COURT ORDERS NEW HEARING FOR STRIP CLUB.Byline: James Nash Staff Writer An appeals court ruled Thursday that City Council members violated a strip club owner's rights by chatting on cell phones, reading e-mail messages and conferring with aides while representatives of the club testified. The 2nd District Court of Appeals sided with owners of an Eastside adult cabaret who argued that they didn't get a fair hearing before the City Council in June 2003 because council members rarely paid attention to what they were saying. Attorney Roger Jon Diamond, who represents the Blue Zebra club, said the ruling should be a wake-up call to Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. members who ignore the public during council meetings. ``I've conducted business with a lot of different city councils,'' said Diamond, who represents adult businesses throughout Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . ``By far, the City Council of 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. is the rudest, most arrogant council of them all. ``No one listens to anybody. It's just a total zoo Total Zoo was an American family television program narrated by Andy Chanley. It was shown on the channel Animal Planet. External link there.'' The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office declined to comment on the ruling, which calls for a new hearing on the Blue Zebra's request to extend its operating hours and to employ its own security guards rather than contracting for them. A spokesman for City Council President Alex Padilla Alex Padilla is a politician in California. He was elected as the State Senator for the 20th District of California in November 2006 and was inaugurated in early December. In order to enter the Senate he had to resign as Councilman for the 7th District on the Los Angeles City said council members aren't always distracted even when they appear to be. ``The council is certainly attentive to many things,'' said Padilla spokesman David Gershwin. ``We're talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to our staff, getting the latest information on different issues and legislation. The council handles hundreds of motions and items a week and council members may not make eye contact with the speaker at any given time, but that doesn't mean the council member isn't paying attention.'' However, many speakers at the council's thrice-weekly meetings complain that elected officials generally are more interested in hearing from one another and their aides than from the public. ``You don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how sore a subject this is,'' said Tecocomoc, an organizer of South Central Farmers, a group that has been addressing the City Council for most of 2004 asking the city to preserve a 14-acre agricultural plot south of downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or . ``(Council members) do everything possible to avoid having us speak. They're over in the back cutting deals. They really don't care. (Meetings) are a waste of public funds.'' The appeals court ruling in the Blue Zebra case does not entitle the club to stay open until 4 a.m. on weekends and to hire its own security guards rather than use contracted guards - both conditions the Lincoln Heights club requested in its June 2003 City Council hearing. But the court ruled that the City Council's decision to deny the club's requests was invalid and would return for a second hearing. James Nash, (213) 978-0390 james.nash(at)dailynews.com |
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