Zev Yaroslavsky

Los Angeles' Filthy, Fecal-Laden, Sickness-Inducing Beaches: Who Should Pay to Treat the Rain Runoff from Oily, Dog-Poop Streets?

By Matthew Mullins and Jill Stewart Update: The Board of Supervisors rejected the Clean Water, Clean Beaches plan today in a big upset, thanks to what many say was exceedingly poor outreach on the massive tax plan to pay for it. See next page for details. Hundreds of angry people today demanded th ... More >>

Beverly Hills Courthouse Closure Decried By Business; It's A Westside Legal Hub

The famous Beverly Hills courthouse, home to many an appearance by Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities, is slated to close alongside 9 other regional courthouses as a result of budget cuts. The powers that be in the gilded city aren't too happy about that. The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce thi ... More >>

'Southern California Fan Code of Conduct' Unveiled by L.A. Sports Council: No Cussing, Offensive Clothing

Little-known fact: Los Angeles has its very own Sports Council, a self-described "outgrowth of the success of the 1984 Olympic Games." Although its eight-member executive cabinet and dozens of directors (such as UCLA's athletic director and Tim Leiweke, president of downtown developer AEG) spend mo ... More >>

Bob Hertzberg Backs Wendy Greuel In Mayor's Race; Zev Yaroslavsky Backer Sets Sept. 15 Decision Deadline

Bob Hertzberg wrapped his big arms around Wendy Greuel today, metaphorically, endorsing her campaign to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.Hertzberg, the former Assembly speaker, finished third in the 2005 mayor's race -- and first in the Valley. So it's natural that he'd back a fellow Valley politici ... More >>

Grand Park's New 'Membrane Pool,' a Watery Playpen for Kids, Dogs and Billionaires

Fountains can be found almost everywhere in downtown Los Angeles. The Department of Water and Power fortress has a sizable moat with eight sparkling backlit blasts. The pool in front of the public library has a lizard skeleton coming up for air. Even the Bunker Hill steps have a trickle of water mo ... More >>

Porn Condom Initiative to Get November Vote in L.A. County

You will indeed get to vote on mandatory condoms for porn stars in L.A. county. We were a bit premature when we reported previously that the measure was headed to the November ballot. The L.A. County board of supervisors had to certify the initiative or enact the rule itself. Today it voted to le ... More >>

'Rampture,' or 'Ramp Jam,' or Whatever You Want to Call the Wilshire Closures This Summer, Will Be 405 Traffic Hell

L.A. city and county officials first warned us of the "Rampture" last August, saying they'd be shutting down the Wilshire ramps to and from the 405 freeway as early as fall 2011. That obviously didn't happen, seeing as we're all still alive and not devouring each other in a fit of zombie-apocalypse ... More >>

'The GangBang Girl #32,' Football Porn, Reportedly Shot at L.A. Coliseum

The L.A. Coliseum scandal was already hot, in the embezzlement/bribery sense. But thanks to a 2002 porn called "The GangBang Girl #32," reportedly shot under the lights of the taxpayer-owned USC stadium, it's now got a half-naked cheerleader as covergirl: According to a Los Angeles Times expose thi ... More >>

Carmageddon Baby Boom? Cedars-Sinai Says 405 Closure Could Account for April Due-Dates

NBC LA just dropped the hottest expose of 2012 (besides maybe the "teen Twitter party" epidemic in the Hills): a possible baby boom resulting from the 405 shutdown last summer. Otherwise known as Carmageddon, or the apocalyptic traffic forecast that never happened -- instead turning L.A. into a sere ... More >>

Los Angeles Mayoral Poll 2013 Shows that Voters who Grade Villaraigosa an "F" or "D" Want Zev Yaroslavsky or Wendy Greuel

A poll says 68 percent of Angelenos have no idea who they want for Los Angeles mayor in 2013. Of those who know, pixie Controller Wendy Greuel is doing better than indecisive, undeclared Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who's doing better than "I'm Latino -- really!" Councilman Eric Garcetti. It's great ... More >>

