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ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK - Smart Speaker: Groat, you insufferable fool, why are you not reading the amendments so the public following at home understands what the council is voting on?
Jonathan Groat, Deputy City Attorney: “Because we are no longer having virtual public comment and we have not been reading in the amendments…but if the members of the public would like to see it, it will be posted on the board on your right… side of the council chambers. “
Smart Speaker: Another benefit of not having public comment ....
The 23-Lien Salute
Let’s talk about what’s really happening here. Tuesday, 23 liens—more than $60,000 sucked directly from residents' hides in just one day. Not bad for a city that pretends to be “helping” people stay housed.
Here’s the ranking of districts by total lien amounts: CD8’s Harris-Dawson takes the crown for sheer financial extraction with $14,074.12, while McOsker’s CD15 racks up the most individual liens at $10,890.88. CD4 comes in at $8,925.50, CD7 at $6,198.06, and CD5 at $4,698.11. Meanwhile, CD14, CD13, CD12, CD9, and CD6 remain lien-free—whether by choice, strategy, or sheer luck.
What we’re witnessing here is a preview of harsher crackdowns to come. As LA’s budget implodes, expect more fines, more fees, more punishment disguised as policy. This isn’t governance—it’s a shakedown.
Meanwhile, over at Item 54, Council is busy allocating and authorizing $20,000 for the Garlic & Gaelic event. Since this is a CD15 even there is speculation Mcosker is being rewarded for amping up the liens to possibly a half dozen (tk.) in his district. Regardless, when it comes to celebrating garlic and Guinness, the city’s got money to burn.
The Doumi Dilemma & The Fast-Tracked Booze Pipeline
How about a speedy liquor license rubber-stamped for CD10’s Heather Hutt? Because when City Hall moves fast, it’s never to help the public—only the right people.
If you didn’t enjoy today’s 23 Lien Salute—where the City vacuumed over $60,000 from struggling Angelenos in a single day—don’t worry! You can drown your sorrows at one of Hutt’s expedited watering holes.
And just in case you were thinking of enjoying yourself, no dancing. That’s right—no dancing allowed. Didn’t anyone at City Hall see Footloose?
The prohibition on dancing is laughable. These rules always collapse once the music gets good. But what’s even more bizarre—and a little creepy—is the explicit restriction on Doumi girls.
Heather Hutt has a passion for music... and Land Use.
Are Doumi girls legal anywhere? That’s a complicated question. But apparently, in Heather Hutt’s district, you can get a liquor license overnight, but human interaction requires government micromanagement.
What’s next? Are enforcement teams busting into karaoke rooms to check for forbidden foot-tapping?
This much is clear: The speed of approvals for alcohol permits vs. the speed of approvals for actual tenant protections or small business relief tells you everything you need to know about this Council’s priorities.
Chief Marrone of LA County Fire et al. was recognized at the Grammys.
Disconnecting Neighbors & Empowering... DONE? – Item 25
If you look up Item 25 in the library, it simply says “BS.”
Because let’s be honest—this Connecting Neighbors & Empowering LA! initiative is a $50,000 grant award to DONE, which is famously dysfunctional.
This item brings back memories of the extreme bureaucratic hurdles I faced when, in my official capacity as a Studio City Neighborhood Council board member, vocal critic, and writing advocate, I attempted to fund a Studio City Library Writing Contest.
The contest itself? Great. The headlines? Admired. The work behind the scenes? A nightmare.
What the public didn’t see was the breathtaking effort required to set it up—not unlike fighting for open forums, fair elections, or even a functional public meeting process.
Because DONE is rotten on the inside. In Doge terms, it’s a tear-down.
And let’s be clear—this grant will do absolutely nothing to fix it.
If not for persistence and a refusal to back down, most people would have walked away in frustration. It’s tempting to do the same, but holding the city accountable requires staying engaged and seeing things through.
DONE, no thanks to the Studio City Old Guard, and—may he rest in peace—Adams. Also remarkably unhelpful, Niederberg. Luminaria may get a separate paragraph one day.
But despite all of that, the program worked. The first and only Studio City Library contest was a success. But that success wasn’t thanks to DONE—it was in spite of DONE.
So, when you hand them $50,000 and call it "empowerment," let’s all acknowledge the reality: The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment doesn’t empower neighborhoods—it creates obstacles.
Savings Idea
Judgment Obligation Bonds: Just One More Hit – Item 59
Los Angeles is broke. A $250-$300 million shortfall, $300 million in wildfire damages, and reserves shrinking from $800M to $300M—but the solution? More municipal debt.
