Comments
ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - The LA Times, once a bastion of investigative journalism, is glaringly absent in covering the disturbing Casey Wasserman’s allegations that resulted in Billie Eilish stepping away. Mr. Wasserman, a central figure in LA's 2028 Olympic bid, is now embroiled in accusations of leveraging his power for inappropriate conduct with staff. His relentless travel and high-profile meetings might have served as a convenient cover for these serious allegations.
This scandal hits home with even greater gravity considering Wasserman’s personal life. His wife, Laura Ziffren, remained married to him for twenty years, and his daughter, who attended Harvard-Westlake, must be mortified by this unfolding drama. It’s deeply troubling to think of the young women he allegedly targeted while away on business trips, representing LA.
Adding to the intrigue, one wonders if Nithya Raman and Paul Krekorian will ever explain the decision to allocate $30 million to yet another high school regulation basketball court in Studio City, where we are overrun by them. It better not be a backdoor maneuver related to the Olympics.
The LA Times’ failure to report on Wasserman’s behavior, especially given his connections to other scandalous figures like Eric Garcetti and his compromised fundraiser, Rick Jacobs, suggests a disturbing negligence or worse. Casey Wasserman’s shadowy family history, including his father Jack Myers’s 1985 conviction for money laundering and illegal gambling, adds a murky layer to his profile.
Despite this, and the fact that he was on the Board of Activision Blizzard another bunch of unhinged bros, Wasserman has carved out a significant role as the chairman of LA 2028, navigating the interplay of sports, business, and his controversial family legacy.
The LA Times must rise to the occasion and thoroughly investigate the allegations. Their silence is an egregious dereliction of their journalistic duty, leaving a significant story untold and the public uninformed. Go USA!
Horvath Style:
The LA County Board of Supervisors meeting on September 10, 2024, was a marathon event with a hefty agenda of 139 items! Out of the 98-page transcript, only 9 pages were dedicated to public comments, while discussions and procedural matters gobbled up about 15 pages. The meeting kicked off with 7 pages of formalities, like introductions and presentations, which felt more like a showcase of the supervisors' own agendas rather than focusing on public concerns.
The session was padded with 26 pages of adjournments, memorials, and ceremonial acknowledgments. Another 12 pages went to reading through agenda items and motions that didn’t exactly grab the public’s interest. Administrative instructions and procedural rules took up about 8 pages while closing remarks and future agenda planning spanned another 11 pages. And let’s not forget the 10 pages of minor content, including repeated announcements and procedural details.
Supervisor Hilda Solis took the lead to honor some amazing individuals for their contributions to Hispanic and Latino communities. She recognized Congressman Edward Roybal (the man behind Hispanic Heritage Week), Cris Abrego (Chair of the Television Academy), Miguel Santiago (former Assembly Member), and many others like Corinne Sanchez, Josephine Ramirez, Diego Rodriguez, and more. Solis proposed a motion to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, allocate $100,000 for the East L.A. Mexican Independence Day Parade, and get the county involved in community events. David Green of SEIU was also recognized as an 'amistad."
Supervisor Janice Hahn also gave a shoutout to Latino leaders in her district, including the first sister mayors Annette Delgadillo and Diane Martinez, Councilmember Oralia Rebollo for her two decades of service, Monica Arroyo, and Margie Rodriguez for her long-time dedication to educating students about the United Farm Workers Movement.
Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell praised the Chair and emphasized the need to recognize exceptional leaders across LA County, looking forward to seeing them in person at future meetings. Meetings that would be clogged with vast presentations
Holly J. Mitchell appeared virtually at the meeting in the upper right-hand corner.
Supervisor Barger had to recuse herself from several votes due to contributions exceeding $250 from party participants: Item 36 (David Parker), Item 54 (Michael____), Item 55 (Cyber Technologies), and Item 61 (Mary Wong). Supervisor Hahn recused herself from Item 70 because of contributions from Transtech Engineers Inc.
Mitchell, who loves bringing up process rules, seemed to break a Brown Act rule about addressing public commenters, by insisting on cleaning up confusion about cemetery responsibilities and the EDD office lease in her district. After that, the board went into a closed session to tackle legal matters CS-1, CS-2, CS-3, and CS-4. No reportable action taken.
