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Subject: Antonio Villaraigosa
A nod to Tina Dupuy, Michael Higby and Doug McIntyre
Those of us blogging at LA Daily appreciate it when fellow journalists, bloggers and broadcasters make note of our efforts in print at LA Weekly, so we were thrilled to see Fishbowl LA's Tina Dupuy and Mayor Sam's Michael Higby weighing in on Patrick Range McDonald's coverage of Antonio Villaraigosa, the 11 percent mayor. Today, in the Los Angeles Daily News, where the dust-up between the mayor and the Weekly all got started in a recent column by Rick Orlov, radio host and columnist Doug McIntyr
January 7, 2009Mayor Still Catching Flak Over Gaza
Today's L.A. Times reports that the city's Muslim community is continuing its criticism of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's high-profile support for Israel's invasion of Gaza. Representatives from Islamic groups say Villaraigosa's vocal endorsement for Israel's punishing assaults against Palestinian targets amounts to political cheerleading. His critics maintain the mayor should be expressing even-handed compassion for victims of the civilian invasion and the Hamas rocket attacks that provoked
January 9, 2009Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup
Torched Dancer Suspects Nabbed A joint effort by police and U.S. Marshals netted the two suspects who allegedly set bikini dancer Roberta Busby afire in the early morning hours of last Thursday. Rianne Theriault-Odom, 27, and Nathaniel Petrillo, 22, were run to ground at a San Fernando Valley motel Monday afternoon.A Break in Silver Lake Crime Wave? Police have arrested two men and two juveniles in possible connection with 10 robberies that have plagued the Silver Lake-Echo Park area since Decem
February 10, 2009Queer Town: Villaraigosa Breaks Bread with Rick Warren
A few days after gays and lesbians took part in national Valentine's Day-timed protests against Proposition 8's November victory, evangelical minister Rick Warren addressed the city's annual Mayor's Prayer Breakfast at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown L.A., the L.A. Times reported. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio VillaraigosaMayor Antonio Villaraigosa had personally invited Warren, who supported the successful ballot measure that took away the existing right for gays and lesbians t
February 16, 2009Bizarre to see Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa winning just 53.99%
These are the early returns from absentee ballots only. The showing for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is so low, given that he outspent all his competitors by orders of magnitude that are positively Hubble Telescopian, and got gushing, glowing free media coverage from both the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News in the past few days, I thought his 54% was an error.I have spent about 45 minutes trying to confirm that the Los Angeles city elections division has this right, and apparently the
March 3, 2009Villaraigosa, Solar Measure B, Weiss all get voter rebuffs
While Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won, as expected, his poor showing, and the humiliating possible defeat of solar Measure B, was a repudiation by Los Angeles voters and indicates tough sailing if he decides to run for governor. While surprisingly biased cheerleading for the mayor continued today from the LA Daily News, and Jonathan Lloyd's MSNBC, who both called his too-close-for-comfort victory a "cruise," blogs like LAist got it right: just 5 percentage points more for his several opponents wo
March 4, 2009Villaraigosa Skips Town . . . Again
It's no secret that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa lives the life of a jet-setter. Last summer, for example, he took 10 trips in 10 weeks to New York City, Chicago, Hawaii, England, San Francisco, Israel and more. But not everyone knows that when Villaraigosa is away all that time, someone else takes over the helm as "acting mayor." That person is usually the L.A. City Council president, who has been Eric Garcetti over the past few years. Garcetti is certainly not a household name,
March 12, 2009Pen Pushers Break Bank: Cash-Strapped L.A. City Hall Spends $1 Million on Calligraphy
April 9, 2009Measure B: Tweet Against the Machine
How L.A. City Hall power was struck down by blogs and online social networks
March 26, 2009Villaraigosa and Solar Measure B Get Burned
March 3 was supposed to be a romp for the L.A. mayor, not a reprimand
March 5, 2009Los Angeles' Bungled Solar Plan
How D'Arcy and Villaraigosa turned clean energy into a dirty dispute
February 12, 2009Why Do Secret Citizens Control the Gang Contracting?
