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ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK - When the LA Sheriff’s Department’s dispatch system went retro, deputies relied on pens, notepads, and pure exasperation. Meanwhile, a wily dumpster diver salvaged a trove of handwritten gems. These messages have been reviewed but not verified.
"Crime in progress! The Board of Supervisors just greenlit $15 million for Jimmy Carter Day celebrations. Can’t even afford a functioning dispatch system, but we’ve got frugal Jimmy on a commemorative mug."
"Negligence alert! The system crash proves it: Motorola's holding us hostage with Reagan-era tech. Solution? Competitive bidding? Get him out of here!
"Harvard-Westlake Trustees skipped the disclosure box ... again! Somebody wake up DA Nathan Hochman—didn’t he bust these max-donationists who forgot to disclose their Trustee status back when Paul Krekorian was training to be ‘Olympics Ethics Czar’?" Correction: No, he looked away! Got it.
"Memo to Sheriff Luna: If you’re gonna handwrite dispatches, please take a cursive class. Your chicken scratch is a crime scene."
"Next time, ditch Motorola. Try Morse code—it’s classy, reliable, and doesn’t require sneaky amendments and change orders"
"Idea: repurpose the $15M Jimmy Carter Day Off fund to slap Olympic logos on all Sheriff vehicles."
"What if Motorola orchestrated this outage to sell another overpriced patch? Follow the money ... offshore so out of range!"
"Honestly, handwritten notes are quaint. Bring back chalkboards! At least those didn’t cost taxpayers $900 an hour in consulting fees."
"Hot tip. URGENT: Investigate Miller Barondess and Covington Burling’s invoices from the past four years. They’re charging millions to... consult and ‘review steamy emails between county supervisors and Mayor James T. Butts of Inglewood’ Who’s auditing this? Nobody, because we are pushing the damned money out the damned door as instructed!"
"Odor report: Remember Weddington Golf and Tennis? Now an ultra-exclusive athletic complex with a CUP override. Thanks to Adrin Nazarian CD2! Studio City’s traffic can’t handle much more, and neither can our patience. What about actual residents? Peasants are welcome to play pickleball in the Trader Joes' parking lot.
Party Time (open bar):
Interesting list of citywide events from July 2024 that amounts to $2,500,000 in localized reveling. Easy to rank the districts but $642,000 for CD14 and $268,000 for CD10 and a robust $342,000 for CD1 account for nearly half. Thank you.
"All you can eat!" – Don't miss Tuesday's sweeping 21-gun re-up for three years (eyes roll back spinning dollar signs).
The City Council is set to extend contract amendments with 21 on-call environmental consulting firms for three years, covering services related to community plans, policy planning, and environmental reviews. Key player AECOM, notable for funding Mayor Garcetti's inauguration before its Texas move, headlines the list.
Highlights:
Thirteen firms (including AECOM, Dudek, HDR Engineering) extended through December 17, 2027.
Six additional firms (such as Eyestone Environmental, and Impact Sciences) extended through December 26, 2027.
Two firms (Rincon Consultants, WSP USA) receive second amendments for continued service through December 17, 2027.
This extension reinforces the longstanding relationships between the city and its environmental consulting heavyweights.
THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT decrees...
Relative to the regular meeting schedule for the City Council’s 2025 Standing Committees
Staffer B is knowledgeable about concurrent meetings. The Council President has three. See Staffer B Deflavorization below.
Concurrent Meetings
- 1st, 3rd Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m.
- Budget and Finance Committee (Council Chambers)
- Economic Development and Jobs Committee (Room 401)
- 2nd, 4th Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m.
- Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee (Room 401)
- Personnel and Hiring Committee (Room 401)
- 2nd, 4th Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m.
- Planning and Land Use Management Committee (Council Chambers)
- Trade, Travel, and Tourism Committee (Room 401)
Regular Meeting Schedule for City Council Standing Committees
Tuesdays
- 1st, 3rd Tuesdays
- 8:30 a.m.
- Government Operations Committee – Room 401
- 2:00 p.m.
