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 11:00 a.m. at the LAPD & LAFD Recruitment Expo, a ten-dollar pancake breakfast will provide direct help to his family and support the recovery of Officer Veenstra, who was injured during the gun battle two weeks ago today. more ›

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... more ›

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, from the animal services Board of Commissioners to mainstream rescue organizations to the extreme Animal Liberation Front, which smokebombed his downtown apartment in September. Stuckey will be replaced by Ed Boks, the outgoing head of New York City Animal Care and Control, who has been recieved with universal enthusiasm (well, nothing yet from the Animal Liberation Front). more ›

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 Times focused on the press conferences yesterday and recreating the crime with fancy graphics (which we found very helpful), the Daily News talked with family and friends of Susie Lopez and Raul Peña and found out that he was commended by then Mayor Hahn in 2002 for saving a life. The San Francisco Chronicle notes that this is only the 2nd time in 4000 cases that a hostage lost their life in a SWAT operation. Most jarring detail of the case? That the child was shot in the head. more ›

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 schools." more ›

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 process. LA Observed has their full schedules. more ›

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. more ›

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 lead unions which are supporting Hahn, and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars through Independent Expenditure Commitees. LAist agrees with Mayor Sam blogger Chief Parker that Huggy is right to attack these ridiculous appointments. The Mayor makes these appointments entirely at his own discretion. Isn’t this “pay-to-play” of the worst sort, especially since there’s a ban on Commissioner fundraising? Commissioners can’t fundraise, but they can spend hundreds of thousands through IEs? Shame on you, Mayor Hahn. more ›

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. more ›

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 investigation is at Chief Bratton's request); The Times gives a more measured account of what was said and gives an extended profile of who Devin Brown was. more ›

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. more ›

The Daily News fronts the district attorney's decision not to file criminal charges against officer John Hatfield in the alleged beating of Stanley Miller. The decision has raised tensions between black leaders and the police and also has Mayor Hahn upset. Miller, a car theft suspect whose high speed chase and subsequent running from the police was watched live on local tv news, was allegedly hit 11 times with a flashlight. Despite Mayor Hahn invoking his name, Chief Bratton said, "We are keeping the process pure and keeping the process free from political, community and media pressure." more ›

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. more ›

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 Glendale Fire Department. Coincidentally, the Times runs another story this morning about metrolink re-opening its route from west Ventura county to Los Angeles. It had been closed since the big storm. more ›

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! more ›

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 direction we're headed. more ›

We can thank Mayor Hahn and Councilmember Eric Garcetti for this one. It's nice to know that while our Governor is tooling around in his Hummer, at least our local officials care about setting a good example. more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›

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, back from his stint at Wonkette, comments here. more ›

When the pomp back East is over, Mayor Hahn (along with the throng of challengers eager to unseat him) can resume the usual political bustle in advance of next year's race. more ›

- The New York Daily News gossip page lets us know that The Sopranos' final season will not air in 2005. more ›

Some of these lines had LAist howling: more ›

Perhaps in response to concerns about his leadership abilities, Hahn's office released a plan Tuesday to combat congestion at 25 of L.A.'s problem intersections. Check out the infobox: a plurality of the improvements go to the Valley. In response, Hertzberg's campaign manager took a shot at Hahn's ideas, saying they're "like cutting grass one blade at a time." With this apt suburban metaphor, let the battle for the Valley begin! more ›

Over at Change L.A., Bob Hertzberg continues to enjoy financial success as his Palm Tree-o-Meter inches toward its initial goal of $1 million in online fundraising. Don't count this guy out. Can't Bernard Parks find a techie or two to set up a similar money-grabbing mechanism? (The current one isn't going to cut it, Chief.) more ›

It seems more than a little disturbing that the folks in Sacramento don't see LAX security as a major priority - it's the component of the city (and of the entire state, really) most likely to be hit by an act of catastrophic terrorism. Keeping in mind that these checks won't be any kind of cure-all, and that the feeling of false security is more perilous than security, background checks sound like a good first step for taking on the currently porous state of LAX protection. With the entire city lambasting Mayor Hahn for his "sleepy" governing style, LAist is going to give him a hat-tip here for taking action while Sacramento snoozes. more ›