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ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Smart Speaker: Yeah, it’s Eric Preven from Studio City. And I’m a little bit confused. I thought you were going into closed session. I also don’t understand why this meeting started at 11:00 A.M. and then I thought I read that you were going to go into closed session. This is supposed to be a regular Board meeting. Now the Government Code 54954(a) of the Brown Act says regular meetings follow a time and place set by formal rules. Did you change the rule to make it an 11:00 A.M. start after Cesar Chavez Day?
The presumption of regularity has been punctured (again).
If you didn’t you’re putting yourselves at risk, it is not appropriate. All of the items you continue to later in the meeting like 19, in theory, we haven’t heard the conversation yet. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to speak before the Board goes into closed session but I don’t understand the purpose other than to shake the public off of your pant leg. That’s totally inappropriate. I do want to thank for the pet adoption, that’s nice, nobody has done a better job than you on that. And the fact we’re waiving adoption fees is terrific."
Executive Officer: Your time has expired.
Longtime City guy Eric Villanueva is honored by Eunisses Hernandez, CD1 who did not testify before Board of Supervisors but has in the past, repeatedly, alongside residents who were opposed to incarcerating women in Valley Fever country or anywhere...
The Nithya Project – County Boardroom Edition
Nameplates line the dais: CHAIR HORVATH, SUPERVISOR MITCHELL, SUPERVISOR BARGER, SUPERVISOR HAHN, SUPERVISOR SOLIS (ZOOM SQUARE)
At the center: ZOEY DEUTCH as LINDSEY HORVATH sits confidently, gavel in one hand, Instagram Live open on the other.
HORVATH Welcome, everyone. It’s Women’s History Month, and what better way to celebrate than by compassionately decoupling the most dysfunctional joint powers authority west of the Mississippi.
Today’s item: The Future of LAHSA. Or as my newsletter put it: A New Era of Intentional Infrastructure Collaboration.
She bangs the gavel.
HORVATH (cont’d) We’ll begin with invited speakers from the City side. Please welcome Councilmember Raman and Councilmember Blumenfield — here to continue the conversation around accountability and alignment.
Enter MINDY KALING as NITHYA RAMAN, gripping a stack of annotated talking points and a reusable water bottle with a tiny Karen Bass sticker on it.
RAMAN Thank you, Chair Horvath, and thank you to this amazing Board of accomplished women — truly history-makers — for having us here today.
We’re excited to continue the conversation around what a reimagined framework for service delivery could look like. While this is hard — you know, deconstructing LAHSA is like... dismantling a really complicated IKEA bunk bed — it’s also an opportunity.
Enter MATTHEW BRODERICK as BLUMENFIELD, holding his “The Blumenfield Tapes” folder, and visibly rattled.
BLUMENFIELD I just want to say... wow. You actually let public speakers be seen. I mean visible on TV, like, on camera... terrifying. But kind of inspiring.
RAMAN (softly) We should explore doing that in City Council. You know, as part of the conversation around transparency.
HORVATH Thank you. Councilmember Raman, your courage in aligning is noted. Councilmember Blumenfield, your comment is... logged.
SUPERVISOR HOLLY MITCHELL leans into her mic.
HOLLY MITCHELL Let’s not pretend this is a brainstorming session. We have failed. And we’ve failed with flair. But at least I don’t call a press conference every time I move a desk.
HORVATH (tight smile) It’s Women’s History Month, Holly. We amplify.
HOLLY MITCHELL You amplify performative nonsense.
BLUMENFIELD (quickly) If I may — we’d love to continue the conversation around performance metrics...
HORVATH That’s adorable.
BARGER I propose four Armenian Women recognitions next Tuesday.
HAHN (O.S.) Five, plus three Korean American Women recognitions and a parking waiver for 300 guests at the Ahmanson. Let’s make Women’s History Month count.
HORVATH Seeing no objections to my substitute motion for Nine TransLatina recognition events in swing districts to commemorate Measure G and the addition of four homegrown political dynasties, that item is approved. And maybe a TikTok campaign with captions in Nahuatl.
JANICE HAHN enters from a side door, holding a surfboard and a box of donuts.
HAHN Someone said Measure A? I came to make sure no one turned it into a mural. My potholes are now officially transitional housing zones. Carry on.
A GIANT SCREEN activates. SUPERVISOR SOLIS appears on Zoom, windblown on a train platform.
SOLIS (glitching) We offer services in 243 languages — [TRAIN HORN] — but the Wi-Fi here is terrible! Not half as good as at the Liberry — and yes, I said Liberry.
BLUMENFIELD Try switching to 5G?
SOLIS It stands for 5 Garbled Words per Minute!
BARGER Love it or leave it. Let’s try doing one competent thing in English before we roll out 243 dialects of “Oops, we’re out of money.”
HOLLY MITCHELL The City’s broke. The County’s got cash and a folder labeled "Community Enhancements (Please Don’t Ask)."
HORVATH The realest affordable housing is the kind you can’t trace!
RAMAN Or audit!
