Councilmember Paul Krekorian and community members recently celebrated the long-awaited completion of the sound walls along the 170 freeway running through North Hollywood, Valley Village and Valley Glen.  The sound walls now run continuously for four miles from Sherman Way to the junction of the 101 freeway.   Continue reading

This month the City Council voted to amend Section 41.18 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code to prohibit camping or sleeping on sidewalks within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers in Los Angeles.  The measure was an important step forward in protecting students and their families from encampments that often block safe passage to schools and daycares, bring children into contact with intoxicated or mentally unstable people, and expose school communities to risks of crime and fire. Continue reading

You may have heard about a ballot initiative called “Land Use and Replacement Housing Requirements for Hotel Developers,” which will be on the ballot in 2024.  If approved by the voters, this initiative would require all hotel owners in Los Angeles to make vacant rooms available to the unhoused on a daily basis.  Continue reading

This summer, Los Angeles City Councilmembers Paul Krekorian, Mitch O’Farrell and Paul Koretz led the City Council in calling for a comprehensive series of reports and actions related to ratepayer funds, conservation, and the drought emergency currently affecting California and the Western United States. Continue reading

Councilmembers Paul Krekorian, Mitch O’Farrell and Paul Koretz also led the City Council in two major votes that will modernize the City’s power grid for electrification and away from fossil fuels. Together, the two motions unanimously approved by the Council will (i) eliminate the purchase of fossil fuel-based equipment at all City facilities, including LAX, the Port of Los Angeles, parks, and libraries; and (ii) direct the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to focus on the planned upgrades needed to modernize, electrify and solarize the City’s power grid infrastructure. Continue reading

As Budget Chair, Councilmember Krekorian ensured that the City will invest $4 million in resurfacing bike lanes this year. Continue reading

Councilmember Paul Krekorian joined Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilmembers Mitch O’Farrell and Nithya Raman in launching a new program to make more reclaimed water available for landscaping.  Residents  who bring their own containers can take home up to 300 gallons of recycled water suitable for watering their gardens, saving precious fresh water for drinking, cooking, washing and bathing. Continue reading

Councilmember Krekorian, the City Council, and all City agencies continue their drive to electrify the City’s vehicle fleet, further cutting our carbon emissions.  Our Bureau of Street Services, also known as StreetsLA, recently demonstrated the first of its Lightning F150 electric pickups, a Volvo electric mini-excavator and two new  Beam solar charging stations in a press event at North Hollywood Yard, the City’s showcase for innovative  sustainable transportation technology in Council District 2. Continue reading

Southern California is now in the middle of the most severe drought in our recorded history. Our trees and lawns, our hillsides and open spaces are ready to burst into flames at the touch of a spark.  Although we can now expect wildfires at any time of year, we are at maximum risk in these dry summer months, and the hillsides of the East San Fernando Valley are especially vulnerable. Now more than ever, we need to take seriously that all fireworks are illegal in Los Angeles. Continue reading

July 4, 2020: the Verdugo Hills burned again, less than three years after the La Tuna Fire, L.A.’s worst blaze in half a century. Illegal backyard fireworks started the last conflagration, seen here from Verdugo Mountain Park. Continue reading

During the budget cuts of the Great Recession a decade ago, the City reduced the number of childcare centers in parks from 24 to just two. This year, Councilmember Krekorian delivered funding to begin restoring quality childcare services across the city, beginning in the East Valley. Continue reading

Acting on a motion authored by Councilmember Paul Krekorian, Los Angeles has joined cities such as Miami, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; Monterrey, Mexico; Athens, Greece; Freeport, Sierra Leone; and Santiago de Chile in naming an officer to oversee the City’s response to extreme heat events.   Continue reading

As Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, Councilmember Krekorian secured the funding to renovate, reopen and reactivate the Lankershim Arts Center.   Continue reading

Councilmember Paul Krekorian joined the monks and congregants of Wat Thai of Los Angeles in celebrating the temple’s 50th anniversary.  For the last half century, this temple in North Hollywood has been the spiritual and cultural center of the Thai community of Southern California, and has also provided a haven of spiritual comfort for refugees from Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, as well as people of many other backgrounds and birthplaces. Continue reading

Council District 2 staff met with See’s Candies CEO Pat Egan at the See’s store in North Hollywood to present See’s with a framed City Council resolution, authored by Councilmember Krekorian and signed by all members, congratulating See’s on their 100th anniversary.  Continue reading