Schedule for Council Adoption of Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Plan

The following is the schedule to consider the maps and reports to be submitted by the redistricting commission, which has been working to re-draw the 15 Los Angeles City Council Districts.

March 2, 2012: Initial Hearing in the Rules Committee, LA City Hall, 200 N. Spring St. Room 1060, LA, CA 90012 – 8:30 AM (room subject to change)

March 5, 2012: Public Hearing in San Pedro – Harbor Commission Board Room, Port of Los Angeles Administration Building, 425 S. Palos Verdes Street San Pedro, CA 90731 – 4:00 PM

March 6, 2012: Public Hearing in Van Nuys – Van Nuys Council Chambers, Van Nuys City Hall, 14410 Sylvan Street Van Nuys, CA 91401 – 4:00 PM

March 7, 2012: Public Hearing in Downtown Los Angeles – LA City Hall, John Ferraro Council Chambers, 200 N. Spring Street, room 340, Los Angeles, CA 90012 – 4:00 PM

March 8, 2012: Deadline for Council Members to submit proposed revisions.

March 16, 2012: Final Hearing in Rules Committee, LA City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Room 1060, Los Angeles, CA 90012 – 8:30AM (room subject to change)

March 16, 2012: Final City Council Consideration, LA City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, John Ferraro Council Chambers, room 340, Los Angeles, CA 90012

This review process includes an opportunity for Councilmembers to propose revisions to the maps submitted by the redistricting commission. As noted above, the deadline for submitting those changes is March 8, 2012, which will allow staff to complete any technical analysis of proposed revisions before final Council consideration.

Expeditious adoption of any district changes is necessary to allow the City Attorney and Bureau of Engineering to prepare the final technical documents and ordinances necessary to implement any adopted changes in a timely manner.

Dedicating Lankershim and Moorpark as "Bob and Dolores Hope Square"

(from left) Monsignor Robert Gallagher of St. Charles Borromeo Church, Councilman Tom LaBonge, Linda Hope, Linda's son Andrew Lande and Burbank Mayor Jess Talamantes.

Councilman Tom LaBonge was joined by Linda Hope -- the daughter of Bob and Dolores Hope -- to unveil a sign marking the intersection of Lankershim Boulevard and Moorpark Street as "Bob and Dolores Hope Square" on Monday February 27th. The event took place in front of St. Charles Borromeo Church and Monsignor Robert Gallagher delivered the invocation, and provided the refreshments at a reception following at the church service center that Dolores Hope provided the funds to build. The Hopes were married at the Church and Dolores Hope's Memorial Service was held in a smaller chapel adjacent to the church. The St. Charles Childrens Choir performed a few selections, including "America the Beautiful". Burbank Mayor Jess Talamantes was there, as were about 30 community members from Toluca Lake, including Toluca Lake Homeowners Association President Peter Hartz. LAPD North Hollywood Station Senior Lead Officer Rob Benavidez was there, along with Los Angeles City Firefighters from local fire stations 86 and 60 and their Battalion Chief Peter Benesch. Even Linda Hope's son Andrew Lande showed up to enjoy the festivities.

Councilman LaBonge said, "Bob and Dolores Hope were great entertainers and great people. They're together in heaven now, but they're immortalized with a square here at Lankershim and Moorpark in our own slice of heaven -- Toluca Lake."

click here to see more photos of the event

"Friendship Grove" dedication in Griffith Park

from left: Ernest Hida of the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister Cities Affiliation, Dan Berry, nursery manager from the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, Leon from Rec and Parks Forestry Division and Tom LaBonge

Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge on Thursday dedicated a “Friendship Grove” of Flowering Cherry Trees in Griffith Park. The grove of ten trees was a gift to the City of Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation, which were donated by Huntington Library Art Collections & Botanical Garden in collaboration with the Office of the Consulate General in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles and Nagoya, Japan have been Sister Cities since March 1959, not long after then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the Sister Cities Program with the idea of building “people-to-people” relationships, global cooperation, cultural understanding and economic stimulation among cities worldwide. This “Friendship Grove” of Flowering Cherry Trees in Griffith Park symbolizes the enduring friendship and strong ties between the City of Los Angeles and its first Sister City, Nagoya. It also commemorates the Centennial Anniversary of the gift of thousands of flowering cherry trees from Japan to the United States in 1912. The annual flowering of those cherry trees in our nation’s capitol is celebrated each spring during the Cherry Blossom Festival. With that in mind, Councilmember LaBonge wanted to mark the 100th anniversary of that special gift of trees, symbolizing the beauty of nature and the roots of enduring international friendship, while acknowledging the gracious gift from the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation. “This “Friendship Grove” of Flowering Cherry Trees will remind us of that special relationship when they cast cooling shade on park-goers and shower us with their delicate petals,” said Councilmember LaBonge. “When you plant a tree, you look to the future, while honoring those who’ve gone before us.” Click here to see more photos of the event

City Council Committees

The first in a series of informational posts about Los Angeles City Council Committees: what they do and how. We'll start with Trade, Commerce and Tourism, of which Councilmember LaBonge is the Chairman. The Committee has purview over Los Angeles World Airports, the Port of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Convention Center. TCT Committee, as it's known, deals with matters involving free trade zones, fees, rates, property, leases, tariffs and contracts. It also conducts or reviews audits, bond-issues or other financing mechanisms and oversees LA, Inc., the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission and the marketing and branding of Los Angeles.

Dedicating the new Sister Cities Signpost at the Los Angeles Convention Center

Councilman LaBonge was joined by several Consuls General representing nations with which Los Angeles shares a Sister City relationship at a special dedication ceremony of the new Sister Cities Signpost at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 27th before the Los Angeles Times Travel Show. The Councilman also welcomed representatives from Sister Cities of Los Angeles Incorporated. Los Angeles has 24 official Sister Cities, which include Aukland, New Zealand; Berlin, Germany; Beirut, Lebanon, Bordeaux, France; Busan, South Korea; Eilat, Israel; Giza, Egypt; Guangzhou, China; Ischia, Italy; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kaunas, Lithuania; Lusaka, Zambia; Makati, Philippines; Mexico City, Mexico; Mumbai, India; Nagoya, Japan; Salvador, Brazil; San Salvador, El Salvador; Split, Croatia; St. Petersburg, Russia; Taipei, Taiwan; Vancouver, Canada; Yerevan, Armenia. There is already a Sister Cities Signpost at the northeast corner of 1st and Main Streets across from Los Angeles City Hall. This new signpost welcomes the world to the Los Angeles Convention Center for years to come. Councilman LaBonge serves as Chairman of Sister Cities of Los Angeles Incorporated.

Click here to see more photos of the event

Hooray for Hollywood on its 125th Birthday

Councilman LaBonge, Jimmy Kimmel and Councilman Eric Garcetti pose next to Hollywood's 125th Birthday cake.

Councilman LaBonge helped blow-out-the-candles on Hollywood's Birthday cake on Tinsel Town's 125th Birthday bash at Hollywood and Highland on February 1st. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce organized the fete to mark the occasion, with Councilmembers LaBonge and Garcetti, various members of the Chamber Board of Directors, including Marty Shelton and Leron Gubler, and Late-Night Talk-Show host Jimmy Kimmel, who does his ABC show on the Walk of Fame. The birthday cake was created by celebrity chef -- "Ace of Cakes" Duff Goldman. A flash-mob of dancers kicked-off the festivities, which included memorabilia and vintage photos from the Hollywood Historical Society.

Click here to see more photos of the event

Honoring the Anniversary of the "Sig-Alert"

Councilman LaBonge holds a photo of him and Loyd C. "Sig" Sigmon at the anniversary ceremony for the Sigalert at the Caltrans Building in downtown Los Angeles.

– Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge marked the anniversary of the first broadcast of what we now know as a “SigAlert” on January 23, 2012. The term has a special place in the lexicon of southern California life. It’s become symbolic of the Los Angeles car-culture and the resulting congestion and difficulty getting around the five county southern California area and its interdependent freeway circuitry. The SigAlert has become a staple of radio and television traffic reporting, issued by the California Highway Patrol when an unforeseen incident causes the closure of at least one lane of traffic for a half hour or more. In the early 1950’s, more and more vehicles were flooding LA’s freeways, causing traffic tie-ups. Radio stations began doing traffic reports. 710AM KMPC was one such station. But Gene Autry’s Golden West Broadcasters station had an advantage in Executive Vice President Loyd C. Sigmon, a former communications expert in the US Army Signal Corps during World War II. Sigmon – or “Sig” as he was known – developed a specialized radio receiver and reel-to-reel tape recorder based on technology used to monitor German radio broadcasts.
In Los Angeles, Sigmon set-up a system that enabled police dispatchers to transmit an inaudible radio tone. That tone could trigger special SigAlert receivers in local radio stations, which would record the dispatchers emergency bulletin, flash a red-light and sound a buzzer to alert the radio station engineer. The engineer could then simply press a button to broadcast the “SigAlert”. The first “SigAlert” was broadcast on January 22nd, 1955. Sigmon told the LA Times that “SigAlerts” were such attention-grabbers that a lot of companies wanted to sponsor them; but that KMPC had a strict policy against that. Then-LAPD Chief William Parker approved the program, but told KMPC that they must make it available to all Los Angeles radio stations … but Chief Parker is said to have coined the phrase when he reportedly said, “We’re going to name this damn thing SigAlert.” And so they did. By Labor Day of 1955, six radio stations broadcast the first SigAlert for a train-wreck at Union Station. Ironically, the broadcast caused a traffic-jam, as so many doctors and nurses responded to the LAPD’s call for medical help.
The term “SigAlert” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary several years ago. Loyd “Sig” Sigmon died in 2004 at the age of 95. Click here to see more photos of the event

And the Inaugural Made In Hollywood Award goes to ... "The Artist"

Councilman LaBonge presents the Made In Hollywood Award to the Cast and Crew and Producers of "The Artist", including Academy Award-nominated Director Michel Hazanavicius and Lead Actor Jean DuJardin.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge presented the Cast and Crew of the Academy-Award Best Picture nominated “The Artist” with the first-ever “Made in Hollywood” Award on January 31st, 2012. The film has been honored by the Golden Globes, the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild. And, this past weekend, Jean Dujardin won the SAG-award for Best Actor for his starring role in “The Artist”, while Director Michel Hazanavicius was honored as Film Director of 2011 by the Directors Guild of America. Ironically, “The Artist” -- produced and financed primarily from France -- is the only one of the nine Best Picture Oscar-nominees that was shot exclusively in Los Angeles and Hollywood. Local locations for the film include the Orpheum Theater, the American Film Institute, Cicada Restaurant, the Bradbury Building, the Wilshire Ebell Building and the Paramount and Warner Brothers back-lots, among other recognizable Los Angeles landmarks. “We want to recognize and honor productions that are made right here in the cradle of the movie business … Hollywood,” said Councilman LaBonge. “Every movie shot here in Los Angeles brings jobs and revenue to our city, utilizing the best film professionals in the world – from the grips to the caterers, actors to post-production houses.” Councilman LaBonge says he'd like to make the "Made In Hollywood" Award an annual, presented in the run-up to the Academy Awards to the Best Picture nominee or other notable feature film that is filmed exclusively in Los Angeles. The Councilman and his staff are working on declaring February 3rd, 2012 as "The Artist" Day in the City of Los Angeles. Click to see more photos of the event