Today’s tab: Another $7 million in settlement payouts. Add that to $12.47 million in December, $112 million last year, and at 5-6% interest, taxpayers will be paying millions more just to delay the pain.
And Marqueece Harris-Dawson knows it’s a scam—that’s why he’s shutting down virtual public comment. No sharp public allowed.
Can’t have anyone asking why we’re drowning in settlements or why JOBs are the only solution.
And so it goes—another Judgment Obligation Bond, another hit off the municipal debt pipe. The city burns through settlements like a gambler at the tables, then stumbles back for one more fix.
"Just one more bond," the city whispers—not from some Doumi girl in a karaoke bar, but from Patty Huber, the sober administrative genius and City Hall’s mama bear. She’s not here to party—she’s here to keep the lights on while this Council throws taxpayer money into a bonfire.
It’s a dangerous elixir—and even Patty Huber knows it.
The Historic City Hall Designation: Krekorian's Castle – Item 60
So, City Hall is one of the most recognized buildings in the world? Really? Mr. Nazarian, I’d love to see the receipts on that one. Because if we’re talking globally famous architecture, I’m thinking Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House—not the place where Kevin de León squatted in silence for a year while his colleagues ran for cover.
And let’s talk cost—because that’s the real issue here, isn’t it?
How much taxpayer money is this designation going to cost?
Where is the PLUM report?
What’s the price tag for all the consultant fees, application costs, and long-term compliance requirements?
And let’s be honest, historic designation comes with strings attached. Once it’s on the National Register, every future repair, upgrade, or window replacement could require special approvals, added delays, and higher costs. In a city that can’t even fix sidewalks or process housing permits in under a decade, do we really need to make City Hall even harder to maintain?
This is a Paul Krekorian parting gift (except he’s moving in, not leaving), and it’s not about history—it’s about locking this building in amber so future councils can use it as their private stage. Meanwhile, the actual public—the ones paying for this—are locked out of the process.
But hey, if the goal was to preserve the legacy of a building where the public was shoved aside, dissent was crushed, and corruption flourished, congratulations. You’ve nailed it.
South LA vs. Wildfire Victims: The Waiting Game
Three years. That’s how long it took the city to finally settle with the residents of South LA whose homes were obliterated by the LAPD’s catastrophic negligence. Three years of waiting, fighting, and—until today—being ignored. Item 60 on Tuesday’s city hall agenda is one more…
Now, with wildfire victims facing their own displacement and devastation, we have to ask: Will they also be forced to endure years of bureaucratic limbo before receiving help?
We hope not. We cannot afford to see these same delays when it comes to residents who lost everything in the Palisades and Eaton fires. But history tells us otherwise. And if we say nothing, the chorus will rise again: The city turns its back on Black and Brown people.
And sadly, that chorus is right.
Los Angeles must do better. Let’s not let history repeat itself.
Kenn Hahn Hall of Administration (Not For Long... "Moving On Up!")
The County agenda is packed, and we have requested that all five lady supervisors wear hard hats and orange vests, to recognize the many workers who are excited to process and remove the toxic debris.
The agenda brazenly includes multiple sole source agreements, primarily in the Department of Public Health.
The total amount of identified sole source contracts exceeds $19.9 million, highlighting the city's reliance on non-competitive procurement for specialized services, particularly in public health and medical support. Lossa booze in the fligelator over at Aids Health Care Foundation...
Aids Healthcare Foundation is more F: than M: for what it's worth, a lot!
On the supplemental agenda, one more sole source: With a $159,000 budget and $40 per trip, the funding would cover approximately 1,987 important VD appointments (round trips).
You do not need to be an LA Times journalist who worked in Oregon to know that the report by Covington & Burling on contracting fraud has not been made public. Even as that hallowed firm was granted a conflict at the next door agency dba Corrupt City Hall on Friday: In Van Nuys, steps away from the courthouse where Katy Yaroslavsky’s hubby doles out the Justice.
Conflict-of-Interest Waiver for Covington & Burling
Harris-Dawson and Park move to authorize the City Attorney to grant a conflict-of-interest waiver for the law firm Covington & Burling, which is representing:
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a lawsuit (State of California ex rel. Edelweiss Fund, LLC v. JPMorgan Chase & Co.) where the firm has subpoenaed the LA Community Redevelopment Agency. The City is not a party to the case.
- CalMatters in its California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests against the City of Los Angeles and in its legal battle with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) over access to public records (CalMatters v. LAHSA).
Lovely.