Villaraigosa says they have to be anonymous. A dead city attorney told him so
January 8, 2009The 11 Percent Mayor Villaraigosa Lashes Back
Blasting L.A. Weekly, he says we relied on bad facts. Aides say he misspoke
January 8, 2009Villaraigosa, the All About Me Mayor, Is Still 11 Percent There
January 1, 2009Villaraigosa's State of the City Address
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was running late. His "State of the City" address, which took place at the Balqon Electric Truck Factory in Harbor City, a community of middle-class and lower-income neighborhoods in the South Bay, was supposed to start at 3:30 p.m., but by four o'clock in the afternoon there was still no sign of the mayor. L.A. Mayor's OfficeVillaraigosa touts his police hiring agenda with other politicians at a press conference last month.Instead, L.A. Cityview, the city'
April 14, 2009Villaraigosa Finally Speaks Out on Billboards -- Kind Of
Until last week Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had remained mum about L.A'.s billboard fiasco. At a town hall meeting hosted by the Westside Regional Alliance of Councils, Villaraigosa pretty much proved that he was completely out of touch with the hot button issue that has rankled residents from Boyle Heights to Silver Lake to Venice. This sad fact became obvious after a disgruntled resident told Villaraigosa that billboards were becoming a part of the city's infrastructure because the city was i
April 17, 2009EPA Awards Million Trees L.A. Initiative
Last Thursday, two days after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave his "State of the City" address and touted his questionable environmental record, the United States Environmental Protection Agency appeared to throw the self-described "green" mayor a much-needed bone. L.A. Mayor Antonio VillaraigosaHonoring the city of Los Angeles as one of eight "environmental heroes" in Southern California, acting U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Laura Yoshii singled out one of the mayor's more controve
April 21, 2009Bratton: L.A. Is as Safe as 1956
April 30, 2009Villaraigosa's Strange Clean Air Claim
As L.A. Weekly often reports, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has a habit of making strange claims -- remember how he calls himself the hardest working mayor in America and says, with LAPD Chief Bill Bratton's blessing, that L.A. is as safe as 1956? This week, longtime Daily News scribe Rick Orlov calls the mayor on his recent announcement that L.A. "will continue to improve to become the cleanest, greenest [city] in America."The only problem is that L.A., Orlov points out, continually ra
May 1, 2009Villaraigosa Pulls Rug From Unions?
If L.A.'s unions feel they have a champion in the form of a single politician, that person is Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Under the Mutual Gains process established by the mayor and organized labor, representatives for nearly 22,000 unionized city employees have been ironing out a plan with the mayor's office to preserve as many jobs as possible during the recession. The union side is embodied by an umbrella group called the Coalition of L.A. City Unions, and includes members of such powerhouse
May 7, 2009Villaraigosa Trades Gift Cards for Uzis
On Saturday, the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were trading Visa and Ralph's supermarket chain gift cards for hand guns and Uzi submachine guns, with Villaraigosa declaring that the gun buyback program was making L.A. a "safer city." Uzi submachine gun"I want to thank the L.A. residents who joined us today in securing a safer city for every family by turning in their guns and helping us get dangerous weapons off the streets,'' Villaraigosa said, according to City News Servic
May 11, 2009Greig Smith Hits Back Over LAPD Hiring Freeze
Now it's getting interesting. Last Friday night, 12th District City Councilman Greig Smith released his own salvo over a proposal to freeze the hiring of LAPD officers during Los Angeles's budget crisis, claiming Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was engaging in "scare tactics and fear mongering." Office of 12th District City Councilman Greig SmithL.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, left, and Councilman Greig Smith during happier times.Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief Bill Bratton were furious after the L.A. C
May 18, 2009May 19 Election: Schwarzenegger, Villaraigosa, Weiss, Bratton, Bass, Go Down in Flames
