Results tagged “alexpadilla”

A new nutritional information and menu labeling law will take effect next Wednesday, forcing many restaurants in the state to provide facts about the food they serve. Split into two phases, the first one next week states that restaurants with 20 or more locations in California must provide brochures at the point of purchase with number of calories, grams of saturated fat, grams of carbohydrates and milligrams of sodium for all standard menu items.

A $1.50 tax increase to packs of cigarettes sold in California was approved today by the state's Senate Health Committee. Yesterday, a legislative budget committee approved the increase, among various other deficit related moves, all supported by Democrats, which Schwarzenegger promises to veto. It's estimate that it would provide $1.2 billion in new revenues. "A statewide poll by David Binder Research in the wake of the May 19th Special Election demonstrates that a strong majority of voters, 74%, support increasing taxes on tobacco," said a release from the bills sponsor, Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima). "Sixty-two percent of those who voted no on the Prop 1A budget measure support." 1998 was the last time packs of cigarettes were increased--back upping it by fifty-cents to the current $0.87 tax. 31 other states have a higher tobacco tax.

A law that would let landlords prohibit smoking in apartment buildings to protect tenants from secondhand smoke passed in the state senate Thursday -- it next goes to the state assembly, reports the LA Times.

There are a few things you can't do in apartments. There are things that you can't do anyway, like drugs, but you also can't break holes in the walls unless you own the place. Well, that's what Jackass star Steve-O did this weekend before his neighbors placed him under citizen's arrest, then turning him over to police, who in turn searched his apartment and found drugs.

This March, we will vote again. All even-numbered Los Angeles council districts will be up for grabs. Well... sorta. A few will be running unopposed: CD2: Wendy Greuel CD4: Tom LaBonge CD12: Greig Smith Competition will be found in: CD6: Tony Cardenas CD8: Bernard Parks CD10: Herb Wesson CD14: José Huizar (a story about this race) And since Alex Padilla will resign his seat in CD7 to go to the State Senate, there will...

Take a deep breath -- the Coalition for Clean Air is having its Always in Fashion fundraiser tonight, Nov. 17. LA's bravest public servants hit the catwalk to model clothing manufactured in an eco-friendly way. Will City Councilman Tom La Bonge be sporting Timberland? Will Council President Alex Padilla be in Patagonia?

The biggest loser in this battle is Mayor Hahn. He coveted having the measure on the ballot for the May runoff, when he could not only use it as part of his campaign, trumpeting drops in crime and the hiring of Chief Bratton simultaneously, but also because of its financial implications: such a ballot measure would facilitate setting up an independent expenditure (IE) committee to support the measure, where normal campaign finance laws don’t apply. With IEs, campaigners can raise an unlimited amount of money from contributors instead of the normal $1,000 limit. In addition, they can send out mailers that support a particular candidate, as long as they’re not connected to the candidate’s campaign. Had this measure gone to the ballot, the Police Protective League (the Police officers’ union), which has endorsed Hahn, would have undoubtedly sent out hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of mailers to support the measure–and Jim’s reelection.

Contrary to popular belief, LA politics isn’t boring, it’s just really poorly covered. That’s somewhat a problem with the structural nature of news coverage. There’s quite a lot actually going on, and quite a lot of really interesting personalities, each with their quirks, closeted (and not-so-closeted) skeletons, and dreams of power. It’s just hard to fit all that into a deadline story without providing background over and over again, so the interesting stuff gets lost in the day-to-day foreground.

Back in April, things looked promising for the proposed 555-acre, mixed-use development known as Las Lomas when a judge blocked the City of Santa Clarita’s attempt to annex unincorporated land in its effort to thwart the controversial development.