Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife, Flora, have pleaded not guilty this morning to re-filed charges of perjury and fraud, stemming from allegations the couple lived outside the district he represents and lied about his address. more ›

District Attorney Steve Cooley filed perjury and fraud charges against City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife Flora Montes de Oca Alarcon today—the exact same charges that a Superior Court judge threw out just hours earlier today. more ›

Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council took steps forward in crafting an aggressive ban on single-use plastic and paper bags. The council's Energy and Environment Committee unanimously passed a recommendation for a three-phase ban that would, if enacted, become "one of the most-far reaching measures in the nation," describes Heal the Bay. more ›

Councilman Richard Alarcon introduced a resolution to support the protesters, and, with the seconding of several other councilmembers, the resolution will be voted on early next week. Additionally, Alarcon has asked Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to issue an Executive Order that will allow the protesters to remain outside City Hall for the duration. more ›

Four Los Angeles City Councilmembers co-introduced a motion today that would transform L.A.’s toxic hotspots into “Green Zones.” The first-in-the-nation initiative would grant the low-income and heavily polluted communities of Pacoima, Boyle Heights and Wilmington access to economic assistance for cleanup efforts. more ›

In a move to perhaps "even the playing field," the Los Angeles City Council this morning directed city staff to create a proposal that would help the restaurant industry compete with food trucks. The report, due back in 30 days, should look at decreasing business taxes for restaurants, but also confusingly requests... more ›

City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife, Flora, have been indicted on charges they did not live at the Panorama City home whose address allowed the councilman to represent District 7. Now, grand jury testimony from a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power employee suggests that if the Alarcons in fact lived there, they were doing so in the dark without doing much washing up, according to the LA Times. more ›

John North at ABC7 this afternoon took a great look at the salaries of Los Angeles City Councilmembers. The question is, with a $179,000 salary and other compensation -- you'll often hear people say this makes them the highest paid councilmembers in the nation -- how can they justify furloughing city employees during this massive budget deficit? more ›

Richard Alarcon says accusations of him not living in his council district -- choosing to live in a nicer home elsewhere -- says it's not true. He's innocent, says the L.A. City Councilmember who is paid $178,789 each year and who sponsored a "foreclosure registry" ordinance that fines banks up to $1000 a day for letting foreclosed properties become blighted. more ›

Supporters of Richard Alarcon made use of the public comment segment of yesterday's City Council meeting to voice their support for the Councilman in the face of legal troubles stemming from allegations he has been residing outside is council district, reports the Daily News. more ›

Though the grand jury indicted District 7 Councilman Richard Alarcon yesterday on 18 felony counts stemming from allegations he does not reside at his given address within his district, Alarcon continues to assert his innocence. more ›

Well, you don't see this every day. Above is the inmate information for Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcon, who was indicted on 18 felony counts yesterday. He and his wife were released on their own recognizance after after the judge turned down the District Attorney's request for them to post a total of $70,000 for bail. According to the report, he was arrested at 2 p.m., booked at 3:43 p.m. and released at 4:15 p.m. more ›

L.A. City Councilmember Richard Alarcon, who has been accused of not living in the area for which he was elected as representative, has been indicted by an L.A. County grand jury on 18 felony charges, according to the Press-Telegram. more ›

Los Angeles City Counciman Richard Alarcon has been the subject of an investigation by the District Attorney's office since the beginning of the year and now six members of his city staff have been ordered to appear before the grand jury, according to the LA Times. Earlier this year, the councilmember was accused of not living within his Northwest Valley district, instead residing at his wife's home in the nearby Council District 2, which is represented by Paul Krekorian. more ›

When the year began, Los Angeles' stock of 83 libraries were open seven days a week. Then budget cuts forced shorter hours, leaving them open six days a week. This week -- once again, thanks to budget cuts -- hours will be shortened to five days a week. more ›

The plan in Congress was to put aside $4 billion for high speed rail in 2011 federal appropriations, but it's been cut by 62%, down to $2.5 billion. Tomorrow, a group of Southern California leaders are coming together to rally for that funding restoration. more ›