Even with one key Los Angeles City Council District race still hanging in the balance on the Westside, the political wreckage surrounding some of California's best-known politicians was waist-deep, leaving Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to slog through the recriminations and explanations.A political unknown until just months ago, former San Pedro cannery worker and longtime attorney Carmen Trutanich, trounced the establishment candidate, Jack Weiss, for Los Angeles
May 20, 2009California's May 19 Election
May 21, 2009L.A. City Council Clings to Stunning Perks and Pay
May 21, 2009The Economist: "Villaraigosa Is Not Finished Yet"
"Mr. Villaraigosa is not as Latino as he seems," opines Britain's The Economist. "Intellectually he is no match for Mr. Brown, nor ideologically for Mr. Newsom. But he is a Machiavellian politician, ready to make or cross allies."And these are the mayor's good points, according to the article's uncredited writer. The piece, titled "Down and Perhaps In," appeared today and seems to offer faint praise for Antonio Villaraigosa's presumed bid for California's governorship. "Villaraigosa is not finis
June 18, 2009Villaraigosa to Announce Governor Plans Today
The Associated Press and other sources report that L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will make an announcement today concerning his gubernatorial ambitions on The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer. The source for the story is Villaraigosa's City Hall spokesman, Matt Szabo. The CNN program will air at 1 p.m. local time.Villaraigosa has faced mounting apathy to his hopes to become governor and an L.A. Times opinion poll published this weekend showed lukewarm job-approval -- and even less enthusiasm f
June 22, 2009Harder Than It Looks: Villaraigosa’s “Model” Schools Bite Back
July 9, 2009Villaraigosa Gets Cheech Marin Hitched
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has long been known to run with the glamour crowd in Los Angeles, and this past Sunday was no different.According to news reports, Villaraigosa officiated the marriage of comedian Cheech Marin and classical pianist Natasha Rubin yesterday. The wedding was reportedly a sunset ceremony that took place at Marin's Malibu home.The mayor rubbed elbows with actor Don Johnson, newscaster Geraldo Rivera, and director Robert Rodriguez, according to People.com. It's the kind of t
August 10, 2009Villaraigosa Video Spoof Takes Top Billing in Mayor's 'Community Clips'
In city halls and state houses across the country, politicians often have a thing called "clipping" services. It's something that culls all of the headlines from print and digital media -- newspapers and blogs -- in a neat package so, say, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa can quickly get a beat of what's happening in the city he serves.Screenshot of video spoofEvery week, for example, Villaraigosa and his mayoral staff receive in their email boxes something called "community clips," which provides
August 14, 2009Why Bratton's Really Leaving (Among Other Reasons): A Cash-Strapped LAPD
As we reported last week, City Hall is swirling with high-end, believable rumors about why Chief William J. Bratton is really leaving Los Angeles -- having nothing to do with his claim that he's abandoning ship mid-way through a five-year contract merely to go get rich in the private sector. Today, David Zahniser and Phil Willon discuss in the Los Angeles Times one of the key reasons many people believe Bill is boltin': the ugly cuts that may be on the way in LAPD if a plan founders that was coo
August 17, 2009Villaraigosa Staff Shakeup: Now His Chief of Staff, Robin Kramer, Is Bolting
This cannot be good news for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. As reported in extensive detail this morning by Ron Kaye, former editor of the Daily News, Villaraigosa's Chief of Staff Robin Kramer, the woman some view as the most rational adult at City Hall, is jumping ship amidst a series of resignations, retirements and scandals in Antonio's administration.Rumors swirled after the mayor returned from his vacation to Iceland and his paid-for-by-others vaycay to South Africa, that some top city emplo
August 27, 2009The Curious Case of Jay Carson
"It's a weird thing," a California Democratic insider tells L.A. Weekly. "It doesn't make sense at all. Why would he go from Bill Clinton to Hillary Clinton to Steve Bing to Antonio Villaraigosa? Why would he work for a lame duck mayor?" A weird thing, indeed. But Jay Carson, a thirty-something, transplanted New Yorker who's possibly spent less than a year living in Los Angeles and has worked primarily as a public relations flack for former president Bill Clinton, presidential candidate Hilla
