Results tagged “carmentrutanich”

The people of Los Angeles and L.A. County have elected themselves a hot mess. District Attorney Steve Cooley and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich--both elected by the public--believe most all medical marijuana dispensaries are illegal. That's because their interpretation of state law is that marijuana cannot be just sold to those with licenses, but distributed to members of a nonprofit collective of people who carry licenses.

This is local government at its finest, folks. Last year when then-City Countroller Laura Chick tried to audit then-City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, a lawsuit against Chick was brought forth. At issue? Chick wanted to audit the City Attorney's workers compensation program, but Delgadillo balked, throwing a lawsuit in the way. More broadly, the question being asked in the lawsuit, does the elected City Controller have the power to audit another elected official?

And the War of Words over use of taxpayer money for the Michael Jackson memorial continues.... “If going after your money is being a bully, then I’m a bully; I have no problem doing that,” City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said in speech to members of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce at City Hall. “We wasted a lot of dough on the Michael Jackson memorial. We wasted a lot of money."

In response recent promises of strict medical marijuana enforcement from City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and District Attorney Steve Cooley, the Marijuana Policy Project quickly hired an an independent firm to poll L.A. County voters on the issue. No surprises here, 74 percent support the California's medical marijuana law with 54 percent in support of marijuana being legalized for all, just the way Governor Schwarzenegger wants it.

A big fight has been brewing between City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and AEG, which owns L.A. Live in downtown. Earlier this summer, Trutanich came to a city council meetings and announced that there were "civil and criminal aspects" with tax payer money being used for the Michael Jackson Memorial. He was mum in public about said crimes, but AEG President Tim Leiweke alleges the City Attorney has been bullying the company around, according to a big story in the L.A. Times today.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich wants the City Council to pass the latest proposed ordinance aimed at regulating medical marijuana dispensaries (you can read that ordinance in full, embedded below).

The newly proposed ordinance--the fourth to be considered--is reported to be the most strict version yet. "Under the measure, the shops will be open only from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., will be allowed to have only five pounds of marijuana on hand and no more than 100 plants," says the Daily News. "Also, all the marijuana provided must have been grown by the collective." Additionally, locations not following city rules will be forced to shut down immediately. But the proposal is not without potential controversy and lawsuit fodder. Dispensaries would be required to hand over the names of members and providers to police, owners of new locations will have to notify neighborhood councils and the city council, the sale or manufacture of edible marijuana treats will be banned...

Last year, then-City Controller Laura Chick wanted to do a performance audit on then-City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's office. Delgadillo successfully blocked it with a court order, but the fall out over private attorney fees for Chick, totalling $200,000, has lingered. The most recent tentative court ruling was pushed yesterday another month so Greuel and Trutanich can work things out.

A controversial new proposal by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich would give law enforcement the okay to arrest taggers without actually seeing them tag--just the act of "hanging out" together on the street would be enough to haul them in. But those objecting include the ACLU, who call the idea "unquestionably unconstitutional," according to the LA Times. Police, too, aren't sold on the idea, and many other critics wonder if putting more youth into the criminal system--particularly without an actual crime--will do more long-term damage than good, particularly because there aren't enough programs in place to help these kids better their lives.

When City Attorney Carmen Trutanich sat down with the L.A. City Council a couple weeks ago, he said his investigators found both "civil and criminal aspects" in their research that could lead to potential lawsuits. He would not discuss details publicly, but did go into a private session to talk about the civil aspects.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich announced this afternoon in a session of City Council that his investigation into tax payer money being used for the Michael Jackson Memorial has revealed "civil and criminal aspects." He would not speak publicly about details, including a lawsuit's target, but offered to go into closed session about the civil aspects. City Council agreed and went to the back chambers to discuss at 12:30 p.m. As this publishing, they are still in closed session.

"I want to have an aggressive agenda and hit the ground running," said Carmen Trutanich, who will become LA City Attorney on July 1st, to the Daily News. He plans to name a transition team and develop an agenda for his first 100 days in office. Not only that, he's opening his doors to Controller-Elect Wendy Greuel for a department audit, something current City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and former Controller Laura Chick sparred about. "I spoke to (Controller-elect) Wendy Greuel about having her come in to give me a base line on what we need to do. I will follow her with my own auditors to confirm with another set of eyes on what needs to be done."

With 100% of precincts reporting, preliminary results for yesterday's special election are here. It's preliminary because an unknown number of provisional and vote-by-mail ballots still need to be counted. Here's a round up of what happened:

Come July 1st, there will be some new blood in city hall. After a nasty race, Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich tonight won the race for City Attorney, announced the LA Times in a breaking news alert. He faced current 5th District Councilman Jack Weiss. As of midnight, Trutanich had over 55% of the vote with 76% of precincts reporting, according to the LA County Recorder-Registrar/County Clerk. Trutanich had the endorsement of Sheriff Lee Baca, but not LAPD's Chief William Bratton, who he will closely work with on the job.

Other than Prop 1F, all the budget ballot props have failed, according to the Sacramento Bee: "With about a quarter of the state's precincts in as of 9:30 p.m., the Secretary of State's Office reported none of Propositions 1A through 1E were garnering more than 41 percent of the vote. Only Proposition F, which would freeze the salaries of state elected officials in bad budget years, was winning - and it was winning big." Contests for LA City Attorney and the 5th District are still up for grabs. As of 10:30 p.m., Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich is up 3 points over Jack Weiss for City Attorney with 22% of the precincts reporting. In the 5th District, Paul Koretz leads David Vahedi by 5 points. Only 10% of the precincts reporting in that race.

Top Sheriff Lee Baca had endorsed both candidates Jack Weiss and Carmen Trutanich for LA City Attorney, but today he only supports one. “I can no longer remain silent about the reckless disregard for the truth that Jack Weiss has brought to this race," Baca said in a statement distributed by the Trutanich camp. "Mr. Weiss’s latest television commercial is desperate and an insult to the principles of the American legal system, our Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Obviously, Mr. Weiss doesn’t respect the truth or our justice system that guarantees a fair trial for everyone. The radical portrayal in his twisted commercial against Mr. Trutanich undermines public trust for the fairness and integrity required by our courts. The lawyers in the City Attorney’s office need a leader who will honor all facets of the justice system.” Ouch.

The two most contested local battles on the May 19th ballot will be over City Attorney and the seat for Council District 5, which roams from the Westside to the Valley. In the latest reporting period for campaign contributions and expenses, which ended April 4th, the money races are neck and neck, found the LA Times.