The 5 Best Jokes From The L.A. Political Roast of Councilman Herb Wesson

​If redistricting humor is your cup of tea, then the L.A. Political Roast was the place to be last night. About 900 lobbyists, elected officials, and assorted City Hall hacks gathered at the Beverly Hilton to raise money for diabetes research and roast Council President Herb Wesson.At most, there ... More >>

Los Angeles County Gerrymanding: Did the Board of Supervisors' Redistricting Decision Violate the Federal Voting Rights Act?

By Hillel Aron After a seemingly endless session that included hundreds of public speakers, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a redistricting plan, 4-1, with Gloria Molina the dissenting vote, yesterday. Why does this matter? Isn't gerrymandering -- the redrawing of the lines in ... More >>

Eric Garcetti Backs Second Latino Supervisor's Seat, Drawing Contrast With Zev Yaroslavsky

Zev Yaroslavsky and Eric Garcetti​The L.A. County Board of Supervisors will be fighting over redistricting all day today. About 850 people have signed up to speak, and it's already gotten heated.One of the speakers was Councilman Eric Garcetti, who came over from City Hall to endorse a second Lati ... More >>

The L.A. County Redistricting Battle Explained -- Without Maps!

Redistricting-- without the maps!​The redistricting battle at the L.A. County Board of Supervisors is the ultimate arcane, inside-baseball political fight. From a distance, all you can see is a bunch of people squabbling over some maps.So let's try to simplify it a little bit. And the first thing ... More >>

'Rampture' Looms: Three-Month Closure of Wilshire Ramps to 405 Freeway Will Mean 'Carmageddon' for L.A. (Really This Time)

MetroThe Wilshire Boulevard on- and off-ramps to the 405, post-Rampture.​L.A. officials earned the respect and admiration of many far-off governments with the wildly successful PR campaign that was Carmageddon -- so named by crafty L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. And the Supe is back a ... More >>

Carmageddon Countdown: FAQ (Along With All Your Not-So-Frequently Asked, But Equally Burning, Questions)

This is Carmageddon, the game. Please do not attempt this during Carmageddon, the Los Angeles traffic event.​We've spent a lot of time joking about Carmageddon -- meming it, crowd-sourcing it, naming drinks after it, etc. Admittedly, though, beneath the stupid hype, which has reached quite i ... More >>

Rick Caruso Slams Antonio Villaraigosa, Austin Beutner, Bernard Parks And Your Mom In Mayoral Pre-Campaign Speech

​Rick Caruso, billionaire mall tycoon, strode to the lectern at Town Hall Los Angeles this afternoon and gave a blistering assessment of the state of Los Angeles.The schools are terrible -- "an educational gulag." The airport could be in a "Third World country." City Hall is a "roadblock that's ke ... More >>

Big Billboards Equal Big Issue for West Hollywood Elections: Watch Out For Measure A

BanBillboardBlight.orgMeasure A: the Trojan Horse of tall wall billboards for WeHo​Originally posted 3/2/11: See update at the end of the post: Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Congressman Henry Waxman both oppose Measure A. Measure A is expected to bring several hundred new voters out to the p ... More >>

Los Angeles County Finalizes Its Ban On Pot Shops

Supes say no.​Pro-pot protesters made their stand, but in the end the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors had its way and outlawed pot shops in the areas of L.A. it controls. That means no medical weed dispensaries for unincorporated areas of the county, where about 1 million people live. ... More >>

Los Angeles County Bans Pot Shops In Unincorporated Areas

L.A. county says no to pot shops.​L.A. County made good on its threat to ban medical marijuana dispensaries. In a 4-1 vote the county's Board of Supervisors moved to outlaw pot shops in unincorporated parts of L.A. Those parts seem few and far between, but they represent about a million peop ... More >>

