Which Way, L.A.?

City Council Votes Down Tax Hike to Pay for Police

Everybody agrees that the LAPD needs more cops, but the Los Angeles City Council recently has twice refused to give voters a chance to increase the sales tax so 1200 more officers can be hired. Councilman Villaraigosa, who-s running against Mayor Hahn, says, -It is about mayoral politics.- Hahn says Villaraigosa, as well as Councilman Jack Weiss, should be recalled. That-s because voters in their districts gave more than the required two-thirds vote to a similar measure that failed county-wide. At a time when the black community is seething over last week-s police killing of a 13-year old boy, we revisit the issue. We hear from Councilman Weiss, Councilmen Martin Ludlow, who voted to put the sales tax measure on the city ballot in May, and civil rights attorney Connie Rice, co-director of the Advancement Project. Reporter's Notebook: Who-ll Stop the Reign? Formed inside California prisons in the 1960-s, the Aryan Brotherhood has gained a reputation for murder and brutality that-s made it one of the most feared criminal gangs in the country. In Santa Ana, federal prosecutors are about to begin trying 23 of the group's top leaders. They'll ask for capitol punishment for all 23, making this the biggest death-penalty case in US history. Matthew Duersten wrote the cover story in the latest LA Weekly.