Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement The Los Angeles City Council is poised to offer thousands of city employees cash payouts to retire, part of a major push to cut payroll costs during an unfolding financial crisis.About 2,850 employees, or roughly 8.2% of the city workforce, would be eligible for buyouts of up to $80,000 if they retire in the coming year, city budget analysts said.The program would result in a major downsizing of the workforce, the largest since the 2008 recession, triggering new reductions in services. Still, Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement The Los Angeles City Council is poised to offer thousands of city employees cash payouts to retire, part of a major push to cut payroll costs during an unfolding financial crisis.About 2,850 employees, or roughly 8.2% of the city workforce, would be eligible for buyouts of up to $80,000 if they retire in the coming year, city budget analysts said.The program would result in a major downsizing of the workforce, the largest since the 2008 recession, triggering new reductions in services. Still, Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the...WW…

Copyright © 2022, The San Diego Union-Tribune | | AdvertisementAdvertisement One day after Los Angeles received confirmation of a in its homeless population, two City Council members said they want to look into legal strategies to force nearby cities to provide shelter beds or allow people to sleep on their sidewalks.Councilmen Mike Bonin and Joe Buscaino called Wednesday for City Atty. Mike Feuer to explore “legal steps” that L.A. could use to compel those cities to comply with a federal court decision on homelessness and sidewalk camping in Boise, Idaho. The proposal, they said, would...…Copyright © 2022, The San Diego Union-Tribune | | AdvertisementAdvertisement One day after Los Angeles received confirmation of a in its homeless population, two City Council members said they want to look into legal strategies to force nearby cities to provide shelter beds or allow people to sleep on their sidewalks.Councilmen Mike Bonin and Joe Buscaino called Wednesday for City Atty. Mike Feuer to explore “legal steps” that L.A. could use to compel those cities to comply with a federal court decision on homelessness and sidewalk camping in Boise, Idaho. The proposal, they said, would...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Officials with the Los Angeles police union assailed Mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday for comments he made about cutting the LAPD budget, saying police officers have lost confidence in the mayor’s ability to lead the city after days of demonstrations.Speaking at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Los Angeles on Thursday, and shift the savings to minority communities was getting attention from mayors across the country. “That’s exactly the point,” he said. “It starts someplace, and we say we are going to be who we want...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Officials with the Los Angeles police union assailed Mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday for comments he made about cutting the LAPD budget, saying police officers have lost confidence in the mayor’s ability to lead the city after days of demonstrations.Speaking at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Los Angeles on Thursday, and shift the savings to minority communities was getting attention from mayors across the country. “That’s exactly the point,” he said. “It starts someplace, and we say we are going to be who we want...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, an ambitious player in city politics for nearly two decades, was arrested Tuesday, becoming the most prominent figure to face charges in the federal investigation into . Huizar faces a racketeering charge arising from allegations he ran a sprawling pay-to-play scheme in which real estate developers were shaken down for cash bribes and campaign donations in exchange for Huizar’s help getting high-rise development projects through the city’s arduous approval process.Along the way, the councilman...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, an ambitious player in city politics for nearly two decades, was arrested Tuesday, becoming the most prominent figure to face charges in the federal investigation into . Huizar faces a racketeering charge arising from allegations he ran a sprawling pay-to-play scheme in which real estate developers were shaken down for cash bribes and campaign donations in exchange for Huizar’s help getting high-rise development projects through the city’s arduous approval process.Along the way, the councilman...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement As Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar was preparing to run for his third and final term in 2014, he was facing enormous political pressure.County Supervisor Gloria Molina, one of the biggest names in Eastside politics, had just to unseat him. One of his former staffers had of sexual harassment and was seeking a payout from the city.Then, the lawsuit was abruptly settled. The city . And Huizar refused to say how he had persuaded Francine Godoy, his onetime deputy chief of staff, to drop her claims.AdvertisementAfter nearly six...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement As Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar was preparing to run for his third and final term in 2014, he was facing enormous political pressure.County Supervisor Gloria Molina, one of the biggest names in Eastside politics, had just to unseat him. One of his former staffers had of sexual harassment and was seeking a payout from the city.Then, the lawsuit was abruptly settled. The city . And Huizar refused to say how he had persuaded Francine Godoy, his onetime deputy chief of staff, to drop her claims.AdvertisementAfter nearly six...