August 28, 2009New Prescription Card Features Villaraigosa's Mug
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled a new discount prescription card yesterday, writes longtime Daily News reporter Rick Orlov. Villaraigosa also announced the program on the Huffington Post. We'll give the mayor some credit -- on the face of it, a five to 40 percent discount on prescription medications for Angelenos certainly looks like a good program.But Villaraigosa just couldn't help himself from pulling an old politician's trick, and placed his mug front and center on the ac
September 1, 2009Another Bratton Endorsement Bites the Dust
Outgoing Los Angeles Police Department Chief Bill Bratton once told the Weekly that he would never personally run for office . . . but it still didn't keep L.A.'s Top Cop from backing political candidates when critics said he should stay out of the endorsement business.Ted SoquiLAPD Chief Bill Bratton with Mayor Antonio VillaraigosaNow, with another Bratton pick losing at the ballot box, politicians themselves may want to reconsider getting the nod from the police chief-turned-security consul
September 16, 2009City Moves Closer to Layoffs
There will be blood. That, according to the Coalition of L.A. City Unions, will take the form of a lawsuit to force Los Angeles to honor a pact the coalition says should have gone into effect when the City Council approved it June 26. That agreement postponed city worker cost-of-living raises for two years -- in exchange for a promise of no layoffs and no unpaid furloughs, along with a provision to allow 2,400 eligible employees to retire early. Criticism of the pact, which was only tentatively
September 16, 2009Artist of Paint-Splattered Villaraigosa Mural Speaks Out
Over the past few weeks, we've been reporting about the numerous controversies surrounding a mural of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at Susy's Meat Market in East Hollywood, where someone splattered red paint on Villaraigosa's face and later spray-painted "vendido" on his left collar, which was eventually covered over with white paint.Ted SoquiVillaraigosa mural at Susy's Meat Market in East HollywoodNow, David Torres, the artist better known as "Rabi," who created the mural, has cont
October 7, 2009Los Angeles Corporate Welfare: Ritz-Carlton and AEG
October 8, 2009Bratton and Villaraigosa Stare Down City Council Over LAPD Hiring Freeze
Resembling a farewell tour of your favorite rock band, only this time there won't be any reunion gigs, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Bill Bratton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are together again for one last stare down of the L.A. City Council, which is mulling over a plan to place a "temporary freeze" on police hiring.Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, left, and LAPD Bill Bratton, centerVillaraigosa and Bratton don't want that to happen, and they've been taking their case to the public.Los A
October 12, 2009Villaraigosa's Vacations Cost Taxpayers $20,000
They're not pictured, but LAPD officers were on hand to keep Mayor Villariagosa safe during his visit to South Africa. Fortunately, the city can afford this kind of thing.Since being sworn in for a second term on July 1, Mayor Villaraigosa has made two international trips. And because the mayor is escorted on his travels by LAPD officers, guess who paid for his security?Taxpayers did. And it set us back more than $20,000, according to the City Controller's office. KTLA's Eric Spillman had to
October 19, 2009Villaraigosa's Lease Up for Washington D.C. Digs
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa often talks about flying to Washington D.C. so he can grab some of those federal dollars for the city of Los Angeles -- it's one of the main excuses he gives to reporters for regularly traveling out of town.L.A. Mayor Antonio VillaraigosaBut probably few taxpayers know that he actually leases an office only a few blocks away from the White House at 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue.Indeed. And now Villaraigosa, who is still grappling with a budget shortfall of ov
October 23, 2009Dear Mayor: Last Year Called; It Wants Its Issue Back
