West Hollywood City Council

PAUL KORETZ Background: 36; incumbent running for second term; current mayor; former Southern California director of California League of Conservation Voters. Why are you running? I bring a unique background of government, business, environmental and neighborhood-watch experience to the council. I also play a unique role as an independent council member who listens, comes to council meetings with an open mind, and is willing to admit mistakes when I make them.

A few miles from Los Angeles City Hall, a small experiment in marijuana regulation has been underway for years. While the state's largest city passed a flawed moratorium, failed to enforce it, debated proposed rules endlessly and watched flummoxed as dispensaries multiplied, West Hollywood pressed ahead. Confronted with its own dispensary explosion in 2005, the city surrounded by L.A. imposed a moratorium on dispensaries, clamped interim rules on the ones that were open, passed a strict ordinance and capped the number allowed at four, all within two years.

For those 155 motorists who received parking citations in West Hollywood on Christmas Day, it is a belated happy holiday. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, with the concurrence of the West Hollywood City Council, announced that all 155 of those tickets have been voided. Sgt.

In February, The Times noted that we sought a candidate for the open 5th Council District seat who would balance a citywide vision with the demands of district residents that their quality of life be protected. With that balance in mind, we endorsed Ron Galperin in the primary. Voters preferred neighborhood activist David T. Vahedi and former Assemblyman Paul Koretz, and we took a fresh look at both in advance of the May 19 runoff.

For those 155 motorists who received parking citations in West Hollywood on Christmas Day (and you know who you are), it is a belated happy holiday. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, with the concurrence of the West Hollywood City Council, announced Thursday that all 155 of those tickets have been voided. Sgt.

The West Hollywood City Council has voted to join the Public Employees Retirement System. The council had avoided the system because its funds are invested in companies that do business in South Africa, but council members said it is the best pension plan for city employees. City officials plan to ask the organization to establish a separate fund for cities that do not want their retirement money invested in companies that do business in South Africa.

The West Hollywood City Council has appointed two members to the city's new Management Task Force and promised to select two more members in its next session. The task force was created by the council to review management operations at City Hall. Each council member is allowed to make one appointment. Councilwoman Helen Albert appointed Brad Crowe and Mayor Stephen Schulte chose Paul Silvern.

The West Hollywood City Council has made its at-large appointments to several boards and commissions. Appointments to the Planning Commission include journalist-planner William Fulton and caterer Abbe Land. Retiree Katie Prizer and executive Judi L. Hockman were named human services commissioners. The Transportation Commission will include research psychologist Sibyl A. Zaden and architect Margot Siegel.

The West Hollywood City Council has given final approval to a specific plan that will allow the Pacific Design Center to more than double its size. The council action approved basic plans for the center, the giant blue glass structure that sits on the corner of San Vicente Boulevard and Melrose Avenue. Detailed plans for the center's parking structure, landscaping, public art and other specifics will have to return to the City Council for approval.

The West Hollywood City Council gave final approval Monday to an ordinance that allows catering trucks to sell prepared food on city streets but maintains a ban on street vending of fresh produce. The measure permits catering trucks to sell from parking spaces on commercial strips for up to two hours. It allows sales from any private property in a residential area for up to 30 minutes. Operators must display a vending license.

The West Hollywood City Council's vote to make marijuana possession a low law enforcement priority (June 20) should be followed by other cities and counties. Nationwide, police are making more marijuana possession arrests and fewer important drug arrests than they used to. Since 1991, marijuana possession arrests have increased from 22.4% of total drug arrests to 39.5% in 2003, while arrests for heroin and cocaine sales have decreased from 22.5% of the total to 8.8%, according to the White House.

Re "School Takeover Plan: Too Big an Assignment?" Dec. 6 Rather than engage L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a meaningful dialogue about making the Los Angeles Unified School District more accountable, the West Hollywood City Council engages in meaningless posturing and turf battles. Currently no municipality has any legal authority over the school district, and each one's influence over board policy is insignificant, so it is hard to see what power West Hollywood would be ceding if the mayor of Los Angeles headed the school district.

Residents who for two years have fought efforts to convert the "Tara" house in West Hollywood into a senior condo complex prepared Friday for a midnight eviction. The Laurel Avenue property has been the subject of a preservation battle between residents and the city, which owns the structure. The debate has come to symbolize what critics have called West Hollywood's poor record of preserving its historic buildings.

With the L.A. County medical trauma system in crisis, placing an article about James Fuhrman ("Ethics Watchdog Drops Chase in W. Hollywood," Sept. 21) on the front page and the story about King/Drew Medical Center back in the California section defies belief. Fuhrman's impact on this community has been minuscule by any standard, at best resulting in a reduction in meal expenses charged to the city by officials. This story belongs on the comics page; Fuhrman is a joke, not real news.

The West Hollywood City Council took steps Monday aimed at recognizing same-sex marriages performed in San Francisco and elsewhere and called upon the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to consider performing same-sex marriages in the county.

As protesters questioned the propriety of it all, construction began Friday on a military monument in an unexpected place: outside one of West Hollywood's first gay-rights battlefields. The memorial to veterans will be built alongside Santa Monica Boulevard in front of Barney's Beanery restaurant, where the first civil-rights skirmish in the city, which has a large gay population, was fought decades ago.

The West Hollywood City Council has selected Paul Koretz as mayor of the city. Koretz, who was mayor pro tem last year and was mayor from 1991-92, will preside over the council until next March. The council also selected Councilman Sal Guarriello as mayor pro tem. A staunch opponent of weapons, Koretz co-sponsored the ordinance banning the sale of so-called "Saturday night specials."