Councilman Seeks Job, Lands in Jail

When Councilman Paul Rosenstein woke up Wednesday morning after a long council meeting, he headed over to union headquarters in search of a job.

There is no work available today for a union electrician, a representative told the councilman, but if you're free, why not head over to LAX and join a protest staged by the AFL-CIO on behalf of security workers. A long-time union loyalist, Rosenstein did just that.

At LAX, the councilman found hundreds of protesters gathered at a demonstration presided over by AFL-CIO state president Art Pulaski. There were union leaders from across the county and workers marching in support of enforcing a living wage law at Argenbright Security.

Rosenstein joined the crowd. The sense of solidarity and the impassioned chants only seemed to pump up his union pride, so Rosenstein sat down with a few hundred other protesters and blocked the main roadway outside the United Airlines terminal.

The helicopters thumping in circles overhead and the squad cars that surrounded the protesters reminded the councilman of his days crusading for civil rights. When the officers ordered the crowd to disperse, Rosestein didn't budge. He joined the 26 protesters who defied the order.

"I got moved by the plight of these people," Rosenstein said afterwards. "I got moved by the moment there."

Rosenstein was handcuffed and taken to the LAPD Pacific Division station, where he was thrown in the holding tank. A few hours later he was released. A court appearance is set for June 2.

But upon pondering the councilman's plight and his sudden urge to join the protest, Confidential couldn't help but wonder if that late night meeting a tired Rosenstein left in a huff the previous night didn't have something to do with the case.

Tree Huggers Navigate Different Environment

Wednesday, May 13 --If you think the environmentalists fighting against the Playa Vista project are nothing more than tree huggers, think again.

Gone are the days when these activists merely chained themselves to bulldozers on the side of Jefferson Boulevard, aggravating drivers in an effort to raise awareness about the project. Turns out, these activists know as much about the legal system as they do about the ecosystem.

They have filed yet another lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, this one under the Unfair Businesses Practices Act of California -- a new twist for Playa Vista activists, who have focused on what they consider to be the environmental atrocities of the project, not on bad business dealings on the part of the project's developers.

The complaint -- filed by Wetlands Action Network, Southwest Center for Biological Diveristy and California Public Interest Research Group against Playa Capital Company, SKG Playa and Studio Land Company-alleges that Playa Vista's developers have engaged in unfair business practices and that the
results have been devastating for the species living in the area.

"Instead of proceeding through the regulatory process in a fair and lawful manner, defendants have attempted to subvert the process by destroying habitat through illegal grading, surcharging soils, and removing vegetation and seed banks before required environmental analyses is conducted by the permitting agencies," the lawsuit reads.

The complaint goes on to call the project "unlawful, unfair and fraudulent" and accuses the developers of failing to obtain roper permits and approvals for the work. The lawsuit underscores an illegal haul route driven through the nesting habitat for the Great Blue Heron that has so destroyed the area, the birds have completely abandoned historic nesting sites.

Another example of damage done is to the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, according to the lawsuit. Despite a 60-day-notice filed under the Endangered Species Act after a flycatcher was spotted in a willow grove on the Playa Vista property, the complaint says, developers bulldozed and destroyed the entire area. Playa Vista has violated the Business & Professions code by violating several Los Angeles Municipal code sections related to permitting and by failing to have a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan in place, according to the lawsuit…..

All this courtroom drama has had an unusual effect on Westside activist Jerry Rubin, known for kicking around Santa Monica in his trademark shorts and sporting legs tanner than a fisherman's.

Doesn't matter where he goes, Rubin is remembered as the guy with the legs. But when the Playa Vista activists went to the Ninth District Court of Appeals last week to argue another one of their cases against the project, Rubin pulled on a pair of pants.

Full-length, straight-to-the-ankle trousers.

Asked why he broke a shorts-wearing fetish that seemed to defy both temperature and social occasion, a slightly embarrassed Rubin mumbled that fellow Playa Vista activist Marcia Hanscom had forced him to do it.

Then, thinking the better of it, Rubin replied with a smile. "It was cold."