Some of us are rooting for the mayor. He's struggled under a crumbling economy, a weak-mayor city council structure and a school district that, despite his promises, is clearly out of his hands. In 2005, a time that seems so go-go compared to today, Antonio Villaraigosa sat in the mayor's chair with the kind of mystical promise that surrounds President Obama today. Liberal Westsiders would have given Villaraigosa the Nobel Prize if they could have.Mayor V.And now, you all know the rest of the
October 27, 2009L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Reworks His Image
Los Angeles Daily News reporter Rick Orlov wrote a fascinating item in his "Tipoffs" column yesterday, noting that L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is reworking his image by making staff changes and looking at what public services the city can afford.Kyle T. WebsterL.A. Mayor Antonio VillaraigosaOrlov also writes that Villaraigosa's choice for the next LAPD chief may help the mayor beef up his "law and order" reputation.But an unnamed business leader in Orlov's column gets to the heart of wha
October 28, 2009Villaraigosa Lofts a Hail Mary at Transit Projects
Perhaps to remind us that he can attract media attention simply by suggesting pie-in-the-sky ideas, Mayor Villaraigosa yesterday and today made headlines by declaring that he will do in 10 years what everyone says will take 30. That is, he vowed to fast-track several rail projects throughout L.A. County, including his grand Westside subway extension plan, so that they can be completed within the next decade -- even though he has no concrete plans for how to raise the necessary $10 billion.
October 30, 2009Villaraigosa Rail Car Deal A 'Fail'
A rail-car-manufacturing deal that was touted by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as a major job-maker for recession-ravaged L.A. fell through over the weekend, sending his go-go transportation agenda a little off track. The plan was to have Italian rail-car maker AnsaldoBreda build a 650-job factory in L.A. in order to fill a Metropolitan Transportation Authority order for 100 rail cars. Construction of the factory alone was trumpeted as a 1,000-job project.MTA A deadline loomed and Ansald
November 2, 2009L.A. Light Rail? Or Keep Your Car?
November 5, 2009Was Antonio Villaraigosa Napping at an MTA Meeting?
Was Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa napping at a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board meeting in late October?According to Hollywood community activist John Walsh, who attended the meeting, the answer is an unqualified YES!L.A. Mayor Antonio VillaraigosaOn his blog, Walsh Confidential, Walsh writes that Villaraigosa "was out like a light for a few minutes" during the MTA board meeting, which prompted the activist to tell the mayor to wake up.Walsh says "300 ey
November 5, 2009Mayor's Housing Plan Left Homeless
As we reported previously, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's pro-density housing policy took a hit when the state Supreme Court ruled last month that the city could not require the kind affordable housing units it tried to attach to otherwise upscale developments like Geoff Palmer's west-of-downtown Piero II.Mayor V.In an analysis of the decision, the Downtown News reports Monday that the mayor and City Hall are left with few options to carry out their vision of promoting denser housing developmen
November 9, 2009LAFD Short Staffed, But LAX Gets New Fire Station
Los Angels Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Councilman Bill Rosendahl were on hand at LAX Thursday to break ground for a more than $13 million fire station. The state-of-the-art facility will offer 27,500 square feet of space for 14 firefighers scheduled to be on-hand 24 hours a day.LAFDThe feds kicked in nearly $11 million of the cost with stimulus funds, and the structure is set to open next year. But we wonder where the mayor and council are going to find the men and women to staff the
November 12, 2009L.A. City Council Members Set To Earn More Pay Than The Governor Of California
Thats right folks. If the a state pay commission has its way the governor's salary and those of other state elected officials will get an 18 percent reduction starting next month, putting the pay for Los Angeles City councilmembers in a rarified air above that of the governor of 36 million people. The pay for City Council members was already higher than the paychecks of the lieutenant governor and all other state elected officials. Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger does not accept his sal
November 20, 2009
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