If landlords can't raise your rent, by law, then they may not fix up the property, either. more ›

Councilman Richard Alarcon, currently under investigation for not living in his Northeast Valley district, came home last night to find a man in his house. That man apparently was the same one who broke into his house last year, scaring Alarcon to live at his wife's house in a different district for some time, which prompted an anonymous tip to the District Attorney's office about him not living in his district. more ›

Hyperbole or not, Councilman Richard Alarcon was on a tear in today's city council meeting going after city staff (and perhaps himself in a round-a-bout way) for, what he says, was the easy way out of the budget mess: by proposing to layoff 1,000 employees. more ›

As the city explores ways to sell the operation of public parking garages to private companies for 50 years--the city council today unanimously approved a move to further develop these plans--a recent report listing the top debtors reveals that parking operators owe the city close to $100 million in uncollected taxes. more ›

An issue raised years ago has resurfaced once again as neighbors of Councilmember Richard Alarcón say they haven't seen him around in recent months. Such accusations have led to an investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, according to the LA Times. Two search warrants were served earlier this week to homes owned by Alarcon's wife--one within his Council District 7 and another in Council District 2. Both homes are in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. more ›

With filming down, thus affecting the local economy, L.A. Councilmember Richard Alarcon this morning introduced a motion to explore the creation of a film commission. “Los Angeles needs an entity that can promote our city as a premiere filming destination and a Film Commission could do this as well promote the positive impacts of the industry to our communities," he said in a statement. more ›

The Sayre Fire broke out late in the night on November 14th, 2008, and burned for several days in the Northeast San Fernando Valley and into Santa Clarita, ravaging across thousands of acres and destroying nearly 500 homes in the Oakridge Mobile Home Park in Sylmar alone. This community became emblematic of the Sayre Fire; officials like Mayor Villaraigosa and Governor Schwarzenegger addressed the scared residents while speaking to the media, authorities worked diligently to account for all the residents, and many wondered if poor water pressure could have contributed to the high number of homes lost. more ›

Back in April of 2008 we remarked that the announcement of a new overlay area code--a code within an existing code area for use with new numbers when all previous numbers have been assigned--was "not a big deal." Okay, fine, so soon people in the 818 might have to accept a 747 area code, and everyone within the area would have to dial each other using all 10 digits. more ›

Martin J. Gomez was confirmed today as the new City Librarian, charging him with the duty to oversee a $129 million budget, 6 million books and 1,100 employees throughout the 71 branches. The UCLA grad started his 30-year career as branch librarian in San Diego, moving on to head up Oakland's system, then to work in Brooklyn and most recently San Mateo. more ›

All over the Valley (and soon spreading into Hollywood, Westwood and beyond), speed limits are increasing and not because there is a need for better traffic flow. "Because of state law, when local government wants to use radar enforcement, they have to use up- to-date traffic surveys to justify the posted speed limit," Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, who this year introduced a bill to change the law to help protect cyclists and pedestrians, explained at a press conference this afternoon. more ›

Budget cuts recently led to the Los Angeles Animal Services Department announcing they would no longer be able to offer low-cost spay/neuter services, despite the fact that just a year ago the City made spaying and neutering mandatory--a law that went into effect last October. more ›

"I'm very reticent right now to raise any property taxes at this time," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said a press conference yesterday morning when asked about Councilmember Richard Alarcon's "luxury" tax that would tax households at least $1,000 larger than 5,000 square feet. more ›

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The pool at Ritchie Valens Park in Pacoima closed last springs for repairs, which was not exactly good timing for the summer season in a not-so-good neighborhood in a city traditionally known for little recreation space per capita. Councilman Richard Alarcon's office said that "due to the age of the City’s pools, the Department of Recreation and Parks is unable to fully discern the condition of the pool until the Spring when the pools are filled and cracks and leaks can be discovered." The good news today is that the pool re-opens this morning to the public. more ›