Don’t ask, don’t tell is all the talk in the City Council

As we’ve said before in this space, sometimes everything you need to know about the city of Los Angeles is neatly summed up in one nice package.

Take, for example, last Wednesday. Only three hours into the City Council’s meeting, members took a stand against the issue of don’t ask, don’t tell.

This was notable for two reasons.

The first is that don’t ask, don’t tell -- although perhaps a deplorable, discriminatory policy in our nation’s military -- was last big news in 1993.

The second is that the city of Los Angeles does not have a military. Keen readers may note that Los Angeles does, however, have plenty of murders, homeless, traffic jams and people who do not live near a nice park.

Nonetheless, Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who is gay, wanted the council to resolve it was against don’t ask, don’t tell.

The council upped the stakes Friday when it passed a symbolic resolution against use of the “N” word for hostile purposes.

So, it was quite a week of accomplishments. In other news . . .

What is the big flap over murals along the Arroyo Seco about?

The fine line between murals and graffiti.

Several weeks ago, Friends of the Los Angeles River organized an event to allow artists to paint murals along the concrete walls of the Arroyo Seco, near where it empties into the L.A. River in downtown.

The idea was to give those who like to paint or tag a legal outlet. Well-known artist Man One also was also involved.

That was well and good, until county Supervisor Gloria Molina caught wind of the event after the fact and hit the roof. She didn’t like the content of some of the murals -- one showed a topless woman -- and worried that the murals would attract graffiti.

“We’ve always looked to them as partners in beautifying and greening the river, but with friends like this, who needs enemies,” Molina said Friday of the group’s mural project. “I think they have really violated their own mission.”

The dispute got juicier when some of the murals mysteriously were painted over. The group had obtained permits ahead of time and wanted to know if the county was responsible for the over-painting, but the county said no.

“Why not paint some place like that? -- a completely degraded area where no one is living,” said Lewis MacAdams, a founder of the group. “I think we opened doors to whole new communities who had never been around the Los Angeles River.”

We visited the site with Councilman Ed Reyes last week. Reyes, the chairman of the council’s river restoration committee, hiked up his pants and waded in his dress shoes into the shallow water to look at the murals.

Reyes, who was told of the event ahead of time, said he sides with Molina. Although he found some of the remaining murals interesting -- and we agree -- most, he noted, have been tagged in recent weeks.

“What really worries me is that a tagging crew is going to come down here late one night and run into another tagging crew, and someone is going to get shot,” Reyes said.

Interestingly, he shares a similar frustration with the river group: Everywhere he looks, he sees graffiti, and he isn’t sure what to do about it. Create a graffiti art park? Crack down with more cops? Nothing, so far, has really worked, Reyes said.

In that vein, city contractors last year removed 3,864,422 square feet of graffiti from 35,847 locations in Reyes’ district, which includes neighborhoods west of downtown and parts of northeast L.A.

Any good news about the L.A. River?

Actually, yes. Congress last week overrode a presidential veto of a water bill that contains $25 million for L.A. River renovation. The money still has to be budgeted, but it’s a start.

If you’re keeping score at home, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-East Los Angeles) bird-dogged the funds in the House, and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California) did so on the Senate side.

As for the senator, the accompanying Boxer-o-Meter shows she has only $54 million to go to fulfill a promise to obtain $79 million for the river.

Why might some residents in Gardena soon be staring at a giant billboard?

Because the city of Los Angeles has approved a 45-foot-tall billboard for the corner of 182nd Street and Vermont Avenue. The billboard will face away from L.A. but toward homes in Gardena.

“I find it completely implausible that a 45-foot mega-billboard lit all night long is going to entirely dominate the area,” said Beth Dorris, a Gardena assistant city attorney.

The City Council’s planning committee rejected an appeal of the billboard by Gardena last week.

The back story?

In 2005, Councilwoman Janice Hahn persuaded the billboard firm Clear Channel to take down one of its billboards to make way for a new library in the Gardena-adjacent Harbor Gateway area of Los Angeles. In exchange, her office helped find a new site for the billboard, about six miles away. It should be noted that the law in L.A. prohibits new billboards, as the city already has more than 10,000 of them dotting the landscape. The law also gives the council the ability to grant exemptions.

Would Hahn like a big billboard outside her house?

She said she wouldn’t. Hahn also said she felt obliged to help Clear Channel find a new location because the company was so willing to move the billboard to help the library project. Hahn also said mitigations for the new sign were sufficient.

But Hahn was just warming up. She noted Gardena has its own aesthetic issues. “I think they’re being a little disingenuous,” she said. “They’re trying to get me to put up a giant billboard for the Hustler casino on the 110” freeway, referring to the casino in Gardena.

A suggested compromise: How about if neither is erected?

On a related note, here’s a billboard fun fact: Last September, two billboard firms agreed to take down nearly 600 signs that had been installed in L.A. without permits. As of last week, two had been demolished.

What has Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa done three times in recent days?

Slagged the City Council publicly over police-hiring issues.

The most recent rebuke came Friday, when the mayor announced a signing bonus program for new LAPD recruits, funded by a $1-million donation from Mercury Insurance.

“I made this proposal a year ago -- it took them a year to get this out of the council,” Villaraigosa said. “I don’t understand that, everybody. I really don’t.” His words were directed at council budget chair Bernard C. Parks, who offered a different version.

“The council said all along that when we see the million dollars, we’ll approve it,” Parks said. “The letter came this week for half the amount.”

Two observations: The mayor clearly is looking for some wins after his rough summer. He’s also not getting along well with Parks, which will make it interesting if the city’s budget woes continue.

Next week: The council rejects the Treaty of Versailles.

steve.hymon@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Sen. Barbara Boxer has promised to secure $79 million in federal funds for L.A. River projects.

(In millions)

Boxer’s promise: $79

Amount raised so far: $25

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Source: Times reporting