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ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Kudos to President Marqueee Harris-Dawson (CD8) for pulling off the public comment hat trick this week—denying, delaying, and so deleting my comments from all three public meetings, including the annual grand finale on Friday the 13th. Honestly, it is impressive and horrifying. A move like that takes coordination.
A who's who of Padillas including Senator Alex Padilla from California attended a Friday the 13th presentation for beloved Tony Cardenas.
And can we talk about that 20-minute read-in motion on Tuesday—by the time it was over, we all felt like we’d aged a decade. Seriously, is that what we’re calling transparency these days? It’s the opposite of public engagement when you drown people in details to discourage them from keeping up.
Oops, he did it again.
Rob Quan said it right, ‘You’re abusing Rule 23. The Brown Act says you need a reason for immediate action. Restructuring committees? That’s not it. You could’ve done this earlier.’ And then, like magic, you sneak in the part about deleting the Governance Reform Commission. Classic move.
Mr. President, you can block my comments from the record, but you can’t block the fact that people notice this stuff. Transparency is supposed to be about inviting the public into the process, not wearing them down until they give up.
Tin Ear Surplus:
Former State Assemblyman, Bob Blumenfield (CD3) said about 92 properties have yet to be reviewed by a few city agencies for a first right of refusal, if they don’t want the land, the bidding process will begin early in the new year. Blumenfield told Fiegener of KNX97.1 “There’s a good chance that someone who lives next door to a surplus LA Property may see this as a great opportunity to expand… expand their backyard or to preserve their view shed or as a defensive move to prevent it from being built into something else, might decide to purchase this property because it’s going to out for bid at fair market value and will be available. For some people, this will be a great opportunity to pick up a little piece of land next to their property and for others, they may want to look at it to see if it’s a piece of land that they want for some other reason. “
Thank you, Sir. "FYI, The rent is too damn high!”
Hats off to the Chicago Tribune:
Thanks to Dan Petrella and Gregory Royal Pratt for keeping corruption in the spotlight. In Chicago, graft is big, bold, and impossible to ignore—practically its own spectator sport. The problem? Toothless in-house inspector generals.
Same here in Los Angeles, where we’ve perfected a quieter con cloaked in faux oversight and propped up by politically loyal operatives masquerading as watchdogs.
Take Terry Kauffman Macias. She transitioned seamlessly from being the City Attorney in charge of Land Use—a power position shaping LA’s skyline—to a seat on the Ethics Commission, where she’s now tasked with rooting out corruption. Yeah, right.
And speaking of insiders, let’s not forget Staffer B—John Lee (CD12), the sidekick to Mitchell Englander during his corruption spree. While Englander did time, Lee skated by with barely a scratch.
Then there’s Paul Krekorian (CD2 emeritus), the master of escaping scrutiny, who elevated himself to some in-house Mayoral City Lobbyist Coordinator title—hard to trace, foreign connections galore—ready to keep the lobbyists’ gravy trains through City Hall running on time. Naturally, this requires regular international boondoggles. The month-long Parisian Olympics junket was just a proof of concept. Apparently, we need many more elected boots on the ground abroad for...
Smart Speaker: The Olympics?
No, the restoration of Notre Dame! Lovely.
Meanwhile, residents can’t get streetlights fixed or trash picked up on time, but Paris is lovely. Too bad the government here has fallen apart.
Oversight in LA has become pure farce. It’s all flash and no substance—a USC scandal here, a Paris excursion there—designed to keep us distracted from the actual rot in the system.
At least Chicago has the Tribune, which wrote the article exposing their issues. Here, we get a network of politically loyal overseers riding the merry-go-round.
Maybe we’re at a tipping point. At some point, Angelenos will demand better. And when we do, it won’t just be the headlines that shift—it’ll be the entire narrative.
So, to the opinion-havers, reporters, and everyday watchdogs out there: I know we’re tired. I know we’re chasing these grifters. But we’ve got to keep going. Because if we don’t hold this kakistocracy—this rule by the worst—accountable, we’re handing over the keys and hoping the burglars turn off the lights on their way out.
Oversight isn’t just a buzzword. Yes it is!
Well, it’s high time we demanded the reckoning that Angelenos deserve. Let’s get to it.
Ignorant idealist! Six cents!
In 1919, industrial titan Henry Ford sued the Chicago Tribune for libel after being called an "ignorant idealist" and an "anarchist enemy of the nation." The trial captivated the public, with Ford enduring eight days of intense cross-examination. The case, a theatrical clash of character, intellect, and patriotism, ended with Ford being awarded just six cents—a symbolic win that highlighted the spectacle over substance.
Fast forward to today, where Donald Trump secured a $15 million settlement from ABC News for defamation after false claims were made about his civil liability for rape. Like Ford’s trial, Trump’s case underscores the enduring tension between public figures, the media, and the courtroom, with settlements and apologies acting as today’s version of symbolic victories.
A word from Jeffrey Prang, Windbag & County Assessor:
“Here is a very short primer on how the system works. When a property is sold, a deed is recorded with the County Registrar Recorder. Or, when there is new construction, a permit is issued by the local city. Those deeds and permits are then transmitted to my office, the Assessor, at which time we conduct an appraisal of value. That value data is then sent to the Auditor-Controller, a department most are not familiar with. The Auditor-Controller is actually the department that tells you what you owe – they add the tax rates, direct assessments, etc. The Auditor-Controller then transfers the data to the Treasurer and Tax Collector (TTC) who issues the bills and collects payments and which handles issues such as late penalties, lost bills, and payment plans.”