BLUMENFIELD Too late for a temporary oversight commission on permanent failures?
EVERYONE Yes.
POST-CREDITS SCENE – OUTSIDE THE NINTH CIRCUIT COURT
MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS in suit at a folding table. Sign: “Make Altadena Great Again – MRT Appeals for the People.”
MRT While we await the righteous ruling of the Ninth Circuit... I want to remind L.A. that I gave deeply. Grants. Measure H. A chair or two.
(beat) I may have made mistakes. But no more than anyone who's been Chair of the Board. I'm looking at you, Zev. I won District 10. I will serve again. By fax, if necessary.
SANDWICH BOARD GUY: "Pardon Me: I'm With MRT"
MRT If the court doesn’t see the light, there’s always the Big Guy. (beat) You know who I mean.
VOICE OFFSCREEN You mean Biden?
MRT I mean God. (beat)
PHONE RINGS.
MRT Hello? City Council’s doing what with LAHSA? You leave for one federal trial, and they turn the whole thing into a group project from hell.
CLOSING TITLE CARD: “THE NITHYA PROJECT: A Joint Disaster Production — Streaming Live, Buffering Constantly, Funded Generously.”
UP NEXT: “MEASURE HYSTERIA: The Budget Hearings” — Same microphones, less patience.
Strefan Fauble sports a Springtime necktie with starched white collar ...
Email from Eric Preven to Edward Yen and others
Date: April 1, 2025
From: [email protected]
To: Edward Yen
Cc: Supervisor Kathryn Barger, County Counsel Dawyn Harrison, County Counsel Judy Whitehurst
Subject: Inquiry Regarding April 1, 2025 Board Meeting Start Time and Compliance with Brown Act
Mr. Yen,
I am writing to inquire about the upcoming Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 1, 2025, which, according to the published agenda, is set to begin at 11:00 a.m. instead of the regularly scheduled 9:30 a.m. start time.
Under California Government Code § 54954(a) of the Brown Act, regular meetings of a legislative body must be held at the time and place established by ordinance, resolution, or other formal rule. I would like to respectfully request clarification on the following:
1. Has the Board formally adopted a change to its governing rules to allow for an 11:00 a.m. start time for this or any future regular meetings?
2. If so, could you please direct me to the relevant resolution or board action authorizing this change?
3. Additionally, will general public comment be accepted prior to the Board’s closed session on April 1, as required during regular meetings under Gov. Code § 54954.3(a) and § 54957.7(a)?
This inquiry is made in good faith and in the interest of ensuring transparency and lawful public participation. Thank you in advance for your assistance and for your continued stewardship of the public record.
Eric Preven
Sent from my iPhone
Response from Norayr (Noro) Zurabyan, County Counsel
Date: April 1, 2025 at 4:31 PM
From: [email protected]
To: Eric Preven
Dear Mr. Preven,
Hello. I hope all is well.
You asked certain questions today. Please see your questions and responses to your questions below.
Has the Board formally adopted a change to its governing rules to allow for an 11:00 a.m. start time for this or any future regular meetings?
During the March 25, 2025 Board meeting, the Chair made the announcement regarding the time change, and there were no objections from any of the Supervisors, thus, that change was completed by a unanimous vote. In addition, the change of time was correctly noted on the posted agenda for the April 1, 2025 Board meeting.
If so, could you please direct me to the relevant resolution or board action authorizing this change?
Please see above.
Additionally, will general public comment be accepted prior to the Board’s closed session on April 1, as required during regular meetings under Gov. Code § 54954.3(a) and § 54957.7(a)?
Under the Brown Act, general public comment is not required to be taken before closed session. Rather, specific public comment on closed session was taken before the consideration of the closed session item, as required by the Brown Act. General public comment is being taken up right now, as permitted by the Brown Act.
Thank you very much.
Norayr (Noro) Zurabyan
County Counsel
BLOCKED FROM COMMENT:
Dear Mr. Zurabyan,
Thank you for your response to my inquiry regarding the April 1, 2025, Board of Supervisors meeting.
Upon reviewing the March 25, 2025 Board of Supervisors meeting transcript, there is no explicit record of a formal vote or resolution changing the subsequent meeting’s start time from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., as required by California Government Code § 54954(a).
An informal announcement made by the Chair, absent a formal action item and vote, does not satisfy the Brown Act’s requirement that regular meeting times be set by ordinance, resolution, or other formal rule. Silent acquiescence by Board members does not constitute a lawful amendment of the Board’s established rules.
Therefore, pursuant to Government Code § 54960.1, I respectfully submit this Cure and Correct Demand and request that:
- The April 1, 2025 meeting be declared procedurally defective due to the irregular start time.
- The Board rescind any actions taken at that meeting until such time as it properly re-adopts its rules and meeting schedule in accordance with the Brown Act.
- Future deviations from the standard 9:30 a.m. start time be formalized through properly agendized and voted actions.
This request is made in the spirit of public trust, transparency, and lawful governance.
Smart Speaker
(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.)
