Comments
ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - The City of Shadows strikes again. From LADBS to Recreation and Parks, every corner of Los Angeles government seems to operate in the murk of corruption and secrecy—leaving the public to pay a steep price. The $3 million one hundred and fifty thousand dollar settlement with whistleblower Steve Ongele, a former Building and Safety official, confirms what anyone paying attention has long suspected: shady deals, fraudulent billing, and rampant graft are baked into the system. Ongele, who exposed LADBS’s $300 million surplus scam and the corruption of executives like Raymond Chan (now serving 12 years), was sidelined and punished for telling the truth. Now, the city cuts a check to sweep it under the rug.
It’s the same story with Prop K—confusing on purpose, designed to obscure the flow of taxpayer money straight into the pockets of bureaucrats at the Bureau of Engineering and their treasured partners. They’re spending millions with barely a mention of where the funds go, while oversight crumbles. The city may think it can keep operating in the shadows, but thanks to a few dedicated members of the public who refuse to go along, to get along...
City Attorney, Jonathan Groat: Your time is expired.
Smart Speaker: Marqueece Harris-Dawson pulled the plug before I got a turn, Groat, you ninny.
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; Bernyce Hollins <[email protected]>; [email protected]<[email protected]>
Cc: Strefan Fauble <[email protected]>; Solomon Rivera <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 11:25:17 AM PDT
Subject: CPRA: Prop K Studio City Recreation Center Project Budget
Dear Matthew Szabo,
City Administrative Officer, Chair (CAO)
Please provide a copy of the current budget and timeline for the Prop K project. OK, to forward to BOE for very current information. Thanks. This is a top priority.
Thanks
Eric Preven
As noted above, on Wednesday, Los Angeles recently agreed to pay $3.15 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Ray Ongele, who alleged that he faced retaliation after whistleblowing on corruption and illegal activities at the city.
The settlement was approved despite the city's ongoing financial struggles, highlighted on Tuesday in a separate statement by Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who emphasized the severity of City Hall's financial challenges. "Letting folks know we have exhausted the 100 million, the sixty and the twenty-three and we are projecting seventy-six million less in revenue.
Smart Speaker: We are in deep shit.
President Marqueece Harris-Dawson: So, just so I'm clear you are saying we're this far, significantly over on settlements and we're not even six months into the year?
Bob Blumenfield, CD3: Yes.
President Marqueece Harris-Dawson: Got it, Thank you. Arite, what's next?
Smart Speaker: Thank you. It’s Eric Preven. I’d like to speak on the available items and make a general public comment.
Jonathan Groat, Deputy City Attorney: You have three minutes for the items and one minute for general comments. Please begin with the items.
Smart Speaker: A quick point of order: this morning, when you were reading all of the amendments, the telephone was connected, but listeners we were unable to hear all of those amendments. So, I am going to have to ask that you read all of those amendments in an audible way—
Jonathan Groat: Will you pause his time? Normally, we do not do so for a point of order. Your time has paused. So, I’ve confirmed that Channel 35 and YouTube were up and available. So again, please stick to the items, and you have your first two minutes and forty-five seconds.
Smart Speaker: Okay, then I’ll get on the items right now.
Jonathan Groat: If you’d like to—
Smart Speaker: Just one point... listen to the four-minute clip below of you interrupting and confusing an Angelena who came down to testify and the language interpreter and over 600 members of the public. Please step down.
Regular City Council meeting 10 09 24
Groat interrupts and tries to confuse an Angelena.
Smart Speaker: Don’t interrupt me, Groat, you little prick. Just shut up.
Thank you. Jeez. OK, the application for the determination of public convenience and necessity for the sale of alcoholic beverages. The one out on Oxnard—I have to raise the point that Krekorian knows we are mowing people down out there. Blumenfield knows, at an alarming rate. So, I just wonder, is this really what you want to do? Given all the things we can do as we bellyache about Vision Zero, which is, unfortunately, zero vision. The county hasn't even hired their person.
The people in Studio City are highly concerned about all these truck routes and all the digging up of the earth. I know Mr. Krekorian is virtually checked out, but tell me, Blumenfield, are you considering the implications of Valley Fever by doing so much digging up right in neighborhoods without any warning or EIR? It’s really, really bad, and I know Raman doesn’t give a shit, but I was hoping somebody might care—
Anyway, the liability, as you said earlier, is completely out of control.
You mentioned it today at the top of the show, but I've been talking about it for over five years. Yet, everyone kept brushing it off, saying, "Oh no, we don't discuss legal settlements in public—it's not appropriate." That was Krekorian's line. But now that he's gone, what’s Mr. Harris-Dawson’s take?
Jonathan Groat: I can’t tell which item you are speaking on, so please identify the item.
Smart Speaker: Yeah, I’m speaking about the legal settlements. Alright, let me go to item 33, the one you want me to speak on. That’s fine.
Jonathan Groat: Go ahead.