'EDC' Rave Arrests Were Mostly For Drug Sales, Says LAPD Chief Beck

​View photos from the mega-rave in the "Electric Daisy Carnival: 60 Most Memorable Moments" slideshow and "Electric Daisy Carnival: The greatest show on earth?" slideshow. Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck this week told the Police Commission that 60 people were arrested during last week ... More >>

Autopsy On Body Of Teen Who Died After Attending 'EDC' Rave Completed; Results Deferred

Ravers at 'EDC.'​An autopsy on the 15-year-old girl who died after attending an Exposition Park rave was completed this week but the results were "deferred," a county coroner's official told the Weekly. Sasha Rodriguez died at Los Angeles hospital Tuesday after she attended the two-day Electr ... More >>

Mark Ridley-Thomas Has Deciding Vote For Proposed County Boycott Of Arizona

The decider: Mark Ridley-Thomas.​The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to take up a proposal to initiate its own travel and business boycott against Arizona, and on Friday it looked like the vote would be close: Supervisor Don Knabe said he would oppose such a measure, putt ... More >>

L.A. Opera’s $14 Million Imbroglio

Superstar Plácido Domingo pushes the company closer to worldwide acclaim — and financial collapse

Abortion "Holocaust Survivors" to Protest at Corn Field Rally

​When Congress members and others opened the doors of town hall meetings to hear constituents' views on health care reform, they never dreamed of what was waiting for them on the doorstep. By now we're familiar with the images of red-faced elders shouting down meek Congressmen, or of gun-toting ac ... More >>

Villaraigosa's Fiscal Folly

The ant (L.A. County Board of Supervisors) and the dung beetle (City Hall)

Local Theater News: The Taper, Galatea and Paul Brennan

Theater News: The Mark Taper Forum's $30 Million Face Lift; Galatea aims for Fringe NYC festival; Company of Angeles former president Paul Brennan dies. TAPER FACELIFT On Tuesday morning, Center Theatre Group rolled out its $30 million re-design of the Mark Taper Forum, that has been dark for t ... More >>

MTA's Toxic Towers in Van Nuys

Metro wants to cram 2,000 renters onto land that faces a Chevron oil plant

Was the Universal Studios Fire an accident?

Early reports are calling the fire that gutted three acres of Universal Hollywood's back lot an accident. However, it is unclear what caused the June 1 fire and whether the studios antiquated sprinkler system hampered the firefighters' efforts to save its famous tour relics, including its gargantuan ... More >>

Air Inferiority

Is “Run!” the new strategy against firestorms on California's urban fringe?

What's Smart About Smart Growth?

City Hall's plan for the future expects you to give up the yard, the car - and learn to love density

Targeting a Weiss Guy

Westside homeowners are furious with their pro-development city councilman

The Sixth Supervisor

David Janssen will soon be a free man

Wake Up and Vote

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

Homeless in Westwood

A shelter for vets sounds better than more car-dependent business

Public Enemies

King/Drew gets closer to extinction, while Crenshaw High gets de-accredited. But folks are fighting back

Exposing L.A. Secrets

The right lawyer could make sure that L.A. County is run openly

Mr. Holloway Can Talk

A free-speech guide to angering county supervisors

Our Own Secret Government

County supervisors must learn when to open the door

Stuck in Idle

Political reasons for the sluggish MTA contract talks

Recipe for a Recall-Free California

Make it easier to pass a state budget

Like Water for Concrete

From flood control to watershed management

Mayor of Mayors?

The newest county-government reform could benefit a political old-timer

Victims of Prosperity

The county’s in-home health-care workers are left out again

Frittering Away

What the City Council does instead of governing

SHYLOCK 2000

The Living-on-the-Edge Ordinance

This county ordains a living wage for some, instead of for all

Nine Out of Ten Doctors

Don’t want county bureaucrats mucking with your lab tests

No Mercy

The supes find a way

The Eleventh Plague

Torrent of shit threatens Lancaster