MAYOR SPEAKS TO MEDIA WITH EYES WIDE SHUT ANTONIO JOKES ABOUT `DOZING' PHOTO TAKEN DURING D.C. TRIP.Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer Back after three days of high-profile appearances in Washington, D.C., 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. began his City Hall press conference Friday afternoon by addressing one of the more embarrassing moments of his trip. Standing behind the podium in his press room, he shut his eyes for a few seconds and smiled. ``Now, I just want to prove I can do this with my eyes closed,'' he quipped, referring to a now-infamous Washington Post photograph that showed the mayor appearing to doze during President George W. Bush's State of the Union address “State of the Union” redirects here. For other uses, see State of the Union (disambiguation). The State of the Union is an annual address in which the President of the United States reports on the status of the country, normally to a joint session of Congress (the Tuesday. Aides had defended their boss, saying he was just resting his eyes. And Villaraigosa added Friday that with all the standing ovations throughout the speech, there's no way anyone could fall asleep anyway. During his three-day swing though Washington, Villaraigosa spoke at the National Press Club about ending urban poverty; attended the State of the Union speech as the guest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; and served as spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Mayors' plan to expand education opportunities for the poor. He also hobnobbed with presidential candidates, having dinner with Sen. Hillary Clinton and making plans to sit down with Sen. Barack Obama. ``I've had a conversation with all the candidates and I will be meeting with every one of them. These meetings are primarily about my support for their candidacies,'' Villaraigosa said. ``Again, as you've heard me say again and again and again, my focus right now, as I said to the candidates, is moving forward an agenda that addresses the challenges we face here in 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. .'' Villaraigosa also is scheduled to give the Democratic radio response to Bush's weekly radio address today. And perhaps signaling greater cooperation with the federal government, Villaraigosa's staff announced Friday that the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . and county Sheriff's Department will hold
a daylong workshop on transnational gangs, with federal law enforcement
officials and representatives from Central American Central AmericaA region of southern North America extending from the southern border of Mexico to the northern border of Colombia. It separates the Caribbean Sea from the Pacific Ocean and is linked to South America by the Isthmus of Panama. police agencies. The event, organized by the FBI, will include training and intelligence sharing on how to stop the movement of violent immigrant gang members who bounce between the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Central America Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. . kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa talks to the media Friday at City Hall about his recent trip to Washington, D.C., for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Michael Owen
|
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion