Los Angeles City Council
City Councilman for Los Angeles' 4th District (Hollywood, Koreatown, Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Studio City) former special assistant to then-Mayor Richard Riordan for seven years and, before that, chief field deputy to former council president John Ferraro for 15 years
LA Aqueduct Is 100 Years Old, but We Don't Drink the Water Yesterday's special edition of Which Way, LA? celebrated the centennial of the LA Aqueduct. Now it’s time to ask why more people don’t drink the tap water that comes from the DWP. A nonprofit called We Tap has caught the attention of City Councilman Tom LaBonge, who wants to raise the credibility of the municipal water supply — starting by restoring the public drinking fountain.
Saving the Hollywood Sign Playboy founder Hugh Hefner today came up with the final $900,000 to save the Hollywood sign . Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and others also contributed $2.7 million in local money. The state chipped in $3.1 million to help buy the land from a developer, and even Governor Schwarzenegger took part of the credit. LA City Councilman Tom LaBonge helped lead the effort to rescue a historical landmark.
Land Near Hollywood Sign Is Up For Sale The Hollywood Sign originally was a promotion for Hollywoodland, a housing development in that part of Los Angeles. Now the owners of adjacent land want to build five luxury homes—spoiling what today’s LA Times calls “one of the most famous postcard views in the world.”
Aftermath of the Fires While the Griffith Park fire is barely out and the Catalina fire is still burning , there’s already debate about the best means for restoration. The Catalina fire won’t be completely contained until tomorrow but residents are back in their homes and visitors are being welcomed .
Which Way Olympic? Which Way Pico? During the 1984 Olympics, Figueroa and Flower streets in downtown LA were temporarily switched to one-way thoroughfares in two different directions. Traffic flow was much improved and predicted local problems did not materialize, so the arrangement was made permanent. Now the Los Angeles City Council is studying a proposal to make Olympic and Pico Boulevards one way with Olympic going east from Santa Monica to downtown and Pico in the other direction. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky is pushing the plan .
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
