Comments
ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Some were politely nauseated by the motion from Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath to get the county workers to Ride for the brand. Each day and every day, no matter how tired we may be and no matter how much county employees may disagree with the strategic direction, it's still important to give. No matter the high cost of living and massive retention problems.
Give with gusto and the county will have your department head double check to see if you are giving or not. No pressure.
County employees are like the cowboys and cowgirls who used to work for the Ranches. It’s what they agreed to do. It’s the promise they’ve made and the code they live by. Chief Michel Moore dropped the expression the other day.
The County of Los Angeles (County) Board of Supervisors (Board) and County employees have supported the County’s Charitable Giving Program through long-standing partnerships with local charitable agencies spanning over four decades.
Encourage those employees who can, to begin donating to these worthy causes through voluntary payroll deduction, and direct contributions from their paychecks.
Convenient! [shameful arm twisting]
The county faves include the Asian Pacific Community Fund; The Brotherhood Crusade; CHC: Creating Healthier Communities; EarthShare; United Latinx Fund; The United Way of Greater LA; and Variety.
Third-Party Claimchecking:
While Mr. Hills of George Hills Co. Inc. has passed on, his philosophy continues with a team approach to Claims Administration and Litigation Management Support Services. The county is offering a five-year contract for almost $11,000,000. If all option years are exercised, the deal is worth $19,002,725. But the county counsel have agreed to allow amendments to increase the annual contract amount by no more than 15%.
Some yelp reviews: “They are slow and care nothing of real people's lives.” “This company is a joke. “ “My opinion they are a bunch of crooked people who will not care about people and only help the county and businesses. If I could give them negative stars i would”. “Doesn't respond to my phone calls, voicemails, or emails”. “So the last conversion that had she said they denied the claim so it took Eight Months to tell us that they were not going to do anything about. She was very unprofessional when I asked her why she kept this issue going on for so long she over-talked me several times. I asked for her Supervisor’s number and she told me that it was a process I had to go through to get that so I asked her who owns the company she told me that she was not going to bother him with this issue.”
Smart Speaker: I'd suggest a public comment!
There is an RFP for Parking Lot 45 for a mixed-use affordable housing development from developers interested in developing the Site.
Smart Speaker: Why suddenly bother with an RFP, when you can just give it to your friends, with an early negotiating agreement?
Like the sneaky item 60-A, a partnership with El Monte to extend the term on one such agreement through December 31, 2024, and execute further amendments to the MOU for a potential affordable housing development opportunity at MacLaren Hall, which is a former Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) facility, located at 4024 Durfee Avenue in the City of El Monte (Site). The revised project description was submitted by the developer in December of 2023, and reflects a reduction of the proposed project scope to 202 affordable housing units, down from 340 units.
Smart Speaker: Whoa, that’s a huge drop. If the successful bidder in 2021, Prima Development (Developer) was going to build 340 units, but now, as of December are announcing… a (substantial) reduction and will only build 202 affordable units— Huh? How does that work? Mr. Ridley-Thomas would know and the attorneys from Covington & Burling.
How is it fair? Should the other bidders be contacted about a 202 number? That’s a very different project.
Next item:
The On-Call Consultant Services for the Strategic Planning and Sustainability Office Agreements.
Smart Speaker: Hello, AECOM!! (once again)
Here, the county is asking the Director of Public Works, Mark Pestrella, (who refuses to produce the lease agreement amended with Harvard-Westlake dba 4141 Whitsett, LLC) to authorize and execute consultant services agreements with the following firms: 3 small-sized firms: Aslan Consulting, LLC., Paradigm Environmental, Inc., and Watearth, Inc.; 3 medium-sized firms: Anil Verma Associates, Inc., Catalyst Environmental Solutions Corporation, and CWE; and this is the fun part, 2 large-sized firms: Cumming Management Group, Inc. and AECOM Technical Services, Inc.,,
Smart Speaker: You don’t say!
To provide on-call consultant services for the Strategic Planning and Sustainability Office, on behalf of the County, for a three-year term, plus two one-year extension options, for an aggregate Program amount not to exceed $30,000,000. Robust.
Didn’t AECOM just sign a contract with the LA County Metro regarding the Vermont Corridor?
Smart Speaker; Conflicts of interest are not included. They’ll cost Extra!
Item 55 is to authorizes the Sheriff, as an agent for the County, to accept a grant award from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), in the amount of $175,000, with no match requirement, to develop and test creative approaches to preventing crime and promoting safety in the communities served by the Sheriff’s Department.
