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ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - How LA County Brags About Fiscal Discipline While Hiding the Receipts.
Los Angeles County flaunts its Triple-A bond rating like a gold medal, boasting fiscal discipline while keeping taxpayers in the dark. Trust them, they say—just don’t ask where the money goes.
The Transparency Divide
When I asked the City of Los Angeles for its contract with Covington & Burling LLP—hired to assist the City Attorney in a House Oversight Committee inquiry—the document arrived swiftly: $1,000/hour for partners, $595 for staff, $500,000 cap. No drama, no delay.
But when I requested Covington’s invoices from the County’s 2021–2022 “independent” investigation tied to a federal indictment? Three years later, I’ve got nothing—not a page, not a total, despite the California Supreme Court’s 2018 ACLU/Preven v. County of Los Angeles ruling mandating disclosure of outside counsel invoices for closed matters. Same firm, same lead lawyer, Dan Shallman. Entirely different transparency.
The Bond Rating Shell Game
A Triple-A rating means you pay lenders on time, not that you’re honest with taxpayers. Did Covington charge $1,000/hour for the County’s investigation? $1,200? Was the bill $500,000 or $5 million? Without invoices, we’re left guessing—and that’s the point. A shiny credit score doesn’t mean fiscal truth.
The Pattern
It’s not just Covington. In May, Gibson Dunn billed the City $1.8 million in 13 days—$140,000 a day—to keep homelessness control in City Hall, doubling a $900,000 contract cap without Council approval. Elite billable hours, paper-thin oversight.
Where’s the Money?
Supervisors, if Covington’s fees weren’t $1,000/hour, prove it. If they were, justify it. Either way, show the receipts.
The Demand
Release all Covington invoices from 2021–2022. Post every outside counsel contract and bill online, updated in real time. Require a public vote before exceeding any contract cap. Anything less, and your Triple-A rating is just a polished distraction.
Until then, that trophy sits in a locked case, and taxpayers are left wondering how much their “fiscally disciplined” County paid to keep it there.
The Great Skedaddle:
The County is practically packing its flip-flops — a 21-day salute to “health and relaxation” (read: international travel) while LA politely smolders on the edge of disaster. Safety first: put your own mask on, then rescue the neighbors who vote like you. No? Just love thy neighbor. Yawn. Get with the times.
They’ll start with an invocation and pledge, then punt the long-promised budget report to September — no deficit talk before vacation.
Transparency, for sport — Solis and Horvath move to ice Gas Company Tower retrofit plans and rethink office leases (Item 11). Mitchell wants the “Cluster” motion review made permanent, now with an Economic Development lane (Item 14).
Protections & politics — Horvath and Barger extend housing price-gouging protections 30 more days (Item 15). Horvath also pushes SB 42, opening the door to public financing of local campaigns (Item 16).
Services & spending — $25M a year for Community & Family Resource Centers (Item 25), up to $12M in graffiti removal (Item 31), and $12M for the Bouquet Canyon Creek Recovery Project (Item 32). Toss in a 15-year water pipeline franchise (Item 36), traffic tweaks across the map (Items 37–40), plus the usual on-call crane and rubber dam contracts (Items 33 & 35).
Waivers for all — Zuma Beach Triathlon’s waiver doubles to $60,300 (Item 8), now benefitting the Michael Epstein–helmed nonprofit successor to his for-profit race company. The branding changed, but the man remains — and so do the public shekels, jogging straight from County coffers into Epstein’s “good works” fund. Surf-class parking perks go to Palisades Charter High and Palos Verdes Peninsula High (Items 9 & 51-E), and reduced parking for the Sheriff’s Century Station academy (Item 10).
Sole sources & security — More millions for the Sheriff’s jail management system (Item 45) and vending machines (Item 46), $4.2M for World Cup security (Item 47), and $2.2M for wildfire fuel-reduction in the Santa Monica Mountains (Item 42).
Free memberships now on offer... (huh?)
Fire & fallout — Ratify the Canyon Fire emergency (Item 51-A), keep January’s fire/windstorm emergency contracting going (Items 24 & 29), and push Probation’s “global plan” report to September.
Culture & commemoration — Solis marks the 55th Chicano Moratorium anniversary (Item 13) and seeks a Gloria Molina Grand Park Block Party parking waiver (Item 51-C), plus a $15M grant for Puente Hills Landfill Park (Item 51-B).
Then it’s three litigation items behind closed doors before the great disappearing act — sun hats on, County card at the ready — until September 2.
Harbormaster, can you hear me?:
Gary Jones, Director
Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors
13837 Fiji Way Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Sup yo,
Hope you’re getting a little calm before the storm out at Zuma. I wanted to check in ahead of the Board’s vote on the triathlon fee waiver.
