Results tagged “denniszine”

A Los Angeles city council committee will look into the long-delayed outdoor smoking ban draft ordinance this morning. If approved, it will then move on to the full city council where if passed, the ban will go into affect after a six-month education campaign. Basically, the ban says no smoking--unless you're just walking by--within 10 feet of an established outdoor dining area (think restaurants and cafes with sidewalk dining or outdoor food courts).

World-renown acrobatic entertainers Cirque du Soleil have been dangling a 2011 permanent stay here in Los Angeles for several months now. Talks to have the troupe set up their act at Hollywood & Highland's Kodak Theatre for a ten-year residency at the venue have been in the works for sometime, but now it falls to the City Council to decide if Los Angeles can afford to have them here, according to the Daily News.

It's about time, no? After weeks of rejecting bogus medical marijuana dispensaries, three LA City Councilmembers brought forth a motion to explore a tax on legal medical marijuana sales in the city. “In this current economic crisis, we need to get creative about how we raise funds. A tax on medical marijuana could enable the city to continue providing services we might otherwise have to cut,” said Councilwoman Janice Hahn. Retired LAPD officer and West Valley Councilman Dennis Zine said "Part of becoming a legitimate business in the City of Los Angeles means supporting local government by paying a fair share of municipal taxes.” Councilman Bill Rosendahl also brought forth the measure. A motion for a resolution in support of H.R. 2835, the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, which allows for state law to prevail with regard to medical marijuana use, was also introduced.

Spaying and neutering vouchers for low-income residents are back and it didn't come without controversy. The vouchers were cut a few weeks ago because of citywide budget cuts. Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks had a choice where to cut his budget, unfortunately for him, he chose one of the most hot-button issues. Councilman Dennis Zine, who slammed Animal Services' Ed Boks about blogging last week, has asked for him to step down or be fired. "I think it's time for Mr. Boks to find another place to work," Zine said. "It's been a continuing saga of him and his mismanagement." To that, Boks responds: "I stand ready and willing to meet with Dennis Zine any time, any place to help move the department forward. This has been an open invitation for well over a year."

When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asked Department Heads to cut their budgets, Ed Boks of Animal Services snipped away what many say was the wrong budget line item. The department last week announced that they would no longer be able to offer spay/neuter services vouchers for discounted or complimentary service, despite the fact that just a year ago the City made spaying and neutering mandatory--a law that went into effect last October.

       

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced yesterday that "federal authorities will stop raiding dispensaries in states where medical marijuana is legal," reports the Daily News.

Councilman Dennis Zine's, who created a regional Paparazzi Task Force this summer, has proposed an ordinance to keep paparazzi a modest 20 feet away from schools, hospitals and medical facilities when recording celebrities. Zine defines the prohibition for photographers and videographers taking photos/video for a "'commercial purpose" defined as the expectation of a sale, financial gain, or other remuneration. However, the celebrity or facility can give consent for photographs. But does 20 feet matter? With a long lens or a great zoom function, the product won't change much. What will happen is an easier walk from the door to the curb for the celebs.

It was in July when musician John Mayer, Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Eric Roberts, the Screen Actors Guild and others told their paparazzi horror stories to a regional paparazzi taskforce led by City Councilmember and former LAPD Officer Dennis Zine at City Hall. On Thursday, they will meet again in Malibu.

As Councilman Dennis Zine's paparazzi motion (what we like to call the Britney Spears law) fumbles around in a City Council committee, he's also convening a regional task force on the issue, which will have a public hearing tomorrow morning to "hear testimony from key stakeholders to develop proposals to consider in the legislative process," according to a statement from Zine's office.

The Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council’s “Panel Of Visionaries” led over 300 community leaders in Saturday’s “The Destiny of the West Valley” forum, challenging the community to demand walkable streets, complete and effective mass transit, park-once concepts, circulators and people movers, sustainable infrastructure, green streets, improved property values, reduced utility bills and, quite simply, greatness!

Special Order 40 is a nearly 30-year-old law in Los Angeles that prohibits Los Angeles police officers from asking people about their immigration status. Part of the intent is to get more community cooperation when investigating a crime. Illegal immigrants who witness or know something about a crime would more likely avoid police because of their status without the order.

Hailing the West Valley, Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine appeared on Comedy Central's Daily Show to talk up the Britney Spears law. Be warned, this video is aurally NSFW.

Citing that there are already laws on the books, the LAPD opposed a proposal to make a "personal safety zone" paparazzi law to the Police Commission today. 3rd District Councilman Dennis Zine introduced the idea after the LAPD used $25,000 to transport Britney Spears to UCLA Medical a mere 6 or so miles in order to keep her safe from paparazzi (did you see the video of her leaving UCLA Medical? This is nuts, a must see).

