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ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Adrin Nazarian announced that he's going to be preventing corporate real estate raiders from taking advantage of residents who have been impacted by the state of emergency. Which one? The corruption emergency?
Adrin Nazarian (CD2) shown hobnobbing in CD4 to facilitate... Midwood Developments!
No, the fires.
Counting Lawsuits:
Smart Speaker: Well, let's take public comment early, so nobody is paying attention. Good one, Supervisors. You know who is paying attention? Residents of Calabasas who are now moonlighting as human roadblocks. The county thinks environmental review means 'trust us.' Look, this is clearly a problem, and this part of the valley has experienced environmental harm. But dump first, apologize never is practically the county's motto. This is toxic stuff. Near homes, schools, and parks. You don’t need a Ph.D. in landfill mismanagement to know it’s a terrible idea. It isn’t just – it’s environmental sabotage, frankly. Send the stuff somewhere else and prepare for – you can’t do this."
hours later...
Smart Speaker: Items 4, 6, and 9. Okay. What about the armed security guards at the library? That was an area that I had examined previously. Libraries are important places for the county. And it would mean a lot to have armed people all over the place. It is sort of like hospitals, you try to get by as a place of healing. Yet, Supervisor Hahn taught us it is important to also hand out gun locks in our hospitals because, frankly, they save lives. So I don’t want to break out the emergency vests and hard hats too early on Declaration of Emergency Day. Incidentally, I propose you declare an emergency at City Hall as now President Maqueece Harris-Dawson, Mayor Bass, and yes, even former Lahsa Commissioner, Lindsey Horvath got dragged into poking at one another. It is really getting quite intense at City Hall. Because when Harris-Dawson was the acting mayor, when Bass was in Ghana apparently he didn't do shit. People are irritated by that because he is guilty of shutting down all public comments from anyone who is not located downtown.
hours later...
Smart Speaker: Thank you. One idea would be to—Bodek is doing a terrific job, as we've previously established. But, Supervisor Barger, why not take the speakers' testimony when they're around in the morning? C'mon, you care about your constituents. Ryan Carter thinks you're doing a great job. Don't make the people wait so long. You can take notes or have your staff take notes, they’re "talking about item 10 today." Then you can continue to meet, and they can go about their day... The current plan is creating harm and difficulty for your people. Bodek, Bodek is excellent, she's very good. Not as good as Richard Bruckner. Bruckner worked symbiotically with Mark Ridley-Thomas. Hand in glove. No, not, "Keep your hands where we can see them." lol
I’ll explain that in another column. Keep up the great work.
hours later...
Smart Speaker: Okay, thank you. Well, this is a tough, tough issue. You don't want to advertise this GRE welfare payment too much, it's net county cost. But it is --" (audio cuts off)
$10 Million in Silence
The Los Angeles City Council had a busy week—silently approving $10 million in legal settlements without debate.
Over six million shown above settled on Wednesday, another $4,495,000 on Tuesday for a two-day total over $10M!
Once again, the City Council burned through taxpayer money like a match to dry brush, approving over $6 million in settlements with zero serious discussion about why the City keeps losing these lawsuits.
Among the payouts:
- $2.85 million for a tree branch collapse in Woodland Hills.
- $1.15 million for a tree fall in the Greek Theatre parking lot.
- Hundreds of thousands in sidewalk trip-and-falls, an annual financial hemorrhage that the City refuses to meaningfully address.
- $370,000 for First Amendment retaliation against a whistleblower—yet another indicator that City Hall’s culture of suppressing dissent is alive and well.
But the real elephant in the room—the LA Alliance for Human Rights lawsuit—was carefully omitted from meaningful discussion. This looming legal grenade, tied to homelessness policy and city liability, threatens to unleash massive financial and policy consequences. Yet, instead of grappling with it, the Council did what it does best—move quickly, talk vaguely, and pray no one asks follow-ups.
Council Leadership: Politely, no
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, now facing blistering criticism for his botched handling of the recent wildfire crisis, did nothing to defend himself against accusations that he was AWOL while serving as acting mayor.
Meanwhile, Katy Yaroslavsky, the new Budget Chair, introduced yet another 41.18 enforcement motion, a move that had all the hallmarks of election-year pandering rather than serious governance. Her attempt to throw red meat to constituents fed up with encampments only underscored the policy failure of 41.18 itself—a cynical shell game that moves unhoused individuals from block to block without actually solving the crisis.
And what of the budget disaster that left LAFD scrambling for funding mid-crisis? Instead of demanding accountability, the Council kept kicking the can down the road, with Mayor Bass still slow-walking the fire department’s budget fix.
John Lee Staffer B (CD12) faces off with the LA County Supervisors' Indigenous team, starring Lindsey P. Horvath.
A Protest Too Loud?
In an already dysfunctional meeting, Rob Quan turned the volume up to 11, delivering a blistering monologue against Harris-Dawson, budget mismanagement, and public records obfuscation.
His central claim? That Harris-Dawson completely failed as acting mayor during the wildfire response, that he used his position to curtail meetings rather than lead, and that the City has engaged in a systemic effort to block CPRA (California Public Records Act) requests.
