The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, created to run LA's new neighborhood councils, is under fire.
The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) came is part of the city-charter reform approved by LA voters in June 1999. The fledgling agency faces mounting criticism from grassroots groups who call DONE exclusionary and top-down, and from some City Council members who find Mayor Richard Riordans support of the neighborhood-empowerment measure suspect. The LA Weekly reports on DONE's progress to date.
Thanks to Chris Steins
FULL STORY: Voices in the ’Hood

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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research