{"id":928145,"date":"2026-07-11T16:12:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T16:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/928145\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T16:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T16:12:18","slug":"group-that-helped-run-the-l-a-zoo-for-more-than-50-years-is-now-bankrupt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/928145\/","title":{"rendered":"Group that helped run the L.A. Zoo for more than 50 years is now bankrupt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The L.A. Zoo\u2019s elephants are now in Tulsa<\/a>, and the zoo\u2019s longtime nonprofit partner is now in bankruptcy court. <\/p>\n

The litany of woes<\/a> at the L.A. Zoo grew longer last month as the city\u2019s nonprofit partner, the Greater Los Angeles Zoological Association, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing \u201cincessant litigation\u201d from the city of Los Angeles as the cause.<\/p>\n

The city sued GLAZA \u2014 its partner for more than half a century \u2014 in 2024<\/a> over a $50 million endowment that each side argued was theirs to steward. <\/p>\n

The city won a preliminary injunction in Los Angeles Superior Court that barred GLAZA from keeping the money when its contract with the zoo ended last year. Following the split and lawsuit, GLAZA dwindled in size from 42 full-time employees to just four part-time employees.<\/p>\n

Now GLAZA says it owes its creditors, including more than $300,000 that it needs to pay a law firm that has represented the nonprofit in its legal battle with the city. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe City has designated an army of eight attorneys to overwhelm GLAZA with endless discovery, depositions, and court filings all to run up GLAZA\u2019s legal fees,\u201d the nonprofit said in a statement shared with The Times. \u201cAs a result, GLAZA has been left with no options other than to seek protection from the bankruptcy court to ensure the survival of GLAZA and the protection of its donors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following its separation from the city, GLAZA executives hope the nonprofit can work in the animal conservation efforts in Southern California.<\/p>\n

On July 1, the City Council approved $250,000 in outside lawyers related to the bankruptcy case. <\/p>\n

The zoo is facing headwinds as membership has declined precipitously and facilities have deteriorated, according to an Los Angeles County civil grand jury report.<\/p>\n

The city attorney\u2019s office didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment on GLAZA\u2019s bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

Pratt\u2019s new frontier<\/p>\n

Former mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt<\/b> was far from Los Angeles as he took a meeting with President Trump in Washington, D.C., a few days ago. <\/p>\n

Pratt, who came up short of the Nov. 2 runoff by a few percentage points, met with the president in the Oval Office, posting a photo of the rendezvous to social media Tuesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cI will never stop fighting for my community,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n

Pratt paired the visit with an announcement of a new media endeavor he plans to launch called \u201cWAR.\u201d He said the foundation will fight against political corruption, advocate for transparency in government and \u201crestore common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

The website for the foundation doesn\u2019t have additional details, just a link to contribute and a link to a website selling Pratt merch. <\/p>\n

The White House didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n

Pratt also posted a 9-minute video<\/a> Wednesday calling out California\u2019s election system, claiming that the results of the June 2 primary were skewed by fraud.<\/b><\/p>\n

Representatives for Pratt\u2019s campaign didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Phoning it in<\/p>\n

After the flag salute and brief comments, L.A. City Council meetings kick off with a public comment period, during which crusading citizens often let loose on city officials as the council members quietly listen, leave the room or chat among themselves. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not always L.A.\u2019s finest hour, as certain commenters often resort to slurs and ad hominem attacks about the council members\u2019 race, ethnicity and even physical appearance. <\/p>\n

On July 1, public comment expanded as new state law, SB 707<\/a>, went into effect, requiring the council to take telephonic public comment. <\/p>\n

The council also had to verbally state the amendments they make to motions due to the new law, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson <\/b>noted. Historically, the council has affixed amendments to a bulletin board in council chambers. <\/p>\n

After frequent speaker Armando Herman used the N-word<\/a> at the July 1 meeting, Harris-Dawson noted that the state legislature had done nothing about offensive comments at public meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur friends in the state legislature made the decision to require us to have telephonic public comment. They did nothing, zero, about what we just heard. Since they want to intervene in our meetings, I\u2019d call on them to do something about what they just heard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The council did ban commenters from using the N-word and C-word<\/a> last year. Speakers who use those words receive a warning and are booted from the meeting if they do it again.<\/p>\n

Harris-Dawson said the new state law was \u201cproblematic\u201d and noted another issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t verify if calls are bots or foreign agents, which poses a security risk,\u201d he said in a statement to The Times. <\/p>\n

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State of play<\/p>\n

\u2014 BOYLE-ING OVER: <\/b>Mayor Karen Bass<\/b>, Councilmember Ysabel Jurado <\/b>and County Supervisor Hilda Solis <\/b>were roundly booed and heckled<\/a> by Boyle Heights residents during a town hall Thursday about the Boyle Heights fire. The three officials struggled to speak over the irate audience.<\/p>\n

\u2014 SOLAR FLARE: <\/b>Before the Boyle Heights warehouse fire, Lineage representatives lobbied City Hall over the rooftop solar array<\/a>. The company says it was seeking a safer alternative to rapid shutdown devices.<\/p>\n

\u2014 FISCAL EDUCATION: <\/b>The Los Angeles Unified School District is facing \u201csevere\u201d indications<\/a> it could be insolvent as soon as next year and has 45 days to fix its budget or risk an outside takeover. The Los Angeles County Office of Education has projected a $231 million cash shortfall by 2027. <\/p>\n

\u2014 HIT THE STREETS: <\/b>The LAPD is considering shutting down its police academy<\/a> for part of 2028 to allow hundreds of officers to hit the streets for the Olympics, according to department sources. The move could lead to a drop in police hiring.<\/p>\n

\u2014 LEGEND GONE:<\/b> Billy G. Mills, one of the first Black men elected to L.A.\u2019s City Council, died June 27<\/a>. Mills was a civil rights leader before being elected to the legislative body in 1963, the same year Tom Bradley was elected to be a council member. <\/p>\n

\u2014 IT TAKES A VILLAGE: <\/b>Billionaire developer Rick Caruso\u2019s <\/b>Palisades Village will reopen in August<\/a> after more than $100 million in renovations following the January 2025 wildfire.<\/p>\n

\u2014 EVICTION BENEDICTION:<\/b> Thousands of formerly homeless people whose housing subsidies will expire in December are no longer at risk of eviction<\/a>, local housing officials announced Thursday. An infusion of new funds approved by Congress this year and a waiver of eligibility procedures have staved off a potential crisis that would have left 4,200 back on the street.<\/p>\n

QUICK HITS<\/p>\n