L.A. City Council

High Court Ruling That Cities Can Ban Pot Shops Might Be Too Late For L.A.

The California Supreme Court today ruled that cities like Los Angeles can indeed ban pot shops through zoning if they so desire. Too late? After unsuccessfully trying to ban dispensaries, the L.A. City Council is backing a May 21 ballot initiative that would allow 100 or so of the marijuana busines ... More >>

Los Angeles City Council District 3 Primary Results: Bob Blumenfield Wins Over Joyce Pearson

Despite his massive spending, Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield barely gained the votes needed to beat neighborhood council activist Joyce Pearson in Los Angeles City Council District 3 race in the West San Fernando Valley. Blumenfield, one of the more audacious job-hoppers from Sacramento, who has nea ... More >>

Marijuana Initiatives Head For May Ballot: Some Dispensaries Back L.A. City Proposal

The L.A. City Council today approved two competing marijuana initiatives for the May 21 ballot and came a step closer to putting its own, third measure before voters, too. At the same time one of the initiatives' backers, the Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance, said it would abandon campaignin ... More >>

Porn's Condom Problem Just Got Worse In City Of Los Angeles

Porn producers in the city of L.A. might now have to get a county health permit to do their thing. The L.A. City Council voted unanimously yesterday to draft an amendment to the city's mandatory condoms-in-porn ordinance that would force those applying to L.A. for adult film permits to get county a ... More >>

3 Marijuana Ballot Initiatives Likely For L.A. In May

You might have three different medical marijuana initiatives to vote on during next May's city election. The L.A. City Council threw its own hat into the ring, seeing how much the people have loved its past attempts at regulating the pot-shop trade. (We kid -- the council's full-on dispensary ban w ... More >>

Los Angeles Rich People (Soboroff, Kanton, Toebben, Fleming, Miscikowski) Say to the Debt-Ridden City Council: We Like You

By Hillel Aron Nineteen big-time L.A. machers, including Steve Soboroff (rich Westside guy), Mickey Kantor (longtime Democratic consultant), Gary Toebben (Chamber of Commerce guy) and David Fleming (rich Valley guy), led by George Kieffer (Manatt, Phelps power broker), sent an open letter to City Co ... More >>

Why the Time to Get High in L.A. Is Now

See also:*10 Awesome Photos of L.A. Pot Shops*A Pot Brownie Marijuana Entrepreneur There needs to be something wrong with me. That's the only way you can buy pot legally, even in Venice Beach.And so I sit in the doctor's office and ponder the form I've been told to fill out: What am I suffering from ... More >>

'Farmers Field' Plans Pushed Forward by L.A. City Council, Despite AEG Sale

See also: "Farmers Field or Blade Runner Stadium?" and "Farmers Field's Fanciful Green Promise." There was never a doubt in anyone's mind that the L.A. City Council, completely obsessed with the idea of integrating an NFL stadium into the L.A. Live complex downtown, would approve the Anshcutz Enter ... More >>

Innocence of Muslims: Gadfly John Walsh Warned Us of June 30 Hollywood Screening

City Hall gadfly John Walsh, no stranger to controversy, warned the L.A. City Council about the possibility the local film that would become Innocence of Muslims was "alarming." The locally produced, anti-Muslim film, or rather a YouTube trailer for it, is being blamed for a rash of anti-American v ... More >>

Bob Marley Day Comes to L.A. as Countdown to Marijuana Ban Begins (Irony?)

City Hall continues to ream you with parking tickets, rock you with the worst roads in America, and wow you with red ink. But the most important thing on the plate of the L.A. City Council today was ... Bob Marley. Yes. Your favorite, overpaid politicians earned their highest-in-the-nation salarie ... More >>

Marijuana Dispensary Ban in Los Angeles Scheduled For City Council Vote TODAY

Today the L.A. City Council is scheduled to bust a long-awaited move: To ban marijuana dispensaries or not to ban them? That is the question. Few on the council, however, seem to be saying 'tis nobler to let pot shops operate in the city. The arguments so far have been over the details of how stron ... More >>

Marijuana Dispensaries Banned in L.A. Per City Council Vote

See our updates, including a hail-Mary proposal to save some dispensaries, at the bottom. The L.A. City Council today voted to put an end to the city's infamous and numerous marijuana dispensaries, citing neighborhood concerns and court rulings that have questioned a city's right to regulate the re ... More >>

Marijuana Dispensary Ban: L.A. City Council Will Probably Postpone Tomorrow's Vote

We got word today from frustrated medical-marijuana advocates that the big L.A. City Council vote tomorrow -- on an all-out ban of the city's 500-odd marijuana dispensaries -- will be postponed at least another week. Sharon Dickinson at the L.A. City Clerk's Office says the item is still on the age ... More >>

LAX Not Actually Getting Free WiFi

Despite being one of the nation's busiest airports, LAX is having a really hard time adjusting to the 21st century. Most glaringly, as we're sure you've noticed, L.A.'s international hub lacks the next most important element after air and water: free Wifi. Up to now, T-Mobile has been charging a who ... More >>

