L.A. Council Retaliates Against FEDERAL Judge Dean Pregerson's Ruling By Cutting Public's Time in Half

L.A. Council Retaliates Against FEDERAL Ruling By Cutting Public's Time in Half

[PICTURED: L.A. gadfly/blogger Zuma Dogg at L.A. City Council meeting during public comment]

In 2012, L.A. gadfly Zuma Dogg won a Federal ruling by Federal Judge Dean Pregerson, pertaining to Los Angeles City Council's rules for public, during public comment -- and enforcement of their rules. The judge ruled that L.A. City Council was in violation of U.S. & State law in what was called, "censorship of the public," by the judge. (And quoted Plato to describe ZD's efforts, as a gadfly.)

YouTube AUDIO: Zuma Dogg Presents The Argument

In response to the ruling (since the ruling); members of the public have been able to speak, in the spirit of the Constitution; and council may not apply their own (fake) laws, that violate REAL FEDERAL & STATE laws. So, they can't just cut people off and kick them out, if they don't like what is being said, under whatever guises they were claiming.

L.A. Council retaliated; by cutting general public comment time in half. (From 2 minutes to 1 minute.)

One minute is not a reasonable amount of time, for a typical, non-professional speaker (general member of the public) to be able to articulate a complex issue -- and provide comment on how to solve the problem/what is being asked for of council. It's a form of censorship. General public comment time, at other local government meetings (Board of Supervisors/MTA/LAUSD/DWP/Santa Monica City Council) are two or three minutes; and no general public comment time is limited to one minute.)

Additionally, it must be considered that people must take off the day; pay whatever transportation costs to get to City Hall; wait through presentations; and wait through endless runs around the horseshoe, where councilmembers try to out campaign each other, with long winded speeches, that repeat what the other previous councilmembers have already said.

General Public comment is at the end of the presentations and meeting (the public has to wait two or three hours); and council claims they are only willing to give members of the public one minute, at a public meeting, for members of the public to address issues before council -- because they are short on time. A form of censorship.

L.A. Council gives people two minutes to speak on agenda items (what COUNCIL wants to talk about), but only one minute for general comment (what YOU wanna talk about.) If council grants two minutes for agenda items, why would it be different to address other important issues of the city, not on the agenda, that day? Some issues people choose to address, occur in a timely, breaking news timeline; before it makes it to the agenda, if it ever does, at all.  If you can speak for two minutes about someone's star installation on "Hollywood Walk of Fame," why not two minutes to address city homeless crisis; or LAFD response times; or a solution for the city to be able to keep streets clear of trash and garbage; since they currently are not. Who can explain the pros and cons of the economic effects of the city's push for $15 minimum wage in a minute? 

To make someone endure an entire trip to city hall; wait through presentations and an entire meeting; to have to try and cram their issue into one minute; is more than a member of the public should have to endure. Not because two minutes is that much more than one minute in the scheme of things; but because one minute is truly not enough time to satisfactorily address most issues before a body of elected officials. Which makes the entire effort a waste of time and council's form of censorship.

I hope to present these details to Judge Pregerson. I wonder how he would feel about council retaliating against his ruling by cutting public comment time in half? Kinda combative/hostile move.

Zuma Dogg
http://ZumaDogg.com
http://Twitter.com/ZumaDogg

Another Day, Another Day of LAPD SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT @ Venice Beach: Zuma Dogg To Teach City PAINFUL Lesson On Municipal Operations in FEDERAL Court

First of all, I'll be seeing LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, face-t0-face and in person on Tuesday to discuss the matter of CONTINUED SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT @ Venice Beach of the vendors, artists and performers on the west/beach side...while forgetting how to turn their neck and enforce for the same violations on the east/retail side of beach -- and everywhere else in Venice and the City.

NOW REMEMBER: Zuma Dogg, Matt Dowd, et al are CONTINUED to be harassed, warned, ticketed and arrested for stuff like not having a piece of paper from the city's park & recreation office saying, "Donations Not Required."

