July 2007 Archives

An initiative campaign to modify state lawmakers' term limits has raised more than $2.8 million from Indian tribes, insurance companies, labor unions, drug companies and other interests that lobby at the Capitol. AP in the San Diego Union.

Fifteen contributors have given at least $100,000, according to campaign finance records available Tuesday.

The proposed ballot measure, which is intended for the Feb. 5 presidential primary ballot, would shorten from 14 to 12 the maximum number of years someone could serve in the Legislature under normal circumstances. But it also would allow dozens of lawmakers facing term limits next year or in 2010 to run for re-election.

The measure's proponents announced last week that they had collected 1.1 million signatures. They need valid signatures of about 700,000 registered voters to qualify the proposal.

The cost of becoming a U.S. citizen rose dramatically this week, but new legislation by a northern California Democrat could stop the fee hike in its tracks.

The bill by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose would void the new fee structure entirely.

Under the new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, the fee to apply for naturalization rose from $400 to $675. Meanwhile, prospective permanent residents must pay more than $1,000 instead of the current $300.

Lofgren, who chairs the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, said she fears the new fees put citizenship out of the reach of many people, and that the agency should be more concerned with reducing its staggering backlog.

``Our immigration services need to move into the 21st century,’’ she said. But, she added, ``USCIS has consistently failed to explain or justify the amounts and distributions of this new fee increase.”

The government maintains the fees are necessary to improve service.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced Tuesday sh intends to hold hearings into new reports of weak security in electronic voting machines.

The announcement came on the heels of a University of California report that found scientists successfully compromised security on systems manufactured by Diebold Electronic Systems, Hart InterCivic and Sequoia Voting Systems.

Feinstein said the hearings will be scheduled for sometime in September.

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, a longtime proponent of tough sanctions against Iran, applauded Tuesday passage of legislation he cosponsored giving legal protections to investment managers who pull money out of the country’s energy sector.

Congress passed the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act 415-11, with Southland lawmakers of both parties voting unanimously for it.

Sherman called the measure part of a strategy to isolate the Iranian regime.

``Divestment is a key element in our strategy to put diplomatic and economic pressure on Tehran until it has given up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and curtails its support for terror,’’ he said.

The measure requires that the government regularly publish a list of firms that have $20 million or more invested in Iran’s energy sector, that sell arms to Tehran or that loan $20 million or more to the country. States would be authorized to divest from those firms. Meanwhile, pension fund and mutual fund managers who chose to divest would be shielded from lawsuits.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved legislation Tuesday that would force the federal government to rule on California's longstanding request for a federal waiver to implement its landmark anti-smog law.

The bill by California Sen. Barbara Boxer and Florida Sen. Bill Nelson demands that the Environmental Protection Agency make a decision on the waiver request by Sept. 30.

California made the request in 2005. The waiver is necessary to implement the state's strict new emissions controls, scheduled to go into effect in 2009. Twelve other states including Florida that are prepared to adopt California's standards also are waiting on the decision.

Boxer on Tuesday said passag of the bill "sends a signal that the EPA should stop stalling and act now on California's request."

It's been four years since Dixie Chicks lead vocalist Natalie Maines criticized President Bush, but apparently those Southern gals can still make Republicans mad.

At a hearing Tuesday to examine the performance royalty system that allows broadcast radio to air songs without compensating the singers, Florida Republican Rep. Ric Keller said he objects to paying increased rates for political advertising on his local station "to make sure the Dixie Chicks have higher profits."

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, who was leading the hearing, tried to tame his GOP counterpart's fears.

"If it's any consolation, Mr. Keller, it's my guess that the radio stations you will be advertising on are probably boycotting the Dixie Chicks,'' Berman said.

"I hope so," Keller replied, though his words were largely drowned out by laughter.

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards brings his campaign to the San Fernando Valley today _ at least the part where he hopes to boost his fundraising effort in the state.

Coby King, long-time Valley Democratic Party activist, is one of the co-hosts of the event at his West Hills home, with buy-ins starting at $500 and then going up to $1,000 to take part in the VIP reception. Donors are limited to a maximum of $4,600 for the primary and general elections.

In a note to potential supporters, King wrote: "I cannot stress to you how important it is that we do everything we can to make sure John is our nominee."

Edwards has been trailing in his California effort behind Sens.Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama _ who have most of their time courting Hollywood money.

Ensign Eric Garcetti is off these next two weeks as part of his Naval reserve duty,
Garcetti, who in his other life is president of the Los Angeles City Council, is scheduled to be promoted this week to lieutenant, junior grade, as he completes his training in intelligence work.
Last year, Garcetti did his annual two-week summer stint in Pensacola, FL., and this year is assigned to Dam Neck, VA., at the Oceana Naval Air Station.

Suspicious that new residential and commercial projects in Los Angeles are creating more traffic than developers and city staffers had predicted, Councilwoman Wendy Greuel wants the city to set new traffic calculations that will generate more money to help fix congestion. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Now, the Department of Transportation uses national averages to estimate traffic from proposed projects. Then, developers must make improvements themselves, adding traffic signals and turn lanes, or cut a check to cover the cost of mitigation, including public transit or freeway ramps.

But in car-crazy L.A., new supermarkets, big-box stores and high-rise condo projects could create more vehicle trips than similar projects in Miami or Phoenix, Greuel said.

Steve Bruck eyed the car-maiming, jagged scar down the alley's middle, wiped his brow, and went to work.

His yellow Unibelt Asphalt Patcher had a steaming 5-ton load to wage war on the potholes that marred this quiet strip off Ranchito Avenue. Henry Magdaleno stood next to him, sweating under his hard hat. One pulled a lever, and the truck belched forth a steady stream of 250-degree asphalt into the cracked mess of the 40-year-old street. Brent Hopkins in the Daily News.

In half an hour, the crew's asphalt Whacker had smoothed the 3-foot-by-25-foot series of craters like a Zamboni on ice. The crew raked it like a Zen garden and then pounded it flat and even.

"Henry and I take pride in this," Bruck said. "If you're going to do it, you might as well do it right. Sometimes, we'll drive by a big patch and say, `Hey, I did that one.' It just makes you feel good."

Having used up the entire $2.2 billion taxpayers gave them to modernize nine campuses, Los Angeles Community College District officials failed to deliver many of the big projects and admit they spent a lot of money on little jobs. Susan Abram in the Daily News.

While completing 70 percent of the 658 projects they promised, the nearly 200 projects that remain will cost an additional $2 billion or more - highlighting a focus up to now on design planning, project reviews and smaller efforts such as marquees, landscaping, tree trimming and exterior waterproofing.

"There's no doubt in my mind that they've mismanaged the money," said former board of trustees member Patrick Owen, who served on the board from 1989 to 1993 and organized a slate of candidates that failed to unseat incumbent board members this year.

Big projects that never were built included a $45 million media arts building at Los Angeles Valley College, a $56 million consumer science building at Mission College and $37 million for a new technology center at Pierce College.

Attorneys for Home Depot's public-relations firm, Dakota Communications, have sent letters to two Sunland-Tujunga residents asking them to remove from a Web site an internal memo outlining a strategy to stack the City Council chambers with supporters. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The memo from Dakota Communications Principal Rick Taylor to Home Depot managers was obtained by the Daily News and posted on www.dailynews.com.

On Saturday, attorneys for Dakota Communications sent cease-and-desist letters to Joe Barrett, who had posted the memo on the Web site for his group, No Home Depot, and Doc DeMulle, editor and publisher of The Foothills Paper. DeMulle said he still plans to publish a copy of the memo in his paper this week.

eeing progress in efforts to combat gang violence in the San Fernando Valley, a city panel voted Monday to continue a pilot program teaming probation officers with cops. Daily News.

Deputy Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department said he is encouraged by a 30 percent drop in gang crime during the past month in the Valley, and he hopes to reduce the violence even more.

"I think that any number above zero is too high, and our intention is to strengthen the tools across the San Fernando Valley to come to terms with gangs," Moore told the City Council's Public Safety Committee.

The pilot program is expected to cost city taxpayers about $250,000 for a full year, with Los Angeles County also kicking in funds. In the program, a probation officer works at each of the Valley's police stations with uniformed and anti-gang officers. Reaching out to gang members and families, the officers try to avert violence and keep younger siblings from joining gangs.

No, it wasn't a state budget, a health care plan or a new environmental policy for the governor, who turned 60 on Monday.

But, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was told the CHIME Charter Elementary School in Woodland Hills was renaming itself after the one-time bodybuilder and actor.

CHIME school officials said the decision was made because of the governor's commitment to education.

"I am honored to have a high-quality institution like CHIME Charter Elementary named in my honor. The CHIME Institute shares my commitment to educating all children," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

No word on whether there will be any official ceremony to mark the change. CHIME was named "Charter School of the Year" by California Charter School Association in 2005 and in the same year was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a leading model of inclusive education.

Millions of dollars are expected to flow to Southern California projects under several massive spending bills approved by the House last week, even as the new Democratic majority denied a number of GOP pet projects for the region. Lisa Friedman in the Daily News.

And in addition to funding dozens of local projects, local lawmakers also increased the amounts California and other states will be reimbursed for the costs of jailing criminal illegal immigrants.

Passing easily, a $104.4 billion transportation and housing measure and a $53.6 billion bill funding the Commerce, State and Justice departments for 2008 now head to the Senate.

"We had a number of significant achievements that are good for California and particularly good for Southern California," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, who was appointed this year to the House Appropriations Committee.

Tipoffs looks at Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reaching out to community leaders to tell them what he has accomplished during his first two years in office and ask what they want to see this accomplished during this coming year. Also, Councilman Jose Huizar reaches out to school officials for better relations and Airport officials seek to mend fences with airlines.

Since April, homeowners selling a condo in Los Angeles have had to pay a $150 fee to the city under a 33-year-old affordable-housing ordinance that has never produced a single affordable unit. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Few condominium owners know about the new fee or the arcane law, which gives the city the right of first refusal to buy most condos built after 1974.

Without money to purchase units, the city has always waived its right. But, short on cash, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles voted earlier this year to begin charging condo sellers $150 for the waivers.

Build monorails. Forget monorails. Double-deck the freeways. Get rid of car-pool lanes.

From Santa Clarita to Studio City, commuters around the region have resoundingly spoken out about what drives them crazy getting around Los Angeles - and how to make it better.Sue Doyle in the Daily News.

The ideas on how to ease the Southland's persistent bottlenecks come even as a recent state report projects California's population will balloon to 60 million by 2050, further straining already jammed freeways and roads.

But while transit officials grapple with funding issues and dwindling space, nearly 100 readers who outlined their transit visions to the Daily News were quick to target two key areas: public transportation and freeways.

