ANTONIO TAPS 7 FOR CRA BOARD.Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. on Monday released the names of his seven nominees to the Community Redevelopment Agency board, and said he wants the panel to become more responsive to the community while investing in neighborhoods to create jobs. ``For too long, neighborhoods in need all across Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. have been left behind,'' Villaraigosa said at a news conference held in the CRA's new South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. field office. ``It is not only South Los Angeles that needs investments, but the Eastside is also far behind, as are portions of the Valley.'' The devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans ``exposed the dark underbelly of racism and poverty,'' he said. ``It is something that mayors of all big cities are aware of, where you have large populations of people living in poverty.'' Villaraigosa said he wants the CRA See Community Reinvestment Act. board to be responsive to the public, holding meetings in the 32 redevelopment areas around the city. All of the nominations are subject to City Council approval. The CRA is one of the most powerful agencies in the city, with its power of eminent domain eminent domain, the right of a government to force the owner of private property sell it if it is needed for a public use. The right is based on the doctrine that a sovereign state has dominion over all lands and buildings within its borders, which has its origins in to put together parcels of property for development. It has a budget of $430 million and is funded by diverting property tax revenue generated from redeveloped properties. One of Villaraigosa's top aides is Robert ``Bud'' Ovrum, who left the job as CRA general manager to become a deputy mayor of economic development. In that role, Ovrum oversees the CRA and Planning Department and also plays a role in all other economic development of the city. Acting General Manager Richard Benbow said he will apply to be named permanent director. Villaraigosa said he plans a nationwide search, but is comfortable with Benbow's work in the job. The mayor's nominees include Madeline Janis-Aparacio, an appointee APPOINTEE. A person who is appointed or selected for a particular purpose; as the appointee under a power, is the person who is to receive the benefit of the trust or power. of former Mayor James Hahn. She is an attorney and executive director of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, the group that pushed the city to adopt a living wage ordinance. Villaraigosa also nominated Bruce Ackerman, of West Hills, head of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and the only member from the San Fernando Valley. A consultant to business groups, Ackerman is the author of ``The Management Bible.'' Ackerman said he hopes to be able to bring balance to the agency to make sure it focuses on economic needs, while recognizing the needs of the community. ``I think there is a lot of things that can be done to make the agency more beneficial to the community,'' Ackerman said. ``This is a powerful agency that can do a tremendous amount to help the city.'' William H. Jackson III, of West Los Angeles
Joan Ling, of Westchester is executive director of the Community Corp. of Santa Monica, a nonprofit affordable housing company. She has helped develop more than 1,200 units on 75 properties. John A. Perez, of Los Feliz, an official with the United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.4 million workers in the United States and Canada in many industries, including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile and , is a cousin to the mayor. Perez has worked as political director of the union and been a union organizer. Mark Rios, of West Los Angeles is a nationally acclaimed architect who has won more than 20 design awards, working on projects for a number of movie studios. He is director of the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission Architecture Program. Brenda Shockley, of Olympic Park is an attorney and president of Community Building Inc., an organization that grew out of the 1992 riots to administer education and job training programs for young people. All of the nominations are subject to City Council approval. Rick Orlov, (213) 978-0390 rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com |
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