The City of Los Angeles & LAPD is VERY, VERY concerned that people along the boardwalk set a "fixed price" for a pack of incense. As if any vendor or artist at Venice will suddenly bamboozle someone into pulling a hundred dollars out of their pocket against their will for a pack of incense -- that is sold for a dollar, everywhere else, all up and down the boardwalk, because there is no piece of paper on the table warning them.

BUT, WITH ALL THE STUFF GOING ON IN THE CITY, LAPD MUST WRITE TICKETS FOR NOT HAVING THAT PIECE OF PAPER TO PEOPLE ON THE VENICE BOARDWALK FOR HAND MADE ART AND CRAFTS...EVEN THOUGH THE CITY TOOK DOWN THE SIGNS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY POSTED SAYING YOU ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE PIECE OF PAPER DISPLAYED.

OR, tickets for being one inch over the line -- OR EVEN ON THE LINE!!!

BUT THIS PERSON GETS TO SELL FRUIT IN THE CENTER OF THE BOARDWALK, ALL DAY LONG -- EVERYDAY. She and others are ALWAYS RIGHT HERE IN THE CENTER OF THE BOARDWALK. They are obviously allowed to stay there, cause cops drive past them every day. THEY HAVE TO DRIVE PAST THEM EVERY DAY...you cannot drive down the boardwalk without passing them. BUT THEY ARE THERE EVERYDAY...AND LAPD CANNOT TURN THEIR FUCKING NECK TO ENFORCE THE VIOLATION...CAUSE IT'S NOT ZUMA DOGG, MATT DOWD, ET AL. (Watch the money exchange hands in the video and keep in mind that you are NOT allowed to SELL fruit. It may only be given away for free. And she wouldn't give Zuma Dogg any free fruit!)



SO, PLEASE DO NOT FUCKING SAY SHIT TO ZUMA DOGG. MATT DOWD OR ANYONE ELSE ON THE WEST SIDE OF BOARDWALK UNTIL YOU GET RID OF PEOPLE SELLING FOOD IN THE CENTER OF THE BOARDWALK YOU DUMB-ASS, BLIND-AS-FUCK, WASTE-OF-TAXPAYER MONEY-LAPD.

(LAPD sent an undercover sting operation to UNSUCCESSFULLY try to bust Matt Dowd & Tony B. -- both of whom are PLAINTIFFS who beat the city in Federal court.)

AND, today, LAPD asked my friend Mark Herd (a vocal and active participant in the Venice Task Force & Neighborhood Council system on the "Zuma Dogg" side of issues) to turn down his little, cheesy hand-held megaphone. The little thing runs on a nine volt battery. THAT IS PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE, TODAY...requiring LAPD to roll up in the SUV to ask Mr. Herd to turn it down.


[You can see the little megaphone at the end of this brief video.]

Zuma Dogg had been standing around for ten minutes, or so...and no megaphone was in use all the time I was standing there. When LAPD showed up, there was no megaphone out -- or being used. So why did they ask Mr. Herd to turn it down?

LAPD CLAIMED they had a complaint? (They ALWAYS do!) I would suggest next time LAPD claims they have a complaint and asks someone to turn down a small mega-phone, they measure the sound with a sound-level meter -- or at least hear it for themselves. OTHERWISE...KEEP DRIVING AND GO FIGHT SOME CRIME.

ZUMA DOGG happened to be there and told the cops to either bring the decibel-level measuring device -- OR GO FIGHT SOME CRIME AND GO AWAY UNTIL YOU BRING BACK THE METER!

BECAUSE THEN, Zuma Dogg demonstrated that he doesn't need a fucking megaphone to bring a shitstorm of problems -- cause I wasn't using an amp...BUT THE COPS QUICKLY GOT THE MESSAGE THAT THEY HAPPENED TO SHOW UP AT THE WRONG TIME...CAUSE THEY DIDN'T RECOGNIZE ZUMA DOGG IN HIS BIKE HELMET! (So they quickly made an about face and drove off, as Zuma Dogg kept EXPRESSING HIS FIRST AMENDMENT SPEECH!)

BUT OF COURSE THE STORE ON THE OTHER SIDE WAS PUMPING PALLADIUM STYLE RAVE MUSIC WITH HUGE BASS SPEAKERS POWERED BY A HUGE AMP. (And the police drive back and forth all day and say nothing, obviously, cause the music keeps pumpin'.)