In years past, I know Beaches and Harbors has run up some notable tabs for these events — lifeguard overtime, parking ops, cleanup, signage, that sort of thing — sometimes alongside County Fire, the Sheriff’s Department, and Public Works.
Can you give me a sense of what this year’s race will mean for:
• Your department’s budget (and whether those costs are billed back or just quietly absorbed), and
• Any similar impacts on Fire, Sheriff, or other County crews working the event.
With the fee waiver covering tens of thousands in revenue, I’m just trying to get the full picture of the County’s contribution — the dollars we’re not collecting and the dollars we’re spending.
Thanks for any insight you can share. I appreciate the balancing act you do between big events and the everyday beachgoer.
Law Enforcement Update – FIFA World Cup Security Grant
Crowd manager, Snoop.
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is getting $4.2M in state funds to prepare for 2026 FIFA World Cup security at SoFi Stadium. Santa Clara County gets $2.8M for Levi’s Stadium—apparently they convinced Sacramento their transit headaches are more expensive than ours.
Allowable uses include: Mass transit planning.Public safety staffing (police, fire, emergency management).Crowd management. Cybersecurity.VIP and dignitary protection.
Probably not allowable (but nobody’s checking):Dinner for two in the Marina “to assess yacht traffic.”Front-row Coachella tickets “for crowd control research.”Uber Black to the afterparty… in San Diego.Custom Air Jordans “for faster response times.”
Champagne brunch “with stakeholders Madison and Bryce.”
City of LA — Hot Red Flag Watchlist for Tuesday
$720K “Olympics Corridor” Cash Shuffle (CD 9 – Price) — SB1 road-repair funds rerouted to Avalon/MLK/Gage “Active Transportation” for LA28. Watch the curb-extension/beautification gravy train.
Hollywood & Vine $180M Bond Blast (CD 13 – Soto-Martínez) — Big multifamily housing bonds with zero open-session detail. Public risk, private reward.
Mulholland Drive Giveaway (CD 4 – Raman) — Public right-of-way handed to adjacent owners. $14,980 “investigation” says yes.
Liberty Hill $14.9M Capacity Contract — Measure ULA outreach with soft deliverables and no built-in audit.
PATH Villas $1.55M HHH Overrun (CD 6) — More uncommitted Prop HHH cash to patch cost creep.
Bonus: $44,734.96 in nuisance liens during a housing crisis.
And bright spot of last week? Jerry Yang, Co-MC and high school dynamo — School Site Council chair, ASB secretary, environmental club founder, debate captain, and a member of the Olivia Mitchell Youth Council — drew praise from Nithya Raman as “everywhere” and bound to run the city someday. A Staffer B prodigy in the making.
A Dozen Stories We’re Tracking
McConflict of Interest — Watching Central City developer incentives, especially when the “struggling” tower owners are really just playing tax-break poker.
The Tailor Not Butcher — Correcting the record while calling out media and political dodges — proof we fact-check ourselves even when City Hall won’t.
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s $1.8M Fortnight — Two weeks, nearly $2M in legal bills; textbook case of agencies getting fleeced while settlements pile up.
Covington & Burling’s Top Line Review — $1,000/hour to produce a PDF with no conclusion. Public records malfeasance at Olympic scale.
Rick Cole’s $1,000,000 Hour — The meme that keeps on giving — slot it next to any inflated executive rate or Metro consultancy.
Svengali of the Svengali — Untangling the influence web in Coro, the Garcettisphere, and the WeHo orbit.
If We Can’t Pave Our Streets… — Krekorian’s parting shot: why basic city services matter more than Olympic pomp.
Disney’s Consumer Doing Very Well — Wall Street cheer meets Main Street struggle; the austerity crowd hates this contrast.
Joel Bellman, Zev’s Pravda Emeritus — The perfect credit line when you’re skewering County spin.
How Much is a Sole Source Candy Bar? — A sticky little phrase for procurement shenanigans and sweetheart contracts. Covington crunch?
Big Seismic Ripoff — Inflated retrofit bids and overbuilt “resilience” projects that quake the budget more than the ground.
Bonus for Olympic Members — Sign up now and you’ll also get a “Free Olympic Membership,” redeemable for the right to watch billions vanish in real time while being told it’s “for the city’s legacy.”
(Eric Preven is a Studio City-based television writer-producer, award-winning journalist, and longtime community activist. He is known for his sharp commentary on transparency and accountability in local government. Eric successfully brought and won two landmark open government cases in California, reinforcing the public’s right to know. A regular contributor to CityWatch, he combines investigative insight with grassroots advocacy to shine a light on civic issues across Los Angeles.)