Smart Speaker: No worries. This one is the hypocrisy motion, where a detailed dizzying breakdown of who has oversight over which tiny entity or giant consortium both, all mixed together for massive confusion. It represents a coded jurisdictional mush of departments and ideas. For the purposes of I don’t know what—good government... Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging, Disability—that’s just one committee. And when you look into Aging, make sure you scan Jamison Properties, who I was very surprised to see... have a big hand in doling out a lot of moolah to the aging community. Jamie Lee does very well. Special gratitude for unindicted co-conspirator, Herb Wesson, Jr.
Reading long murky technical motions into the record takes a toll on President Marqueece Harris-Dawson (CD8) & Groat.
Economic Community Development and Jobs? This list is just a nightmare for any human… a lengthy list of organizations that run the gamut from the Mayor’s Office of Reentry, and the jurisdictional overlap is absurd. And the Trade Travel and Tourism… here we have the marketing of LA! Here’s where the mega event, alcohol consumption, and basically—I don’t know if you saw at the Dodger game, fans were throwing stuff at the Padres. Is this what we’ve become? A city that wants to beat the crap out of an opponent team who comes to town to take us on? I mean, it’s just appalling how an actual culture and way to connect to Los Angeles has been replaced with the vision of Mayor James T. Butts.
Similar to the way this council has downtown Skid Row, the Mecca/dumping ground for unhoused people, Inglewood is the Mecca and dumping ground for drunk drivers. Come to our community, one and all; we will have a big party every night, and “Yes, we are sorry that the fireworks exploded on you in South Central, but don’t worry; Mr. Harris-Dawson is now in control.” And what will he do? Nothing.
Will he allow people to call in and speak in committee meetings? Check the eyes of Yaroslavsky, Raman, and Hernandez; they know… they all believed that that was important. Nope, he won’t do it. Because he is Herb Wesson Jr. No disrespect to Herb Wesson Jr. or Justin—he is a little county strongman; we look forward to him becoming a supervisor one day.
Seriously, this is very bad. I have to ask this body with a straight face: do you really think that the way you went into the closed session yesterday, until 6 PM without the public around, talking about redistricting, is the appropriate way to go? Does that really feel like transparency? For all of you progressives who got elected on the idea of reform and were outraged that Kevin De León and Nury Martinez were in the backroom, and now you go right in the backroom? And Rob Bonta should make his report public ffs report. He said, you need help with the Brown Act. Yeah.
I’m here to help. We taught you in 2019 that special meetings were open to the public; now we are going to teach you that your closed session protocol is illegal--
Jonathan Groat: Speaker, your time has expired.
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: ERIC PREVEN <[email protected]>
To: Jonathan Groat <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 9, 2024 at 10:44:13 AM PDT
Subject: Re: Eric Preven in queue
Comment is open and I am an outspoken critic of Prop K. If you inadvertently don’t get to me, as is customary, I will seek a judicial remedy. The brazen deselection must stop. My number is 818-645-2616 so whoever is queuing them up knows I raised my hand as soon as public comment rules were read in. Be sure not to intentionally omit me, given that you read this. Thank you.
Sent from my iPhone
On Wednesday The City settled with Steve Ongele of LADBS and had Prop K on the Agenda, so I was denied the right to speak, despite my effort to be heard:
County Cram-down:
Sup. Lindsey Horvath, Chair: Members of the public and colleagues, before we go into a closed session, we will take up public comment on the closed session item only. Members of the public on the telephone, please press 1 then 0 to comment on this item. Executive officer, please call the members of the public who have signed up to speak on this item.
Moderator: There are no in-person speakers to address the board on this item. Final reminder for participants on the telephone: if you would like to address the closed session item only, and if you have not done so, please press 1 then 0 now to be placed in the speaking queue. Moderator, may we have the first remote speaker, please?
Moderator: Our first participant is Eric Preven. Your line is open. If you are muted, please unmute and speak directly into your phone. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: I find this unfriendly to the public—a two-hour massive delay before a massive agenda with you scheming in the backroom. And 101C, which is the beloved Covington & Burling item, the group that you sent off, a high-priced law firm where Eric Holder works, and gets $2,000 an hour and others charge high fees as well—
Moderator: Focus on the closed session item, please.
Smart Speaker: Well, this is what you may talk about in a closed session. Or maybe one of the department head employees is going to try to clean up the fraudulent contracting mess. It's rude to interrupt speakers when they’re blowing the whistle on you, and everyone—
Moderator: Focus your comments on department head evaluations, which is the only item on CS1.
Smart Speaker: I am. ISD, for example, is a good department with a lot of concerns. And then Mr. Ridley-Thomas’ colleague, Selwyn Hollins stepped off—you remember his name; I brought it up in CityWatch. I don’t get why there has to be such a contentious, hostile relationship with the public learning about the county contracting fraud.
Moderator: Your time has expired. Next speaker, please.
Moderator: There are no other remote speakers to address the board.
Sup. Lindsey Horvath, Chair: That concludes our public comment on the closed session item. While we are in a closed session, we will be showing video presentations. I have a video presentation promoting L.A. vs Hate.org during election season, and Supervisor Barger has a video presentation recognizing Charter Spectrum and Desert Haven Enterprises. Executive officer, please read us into closed session.
