City Council - Regular Meeting

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Today we're here at the Frank Hodgkins Training Center commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers. We're uplifting and remembering all of the first responders, all of the people who stepped up to be brave to save people's lives, and to remind the generations that have come after the attack of what occurred so that we never, ever forget what bravery looks like in this country and what it looks like for people to step up to save people.

So as we're experiencing crises, as we're experiencing different horrors that intend to divide us, we must follow the steps of people from 9-11 and what they did and stick together and protect our communities.

Thank you, Council President. Colleagues, today we celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Hoover Dam. We celebrate a milestone that is not just a crucial part of LADW peace history, but a pivotal moment in shaping the modern history of the city of Los Angeles. Most of us have at least a basic understanding of the relationship between Los Angeles Aqueduct and the growth and development of our city. However, very few people know how instrumental LADWP was in the efforts to build Hoover Dam and the pioneering engineering work that was involved in delivering this clean and affordable power to Los A

Thank you so much for this presentation. Really appreciate it. Congratulations and happy birthday, but I just thought somebody needed to channel Tom LaBonge here today, who would say that was a fine damn presentation. Thank you.

Council Member Nazarian, thank you so much for bringing this presentation. I know I recently was able to go visit the dam and had a really great time being reminded of all the history and the intentionality that was put behind building the dam and just how much it is tied to Los Angeles history and how much the Department of Water and Power is tied to Los Angeles history. And it's definitely part of what makes us a great and very different city. So to all of you who are in the works day to day to make sure that we have constituents who just wake up and turn on the faucet and the water is there

Thank you, Council Member Nazarian. I just want to say for the record that Council Member McCosker stole my damn line. Because I, too, wanted to bring Council Member Tom LaBonge into the chat. He would have loved this moment. And for so many people, sadly, don't know our damn history in the city of Los Angeles, this is a reminder that, yes, as Council Member Padilla said, Los Angeles wouldn't exist had it not been for the innovations from William Mulholland to this work with the Hoover Dam. Everything that is part of how Los Angeles exists comes from our ability to bring in water and power int

Thank you very much, Council President. You know, I'll just take a brief 20-second detour and also share with all of you. Gregory made a wonderful point in talking about how back about 70, 80 years ago, one out of every four planes were being built here in Los Angeles Basin area. Well, it was a time of also high likelihood of no regulation. the lack of regulation allowed for a lot of damaging residue from these manufacturing to seep down into our aquifers that's why we haven't been able to use our water and right now this very agency is building all the storm capture rain capture projects all

Good morning, everyone. Today, I am so proud to honor the Los Angeles Food Policy Council and lead the 15th annual Good Food Day celebration here in the city of Los Angeles. Food Day is a national initiative with a relatively simple but powerful goal, to inspire Americans to change our food policies. Every October, thousands of events across the country bring people together to celebrate and enjoy good food, and to push for a food system that works better for all of us. Here in Los Angeles, that work is carried forward by the Food Policy Council and has been for the last 15 years. That's 15 ye

Thank you so much. Thank you so much to everyone who's worked with these incredible organizations across the entire city. We're honoring everything from community gardens to free food programs to grocery service to to repurposing food from sets across the entire city. Thousands of people are being fed through your work every week. People are reconnecting with food in ways that they weren't before. And it is really remarkable to see how the city is being brought together through your service. So I want to thank all of you and I want to thank You all from the Los Angeles Food Policy Council who

The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. I want to thank you very much to the Food Council, council member, for honoring WLCAC. Yes, they have the Family Source Center and do a fantastic job. And I've said in this space before, it's hard to describe what WLCAC does because it is literally everything, from babies to our elders. But I also want to call out especially for this topic, Mudtown Farms. Mudtown Farms, Tim Watkins and WLCAC had the vision of bringing back local farming and it's a beautiful facility that I would invite anybody to come by. I think we need volunteer hours the

Thank you, Council President. Thank you, Councilwoman, for bringing this important presentation. Thank you to Food Policy for the wonderful work that you do. appreciated all the years of work that I've had the opportunity to do with you when I was in the legislature and also Bit in Council, especially last year and what was happening with everything. So thank you I just want to take a minute again to give a good shout out to Valley College and a good food champion and program that they have because no student should have to go through their college experience having to decide whether they're g

