Election news, Another shoe drops in City Hall corruption scandal, and more

If you're anything like me, you've spent a not insignificant portion of the past 72 hours frantically hitting refresh on LAVote.gov in search of updates on the still undecided races in Los Angeles County. At the time of my writing, Congresswoman Karen Bass has taken a narrow lead over billionaire developer Rick Caruso in the contest to succeed Eric Garcetti as Mayor of Los Angeles.

Likewise, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva appears headed to defeat in his bid for a second term, with former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna maintaining a big lead. At the same time, the ballot initiative inspired by Villanueva which would grant the County Board of Supervisors the ability to remove an incumbent sheriff on track to pass.

West Hollywood City Councilmember Lindsay Horvath has taken a narrow lead over State Senator Bob Hertzberg in the race for the 3rd District Seat on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Both hope to succeed Sheila Kuehl, who is retiring.

After being rocked by controversy, the L.A. City Council is about to undergo another seismic shift, with as many as four new faces taking seats in December. Katy Young Yaroslavsky, Traci Park, and Tim McOsker are currently ahead in the races for the open seats representing Council Districts 5, 11, and 15, respectively. Meanwhile, incumbent 13th District Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell is trailing labor organizer Hugo Soto-Martinez.

Additionally, the race to succeed Mike Feuer as L.A. City Attorney still hangs in the balance, with Hydee Feldstein Soto currently holding a more than 15 percent advantage over rival Faisal Gill.

At least one election is all but decided. Kenneth Mejia, after accomplishing the seemingly impossible task of making voters interested in the office of City Controller, is headed toward a dominating win, steamrolling outgoing City Councilmember Paul Koretz.

It's not an elected office, but there is one more item that was on the ballot that will likely have impacts on development and land use in the City of Los Angeles, the United to House L.A. ballot initiative, which calls for implementing a transfer tax of 4 percent on all real estate transactions valued at $5 million or more, remains on track to pass.

Besides election news, here's what we're reading this week:

Chinese Developer Sells L.A. Luxury Tower at Steep Discount Greenland sells THEA at Metropolis for $504 million after asking for $695 million (and spending more than that in development costs) (Wall Street Journal)

An experiment in bike carpooling rolls across the Eastside "The hope is to have cycling groups run every 30 minutes from east to west in the mornings from west to east in the late afternoons and early evenings. But east-west is tough, with few bike lanes along the way, and a no-man’s land along Wilshire just past Beverly Hills." (Eastsider)

Transit Advocates Against Metro’s Proposed Fare Hike "Metro’s base transit fare would increase from $1.75 to $2. The agency would eliminate free transfers, so a single two-line trip would jump from $1.75 to $4." (Streetsblog LA)

Jury finds L.A. skyscraper developer paid Jose Huizar more than $1 million in bribes "The poignant spectacle of three family members testifying against Jose Huizar came at the trial of development company Shen Zhen New World I. It was convicted Thursday of paying Huizar more than $1 million in bribes to win his support for a proposed skyscraper in downtown L.A." (LA Times)

Can LA’s ‘Mansion Tax’ Unlock Affordable Housing Across California? "Los Angeles voters appear likely to pass Measure ULA, which could generate $900 million a year for housing subsidies and tenant protections. But critics fear the fee will backfire."(Bloomberg CityLab)

Long Beach to break ground on tidal channel project connecting Colorado Lagoon to ocean "New bike and walking paths, a public viewing area, two vehicle bridges and the reconfigured park area with new sports fields are part of the project that city officials believe will provide the type of water circulation the existing pipe could not. Better water quality could also help support the restoration of marine habitats." (Long Beach Post)