- Budget and Finance Committee – Council Chambers
- Economic Development and Jobs Committee – Room 401 (Concurrent Meeting)
- 3:30 p.m.
- Energy and Environment Committee – Board of Public Works Room
- 2nd, 4th Tuesdays
- 8:30 a.m.
- Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee – Room 401
- Personnel and Hiring Committee – Room 401 (Concurrent Meeting)
- 2:00 p.m.
- Planning and Land Use Management Committee – Council Chambers
- Trade, Travel, and Tourism Committee – Room 401 (Concurrent Meeting)
Wednesdays
- 1st, 3rd Wednesdays
- 3:30 p.m.
- Public Safety Committee – Board of Public Works Room
- 2nd, 4th Wednesdays
- 8:30 a.m.
- Transportation Committee – Room 401
- 3:30 p.m.
- Public Works Committee – Room 401
Fridays
- 1st Fridays
- 9:00 a.m.
- Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee – Council Chambers
- 1st, 3rd Fridays
- 2:00 p.m.
- Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging, and Disability Committee – Council Chambers
- 3rd Fridays
- 8:30 a.m.
- Government Efficiency, Innovation, and Audits Committee – Room 401
Other Days
- Wednesdays (weekly)
- 2:30 p.m.
- Housing and Homelessness Committee – Council Chambers
Artisanal Corruption is celebrated seasonally across two great counties, one bad and several mismanaged counties.
Staffer B's Deflavorization Team:
Cure and Correct Transcript from Dialogue during Information meeting Brown Act Violation.
Officer Graciano, 22747
Stephanie Uy, CD12 representative
Philip Hong, City Attorney LA
Smart Speaker: As I discussed with Duarte.
Graciano: I’m not Duarte.
Smart Speaker: I know, Duarte and Morris your colleagues. You’ve got… You’ve got three meetings going on at the exact same time. You can’t deny public comment when the person is in the other meeting.
Graciano: They called your name, and you were not here
Smart Speaker: Right, but I’m just getting it on the record. 22747 that I told the LAPD that they are denying public comment. Stephanie. I’ll talk to the clerk. Get the clerk. Get the clerk.
Graciano: No, leave them alone, they’re busy.
Smart Speaker: I’m busy too. You think I sit around… Get Stephanie. Let’s ask Stephanie. You can’t call public comment at the beginning of the meeting when you know there are members of the public who submitted cards on items seven and eight. Tell the chair to reconsider taking public comments
Stephanie Uy: We already closed public comment.
Smart Speaker: Then reopen it.
Stephanie Uy: We already closed it.
Smart Speaker: Yeah well open it.
Stephanie Uy: We could but...
Smart Speaker; Where is the city attorney?
Graciano: He’s right here.
Smart Speaker; What kind of crap is that? You have three 1 pm meetings at the exact same time. It’s virtually a Brown Act Violation. And you are denying comments at all of the individual meetings down the hall. I’m not going anywhere. I want to speak.
City Attorney: You didn’t submit a public comment card.
Smart Speaker: I did submit a comment card.
City Attorney: No, I didn’t see one.
Graciano: We’re done.
Smart Speaker: Did I submit a comment card?
(**) He’s out of order
Graciano: Have a seat
City Attorney: Yeah, we already closed it—
Smart Speaker: —at the one-minute mark but, you know I signed up. And there was a room full of other people.
City Attorney: They called you. It was a little while ago
Smart Speaker: So call again
City Attorney: No, it's just closed.
Smart Speaker: And I’m asking you to cure and correct your violation because you know I am still here. I spoke to all the police and said I couldn’t be in two places at once. And this is a violation because you know I’m here because I am here with you speaking and I want to speak. So I’ll re-sign up
City Attorney: Public comments have already been closed, Sir.
Smart Speaker: Sir, You are violating my right to participate in this meeting for no good reason.
Graciano: You weren’t here Mr. Preven
Smart Speaker: I am here. I was here I was in the building.
Get his card.
Transportation1 Information2 and Health3 are the three committees that were set at 1 pm on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday
The practice was put into effect in February 2019. Shame!
(Eric Preven is a longtime community activist and is a contributor to CityWatch.)
