Councilmember opposes sale of peak

With Cahuenga Peak in the background, Councilmember LaBonge denounces developers’ plans to build houses on now-pristine land.

Councilmember Tom LaBonge held a news conference Wednesday afternoon to refute the claim by the owners of Cahuenga Peak that talks were ever held between them and the City of Los Angeles to purchase the land and annex it to Griffith Park. Representatives of the owners, Teles Properties of Chicago, had held a news conference earlier in the day claiming that the city had reneged on a deal to purchase the land. The owners also announced they were selling the 138-acre parcel on the ridge to the west of the famed Hollywood Sign for $22 million that they purchased seven years ago for $1.65 million.

Read More

Community Congress

Join us on Wednesday, Feb. 27 for our next CD4 Community Congress to be held at the LADWP building in downtown Los Angeles at 6:30 p.m. Our featured speaker will be David Nahai, general manager of the department, who will speak about his initiatives and priorities for the LADWP. The DWP is located at 111 N. Hope Street, across from the Music Center. We are meeting in the auditorium. Dinner will be served. Shuttle transportaion will be provided from the field offices upon request. Contact Gigi Galias at (323) 957-6335 or Deanna Berman at (818) 755-7630 to reserve your ride.

A Hero remembered

Flags at half-mast Thursday in memory of Officer Randal D. Simmons. Photo by Ed Fuentes

The thoughts and prayers of everyone in the City of Los Angeles go out to the family of Officer Randal Simmons: a married father of two, a 20-year veteran of the LAPD’s elite SWAT team, and a tireless friend to our city’s children.

He will be truly missed.

Councilmember LaBonge answers questions and hears concerns of valley constituents

Councilmember LaBonge addressing valley residents and leaders at the CD4 Valley Leadership Breakfast

The NBC/Universal project and phase three of NoHo Redevelopment were the hot topics at Councilmember LaBonge's CD4 Valley leadership breakfast Thursday morning held at the Lankershim Arts Theater. NoHo Redevelopment and the changes it has brought to this southeast corner of the SFV garnered mostly positive comments from those in attendance, while a pending proposal to build towers on the existing MTA stop at Universal Studios elicited the opposite reaction.

Read More

Measure "S" Passes; Budget Outlook Less Gloomy

Councilmember Tom LaBonge and other city leaders joined Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Wednesday morning to thank Los Angeles voters for passing Proposition S, which is expected to generate $243 million annually to pay for city services. Prop. S is a nine percent telephone users tax that will replace an existing levy expected to be invalidated by a federal court.

The loss of these revenue in an already tight, if not critical budget year, would have resulted in serious consequences, the Mayor and others stated. The campaign was devised around a message of public safety and how it would be compromised if Prop. S went down to defeat.

Voters "sent us a very clear message yesterday. They said that we can't afford to concede the gains we've made over the last few years in making Los Angeles a safer city," the Mayor said.

Despite passage of Prop. S, the city still faces a $156 million shortfall this fiscal year and a $300 million shortfall in the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

Read More

Seniors joyful as GPACC dedicated

A very happy group of seniors help cut the ribbon to dedicate the Griffith Park Adult Community Center for adults 50 years and over.

Under sunny skies and a colorful halo of balloons, seniors from six neighborhoods led by Stephanie Vendig, Bea Gold and Lia Lomedico, joined in the long-anticipated opening celebration for the Griffith Park Adult Community Center Thursday.

The center, comprised of trailers used previously as Griffith Observatory Satellite offices, were transplanted to a spot adjacent to Friendship Auditorium and transformed into a full-service senior center.

Read More

CD4 Valley Community Leadership Breakfast

Please join Councilmember LaBonge for a CD4 Valley Community Leadership Breakfast next Thursday, February 7, at 8:30 a.m. This will be the first bi-monthly meeting of 2008 with community leadership in specific regions of Council District Four. The meeting will be held at the Lankershim Arts Center, 5108 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. If interested, please RSVP to Jeanne Min at (213) 473-7004 or Alice Roth at (818) 755-7894.