Tag "Eric Garcetti"

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Venice Beach proposal roils topless debate

Inspired by a recent resurgence in partial nudity as a women’s rights issue, the Venice Neighborhood Council in Los Angeles recommended that topless sunbathing be permitted. In decades past, fully nude beachgoing had been tolerated. In a 12-2 vote, the VNC

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L.A. mayor’s State of City address skips economic woes

In January 2014, a blue-ribbon commission created at the behest of Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson presented the council with a report titled “A Time for Truth” — a hugely downbeat account of the economic decline of the

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CA Senate wades into police videotaping controversy

Faced with mounting criticism over civil liberties abuses, lawmakers in Sacramento greenlit a so-called clarification of Californians’ right to videotape and photograph police officers on the job. Senate Bill 411, introduced by state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, protects the practice so long

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Tax break could help quake-proof buildings

Governments use tax breaks to encourage activity. In California, that includes driving electric vehicles and making movies. Now a 30 percent tax break might be given to those retrofitting older buildings to make them quake-proof. Assembly Bill 428 is by

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Pols’ 2010 gas tax swap made road woes worse

It’s become an annual ritual: Stories about the State Board of Equalization announcing it is raising or cutting the state excise tax on gasoline come July 1 to honor the fine print of a 2010 budget deal that requires gas

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L.A. could consolidate elections

Los Angeles is considering holding its local elections at the same time as national ones. According to the L.A. Times, “Charter Amendments 1 and 2 would consolidate city and school board contests with state and federal elections starting in 2020.

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Los Angeles books higher hotel minimum wage

If critics are right, room service in Los Angeles hotels could descend to that of the Bates Motel. Yesterday the City Council passed a $15.37 minimum wage for non-unionized employees of large hotels in Los Angeles. Breitbart News reported city observers generally recognized the

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Garcetti shows why minimum wage kills jobs

In backing a higher minimum wage for his city, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti inadvertently explained how it would kill jobs. From the Times: “Garcetti pitched his plan to gradually boost the minimum wage across the city, critics argued that

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CA Senate pushes $400M Hollywood tax credits

A California Senate committee wants to quadruple the entertainment industry subsidies keeping production in Hollywood. With a unanimous vote, the appropriations committee passed a $300 million increase in tax credits for film and television, bringing the size of the controversial program

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Minimum wage activists set sights on L.A.

The concerted push for higher minimum wages in California has spread from the East Bay to Los Angeles. On the heels of a recently approved $15 minimum wage in Seattle, advocates for dramatically increased hourly wages sensed an opportunity to select

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