Good morning and welcome to Records LA – City Hall newsletter. It’s David Zanizer with the support of my colleague Rebecca Ellis and I’ll provide you with the latest city and county government.

CBS reporter asked a stinging question – what arrived under the mayor’s skin Karen Base.

Base returned home from Ghana the day before, the city was caught in a crisis, and firefighters were upset by out-of-control wildfires, dry fire hydrants and residents’ displaced. Standing at the city’s emergency operations centre, the reporter wanted to know. What did Bass have to say to the critics who had requested that she resign?

Standing with the clutches of city and county officials, Base promised “deep diving” to everything that was wrong. The fire was still intense so she made it clear that she had finished her questioning.

“I answered in the morning. I answered it now. I will never answer it again,” she told a room full of reporters.

The testy exchange and the entire press conference Facebook Page For the Los Angeles County government, it has uploaded more than 20 wildfire media briefings since the Pallisard and Eton fires.

However, Q and A are not found anywhere on the mayor’s Facebook page.

Video from that January 9th Press Conference It will appear on Bass’ Facebook platform. But it cuts off the moment the question begins. The last thing viewers have heard is a reporter asking, “What is it necessary to turn off this fire?”

It was not an isolated case. On the mayor’s Facebook page, video The Q and A segments have also been excluded from Wildfire’s press conference starting January 8th. The same can be said Wildfire Media Briefing Video Posted from the morning of January 10th.

On the county website you can see Full version of bothlow water pressure, fire station budget, bass fielding questions about her trip from Ghana. “I was on the phone, on the plane, almost every hour,” she said at one point.

(Q and AS AS add about 10-12 minutes to each video.)

For days after the Palisade fired, these Q and A segments were sometimes dangerous to bass. In one session, she was met with questions about the city’s emergency sanctuary and whether LA has enough money to survive the crisis. As another, she struggled to answer the county’s constantly malfunctioning emergency warnings and questions about whether Angelenos should stop using them.

“We are not going to allow people to divide us for political gain,” she replied.

Abbreviation of Q and A – live feeds that are commonly monitored not only in social media, but also in some cases, in real time – in a sense disinfecting the mayor’s image and removes such a troublesome before and after politicians Place between news media.

Without Q and A, viewers can only listen to “propaganda.” Comments from politicians and government officials are not explanations that come later, Rob Kuanan organizer of Unrig LA, the city hall watchdog group.

“They don’t get in the way to take the big picture to people,” he said.

Quan said Q and A were the “juiciest parts” of the press conference, and in many cases the only reason he would coordinate. During these segments, politicians said they would be forced to clarify, explain and defend their decisions. They can also provide official additional information to understand the ongoing crisis.

The Times asked the mayor’s team on Thursday why Q and A went missing from many of the mayor’s video clips and live streams. They didn’t answer that question.

On Friday, Bass took the surprising step of kicking out the fire chief. Christine CrowleyPosted by the mayor’s team A complete press conference, Includes Q and A on Bass Facebook page. Base spokesman Clara Kergerpointed out this fact in a text message to the times.

“The mayor’s office works to continue to provide information to Angelenos in a variety of different ways, and we will continue to do so,” she said.

For bass, the omission of Q and A was not limited to the first day after the Palisades fire. On February 7, she held a press conference to mark the month anniversary of the fire and announced her decision to award a major contract to an Illinois-based disaster recovery company.

During that segment, Base answered questions about salary and duties. Steve SoborovHer Restoration Emperor – a topic that quickly became a political issue for her. However, the mayor’s YouTube and Facebook pages cut off that part.

People who wanted to hear Q and people who found other outlets, such as KNX Radio and local TV stations. But there are still restrictions.

Early in the crisis, when wildfire emergency cases were occurring twice a day, LA City and the county government traded off hosting duties. At the county’s Kenneth Hahn Management Hall of Fame, staff placed the microphone in front of reporters the moment they asked questions.

In the city’s version, microphones are not available and sometimes the public can no longer listen to what they were asked. That has spurred several complaints over the past few weeks.

“The roving microphone is a great technique that helps the public hear the questions the media asks because the media is an extension of the public,” he said. Helen Chavez GarciaCounty Supervisor spokesman Kathryn Burgeroversees the county’s media briefing. “In many cases, the media is going to ask questions the community wants to answer.”

Chavez Garcia said he will confirm that the county will upload the full video, as well as the prepared statement. Over time, the public may be interested in going back to those videos to understand what is being asked, she said.

