EDITORIAL ROGUE COUNCIL ROCKY TRIES TO PUT THE CITY COUNCIL IN ITS PLACE.THE Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. finally got the smackdown it deserves
from no less than City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo Rockard John "Rocky" Delgadillo (born July 15 1960) is the current City Attorney of Los Angeles, California. Career
The snub came in the form of legal guidelines created by Delgadillo's staff giving police the go-ahead to start arresting the homeless camped out on sidewalks during the day, even while an appeal on an ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. lawsuit is pending. The guidelines became necessary because the council scuttled a settlement worked out with the support of the mayor, police chief, city attorney and the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. over how the Skid Row skid row a run-down area frequented by alcoholics. [Am. Culture: Misc.] See : Alcoholism Skid Row district of down-and-outs and bums. [Am. Usage: Brewer Dictionary, 1008] See : Failure homeless should be treated. The ACLU had claimed -- and a judge agreed -- that the city could not enforce a ban on sleeping on the sidewalk. The settlement would allow the homeless to temporarily sleep on the sidewalks during the night if there are no shelter beds for them, and then disperse at daybreak or face arrest. It seemed like a reasonable arrangement considering the homeless problem has been going on for years. The issue got no attention from City Hall until the developers making billions from downtown redevelopment took notice. Having ignored the problem and done nothing to deal with the needs of the homeless for so long, council members had no hesitation meeting last week behind closed doors, and deciding to reject the Skid Row settlement and to appeal the federal ruling. The council's flat-out rejection indicates that its members have a more politically motived agenda than merely helping those who can't help themselves. This is a rogue legislative body that's grown too fond of meddling med·dle intr.v. med·dled, med·dling, med·dles 1. To intrude into other people's affairs or business; interfere. See Synonyms at interfere. 2. To handle something idly or ignorantly; tamper. in city policy without solving the people's problems -- and second-guessing and obstructing department managers. It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a the mayor stepped up: Los Angeles needs strong leadership on top and empowerment of neighborhoods on the ground. It does not need destructive meddling by council members in the middle. |
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