• Hey, who's ready for another strike? The actors might be after the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists voted to split with the Screen Actors Guild, heightening fears that Hollywood may be in for another work stoppage. The last one cost Los Angeles County more than $1 billion. Time to switch from Whole Foods to Trader Joes, actors.
• OK, so the Dodgers lost last night, but the experience was pretty frickin' awesome. If you were not one of the 100 grand lucky enough to attend, read some prose from DodgerThoughts and view some of the sights from what was a very special day and night. But, it wasn't all pretty, the Daily News found.
• Guess who does not like Sam Zell. I'll give you a hint: most people.
• Former Laker, et al, Isaiah Rider was arrested Saturday and released Sunday for driving an allegedly stolen vehicle. This follows a string of arrests for the former basketball star who told courts that his life had spun out of control.
• A mom who stands accused of driving her son and a car full of other gang members to kill a 13-year-old will be tried for murder and could face the death penalty. Police say the mother plotted the attack.
• "There’s a crisis in L.A. city hall," City Councilman Dennis Zine said to LA City Beat about the city's financial deficit. By July 4, Los Angeles could be in a $400 million hole. Better get used to those potholes.
• Shoving matches, tense confrontations and police back-up have characterized a terse and ongoing battle for the state of Texas. First Clinton won the primary, then Obama won the caucus. Now no one is sure who should get all those extra delegates.
  Continue reading "Extra, Extra: A Strike for Hollywood and a Home Run for Los Angeles"

In a quite quickly put-together press conference slated for 2:00 p.m. today at the First Street Steps at City Hall, Councilmen Eric Garcetti and Dennis Zine will be reminding voters that if you're nonpartisan or 'decline to state,' you must mark the box at the top of the ballot if you want to vote for an American Independent or Democratic candidate.

It took the LAPD nearly "two dozen police officers, a helicopter and a special team" to block roads and escort Britney Spears in an ambulance with covered windows from her Mulholland Drive Studio City Home to UCLA Medical Center early yesterday morning. They even had a code name, The Package, for her so paparazzi listening to police scanners would not pick up on it.

Photo by C-Monster via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

Back in November, it was announced that the West Valley would be getting an additional LAPD station in a former sex toy manufacturing plant on Schoenborn Street between Owensmouth and Canoga in Canoga Park. Tentatively called the Northwest Division, it will serve Woodland Hills, West Hills, Canoga Park, and Winnetka when it opens this or next year. Those neighborhoods lay within Council Districts 3 and 12, both represented by LAPD Reserve Officers, Councilman Dennis Zine and Councilman Greig Smith.

Every Monday morning, Rick Orlov of the Daily News and Steve Hymon of the LA Times write their weekly "what's going on at city hall" columns. Orlov brings an interesting story about City Council Member Dennis Zine, who represents the 3rd District in the West Valley. Zine has been given a cease and desist order from Warner Bros. over a lapel pin he has used for years as a political token to supporters. It...

Los Angeles has over 180 official neighborhoods. These are those communities designated with the city sealed blue sign. However, if you tried to figure out your neighborhood and its official boundary, there's a good chance you are going to come upon a) conflicting information b) no information, or c) confusing information. Trust us, we know. We've been digging into official Los Angeles city neighborhoods with our Neighborhood Project and have yet to come upon...

In 2003, the New York City Council voted to oppose the war in Iraq. Two years later, they drew a resolution for the "orderly and rapid withdrawal" of Iraq. Now, three days short of exactly two years after New York, the Los Angeles City Council, in a 12-2 vote, voted yesterday to support pulling out of Iraq.The council said it approved the resolution because it wants the federal government to end the war, which...

Don Duncan of the California Patients Group in Hollywood talks to reporters through the door broken by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) As the Los Angeles City Council placed a moratorium on new facilities so rules could be drafted to better regulate them, federal agents raided 10 local medical marijuana facilities on Wednesday [LA Times]. What follows are pictures from the raid at the California Patients Group in Hollywood....

Today, Councilman Dennis Zine's office announced in a press release a victory for the City in a court case against Frisky Kitty Strip Club, located in Tarzana. Basically, LAMC 12.70, a City of Los Angeles municipal code, prohibits nude dancing within 500 feet of a residential community. Today, the court issued a permanent injunction ordering the owners of the Frisky Kitty to comply with LAMC 12.70 immediately, and imposed $90,000 on the owner of the...

Co-founder of In-N-Out Burger, Esther Snyder, has passed. We salute you with 4x4s and Grilled Cheeses.

As of right now, we are en route to the Aqua Line (usually referred to as Expo Line) running between Downtown and Culver City. But city councilman Bernard Parks doesn't like it. And there are so many more choices: amber, copper, olive, plum, rose, sienna, gray, lemon, lime, pink, purple, salmon, sky, tan, teal and violet. What would you name it?

Chief of Police, William Bratton, has been making headlines after a July 6th KTLA interview where he said that councilmen Dennis Zine (former police sergeant) and Bernard Parks (former Chief of police) didn't "know what the hell they're talking about" when both disagreed with Bratton's loosening of hiring standards when it comes to drug use in the "distant past."

target this - 46 cities will be getting counterterrorism grants in a new round of funding from the Department of Homeland Security. The good news is, we're on the list. The bad news is they're only passing out a total of $270 million.