By City News Service
May 12, 2021
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Los Angeles Councilman Curren Price today introduced a motion to explore allocating a portion of the city s Cannabis Business Tax to fund programs in communities disproportionately hit by marijuana prohibition. In an effort to decrease disparities in life outcomes for marginalized communities, and to address the disproportionate impacts of communities harmed by the decades of criminalization of cannabis, the city should explore establishing a similar policy (to) the states of Illinois and New York, and dedicate a portion of its cannabis tax revenue to be reinvested into these communities, the motion reads.
LA City Council votes to develop voluntary approach to homeless encampment cleanups
By CNS Author article
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to develop a more voluntary, service-based approach to replace the city s mandatory cleanups of homeless encampments.
The motion authored by Nithya Raman and Mike Bonin calls for the Bureau of Sanitation, in consultation with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, to develop standards for street engagement and hygiene services with a preference for voluntary compliance whenever possible.
The enhanced hygiene and sanitation services would:
occur on a regular schedule;
offer services including trash and bulky item pick-ups;
EASTSIDER-I think the headline says it all. Recently, there are signs the LA City Council may be headed in the right direction, but it’s on a small scale and the question is whether the developers who own the Council can allow a good thing to thrive.
The Issue
“As part of his far-reaching plan to combat homelessness in Los Angeles, CD 14 Councilmember Kevin de León recently filed a motion that could bring small, prefabricated housing units to two locations in Northeast LA. One location, in Eagle Rock, is the city-owned parking lot at 7541 N. Figueroa Street next to the on/off ramps of the 134 Freeway.”
Charter Amendment B: Shall the City Charter be amended to allow the City to establish a municipal financial institution or bank?
In November of 2018, 56% of the voters rejected Charter Amendment B despite the endorsement of Mayor Eric Garcetti and twelve members of the City Council. But the voters made the right choice because according to the Los Angeles Times,
“Charter Amendment B is one of the most ill-conceived, half-baked ballot measures to come out of City Hall in years, and that’s saying something.”
Nevertheless, the proponents of the Bank of Los Angeles (including Councilmembers Bonin, Raman, Rodriguez, and de Leon) are once again proposing to establish a municipally owned bank. And this time they are claiming that voter approval is not necessary according to a memorandum prepared by the Kaufman Legal Group, the consigliere for many of our local politicians. Of course, this runs contrary to a promise by former City Council President Herb Wesson and
In order to do so, the City Council should seek information from the grocery stores and their executive management to better understand their actions and inform the City Council on ways that might protect the city and its residents from the consequences of these types of closures.
Kroger Co. announced on March 10 that it will close a Food4Less at 5420 W. Sunset Blvd., and two Ralphs stores, one at 9616 W. Pico Blvd. and the other at 3300 W. Slauson Ave., on May 15. Kroger said that the three stores are underperforming.
In the motion, Koretz and Harris-Dawson noted that Kroger officials said the closures had been long planned prior to the passing of the ordinance, adding claims that these stores were losing millions of dollars per year.