LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles City's Budget Chair, Councilmember Paul Krekorian, presided over the city's first week of hearings to review, modify and finalize the city's proposed $8.76 billion fiscal year 2016-2017 budget. The committee took comments from the general public and spoke to the leaders of 33 city departments, including the departments of Planning, Transportation, Recreation and Park, in addition to the bureaus of Street Services, Street Lighting, Engineering, Sanitation and more. This is Krekorian's fifth consecutive year at the helm of the city budget process. Continue reading

LOS ANGELES - Councilmember Paul Krekorian - a descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors - introduced a motion directing all Los Angeles City offices to cancel their subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and other major newspapers for printing full-page ads paid for by a group dedicated to denying the Armenian Genocide. Continue reading

LOS ANGELES - Councilmember Krekorian joined Mayor Garcetti, Councilmember Koretz and other city and community leaders to announce the city's new initiative to create equitable job opportunities for LA's underserved communities and restore city services. Mayor Garcetti signed Executive Directive 15, which lays the framework for how the city will grow its workforce by 5,000 employees and expand core city services over the next three years.  Continue reading

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - Inside the quiet grounds of Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery sits a 75-foot tall structure made of marble mosaic and adorned with sculpted figures. The shrine, known as the Portal of the Folded Wings, is the burial site of 15 aviation pioneers.  Continue reading

LOS ANGELES - On Earth Day, the City Council voted on a new measure that would create a wildlife corridor in hillside communities to protect the region's wildlife and preserve their local habitat. Continue reading

LOS ANGELES - On Wednesday, Councilmember Krekorian, the first Armenian-American member of the Los Angeles City Council, led the commemoration of the 101st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at City Hall.  Continue reading

LOS ANGELES - This week, Mayor Eric Garcetti released the details of LA's 2016-2017 budget proposal. The $8.76 billion spending plan hopes to prioritize homelessness, safety and neighborhood service.  Continue reading

In a landmark effort to revolutionize the way the energy is generated for Los Angeles, City Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Mike Bonin coauthored legislation aimed at creating a pathway to 100% clean energy for the nation’s second largest city. Continue reading

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - Metro Director Paul Krekorian took an official ride on the NoHo-Pasadena Express bus, Metro's newest express service connecting the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys.  Continue reading

LOS ANGELES - In response to the shelling of ethnic-Armenian villages in Artsakh by Azerbaijan, elected officials and Armenian-American civic and religious leaders organized a Vigil for Peace in Artsakh, drawing hundreds of people to Los Angeles City Hall on April 12.  Continue reading

LOS ANGELES - The city just launched a new initiative to keep LA's streets clean. CleanStat is a new street index that scores the cleanliness of all of the city's public streets and alleys. More than 22,000 miles of streets were assessed by the Bureau of Sanitation to create the new database. Of the 39,915 road segments documented, 61% were rated clean, 35% were rated somewhat clean, while streets rated unclean made up 4% of total street segments. Continue reading

VALLEY GLEN - When Gustavo Castillo opened Que Ricos in 1992, he set out to create a gathering place for the community where authentic Mexican dishes would be made with the freshest ingredients. Two decades later, the family-owned and operated business has six locations across Los Angeles and is holding true to its promise. Continue reading

LOS ANGELES - Metrolink's new mobile app lets riders purchase tickets on the go through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. The app is now available for all Metrolink trips, including trips connecting to Los Angeles Union Station. Continue reading

LOS ANGELES - This week, hundreds of arts advocates gathered at City Hall to celebrate Arts Day 2016. The annual event brings artists, art lovers and arts organizations with the city leaders to foster stronger relationships between those crafting the vision of LA's future and those who make it a reality.  Continue reading