And the short of it is: M

Amid criticism that Los Angeles County is fostering a culture of secrecy, County Counsel Ray Fortner on Friday recommended making public again some information his office had recently ruled was confidential.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Fortner, who is expected to give a report to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, recently decided to end a long-standing practice of releasing details about lawsuit settlements contained in Claims Board documents.

But the decision drew the ire of Supervisor Gloria Molina, who said the policy change was made without input from the supervisors or the public.

In a memo to the board, Fortner wrote Friday that he is proposing the Claims Board documents provide basic information about settlement proposals while maintaining the confidentiality of his office's detailed legal analysis.

They are both public hospitals in low-income communities, where poor and uninsured residents line up for hours to see a doctor. Susan Abram in the Daily News.

And they are both in the middle of gang territory, where the patients frequently include victims of violence.

But that is the end of the similarities between Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar and King-Harbor Hospital in Willowbrook, according to officials, community leaders and even some patients.

"The difference is (Olive View) operates with positive political support," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose district includes the Sylmar facility,

Just when you thought Arnold Schwarzenegger A) was done being in movies, and B) couldn't run for higher office, along comes The Simpsons Movie.

"President Schwarzenegger" (voiced by Harry Shearer) plays a key cameo role in the film, deciding the fate of Springfield and setting up the film's central crisis which Homer must resolve.

When we first see him in the film, he is in the Oval Office pining for his old Hollywood days, complaining "I hate dis job. Everything's crisis dis, end of the world dat. Nobody opens with a joke. I miss Danny DeVito."

Soon his environmental secretary Russ Cargill (Albert Brooks) is spelling out his choices for how to deal with an environmental crisis in Springfield.

Cargill: I've narrowed your choices down to five unthinkable options. Each will cause untold misery ....

Schwarzenegger: I pick number three!

Cargill: You don't want to read them first?

Schwarzenegger: I was elected to lead, not to read. Number three!

(Hmm, wonder if that's how Schwarzenegger came up with his idea to hold a special election in 2005?)

An online rumor that Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, is dropping out of the Senate race and instead is looking at a run for City Council is absolutely not true, Levine said this morning. He is still enthusiastic about the race and expecting to win.

"Nope, I never said that to anybody. I'm not dropping out of the Senate race," he said in a telephone interview this morning.

"Things are looking good. I've got a lot of endorsements. Everything's great.
I'm excited about it."

The Mayor Sam blog printed rumors yesterday that Levine is considering dropping out of the June 2008 Democratic primary against former Assemblywoman Fran Pavley "due to low polling and fundraising numbers" and is instead looking at a run for Councilman Dennis Zine's 3rd district council seat.

According to the latest reports filed with the Secretary of State, Levine has about $160,000 cash on hand in his campaign account, and Pavley has about $508,000.

Levine's said he's gotten up to $200,000 since that report was filed, and is confident in reaching his goal of $1 million.

Corina Villaraigosa, the estranged wife of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, spoke out for the first time on Thursday to a group of young women. KNBC Video,

Mrs. Villaraigosa received a standing ovation Thursday when she spoke at a mentoring group's fundraiser.

The public speech was her first since the announcement in June of her divorce from the mayor.

"Know that when you keep commitments to yourself, it's easier to keep commitments to others," Corina Villaraigosa told the group "Girls Today, Women Tomorrow," a mentoring group, at the downtown Los Angeles fundraiser.

Suppose you work for a business that lets you drive a company car. But your spouse decides to take it for a spin and crashes into a pole in the driveway. Who should pay for the damage? Edwin Garcia in the Daily News.

If the "business" is the California Legislature - and if you're one of the 80 lawmakers elected to the Assembly - it's taxpayers who foot the bill.

In addition to a car of their choosing, Assembly members get a benefit that pays to fix any damage to the vehicle - no matter who is driving and whether it's being used for official business.

That policy is one reason taxpayers have forked over more than $300,000 in the past five years to repair Assembly members' vehicles, according to a San Jose Mercury News review of public documents.

City officials admitted Thursday what many residents of Panorama City and North Hills know and feel every day - there is fear and loathing of increased crime in their community. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcón, who represents the area, and Capt. Jorge Villegas, commanding officer of the Los Angeles Police Department's Mission Division, said they were surprised by the wave of fear depicted in a Daily News story Monday on crime in the neighborhood. But they conceded that it is justified.

Alarcón and Villegas both spoke at a news conference where they unveiled a series of measures they said will help reduce crime in the Panorama City/North Hills area.

The Daily News article revealed that the year-old Safer Cities Initiative had not only failed to cut violence in that community, but that residents have become so afraid of gangs and drug dealers that they don't even report crimes they see.

After winning some concessions, the Los Angeles Planning Commission gave its unanimous approval Thursday to a $143 million plan to expand Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills. Daily News.

The panel issued a conditional-use permit for the 101-bed, four-story tower at 15031 Rinaldi St., after Providence officials agreed to develop a traffic management program and revise its parking plans.

"We are doing this, not because of the wonderful work you do as a hospital, but after studying all the land-use aspects," commission President Jane Usher said at the conclusion of a 90-minute hearing.

In a bid to strengthen services and revitalize its image, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles is set to announce about $13 million in funding today to groups around the region, including a range of new programs. Daily News.

Nearly 140 agencies will receive grants from the area's largest charitable group, down from 188 as the United Way seeks to hone its focus and boost the effectiveness of its grants.

The plan will give dozens of agencies funds for the first time even as the United Way separates from others that have received support for years.

The move targets key areas - fighting homelessness, improving education and providing child care - and comes amid a broader United Way effort to become more involved in public-policy issues.

Saying she wanted to clear up reports that she no longer lives in her district, Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke issued a statement Thursday saying she is still living in the Second District.
“In an effort to clarify an issue regarding my residency in the Second District at the time I campaigned for a fourth term and at present, I want to assure everyone that I have always maintained my primary district residence and I intend to remain a resident of the Second District,” Burke said.
On Wednesday, Burke, 74, said she was “accosted” by two reporters at her Centinela Avenue residence, who demanded to know why she had not been spending the evenings there and why she met a staff member there and allowed him to park his car in the garage and drive her to work.
“Unfortunately, I was running late for an appointment and did not have time to provide the reporters with a full explanation,” Burke said. “However, I did invite them inside where I indicated that I had been remodeling and had a partial wall removed and installed a new kitchen. I also found out that, without identifying themselves, the same two reporters earlier approached my sister-in-law at her car when she was leaving the property, asking her if she lived at the residence. Her initial thought was that she was being carjacked.”
Burke said a lock box contains a key to the front door, which has been there for several months to allow the workmen to have access to the house.
“I suspect as the workmen left the property and returned the key to the lock box, the reporters saw them leave the property,” Burke said.
Burke's spokesman James Bolden said the supervisor and her husband, Los Angeles Marathon Chair James Burke, have owned a house in Mandeville Canyon in Brentwood since 1981, which was rented out for a number of years and then was remodeled.
“I often spend weekends there and have been staying there during the termite work and remodeling of my Centinela Ave. town home,” Burke said. “I had hoped that the remodeling would have been complete at my Centinela Ave. residence by now.”
Bolden said the Burkes rented a town home from 1992 to 1995 in Marina del Rey, which is in the Second District. In 1995, they purchased a different town home in the same complex and lived there until 2005.
They sold that town home in 2005 and rented a condominium, also in the Second District, until June 2006. That's when they purchased the Centinela Ave. town home. Bolden said the supervisor has been living there during the week, and spending the weekends at their Brentwood home with her husband.
Burke, who has served as a supervisor in the Second District for 15 years, will become chair of the Board of Supervisors next year. Following four decades in office, Burke plans to step the end of next year, Bolden said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will make his pitch for efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The two will be in San Jose, touring a business developing technology to help reduce the greenhouse gases, a new effort launched by the governor.

Secretary-General Ki-moon has called for a series of meetings with world leaders to begin discussion on a global climate change solution.

"The Secretary-General has made climate change one of his top priorities at the UN and has taken swift action, calling for world leaders to work together to develop a global consensus on fighting global climate change," Schwarzenegger said.

"A critical part of the global solution must address the needs of fast-growing economies like China and India and we have innovative technologies to make that happen right here in California. I am eager to show the Secretary-General our state's advancements in technology that may help to reduce emissions and hope we can work with the United Nations on their commitment to building a global solution."

Boeing Co. faces a nearly half-million-dollar fine for allowing excessive levels of lead, mercury and other toxins to flow from its Santa Susana Field Lab into the exclusive West Valley community of Bell Canyon and the Los Angeles River, regulators said Wednesday. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

If Boeing is forced to pay it, it would be among the largest fines levied against the lab owner for environmental violations.

Following up on a directive earlier this year from state regulators, Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board staffers proposed fining Boeing $471,190 for 79 water-quality violations over 15 months.

Staffers doubled the mandatory minimum penalty because of the toxicity and frequency of the pollution violations from October 2004 to January 2006.

"Really, the issue here is that they should have been able to stop the violations a long time ago," said Michael Levy, senior counsel to the L.A. water board.

Plans to expand Providence Holy Cross Medical Center could hit a snag today when hospital officials seek city Planning Commission approval to build a $143 million, four-story tower that would include 101 beds. Daily News.

City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents the area, said many community residents want Providence to conduct a full environmental impact report that would analyze the effects of traffic and other factors - but could delay the project for 18 months.

"This is a tricky part of the area, with only one access road into the hospital," Alarcon said. "We need to look at that, as well."

But hospital officials say they have studied the issues and found there would be no significant impact on the neighborhood. And they say Alarcon is stalling for time to give labor unions a chance to organize workers, something they tried to do three years ago.

Organizing, busing and outfitting residents to testify at City Hall in support of Home Depot's planned Sunland-Tujunga site could cost the retail behemoth more than $24,000, according to a memo written by the public-relations firm working for the store. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The memo by Rick Taylor with Dakota Communications lays out a game plan for getting 150 supporters in orange T-shirts to pack the council chambers Tuesday when the City Council is set to vote on whether to reconsider a Home Depot store on Foothill Boulevard.

The two-page memo sheds new light on the high-stakes, behind-the-scenes orchestrations of companies seeking to sway city leaders and win approval for their projects.

As the turf war between the federal government and local officials over medical marijuana continues, the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to block more medicinal pot shops from opening over the next year. Kerry Cavanaugh and Brent Hopkins in the Daily News.

City officials aim to weed out dope peddlers who are ignoring the intention of 1996's Proposition 215, which allows Californians to obtain marijuana for treatment of chronic pain, anorexia, cancer and other serious illness.

Since Los Angeles doesn't currently regulate or license shops - estimated at several hundred - the City Council voted to temporarily halt new stores while it develops a policy to separate ones selling the drugs for medical use from ones masking recreational sales under the banner of compassionate care.

