As 2022 draws to a close, we look back at a year that left us flustered and flabbergasted, furious and forlorn, befuddled but often bemused by the boneheadedness. From some truly WTF decisions to important lost opportunities to untimely passings, here are the low points of 2022.
MOST COSTLY MOVE: Minimum wage increase
Even if City Council’s intentions in raising the minimum wage to the highest in the nation were 100 percent noble, their take-no-prisoners approach in getting the policy implemented angered and alienated business owners of all stripes, from mom-and-pop operators to large corporations like Cedars-Sinai, and created a rift with the Chamber of Commerce that is still healing. But the idea of raising the minimum wage didn’t even come from the councilmembers — it came from UNITE HERE Local 11, the power-hungry labor union which not-so-coincidentally helped them get elected. This cozy relationship continues to pay dividends for UNITE HERE, while residents and businesses are stuck footing the bill.
MOST COUNTERINTUITIVE POLICY: Defunding the sheriff
But you already knew that.
WORST ROLLOUT: Electric scooters and bikes
It’s hard to believe how little foresight City Hall had when they opened the flood gates to electric scooters and bikes. The micromobile devices have so much potential to improve urban transportation, but without a plan to integrate them onto WeHo’s already jam-packed roads, chaos ensued and animosity followed. New technology that helps keep them off sidewalks is a step in the right direction, but there’s still no long-term vision for how scooters, cars, bikes and pedestrians will all share the roads of the future.
MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: Illegal cash giveaway program
The city proudly kicked off a pilot program that handed out $1,000 every month to low-income senior residents who identify as LGBTQ+. Then they realized giving preferential treatment based on sexual orientation was probably a violation of the Constitution. Yikes. Even Bill Maher was at a loss for words.
MOST WASTED POTENTIAL: The community garden
People were excited about the reopening of the Community Garden on Detroit Ave., but the city kept it so low-profile that only insiders were really able to make use of it. No fanfare, no public outreach, no posted hours of operation, nada. And with construction set to begin on the property, you can count the garden as another good idea that died on the vine without the care it needed.
WORST IDEA WE AVOIDED: 4 a.m. closing time
Most City Councilmembers didn’t see a problem allowing bars to stay open another two hours after the standard 2 a.m. closing time, even as they were simultaneously working to reduce the number of Sheriff’s deputies patrolling the theft-plagued Rainbow District. Luckily, the California Assembly saw the folly in this proposal and promptly killed it before it could do any damage.
MOST NEEDLESS LOSS: Lynn Hoopingarner
WeHo lost perhaps its most dedicated and respected commissioner this year when Lynn Hoopingarner, the Planning Commission’s chair, resigned over a misconstrued comment she made about Persian weddings. A silver lining is that the watchful and intelligent Kimberly Copeland was appointed in her place.
WORST REDESIGN: The rainbow crosswalks
The rainbow crosswalks were perfect for everyone but the idealogues in City Hall, who ruined their simple beauty by jamming in colors (baby blue, white) that don’t mix well with dirt and grease, and shapes (arrows) that are confusing for drivers. The Progress Pride design looks OK on the flags, but as you can see, it’s a hot mess on the asphalt. The crosswalks are WeHo’s signature landmark. They deserve a lot better than this.
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WORST CAMPAIGN AD: The Lindsey Horvath mural
Many smart and strategic decisions helped Lindsey Horvath win her County Supervisor race, but this wasn’t one of them. Painted like a high school pep rally poster, the mural that appeared suddenly last summer on the corner of Robertson and Santa Monica wasn’t just an eyesore, it was a violation of city code.
WORST MEMORIAL TRIBUTE: Attempting to re-name the library
The unnecessary push to rename the library after Ruth Bader Ginsburg hemorrhaged into another bitter public debate in a year that was full of them. The city’s proposal already seemed to be in progress by the time the public became aware of it. Outrage followed. After the dust settled, Ruth Bader Ginsburg got a room named after her, and we get to keep calling it the West Hollywood Library.
SADDEST GOODBYES
This year, WeHo lost a revered architect, a beloved matriarch, and not one but two inspirational role models in the disabled community, along with many others who made this city a better place.
We also lost Subway, Starbucks, Studs, Kat Von D’s Tattoo Shop, The Wing, John Varvatos, and in a few days, Conservatory will close as well. The reasons vary — for Starbucks, it was crime; for others, it was costs. Whatever the case, it’s a reminder that doing business in WeHo is often harder than it has to be.
Seeing that scooter disregard the red light & plow right into Lauren Meister’s Law abiding sister using a crosswalk, is extremely disturbing to watch. I have almost been run over 10+ times in the last year while walking my dog because like bicyclists, they rarely follow the rules, the laws, & EXPECT the pedestrian to get the hell out of the way! No helmets, no rules to follow, plow over or in front of people, & litter the sidewalks with scooters flung all over the streets & parkways! It’s obnoxious, disrupting, & simply irresponsible of this CC to have implemented… Read more »
Let’s have West Hollywood be known for a novel idea… PUBLIC SAFETY! People ordinarily outgrow silly, childish ideas when they reach adolescence.
RE; Rainbow Flag on street: why can’t we just stick with the basics and quit allowing people to change the arrangements of the letters in the acronym! https://www.glbthistory.org/
MOST COUNTERINTUITIVE POLICY: Defunding the sheriff’s Dept.Would it be rude to ask ms. Sepi Shyne to leave WeHo, LA Country, The State of California, and maybe move to her home country, Iran?