Richard Alarcon: Good Riddance and Hello

Making history by incessantly running for office

Plastic Bag Ban Watered Down by L.A. Leaders

Updated at the bottom: The council approved the watered-down version of the ban. First posted at 6:04 a.m. The L.A. City Council almost brought home an unprecedented "double ban" on paper and plastic bags at your local market. But last-minute lobbying pressure might have caused the body to back do ... More >>

L.A. Riots: Zev Yaroslavsky's Car 'Was Totally Destroyed'

South L.A. was gutted by the L.A. riots, which were sparked 20 years ago Sunday. Hollywood was hit. Parts of Koreatown burned. But news coverage of fires and looting further west was rare. As we look back at the uprisings with our Riot Stories vignettes, we checked in with L.A. County Supervisor Ze ... More >>

John & Ken's Whitney Houston 'Crack Ho' Remark Inspires L.A. Council to Act

Update at 11:39 p.m: According to Daily News columnist Doug McIntyre the council approved the resolution. First posted at 4:15 p.m. The rantings of conservative talk show hosts John & Ken and their colleagues at KFI 640 AM have caught the attention of the L.A. City Council, which is considering a r ... More >>

Why Porn Stars Won't Be Using Condoms, Despite City Law's Debut Today

Condoms are coming to porn shoots in Los Angeles today. Well, that's the theory, anyway. A Los Angeles city ordinance that requires condom use at on-location adult video shoots within the city is the law starting today. But like a lot of things coming from City Hall ...

Venice Boardwalk Trinket Sales Ban

LAPD will decide what can be peddled as art

L.A. City Council Silences Public Commenter for Saying 'Pussies' (VIDEO)

About an hour into another snoozeworthy L.A. City Council meeting yesterday morning, a female public commenter injected a little color into the conversation. Antonia Ramirez told her elected officials that some sheriff's deputies in East L.A. had been acting like "unethical corrupted pussies." (OK, ... More >>

Joe Buscaino or Warren Furutani for L.A. City Council District 15? Vote Now in Historic Race Between Underdog Cop, Career Pol

Can a humble police officer from San Pedro become a historic wrench in the well-oiled Los Angeles political machine? That's up to you, residents of City Council District 15. You can go with candidate Joe Buscaino, the former LAPD officer who's netted endorsements from local police unions and the Lo ... More >>

Marijuana Stories That Burned The Hottest in 2011: LA Weekly's Top 5

Smokin' hot, right off the digital presses, here are our Top 5 marijuana stories of 2011. You've got an L.A. City Council that's probably going to consider putting all of our pot shops out of business, a federal government that's cracking down on medical marijuana in California, and a new renaissan ... More >>

L.A. City Council District 15 Race

Taxpayer funds make San Pedro-to-Watts election the most competitive in years

Occupy L.A: Zuma Dogg Wades Into Hostile 99 Percenter Crowd at City Hall, Claims he Was Attacked by 'Mob'

Zuma vs. Occupy.​Why, you ask, do we here at LA Weekly care about Zuma Dogg, the sometimes-utterly-insane City Hall gadfly? We don't always agree with his politics, and his tweets about taking his last breaths for want of food and cash can be annoying. But you have to admit -- he's entertaini ... More >>

Occupy L.A. versus Zuma Dogg: OG City Activist Tries to Out-Shout Occupiers

ladailyblog.blogspot.comBattle L.A.: Who can free-speech louder?​Leave it to Zuma Dogg, perpetual public commenter at every single L.A. City Council meeting ever (rivaled only in civic involvement by John Walsh of the insane neckties and Einstein hair), to add even more confusion to the Occupy ... More >>

L.A. City Council Looking at Dropping Representation of City Attorney Carmen Trutanich

'I know this Nuch is ... Trutanich' - Spandau Ballet.​L.A. City Council? Pretty much in the blue corner. L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich? Not so much. (He declines to state). And so on Tuesday the City Council voted unanimously to look at ways to obtain legal representation for the body ... More >>

Bus-Only Lane Will Run 7.7 Miles Down Wilshire Boulevard -- Conveniently Sparing Westwood's 'Condo Canyon'

LAStreetsBlogThe 720 -- home free!​Screwed year-in and year-out by rail-happy L.A. politicians and transportation officials, the Bus Riders Union finally gets to pop the bubbly tonight -- in celebration of a 7.7-mile bus lane it's taken them six years to win. (That is, if it's approved by L.A ... More >>

Bernard Parks Was Targeted as Union Object Lesson

$1.2 million buys a lot of fear at L.A. City Hall if that's your aim

L.A. CRA Scandal Outdoes Itself: City Council Calls Special Meeting to Steal $1 Billion From State on Election Day, After Weeks of Stalling

Jerry Brown is coming, and L.A. won't go down gracefully.​Update: The City Council votes to shield about $1 billion from Governor Jerry Brown after Councilman Paul Krekorian begs them not to, revealing the City Council only got their huge, complex reports yesterday. See jump. The Los Angeles Com ... More >>

Tom LaBonge's Yacht Problem

Council District 4 candidate Tomas O'Grady: "Drain the swamp," take City Hall to the people

Pew Reports Los Angeles City Council is Biggest Spender On its Entourages and Salaries Among Big U.S. Cities: $1,400 Versus $178,789

Los Angeles City Council viewed from broken streets of Los Angeles​Pew Charitable Trusts reports that of 15 of the biggest U.S. cities, the Los Angeles City Council spends more on personal staffs and offices than anyone, has the highest pay (L.A. $178,789/San Antonio $1,400!), and is one of on ... More >>

L.A. City Schedule Cut to Four Days a Week? Out-of-Wack Council Meetings, More Euthanized Cats... But Less Traffic!