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz called Wednesday for the city to issue financial penalties to those who fail to wear masks in public — starting with $100 for the first violation.Koretz, who represents a district stretching from the Westside north to Encino, wants the council to impose a series of escalating fines for those who fail to comply with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s three-month-old emergency mask order.Under the proposal, those who are caught in public without a face covering a second time would be fined $250. A third...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz called Wednesday for the city to issue financial penalties to those who fail to wear masks in public — starting with $100 for the first violation.Koretz, who represents a district stretching from the Westside north to Encino, wants the council to impose a series of escalating fines for those who fail to comply with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s three-month-old emergency mask order.Under the proposal, those who are caught in public without a face covering a second time would be fined $250. A third...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement It was Halloween of 2018 and a real estate developer had just gotten a treat: The blessing of the Los Angeles City Council for a new high-rise in the Arts District.The real estate executive crowed in an email that it was a “truly amazing” accomplishment — the council had approved the tallest building yet in the Arts District, and with “minimal” requirements for affordable housing, according to federal prosecutors.Now federal investigators are describing the Arts District project as one of the real estate developments entangled in an...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement It was Halloween of 2018 and a real estate developer had just gotten a treat: The blessing of the Los Angeles City Council for a new high-rise in the Arts District.The real estate executive crowed in an email that it was a “truly amazing” accomplishment — the council had approved the tallest building yet in the Arts District, and with “minimal” requirements for affordable housing, according to federal prosecutors.Now federal investigators are describing the Arts District project as one of the real estate developments entangled in an...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a $10.5-billion budget for the city Monday that imposes cuts across an array of city agencies, with nearly 16,000 city workers being furloughed in response to the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.Garcetti’s proposed spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1 is expected to result in fewer street repairs, fewer trees trimmed and longer wait times for the city’s 311 public services hotline. Graffiti removal, neighborhood councils, gang intervention programs and various...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a $10.5-billion budget for the city Monday that imposes cuts across an array of city agencies, with nearly 16,000 city workers being furloughed in response to the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.Garcetti’s proposed spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1 is expected to result in fewer street repairs, fewer trees trimmed and longer wait times for the city’s 311 public services hotline. Graffiti removal, neighborhood councils, gang intervention programs and various...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Mayor Eric Garcetti is planning to spend nearly $1 billion to combat homelessness in the coming budget year, tapping huge new sources of state and federal aid and finally ramping up construction of homes for the unhoused. Garcetti’s spending proposal, which will be discussed during his State of the City address on Monday, reflects the growing pressure he and others at City Hall are under to make significant headway on a crisis that has left tens of thousands of people living in squalor in streets, parks and beaches. Cities across the...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Mayor Eric Garcetti is planning to spend nearly $1 billion to combat homelessness in the coming budget year, tapping huge new sources of state and federal aid and finally ramping up construction of homes for the unhoused. Garcetti’s spending proposal, which will be discussed during his State of the City address on Monday, reflects the growing pressure he and others at City Hall are under to make significant headway on a crisis that has left tens of thousands of people living in squalor in streets, parks and beaches. Cities across the...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement L.A.’s political leaders have been buffeted by bad budget news since the outbreak of COVID-19 — business shutdowns, plummeting tax revenues, a hollowed-out tourism sector and a financial gap that has steadily grown to $750 million. On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Garcetti and other city leaders received an unmistakably positive sign of a turnaround, with passage of a massive that’s expected to send $1.35 billion directly to Los Angeles.Garcetti said this week that he was “ecstatic” about the relief bill, predicting it will help the city...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement L.A.’s political leaders have been buffeted by bad budget news since the outbreak of COVID-19 — business shutdowns, plummeting tax revenues, a hollowed-out tourism sector and a financial gap that has steadily grown to $750 million. On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Garcetti and other city leaders received an unmistakably positive sign of a turnaround, with passage of a massive that’s expected to send $1.35 billion directly to Los Angeles.Garcetti said this week that he was “ecstatic” about the relief bill, predicting it will help the city...WW…