But amid the valid points, his comments took on a quasi-personal tone. He repeatedly invoked past disgraced councilmembers (Nury Martinez, Herb Wesson, Paul Krekorian) as cautionary tales and hinted at looming scandals. His threats of escalation, his assertion that “he was forced to do this,” his invocation of previous takedowns—it all felt a little too self-congratulatory, a little too practiced.
Is he righteously exposing corruption or playing a character in his own movie?
LA County LAW:
The County had hours of testimony, but the county counsel who tried to duck in and duck out... will need to face more questions.
For years, Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors has quietly turned litigation into an unchecked money pit, where politically connected law firms cash in, in-house attorneys do little more than oversee the billing, and the public is left in the dark.
The County's use of outside law firms has exploded, with a staggering $74.6 million spent on contract counsel in FY 23-24—an 18% increase from the previous year.
- Over the last four years, outside legal spending has surged 79%, from $41.6 million to $74.6 million.
- Meanwhile, County Counsel attorneys—who are already on the public payroll—billed an additional $20.8 million to County departments.
- That’s nearly $100 million in legal fees in a single year, all while settlements and judgments cost taxpayers another $125 million.
Despite this massive spending, the Board of Supervisors refuses to allow meaningful oversight, invoking the all-powerful attorney-client privilege to keep details hidden.
Outside Firm Wildfires:
If there’s one thing big law firms love, it’s a crisis with deep pockets—and LA County’s wildfire litigation has been exactly that.
The County raked in $81 million from the Bobcat Fire--it’s still under investigation, but it is spending enormous sums defending itself against liability claims, hiring elite firms like Munger, Tolles & Olson—a firm deeply entrenched in the County’s power circles.
Munger, Tolles & Olson was recently just engaged to assist LADWP in the defense of mounting lawsuits—all part of a revolving door of law firms hired by the County's family and friends to investigate itself, including:
- Covington & Burling, which was brought in to investigate contracting fraud—yet the County refuses to disclose the findings or how much it paid the firm. The firm drew national attention in the Trumposphere this week.
- Miller Barondess, Old Skipper, which collected millions defending the County in the Vanessa Bryant case, where taxpayers were hit with a $40+ million settlement tk. for photos that were taken but never seen by the public.
The County’s legal strategy is a full-employment program for expensive outside counsel, who bill at rates far exceeding what in-house attorneys would cost—if they were actually handling the work.
Rubber Stamp Ladies and Secrecy
Instead of demanding answers, the Board of Supervisors has enabled this opaque legal cartel:
- They approve every major legal payout—but won’t discuss the details. Instead of debating settlements in open session, they read them into the record as quickly as possible, hoping no one notices.
- They refuse to demand reforms to prevent future lawsuits. The same departments get sued repeatedly, yet no one is held accountable.
- They hide legal spending behind privilege. The County fights to keep outside counsel invoices secret, even though the public is footing the bill.
The result? The County pays more in legal fees and settlements than most states, and no one is ever held responsible.
Ending the Legal Gravy Train
This is not just wasteful—it’s corruption in plain sight. The County’s legal cartel exists because no one has stopped it.
It’s time to demand transparency:
- Full disclosure of outside counsel spending. The public has a right to see who is getting paid and for what.
- End the abuse of attorney-client privilege. Legal invoices and spending records must be public.
- Use in-house lawyers for in-house work. If County Counsel can’t handle cases themselves, they shouldn’t exist as a department.
- Independent oversight. A Claims & Litigation Review Committee—independent from County Counsel—should oversee major litigation decisions.
The real winners?
Not the public.
Not the taxpayers.
Not even the people suing the County.
The real winners are the high-powered firms that have turned LA County’s litigation into a billion-dollar industry—while the Board of Supervisors keeps signing the checks.
That has to stop.
Studio City Set Dressing
It all starts on the corner of Wall Street and Main Street—not in New York, but in Studio City, California, where small business meets big money, and where the City’s latest schemes to reshape a neighborhood in the image of power and wealth are in full swing.
At the heart of it? The same pattern is playing out across Los Angeles: public spaces disappearing, billionaire-backed projects moving in, and working-class communities left in the dust.
President Marqueece Harris-Dawson continues to disappoint.
At the intersection of local charm and Private equity, you’ll find Oy Bar, a beloved neighborhood spot about to be erased under the banner of “progress.”
Around the corner? The mammoth Prop K construction site of the Studio City Recreation Center.
Across the street? The beloved Studio City Library quietly sits in the shadows of a rapidly changing landscape.
Smart Speaker: Hey, speaking of the library... where is our homeless guy who has slept on the bench on Moorpark next to the Dean Logan Voter Drop box for the last several years? Was he cleansed to make room for KTLA? (Yes!)
But the crown jewel of this transformation is just .3 miles away—where the billionaire-backed Harvard-Westlake School has taken full control of what was once Weddington Golf and Tennis, a space once open to the public but now set to become a private athletic empire for LA’s elite.
