Blogger’s Parking Pics Sting Hahn

The buzz around City Hall on an otherwise quiet Friday: the posting of photos online of Councilwoman Janice Hahn’s car parked in a handicapped spot.

The anonymous posting on the political blog called Mayor Sam’s Sister City -- a reference to the late Sam Yorty, a former Los Angeles mayor -- included a photo of Hahn’s car, a hybrid, parked in the City Hall garage and showed her license plate number.

The photo of the car illegally parked was taken at a Blue Line train station in Watts, where Hahn and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attended an event on Thursday marking the 40th anniversary of the Watts riot.

Many postings on the site are anonymous and it’s widely assumed around City Hall that many of the bloggers either work or have worked for the city.

That the photo was taken in the City Hall garage -- which is not open to the public -- is also a hint that a City Hall employee took the photo.

Hahn heard about the posting and apologized Friday in media interviews. She said a staff member was driving the car and that the individual had been “severely reprimanded.”

“Someone was picking me up, I was not driving the car,” she said. “We were short on time and I think they were trying to get as close as they could to where I was speaking.

“I’m embarrassed, I’m absolutely embarrassed, it’s something that I personally would never do and something I have no sympathy for when other people do it,” she added.

“Anyone who abuses handicap parking is the worst of offenders.”