Likeohmigod, okay! The Valley is about to be "Occupied." Protesters on the other side of the hill are sick of corporate greed and are going to camp out to show their frustration with the 1% who they say controls our nation's finances. Occupy San Fernando Valley is destined for the Van Nuys Civic Center on Saturday. more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is not the only elected official in the City of Los Angeles who will be ponying up some after-the-fact cash in the form of fines for accepting free tickets to events over the last few years. Now four City Council reps have agreed to pay a combined $13,000 in such fines for accepting free passes to events like awards shows and dinners, according to LA Now. 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 ›

Does the zip code influence how a crime is classified? City Councilman Tony Cardenas says yes, per the Daily News. He said recently: "If there is a dispute in Pacoima or Sylmar, they might call it gang-related. If the same things happens elsewhere in the city, it's just a dispute." This means gang crimes are inflated in certain areas, raising--or maintaining--the public's alarm about a given geographic region. Fellow Councilmember Greig Smith disagrees: "I can assure you, no [LAPD] watch commander wants to see an elevation in gang crimes if they can avoid it." more ›

In downtown Van Nuys there's a parking problem. Luckily, there could be a fix and it doesn't mean building a parking structure. A L.A. city council transportation panel today met and briefly discussed two proposals that could help solve parking around the Van Nuys civic center. Although there metered spaces line the surrounding streets -- often crowded -- two city parking lots do not operate at maximum capacity. One has an average occupancy of 76% while another has a 28% occupancy. more ›

In Monday's marathon-length budget meeting of the L.A. City Council, a horde of motions were submitted and passed. Although one will reduce library hours even more, another could bring a litlte relief to library users. more ›

A resolution to support a ballot initiative that would fully fund state parks, thus protecting them from budget raids that prompt closures, failed to garner support from a L.A. City Council committee (.pdf) yesterday afternoon. At issue for Councilmembers Dennis Zine and Tony Cardenas were the fees associated with the proposal. more ›

When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa last week announced 1,000 layoffs, he ruffled some City Councilmembers' feathers when he added a request for some $40 million in off-budget pet project accounts. While he doesn't have power to force the Council to hand over the money, it was last week's press conference that pushed the issue into the media spotlight. more ›

After banning smoking near outdoor dining areas, the Los Angeles City Council this morning took on the issue of breastfeeding at work. No, there's nothing wrong or illegal about doing it on the job at a desk, but state law does encourage employers to set up a private area so women feel more comfortable. more ›

It was baby Andrew Garcia's baptismal celebration the morning he was shot in the head. Earlier and just a few blocks away, a large party was held for the 4-month-old child. At around 1 a.m. on Sunday on Kittridge Street in Van Nuys, Andrew, his mother and a friend, who is pregnant, were sitting in a parked car outside a friend's house. The friend, 28-year-old Anna Contreras, was feeding Andrew while the father and Eric Ramirez, 18, stood outside. Two young men walking by got into a verbal exchange with them, which escalated with several shot gun rounds fired at the family. more ›

On Saturday morning, a group of animal activists took to the LA Zoo to let patrons know what the city is planning to do with their upcoming elephant exhibit and what the past has held for the elephants. The controversy over Billy, the sole elephant in the zoo, recently came back when City Councilmember Tony Cardenas--at the urging of activists--changed his position on an already under construction $42 million 6-acre pachyderm exhibit. more ›

Already under construction is a 6-acre elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo. But tomorrow, the city council will take up a motion to stop the project. Animal friendly Councilman Tony Cardenas wants the city to develop a 60-acre elephant preserve instead. Joyce Poole, a pachyderm expert, said the zoo's elephant--Billy--is bobbing and swaying his head. "I know that some people believe that elephants do that in the wild, but having observed elephants for many, many years, seeing perhaps 10,000 different individuals ... I have never seen head-bobbing and I have never seen swaying," Poole said. "This type of behavior is pathological. It is a result of being in a confined space." more ›

