Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Wednesday-Special Land Use Edition

Kids, always remember; mixing Big Rigs and Open Space is a guaranteed recipe for a lawsuit!

Councilman Krekorian is scoring major points with the Foothills area of CD2 in recent days. First he was able to get unanimous approval by the City Council to allocate $250,000 of AB1290 funds to refurbish the McGroarty Arts Center in Tujunga. Later today, he will address the Prop O Citizens Oversight Advisory Committee with regards to the Verdugo Hills Golf Course. Proposition O, which was passed by City of Los Angeles voters in 2004, is designed to fund water projects that protect water quality, clean up pollution in the city's waterways, beaches and the ocean, and to help the city meet requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act.
If he is able to obtain funding to purchase the site, the VHGC could remain the beloved golf course and beautiful open space that it currently is, while at the same time serving as a natural aquifer recharge facility.  The VHGC is currently slated to be demolished and replaced with 229 town homes. That proposal to demolish the VHGC and build dense housing has been fought against by just about every group and resident in the surrounding communities for over 5 years.

The LA City Council has approved a 25 year lease in Little Tokyo for the construction of a 38,000 sq ft sports complex to be named the "Budokan". With 4 basketball courts, a rooftop track and martial arts facilities, the Budokan will fulfill a decades long effort by Little Tokyo to bring a first class sports facility to the area.

In case you haven't heard, Councilman Richard Alarcon's effort to transform designated Open Space at the former Lopez Canyon landfill into a truck driving school has ran up against a Superior Court judge who has zero tolerance for a City Attorney and a Zoning Administrator that put politics and job security over the requirements of CEQA.

An absolutely fascinating report entitled "Portrait of California" has just been released by the American Human Development Project. This report examines the human condition in California's metro areas utilizing something called the Human Development Index, a composite measure of health, education, and standard of living. Spoiler Alert: Riverside-San Bernardino; you suck!

At post time:
Bennett Kayser 50.97%
Luis Sanchez 49.03%

Lydia Gutierrez 48.69% 
Scott Svonkin 51.31%