It might be hard to believe, by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger turns 60 next Monday.

And, in addition to any celebration the governor might be having with supporters, the internet has been abuzz with all sorts of recollections of his career as a bodybuilder, in movies and as a politician.

One of the best, however, comes here from the folks at 60 Minutes who have offered a series of their interviews with Schwarzenegger over the years.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein lashed out at a television reporter who dared to raise a question over Sen. Hillary Clinton's endorsement from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and his recently exposed marital infidelity.

The question about Villaraigosa came as Feinstein officially endorsed Clinton for president. Clinton, asked in a telephone press conference how she feels about mayor’s endorsement given his acknowledged extra-marital activity with Telemundo reporter Mirthala Salinas, almost didn’t get the chance to respond.

“This is Dianne Feinstein,’’ California’s senior senator piped in.``I’m surprised at your for that question. My goodness. Hillary is running for president of the United States. She doesn’t need to get
into this.’’

When the reporter did not back down, Clinton offered her own perspective _ not as a the cheated-upon wife she has been, but ratheras the politician she is.

Noting she has spoken with Villaraigosa since the affair become public, Clinton said, `I think his work on behalf of the many issues that I care about is very significant, and I will continue to welcome his support.”

--From Lisa Friedman

A Los Angeles City Council committee gave its initial OK to a new mansionization ordinance that would limit the size of big homes on smaller lots. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The Planning and Land Use committee asked the City Attorney's Office to draft the ordinance, which will come back to the commitee in September for approval and then pass to the full City Council for a vote.

The Baseline Mansionization Ordinance would limit square footage on homes based on their lot size and neighborhood zoning. For example, on a typical 5,000-square-foot lot, a property owner can now build a 7,000-square-foot house. The proposed ordinance would restrict a house on that lot size to between 2,500 to 3,000 square feet.

Buoyed by momentum to help the nation's largest homeless population, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors gave initial approval Tuesday to providing an array of services designed to stabilize transients' lives. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

County action comes after an announcement in March by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that he plans to spend $137 million to build 18 affordable-housing projects citywide, including six in the east San Fernando Valley.

The funds are part of more than $329 million recently allocated by city and county officials to address the homeless crisis. Some of the money is now being spent, and requests for proposals have been issued.

Foreclosures soared an annual 799 percent in Los Angeles County and California in the second quarter - a record 17,408 homeowners couldn't make their mortgage payments and lost their property in the state. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

In the county, 2,581 properties went into foreclosure, up from 287 a year ago, DataQuick Information Systems reported Tuesday.

Parts of the booming Inland Empire area were hit even harder, with foreclosures jumping 986.9 percent.

"The housing industry is in a recession, pure and simple, and it's going to last until 2009," said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

Foreclosures are important to state and local governments as impacting a major source of revenue to operate programs.

In an attempt to convince Los Angeles County lobbyists to file their quarterly reports as required, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to take action against contractors that fail to comply with the county’s lobbying policies by mandating higher financial penalties and the creation of a progressive discipline mechanism.
That ultimately could include permanent barring from future contracts with the county and the cancellation of existing contracts for companies with a proven pattern of non-compliance.
“The current ‘no harm, no foul’ attitude needs to change,” Supervisor Gloria Molina said. “Companies that do business with Los Angeles County need to respect our policies and it is up to us to hold them accountable. That’s not going to happen as long as the penalty for violating our rules is only a tiny fraction of the total contract the offending company holds with us.”
Molina’s action was prompted by the county’s most recent experience with Maximus, which has a $23 million contract with the Department of Public Social Services to administer the county’s welfare-to-work program. The county code requires all entities doing business with the county through contract, permit, grant license, or franchise to file quarterly lobbying reports.
Maximus failed to so from Jan. 1 through March 31. Consequently, after five separate attempts through certified correspondence and numerous telephone calls, the county’s Executive Office formally moved to bar Maximus from receiving future contracts, Molina said.
Only when threatened with debarment did Maximus respond to the Executive Office, submit the required reports, and pay the required penalty fee of $2,000, Molina said. Under the county’s current ordinance, Maximus cannot be prohibited from seeking additional county contracts.
The motion approved Tuesday directs the county’s chief executive officer, county counsel, and the Executive Office to report back in four weeks with a set of recommendations to enact more stringent enforcement of the county’s lobbying ordinance.
These options should include higher monetary penalties—including a percentage of a company’s existing contracts with the county, whichever is greater—and a mechanism for progressive discipline. This could include permanent barring of a company from future contracts with Los Angeles County and even the cancellation of existing contracts for those companies which demonstrate a pattern of non-compliance.
“Maximus is not the first company to ignore Los Angeles County’s lobbying rules and they’re not likely to be the last if we don’t take serious action now,” Molina said.
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said he doesn't understand what the firm was thinking.
"It raises the question that, if on this minor issue they can't comply, it makes me wonder how compliant they are on the big issues. So actually, from my point of view, this has raised more questions than it's answered. It's just stupid with a capital 'S.'"

More than 87 percent of Southern California grocery workers approved a new contract that regained many benefits, including a pay raise, lost during previous negotiations, union officials announced Monday.Julia M. Scott in the Daily News.

Vons, Ralphs, and Albertson's agreed to the costly deal because they have reaped billions of dollars in profits since the last strike and because United Food and Commercial Workers were well prepared for a strike, according to several analysts.

The four-year contract includes salary hikes, expanded health coverage, and the ability for new workers to earn as much as veterans.

"The financial condition of the industry is in much better shape," said Ajay Jain, an analyst for UBS. "The union was more mobile this time...I think they learned a lot from that experience three-and-a-half years ago."

Stock prices for the three chains have climbed dramatically since the 2003-2004 strike, increasing by 50 to 100 percent. Sales and profits also surged.

Taking over Monday as Los Angeles County's chief executive officer, William Fujioka said he wants to use the authority of the newly restructured CEO's Office to promote open government, improve services and fix long-standing problems.Troy Anderson in the Daiiy News.

Fujioka, who retired last year as chief administrative officer for the city of Los Angeles, sat down with reporters at the county Hall of Administration. Here are highlights of the interview:

Question: As CEO, what do you plan to do?

Answer: Having the ability to make an impact on the quality of services, a direct impact, was very, very important for me. I don't plan to be an autocrat. I'll try not to be much of a bureaucrat. I'm going to help in many ways by being a facilitator.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa continued to be dogged by questions Monday over his relationship with a Telemundo reporter as he voiced confidence in her ethical standards.Daily News.

During a news conference at which he unveiled the third area of the city to be served by the TIGER teams to improve traffic, the mayor again was asked about Mirthala Salinas, their relationship and whether Telemundo would be taking any permanent action against her.

Salinas has been on leave since her relationship with the mayor was disclosed. Telemundo officials said they were investigating all the circumstances around the relationship and whether she violated journalistic ethics by reporting on the mayor's separation from his wife of 20 years.

Affter sharply questioning the impact on Los Angeles Police Department operations, a city panel on Monday reluctantly recommended adding 44 police officers to a counterterrorism task force. Daily News.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and FBI Deputy Director Steve Tidwell appealed to the City Council Public Safety Committee for the additional officers, saying the growing terrorist threat must be addressed.

"The threat is always going to be high here," Tidwell said. "Historically, terrorists have said they will hit here, and they always complete the loop. It becomes almost a matter of honor. "

Backers of the initiative to reduce legislative terms from 14 years to 12 years but allow legislators to spend their entire service in one body are turning in 1.1 million signatures today to qualify the proposal. That's nearly 400,000 more than required by the Secretary of State, and should be enough to get the initiative on the ballot.California Majority Report.

Both progressives and conservatives are lining up to support the effort, according to the press release.

Allan Zaremberg, President and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce said: "Solutions to California's numerous issues will be easier when legislators aren't in a constant campaign cycle and are more accountable to the voters in competitive districts."

But it's not the one you think.

Former Los Angeles City Controller Rick Tuttle said he's "carefully considering" a run for the 5th district city council seat, which will be vacated by Councilman Jack Weiss in 2009. Weiss is running for city attorney. Tuttle, who lives in Palms, would have to move into the district, which stretches from the Westside over the hill into Encino and Sherman Oaks. Candidates for 2009 can start raising campaign money in September.

Current City Controller Laura Chick announced in January that she was considering running for the seat, but she's changed her mind. In a statement released Monday, Chick said "At this point in time I have no intentions to run for 5th council district."

Too bad, we were looking forward to a head-to-head controller showdown. Now that would be a campaign. Who's the most efficient? Who can write the most scathing press release? Who can find the biggest waste of taxpayer dollars?

Maybe it was the pressure of long days of no budget. Or, it's a precursor of future battles, but Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez accused fellow Democratic Sen. Gill Cedllo of being "misguided" and "disingenuous" in a letter sent on Tuesday. Sacramento Bee Capitol Alert.

The story said:

"The scuffle between the two prominent Los Angeles Latino leaders was
ignited by a candlelight vigil once scheduled for this afternoon, in
which students planned to deliver "thousands" of letters to the
speaker's L.A. office demanding he take action on legislation to make
illegal immigrants eligible for state financial aid at California
colleges.

Cedillo introduced his so-called California Dream Act, Senate Bill
160, in the Senate earlier this year, but it stalled in committee.
Cedillo amended the language of the stalled bill into new legislation,
Senate Bill 65, which now sits in the Assembly, awaiting assignment to
a committee.

"I am deeply disappointed and severely troubled by your disingenuous
characterization of the circumstances surrounding the failure of SB
160," the speaker wrote, in the letter sent Tuesday.

"For you to distort the facts about the demise of SB 160 and engage in
a misguided effort to use students as pawns for you own failure and
having them write letters and hold a candlelight vigil to place
pressure on the Assembly and me in particular - to move a bill that
you could not steer through your own house - is disrespectful and
unconscionable. Even with our years of friendship, I can't permit such
an overt misrepresentation of facts to go uncorrected and
unchallenged."

The candlelight protest, which has since been postponed, was not
organized by Cedillo, but by a University of California, Los Angeles
student group that advocates for undocumented students.

Ernesto Rocha, a member of UCLA's Improving Dreams Equality Access and
Success, said the group's postponement had nothing to do with Núñez's
letter. "We are still planning some events next week," Rocha said.

In a phone interview, Cedillo said he planned to respond to Núñez's
letter in person, not through the media. "We're friends and allies and
to that extent I am not going to talk about that (letter), I am going
to talk to him in person," Cedillo said.

He added, "I took the letters back to his office and left them there
for him. I want to talk to him in person."

Victoria Castañeda saw an unconscious woman sprawled over a washing machine in her apartment building's laundry room last December - and walked away.

Too afraid to call police, she did what all too many of her neighbors do when confronted with trouble or possible crime: absolutely nothing. Rachel Uranga in the Daily News.

