L.A. on the Record: City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto takes her blunt talk to the Valley

Los Angeles City Atty. Lunches with Karen Bass Feldstein Soto told the group that she meets “basically every Thursday for lunch” with Bass, and that the relationship is “devoted to making our city work, to rooting out corruption, to making sure that our public offices are as transparent as they can be.” On the issue of ethics, Feldstein Soto said that she is “enforcing” the city’s “no-bid contract provisions” and recently argued against a proposed ordinance to increase the amount that triggers the requirement for a written city contract from $5,000 to $25,000. Feldstein Soto also said that the city isn’t “accepting developer-drafted ordinances as our starting point” and made an allusion to an FBI raid of City Atty. Tackling prostitution In addition to her efforts to fight corruption, Feldstein Soto talked about a real estate branch that she formed within the department and efforts to fight sex trafficking along Figueroa Street in South L.A. She called that thoroughfare the “most horrific red light district after dark that I’ve ever seen in my life.” Feldstein Soto said she’s gotten assistance from the federal government, among others, on the issue of sex trafficking. Sanitation officials said resolving issues related to the spill, which has created noxious fumes and persistent water-quality problems, remains “a top priority.” —BIG PLANS FOR L.A.: The City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee will hold a special meeting on Monday to take up two big planning documents — formally known as community plans — that focus on zoning and development in downtown and Hollywood.