VP Speaker: I’m Whitney O’Neil, vice president of government affairs for Charter, known as Spectrum. Everyone in this room, in large part the supervisor and your incredible team, Desert Haven, has dedicated their lives to the service of others, and I truly cannot think of anything more powerful.
Desert Haven: We’ve grown from 4 job coaches to 14 job coaches now. Spectrum has given us an opportunity not just to grow on a small scale—we jumped in and got to spread the placements to so many more individuals.
Sup. Lindsey Horvath, Chair: If it’s okay, I’d like to go to the public. Members of the public participating remotely and in the board room, you will have 90 seconds to address the board on all budget items.
Staff Attorney Speaker: I’m a staff attorney serving SD3. I’ve dealt with homelessness and addiction. I’m clean now because of Care First. As a member of the Reimagine L.A. coalition, I want to highlight the positive outcomes we at the Social Impact Center have achieved through county funding, particularly through Care First. With criminal burdens, it can cause problems. The Social Impact Center expands our programs, serving hundreds of individuals and expanding our trauma-informed expungement services. The Social Impact Center’s trauma-informed approach has made it possible for people to access critical services more than ever. Clearing records has not only restored their rights but opened doors to housing, employment, and stability for individuals who have been disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system. Despite the progress, the demand for services far outweighs the resources available. Without further involvement, we risk losing the momentum we’ve built and leaving many people without the support they so desperately need. Our communities deserve sustained funding that ensures these vital programs continue to grow and serve those who need them the most. I urge the board to commit to long-term involvement in these life-changing services. Together, we can continue to make meaningful progress and break cycles of harm.
17-year-old Speaker: Before I begin, I want to invite every board member to actually look up and look at the people who are addressing you. My name is Sierra Leone Anderson, and I’m a member of Students Deserve. I was born and raised in District 2, under the supervision of Holly Mitchell. I’m 17 years old, and a recent graduate of LAUSD. To you, Board of Supervisors, our lives may seem very different, but they are actually entwined. Me, you, the community behind me, and the folks we represent—we have a long history together, largely defined by state-sanctioned violence. You approve it when you invest billions of dollars into the downfall of our lives—our bodies, Black bodies, Brown bodies, Muslim souls, and queer hearts. The people are already vulnerable. Billions and billions and billions are spent on caging kids. I’m a teenager, barely 5 feet tall, and it costs $833,600 to incarcerate me. At any point in time, there are at least 50 girls or trans youth incarcerated. This is not care or justice or the progress you so willingly claim to champion. This is slow, intentional death. Divest from probation and invest in Care First community initiatives. God bless you.
Moderator: Our next participant is Eric Preven. Please ensure your phone is unmuted and speak directly into it. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: Can you hear me?
Sup. Lindsey Horvath, Chair: Yes, we can. Go ahead.
Smart Speaker: Hello? Okay, thank you. Well, I’m not happy about the budget coming up so late in the meeting. I want to do a little investigation into why AT&T had everybody’s hands down and wouldn’t let you raise your hand. That was frustrating. I had to call the CEO and the executive officer. I think you gamed it and told certain groups when to queue up. So many speakers made the point that your budget is an expression of your values. I have to admit, ever since rules like paragraph 73, where they said, "Do not incarcerate young people, you idiots!" I'm paraphrasing but it was a good point. Yet, we've clung to a system that is doing a terrible job -- this young population who deserves better and involvement in the community—not in this probation way. I have to say, the financial impact of going for Measure G, if we had nine supervisors and just three who don’t want to cooperate. Here we have full cooperation; yet with Five supervisors... Look, we don't need Measure G. We need leadership. Vote no on Measure G, immediately. And this is off point, but I want everyone to understand: vote no on Measure G. Drop it like a hot potato, quickly. And once it falls to the ground, don’t pick it up—just walk away from it and get back to work.
Sup. Lindsey Horvath, Chair: Thank you, your time has expired. Next speaker, please.
Moderator: Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers in the queue to address the board.
Moderator: Our next speaker is Eric Preven. Please ensure that your line is unmuted. You may begin.
Smart Speaker: It’s Eric Preven from Studio City. Quick question: is this the last general public comment or is this on an item?
Sup. Lindsey Horvath, Chair: This is an item, item 10.
Smart Speaker: Oh, item 10. Can you just give me the thumbnail on that item?
Sup. Lindsey Horvath, Chair: LGBTQ+ History Month and National Coming Out Day.
Smart Speaker: Okay, great. Well, thank you. As one of the writers of the greatest Ryan Murphy show, Popular, I absolutely support this. I love the LGBTQ+ community. I’ve been mostly in entertainment, working with so many characters across the spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community. One question I have is: as we recognize this, is there a way to get Ryan to acknowledge Popular was actually his greatest work? He seems to have shunned it. There were other people involved so he flipped. I suggest an honorary scroll to Ryan "Tuna" Murphy for all his greatness and glory and his dedication to Popular, his only really good show—
Executive Officer: Thank you, your time has expired. Next speaker, please.
(Eric Preven is a longtime community activist and is a contributor to CityWatch.)