Afraid that gangsters and drug dealers in her building would think she was a snitch, she quietly slipped back into her one-bedroom unit, closed the door and began playing with her four children.

"I was just scared for the children," the 33-year-old said. "If they find out I called the police, I will have nothing to defend me."

It is just such resistanfce -- a community wall of silence -- that police say they need to break through to be able to control crime.

Also, the Skid Row Safer Cities Initiative draws mixed reviews. Daily News.

Preliminary results show grocery workers across Southern California overwhelmingly approved a new contract Sunday, avoiding a repeat of the prolonged supermarket strike of 2003-04. Julia M. Scott in the Daily News.

The four-year contract with Vons, Ralphs and Albertson's includes retroactive raises, improved health benefits and the end of a two-tier seniority system.

Support for the new contract "was really powerful," said Rick Icaza, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, after announcing preliminary results. "It even shocks me."

Nearly 70,000 members were eligible to vote across the region. Polls in Burbank, Palmdale, Harbor City and Montebello were open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The contract required a simple majority to pass.

Mayor Antonio Villlaraigosa, fresh off his redemption tour, now is offering thanks to other Los Angeles city officials for their not comending on his personal woes.
Also, presidential politics and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo comes out. Tipoffs in the Daily News.

In the past five years, Los Angeles Unified School District officials have been forced to return all but a fraction of $62 million in state reimbursement funds because of flawed or incomplete applications.Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

Reviewing nine separate programs, auditors with the State Controller's Office ruled that out of the district's total claims it must return nearly $58 million to the state - or more than 90 percent.

Auditors cited a range of problems with the district's claims, including a lack of supporting documentation and failure to file paperwork on time.

But education experts said districts throughout California face similar problems, and frustrated LAUSD officials fault a complicated state reimbursement and auditing process.

Former District Attorney Gil Garcetti knows firsthand what it takes to win political office and - after five years on the city Ethics Commission - says he has learned how the process can be corrupted. Daily News.

"Money. It is the biggest ethical challenge facing Los Angeles," Garcetti said in an interview last week after term limits forced him to step down from the ethics panel.

"The whole appearance of whether there is a conflict of interest by an elected official is based on money. We have the means to change that, but we have to make the case to the public."

The siren song of presidential politics is calling out once again to Attorney General Jerry Brown.

Brown, whose own presidential ambitions used as much technology as possible (he was the first to use a 1-800 phone in for contributions) has submitted his own video question for Monday's YouTube debate, asking them on what they would do to reduce greenhouse gases.

Brown’s YouTube video challenge comes after he sent a letter to each major candidate asking for support of a measure giving states greater power to cntorl emissions from vehicles.

The full letter follows.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel said Friday that she will ask the City Council to overturn a Planning Commission decision to let Home Depot open a store in Sunland-Tujunga without further traffic or environmental studies.Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Planning Commission decisions usually are final, although the council can assert authority over a case with a two-thirds vote.

Greuel said she believes the North Valley Area Planning Commission erred in its decision late Thursday to let Home Depot continue construction.

"The bottom line is, if you don't follow the rules you don't get to move ahead," she said, adding that she told Home Depot early on: "If you do one thing against the specific plan, my community is watching and I'm watching. Fair warning."

What's in a name?

Well, one San Fernando Valley neighborhood hopes renaming itself "Reseda Ranch" will send a strong message to developers and land speculators to stay away if they intend to cram suburban houses onto the community's large, agricultural lots.Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Frank Daryt said his neighbors are already pretty tenacious in opposing developers seeking to subdivide local lots, which are generally 17,500 square feet and larger.

But he hopes adding the word "ranch" to "Reseda" will reinforce the community's unique character and provide added protection against development.

"We're trying to keep a reputation in the area that says if you're buying a house in here, know that we intend to keep it an agricultural area," Daryt said.

Nearly three dozen of Los Angeles' most dangerous street crossings for schoolchildren have not yet received safety improvements even though the city has had funding for the work for years. Brandpn Lowrey in the Daily News.

While 33 crossings near schools have been identified as hazardous and targeted for upgrades since 2003, only one-third have even been scheduled for work, according to transportation officials.

The backlog comes even as the city has racked up at least $3.8 million in grants for the projects under a special program aimed at boosting security for children.

"What's more important than to make sure kids have safe entrance and egress to the place our kids are going every day, five days a week?" said Robert Fellmeth, founder of the Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law.

Now, here's a site developed by folks with way too much free time on their hands.

It's all about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and one of the many mysteries surrounding him -- how tall is he?

The game begins at Arnoldheight, where it says "a team of around
200 scientists working around the clock to discover the true height of Arnold Schwarzenegger. We are primarily funded by several governments and commercial businesses from around the world. We have NO affiliation with Arnold Schwarzenegger or anyone working for him."

The site says it the only one dedicated to "this exciting field of research after our takeover and liquidation of websites such as www.tinyarnie.com and www.shortzenegger.org which are now no more."

They acknowledge their interest in this might "seem a tad excessive, but this is one of the world's most puzzling questions for many people."

Link and photo courtesy of J-Walk Blog.

With the cost of a presidential campaign spiraling ever higher, candidates are working tirelessly to rake in every dime as early as possible. But because federal law limits any one individual donation to a candidate to $2,300 for the primary cycle, the presidential hopefuls increasingly have to wonder: Is the pool of donors big enough to feed the pace of this election? U.S. News and World Report.

As of June 30, with more than six months to go before a vote is cast in New Hampshire, the 19 announced candidates had raised $295.8 million among them, with over 80 percent of that going to the six candidates—three in each party—who lead in the polls.

Four years after the tumultuous 2003 California recall -- after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has won a second term and former Gov. Gray Davis long since moved on with his life in the private sector -- one of the chief leaders of the historic election is still paying debts rung up from that campaign. San Francisco Chronicle blog.

Ted Costa, an anti-tax activist who filed the petition aimed at removing Davis from office for ''gross mismanagement of California finances,'' still owes $229,255 from the recall election, according to statements filed Thursday with the Secretary of State.

Technically, the money is owed by a pair of campaign committees organized by the People's Advocate, a Sacramento-based anti-tax organization with Costa as its CEO. But the 66-year-old political consultant said he's still out there encouraging supporters to help him retire the debt.

More than 700 rowdy backers and opponents of a proposed Home Depot in Sunland-Tujunga packed into a school auditorium Thursday to argue their cases before city planners. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The North Valley Area Planning Commission was expected to vote late Thursday night on whether to require Home Depot to conduct a thorough traffic and environmental study before opening its new store.

The decision would cap months of fighting over the future of a big-box retail space on Foothill Boulevard.

The U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday that it will stop its controversial cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Lab and conduct a long-awaited comprehensive environmental review of the former nuclear research site. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The decision to abide by a recent court order means the department has stopped demolition of the last two buildings at the site for at least two years while the agency prepares an environmental impact statement.

A federal court judge in May said the department's cleanup plan for the site broke the law, and he ordered the agency to complete a detailed analysis of contamination at the site and how it will be removed.

Longtime lab watchdogs lauded the department's decision to comply with the judge's ruling.

Also, on Thursday, federal lawsmakerm frustrated that hundreds of sick former Santa Susana Field Lab employees have been denied benefits under a program to aid former nuclear workers called for a new law to help workers and their families get compensation. Daily News.

Signed into law in 2000, the Energy Employee Occupational Illness Compensation Act pledged billions of dollars to government employees who got sick from their Cold War-era jobs.

The Southern California grocery union and three major chains made key concessions to reach a tentative contract agreement after more than six months of contentious negotiations, officials revealed Thursday.Julia M. Scott in the Daily News.

The United Food and Commercial Workers agreed to chip in $250million of a $500million employee reserve to help pay for health care, said Greg Conger, president of Local324, the second-largest branch of the UFCW in Southern California. The union has almost 70,000 members across the region.

Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons agreed to eliminate a two-tier system that gives richer benefits to veterans than new workers. That system led to higher turnover, reduced wages and long waiting periods for health care.

Under the new four-year deal, all workers can reach the top pay scale. The markets wanted that process to take nine years, but the union "reduced that dramatically," Conger said.

A frustrated Los Angeles panel on Thursday called for more detailed information on the costs of fighting gangs and questioned whether city agencies are adequately prepared to respond to the growing community crisis. Daily News,

Earlier this week, Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton said gang crime remains a concern. Despite a crackdown, gang crime in the San Fernando Valley has risen 15 percent in the first six months this year.

"We keep getting the same reports over and over again and nothing is working," Councilwoman Janice Hahn said in a sharp exchange with Sharon Morris of the Community Development Department.

Wanna know how liberal or conservative your local lawmaker really is?

Capitol Weekly has established a comprehensive legislative scorecard that ranks all 120 members of the Legislature based on how liberal or conservative their voting record has been this year. Click here for the story and here to skip directly to the scorecard.

Because the Legislature is dominated by Democrats -- and therefore more Dem bills get put to a vote -- the scale was based on how liberal the lawmaker's record is. So the perfect liberal would receive a score of 100 percent, and the perfect conservative would receive a 0.

Here's how some Daily News-area lawmakers fared:

Assembly Republicans: Sharon Runner, 0; Cameron Smyth, 10, Audra Strickland, 10.

Assembly Democrats: Felipe Fuentes, 85; Fabian Nunez, 90; Julia Brownley, 100; Mike Feuer, 100; Lloyd Levine, 100.

Senate Republicans: George Runner, 10; Tom McClintock, 25.

Senate Democrats: Alex Padilla, 80; Gloria Romero, 90; Sheila Kuehl, 100; Jack Scott, 100.

When Californians look back on what eased this year's budget negotiations, the unsung hero might be a pair of distinguished Napa Valley reds.Sacrfmaento Bee.

Although no deal was struck Wednesday, the 3-week-old state budget impasse appeared to have softened during a 24-hour period in which Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez shared two bottles of fine wine -- a 2002 Joseph Phelps Insignia declared by Wine Spectator as Wine of the Year and a 2003 red wine from Quintessa Estate.

"The wine helped," Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman said Wednesday after taking an impromptu stroll with Assembly leaders outside the Capitol. "He has good wine."

Los Angeles-area leaders on Wednesday blasted federal officials for slashing anti-terrorism funding to the region by 10 percent even as new reports suggest that the terrorist al-Qaida network is strengthening and may be poised for another U.S. strike. Rachel Uranga and Lisa Friedman in the Daily News.

Under the plan, the Long Beach-Los Angeles region - a previously acknowledged 2002 terrorist target - will get $73 million, or $8 million less than last year.

Noting that other areas such as Orange and San Diego counties saw increases, Los Angeles-area officials called the cuts a punch in the gut and warned that they will undermine efforts to build intelligence gathering, upgrade radio communications and train hundreds of officers in anti-terrorism.