Mark your calendars: the next policy presentation public hearing is on September 17, and the next regular meeting is on September 24. No reportable action came out of the closed session. [See selected public comments further down]
The Executive Officer should examine the quality of the Transcripts which are totally unacceptable.
City Halling:
Jonathan Groat, Deputy City Attorney: Only items 1 and 22 through 36 are open. Please begin.
Smart Speaker: Okay, and what about the closed session items? Have you gone into closed session yet?
Jonathan Groat, Deputy City Attorney: Again, the only items open for public comment are items 1 and 22 through 36. This does not include the closed session items. Which items would you like to speak to?
Smart Speaker: All of the items and a general public comment.
Jonathan Groat, Deputy City Attorney: You have three minutes for the items and one minute for the general comment. Please begin with the items.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. I’ll take note of the reward item. Davon Pledger—what a terrible story. There is a $50,000 reward. I notice a discrepancy. Janice Hahn, who served on this council many years ago, had reward items on the county board agenda for $10,000 and $15,000. I’m wondering what justifies this larger number at City Hall. Is it appropriate? How often are these rewards actually paid out? Or is this mostly about grandstanding? I’m not sure people understand how this works. Let’s say you witness a crime. The police want you to testify, but you might be reluctant due to fear of retaliation. At some point, someone thought, “How about a reward? Would $50,000 do it?” The heroes who come forward take the money, but it’s a scary situation. What does this say about our judicial system? I know the speaker who brought up the Brown Act made a good point—this body’s main purpose is to represent the people, yet they behave in a defiant manner and send Krekorian forward to discuss Rule 12. It’s insulting.
Jonathan Groat, Deputy City Attorney: Mr. Preven, this is not on the agenda. Please stick to the agenda, or I’ll move you to general public comment.
Smart Speaker: No, no, no. By the way, you don’t move me; I speak. But if you cut me off, I’ll move to the illumination item, Number 28. Do you want to check that before you start interrupting me?
Jonathan Groat, Deputy City Attorney: Go ahead.
Smart Speaker: Okay, I appreciate it. I want to thank Hugo Soto-Martinez. Sí, se puede. Hugo is a brother in the labor movement and comes from a hardworking family. We’ve noticed that many times during this meeting, none of the council members are seated, and nobody is paying attention. Nobody cares. The image of these leaders... Let me announce that we are working on a sort of Mount Rushmore for Los Angeles. While Mount Rushmore is a physical place, we will be sculpting busts of some of the great LA leaders. Paul Krekorian would certainly be up there with his distinctive petty pInk-face... bobble with white hair.
Studio City's open space is under attack by Nithya Raman (dba Paul Krekorian) and Brad Sherman, USA. Kathryn Barger and Lindsey P. Horvath simply do not care. Sad.
Jonathan Groat, Deputy City Attorney: This is not on the agenda, so please stick to the agenda.
Smart Speaker: Alright, this is about illuminating City Hall. I was hoping to thank Mr. Soto-Martinez, who is seeking approval in advance rather than post facto, as is often done by others.
Jonathan Groat, Deputy City Attorney: General public comment.
Smart Speaker: Is it general now? Sir, you are very intrusive. Let me suggest this during the general comment: sit quietly. We ask once again on the record for all expenses incurred by the City of Los Angeles for councilmembers and their staff to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics, including the pre-game show, post-game finale, and Paralympics, as well as expenses for the Mayor of Los Angeles.
And Groat, I know you’re going to say we don’t handle the Mayor, so David Michaelson, her city attorney butt-kisser, can be cc’d on this request. It’s not to be difficult; we just want to see how the leadership spent the last couple of months while loading up these agendas, acting like they are somehow are above it all and accountable to no one. Disagree. This may the most shameful of all the jurisdictions --
Jonathan Groat, Deputy City Attorney: Your time has expired.
Los Angeles County Heritage Mes:
Lindsey P. Horvath, Third District Supervisor, chair: Can we have the first speaker, please?
Moderator: First speaker, Eric Preven. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: What an honor. I was the president of my Spanish club in high school. I want to quote Jaime Escalante, a Bolivian-American educator known for teaching students calculus, who said, "One of the greatest things you have in life: No one has the authority to tell you what you want to be. You are the one who decides what you want to be. Respect yourself and respect the integrity of others as well. The greatest thing you have is your self-image—a positive opinion of yourself. You must never let anyone take it from you."