Legal PlanetWhy yes, I'd love the day off!​And on the fifth day, they rested. It's a wild notion: Would the Los Angeles City Council really go so far as to cut an entire day out of the workweek for all city-run agencies? The LA Daily News thinks it's a real possibility, and Councilman Bernard ... More >>

Top 10 Los Angeles Bans Of 2010: They Left Us Bagless, Smokeless And Puppyless, With Nary A Loko In Sight

​Updated after the jump: What kind of awards show would this be without a guest star? Nothing like a good hard ban to make life in this concrete jungle a little more oppressive. Between the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and most other governing bodies within county limits, politicians on ... More >>

Why Can't L.A. Seem To Be Able To Regulate Its Pot Shops? And If Pot Is Such Legit Medicine, Why Don't They Sell It At CVS?

The L.A. City Council can't seem to pass this particular joint.​The city of L.A. has had worse luck trying to pass rules that govern pot shops than the Obama administration has had in trying to make health-care reform a reality. In fact City Hall's efforts at regulating cannabis retailers star ... More >>

Los Angeles Could Tax Medical Marijuana If Voters Approve In March

L.A. wants to tax you, bud.​Do you want your pot taxed? That's a question you'll be asked on the March ballot, thanks to an L.A. City Council vote Wednesday. The body is trying to raise money in an era of red ink, and taxing weed could bring an extra $3 to $5 million a year to City Hall. The ... More >>

Op-Ed: Don't Ban Fast Food, Provide Better Options

Cementing its reputation as a haven of well-intentioned but noxious intolerance, San Francisco's board of supervisors recently approved an ordinance banning toys in children's meals that exceed 600 calories. The measure didn't explicitly refer to McDonald's or Happy Meals. It didn't have to. Appa ... More >>

'F You' To Smokers: Embarrassing New Warning Labels To Be Stamped On All Cigarette Cartons -- And L.A. City Council Wants To Ban Smoking In Public

U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationQuit smoking, and you could be as happy as this guy​Just like sex offenders, cigarette smokers are being pushed out of Los Angeles one ordinance at a time. Following a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandate for graphic warning labels on cigarette carton ... More >>

LAX Concession Fight Continues Today; Contracting Wars Explained

​This morning the weirdly named Board of Referred Powers, which is a special L.A. City Council committee, will meet to discuss what has become a strangely controversial issue -- airport food. In short, everyone agrees the food is lousy (beating only -- yuck -- Newark's in one recent 18-city ... More >>

Weed mags sprout across LOS ANGELES

Publications reap windfall from pot ads

L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti Flip-flops on Medical Weed?

Has Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti flip-flopped on medical weed shops?It was only a few weeks ago, on November 6, that Garcetti, now a leading voice in the debate over a medical marijuana ordinance, told L.A. Weekly that he thought medical marijuana stores don't "need to be everywh ... More >>

Invasion of the Granny Flat

Los Angeles weighs a plan to allow back yard dwellings and car parking on lawns

MEDICAL MARIJUANA CONTROVERSY CONTINUES

Along with Mr. Gold and Mr. Garber.

Urine the Money With L.A. Sidewalk Ads

Now they're steam-cleaning corporate logos into the thick sidewalk filth

Who's Footing L.A.'s Recovery?

File this contrast in the Just Sayin' Dept.An L.A. Times blog flagged an Argonaut story about county beach fees rising higher than today's mercury, while City News Service reports that the L.A. City Council seems ready to all but waive some business taxes. According to the Argonaut, which serves the ... More >>

Supes Take Off Gloves, Take on Sacramento

After disentangling itself from the morass of feel-good decrees and distractions like the Wagner Wars, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to sue Sacramento if state legislators or the governor try to seize local redevelopment and highway taxes to shore up California's budget. As the budget c ... More >>

Will Van Nuys Secede From Itself?

Following today's L.A. City Council vote, Van Nuys upholds its reputation as the incredible shrinking town. Over time bits of the largely blue-collar, Latino community have either broken off to form Valley Glen or simply thrown in the towel completely and joined Sherman Oaks -- when Sherman Oaks wou ... More >>

Iraq Features Stir Support

Replacing Wendy Greuel in the Valley

A juicy $2.5 million City Council seat opens in anti-Villaraigosa territory

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Clerical Error? U.S. Attorney Tom O'Brien's not talking, but the L.A. Times is reporting that a federal grand jury is investigating Los Angeles Archdiocese Cardinal Roger Mahony for not protecting parishioners from predator priests. Scott Glover and Jack Leonard write that Mahony could be charged wi ... More >>