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ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Tomorrow the Council will likely punt the convention rework. Before they do, a word on the house favorite:
AEG has turned fleecing the public into an art form. They didn’t need a lobbyist—why bother—when the Central City Association happily carried the brief. Nella McOsker cheered the $2.7 billion Convention Center expansion right up until the plug was pulled, but not before AEG and its partner collected more than $50 million in “early work” money. That’s real cash, not Monopoly money, and it stays in their pocket even as City Hall pivots to a cheaper “modernization” plan.
Wheeler dealers, Katy Yaroslavksy (CD5) and Marqueece Harris-Dawson (CD8)
Transient-occupancy tax breaks? Please. The 2018 JW Marriott/Ritz-Carlton subsidy alone was a nine-figure public gift. Add in decades of TOT forgiveness and you start to wonder if downtown’s hotel guests are paying taxes just so AEG doesn’t have to.
The cast of supporting characters is familiar: former councilman Mitch Englander—later convicted in a pay-to-play probe—leapt straight from City Hall to an entertainment firm founded by AEG’s ex-CEO. Call them “big-money pawns” or just call them what they are: insiders who never met a public dollar they couldn’t privatize.
Downtown is struggling with vacant towers and tent encampments, but AEG keeps its grip on the Convention Center, Crypto.com Arena, and the surrounding playground. City leaders talk about “revitalization”; AEG talks about revenue. Different R-words, same outcome: the house always wins.
The City of Los Angeles has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by two brothers who were critically injured in a high-speed LAPD crash in Encino for $18 million. Link. The Council only met for 38 minutes on Wednesday... "was there anything to report out of closed session?"
Will there be a number of self-serving presentations on Friday?
COUNTY BOARDROOM – SEPTEMBER 16, MORNING
The County seal gleams blue above the dais. Supervisor BARGER chairs, flanked by SOLIS, HORVATH, MITCHELL, and HAHN. The CLERK cues the first caller. The gallery is restless but united around rent relief.
CLERK
Caller with the number 818-645, your line is unmuted. Please begin.
SMART SPEAKER (phone)
Thank you for recognizing this. This was, as you recall, a horrible, unnecessary death in the line of duty. Yes, it’s totally appropriate to name the sports complex after Mr. Clinkunbroomer. I support that. And of course I call out to the world to get a grip on shooting people—especially officers in the line of duty—anyone. It’s an outrage beyond belief.
In addition, as a sports-complex aficionado, I would ask that we look to name the Harvard-Westlake River Park something else, because it really is a public asset in Studio City. Horvath knows about it. And Raman. But it has been co-opted by the very, very wealthy private-equity Harvard-Westlakers who are taking over our little putt-putt golf course. Maybe we can name it after a great hero or shero.
BARGER
Thank you for your comment.
SMART SPEAKER
That’s it.
[Applause ripples through the chamber.]
SOLIS
Please, raise the roof.
The clerk moves briskly. A rapid-fire wave of rent-relief callers takes the mic, one after another.
CLERK
Next speaker.
CALLER 1
Families are afraid to leave home for groceries. Pass the rent relief now.
BARGER
Thank you.
CALLER 1
That’s it.
CLERK
Next speaker.
CALLER 2
Every day you delay, another child wakes up wondering if I.C.E. will be at the door. Approve the eviction moratorium.
BARGER
Thank you.
CALLER 2
That’s it—are you kidding me?
[Applause surges from the gallery.]
SOLIS
Please, raise the roof.
Holly J. Mitchell, SD2.
CLERK
Next speaker.
BETHANY
Please pass the Emergency Rent Relief today. Los Angeles should set the example of what a humane government looks like.
BARGER
Thank you.
BETHANY
That’s it.
Another voice comes from the floor—quieter, but urgent.
MOTHER
I am the mother of two children, ages ten and twelve. They are afraid of going to school. They are afraid of being left alone without their parents. We are being arrested by kidnappers. What we are living through is unacceptable. I want you to hear directly from my son.
SOLIS
We’ve seen younger.
BARGER
Go ahead.
CHILD (7)
I’m an artist. I’m seven. They said we got to go.
BARGER
Thank you both.
MOTHER
That’s it—let me remind you, y’all work for the people!
[The chamber breaks into heartfelt applause.]
SOLIS
Please, raise the roof.
Lindsey P. Horvath, SD3.
The clerk signals another familiar voice.
CLERK
Caller 818-645, you’re back on the line.
SMART SPEAKER
I would like to speak on several items and give a general public comment. I will start with the closed session. You have seven closed sessions—interesting. I don’t like that, and today I was trying to comment on the Emergency Rent Relief Program but couldn’t get through.
I understand it’s important to hear from the impacted immigration community and the fire victims, but you said there is a dual crisis. We have homelessness, probation, the sheriff—it is a fiasco. Supervisor Mitchell, hopefully the museum will be open for free. I want the lifeline for the families. I support it.
Two bucket, three category, it is so insider-y, you lost a lot of people. We need to make it a one-page clear statement. And then, of course, as Mitchell learned from MRT, push it out the door. Push. It. Out. The. Door.
As for the seventeen-million-dollar homeland security grant, I don’t know how we choke that down as they are approving a billion dollars for security. They will shovel people to First Amendment zones. I have thoughtful ideas on how to do that with integrity, if that is possible.
Good job on the bungee court—it has been long enough. I want all the supervisors to enjoy this cherished county treasure. As for the library dog-reading program, nobody loves that more than me. If someone could get me the discretionary spending for each of the five districts—it has been a month and a half.
BARGER
Thank you for your comment.
SMART SPEAKER
That’s it.
[The loudest applause of the morning fills the chamber.]
SOLIS
Please, raise the roof.
The Supervisors glance at the clock. Papers shuffle. The gavel hovers.
BARGER
We have to get into closed session.
SOLIS
I’ll take it from here. Thank you to everyone who spoke today—your voices matter.
[She raps the gavel. The public feed fades as the Board heads into closed session, applause echoing against the marble walls.]
CUSTOMER-SERVICE JIU-JITSU (USAA)
Smart Speaker: Vice President, please—$75 in bogus late fees. I want a client courtesy.
Virtual Assistant: Rephrase with fewer words.
Smart Speaker: Have a VP call me. Long-term customer. Unhappy with sneaky fees and hikes.
Virtual Assistant: Rephrase with fewer words.
Smart Speaker: Grievance contact.
Virtual Assistant: Pick a silo: Banking / Insurance / Claims / Investments / Life.
Smart Speaker: Insurance → Billing.
Virtual Assistant: You can pay online. Or… chat/call an agent.
Smart Speaker: Have a VP call me.
Virtual Assistant: We don’t do callbacks. Pick a product.
Smart Speaker: I want a $75 courtesy.
Virtual Assistant (heinous pivot): Okay, cancel your policy? Auto or home?
Smart Speaker: I did not say that.
Virtual Assistant: Which policy would you like to cancel?
Smart Speaker: I do not want to cancel.
Virtual Assistant: Great—contact us to cancel.
Ask for accountability; get a trapdoor to cancellation. If USAA can algorithm a cancellation, it can comp seventy-five bucks.
(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.)