As for the Olympic playbook...
Los Angeles and USC have shown Saudi Arabia how it’s done. Graft, corruption, and greed? Perfect tools for promoting national interests, collecting Transit Occupancy Taxes, and glossing over human rights violations.
Saudi Arabia, fresh off spending billions on global sports, just snagged the 2034 World Cup—virtually unchallenged. FIFA bent its own rules, of course. Who can resist billions? But don’t think they’re stopping there. After the World Cup, Saudi’s next logical target is the Summer Olympics. They’ve seen how we do it in LA: throw money around, distract with prestige, and watch watchdogs turn into lapdogs.
Rick Singer, USC’s own admissions scandal architect, said it best: “The colleges were my partner in this. It takes two to play.” Just like FIFA. Just like the IOC. It’s not a sudden leap into corruption; it’s testing boundaries, seeing what you can get away with. And right now? A lot.
So here’s the question: if the Olympics become a bonified sportswashing festival, will LA be proud of its pioneering leadership? Or ashamed that we helped write the playbook?
Board of Supervisors:
The City telecast promoting the Supervisors (thought re: LAHSA...) Sir, you're off topic.
CHANGE: NOTE: Closed Session will be taken up at the beginning of the meeting.
Smart Speaker: So, when will the meeting actually start?
GFY, Mr. Preven.
The Greenwood Controversy - Supervisor Janice Hahn withdrew a nomination for Elizabeth Greenwood to the Retirement Board at the final pre-holiday meeting. Greenwood, a former LACERA representative and City Attorney is known for her $5 million lawsuit against Los Angeles, claiming she contracted Typhus during the 2018 downtown outbreak—without evidence linking it to City Hall East.
Her case includes allegations of workplace retaliation and disputes over ergonomic accommodations, yet during her tenure, she collected $1.7 million, averaging $693 per workday, much of which she reportedly spent on leave.
Notably, Greenwood publicly claimed the City contributed to her Typhus and viral meningitis diagnoses—both received on the same day a federal search warrant hit Deron Williams: November 27, 2018. Fun fact (eyes narrowing). Wait...
There has been a precipitous decline in Monarch butterflies throughout California, but there will be an increase from five LA County Supervisors to nine! Bad idea, right?
County Priorities:
The total parking fees waived for the Annual New Year’s Eve Los Angeles Party, as recommended by Supervisor Solis, amount to $10,491. Maybe contact her office for freebies.
We also noticed item 66, Agustin Herrera, et al. v. County of Los Angeles, et al., United States District Court Case No. 2:22-cv-01013, in the amount of $30,000,000, and instruct the Auditor-Controller to draw a warrant to implement this settlement from the Probation Department's and Department of Mental Health's budgets. That's a big number.
Easy to miss, and easier to despair over—and it dwarfs the $7.5 million also on the agenda for allegations of minor abuse, sexual harassment, and emotional distress violations involving a Sheriff's Deputy.
Still, both pale in comparison to the staggering $3 billion CEO Fesia Davenport estimates is needed to address the County’s egregious history of misconduct. Yikes. How many more SOS holiday parties will it take to confront this shameful legacy?
From the horrors of MacLaren Hall to the tragedies at Camp Scott and now the fiasco surrounding the proposed Padrinos closure, the systemic neglect and abuse of vulnerable youth span decades. Children have been raped, assaulted, drugged into submission, their cries ignored, and their abusers shielded—this isn’t just a dark chapter; it’s the County story!!!
The public is tired of "corrective actions" that read like déjà vu: memos, inspections, training sessions. Clean bedding, warm clothing, privacy in showers—are these still ongoing reforms? These aren’t policy gaps; they’re moral failures. Why does it take $30 million and years of litigation to address basic human decency?
And UPDATE, we’re adding $500,000 for a Public Records Act case to the tab.
Here’s a concise version incorporating the key points from the Munger Tolles firm and the ACLU of Southern California’s case:
The County settled the Public Records Act case for $500,000, but not before spending nearly $400,000 fighting over the ACLU's SB 1421 records request. Filed on January 1, 2019, the ACLU sought documents disclosable under the law, including records of fatal uses of force, sustained acts of dishonesty, and sexual assault cases involving LASD officers. The requests covered decades of misconduct: fatal force incidents dating back to 1999, dishonesty cases spanning 20 years, and serious use-of-force and sexual assault records from as early as 2009. Instead of complying, the County chose to spend nearly as much resisting transparency as it ultimately paid to settle—a grim reminder of where taxpayer dollars go when accountability is on the line.
I will remind you all later about the ACLU and Peter Eliasberg and Judge Beckloff... Ah, the memories.
Item 3 - Scenario 2, Resign!
This Board's focus on procedural changes, like routing motions through cluster meetings, misses the mark on real public engagement. These poorly attended meetings shut out the very voices you claim to invite, while public comment during Board meetings remains limited to a single opportunity buried in an often 8-hour session.
If you’re serious about transparency, implement three public comment periods throughout each meeting to allow timely, relevant input. Stop creating barriers that discourage participation and start fostering accountability by genuinely welcoming public voices into the room—not just in theory, but in practice.
(Eric Preven is a longtime community activist and is a contributor to CityWatch.)
