Photo by karynsig via Flickr This month at LAist, we've been covering breakfast in our Wake Up LA series helping you explore new morning nosh options. On Saturday, there's a one-time breakfast event that we highly encourage you to attend -- one that continues the spirit of giving that exemplifies a man who gave his life for the people of this city. In honor of fallen LAPD SWAT member Randall Simmons, from 7:00 to......

So, you remember when the City had an issue knowing who the mayor of LA was back in November? Well, it appears there are still remnants of the Jim Hahn term of office on the LA City Website. As if the other issues affecting the Mayor's office aren't enough, now Villariagosa has a website that still has images of his predecessor (literally) floating around. As you can see in this screenshot, behind the "ONE" is......

Geurdon Stuckey, head of the LA Department of Animal Services, was handed his walking papers by Mayor Villaraigosa this week. A bureaucrat with no experience in animal services, he'd been appointed by Mayor Hahn over the objections of a broad coalition of animal rights activists. The department runs animal shelters across the county, mobile spay/neuter pet clinics, adoption events, and animal control. Stuckey wasn't able to lower animal euthenasia rates and couldn't please anybody,......

Despite what the Daily News is calling community outrage, Mayor Villaraigosa will wait out the LAPD investigation of the Sunday evening shootout before making a comment about the conduct of the police. He and Chief Bratton both agree that it was Raul Peña who was most responsible for the tragic outcome to Sunday's standoff. Its very interesting to see what our local papers and a paper up north find important. While the Los Angeles......

The negative TV ads have been coming in fast and furious as the two mayoral candidates fight to win the top slot today. Our favorite so far have been the ads from the California Teachers Association supporting Antonio Villaraigosa by depicting a man's back as he runs through the woods dodging the beam of a flashlight as a voice over says "Been looking for Mayor Hahn? So have the 740,000 students in our Los Angeles......

Mayor Hahn and his opponent, Antonio Villaraigosa, are all over the city today trying to excite voters for tomorrow's election. Well, maybe Hahn is trying to convince people to stay home. Villaraigosa's lead is probably much less so if there is low voter turnout. The challenger needs to energize the masses while the incumbent should be confusing and annoying enough of the populace that they throw up their hands in disgust at our electoral......

With Bob Hertzberg conceding the race this morning, the May 17th election will now be between Antonio Villaraigosa and Mayor Hahn a rematch of the 2001 runoff. The real story might be the low voter turnout, though, which blogging.la is reporting as 24% of registered voters. Yikes. For much more comprehensive coverage, LA Observed and West LA Online are doing the job.......

As predicted in earlier columns, Mayor Jim Hahn and former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg are in a struggle to the death for 2nd place in the runoff, as the new Times Poll shows. Hertzberg has surged into a virtual tie with Hahn around 20%, and Villaraigosa holds a slim lead at 24%. Huggy Hertzberg has taken the first shot of the final week, calling for the resignation of several commissioners who also happen to......

In a remarkable setback for the Mayor, yesterday the Council rejected the proposed half-cent sales tax increase for more cops for the May ballot. Needing 2/3 of the Council vote, the measure passed 9-6, falling short by one vote. Councilmembers Villaraigosa, Parks, and Weiss voted against it from the “Anything The Mayor Wants is a Bad Idea” camp. From the “Any New Taxes Are Bad Because We’re From the West Valley” group came Councilmen......

We're all cops all the time this morning as the shooting of 13-year-old Devin Brown continues to be the main focus of the city. Both The Daily News and the Los Angeles Times (and a host of other news outlets) cover the press conference from yesterday that gave the LAPD's detailed version of events. Troy Anderson of The Daily News focuses on the FBI joining the case (while burying the fact that the FBI......

Yesterday, Kevin Roderick's LAObserved.com noted Mayor Hahn’s new chutzpah-laden proposal to increase Neighborhood Council budgets from $50,000 to $150,000, with that additional $100,000 being directed towards street repavements and improvements. Why is this a bad thing, you say? Why shouldn’t Neighborhood Councils have local control of what gets repaved? A chicken in every pot, a car in every garage, and no potholes on your streets, thanks to Jim Hahn! We'll tell you why this......

The Daily Bruin ledes with a story with no pictures but a warning: Do Not Use Any Water for Drinking! The entire campus and much of West LA is without drinkable tap water after a pipe burst near the university yesterday. While UCLA covers all the precautions being taken to protect its students, the Los Angeles Times notes that it's going to be hard to get breakfast this morning as bagel joints, doughnut stores......

Last week's tragic loss of life on the Metrolink system has, perhaps inevitably, led to a discussion of whether the cost/benefit ratio of LA's commuter train service justifies the huge taxpayer subsidies needed to keep the trains rolling. Approximately 40,000 riders board Metrolink trains on any given day, but the rail line, like almost all transit systems, comes nowhere close to paying for itself. As the Los Angeles Daily News reports: "The average fare......

