Angelenos Evaluate Garcetti's Year in Office
A day after the Los Angeles 2020 Commission released its list of 13 recommendations to improve the city of Los Angeles, residents and experts chime in on Mayor Garcetti's first year in office.
Among the recommendations to elected officials, the commission suggested increasing minimum wage, combining giant twin harbors into a single port, and changing oversight of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
"I think the rest of the country thinks L.A. is this weird silly Hollywood place," said one resident. "I think the mayor is trying to help showcase what Los Angeles is trying to offer."
L.A. counts with a sizable number of colleges and universities. Experts said that instead of improving the economy and education separately, there is a way to combine the two into university villages, for example.
"All of their [mayors'] focus is on the material look of the city," said Lisa Schweitzer, an urban planning expert. "[They're] bringing about bicycling when our schools are a mess."