The LA Podcast

Tag "CD14"

Three Suits to the Wind


by Scott Frazier
June 12, 2020

Preface: What Makes Sense

On May 27th, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California released a plea agreement signed by George Esparza, a high-ranking former assistant to outgoing 14th district councilmember José Huizar. Esparza is only the latest among the members of what appears to be a vast bribery ring in City Hall who has agreed to plead guilty to charges including racketeering, bribery, and attempting to conceal criminal activity from federal investigators.

Over the course of the past three months, the still in-progress investigation led by the attorneys of the Central District’s Public Corruption Section has netted plea agreements from disgraced former District 12 Councilmember Mitch Englander and real estate consultants George Chiang and Justin Kim. The plea deals have thrust to the fore questions about the conduct and integrity of some of the city’s most prominent public figures.

At the same time, these early legal victories have bolstered the FBI’s claims of a years-long and much wider conspiracy […]

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February 18, 2019 Episode 52

Men’s Central Jail is being replaced by a mental health facility for inmates! LA kills three natural gas plants! Gavin Newsom killed high speed rail… and then didn’t! Kevin De Leon is running for city council, Holly Mitchell for county supervisor! Alex Villanueva is using fake numbers to make jails seem more violent! Lee Baca may actually be going to prison! And Alissa, Scott and Hayes talk about their picks for the LAUSD District 5 election.

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January 14, 2019 Episode 47

Alissa, Scott and Hayes go through the federal search warrant document that names Jose Huizar along with many other people, make predictions for the UTLA strike, and run through Gavin Newsom’s housing proposals in his first budget.

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December 24, 2018 Episode 44

Alissa went to the Boring Company tunnel opening! We have our first Ready for Garcetti PAC video, starring a councilmember who made a very bad joke in a public meeting this week! A former LA Times publisher took hush money to hide that the former owner was an anti-Semite! We’re getting closer to knowing what Jose Huizar is under investigation for! And we get into SB50 a little bit!

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November 26, 2018 Episode 40

LA things we’re thankful for! Scott digs into turnout numbers on his blog! Local pro-car activists exploit a horrible tragedy to kill bike lanes! New Sheriff Alex Villanueva immediately burns his supporters! Richelle Huizar quits her race! Scott, Alissa and Hayes talk about all this and more.

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November 19, 2018 Episode 39

Alissa, Scott, and Hayes say a prayer of thanks that we didn’t get HQ2, dig into the latest news/rumors about Jose Huizar and what it means that he stepped down from the PLUM Committee, debate what to rename the trains, and eulogize the California GOP.

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October 29, 2018 Episode 35

The answer to where Beverly Hills got all the money for the Purple Line protests! A Sheriff’s Department And 1: profiling drivers on the 5 and being forced to name clique members by a judge! A giant slate of candidates for LAUSD District 5! Jose Huizar is sued for discrimination! And presidential candidates take an interest in local races! Plus: a game!

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October 8, 2018 Episode 32

Scott and Hayes talk about the end of the celebrity burglar reign of terror, LASD’s racially-charged traffic stop campaign, and a little trouble for two different City Councilmembers. Then Alissa and Hayes travel to UCLA to interview State Senator SCOTT WIENER about his many plans for getting LA and the rest of California to build more housing.

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September 17, 2018 Episode 28

Raid on an artists squat on Hollywood Boulevard! The people who yell racial slurs at every City Council meeting might get banned! The first candidate throws her hat in the ring for the 2020 City Council election! And BRYN LINDBLAD from Climate Resolve tells us whether air in LA is healthy, how to cool neighborhoods by 10 to 20 degrees inexpensively, and what she and Alissa saw at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco.

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