You can see what a priority this is for everyone. $175,000 is a practically insignificant sum for a massive department with a $4 billion dollar budget and major retention issues — also $1 billion for the Probation Department.
Smart Speaker: How insignificant?
175, 000 is 0.004375% of 4 billion.
In significant exposure to litigation, there is (one case) involving an incident involving youth(s) at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.
The Board of Supervisors has struggled mightily with the children.
The same department that botched Maclaren Hall, where Fesia Davenport, CEO claims we are going to be facing billions in settlements aimed at enriching lawyers and making modest payments to victims.
Ms. Davenport, please provide the calculations, that cause the county to fear a payout of $3 billion in settlements.
Olympics in Paris:
In the United States, the chrysanthemum flower is usually regarded as cheerful. In France, the flower is strongly associated with death, and it is a terrible social faux pas to offer it on any other occasion.
So, when the Supervisors and City Council are gathered in France for the Olympics, do not thank your dinner host or hostess with a bunch of mums,
Incidentally, the Olympics are only 186 days away. The events start on July 26 and end on August 11. This is what it’s all about, the holy grail. NBCu just broke a streaming record and we are just four years and 186 days away from our destiny.
Smart Speaker: What destiny?
Three glorious weeks of full hotels and stadiums, some traffic, and security everywhere, all the ne’er do wells are safely transported to first amendment zones in the valley, free of charge! Angelenos cannot wait.
Well—
The inauguration of the U.S. President will be on January 20, 2025, so that’s just 363 days away.
Counting Crows:
Starting tomorrow until Thursday, January 25, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) will kick off the annual point-in-time count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness.
These three days of ACTION will help the City and County measure the amount of resources we need to ensure no one is left behind to live on the streets.
Here’s the council discussing it…
"Transparency"
Smart Speaker: Yeah. It's Eric Preven I'd like to speak on the available items and a general public comment later. This is the last meeting of the week; in the previous two meetings, you’ve denied me general public comment. That’s a problem.
City Attorney, Tanea Ysaguirre: The items open are four through nine, and 25 as well as nine from Wednesday's agenda. You have three minutes.
Smart Speaker: Okay. Well, I can also speak on the closed session; the one which you rejected the plaintiff’s offer. Correct? The lawsuit about the black shuttle driver who was mistreated by LAPD —an automated license plate reader had linked the plates of the vehicle he was driving to a stolen BMW sedan. He was driving a Ford van rented by Walt Disney Co. So, very nice now that we’re ramping up AI ticketing. Let’s all agree to NOT vote for Laura Friedman.
City Attorney, Tanea Ysaguirre: You can speak in the closed session in your general public comment.
Smart Speaker: Oh, then okay. I'll go to item one, which is about Campbell Hall. A lovely private school near the freeway in Studio. City. Okay. So how many minutes do I have for all the available items?
City Attorney, Tanea Ysaguirre: Mr. Preven, your time is running.
Smart Speaker: Okay. I have three minutes. Thank you. You should be more candid and open about that. This is not a game; you are not the house in Vegas.
So, there's been some confusion. This is a Bond or a TEFRA hearing, which is a process that lets residents in a neighborhood, or an area give their voice or opinion on the issuance of tax-exempt bonds. Now, this is a particularly nice private school right on Laurel Canyon about I would say 25 feet from one of the big so-called underpass battlegrounds, which both Raman and Krekorian adore.
I would say TEFRA hearings are being ritually abused by this city council regularly because of the council’s extreme desire to block speakers on other kinds of items. Each TEFRA hearing should be discreet, not lumped in with up to 100 other items “three minutes begin!” These attorneys try to move you off after one minute.
And here, the city doesn't even tell the public what's really going on, you know like what are the specifics of the project?
The reasons to oppose a project at a TEFRA hearing would be, like if there's significant public opposition as in the Harvard-Westlake, fiasco. That is not on the docket today, but many residents and voters remember how Nithya Raman completely abandoned us after Paul Krekorian sold us out.
Another good reason to oppose: environmental concerns! And I think people, Campbell Hall is right next to a freeway-- btw, Harvard-Westlake is trying to build on our local golf and tennis green space amenity. So very very different.
But nobody gives a shit because Harvard-Westlake parents have big money and they’re civically engaged. However, they lost another basketball game to Sierra Canyon. Rick Commons the headmaster better get it together. That's two losses in one week.
