Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has removed Building and Safety Commission President Javier Nuqez following reports he was one of nine current and former city commissioners who received special treatment from building officials for construction projects.
Click here to read more.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on a whirlwind tour of Asia, made a 24 hour stop in Hong Kong Sunday, October 15 to sign an agreement with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) to facilitate trade and production between the two “entertainment capitals and trade gateways.
Click here to read more.
A protocol expert and an eight-page manual offer Los Angeles' mayor tips on how to avoid stepping on diplomatic toes.
By Duke Helfand, Times Staff Writer
October 16, 2006
GUANGZHOU, China — Let's say you're the mayor of Los Angeles on an official visit here and you crack a joke about politicians.
Bad move.
Or perhaps you bring a lovely crystal vase wrapped in white paper, the color for funerals.
Oops.
Luckily for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, his staff has compiled a protocol playbook for his East Asian trade mission to China, South Korea and Japan that contains enough do's and don'ts to give Emily Post a headache.
Click here to read more.
THERE'S ONLY ONE thing worse than having to listen to canned political speeches and pretentious dignitary-speak. It's having to listen to them back-to-back in English and in Mandarin.
Accompanied by a coterie of business, labor and political allies, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is barnstorming through Asia as if it were Iowa before the caucuses and he were running for president. The trip is officially a trade mission, and it appears there are some real business connections and deals being made. But as is so often the case with Villaraigosa, it's ultimately all about him, all the time.
Click here to read more.
What's a trip to the capital of China without running into Henry Kissinger?
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, in the midst of a 16-day trade mission to East Asia, has been staying in the same hotel as the former secretary of State — the St. Regis in Beijing's embassy district. A businessman in the mayors' delegation who has a connection to Kissinger arranged a meeting between the two.
Kissinger received Villaraigosa for 30 minutes in his suite Monday evening. The guest list was short. It included City Councilman Jack Weiss and former Ambassador to China J. Stapleton Roy.
To read more, click here.
Good and bad day for the Mayor Tuesday.
First off, the City Council extended the term of the Mayor's interim General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment - Lisa Sarno - despite concerns from Neighborhood Council leaders.
Janice Hahn was one Council Member to express some concerns. "People are quitting neighborhood councils. They've decided they're burned out and there are too many rules and regulations," Councilwoman Janice Hahn said. "I hope I don't hear the same complaints and concerns that have been plaguing the committee about the turn the department is taking."
In the meantime, LA Voice stakes out a position that the Mayor's Asian junket is a good thing after all.
On the downside for the Mayor, Congresswoman Diane Watson - the first African American woman elected to the school board in 1975 - is part of a group who has filed suit to overturn the Mayor's legislation to take over the LA school district.
Mayor Villaraigosa continues his Asian junket, opening up a tourism office in Beijing, among other things.
The Mayor even took time to climb the Great Wall of China and assembled press:
"L.A. is the crossroads for the emerging economies of the East and the emerging markets of the South," Villaraigosa said in an interview after touring the fabled Forbidden City in central Beijing. "Our ability to connect our diverse city with those economies is the key to our future."Do you think the Mayor might make a deal to import fortune cookies from China?
Since Mayor V is in Asia right now, here's something else going on. Monday, on Patt Morrison's show on KPCC, she will provide a forum to third party candidates for California Governor. Among the scheduled guests: Peter Camejo, Candidate for Governor, Green Party, Art Olivier, Candidate for Governor, Libertarian, Edward Noonan, Candidate for Governor, American Independent Party. 2:00 p.m., KPCC 89.3 FM.
Or pick your own topic.
Friday Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will attend a grand opening for the Westfield Topanga shopping center. Later in the afternoon he will join LAPD Chief William Bratton to hold a news conference to discuss efforts to clean up downtown's Skid Row and efforts to recruit more police officers.
Thursday morning, Mayor Villaraigosa and other mayors within the LAUSD will hold a news conference to discuss the search for a new district superintendent. Later in the afternoon, the Mayor will deliver keynote remarks at the United Chamber of Commerce of San Fernando Valley's second annual Mayor's Luncheon. Wrapping up the day, he will deliver remarks at UCLA's Millennium Ball, honoring Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Eiger.
Wednesday, Mayor Villaraigosa will meet with Michael Wilson, the Canadian ambassador to the United States, to discuss trade and economic opportunities. Later in the evening, the Mayor will appear live on KCAL9's "Ask the Mayor'' segment.
