CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/CALIFORNIA
B
They’re dancing
in the street for
Berry GordyHollywood intersection
is renamed in honor of
the Motown Records
founder, who built a
musical empire. BScheme preyed
on older Latinas
FBI says four people
with ties to Colombia
were charged and were
responsible for running
a lottery ticket scam. BLottery.........................BAn aide to Los Angeles
City Councilman Jose
Huizar has filed a $10-million
legal claim against the city,
alleging the councilman re-
taliated against him after
he spoke with federal inves-
tigators about possible
criminal activity involving
his boss.
Huizar staffer Jesse Leon
said in his claim that he re-
ceived a termination letter
after he talked to federal law
enforcement officials about
his suspicion that Huizar
had attempted to “extort
money or solicit bribes from
operators of cannabis busi-
nesses.”
Leon, 40, accused Huizar
and Paul Habib, the council-
man’s chief of staff, of violat-
ing federal antidiscrimina-
tion and whistleblower pro-
tection laws, according to
the two-page claim filed withthe city clerk’s office.
The claim says Leon was
put on administrative leave
on Aug. 9 and was issued a
termination letter a month
later saying his last day
would be Oct. 31.
“Huizar’s and Habib’s
conduct was extreme and
outrageous, and caused
Leon severe emotional dis-
tress,” the claim says.
Huizar called the allega-
tions of retaliation “abso-
lutely false,” saying Leon
had come under scrutiny for
ethical reasons. The city’s
lawyers concluded last sum-
mer that Leon had at-
tempted to secure a canna-
bis license while also serving
as the Huizar’s policy ad-
viser on cannabis regula-
tions — a financial conflict of
interest, the councilman
said.
“Jesse was, in fact, inti-
mately involved in creating
the ordinance for the pro-
gram for which he and his
wife applied,” Huizar said in
an emailed statement. “Af-
ter a discussion with Jesse,
we concluded that he failed
to provide truthful accounts
of his actions.”
Leon filed his claim in
September, after he hadAide accuses
councilman
of retaliating
against him
Staffer alleges he was
punished for talking
with investigators, but
Huizar says city found
a conflict of interest.
By David Zahniser[SeeHuizar,B4]SACRAMENTO — Esca-
lating a legal battle with Cal-
ifornia cities and counties
over where marijuana can be
sold, state officials are inter-
vening in a new court fight
over home delivery of canna-
bis in communities that
have banned or restricted
pot shops.
This month, Atty. Gen.
Xavier Becerra filed a mo-
tion on behalf of the Califor-
nia Bureau of Cannabis Con-
trol to join a lawsuit by Sa-
linas-based East of Eden
Cannabis Co. against Santa
Cruz County, which has
banned deliveries by compa-
nies it has not licensed.
The legal action comes as
a group of cities is challeng-
ing California’s home deliv-ery rules in Fresno County
Superior Court, arguing
that state law allows them to
decide whether businesses
can sell pot in their commu-
nities.
In January, the Bureau of
Cannabis Control issued
regulations that permit
firms it licenses to deliver
marijuana to homes any-
where in the state, including
in cities and counties that
have banned pot shops.
Santa Cruz County
spokesman Jason Hoppin
said that under Proposition
64, which voters approved in
2016 to legalize marijuana for
recreational use, “the state
promised the people of Cali-
fornia local control over the
time, place and manner of lo-
cal cannabis operations.”
“The state is now lending
the power of the attorney’s
general office to a business
seeking to break that prom-
ise,” he said. “It is beyond
disappointing and should be
alarming to cities and coun-
ties throughout California.”ABOUT 75%of California cities have banned canna-
bis shops under discretion granted by Proposition 64.Katie FalkenbergLos Angeles TimesState sides with
pot firm in fight
over deliveries
Cities, counties argue
that Prop. 64 allows
local officials to have
final say on cannabis.
By Patrick McGreevy[SeeCannabis,B6]D
ion Neutra, the
son of the 20th
century archi-
tect Richard
Neutra and a
practitioner in his own right
who also waged a decades-
long war to save his father’s
iconic buildings from the
ravages of time, remodeling
and demolition, has died at
his home on Neutra Place in
Silver Lake, a neighborhood
studded with Neutra
architecture.
Neutra died Sunday in
his sleep, said his brother,
Raymond Neutra. He was
93.
As the scion of an archi-
tecture practice synony-
mous with International
Style modernism, Neutra
was a link to the generation
of 20th century architectural
titans who included his fa-
ther, Mies van der Rohe, Le
Corbusier, Marcel Breuer,
Walter Gropius, Eero Saari-
nen, Alvar Aalto, Louis Kahn
and Rudolph Schindler.
Richard Neutra, a Vien-
nese émigré who came to the
United States in 1923 to work
with Frank Lloyd Wright, ar-
DION NEUTRA, 1926 - 2019
Son of famed 20th century architect
A practitioner himself,
he became known as
an aggressive steward
of his father’s legacy.
David BohrerLos Angeles Times
LITHE AND AIRY STRUCTURES
Dion Neutra and his father, Richard, exerted their influence upon the built
environment and visual aesthetics of Los Angeles for nearly a century.By Mark Rozzo
[SeeNeutra,B5]A wind-driven brush fire
that started late Monday
afternoon near Highway 154
in Santa Barbara County
moved quickly downhill,
prompting mandatory
evacuations and threat-
ening homes.
The Cave fire started just
after 4 p.m. near East Ca-
mino Cielo and Painted Cave
Road in Los Padres National
Forest and by 9 p.m. had
grown to at least 3,122 acres,
according to the Santa Bar-
bara County Fire Depart-
ment. Within three hours of
starting, the fire had burned
down to the top of Cienegui-
tas Road near the San Mar-
cos Foothills Preserve, ac-
cording to Santa Barbara
city’s Office of Emergency
Services.
It initially moved into a
few canyons and rapidly ex-
panded as it was pushed
south by 15-mph, down-can-
yon winds with 30-mph
gusts. By 7:30 p.m., the fire
was spotting in front of itself
and had started at least one
spot fire near Highway 154
and Cathedral Oaks Road,
said Mike Eliason, a public
information officer with the
department.
“As this fire gets pushed
down canyon, it’s going to
start getting closer to
homes,” Eliason said.
As the fire grew, mutual
aid started to arrive from
neighboring counties to help
local and national forest fire-
fighters. The Ventura
County Fire Department
sent two strike teams, about
10 fire engines, Monday eve-
ning, and the L.A. County
Fire Department sent a
Firehawk helicopter, which
is capable of performing
nighttime water drops.JOHN MALONE, with miniature horse Breeze, watches flames off Via Chaparral in Santa Barbara County
on Monday after he evacuated his home. The Cave fire was whipped by 30-mph, down-canyon wind gusts.
Photographs by Mike EliasonSanta Barbara County Fire DepartmentHomes threatened in
wind-fanned brush fire
Blaze spreads quickly out of forest in Santa Barbara County
A HELICOPTER from the Los Angeles County Fire
Department makes a water drop near Highway 154.By Jaclyn Cosgrove
[SeeFire,B5]