Studio City is being dressed for a new role. And guess who’s calling the shots? Not the people who live there.
First, Take the Neighborhood Bar: Goodbye, Oy Bar
Normally, when the weight of corruption and backroom deal-making gets too heavy, you could wash down your sorrows at Oy Bar.
Not anymore.
A 102-unit, no-parking Section 8 development is set to rise on Moorpark Street, a project that was never put before the people because it was fast-tracked under Mayor Karen Bass’s Executive Directive 1 (ED1)—a policy that bypasses local review and input in the name of housing production.
Housing is important. But so is neighborhood character. And what the planners in City Hall refuse to acknowledge is that these “progressive” policies aren’t just creating affordable housing—they’re flattening the small businesses that give communities their identity.
Oy Bar is collateral damage. And so is the idea that Studio City should be shaped by its residents rather than distant decision-makers with deep pockets.
Next, Dump Public Money Into Studio City Recreation Center’s $30M Overhaul
Just around the corner from Oy Bar, you’ll find Studio City Recreation Center (Beeman Park), now home to a Net Zero $30 million construction project that has somehow become more expensive than LA County’s entire new parkland budget for the year.
- LA County just allocated $17 million to develop 623 acres of new parks across five districts.
- Meanwhile, one solar-powered high school regulation basketball court and community center in Studio City is swallowing over $30 million in city funds.
How? Why? No one seems to be asking.
While parks across Los Angeles crumble, while public pools close early, while staff shortages limit programming for families, Studio City Rec Center is getting a makeover fit for a major sports complex.
This isn’t about serving the broader LA community. It’s about who has power and who doesn’t.
And just .3 miles away, the real winners are already counting their victories.
Finally, Hand the Crown Jewel to Billionaire Donors: Harvard-Westlake’s Private Takeover
The final piece of the puzzle sits just down the street next to the Fire station along the river where Weddington Golf and Tennis—a historic recreation site once open to the public—has been swallowed whole by Harvard-Westlake.
The elite private school, backed by billionaire Charlie Munger (RIP) executed a $44 million land grab—then announced plans for a $140 million private athletic complex thanks to billionaire Anthony Pritzker, folding the public's space into a high-security sports empire for LA’s wealthiest families.
What was once a shared community space for regular residents is now set to become a walled-off playground for the ultra-privileged.
The final insult:
- Harvard-Westlake isn’t just taking the land—they’re getting to “police” it.
- In exchange for their “generosity”, the school will manage the surrounding LA River area—using private security to ensure the right people are allowed in and the wrong people are kept out.
That’s not public stewardship. That’s privatization disguised as a favor.
Adrin Nazarian honored a Coro fellow... who taught him so much... RIP. More about Coro later.
Studio City: A Set Designed by the Wealthy, for the Wealthy
This isn’t progress—it’s a rewrite. A rebranding of a historic neighborhood into a showcase for elite donors, luxury development, and high-dollar private school expansion.
It’s a story of who gets erased and who gets rewarded:
- The working-class bar? Gone.
- The small businesses? Pushed aside.
- The public park? An overpriced cash drain.
- The billionaire donors? Sitting pretty, building their high-security sports complex.
And the politicians? They’re either enabling it or too scared to say anything. Nazarian will be seeking resources to erect no Blackstone signage.
Where’s Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, normally a champion of social justice and community activism? Silent.
Where’s Councilmember Nithya Raman, now overseeing the fallout of this disaster? MIA or appearing on Spectrum 1.
Where’s Mayor Karen Bass, whose ED1 order is bulldozing small businesses in the name of “progress”?
Smart Speaker: Section 8 housing in high numbers, at scale... is problematic. A little here and there goes a long way...
Money Talks:
This is not a city being run for its residents.
This is a city being carved up, handed over, and repackaged for the benefit of the people who can afford to buy it.
Studio City was never supposed to be a billionaire’s playground—but that’s exactly what it’s becoming.
Because in the new LA, if you don’t have a Pritzker, a Munger, or a Harvard-Westlake donor checkbook, your voice doesn’t count.
February 24, 2025 LA County Public Comment
Smart Speaker: Thank you. This has been a whirlwind. Do I have a minute or 90 seconds? I don't know, but Pestrella did a very nice job. I'm so pleased they're able to work together. I wanted to hear a little more about the county golf money and how we're putting that money to good use. They are private equity guys, so it's not a crazy thought to make them pay, but Mitchell just lets them upgrade their clubhouse... and name something after her. It was nice to see the librarian, Skye Patrick, come through. The assessor, Jeffrey Prang, is terrific, and hopefully, he can help. I was very thrown when the Executive Officer Edward Yen wanted all that extra money to improve the quality of the telecast. Infuriating. And Dean Logan always does a nice job, but he needs to do a better job of lowering the candidate statements in the voter guide down to nothing because it's absurd they charge $50,000 for that. That's enough already. And the Health group, what can I say? Nice ladies. And yet now we're all worried about the Trump squeeze, but I think it's important to try to provide the services. We've done a medium bad to very, very bad job obviously in many ways, but we can do worse--"
(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.)
