Alex Padilla

Drones Could Fly Over Your Private Life; Calif. Bill Would Nix That

You could buy a drone today for a few hundred dollars, arm it with a camera, and fly it over your sexy neighbor's swimming pool. Click. On the other hand, a drone could end up buzzing outside your bedroom window, just waiting for you to put on your own show. That's the fear for one L.A.-area state ... More >>

Why Are Women Practically Nonexistent on L.A. City Council?

Of 15 City Council seats, the Valley's may soon have the sole female

CNN's Anderson Cooper Slams Betsy Butler's Abstention on Sex-Pervert Bill (VIDEO)

CNN video after the jump... Will California State Assemblywoman Betsy Butler's refusal to vote on a sex-pervert bill cause her political downfall? Someone sure hopes so. Butler's in a tight race against fellow Democrat and Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom in the swanky California Assembly District ... More >>

Self-Driving Cars Are Party People's Dream Come True, But Party Buses Face Crackdown

So this week California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that would make self-driving (a.k.a. "driverless") cars partially legal by 2015 while he approved another bill that cracks down on so-called party buses, which have actual live designated drivers. Wait, what? First of all, let's just say it for ... More >>

Why California Democrats Protect Sex Abuser Teachers

How Betsy Butler and Mike Eng torpedoed Alex Padilla's sex-pervert bill, SB 1530

Why Did California Lawmakers Kill Miramonte-Inspired Bill to Help Fire Pervy Teachers?

Senator Alex Padilla (D-Paicoma) is fuming this morning over yesterday's decision by the Assembly Education Committee to throw out SB 1530 -- that famous Miramonte-inspired bill that would have made it easier for school districts to fire teachers accused of "sex, violence or drug offenses involving ... More >>

VIDEO: Google's Robotic Car Drives L.A. Senator Alex Padilla to His Press Conference

Behold! Google's creepy new robotic car driving Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Los Angeles) to his press conference... on Google's creepy new robotic car. How convenient. Google cleared a huge hurdle to filling California's highways with its robo fleet yesterday, when Padilla introduced Senate Bill 1298 on ... More >>

No Smoking in Your Own Apartment? It's Possible Under Bill Proposed by L.A. State Sen. Alex Padilla

Alex Padilla.​A smoking ban ... in your own home? It's possible. A bill by San Fernando Valley-based state Sen. Alex Padilla will allow landlords to prohibit smoking in certain apartments, duplexes and townhomes if they want to. SB 332 just passed the senate, interestingly, 33-2. It heads to ... More >>

Zev Yaroslavsky Will Replace Antonio Villaraigosa as Mayor, Experts Predict

If Zev runs, he’s the man to beat in 2013

More Mexican Food in Beverly Hills, Finally: Taberna Mexicana Opens in May

Taberna MexicanaPepita scallops​ There are few Mexican restaurants in Beverly Hills: Frida and El Torito Grill come to mind. Aside from generic chain-type spots, there isn't much to choose from. Slated to open May 1st, Taberna Mexicana is replacing the long-gone Luau Hawaiian restaurant on No ... More >>

Over 2,000 Cellphones Smuggled Into California Prisons in 2 Months; Prison Guard Union Still Won't Accept Security Scans Without Pay

mobilebehavior.comBusiness as usual​That's the bad news. The good news is that California State Senator Alex Padilla pushed a bill to punish cellphone smugglers through its first stage of approval yesterday (his third attempt in the last four years). Currently, phones are used by jailed bigsh ... More >>

Jews and Latinos Band Together for Ultimate L.A. Domination

4urpets.comThis is not a joke: Jonesy the Mexican Rabbi​Wow. This is epic. This is like the U.S. of China. Or Alien plus Predator... or the merging of Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Or the lovey part of "Westside Story," if Tony was Jewish, or whatever. In today's issue of the Jewish Journal, Jonah Lo ... More >>

Ban on Caffeinated Alcoholic Beverages (Like Four Loko -- Last Year) Proposed by Valley State Sen. Alex Padilla

La vida Loko.​Long after the FDA pressured the makers of Four Loko to make the alcoholic beverage a little less loco, San Fernando Valley state Sen. Alex Padilla is attempting to put the brakes on similar drinks in the Golden State. As part of a flurry of last-minute bills in Sacramento this ... More >>

10,000 Cell Phones Smuggled Into California Prisons in 2010 (BONUS: How You, Too, Can Go Into the Smuggling Biz!)