Thank you. I, too, wanted to rise and just celebrate all the remarkable contributions that everyone makes. Sadly, this is one of the biggest challenges that so many families in Los Angeles and, frankly, across the country are experiencing. But it's a reflection, whether you're a community organization like WLCAC community members like Lorraine that just come together see a need and fill a need it is really remarkable how everyone is finding a way to be part of the solution and that's what this is all about you know we we have lost a lot of our roots and terms of our ability to know and underst

Thank you, Council President. Thank you, Council Member Rodman, for being the sponsor of the 16th annual Good Food Day, and for our good food partners for uplifting this every single year. Today, I'm proud to recognize our good food champion in Northeast LA, Vanny Arias, who runs our NELA food distribution. This year's theme is Community Rooted, and that is Vanny personified. As a single mom from this community, Vanny knows firsthand how hard it is to make ends meet, to put food on the table, and to care for your family, as everything keeps getting more expensive. She brings that same understa

Good morning, colleagues. I want to thank LA Food Policy Council for continuing to come each and every year and reaching out to different offices to make sure that we are cognizant and intentional about making sure that we recognize that those who are fighting for food justice are equally important and equally part of the battle to improve our community. I appreciated how you mentioned that this is part of the social justice conversation. This is part of the environmental justice conversation. And as we look at the organizations who are here doing the work, I thank you and I congratulate you b

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Councilwoman Rahman, for doing and leading today's presentation. You know, it's days like this when I really get a sense for some of the incredible work that is done all over the city of Los Angeles. And to every honoree here today, thank you. for stepping up to meet a need where you see it in your communities. That's just really incredible work. I'm really excited to get to be here today with the Emerson Avenue Community Garden Club. They are a local nonprofit that has created a one-acre garden at Orville Wright Elementary School in Westchester, ri

Thank you so much, Council Member Rahman, for this really inspiring presentation. You know, it's always great to see all the amazing work happening across the city, but I did want to, you know, talk a little about Food Access LA, our honoree in CD13. Not only do they run the Hollywood Farmer's Market, which everyone knows and loves, it's been around for 35 years. Big ups to former Council Member Michael Wu for making that happen many, many years ago. but they also run one in Echo Park, they run it in Atwater, and they also go to Watts, they also go to Compton, and they also go on Central Avenu

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Council Member Baraman, for bringing this to the forefront. All these food champions live in a big city. but they have a small town heart where they are looking at folks that are in their neighborhood and understand what the need is. So for all the champions today and for years gone by, I just want to say thank you because you see what the need is. You understand what our most vulnerable need. And to the Food Council for putting together an organization that says, hey, listen, we can help. We could be organized. We can move mountains. with just help

Thank you And since everyone lifted up their honorees again I just didn't want to go let councilmember Blumenfield's honorees go unremarked Juan Carlos and Jeremy from Brahma Bodega who are serving the Pierce College community. I don't know where you Went off to but I just wanted to give them a huge round of applause. They're also serving students and And then the honorees from Council District 4, who are from Everyday Action, Hillary and Samantha, who essentially took food that was left over on film sets across the city and made sure that it didn't go to waste, transforming how film sets actu

Yes, of course I wanted to speak today. You know, I want to start off by saying, Councilwoman Isabel Jurado, I want to take a minute to actually just congratulate you. You know, congratulations for being the first Filipina American on the LA City Council. You're now in the history books. That's a big deal. And congratulations to you for continuing to be an advocate to elevate your community. And I want to thank you for being a partner in helping me create the Kappa Square. A lot of people were asking me, where did this come from? Why did you want to do this? And my answer was, well, on the cam

Mabuhay! Mabuhay! Well, thank you so much, Councilwoman Jurado, for this beautiful presentation. As a lot of folks know, I am very proud to represent Historic Filipino Town. And it's been one of my most favorite neighborhoods to get to know the organizations, the people, the food, the culture. All that has been wonderful, from PWC to SIPA to Kabatan Makabayan and Council Corner and having celebrations at Unidad Park.