Known as a friend to the animal community, Valley Councilman Tony Cardenas will propose closing the LA Zoo's elephant exhibit--that is only home to one pachyderm--and open a sanctuary in another part of the city, such as the foothills on the edge of the city. The problem with the current exhibit is space, according to Cardenas, who has changed his mind after he voted for the expansion of the exhibit last Spring. "They want to put as many as 10 elephants there. It's only three acres of roaming space. That is not enough for one elephant, much less 10," Cardenas said, per KNBC. "What people don't realize when they see elephants in a zoo is that they create these foot issues and arthritis that leads to their death." more ›

What? So, Metro is set to vote this week on a mixed-use residential/commercial development that will literally be feet from the Orange Line Sepulveda station in Van Nuys (you know, in that huge parking lot no one uses). "When they first came to me about it, it was supposed to be all residential," Councilman Tony Cardenas, who represents the area, is quoted saying in the Daily News. "Now they are talking about having commercial development." Cardenas also voted against a sales tax increase that could go towards public transit projects such as the "Subway to the Sea." more ›

No one likes the stigma of saying they live in Van Nuys, so they chip away making their own new neighborhoods. To that, Councilman Tony Cardenas, who we admittedly give a hard time to on this site, said something that is right on target about this so called community pride: "If I had that many people show up to a community cleanup or an anti-prostitution night out it would do much more than changing... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

Here's a theme for City Council: they publish e-mail addresses on their websites so the public can contact them, but you e-mail them and get a bounced e-mail in return. You've seen this before. 1. The city's Webmaster (see the LaBonge story link) 2. Councilman Tom LaBonge 3. Councilman Greig Smith The next victim in the city's published e-mail address shenanigans is Councilman Tony Cárdenas, representing Council District 6 in The Valley. "No such recipient."... more ›

Even when you are an dishonest person, a tiny bit of honesty can go a long way. LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo could have avoided a week of scrutiny if he only told the truth a week and a half ago when asked by reporters if his wife was using his city-assigned vehicle when it was damaged and paid for by the taxpayers. Instead, he avoided questions for a simple answer until the LA Times... more ›

10:36 p.m., last night: Daily News publishes a story about 14628 Sylvan Street in Van Nuys -- the oldest house in Van Nuys built in 1911 by William Paul Whitsett (now you know where that street name came from). The article tells how this historic house is threatened by demolition for condos. Preservationists want to save the house. 8:23 a.m., this morning: LACityNerd posts and e-mail blasts the blogLAsphere about the article quoting City... more ›

Oops! CNN puts "Where's Obama" where it should have been "Where's Osama." Wha? You don' know who Obama is? You Should. Need inspiration to bike commute in Los Angeles? Meet Monica Howe. "In an unusual match-up, Los Angeles City Councilman Tony Cardenas will face four challengers, including three candidates from the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council, in the March 6 election." "L-A-X hasn't had a major overhaul since the 1984 Summer Olympics and the Tom... more ›

This March, we will vote again. All even-numbered Los Angeles council districts will be up for grabs. Well... sorta. A few will be running unopposed: CD2: Wendy Greuel CD4: Tom LaBonge CD12: Greig Smith Competition will be found in: CD6: Tony Cardenas CD8: Bernard Parks CD10: Herb Wesson CD14: José Huizar (a story about this race) And since Alex Padilla will resign his seat in CD7 to go to the State Senate, there will... more ›

Maybe you've seen them. They might be congregated like an ominous gang in the shadows of the parking lot at the Jons. Maybe a lone one watches you get off the bus while leaning up against a palm tree. Or perhaps you'll see and old one wading in the LA River, frozen, like if it doesn't move you won't notice it. Shopping carts are loved by small children and the homeless alike, but Van... more ›

Last night was the premiere of Shark on CBS. It takes place in Los Angeles. Problem: The Mayor doesn't have secret service looking agents. He has LAPD when on the job. Question: Why does the Mayor look like Los Angeles city councilman Tony Cardenas (played by Carlos Gómez)? Kudos: For filming on location or faking the County's downtown drab marble interiors quite well. We liked: The Los Angeles natural light. We didn't like: The... more ›