The big local story this morning is happening right now as two metrolink trains derailed in Glendale this morning. The Times reports that three are dead but according to a fire department spokesman on KTTV's Good Day LA there are now four fatalities. As of this writing, those injured on the trains have not been cleared to leave. If you are concerned that a relative was on one of the trains, you can contact......

The Academy Award Nominations were announced this morning and with it brought a special gift: a free peek into Calendar Live for the article. It's been so long since we've actually seen the news website, we'd forgotten what it looked like. Apparently they have a section called The Envelope which covers all the entertainment industry awards ceremonies. Free Calendar Live! Free Calendar Live! The Times seems to have the LAPD on the brain this......

Angelenos are keenly aware of the city's major quality of life problems. We also know they're not getting any better. Despite such issues, migrants have continued to choose LA as their destination for decades. But according to a new report issued for the Center for Economic Development and Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, the region’s virtual magnetic pull might begin to wane -- and not for the better -- should we continue in the......

Parking just got a lot easier in Los Angeles -- well, for the people who own hybrid vehicles, at least. Starting today, the city of LA begins a pilot program allowing hybrid owners to park at all city meters free of charge. Parking enforcement officers have been trained to recognize the fuel-efficient, environment-friendly cars and not write tickets when their meters blink red. The catch is that even hybrids are still subject to time......

The RAND Corporation has produced a new study of Mayor James Hahn's proposal to expand and realign LAX, and they have concluded that the $9 billion plan will do little to enhance the security of the airport. Besides spelling out several chilling terrorist attack scenarios, the study finds that the most effective method of preventing a devasting attack on the airport is to limit the concentration of passengers in any one place. However, creating......

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) issues fascinate LAist. Created by a City Charter amendment, neighborhood councils have been established by Mayor Hahn as a cornerstone of his administration—but it's been slow going in some districts. Four out of about 81 neighborhood councils have yet to hold initial elections for a Board of Directors. The reasons behind these tardy elections are as diverse and unique as the neighborhoods themselves. For instance, the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood......

City Controller Laura Chick has retracted her endorsement of Mayor Hahn. She says she has "lost confidence in his ability to lead the city." This answers the question posed by Kevin Roderick in April: "[W]hen will Chick officially renege on her endorsement of Hahn -- now or later?" Chick led recent efforts to investigate accusations of "pay-to-play" government in the Hahn administration. She was a member of the City Council before she became Controller. BoiFromTroy,......

Along with many of our local lawmakers, the Hahn-Villaraigosa rivalry has been transported to Boston this week. Both the Los Angeles mayoral gig and convention stage time are highly sought-after, and so far Villaraigosa is in the lead � by one minute. (LAist previously discussed the attention given to L.A. mayoral wannabes at the DNC.) Villaraigosa�s connections to presidential hopeful John Kerry and his position as co-chairman of the Democratic Party platform committee nabbed Antonio......

These things come in threes... - The New York Daily News gossip page lets us know that The Sopranos' final season will not air in 2005. - Carb-stigma victim International House of Pancakes to close more locations. - Mayor Hahn sides with land developers against Ed Reyes' bid for "inclusionary zoning" and cheap housing. We discussed this plan in June.......

Why can't we get more funny and sharp long-form commentary on city politics? That's exactly what Marc Haefele provides in the latest L.A. Alternative Press with his essay on recent media flame-ups and Mayor Hahn's reelection. Some of these lines had LAist howling: So why did Bill Bratton meet with the Reverend? Probably for the same reason New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly would meet with former L.A. City Councilman Nate Holden whenever the......

Rick Orlov, the Dean of City Hall reporters, levels with Mayor Hahn in his Daily News column. His message? Between the nascent police scandals, political controversies, and a tough field of rivals, it looks as if Jimmy's got a tough row to hoe. Orlov outlines the substance of Hahn's political peril: ...he alienated two of his key areas of support. He forced Parks out as chief, angering many in the African-American community, and he lost......

Will he or won't he? City Hall watchers are breathlessly waiting for Councilmember Antonio Villaraigosa to electrify the race for Mayor by entering the ring for a rematch with Mayor Hahn. The Times reports he's getting close. Local media aficionado Kevin Roderick chimes in at L.A. Observed, noting Antonio's hints that his decision would come soon (in between flashes of his trademark smile). Over at Change L.A., Bob Hertzberg continues to enjoy financial success......

In response to a request by Mayor Hahn, LAX is looking to perform background checks on all bus, van, and limo drivers who regularly work the run to the airport. Hahn asked airport officials to start making the checks after a similar piece of city-sponsored state legislation (that also covered railroad terminals) failed to pass. It seems more than a little disturbing that the folks in Sacramento don't see LAX security as a major priority......