And of course, we're going to be celebrating Larry Itliong Day sometime later this month. And I just want to say, The contributions of the Filipino-American community will not go unrecognized, right, thanks to Councilman Jurado and their controller, Mejia, who's back there, I think. Yeah, hey, what's up, man? But, yes, thank you again for bringing all this celebration in and looking forward to today's luncheon. And later on when we light up City Hall, it's going to be magnificent as well. Thank you so much. Thank you.

I'm trying to get this right. Help me out, controller. Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you, Councilwoman Jurado, for reminding us about what this tapestry is all about. Those beautiful voices that just uplifted our spirits today. Like, we're doing a whole lot all the time, every day. But it was just so beautiful. And I appreciate you calming our spirits with that. So thank you so much. Thank you everyone who has been involved in making sure that the Filipino community stays here and is strong. Thank you for the leadership of Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, who is

Just wanted to stand and briefly echo the words of my colleagues. Thank you Council Member Jurado for bringing such a beautiful presentation forward and thank you Controller Mejia for being here and for everyone who was here today. The music was really beautiful as well so I just wanted to say thank you for bringing that music into our chambers and I'm not sure where your honoree is. Yes. Your words were really meaningful, and I appreciated it, hearing those words today. So thank you all so much. Thank you to everyone for being here.

Mabuhay! Thank you so much, Councilwoman, thank you, Council President. But thank you, Councilwoman Jurado for bringing this presentation. Thank you for Zion attending as well, one of our super volunteers. I think he attends events all over the city. Thank you for being here. But I also wanna uplift one of our restaurants in Highland Park, Kuya's, Kuya's Cafe, where you can get a delicious breakfast sandwich with a awesome latte with oat milk. They do it all however, whatever way you like it. but I just, since we're talking about Good Food Day, there's so many ways that our cultures connect, f

One last thing. One thing that I was asked, one of the reporters asked me, what is your favorite Filipino food? And I said, well, lechon, because it's just like carnitas, and I love carnitas. But believe it or not, I went home and kept sleeping on it. I was like, I don't think that's accurate. So with that, I just want to say, I want to give mad props to my roommate from college, Katrina Esplana, because of her, it is actually beef and broccoli, but with oyster sauce. I love oyster sauce. I was introduced to oyster sauce through her and the Filipino flavors. That is my favorite food. It is always in my refrigerator and my favorite way to now make beef and broccoli.

You know what? I'll just say thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. Council Member Jurado, thank you for bringing this important tradition before us. You are part of the Los Angeles tapestry. You are what makes Los Angeles wonderful. We just celebrated Armenian Heritage Month just two days ago. So all of these cultures... are the impetus of why Los Angeles is where it's at. Thank you for what you do. Keep your tradition and your history alive and I look forward to celebrating with you always. Thank you so much.

Good morning. We're still morning, right?

Good morning. And thank you, Mr. President. As the city recognizes Domestic Violence Awareness Month this October, I'm honored to welcome our general manager, Abigail Marquez from the Community Investment Department, alongside leaders from the frontline organizations like Center for Pacific Asian Families, Rainbow Services, the Downtown Women's Center, Inc., Haven Hills, St. Ann's Family Services, the Genesee Center, Peace Over Violence, and the Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles. Across our nation, nearly 20 people every minute are physically abused by intimate partner. Every minute, 24 pe

Thank you and members you know we have so much more work to do. But that's just an example of some of the things that we're able to do. Today, behind us, we have service providers. This morning, we had a press conference and service providers with resources were out there giving folks information, just a light touch on how we can be helpful. And we have to continue to do that kind of work. If you are someone that has suffered intimate partner violence or domestic violence, Don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed. Go get some help. Get it quietly if you need to. Make sure you stay safe while you're

Thank you, Council President. Councilwoman, thank you again for bringing this forward. I appreciate what you do day in and day out, and I appreciate your words today, because many people who are listening are being empowered by your experience and what you're talking about. And I just wanna share one quick anecdotal story with you. I wanted to go to law school. So I thought, what are some of the best experiences I can get to prepare for law school? So my first summer, of college I decided to join the San Fernando Valley Domestic Violence Clinic and start filling out paperwork and helping out.

