Photo: Fire Monkey Fish

The LA City Nerd has done an exhaustively thorough job concerning today’s 10am meeting of the LA City council in the Van Nuys Municipal Building. They will now begin to meet there the first Friday of the month.

LA Nerd has packaged a tour guide to the area, which almost makes Van Nuys sound like a tourist destination. “Beyond the government services, the surrounding blocks have countless restaurants – some unique to the area worth trying: Le Fun Cafe, Dr. Deli & the Sandwich Queen, and Ranch House BBQ being popular with government workers. Others, like Subway are always good, too. Branch out; within a few blocks, you’ll find Kabobs, great Chinese food, and Peruvian- all within walking distance!”

He also mentions a used book store, a nuts outlet shop, an ice skating rink and a tailor. For some reason he neglected to include a fascinating and educational visit to the Van Nuys branch of Washington Mutual across from the complex.

But on a more serious note, he suggests a visit to local government officials: “The Mayor’s & Councilman Cardenas’s field offices are on the second floor of the VMB. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky can be reached by crossing past the newly opened county childcare center to his field office in the former City Health Department building (from the days when LA City had its own Health department). The State building is just across Delano Street to the south; here you can visit State Senator Richard Alarcon or Assemblyman Lloyd Levine.”

Who are all these people? What is the job of the Councilman as opposed to the Assemblyman? What can Zev Yaroslavsky do for me? Who is Richard Alarcon and what does he do and where does he do it? Should I be embarassed for not knowing? Now that the City Council has decided to come to Van Nuys once a month….. who is going to attend their meetings?

Is it a public disservice to raise these questions?