ON - San Fernando Valley leaders have mounted a sweeping public-relations effort to keep America's suburb on the U.S. Census map. Lisa Friedman in the Daily News.

In a hefty packet of letters and petitions delivered Wednesday to the U.S. Census Bureau, area leaders urged the agency to abandon its plan to wipe out the nationwide category under which the Valley was recently granted federal statistical status.

"We mobilized on this one," said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, who helped lead the fight to get the Valley its own statistical designation in 2005 and now is spearheading the effort to save it.

The Census Bureau says few people use the data culled from Census County Divisions, or CCDs, the statistical category under which the Valley was granted its federal status.

In August, the agency moved to eliminate the category altogether. A final decision likely won't be made until next year, a Census Bureau official said.

A mayor business group on Wednesday urged the city of Los Angeles to implement planning and development reforms that will encourage the private sector to adopt green building standards. Gregory J.Wilcox in the Daily News.

The Los Angeles Business Council, at its inaugural Sustainability Summit, called for the creation of a city sustainability team that would assist green projects through the permitting process.

It also called for city leaders to establish sustainability awards, to recognize and encourage outstanding green projects and practices, and to support federal and state legislation that provides tax credits for energy-efficient buildings.

What does it take to run a national presidential campaign more than half a year before the Iowa caucuses? New finance reports show that the candidates are already building up their operations in several states whose early primaries have forced a burst of spending that is severely taxing the campaigns. New York Times.

The candidates are opening offices in states like California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada and others that now expect to hold nominating contests by early February, according to the reports, which were filed last weekend. In past elections, candidates focused their early resources largely on Iowa and New Hampshire.

The filings paint a portrait of what the campaigns think it takes to become president, including the 508 people who appeared on the Barack Obama campaign payroll, the $4.6 million that Senator John McCain paid his consultants and the $300 Mitt Romney spent on makeup around the time of his first debate.

The San Fernando Valley will soon boast one of Southern California's biggest shopping centers with construction of a $750 million outdoor retail complex connecting the Topanga and Promenade malls, The Westfield Group said Tuesday.Julia M. Scott in the Daily News.

The Village in Warner Center will include a 300-room, four-star hotel, 150 condominiums and apartments, offices, and 550,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.

At 3.8 million square feet, the three-mall behemoth - including its hotel and residences - will be larger than South Coast Plaza in Orange County and Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance.

"It will create a heart for this whole district," said Ken Wong, president of Australia-based Westfield's operations in the United States.

Gang crime in the San Fernando Valley has jumped almost 15 percent since the start of the year, despite a highly publicized effort by Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to aggressively crack down on street gangs. Rachel Uranga in the Daily News.

Vowing to head off the rising crime rates, released Tuesday by the LAPD, Villaraigosa said the Valley will be among the top priorities for recently appointed gang czar Jeff Carr as he tries to tackle a dangerous, entrenched culture.

"After last year's surge in Valley gang activity, we knew that combating violence from Canoga Park to North Hollywood would remain one of our toughest challenges," Villaraigosa said. "We will get Valley communities the resources they need to implement new innovative and effective intervention programs."

Capping months of legal battles, a judge on Tuesday upheld a controversial ethics-reform measure that also gives Los Angeles City Council members the option of seeking a third four-year term in office. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Opponents said the measure - approved by 59 percent of city voters last November - violates the California Constitution by combining two separate issues.

While Superior Court Judge David Yaffe suggested that voters probably would not have passed the term-limit extension on its own, he said Los Angeles leaders did not break the law by combining it with ethics reforms in one measure.

Union leaders announced late Tuesday that a tentative agreement has been reached to head off a threatened strike at the three major supermarkets in Los Angeles.

Here is the statement released by the union:

Today Representatives of the Grocery Workers Union and the Management of Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons reached a tentative contract agreement. Details of the agreement are not being released until grocery workers vote to ratify the deal Sunday, July 22nd. All seven locals covered by the contract will recommend ratification to their members.

Negotiators have continued talking under contract extensions since the original contract expired on March 5th. The successful negotiations were mediated by Deputy Director Scott Beckenbaugh and Commissioner Joe Mansolillo of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Some 300 DWP employees packed the Board of Water and Power Commissioners meeting Tuesday to protest what they say is the dramatic underfunding of infrastructure projects needed to keep the lights on. The rally, organized by the IBEW, which represents the majority of DWP employees, coincided with their release of DVD titled LADWP Crisis.

"Our members are angry and frustrated," IBEW Business Manager Brian D'Arcy said. "They feel an obligation to warn the public about the threat to their ability to continue to deliver reliable power and safe drinking water."

But DWP Commissioner Nick Patsaouras , who is pictured above, was not having it.
"I'm offended today," he declared. He blamed the union for refusing to allow the utility to contract out needed infrastructure work and for creating "World War 3" stand off between the management and the union.

Led by D'Arcy, IBEW members booed Patsaouras and walked out during his tirade. Outside the DWP headquarters, D'Arcy said he was offended by Patsaouras's comments, adding "All he wants to do is talk about outrageous things."

In the middle of the scuffle was DWP Board President David Nahai, who politely thanked IBEW for the DVD and for drawing public attention to the need for more staff, more infrastructure investment, and ultimately, higher power rates.

Medical marijuana advocates came to Van Nuys City Hall Tuesday to pressure LA leaders into taking a stand against recent Drug Enforcement Administration raids on cannabis dispensaries. The DEA has also sent letters to more than 150 LA landlords warning that they could be arrested and risk losing their property if they rent to dispensaries, according to the LA Times.

Councilman Dennis Zine said he's sympathetic to patients who benefit from medical marijuana, though he has concerns about people dispensing pot willy nilly. He introduced a motion more than a year ago seeking a moratorium on new dispensaries while the city sets up regulations to govern legitimate pot pharmacies. Planning Director Gail Goldberg signed off on the new regulation on Monday, he said.

Once the moratorium and rules are in place, Zine said he will send a letter to the DEA asking them to back off LA dispensaries.

"The fact is we believe we're on solid ground in what we're doing," Zine said. "I'll say to the DEA, we have this ordinance and will you respect that and cooperate with the local jurisdiction."

'That's Speaker Fabian Nunez's mantra for the coming days (or weeks) as the stalemate continues, the Sacramento Bee reports and courtesy of the California Majority Report..

The legislature was supposed to go into recess this Friday, but Assembly members are being asked to remain "on call" and within an hour of the capitol. Maybe the Republicans can finally explain to us where the extra $2 billion will come from.

Fabian Núñez ordered members of the lower house to cancel vacations until the state's budget stalemate ends.

Numerous Assembly members, including Núñez and Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines, have had to cancel family trips because of the standoff.

With the historic $660 million settlement Monday ending the clergy sexual-abuse scandal against the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese, attention turned to the future of the central figure in the case - a man who never molested children nor was charged with a crime. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

But Cardinal Roger Mahony may forever be linked to the scandal, which he tried to cover up by first transferring known molesters from parish to parish, then fighting prosecutors - all the way to the Supreme Court - to keep church records of the abuse a secret.

Despite a tight budget to build and maintain affordable homes, the Los Angeles Housing Department has lost millions of dollars by failing to ensure borrowers comply with loan promises and sometimes lends money to developers who have defaulted on previous city loans, according to an audit released Monday. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The Housing Department has made big improvements in how it manages and monitors loans, but the agency still loses an estimated $6 million a year in potential income because it doesn't have the staff to review annual financial statements submitted by borrowers, City Controller Laura Chick wrote in the audit.

"These very important public dollars are needed to provide safe and livable neighborhoods through the development and preservation of decent and affordable housing," Chick said. "It is essential that we ensure the public that these monies are meeting their intended targets."

The Ho

The union representing Department of Water and Power workers is questioning the utility's reliability as it faces what is expected to be record demand during a hot, dry summer.Daily News.

In a DVD called "LADWP Crisis," the IBEW, Local 18, which represents some 8,000 workers, questioned whether the utility is ready for the demands it will face this year.

Brian D'Arcy, the union's general manager, will be presenting the DVD to the Water and Power commissioners today to demonstrate his concern about whether the agency has prepared for problems and has sufficient numbers of workers available.

More than $3 billion in improvements planned for some Los Angeles County freeways will reduce congestion on those roadways, but the region needs 10 times that much before drivers will see an end to traffic jams, a Caltrans official said Monday.Sue Dpyle in the Daily News.

Within the next five years, construction will start on widening highways and building five car-pool lanes and some new freeway ramps, California Department of Transportation officials said during a meeting to preview upcoming projects.

But it's still not enough to accommodate all the cars on the road.

Variety takes a look at presidential campaign donations and notes that N.Y. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has won back the big names from Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Here is part of the Wilshire and Washington column:

"Superlatives are being attached to the huge sums that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton
raised in the second quarter, with Obama edging out Clinton in the overall total, and nearly
matching her with current cash on hand.

"With yesterday's deadline to file campaign finance reports, word is trickling in on who gave
to whom. According to the New York Post, "Clinton pilfered from Obama such A-listers as
Tom Hanks, comedian Ben Stiller and "Spider-Man" star
Tobey Maguire, who all gave to
Obama at the start of the year but switched to Hillary in the past three months. Clinton also
collected cash from actress Jodie Foster and actor-director
Danny DeVito."
" They also reported that Obama counted Will Smith, Chris Rock and
Jean Smart. (The latter being recently fired from "Grey's Anatomy").
Paul Newman gave to both. "

The California Republican Party has decided not to open its presidential primary election to those who are not members of the party.

Fearful that an open primary would allow others to choose their candidates, the party's directors last week voted to keep in tact party regulations that only allow members of the GOP to vote in the primary.

Director Jon Fleischman offered his views on why it was important on his webpage, the Flash Report:

Last Friday at a meeting in Orange County, the Board of Directors of the California Republican Party voted to affirm current party rules that state that you must be registered as a Republican in order to cast a ballot in California's Presidential Primary this coming February.

As many FR readers know, last February I was elected by CRP delegates in the southern part of California to serve as their regional Vice Chairman on the Party's Board of Directors. Along with my board colleague, Vice Chairman Tom Del Becarro, we jointly introduced a successful, one sentence resolution opposing any change in our current rules.

Calling sexual abuse by clergy a "terrible sin and crime," Cardinal Roger Mahony apologized Sunday to hundreds of people who claim they were molested by priests in the nation's largest archdiocese.Susan Abram in the Daily News.

The apology came during a news conference following Sunday Mass and a day after the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay a record $660 million in a settlement with 508 victims.

"There really is no way to go back and give them that innocence that was taken from them," Mahony said. "The one thing I wish I could give the victims ... I cannot.