Thank you so much, Council Member Hutt, for your words especially, I think right now. So often, you know, we think about the physical violence, but we don't think about how partners are incapacitated by wielding the financial stronghold. And, you know, it's... You just enlightened me as to one more reason why the financial literacy work was so important. And not just for young people it's really important, but so often women have often relegated that any insight and control and surrendered that to their partner. But it is one of the most important empowerment tools that you can give somebody i

Thank you, Council Member Hutt, for bringing this presentation forward. And I just wanted to thank every organization who is being recognized today and our general manager and our department for all of the work that you do. We know I visited shelters in the district and met with mostly women in this case who have been dealing with this issue, although I know it's not limited to women, and seen how Integral the work is how scarce these dollars and resources are How much the care that you all provide is valued and I just wanted to say thank you for doing that work It's incredibly challenging. It

Thank you, Council President. Thank you, Council Member Huff, for bringing this presentation forward and for sharing and being brave and letting us know so that others can also see themselves in you. Because there are people that feel like they can't move or they can't do. And you're here running a district representing 250,000 people. So yes, you can't do anything. So thank you for being so clear and a beautiful example. Thank you to Abby and your team at CID, to all the organizations that are here today, standing true, standing tall. And it's a political choice where our budget goes. We can

Thank you, everyone. My personal story was not in my talking points, and my team was like, oh, Lord. But I feel like it's important for folks to know that we don't look like what we've been through, but we're going to go to better places together. Thank you.

I have to call item 3 to go forthwith, please.

Yes, an amendment for item seven, please.

Since we want to give a chance to make sure everyone is heard, I'll go ahead and just say that items number one and two to go forth with as well. Got it. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Council President. Today, the city is proud to welcome the delegation of the Fundación Instituto Salvadoreño del Migrante, Insami. My colleague Bob Blumenfield invited these folks, and I'm happy to welcome them on his behalf. Since 2013, Insami has carried out essential humanitarian work on the ground in El Salvador, providing vital psychosocial care and economic reintegration for deported individuals and their families. At a critical moment when deportation numbers continue to rise, Insami ensures that returning individuals are met with dignity, su

Thank you very much, Mr. President. I have a fun announcement and introduction. We have a special running festival, running, road running festival coming to Los Angeles featuring South Korea's iconic variety show, Infinite Challenge. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the program, Infinite Challenge was one of South Korea's most popular and influential television programs. It was on the air for 13 years, from 2005 to 2018, on the Korean network MBC TV. At one point, nearly 30% of all South Korean television viewers were tuning in to Infinite Challenge. The show combined humorous gam

Thank you. Let's recess the regular meeting and begin the special meeting. Mr. Clerk, if you'd please call the roll.

Thank you. If we can please run through the special agenda.

Okay, the item is now before us. Do any members wish, oh no, we're already at just the one item. So let's go ahead and go into public comment.

Apologies. Mr. Nazarian, you have your button pressed.

I do. I was just going to make a quick announcement. We have the ad hoc on entertainment meetings that's supposed to start at 1. but we'll keep it to 15 minutes after Council and Special Counsel ends. So if it ends at 1, we'll start at 1.15. If it's later than 1, then we'll do it 15 minute according. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Is there anyone here for a public comment in person? Seeing none, we'll go ahead and go to virtual public comment please.

Okay. The item is now before us. Is there anyone wishing to speak? Seeing none, let's please open the roll, close the roll, tabulate the vote.

Okay. Send it forthwith. And now we'll go back to the regular meeting.

They are posted and referred. Members, any announcements? Yes. Council Member Hutt.

It's the week in A Taste of Soul. That's right. Come out to Taste of Soul. It's on Crenshaw Boulevard from Obama to Stocker from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Great food, music, lots of resources. It's in the 10th district and the 8th district, three miles of family fun. Come and join us. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Members, any other announcements? Seeing none, please rise for adjourning motions. Looking to my left, Council Member Hernandez's side. Seeing none, on my right. Okay. Thank you, colleagues. We are adjourned.