In the News
Another Rush to the Ballot: Reimagining LA County
by Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis to place on the November 3rd ballot a measure to amend the County Charter that will direct the County to allocate at least 10% of its “locally generated unrestricted revenues in the general fund”…
What a $12 Billion Tax Increase Means to Angelenos: Vote NO on Prop 15!
LA WATCHDOG--Californians are the highest taxed people in the country.
Do NOT Reward Bad Behavior: Why You Should Vote NO on Prop 15
LA WATCHDOG--Mayor Eric Garcetti and numerous members of the Los Angeles City Council want us to approve the Split Roll by voting yes on Pr…
Will Pay-to-Play Carmel Partners and its Lobbyist Cooperate with the Feds?
LA WATCHDOG--Carmel Partners, a San Francisco based real estate management firm that develops and owns residential real estate, and its 35…
The Dash for Cash to Pay for Trash
LA WATCHDOG--Our cash strapped City is eyeing new sources of revenue to offset the adverse impact of Covid-19 on the City’s seven economica…
Has Los Angeles Become Corruption Capital of US Big Cities? Now It’s Budget Corruption!
LA WATCHDOG--The Mayor and the City Council have once again entered into an arrangement with the politically powerful leaders of the public…
LA City Hall’s Embarrassing Corruption Scandal: Goes Way Beyond Jose Huizar
LA WATCHDOG--On Tuesday morning, the FBI arrested Councilman Jose Huizar on “a federal racketeering charge that alleges he led a criminal e…
Vacancy Tax Vacated
LA WATCHDOG--On Wednesday, the City Council agreed not to place the vacancy tax on the November ballot.
What No One at City Hall Wants to Admit: Los Angeles’ Finances Are in the Toilet
LA WATCHDOG--The short term and long term financial outlook for the City of Los Angeles is only getting worse according to the City’s Preli…
The Vacancy Tax: A Rush to Ballot
LA WATCHDOG--Without any hearings, the City Council voted to ask the City Attorney to draft a ballot measure to place a vacancy tax on the…
LA’s Corrupt City Council: Silence is Deafening
LA WATCHDOG--There are sins of commission where politicians and their bagmen get caught with their hands in the cookie jar. And then there…
Budget Busting Labor Agreements and the Coronavirus Limit the City’s Options
LA WATCHDOG-According to the Los Angeles Times, “Mayor Eric Garcetti pledged that the city would ‘identify $250 million in cuts so we can i…
Huizar, Wesson, Garcetti: Your Chance to do the Right Thing, Resign!
LA WATCHDOG--If a California company and its management were engaged in bribery, money laundering, extortion, mail and wire fraud, obstruct…
Millennium Hollywood: Poster Child for Pay-to-Play Corruption
LA WATCHDOG--One of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Back to Basic tenets was to “increase transparency and civic engagement.”
LA Pay-to-Play Corruption: They All Knew
LA WATCHDOG-Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles City Council were shocked, shocked by the revelation that one of its members, Jose Huiz…
LA Flying Blind: The Pandemic Produces a Placeholder Budget
LA WATCHDOG--Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Proposed Budget that was submitted to the City Council on April 20 was essentially dead on arrival becau…
Budget and Finance Committee Listens, Questions Revenue Assumptions, Makes No Decisions
LA WATCHDOG--The Budget and Finance Committee met on Monday to receive input on the upcoming budget and the impact of the virus on City exp…
If State’s Deficit Exceeds $40 Billion, What About LA?
LA WATCHDOG--Governor Newsom’s advisors announced that the State faces a $54.3 billion deficit through June 30, 2021, of which $13.4 billio…
LA Budget Pain Occurred Before the Virus
LA WATCHDOG--“I always say that budgets are a statement of our values. But this year, it is also a document of our pain.” Mayor Eric Garcet…
Shame on LA! Creating City Budget Behind Closed Doors
LA WATCHDOG--In a memo to All General Managers, Councilman Paul Krekorian, the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, indicated there w…
LA’s Pension Contributions are Ballooning: The Public Has a Right to Know
LA WATCHDOG--The City’s Annual Required Contributions to its two pension funds have increased 56% ($475 million) since Eric Garcetti was el…
Garcetti: What He Says v. What He Budgets
LA WATCHDOG--Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Eric Garcetti have prioritized the lives of Californians and Angelenos over the premature open…
LA Controller, LA Mayor Disagree on Proposed City Budget
LA WATCHDOG--The Mayor’s Proposed Budget anticipates General Fund revenues of almost $6.7 billion, an increase of $118 million (1.8%) from…
Garcetti’s Legacy … The Good and the Not So Good
LA WATCHDOG--Over the last month, Mayor Eric Garcetti has done an excellent job of communicating with Angelenos about the Virus and what we…
Labor Agreements and the Virus Playing Havoc with LA’s Budget
LA WATCHDOG--“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.” Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaw…
Will We Allow City Hall to Increase Our Taxes?
LA WATCHDOG--Rumors emanating from City Hall suggest that Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Council are considering a tax increase to finance th…
The LA Corruption-Buck Stops with Garcetti, Wesson, and Martinez
LA WATCHDOG--One day, hopefully, sooner or later, we’ll knock down the new coronavirus that’s got people rattled. But there is no vaccine…
Will Mitch Englander Sing?
LA WATCHDOG-On Friday, former LA City Councilman Mitchell Englander “agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge stemming from his…
LA Must Take Drastic Action Now to Solve Its Impending Budget Busting Mistakes
LA WATCHDOG--Mayor Eric Garcetti will submit his Proposed Budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2020 to the City Council on or be…
Who’s Next?
LA WATCHDOG--In November of 2018, the FBI and IRS raided the offices and house of Jose Huizar in connection with its investigation of pay-t…