“It’s part of the transparent record keeping process,” she said.

The state of play

– Under the bus: As mentioned above, more than six weeks after the fire broke out, the bus kicked out the fire chief. The move comes a day after Bass issued a statement to the Times criticizing Crowley. The fire chief said he didn’t contact her about the dangerous Santa Ana wind until the fire broke out on January 7th. Defensive last month, she told Fox 11 that the city had failed in her department.

– Not too locked arm: mayor Karen Base He has long promoted his ability to work with staff at city, county, state and federal levels. However, these skills do not subside the behind-the-scenes tensions between her and the county supervisor. Lindsey HorbusThe district includes the Palisade Fireburn area. A mountain of text messages obtained by the Times revealed a conflict between the two powerful politicians for days after the wildfire broke out. Just as Horvath put it in one message, “Don’t feel much of a ‘locked arm’ on me. ”

– Running again: It took a little longer than other citywide elected officials in LA, but the city controllers Kenneth Meziah We have begun raising funds for our 2026 reelection campaign. Mezia, who submitted the documents on Valentine’s Day, went for a very long time without forming a reelection committee. Mejia was not shy about pointing out excess spending, particularly by certain agencies, particularly the struggles of the urban budget.

– Details of Mejia: Meanwhile, one of the top deputies of Mezia and one of the directors of accountability and monitoring. Sergio Perezlanded a new gig in the controller’s office two years later. Also, Perez, who gave a brief stint as an inspector for the Department of Water and Power, is now executive director of the LA-based Human Rights Constitutional Center and legal advocacy for immigrants, refugees and other marginalized people in Southern California. We offer. .

– Legal Victory in the Valley: The four San Fernando Valleys are now moving forward, overcoming legal challenges, all approved as part of the Mayor’s Executive Directive 1 program. All four of these projects were planned on land reserved for single-family homes, which led to trouble. Bass later revised the program to remove such areas from the affordable housing initiative.

Caruso: “I like Elon” Mask

Real Estate Developer and Former La Mayoral Candidate Rick Caruso We continue our paradoxical media burnstorming tour. He’s already spoken with the podcaster Joe Logan And TV personality Bill Maher. Now he’s spent an hour Bali Weiss Free pressed pushed him between her Podcasts Provides an AFf rating of several political figures, including the LA Mayor.

Caruso, whose family lost two homes in Palisades in the Pacific Ocean, gave the bus a “D” grade and expressed anger over the handling of the Palisade fires in the city. He was more generous to Governor Gavin Newsom and gave him a “B.”

At one point, Caruso meets Newsom and says he discovers that the governor is “working hard to do the right thing.” He gave the former government another “B.” Arnold SchwarzeneggerHe worked from 2003 to 2011.

Still, Caruso reserves his most luxurious admiration for billionaire Elon Musk for massive federal job cuts over the past month, suspending the global relief program offered by USAID. disputed the claim that Trump had given him a Nazi salute at his first event.

Caruso called the founder of Tesla “one of the most incredible entrepreneurs and innovators we have had in our country and our world.”

“I admire him a lot,” the developer continued. “And frankly, I like the fact that he is donating his time to help our country. So I’m going to tell him where between ‘a’ and a’B. I give it to Elon. ”

– Wildfire Relief (Part 1): Caruso’s new foundation, Steadfast LA, has announced a $15 million pledge to pay a pre-fab home in the wildfire area. The money comes from Airbnb co-founders Joe Gebviaalso sitting on the Tesla board of directors.

– Wildfire Rescue (Part 2): The LA County Board of Supervisors has taken its first step towards banning evictions of renters who have been financially caught up in the wildfires last month. The supervisor took that step the same day that the city council delayed voting for a similar proposal.

– Wildfire Rescue (Part 3): Four new resource centres opened this week to help residents who lost their income due to last month’s wildfires. The city- and county-run center allows residents to seek relief funds, seek employment assistance, search for temporary employment, and apply for small business loans, among other things.

Quick Hit

• Where is the inside? The mayor’s signature program to combat the homelessness did not undertake any new ventures this week. Instead, outreach workers focused on starting the county’s annual homeless count.
• At the docket next week: Feel again: Council’s Budget and Public Works Committee Meet together On Wednesday we will discuss efforts to measure HLA, bus and bike lane measurements. The issue continued from the last joint meeting on February 12th.