Here are the stack of sole source agreements in direct contravention of recommendations that have not been shared properly.
- HIV Care Services Sole Source Contract Amendments – Four sole source contract amendments to extend services through February 28, 2026, at a total maximum amount of $1,630,361, funded by various Ryan White Program (RWP) sources .
- HIV Care Services Sole Source Contract Amendments (Additional) – 15 sole source amendments extending services through February 28, 2026, totaling $14,841,542 in funding .
- AIDS Healthcare Foundation Sole Source Contract Amendment – A sole source amendment extending the contract through February 28, 2026, for $350,646, funded by Ryan White Program Part A funds .
- Data Management Services Sole Source Contract Amendment – A $660,000 amendment with Automated Case Management Systems, Inc., to extend contract terms for 12 months through February 28, 2026, with an option to extend for six more months .
- Canon Cartesion Prime Digital PET/CT Scanner Sole Source Acquisition – The $2,438,000 acquisition of a scanner and trailer for the Department of Health Services' Harbor-UCLA Medical Center .
Felkin & Lohman
Very impressive lineup of three supporters and one detractor: One dreamed of being an op-ed columnist, to expose prejudice where it exists in a carefully crafted and compelling argument so as to further the cause of REDACTED and others.
Attack Librarians:
The County Librarian requests the Armed Security Guard Services for LA County Library Area Contracts be punted to February 25th.
Recommendation: Find that armed security guard services for LA County Library facilities can be performed more economically by an out of state independent contractor; approve and instruct the Chair to sign five contracts with company, Inter-Con Security Services Systems, Inc. Tennessee?
Other:
Motion to Proclaim February 2025 as “Civil Grand Jury Month” in Los Angeles County, as submitted by Supervisor Barger.
This will be recognized with the appropriate pomp and circumstance.
The Retaliation Mill:
Adel Hagekhalil’s removal from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) has ignited outrage, allegations of political payback, and even claims of racism. His defenders hail him as a trailblazer in sustainability, but a question lingers: How does a “great guy” emerge from the retaliation machine that is L.A. City Hall?
L.A. government thrives on backroom deals, whisper networks, and crushing whistleblowers—just ask Raymond Brown, who won a $475,000 retaliation settlement against the city. A drop in the bucket for a system that treats silencing critics as business as usual.
Hagekhalil climbed City Hall’s ranks under the leadership of Eric Garcetti, Mike Feuer, and ex-City Clerk Holly Wolcott—all architects of a culture where loyalists are rewarded, dissenters are erased, and accountability is just for show. His ouster from MWD may have been a political hit job, but are the accusations of workplace toxicity, retaliation, and favoritism really surprising? Or just City Hall’s standard operating procedure?
If Hagekhalil was truly a reformer, let’s hear it—from him. What did he see? What did he tolerate? What did he excuse? Because the real story isn’t just whether he was wronged—it’s whether he played the same game and lost.
Chronological Order of Correspondence Regarding Public Comment Access
January 31, 2025 – 1:26 PM
Eric Preven to Jonathan Groat (City Attorney's Office)
"Including a correct Council file number will help ensure expedient and accurate posting of your comment. You can search for Council file numbers on the City Clerk's COUNCIL FILE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM."
What case file number correlates to general public comment?
January 31, 2025 – 2:23 PM
Jonathan Groat (City Attorney's Office) to Eric Preven
Mr. Preven,
The City Attorney's Office does not manage or maintain the Council File Management System. This includes the digital public comment form. I suggest you contact the Clerk's Office using the contact information provided on the public comment form (see the red/green arrow in the attached screenshot).
January 31, 2025 – 4:12 PM
Eric Preven to Jonathan Groat, CC: Petty Santos
You responded authoritatively the other day.
Petty?
Eric Preven
Sent from my iPhone
February 3, 2025 – 7:41 AM
Patrice Lattimore (City Clerk's Office) to Eric Preven
Mr. Preven,
The Council file for general public comment for Council meetings is 00-9999.
Patrice Y. Lattimore
Division Manager
Business Improvement Districts Division
Council & Public Services Division
City of Los Angeles | Office of the City Clerk
Tel: 213.978.1050
February 3, 2025 – 8:15 AM
Eric Preven to Patrice Lattimore, CC: Petty Santos, David Michaelson, BCC: Strefan Fauble, Tanea Ysaguirre
Where can the public access those written comments, and where is it advertised that such comments can be provided using that number?
(Eric Preven is a Studio City-based TV writer-producer, award-winning journalist, and longtime community activist who won two landmark open government cases in California.)
