Loyal L.A. Weekly reader Carmen Trutanich must have seen our post from Wednesday, in which we noted that he had yet to deliver on his pledge to donate $100,000 to the L.A.'s Best after-school program. Trutanich had promised to come up with the money by his birthday, which was on Sunday, and had yet to follow through.

Well, no sooner did we point that out than Trutanich went over to the L.A.'s Best offices to have himself photographed delivering $30,000. It's not quite $100,000 — but he vows the rest is coming.

“I had checks put in my hand,” Carla Sanger, the president and CEO of the non-profit group, tells the Weekly. “I thank you for that.”

Hey, anything we can do for the children.

We know about this because Trutanich sent out a press release today that begins this way:

TRUTANICH PROMISE KEPT:

RAISES $100,000 FOR LA'S BEST BY HIS BIRTHDAY


LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has delivered on his promise to raise at least $100,000 for LA's BEST by Aug. 12, his birthday.

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That's not quite true in all the particulars, or in any of them actually. First of all, he delivered $30,000, not $100,000. Second, he delivered it on Aug. 15, not Aug. 12. Third, his original pledge was to pay $100,000 in personal funds. Of the $30,000 he gave on Wednesday, only $10,000 came directly from Trutanich. The rest is from unidentified Trutanich supporters.

Now, we understand that the checks were in fact backdated to Aug. 12 — but that's not the same as delivering the money on Aug. 12.

So, with that all understood, where's the rest?

“The commitments are there,” says John Schwada, Trutanich's spokesman. “It's just a question of mechanics now.”

Sanger believes she'll end up with more than $100,000, and says this experience has opened up new fundraising possibilities for the after-school program.

“We haven't looked to San Pedro as a focus for fundraising,” she says. “He's opened that door to us.”

And Trutanich's point of view on the whole thing?

Once again, Schwada: “It was a stupid pledge to begin with.”

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