LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck announced today that 1,673 firearms were collected during the 2012 Gun Buyback, bringing the total number of firearms collected through the program to 7,942.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued the following statement today in response to President Obama’s support for same-sex marriage:

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed the Multiple Approvals Ordinance on Monday, cutting red tape and simplifying the development review process. Under the new ordinance development projects that require multiple approvals from the City of Los Angeles will now have one deadline rather than multiple expiration dates for individual entitlements.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, councilmembers, and bike community members this week invited Angelenos to get out of their cars and onto the streets for the City’s fourth CicLAvia.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Wednesday announced the release of the Los Angeles Regional Export Plan and new funding for programs facilitating exports through the Los Angeles Regional Export Council (LARExC) during a keynote speech at the Inaugural Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase Global Cities Initiative (GCI) Forum.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles City Council will honor five Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) during the two-day 17th Annual Minority Business Awards and Conference ‘Fostering Strategic Business Growth for Job Creation’ to be held March 23rd and 27th.

WASHINGTON, D.C. /California Newswire/ — Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asked U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Friday to empower school districts to apply for Race to the Top grants and for waivers from No Child Left Behind’s rigid regulations.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today joined Councilmember Jose Huizar and the CEOs of Fifth and Pacific Companies and Lucky Brand for the grand opening of the new Lucky Brand Headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued the following statement Saturday on the passing of Whitney Houston: Today, Los Angeles mourns the loss of Whitney Houston, one of the greatest voices of all time. It is with deep sadness that we reflect upon a life taken from us too soon, and a woman whose talents touched so many.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Today, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) released a request for proposals (RFP) for up to 30 Super Low Emission Buses (SLEBs) and/or Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs) as part of a pilot program to evaluate burgeoning technologies for LA’s future bus fleet.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today issued the following statement regarding the resignation of Martin Gomez as City Librarian. Gomez will assume the post of Vice Dean of the University of Southern California Libraries on April 2.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and community partners today launched the Greater Los Angeles Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Campaign Partnership, an annual effort to help qualified low and moderate-income families claim the tax credits they deserve.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the City Council, and business and community leaders launched a month of cultural events honoring African-American history and culture at the City’s annual African-American Heritage Month celebration. This year the City of Los Angeles honored Sheryl Lee Ralph, Walter Mosley, and Dr. Keith Black.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on Monday that six newly improved BusinessSource Centers are reopening across Los Angeles. The BusinessSource Centers are part of the Mayor’s strategy to create a healthy environment for job creation in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck today announced the 2011 results of the City’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) program including a successful 2011 Summer Night Lights (SNL) program resulting in a 35 percent reduction in gang related Part 1 crimes for all SNL sites.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck today announced the City’s 2011 year-end crime statistics that showed violent crime and property crime were reduced across Los Angeles for the 9th consecutive year.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Delivering on his promise to reduce pollution at the Port of Los Angeles and protect public health, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today marked a major milestone in the Clean Truck Program. The program required all trucks at the Port of Los Angeles to meet the toughest environmental standards in the nation by January 1, 2012.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Villaraigosa released the following statement on Monday on the string of arson fires in Los Angeles: Over the past few days we have been faced with an ongoing series of arson fires committed by an individual with wanton disregard for the lives and property of Angelenos. Thankfully, there have been no lives lost to these criminal acts and only minor injuries to date.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — At approximately 12:30 a.m., the LAPD began enforcing the closure of City Hall Park after giving those in the park a final opportunity to leave without facing arrest.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced at a Friday press conference that City Hall Park will close at 12:01 AM on Monday, November 28, 2011, because the City of Los Angeles cannot maintain the public safety of a long-term encampment. During the period when City Hall Park is closed, a Free Speech area on the Spring Street City Hall steps will remain open during regular park hours.