veteran politician
Zev Yaroslavsky is a former supervisor for Los Angeles County's 3rd District, which includes the Westside and parts of the San Fernando Valley, and a member of the Coliseum Commission. From 1975-1994, he served as a City Councilman for Los Angeles' 5th District.
Diplomacy in Jerusalem, death in Gaza As the U.S. moved its embassy to Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers were killing unarmed protesters in Gaza. Good politics for Trump and Netanyahu, but how long will that last--especially if support for Israel becomes a partisan issue in the U.S.?
Zev Yaroslavsky: A pragmatic Los Angeles politician Robert Scheer sits down with longtime Californian politician Zev Yaroslavsky to discuss his decades-long career and his take on the presidential election.
The LA Development Fight Should Los Angeles keep growing taller and denser or not? Some angry residents and activists say developers have been given carte blanche to make up their own rules. A group of them have written a ballot proposal for next March that would stop all big developments for two years. Other angry residents and activists, as well as city officials like Mayor Eric Garcetti are advocating for more development. Now Garcetti’s pushing back. Yesterday he announced that he’ll hire 28 city planners to update the city’s very old development guidelines. New rules would presumably mean fewer exceptions for real estate developers. But will it do anything to cool the debate? And why can’t we all get on the same page about the future of our city?
What Angelenos Worry About Los Angeles might be celebrated for its sunny weather. But the same cannot be said of its residents’ feelings about their city. The first quality-of-life survey of L.A. is out, and it turns out that Angelenos are anxious. Nearly a third are worried about becoming homeless, including people who earn a six-figure salary. Also high on the list of worries is the public education system. On the plus side, people seem to like their neighborhoods, and they think race relations are pretty good. We hear from a former L.A. County supervisor who now directs the school that conducted the survey.
Another Olympics in LA's Future? Now that Boston has dropped out, Los Angeles is in the running to host the summer Olympics in 2024. Mayor Garcetti says the city can benefit economically — just like it did in 1984. He's even willing to cover cost overruns, something former Mayor Tom Bradley refused to do. Is it a better bet for taxpayer money than it was 30 years ago?
Proposition P Debate Proposition P on next week’s Los Angeles County ballot would raise money for parks, recreation, gang prevention, protection of beaches and maintenance of zoos and museums. It would replace Proposition A, passed in 1992, which runs out next year. But it was drafted behind closed doors and placed on the ballot at the last minute, without any public discussion. Supervisors Antonovich and Ridley-Thomas voted against it. But support came from Gloria Molina, Don Knabe and Zev Yaroslavsky.
Coastal Mountain Land Use Agreement in the Works it’s been 100 years since the Rindge family fired on Sheriff’s deputies to protect their vast swath of the Santa Monica Mountains in Malibu. More recently, landowners, environmentalists and developers have been fighting it out with each other, the California Coastal Commission and Los Angeles County. Tomorrow, that could all be changed if the Board of Supervisors goes along with a plan almost as big as the mountains themselves. It’s taken decades of debates and compromises.
Congressman Henry Waxman to Retire U.S. Representative Henry Waxman is retiring at the end of this year after 20 terms representing California’s 33rd District. We speak to the congressman about his accomplishments and time in office. Plus we hear from one of his longtime political allies about his legacy as one of Congress’ most effective legislators, and who might succeed him.
Are LA Social Workers 'Set Up for Failure?' LA County's Department of Children and Family Services receives 160,000 child-abuse hotline calls every year. In February, a scathing report commissioned by the Board of Supervisors blamed bureaucrats and social workers for leaving children in unsafe homes. In July, new management moved swiftly to fire four child welfare workers in the case of an 8-year-old Palmdale boy allegedly tortured to death by his mother and her boyfriend. Later that month, yet another panel was created to investigate and recommend "sweeping reforms." This week, the union of 55,000 workers sued the County , claiming that an arbitrator's ruling to reduce worker caseloads is being ignored.
What to Do about Mentally Ill Prisoners The Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles is, by any measure, a daunting place. It's in bad physical condition and perennially overcrowded. There are gang fights, beatings and sexual assaults. Many of the inmates are either drug addicts, mentally ill, or both. So the Board of Supervisors this week unanimously passed a resolution to study tearing down part of the jail and building a new facility just for the mentally ill. The idea is that by giving those inmates special attention, they will have a better chance at rehabilitation; and the Supervisors hope that would eventually save the county money.
Measure J: the Half-Cent Sales Tax Continuation Four years ago, even with the economy in big trouble, two thirds of Los Angeles County voters approved Measure R , a sales-tax increase to help build some 15 specific transportation projects. That tax will expire in 2039 unless voters approve Measure J on next month's ballot. It would extend the tax until 2069. One sponsor is County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. Different people oppose Measure J for a host of different reasons. The Bus Riders Union says it's a blank check for METRO to violate civil rights.
Zev Yaroslavsky Won't Run for Mayor of Los Angeles LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said today that 40 years in elected public office are enough. He was elected to the LA City Council in 1975, at the age of 26, and he'll be termed out as a Supervisor in 2014. Today's decision is that he will not run for Mayor of Los Angeles next year. We speak with the Supervisor and with David Zahnizer, who covers matters political for the Los Angeles Times .
LA Coliseum Is Deeper in the Red The Los Angeles Coliseum is caught up in accusations of bribery, embezzlement, kickbacks and conflicts of interest that cost the publicly owned facility $2 million. Yesterday, the Coliseum Commission was told that losses for the year just ended will be $5 million, roughly a third of the operating budget. Also yesterday, the LA Times announced a lawsuit demanding nullification of a lease that gives USC almost total control of the Coliseum for 42 years, on the grounds that the deal was made in secret, a violation of state law. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky is a member of the Commission.
Here Comes the Rock A 340-ton, 21' 6" high granite boulder the size of a two-story house left the Stone Valley quarry near Riverside last Tuesday on its way to the LA County Museum of Art. At LACMA, it will be suspended over a 456-foot-long trench and, for spectators down below, the " Levitated Mass ," as it's called, will appear to be floating. Privately funded, it's still been attacked as an outrageous waste of money as well as a desecration of nature. Tonight it's in La Mirada, and later on it'll head to Lakewood, with arrival at LACMA scheduled for Saturday. What's the impression of people along the way? video platform video management video solutions video player
Can LA Supervisors Get a Handle on LA County Jails? LA County Supervisors have stepped into the controversy over brutality by deputies against inmates in Sheriff Lee Baca's County jails. The ACLU has reported numerous incidents of violence, intimidation and excessive force, backed by civilian witnesses. The Board is asking the Sheriff to implement specific recommendations made by a Special Counsel and the Office of Independent Review . It'll appoint a seven-person commission and provide it with staff to investigate and make new recommendations.
Los Angeles, the Automobile and the Rest of the World For weeks, drivers in LA have been warned on freeway signs, televised news conferences and by celebrity Tweeters about possible chaos beginning at midnight tonight. The capital of car culture will be without a major artery for 53 hours when the 405 freeway shuts down between the Westside and the San Fernando Valley. What's come to be called " Carmageddon " might be a warning to other cities in a world now clogged with more than two billion automobiles. Should the romance with the automobile be turned into tough love in order to ease congestion, protect public health and counteract climate change?
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.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