"Once again, I apologize to anyone who has been offended, who has been abused. It should not have happened and it will not happen again."

Mahony said he has met with dozens of victims of clergy abuse in the past 14 months and those meetings helped him understand the importance of a quick resolution to the lawsuits.

The cardinal is scheduled to be in court this morning to go over the final settlement. He said the church's decision to settle on the eve of the trials - which were set to begin today - had nothing to do with keeping him from testifying.

"My own testifying would not have been a problem," he said.

Whether they believe the U.S. mission in Iraq can still succeed or that U.S. troops should be withdrawn, Southern California lawmakers who voted for the war four years ago say they still stand by their decision. Lisa Friedman in the Daily News.

As they voted last week on a resolution calling for troop withdrawal, Democrats and Republicans alike defended their vote to bring the country into war in October 2002, saying they authorized the use of force based on the best information available at the time.

"I voted for (war) because I thought Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons, I thought he was trying to get nuclear weapons and the sanctions regime was collapsing around us. Those premises were wrong," said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys.

Once a strong supporter of the war and among the last Democrats to break with President George W. Bush on Iraq, Berman was among 221 lawmakers who voted in favor of Thursday's resolution that set an April 2008 target date for withdrawal.

For the past several weeks, Los Angeles has been treated to two juicy City Hall soap operas as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa split from his wife and confessed to having an affair, and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo admitted that his wife was uninsured when she drove his city-issued car and got into an accident. Tipoffs in the Daily News.

And it's been interesting to see how the key players in the dramas have handled their roles.

Villaraigosa resurfaced after a weekend in seclusion, appearing at a couple of tough news conferences where he was badgered by reporters for details, then allowed to move on to other issues.

But reality surfaced again Friday when he appeared at the much-hyped welcome of soccer star David Beckham. Rather than the cheers he normally receives, Villaraigosa found himself on the receiving end of boos from the crowd.

However, Villaraigosa now appears tired of answering all the questions, passing up his monthly appearance on KABC-TV. Daily News.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will pay a historic $660 million to more than 500 victims who were abused by clergy during the past 70 years, sources said late Saturday.

In what would be the largest payout in the church's sex-abuse scandal, sources close to the archdiocese and a lawyer for the victims said Saturday that terms of a settlement are being worked out this weekend. If the agreement holds, each victim would receive between $1.2 million and $1.3 million. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

The news came just two days before the first of more than 500 clergy abuse cases is scheduled for trial jury selection Monday.

Ray Boucher, attorney and negotiator for the victims, confirmed late Saturday that a settlement had been reached, but he declined to provide specifics.

He said a news release will be issued today (Sunday) about the formal announcement of the settlement, which will take place on Monday morning.

Saying she believes today's immigration laws are "broken," a Simi Valley pastor will be the first in Ventura County to open her church to illegal immigrants facing deportation. Eric Leach in the Daily News.

The Rev. June Goudey is having her congregation at the United Church of Christ join the national New Sanctuary Movement, offering a place to live and other support to people appealing to stay in the country, especially those whose families might be torn apart by deportation.

While the church members want to help people in need of assistance, they will not be breaking any laws by trying to hide anyone or forcefully resist immigration officials, Goudey said. The people who receive sanctuary will not be fugitives or hiding from the law.

They've snuffed out cigarettes in Calabasas, Santa Monica, Burbank and Beverly Hills — and now a group of local residents has started pressing for a public smoking ban in Glendale. .Eugene Tong in the Daily News.

Advocates behind the "No Butts Glendale" campaign have been pushing the City Council since June to consider outlawing smoking in parks, lines and within 25 feet of sidewalks and business entrances.

They also have started an online petition, which has collected 66 signatures since July 7.

Earvin Chapman is used to getting harassed by gangsters on the Fourth of July. His relatives even refuse to attend his front lawn barbecue. Gene Maddaus in the Daily Breeze.

He held it anyway this year and, surprisingly, nothing happened. At night, he heard fireworks instead of the gunfire he often hears as he is trying to fall asleep.

But the next morning, he saw Corona bottles on the sidewalk and fresh tagging on the vacant corner house near his Harbor Gateway home. In large numerals had been written "204."

"They wrote up the whole neighborhood," he said.

On Jan. 18, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vowed to dismantle the 204th Street gang, two members of which had been charged in the death of 14-year-old Cheryl Green. A task force was assembled. Extra patrols were dispatched.

Six months later, some progress has been made. Gang members have gone indoors, while kids have tentatively come out to play. Crime is down: there have been 34 aggravated assaults so far this year, compared with 170 for all of 2006. Of those 34 assaults, only two were connected to the 204th Street gang. Police reported that the Fourth was unusually quiet.

In a win for neighborhood council activists seeking a greater say in development decisions, Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said Friday that city law can be changed to allow local boards the right to appeal land-use rulings. Daily News.

Currently, the City Charter does not give neighborhood councils the right to appeal planning decisions, and that's frustrated councils that want to challenge projects in their community.

"This is an issue of fairness. We are seeking the same appeal rights as virtually every other stakeholder in the city," said Jill Banks Barad, founder and chair of the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils and president of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council.

Seven years ago, when the fig ht was heating up to convert the old Taylor Rail Yard into open space, Melanie Winter quit her job to advocate full time for a park along the Los Angeles River. Kerry Cavanaugn in the Daily News.

She started The River Project nonprofit agency, and worked seven days a week organizing a coalition of 36 community groups, flying to Sacramento to lobby for funding and backing a lawsuit to block commercial development on the site.

She did it all without pay, charging her living expenses on her credit cards.

The work paid off.

In April, activists helped cut the ribbon on the Rio de Los Angeles State Park - a pristine 40-acre park with soccer fields, walking trails, picnic tables and natural habitat that marked the first major swath of green in a paved, crowded community.

Now a core group of activists say it's payback time.

Spectators booed LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa this morning when it was his turn to speak at the welcome press conference for international soccer star David Beckham.

According to Daily Breeze soccer columnist Nick Green: "Embattled Carson Mayor Jim Dear received a better reception than embattled Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was roundly booed."

Ah, but the mayor's office said the negative reaction had nothing to do with Villaraigosa's recent admission that he cheated on his wife of 20 years with a television reporter. Rather, the mayor is an avid fan of Chivas USA _ rival of the LA Galaxy.

"He's been booed before by Galaxy fans," explained Matt Szabo, spokesman for the mayor.

Of course.

* So maybe it wasn't Chivas after all. Daily News sports columnist Tom Hoffarth said the crowd's anti-Antonio mood probably was related to his sexcapades. Amid the boos as the mayor stood to speak, reporters heard someone yell, "Is your girlfriend here to cover this?"

Despite a sex scandal, the mayor remains popular as ever and is expected to easily win re-election, even as he is still widely seen as a strong prospect for higher office in the future.

Gavin Newsom, that is.

Bloomberg News (link here, by way of Yahoo) has a story today on San Francisco's mayor running virtually unopposed for re-election and remaining popular as ever. Earlier this year, Newsom admitted to having an affair with his secretary, who was the husband of Newsom's one-time campaign manager and chief of staff. He also checked into alcohol rehab and recently has been accused by a county supervisor of dodging questions about possible cocaine use.

Newsom's approval ratings remain around 80 percent.

Seems like a good omen for Antonio Villaraigosa.

(By the way, scroll down a few items in this blog for a link to a similar story in Newsweek.)

****

Also, on a separate note, Jay Leno had this quip about Villaraigosa last night: "I guess the mayor got some good news today. He got a big endorsement from In-and-Out."

California lawmakers have long accused the Environmental Protection Agency of dragging its feet in deciding whether the state can have a waiver to enact its landmark 2002 emissions control law.

Now Sen. Barbara Boxer has a plan to make the agency start hopping.

Legislation introduced today would force the agency to make a decision regarding California’s waiver request within 30 days of passage of the legislation. It also mandates the agency decide within 180 days any future waiver requests from California’s motor vehicles program.

The bill was introduced with Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., as Florida officials prepared to also enact strict greenhouse gas laws. Sen. Dianne Feinstein also co-sponsored the bill.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson will testify before Boxer’s Committee on the Environment and Public Works on July 26. In addition to discussing California’s waiver request, he also is expected to face tough questions about Transportation Department officials who lobbied lawmakers to fight the state’s waiver.

Said Boxer, ``Administrator Johnson has been clearly put on notice that EPA should long ago have granted California’s waiver to regulate global warming pollution from cars.’’

Soccer star David Beckham is already having an impact on our officials.
The U.S. Soccer National Council announced Friday that it had appointed state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles as one of its three independent directors.

“To serve in this capacity is an honor and a privilege,” said Núñez, an active soccer player who attended the FIFA World Cup in Germany in 2006. “I have been a soccer fan my entire life and look forward to helping contribute to the remarkable growth of U.S. Soccer during the past 20 years.”

Newsweek has a Web-only story this morning comparing how San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa handled revelations of their respective sexcapades.

The national weekly magazine doesn't declare a winner in the who-handles-scandal-better contest.

"So maybe sex doesn’t kill, after all—politically, anyway. And it just might help level the playing field in this case. If Villaraigosa and Newsom do both decide to enter the race to succeed Schwarzenegger, they won’t be able to attack each other over their private lives."

Republican presidenital candidate Rudy Giuliani, stepping up his efforts for the state's Feb. 5 primary election. announced his campaign stqaff for California.

Serving as executive director is Brent Lowder, who will oversss the daily operation for teh former New York mayor, who is leading the pack of candidates in most polls.

Lowde has worked in California campaigns for mroe than 10 years, including working as a senior aide during the Bill Simon gubernatorial campaign and has alwso worked on the Senate campaign of Matt Fong and prior to that on the 1995 campaign for former Gov. Pete Wilson.

Read on for the full release:

One year after a heat storm knocked out power to 80,000 homes, Los Angeles officials said Thursday the city is better prepared but warned that electric cutbacks could be required unless residents voluntarily conserve energy. Daily News.

And officials also warned that, despite their efforts to boost the system, a 9 percent electricity rate hike is needed over two years to fund a $1 billion upgrade to the city's outdated utility network.

The Department of Water and Power announced last month that the two-year electricity rate increase would be needed, along with a 6 percent hike for water.

"We have always spoken honestly with the public, and the fact of the matter is we are going to need that money to improve the system," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said during a news conference at the DWP Maintenance Yard in Van Nuys. "We are committed to making sure we have a reliable energy system, and it costs money."

A key House panel approved $405 million Thursday toward reimbursing California and other states for the costs of jailing criminal illegal immigrants.Lisa Friedman in the Daily News.

The amount is equal to what Congress approved last year - but it also comes in the wake of boasts by California Democrats that their rise to power in the House this year would mean greater funding for the state.

