EKA Partner Jeff McConnell participated in VICA’s 2025 Business Forecast Conference: The Advocacy Games. The event delved into how advocacy influences the business landscape, from policy shifts and economic forecasts to the ways local, regional, and statewide stakeholders can collaborate to drive outcomes that matter. Jeff shared his expertise as the speaker on Housing.
Can you really go “off the record” after the fact? The short answer: No. In their new blog, EKA Partner Eric Rose and Thom Weidlich unpack the Halligan–Bower exchange, a cautionary tale for anyone who deals with the media. Whether you’re a prosecutor, a spokesperson, or a CEO, the same rule applies: confidentiality must be mutual and agreed upon in advance.
Read the full story https://prcg.com/blog/halligan-bower-exchange-again-raises-confidentiality-issue
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on November 4, 2025 approved Supervisors Horvath and Hahn’s motion to strengthen the Office of Food Systems (OFS), a critical County hub working to ensure equitable food access, public health, and resilience in the face of growing need due to this month’s federal government shutdown. The motion expands OFS’s ability to coordinate across departments and respond quickly when food access is threatened by establishing formal collaboration between OFS and all County departments—each designating a Food Systems Liaison—and requiring an interim progress report by June 16, 2026, and a final strategic plan by October 20, 2026. The Office of Food Systems, originally established as the Office of Food Equity, grew out of the County’s Food Equity Roundtable created in 2021 and operates as a public-private partnership between Los Angeles County and Community Partners.
Three months into the fiscal year, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, November 11, 2025 approved a plan to address a projected budget gap of $263 million caused by unexpected spending in several city departments and other costs, with the council unanimously authorizing the allocation of $14.19 million to cover immediate expenses including $1.36 million for outside counsel through December and nearly $6 million for costs related to cleanup of fire debris and repairs to storm water infrastructure. Top city officials further identified $169.41 million in possible actions to reduce year-end overspending down to an estimated $80 million, with the recommendations detailed in the First Financial Status Report covering the first three months of fiscal year 2025-26 that was advanced by the council’s five-member Budget and Finance Committee. The deficit is largely due to unexpected spending in the Los Angeles Fire Department with $87.6 million, the City Attorney’s Office with $34.2 million, and the Los Angeles Police Department with $27.7 million.
LAFD insider named chief amid lingering questions about Palisades fire
LA County 2025-26 Supplemental Budget
L.A. County Supervisors to Consider Immigration Emergency Declaration
LA reforms rent control for first time in 40 years, lowering rent hikes for most tenants
L.A. jails scale back opioid addiction treatment as fatal overdoses continue
At USC, more than 900 employees laid off since July amid ‘difficult’ fiscal crisis
Mayor Bass lifts LA’s homelessness emergency declaration
Dodger Stadium gondola should be a no-go, LA City Council says
Nov. 18: Supervisors to Consider Steps to End Veteran Homelessness
California voters passed Proposition 50 on November 4, 2025, approving a measure backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative Democrats that will redraw the state’s congressional districts to make 5 of the current Republican-held congressional districts more favorable to Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections. The measure is intended as a countermeasure to recent redistricting in states including Texas that favors Republicans.
Long Beach breaks ground on new $6 million greenbelt along LA River
Has student improvement plateaued in California? New Dashboard shows modest gains
Facing Trump budget shortfalls and state cuts, UC seeks $130-million state loan
SNAP recipients in most states will get benefits “within 24 hours” after shutdown ends, USDA says
SoCal’s big storm: Evacuation warnings, road closures, tips for surviving
The government shutdown is over, but not everything is back to normal