And who can forget what Frida Kahlo said: "At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can."
Thank you to Supervisor Solis and all the supervisors for recognizing so many impressive Hispanic Heritage individuals. I think when you recognize so many, you have to ask yourselves: there is one gold medal, but when it is a very long list, it feels like there’s more—
Moderator: Thank you, your time is up.
Counting County Climate Change:
Executive Officer: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
Moderator: Next participant, Eric Preven. Your line is open. If you are muted, please unmute and speak directly into your phone. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: Yes, this is incredibly important. The climate crisis is the crisis of our time... along with homelessness, fires, and corruption. Yesterday, it was 121 degrees in Glendale. I support this. I worry about saddling taxpayers with increasing amounts through these bonds. The total cost on $10 billion in bonds is $9 billion in interest. So, I realize that is scary. We want everything to keep going well, and we have to fight for our climate.
That said, I want you all to be careful during this political season. Using your office to influence people for these self-serving measures in certain ways is problematic. People remember that Mark Ridley-Thomas got into trouble, especially with Measure H, and Supervisor Solis had some issues making phone calls in Congress. The problem is you all think everything you are doing is good and helpful, so you forget that there are rules that say you are not supposed to influence certain people in certain ways. That is why the Ethics Commission, thanks to Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, will be available soon. And the best news, we can do it without having to bulk up on Supervisors— I urge you to vote NO on adding supervisors.
Executive Officer: Thank you.
The LA County Stigma Asylum:
Moderator: Our first participant, Eric Preven, your line is open. If you are muted, please unmute and speak directly into your phone. Thank you.
Smart Speaker: Thank you. I spent four years working in a psychiatric hospital when I was in college. The place, Cornell's psychiatric division in White Plains, New York was affectionately called Bloomingdales. It was an incredible and gratifying experience. I agree 100% that stigma is the enemy of people getting better. And obviously, we have to do more. LA County is synonymous with mental illness, but 988 is not just for suicide; it is for all mental health crises. I was hoping and am still hoping that it will be a great tool.
We did have an incident in my neighborhood, and 988 turned out to be a little helpful - not a solution. If someone is potentially dangerous, a caller still has to make that determination. So thanks for drawing attention to this, but Supervisor Hahn, please note that gun locks - and your obsession with putting them in hospitals... is not 988. So, please stay on topic. Thank you.
Lindsey P. Horvath, Third District Supervisor, chair: : Thank you. Your time has expired. Next speaker, please.
Moderator: Madame Chair, there are no other speakers to address the board.
Pepperdine Memorial for 911 families.
General Public Commentary:
Executive Officer: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
Moderator: Next participant, Eric Preven. Your line is open. If you are muted, please unmute and speak directly into your phone. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: Thank you for this massive agenda. I would like to speak on all the items available. How many minutes do I get? I am waiting to be told how long.
Executive Officer: Which items are you speaking on?
Speaker: All of the items.
Lindsey P. Horvath, Supervisor District 3, Chair: Okay, then you get two minutes.
Smart Speaker: 139 items. So that would be just under one second for each item. I am going to skip a bunch of them.
I’m a little upset about continuing the probation discussion until October 1st. It is a top priority. I want to thank the executive office for being so shifty with the green sheet. It makes it seem like we are not applying for certain grants because we don't want to necessarily agree with the Grant's Pass legal ruling that would permit the scraping and removing of unhoused people.
There is another scraping issue we are looking at: how we increase and sustain what we are doing to help unhoused people as L.A. 28 comes into focus. Translation: again, scrape and remove and send to First Amendment zones. I don't understand why we put so much energy and how much we could be spending on mega-events when we have so many granular bricks-and-mortar issues in our communities.
And regarding ISD, I don't mind hiring someone back for $100 an hour or nearly $1,000 a day, but where is Selwyn Hollins? MRT's bestie, and where is the report on contracting fraud from Covington Burling?
Item 92 is a $7 million excessive force case. We are paying out seven million dollars! You know how many little families could eat with that? Item 85 appears to be mislabeled... it's a sole-source contract with an Israeli company, but it is labeled as if this is the first time we are contracting with them. That's not true—we've been using NICE, Inc. for years...
(Eric Preven is a longtime community activist and is a contributor to CityWatch.)