California last year received $85.9 million under the program. Los Angeles County alone, however, spent about $100 million on jail costs for illegal immigrants, but received only about $1.2 million.

The House Appropriations Committee approved this year's money Thursday as part of a bill funding the Justice Department and other agencies. Known as the State Alien Criminal Assistance Program, the money primarily goes to border states where high numbers of illegal immigrants are arrested for local crimes and incarcerated.

Even though David Beckham will be playing in Carson and living in Beverly Hills, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is hopping on the welcome wagon for the international soccer star, who is joining the LA Galaxy on Friday.

Villaraigosa will present Beckham with the City of Los Angeles Welcome Recognition Award. (Did they just make that up?)

No word on if Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham will be honored as well or whether the mayor's welcome will make her planned one-hour reality show/special, Victoria Beckham: Coming to America.

There has been no shortage of jokes at the expense of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recently. This week's Capitol Weekly had some fun in a few different spots.

First, there was the cartoon.

The paper runs a satirical weekly column, "Ask Big Daddy" supposedly written by the ghost of former Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh. This week's column features a question from a reader, identified as "Mirthless in Salinas" as to whether the mayor can survive news of his affair and still become governor.

Big Daddy's response: "The real winner here is Rocky Delgadillo. His reign as most embarrassing L.A. Latino politician was so short that they brought in a team of theoretical physicists to measure it. And he bent the rules on behalf of his wife, that sweet romantic fool. Nothing says I love you like a hush-hush accident in a government car.

The paper also ran a column (p. A12, print edition) on experts weighing in on the mayor's political future, including comments like "He's the mayor of Los Angeles in his first term -- this is not going to be his last or biggest scandal."

Also "Still a contender, but unlike Clinton and Arnold, Antonio doesn't have the chops or star power to overcome his zipper problem and hubris."

Jay Leno has also been launching a few barbs Antonio's way - or as he mistakenly called him at one point "Mayor Raigosa."

Earlier this week, the "Tonight Show" host said:

"NBC has a stupid new show. It was on last night, called 'Age of Love'. Have you seen this show? Where a man has to choose between an older woman and a younger woman. It's kind of like watching a press conference with the mayor."

"Hey, did you hear what happened to Mayor Villaraigosa today? I guess he tried to give the key to the city to someone, but it didn't work because his wife had the lock changed."

Faced with an onslaught of passionate opposition, a San Fernando Valley lawmaker withdrew a bill Wednesday that would have forced most California pet owners to spay or neuter their dogs and cats.Mike Zapler in the Daily News.

State Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, pulled AB 1634 just hours before a key Senate committee vote he was certain to lose.

While the measure is dead for this year, Levine vowed to revive it next year, but in what could be a vastly scaled-back form.

"While I'm disappointed," he said, "I'm optimistic ... we're going to be able to solve the problem."

The move was a clear setback for spay-and-neuter advocates who say a statewide law is the only way to reduce the hundreds of thousands of pets euthanized at shelters each year.

Southern California Republicans vowed Wednesday to continue backing President George W. Bush's war policy despite a growing number of their Senate colleagues breaking with the White House on Iraq. Lisa Friedman in the Daily News.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, and Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks, said the troop increase Bush ordered in January deserves more time to show results.

Each said he plans to vote today against a House bill that would set a firm deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

"If we should capitulate at this point and cut and run, what kind of message would that send - not only to our enemies, but to our friends around the world?" Gallegly said.

The Senate fell four votes short Wednesday on a procedural vote that would have allowed passage of Iraq-withdrawal legislation.

A lack of training and adequate oversight of passenger-service workers at Los Angeles International Airport is endangering public health and security, according to a study set to be released today. Daily News.

In its report, the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy said the airlines subcontract passenger-service operations to private firms with little regard for training or the quality of equipment provided to accommodate disabled passengers.

"The airlines have allowed their contractors to put the security and the health of the public at risk, while failing to provide adequate services to passengers with disabilities," the report said.

Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Santa Clarita joined up Wednesday with fellow hawks to fight proposed cuts to missile defense.

He is among 35 lawmakers in the newly-formed Missile Defense Caucus, created in response to cuts to the Pentagon’s $3.8 billion Airborne Laser program. The House of Representatives recently voted to slash $250 million from President Bush’s $549 million budget request, a decrease that the Boeing Corp. – the program’s prime contractor – would set it back as much as three years.

“The proposed drastic cuts to the defense budget could cost our country more than we are willing to pay in the negative impacts to our safety, security, and preservation," McKeon said. "I joined this Caucus because I will not stand by without working to salvage the technology we have built."

In case you were wondering, Councilman Richard Alarcon's office sent out a three-page press release today outlining what he was has done in his first 100 days in office.

Among the highlights, Alarcon has created an Ad Hoc Committee on Poverty, initiated a study on child safety and pushed for a redevelopment vision for the Northeast Valley. In total, the release highlights 17 initiatives he's tackled.

Alarcon, who held the 7th Council District seat from 1991 through 1997, was re-elected to the job after Alex Padilla left for the California Senate.

Read on for the full release:

The Democratic presidential candidates -- or at least the three front-runners plus some stragglers -- will be meeting in Los Angeles for yet another presidential debate come August 9, and it will be televised live on a cable network that practically no one has access to and even less people watch (though it will also be streamed online). California Majority Report.

Why is this news?

The cable network in question is LOGO, the country's first gay television network not named Bravo, and the moderators of the debate are Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese and, you can't make this up, Melissa Etheridge!

Former Los Angeles City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka, who retired last year, apparently can't stay away from pressure.
Fujioka, 55, has been hired by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors _ at $310,000 a year _ to take over for County Administrative Officer David Jannsen, who has been trying to retire for more than a year from his post.
Fujioka served as the City Administrative Officer for eight years and under three mayors, Richard Riordan, James Hahn and Antonio Villaraigosa.
In returning to the county _ he had once served as head of its Personnel Department _ Fujioka will be faced with a number of challenges from the King-UCLA Medical Center to overcrowded jails, but will have broadened powers approved by the Board of Supervisors to allow him to have greater say over how individual departments operate.

It's not easy being a Los Angeles City Council member.

Sure, they each represent about 260,000 constituents and hold the strings of the city's $6.8 billion budget.

But, sometimes, department general managers and city commissioners don't even return their calls.

Faced with hundreds of urgent little problems, they struggle to make an impact on the big issues of Los Angeles - such as gangs and traffic. And when they do accomplish something, the public and the media don't seem to know or care much about their triumph. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Take, for example, the first-ever City Council retreat that kicked off Tuesday at the San Pedro Doubletree Hotel. The innovative session designed to help the 15-member council focus on priorities and improve its effectiveness drew exactly one television camera.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had 10 cameras filming him Tuesday morning when he swept a street and announced a summer jobs program.

And while City Council members generally feel upbeat about their work, there is also a sense that they're not doing all they could be.

Under fire for fostering a culture of secrecy, Los Angeles County supervisors split Tuesday over whether a growing number of county documents and meetings should be labeled confidential and closed to the public. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

As the board voted to approve a $390,000 settlement in a foster-child sexual-abuse case, Supervisor Gloria Molina broke ranks with the majority and questioned why the five-member county governing board had ended a long-standing practice of disclosing settlement details.

A decision to keep details of settlements secret was recently made by the county counsel without input from the supervisors or the public.

"I'd like a written report to find out what the heck is going on," Molina said. "By providing this information to the public, we have held ourselves, our departments a

Continuing his redemption tour around the city, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa promoted summer jobs for youths Tuesday as he reiterated his hope that voters will overlook the drama in his personal life and focus on his accomplishments as mayor. Daily News.

At an event in Chinatown, where he was greeted by more than a dozen young people who have their first jobs under city programs, Villaraigosa also insisted he will play a visible and active role in the presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

"I'm here today to focus on jobs for young people," Villaraigosa said after being asked about the impact of his extramarital affair on support from Latinas.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger honored his long-time friend, muscle guru Joe Weider, on Monday, declaring it "Joe Weider Day" in California. At the governor's request, the state Senate issued a resolution in honor of Weider, publisher of a Woodland Hills-based fitness magazine empire that he sold in 2003.
In the 1960s, Weider helped Schwarzenegger become established as a bodybuilder with financial support and extensive promotion in his magazines.
Full story in the Sacramento Bee.

Los Angeles County's racial makeup is expected to change dramatically by 2050, with Hispanic and Asian populations doubling to account for more than 80 percent of residents as the number of whites and blacks shrinks in half. Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

The county's population will grow from 9.6 million in 2000 to 13 million in 2050, with Latinos growing to 8.4 million, or 65 percent of the total, according to state population projections issued Monday.

The number of Asians will double to 2.1 million, overtaking whites, whose numbers will fall to 1.5 million. The African-American population is expected to decline to 583,000 in 2050 from 910,000 in 2000.

L.A. County magnifies a statewide trend. Almost 60 million people will live in California by 2050 — and most of them will be Latino.

Even as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa re-emerged Monday vowing to fix the city's schools and streets after spending the past few days in seclusion, he faced a barrage of questions about his infidelity.Daily News.

Trying to put last week's firestorm over his extramarital affair with a television news reporter behind him, Villaraigosa announced a grant for charter schools in the morning, then rolled up his sleeves to fill potholes later in the day.

But all anyone wanted to talk about was how he cheated on his wife.

"I am not perfect ... and want to get back to the work the people of Los Angeles elected me to," Villaraigosa said as he found himself once again facing questions about his relationship with Telemundo reporter Mirthala Salinas and the breakup of his 20-year marriage to wife Corina.

"I made a mistake. I've always said that when you do something that undermines your support in some way or causes people to lose faith in you in some way, you've got to get back and accept your responsibility and do your job."

The Los Angeles metropolitan area ranked second-worst in California for volunteerism in a study released Monday, with fewer residents than one out of four donating time to give back to the community. Susan Abram in the Daily News.

Researchers from the Corporation for National and Community Service said just 22 percent of L.A. residents participated in volunteer activities, compared with 29 percent in San Francisco and in San Diego, as well as 27 percent in Sacramento and San Jose. The statewide average was 25 percent during the two-year period that was studied.

Despite the numbers, leaders of most nonprofit groups in the San Fernando Valley, long praised for the extent of its volunteerism, and the rest of the L.A. area say they believe residents are generous with their time.

Los Angeles is losing the race to create and preserve affordable housing in part because the city's housing agencies don't track the number of low-rent units that are needed, built and lost every year, according to an audit released Monday.

The audit of the Housing Department by City Controller Laura Chick faults the city as a whole and elected leaders for failing to develop a coordinated, comprehensive approach to building and protecting low-cost housing for the city's poor and working class.Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

There will be no touchy-feely icebreakers at the Los Angeles City Council retreat in San Pedro today.

