Roundup: January 13, 2011

News items and commentary from The Local Feed (in the sidebar) and elsewhere 'round the web that may be of interest to Hollywood residents.

*The City Council voted to not serve as the successor agency to manage the closeout of CRA/LA (Council File 12-0049); boots that responsibility to the State. On Wednesday that CAO and CLA released a report (.pdf) recommending that the City elect to not become the successor agency as doing so could, among other things, expose the City to additional personnel and pension liabilities that could end up costing the City up to $109 million. The City Maven reports that “The 9-3 vote was in line with recommendations from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Controller Wendy Greuel, the city administrative officer and chief legislative analyst. The three dissenting votes were Councilmen Ed Reyes, Eric Garcetti and Richard Alarcon, with Council members Jan Perry and Bernard Parks absent.” The LA Times writes that “The council action means some other, as yet unknown, government body would have to step in” and that “If no local government shows interest in the redevelopment agency, oversight could fall to an authority headed by three appointees of Gov. Jerry Brown, who pushed to kill redevelopment.”

*The Hollywood Reporter and the LA Times are both reporting that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is in discussions to move the Academy Awards (Oscars) from the Kodak Theater to the Nokia Theater downtown. The Hollywood Reporter’s story says that “The downtown venue is offering a lease comparable to what the Academy currently pays CIM Group, owner of the 3,400-seat Kodak, but with a perks package that includes more seats, better infrastructure, greater promotional opportunities and more ancillary facilities for parties and press.” The LA Times’ story says that “Criticism of the Kodak has often centered on the theater's tinny acoustics; its steep 37-step grand staircase that leads into the lobby that has often proved treacherous to many female guests in long ball gowns, and the complex's mass-market shopping galleria that stands in stark contrast to the elegant tenor of the Oscars”. Blogdowntown reports that “The Deadline Hollywood blog, however, claim they have a statement from the Academy saying the Hollywood Reporter's story is "erroneous".” Yawn. Everybody knows that the Academy is looking around for new venues (or just saying it is so it can squeeze a better deal out of the Kodak Theater) so these reports aren’t really surprising.

*The LA Times reports that the City Controller’s Audit (.pdf) of the City’s street furniture contract found that the City lost out on $23.1 million in revenue it should have earned. Per the article: The City Controller “found that the city waited too long to grant permits for some of the items than the contract called for” and “that delay, combined with miscalculations of annual fees due to the city, led to the loss of revenue, and could lead to up to $57 million in additional losses unless officials renegotiate the terms of the agreement.” The Controller’s audit also noted that the City’s permit approval process for the installation of street furniture is “very cumbersome” and has “ contributed to millions of dollars in lost revenue opportunity to the City.” One thing that the Controller’s Audit didn’t focus on (but should have IMHO): How the City (mis)manages the funds it receives from this contract. Currently one-half of the revenues generated from advertisements placed in or upon street furniture and from any other uses of street furniture is deposited into the Street Furniture Revenue Fund, and is then distributed equally to each Council District for their exclusive use (*cough the Council Offices use it as Slush Fund *cough*).