As reported earlier today, the LA City Council was set to vote and approve rate hikes for the Department of Water and Power over the next four years. Now that all is said and done, the council approved the increases. Rick Orlov of the Daily News blogged updates throughout the meeting with some great talking points: Trust & Transparency (link)Councilwoman Janice Hahn said part of the problem facing the DWP is the lack of public......

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......

Home Depot is suing the city of Los Angeles because they didn't get what they wanted they say Councilwoman Wendy Greuel acted in a biased manner by helping neighborhood groups challenge the project while voting to require an environmental review. Greuel calls shenanigans in an LA Times article: "Is Home Depot and their lawyer suggesting that if a council member supports or opposes a project before it comes to the council, that there is......

The MTA will be testing a new 65-foot-long prototype bus - which can hold up to 131 sitting and standing passengers - on the Orange Line busway for one year starting this week. Nicely done: L.A. City Councilman Richard Alarcon drafted a measure 2 months ago that would've drastically reduced traffic congestion on one block of one street in Panorama City - namely the one where his house is located. Who's down with Gov.......

Although we don't know who's winning the first round of the mayor's race -- which will likely end up with two finalists facing off on May 17 -- we do know that tonight two candidates will be celebrating. The three who don't make the finals may share their sadness with the people who worked hard to make their campaigns come to life. Who's sharing where the parties start? Richard Alarcon: Cha Cha Cha in Encino......

As promised, LAist looks at the other two “major” candidates for office. Walter Moore deserves (and will receive) his own post in due time. Bernard Parks Bernard Parks is indeed St. Bernard, the patron saint of Villaraigosa and Hertzberg. His sole purpose in the race at this point is to draw off votes from Hahn’s black base in order to make Hahn miss the runoff, or if he makes the runoff, to support the......

There's another Mayoral Candidates' Forum today, Thursday, January 13 at 7:30 PM Temple Beth Am 1039 La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles Scheduled to appear: Richard Alarcon, California State Senator Jim Hahn, Mayor, City of Los Angeles Robert M. Hertzberg, California State Assembly Speaker Emeritus Bernard C. Parks, Los Angeles City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles City Councilman......

As noted in LAObserved.com yesterday, the Los Angeles Times published a story this weekend about Los Angeles mayoral candidates wooing various financial backers for support. Candidates are going to need full coffers in order to pay for the heavy TV advertising necessary to compete in this spring's election. Reporter Michael Finnegan wrote: The top contenders for mayor of Los Angeles have jostled for months to make a favorable impression on Eric Bauman. Four have......

Tired of politics? You'd better get your second wind because local politicos descended on City Hall Monday to file the paperwork for the city wide election on March 8th. Should be a noisy fight as 26 incumbents and challengers launch campaigns for Los Angeles mayor, eight City Council seats and a handful of other offices. The Los Angeles Daily Breeze reported "the crowd of [mayoral] hopefuls included Mayor James Hahn and one of his......

The worst kept secret in L.A. is out - Antonio Villaraigosa is running for mayor again. The Times has the scoop. Villaraigosa says that as mayor, his top priorities would be halting gang crime, the economy, and "build[ing] trust in city government." It will be interesting to see if he can credibly act upon the last of these ideas, as cynicism towards government seems to be ascendant in most of American politics. We have to......