Hollywood : Controlling 2 Boulevards

Preparing for a busy summer, the Los Angeles City Council has earmarked $47,587 for emergency traffic control and parking enforcement on Hollywood and Sunset boulevards.

Hollywood-area Councilman Michael Woo, who called for the allocation, said police need traffic control assistance from the transportation department to free them to tend to law enforcement duties.

Woo also asked police and transportation officials to come up with an anti-cruising plan, saying in his motion that “police now report that gang members and gang activities are increasingly becoming intertwined with cruising on Hollywood Boulevard.”

Los Angeles Police Department Capt. John Higgins, who is in charge of the Hollywood Division, told the council Friday about a double murder in Hollywood the previous week and a recent triple murder related to cruising.

Though he voted for the measure, City Councilman Nate Holden chided Woo and other council members for quickly drafting emergency measures when violence occurs in their areas, while ignoring ongoing mayhem in other crime-plagued districts. “Do you know how many were killed in my district over the weekend?” asked Holden rhetorically.