TIME MagazineA California prison guard chills with some confiscated cell phones​Cell phones and prisons -- just call 'em "jail cells"! -- are a real winning combo. It's the ideal situation for any criminal who can stand to conduct business without the rush of the live hunt: Mobile phone in ha ... More >>

Charles Manson Cell Phone Prison Call On Tape; Big Killers, Mexican Mafia And 8,675 Criminals Use Smuggled Cells In California Prisons

Charles Manson on the line.​Charles Manson had a smuggled cell phone in prison. CBS has truly creepy audio of Manson singing in a sicko call to the outside world. The Weekly explained the ugly game by legislators Mark Leno and Tom Ammiano, who head public safety committees in Sacramento -- and ... More >>

Smuggling Cell Phones To Prisoners Perfectly Legal; Bill Would Change That

​One of organized crime's more potent weapons of late has been the mobile phone. If you've ever wondered how a prison-based organization like the Mexican Mafia can be so effective, or why even some prison officials have said prison gangs essentially run their lockups, the preponderance of smug ... More >>

State Sen. Alex Padilla Could Sponsor Body Armor Law

​That new no-body-armor-for-felons legislation written by District Attorney Steve Cooley has been offered up to State Sen. Alex Padilla, who could sponsor it if he likes it, Cooley told the Weekly. Calls to Padilla's office went unanswered Thursday, but Cooley says Padilla's staff has been re ... More >>

Gavin Newsom Picks Alex Padilla to Chair His Gubernatorial Campaign

Alex PadillaWith L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa now out of the running, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom has named State Senator Alex Padilla (D-San Fernando Valley) as the chairman of his 2010 gubernatorial campaign. According to Associated Press, Newsom, in town to preside over a town-hall meetin ... More >>

What You Know Will Still Hurt You: New CA Law Forces Chain Restaurants to Print Calorie Counts

Goodbye unconscious binge, hello nutrition facts. Thanks to Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), who signed a bill to force fast food joints to publish nutritional information for their customers, you will now be able to face the caloric reality of your food next time you sit down at a major chain rest ... More >>

Anti-Choice Mayor

A political machine squeezes out Tokofsky, Montañez and Fuentes, giving voters sanitized choices

Wake Up and Vote

L.A. Weekly endorsements for next Tuesday’s primary

First-Day Chatters

José and Herb can’t be bothered by the public on their inaugural day

Summer of Power

Antonio and his pursuit of a new L.A.

Antonio Is In!

New mayor’s inauguration gets Fourth of July weekend party rolling

Antonio’s Takeover

A guy From City Terrace moves into City Hall

New Egos and Agendas

The battles ahead for the City Council

We Endorse

L.A. Weekly’s choices in next Tuesday’s election

Shut Up, Already!

The City Council loses it on the police tax

Strike Supplies

L.A. stocks up for hotel workers

Sweet Revenge

The reincarnation of Bernard Parks

In the Lap of Lobbyists

Monty Python and the Flipping Bird

CitySweep

10 Going on 16

Turning to a Newspaperman for Ethics

And assorted other City Council maneuvers

The Swinging Door

A new council, rich lobbyists and a sheriff who doesn’t want to leave

Labor Is Back

Ludlow’s victory revives dreams of L.A. movement

The Cost of Power

L.A. City Council resists efforts to make it harder to buy office

Los Lobos

Antonio "The Heartthrob" Villaraigosa vs. Nick "The Choirboy" Pacheco for the welterweight championship of the city

Giving In to Cops

The sense and nonsense of a short workweek

Jim Hahn’s L.A.

Waiting for the new status quo at City Hall

Hahn Turns Right

With Pacheco and Padilla in tow

Endorsements: Part 2

Our recommendations in the April 10 Los Angeles city election

Hang On

Let’s not do away with the summer ritual of drag racing

Rough Justice

L.A.'s school bureaucrats belong on the Belmont site

Our Choices in the June 8 L.A. City Elections

For the Weekly's handy one-page tear-out Voter Guide, see the inside back cover of next week's issue.

Top Dog Politics

Latinos take their turn

Capital 1, Labor 1

Riordan and unions win big at the polls

Who Is This Padilla Guy, Anyway?

Fresh face wins powerful friends, influence in Valley district

Our Choices in the April 13 L.A. City Election