Other reasons to oppose a project could have to do with land use. Like what are they planning to build? We know they've been buying up some properties in the area adjacent to the campus. I have a child who went there. It's a good school.
And of course: community impact should be considered! This is where Nithya Raman has let us down—
Stacey Segarra-Bohlinger sings!
City Attorney, Tanea Ysaguirre: Speaker you should move on to the next item.
Smart Speaker: Well, what are you talking about? That is what I'm talking about. The TEFRA hearings. My comment applies to all of the TEFRA hearings on the agenda today.
Are you seriously going to interrupt me? I mean, now I'm going to have to shift my train of thought to another item in the middle of my speech. Wow, what a toxic group you’ve become. All right, I'll go. Let me do it. I'm going to heed your call. It’s so painful, and shameful, shameful business.
OK, the closed session item 21, you rejected the offer.
City Attorney, Tanea Ysaguirre: The closed session items are not available right now. Speaker.
Smart Speaker: Okay, then how about 25? On the sneaky continuation agenda.
City Attorney, Tanea Ysaguirre: You can speak to item number 25.
Smart Speaker: Okay, fine. Wow, what a toxic group. I mean, you really… this is insulting to Mr. Joe Gatlin, who is being appointed by McCosker, to serve on the Harbor Area Planning Commission. I cannot think of a nicer, more loyal gentleman to the former city attorney lobbyist, McCosker. So whatever kind of controversy you're going to have, don't worry about his vote. They were out there with Gatlin and the mayor putting up a little NAACP sign across the church where his congregation… under a year ago. This is a wonderful lovefest and hoisting up of a great leader from the Church to do the bidding for the folks who need to get stuff done down by the port. And what a great honor.
City Attorney, Tanea Ysaguirre: Your time has expired.
General Public Comment:
Bob Blumenfield, President Pro Term: OK, that concludes in-person public comment. Let's go to the phones.
City Attorney, Tanea Ysaguirre: First speaker, please begin your one minute.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. It's Eric Preven.
So my concern is the way you're handling the closed sessions. Item 21 was an item that you rejected the offer of the plaintiff, who happens to be an African-American driver for the show Grey’s Anatomy. He worked for Shondaland, a big TV show produced by Disney.
LAPD dramatically arrested him; and dragged him out of the van he was driving. Other people from the production tried to intervene, saying he worked on the show. "What's going on?”
There was no crime. And he was pinned to the ground and treated badly, per policy. So that's a terrible story, but the public didn't get a chance to speak on it because of Blumenfield’s crafty closed-session play. You put it on the agenda as a closed session, but then you do an audible and, say, "Actually, we don't need a closed session, just vote.”
At that point, we rush to the Bima. The people cry, “This denies the public an opportunity when you say a million dollars to say, a million dollars? How about $500,000? Or how about $2 million, you bastards? So you're really out of line here. And I'm going to have to do it, Blumenfield. I know you like the goatee, but I'm going to have to take you in for a shave. We're going to have to go to court. This is not an acceptable protocol. The public has an interest in these closed sessions. and regarding-- the many other things on the agenda. You claim you had a committee meeting on December 13… but you don’t take public comments from callers?
Bob Blumenfield, President, Pro temp: OK, thank you, Mr. Preven. That's your time. Just as a reminder, all the closed session items were heard in committee and the public did have a chance to comment during committee, as has been the procedure for many years. Next speaker.
She rides for the brand, not the wrangler:
Tanea Ysaguirre #276618
Speaker Rob Quan: Why was this city attorney Tanea Ysaguirre #276618 put in a quiet timeout from council meetings for five years?
Storytime, two-thirds of you weren't on the council five years ago. I don't think any of you were on the floor when it went down, but we had four to five members on the floor at most.
A bunch of our members were off taking pictures, hosting press conferences, and dining out on lunch on the South Lawn. To make that worse, they proceeded to a special meeting called the roll and the city clerk said everyone was there. I used my public comments to say they could not vote on the item because they did not have a quorum.
This City attorney ruled me off-topic repeatedly. When I objected, they kicked me out of the meeting and stopped proceeding so the officers could remove me. Wiser voices prevailed. And then they sat there for 15 minutes as Nury and Alexis Marin Wesson angrily texted and called members to get to the floor.
And Emily Alpert Reyes was live tweeting the shit show. Ultimately I was given my time to speak on your lack of quorum. This episode was mentioned in the article on Herb stepping down as council president. If you'd just let me speak, nothing would've happened. And he said you embarrassed yourself and our electeds.
(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.)
