweetheart. This will advance the timing of people getting permitted. Now, Kathryn Barger will remember all this because Mike Antonovich trotted a similar tired old initiative out back in 2012.
Here, during an election year, we gotta get this thing cracking once and for all. So, 25 out of the 244,000 businesses will get the concierge-level service. So, that's a tiny pilot approach...
Mr. Pestrella can be quite the concierge when he's in a good mood. Small businesses, sure, but also imperious private schools, like Harvard-Westlake.
The people in Studio City were put off when they heard that LA County flood district, won't share the details about various concierge services being farmed out to our nemesis...
The thinking, we don't want Harvard-Westlake private cops on Segues closing our pathway at 10:00 pm. Nope.
4141 Whitsett LLC, Mark Pestrella will remember. It doesn't say, Harvard-Westlake but that's what it is. A nonprofit and they're getting a piece of county flood district land despite our pressing for transparency. So, this is a big finger in the face of the people of Studio City.
Lindsey Horvath, chair: Thank you your time has expired.
Smart Speaker: Let's shove this concierge program down the throats of the county departments who haven't jumped in Pestrella's boat.
Moderator: There are no additional speakers to address
Sup. Lindsey Horvath, chair: Anyone... Genevieve go ahead. Are you there? Go to the next speaker. Please.
Moderator: The next participant is Eric Preven. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. It's Eric Preven from Studio City. And you know, the civilian oversight report over the Sheriff's department is a hallmark of county government. And I was thinking, in connection with our data-driven initiatives, could we possibly install a sphygmomanometer at each supervisor's workstation for these reports? You know for up to the minute blood pressure readings.
Because certainly, if you are anything like the public you represent when you hear that we have 288 iPads that are obsolete and 5 years old... the pressure has got to rise.
How infuriating that Angelenos who are behind bars can't access an iPad to generate a proper complaint. The idea that we evolved from the use of a flashlight to perform rectal exams -- to a flashlight on the weapon that has led to accidental discharges... Oy.
And if we're really data-driven, how many Narcan administrations are happening daily in our jails? Because I saw that the number of overall complaints appears softer than usual: down. There are only three complaints --
Executive Officer: Your time has expired.
(Eric Preven is a longtime community activist and is a contributor to CityWatch. The opinions are of Mr. Preven and not necessarily those of CityWatchLA.com.)
