A summary of selected City Hall actions...

A summary of selected City Hall actions affecting Central Los Angeles in the past week.

CITY COUNCIL

* L.A. FESTIVAL: Approved the closure of 43rd Street between Crenshaw Boulevard and Leimert Park, and Degnan Street between 43rd Street and 43rd Place from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. each weekend from Aug. 20 through Sept. 19 for the L.A. Festival. This year’s festival will include tours of Leimert Park’s coffee houses and jazz clubs.

* AFRICAN MARKETPLACE: Approved the closure of Exposition Boulevard between La Brea and Farmdale avenues on the weekends of Aug. 21-22, Aug. 28-29 and Sept. 4-6 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. for the African Marketplace and Cultural Fair at Rancho Cienega Recreation Center.

* CHINESE CELEBRATION: Approved the closure of the two westerly lanes of Broadway between College and Bernard streets in Chinatown from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 10 for the 82nd anniversary celebration of the founding of the Republic of China. The event is sponsored by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn.

* SOUTHWEST MUSEUM: Approved a proposal requesting city officials to prevent the Southwest Museum from moving from its current site in Highland Park. The museum of American Indian Art and archeology is seeking a larger facility.

RECREATION AND PARK COMMISSIONERS

* PONY RIDES: Approved increasing the ticket prices for Griffith Park pony rides from $1.25 to $1.50, effective Sept. 1. The concessionaire asked for the increase to offset the rise in feed prices and increases in expenses for workers’ compensation and Social Security.

HOW THEY VOTED

How South-Central and Eastside representatives on the City Council voted on selected issues. * ‘POETIC JUSTICE’: Approved a proposal expressing its disapproval to Cineplex Odeon Corp., which runs the 18-screen Universal City Cinemas, for refusing to show “Poetic Justice” during its opening weekend out of fear of violence. The council also asked the district attorney to investigate whether the company violated state civil rights law. Passed: 11-0. Voting yes: Richard Alatorre, Mike Hernandez and Nate Holden. Absent: Rita Walters, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Rudy Svorinich.

* LEARN: Approved a proposal supporting the LEARN plan to reform the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now would decentralize the district’s bureaucracy and give more power to school principals, teachers, parents and school staff to make decisions. Passed: 12-0. Voting yes: Alatorre, Hernandez, Holden, Ridley-Thomas and Svorinich. Absent: Walters.