DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Today is Monday, August 17, and City Council is in the first day of a two-week recess. It's one of two lengthy recesses for Council, the other being their winter break. This year, that runs from December 18 to January 1.

The group also gets time off for a trip of conferences. The National League of Cities’ Congressional Cities Conference took place in Washington, D.C., and the Council had off March 13 - 18.

Soon after they get back, councilmembers will get most of a week off for the League of California Cities’ Annual Conference, taking place September 16 - 18 in San Jose. The body gets Tuesday, September 15, off as a travel day.

Rounding out the year, the National League of Cities’ Congress of Cities Conference runs November 10 - 14 in San Antonio, TX.

Here at blogdowntown, we'll be using the break to catch up on a few bigger issues that have been working their way through the Council process. Look for stories on topics like filming and supergraphics over the next two weeks.