ZUMA DOGG DON'T BUY YOUR SELECTIVE SOUND ENFORCEMENT BULLSHIT.

CAUSE I WALKED DOWN THE BOARDWALK, AND SOME MUSICIANS (one of them ALSO a WINNING PLAINTIFF on the DOWD/DOGG lawsuit vs L.A. City) TOLD ME LAPD TOLD THEM TO TURN IT DOWN, CAUSE OF COMPLAINTS.

TELL THE PEOPLE COMPLAINING, TOO BAD...THE CITY LOST THE "NO AMPLIFIED SOUND" BAN CAUSE THEY DIDN'T HANDLE OR SETTLE THE MATTER THE WAY THEY SHOULD HAVE WHEN THEY HAD THE CHANCE...SO THERE IS GOING TO BE AMPLIFIED SOUND...AND THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES BETTER NOT BE APPEARING TO THE JUDGE TO BE SELECTIVELY CRACKING DOWN -- WITHOUT MERIT. (Which it ISN'T when police tell you to do something that they didn't even see, based on bogus complaints.)

SEE THE PATTERN OF SELECTIVE HARASSMENT AGAINST THE WINNERS -- AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WORKS WITH THEM!

LAPD BETTER BE MORE CAUTIOUS...AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE MEASURING THE VIOLATIONS. (Zuma Dogg seems to hear about EVERYTHING, EVERY TIME I step onto the boardwalk.)

LAPD will write Venice performers tickets for all kinds of little sh*t...but this food truck gets to park in the"PASSENGER LOADING ONLY - 5 Minute Limit" zone -- all day long -- with no cops saying a thing...cause here's the picture (complete with door open and blocking the sidewalk) in the 2pm hour. (So much for the loading zone being available for businesses, as intended. SOMEONE FEELS LIKE DOING WHATEVER THE FUCK THEY WANT...and KNOWS LAPD only turns their neck for Zuma Dogg, Matt Dowd, et al on the boardwalk.


I WILL SEE YOU AT THE MEETING ON TUESDAY, CHIEF BECK! (YOU NEED TO LEARN. MORE!) And I will see the City Attorney's Office in FEDERAL COURT.

City Attorney's Office BLOWS Settlement Opportunity with DOWD/DOGG...GOING TO THE FEDERAL JUDGE FOR SUMMARY JUDGEMENT

On October 21, 2010, a Federal Judge ruled in Dowd/Dogg's favor on the Venice Beach lawsuit. The next week Dowd/Dogg had a "meet and confer" conference with the City Attorney's office, where two people took notes as we explained our damages information -- also presented the document with all the information (regarding economic damages and whatnot.)

And Dowd/Dogg thought we were VERY CLOSE to at least hearing a settlement amount from the City Attorney's office. BUT, I guess THAT ain't gonna happen, cause the City Attorney's office is asking for the economic information again, since they can't seem to find it. (OH REALLY??? WHAT HAPPENED FOR THE PAST THREE MONTHS???)

So just when we were expecting to hear an amount...you want to start from the top. HELL NAW!

DOWD/DOGG ARE NOT GOING TO RESUBMIT THE PAPERWORK, BUT GO STRAIGHT TO JUDGE PREGERSON FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT.

(If you lost the paperwork and lost time...just make up a number. You KNOW what it is, anyway. Because you know the minimum we will accept...AND:

I CAN ASSURE THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES...

AFTER THE WAY YOU CONTINUE TO MANGLE THIS WHOLE THING...

YOU WANT TO SETTLE THIS MATTER AT THIS POINT...MUCH MORE THAN WE DO. A LOT has changed since October. There has been MUCH MORE to come out since then. And the city has STEPPED in more bullshit...and wasn't as correct as they thought they were.

BUT YOU WANT TO START OVER?

TIME IS UP!

RE-SUBMITTING REJECTED. Handle it however you want. You lost the shit. Tell it to the judge. Otherwise, write the damn check. You're just trying to drag this out.