I can’t believe they have video of that poor woman getting hit by the scooter like that in the crosswalk and they still allow these ridiculous, childish things all over the city. Let’s start with some common sense, WeHo. Get rid of the scooters, act like an adult, and vote smarter. That should be everybody’s resolution for 2023 in West Hollywood.
@Joe Bologna
You sir are 1000% correct. Scooters are death traps and should not be allowed on the streets and/or sidewalks in WeHo or LA County anywhere.
Shyne’s first order of “business” was to redesign the Rainbow Flag to suit her own mal-informed perception of what the Rainbow Flag has actually represented from inception – it represents everyone, period! But she had to incorporate colors that differentiated among skin tones & races to suit herself & it’s a travesty that she was allowed to do so unchecked. She’s beyond an amateur, she’s incompetent. Now she says she “can’t wait” to barrel her bike down Fountain Avenue, which means that she wants to eliminate a traffic lane & replace it with a bicycle lane for her own use,… Read more »
Sephi Shyne didn’t redesign the rainbow flag. The version seen in the crosswalk is a 2018 version designed by Daniel Quasar known as the Pride Progress Flag. Since that time an additional flag known as the Intersex Inclusive Flag was created by Valentino Vecchiette for the 50th anniversary of Pride Month in London. Because the fight for our rights and the rights of our friends is ever changing so to the Pride Flag reflects that change. Also Sephi Shyne did not introduce the idea of protected bicycle/scooter lanes on Fountain Ave. The plan comes from the WEHO Planning and Development… Read more »
When do I get my own personal flag in the middle of Santa Monica Boulevard? I’m a designer too, Jacesque Gayo Is Meo. I designed a flag called Maggy Waggy Flaggy and it’s got every color that Crayola makes. In fact, I put an extra broad stroke of green so we can include GLBTZXRGDSHGG intersex Martians. By the way, I’m gay through and through but even I’m getting tired of this nonsense.
Join the fight for equality and acceptance! It crates purpose and bring your flag with you .All flags are welcome!
If all flags were welcome, that crosswalk would be more of a cacophony than it already is. That crosswalk is the ultimate in political pandering by a pathetic political grandstander. Am I the only person in West Hollywood to note that this pathetic political grandstander is the first in West Hollywood to refer to herself as the “Mayor Elect” as if the titular position of mayor were elected by popular vote? Stay tuned, WeHoans! Sepi is going to milk this temporary title in ways that make Lindsey’s misrepresentation to CNN that she was the sitting mayor after the Pulse nightclub… Read more »
This flag nonsense is nonsense. The best example of respect and good behavior is GOOD BEHAVIOR & RESPECT. People are not 2 year olds that need gimmicks. SELF RESPECT IS KEY!
I don’t speak for the gay community but I can tell you that as a young closeted man who was searching everywhere for anyone that was like me so that I would know there is nothing wrong with me, that flag was a source of inspiration, When you live in a small or conservative community that flag is a sign of safe space. That flag let’s you know where you are welcome, That flag represents the long struggle of LGBTQ people and allies who have struggled, fought and too many have died so that one day people could debate the… Read more »
Sepi Shyne is the best example of bad behavior.
Sepi Shyne strikes again. I loathe this woman. I can’t bear to either listen to or look at her without cringing. Lynn Hoopingarner should be either reappointed to the Planning Commission or someone else should appoint her to a different commission. Why should the city be deprived of Lynn’s many valuable talents because of a misplaced, out-of-control egomaniac who has no compassion & is insensitive to everyone else’s feelings but her own & supports no one but herself? John Heilman should be embarrassed & ashamed for imposing this mess upon us in the first place. But he’s not that much… Read more »
🤍thank you for sharing; I agree 100%.
It’s been a horrible year..and the next two will be just as bad, unfortunately. A majority of residents are unhappy with our city leaders and the direction our city has taken in the last two years. They need to do a better job of educating themselves on the people they vote for. Realize the impact/stronghold Unite Here has on our city and pay attention to those they they support. Let’s turn it around in two years. Until then, speak up, show up and watch everything our council does and voice your opposition when you don’t like what they are doing.… Read more »
I didn’t know about Michael Arrigo’s passing a few months ago. I’m sad that he was evicted from his Weho apartment, but landlord’s aren’t running charities. They have rights too. It’s even sadder that the City had nothing in place to help people who are truly disabled, through no fault of their own, like Michael. Instead, the City concentrates on the bad people who inflict their own diseases with the drugs and alcohol the City clearly pushes for lots of different reasons. The leadership in the City is truly misguided, sometimes they are just pure evil in who they decide… Read more »
Misguided. This describes the state of our little city to a tee.
This is so concise and on target. What is sad and disturbing and so telling is the SHE is all over these costly and sad blunders that have cost our lovely city in reputation, business prowess and resident satisfaction. Look at each item and one sees egotistical decisions making instead of thoughtful legislation for the betterment of West Hollywood. If I may submit perhaps the biggest blunder of 2022, it’s the Weho voters, who had the opportunity to stymie and turn the tide on this council on Election Day only to replace Horvath with Byers and keep the snowball to… Read more »