But there will be a segment called "Me and My District," in which council members share their proudest accomplishments and "help others understand what it's like to walk in your shoes, around your district."

In a two-day goal-setting, team-building workshop at the Doubletree Hotel, the 15 council members will discuss citywide priorities and how they can be more effective legislators. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Tackling one of the most contentious issues facing Los Angeles' neighborhood council system, the panel charged with reviewing the grass-roots network is weighing who should have a voice on the councils.Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Residents and business owners are obvious stakeholders. But what about a real estate agent? Should one be allowed to run for a seat on a neighborhood council in an area where the real estate agent is selling homes?

Should a Northridge resident be able to serve on a committee of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council because his child goes to school in that community?

What about someone who lunches three times a week at Pink's Hot Dogs? Should that person be allowed to vote on the Mid City West Community Council?

Ultimately, the definition of "stakeholder" is at the heart of the debate over the entire neighborhood council system: What role do the boards play in Los Angeles city government, and who is allowed to represent a neighborhood?

With Police Commission President John Mack prepared to step down later this month, it appears the newest member of the five-member citizen panel, attorney Anthony Pacheco, is being tapped to succeed him. Tipoffs .

A black lace mantilla draped over her head, Matilda Salas knelt at a side altar of downtown's Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, immersed in solemn prayer, a rosary of black crystals clutched in her tiny hands.Tony Castro in the Daily News.

When she finished, she carefully lit two votive candles, as she had done since Tuesday, the day she learned of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's admitted extramarital affair.

"I light one candle for Antonio and one candle for (his wife)," said Salas, 56. "I pray that with God's help, they find a way of reconciling.

"If they don't, Antonio is lost. He is lost to his family. He is lost to himself. Most importantly, he is lost to God."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has sunk more than $17million over the past two years into a state fleet of 1,138 environmentally friendly cars and trucks that have traveled a collective 10million miles and burned more than 413,202 gallons of gas. Kimberly Kindey in the DailyNews.

But the "flex fuel" vehicles have not used one drop of high-grade ethanol - the fuel that promised to turn the fleet into clean-burning driving machines - because the vehicles have no access to ethanol pumping stations. There was none when the Chevrolet Impala sedans and Silverado trucks were purchased, and none is scheduled to open until December 2009.

Even worse, the flex-fuel vehicles are churning out more smog and greenhouse gases than many vehicles in the state's standard fleet. For every 15,000 miles traveled, for instance, the flex-fuel Impala releases an average 8.5tons of greenhouse gases compared with 7.3tons from the Ford Focus it replaced, federal officials said.

As a result, energy experts question whether the administration's zest to look "green" has come at the expense of real environmental progress.

Ever since he was elected as mayor, the state's political insiders have been salivating at the prospect of an Antonio Villaraigosa run for governor.

Perhaps spoiled with the Arnold Schwarzenegger governorship and the celebrity clout he brings, they are looking to keep the same star power alive in coming years with all that Villaraigosa brings.

Now, with the mayor embroiled in a personal scandal involving Telemundo reporter Marithal Salinas., it has set them off in a tizzy about Villaraigosa's prospects.

But, a Villaraigosa run for governor will have a bigger problem _ history.

Quick, name the last govenror who also served as mayor of Los Angele in modern times.

Former Mayor Tom Bradley came the closest, but he was edged out by then-Attorney General George Deukmejian.

Here are two other views:

Sacramento Bee
Don't dismiss Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa from the 2010 governor's race just because he revealed Tuesday he had an ongoing extramarital relationship, political analysts say. Sacramento Bee

Many believe Villaraigosa's revelation will have only a marginal impact on the Democrat's chances to win the state's top office in three years. The former Assembly speaker is still considered among the early front-runners in a large field once Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is termed out.

Los Angeles Times.

Larry Gerston believes that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa may have written the first lines of his political obituary this week by acknowledging a long-running affair with a television newscaster who covered City Hall

"All I can say is that if I were him, I wouldn't make any plans to run for the Democratic nomination [for governor] in 2010," said Gerston, a political science professor at San Jose State.

California's secretary of state is considering decertifying an "essential" new part of Los Angeles County's voting system because a vendor missed a deadline to provide key information about it. Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

Decertification would be a blow to the Golden State's largest county, leaving it struggling to comply with federal regulations for the state's first February presidential primary.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen said the action comes as her office reviews voting systems statewide, and the vendor repeatedly refused to provide the source code for software used in Los Angeles County's InkaVote Plus system.

Taking the next step in its efforts to control gangs, the Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved spending $500,000 to audit and gauge the effectiveness of existing anti-gang programs. Daily News.

The council's 12-0 vote provides Controller Laura Chick with the money she needs to analyze the dozens of city programs, which cost taxpayers more than $178 million a year.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has made reducing gang violence a top priority, has promised to cut funding to programs that do not work.

TV comedy creative genius Norman Lear is targeting his political efforts at the youngest of eligible voters, aiming to get every 18 year old possible to register to vote by the deadline for the 2008 presidential election.

Lear, founder of People for the American Way, no doubt would be pleased if the majority of those first-timers cast their ballots for the Democratic nominee, but his new online public service campaign is a non-partisan goose in the backsides of complacent teens to get involved and take a stand, whatever that may be.

Toward that end, he's enlisted Ben Garrant and Thomas Lennon of "Reno 911!" to appear in a series of Declare Yourself spots as, together, The Man: A pair of slick, suburbanite white guys whose recurring theme is "Thank you for not voting. " Check out the series of four spots at www.declareyourself.com.

Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton reflects on his career and the difficulty in running the LAPD where the Christian Science Monitor asks him about the image problems of the department.

"Sixteen years after the beating of Rodney King made the Los Angeles Police Department the international poster child for police abuse, Chief William Bratton sits in his office fielding a question that never seems to go away.

"Hasn't anyone been able to change the warrior-style police culture here – often caught on videotape for the world to see? The latest headline-grabbing incident: Riot police dispersed immigrant demonstrators and reporters with batons and rubber bullets in a downtown park May 1, injuring at least 32.

"Pointing out the window at low buildings and sprawl, the former chief of the Boston and New York police departments explains why policing in L.A. is different from anywhere else. With 50 percent more area than New York and half as many cops, the city averages only a third as many officers per square mile, which keeps them in cars – not walking beats.

"The unofficial motto here is, 'too few who for too long have been asked to do too much with too little,' " says Chief Bratton, seated at a long oak table in dress blues."

The Los Angeles Unified School District took another budget hit Thursday when California's controller said it must return $45 million it never should have claimed from the state. Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

Over four years, the district filed claims for and received $46.6 million in state money under the Pupil Promotion and Retention Program.

But state Controller John Chiang said an audit showed that $45.4 million of the claims was unjustified, and that the money must be returned.

"In essence, they got an interest-free loan from the taxpayers of California," Chiang said in an interview. "Obviously they need to clean up their procedures so they don't jeopardize the operations or their responsibility to provide kids with a world-class education.

The ex-boss of a black, lesbian firefighter who won a $6.2 million discrimination suit this week against the city was slapped with a $2,500 fine Thursday in the biggest total payout in Los Angeles Fire Department history. Kerry Cavanaugh and Eugene Tong in the Daily News.

The jury award for Brenda Lee is more than double the $2.7 million settlement proposed for Firefighter Tennie Pierce, an African-American whose separate case against the LAFD will head to trial in September.

Pierce sued after he was fed dog food during what colleagues said was a prank. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vetoed the deal in November after photos revealing the firefighter engaging in firehouse horseplay himself caused public outcry.

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, looking to bolster its negotiating position with international corporations, said Thursday it has signed a historic agreement with unions representing 6 million workers in Shanghai, China. Daily News.

Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the 600,000-member County Fed, compared the agreement to a sister city relationship and said there may be opportunities for joint efforts with the Port of Los Angeles.

"The primary reason for this relationship is that Shanghai and Los Angeles have the two biggest ports," Durazo said. "We are both dealing with multinational global corporations and we have to act globally to protect our interests.

Telemundo newswoman Mirthala Salinas has been placed on a leave of absence pending a job review in the wake of news that Salinas is in a romantic relationship with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, station officials said today. Beth Barrett in the Daily News. L.A. Times.

The move comes as questions swirled over Salinas' coverage of the mayor and Los Angeles politics. Station officials had said Salinas was removed from political coverage about 11 months ago.

But in a statement today, Manuel Abud, vice president and general manager of Telemundo (Channel 52), said the station will conduct an investigation.

"As we have stated, we are committed to journalistic excellence. Given the seriousness of the allegations that have been made, we have decided to conduct an internal review of the decisions and events that led us to where we are today," Abud said in the statement.

"In the meantime, Mirthala Salinas has been placed on a leave of absence from her duties pending this review."

It was not known whether the leave of absence is paid or unpaid.

CBS 2 anchor Paul Magers took a detour Wednesday from his rather canned emcee script at the Rose Bowl music and fireworks festivities to crack wise about a local hot topic.
"I do not have a personal relationship with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa," he said. "I just wanted to get that off my chest."

Special interests, directly solicited by lawmakers, their leaders and the governor, have poured millions of dollars into an array of special programs favored by the politicians, including nonprofit entities specially created to handle donations. But these payments don't show up in the normal filings that candidates and donors must make with the Secretary of State. John Howard in Capitol Weekly.

In fact, these so-called "behested payments" are not available anywhere online. Instead, the payments are only available in hard copy tucked away in the sixth-floor office of the Fair Political Practices Commission in downtown Sacramento.

That's something the head of the state financial watchdog agency would like to change.

"We believe it is necessary to make this information available to the press and public in a more useful way," said FPPC Chairman Ross Johnson.

Unlike campaign donations, some $10.6 million in behested payments since January 2005 that were reviewed by Capitol Weekly carry few restrictions and they do not flow to a politician's campaign treasury. Rather, they are intended for legislative, governmental or charitable causes, although the line between those and campaign politics often appears blurred. Many of the payments go to community advocacy organizations, youth clubs, schools, health organizations, research groups and the like. The payments are legal, and those $5,000 or larger must be reported within 30 days to the state, where they are recorded at the FPPC.

The city's mayor, riding a wave of unprecedented popularity, suddenly was hit with one of the oldest indiscretions in politics. His long marriage was in trouble. Worse, the faithful wife had filed for divorce. Worse still, there was another woman. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

For the man once regarded as a front-runner to succeed the incumbent governor and possibly even reach a national office, the future was in crisis-control mode.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa?

Not quite. The man in trouble was then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, now the front-runner among Republican presidential candidates - showing there can be political success even after divorce, infidelity and scandal.

"Giuliani broke the mold," said national political watcher Steve Benen, who writes for Washington Monthly magazine. "Giuliani marched in a St. Patrick's Day parade with his mistress and then announced that he was getting a divorce in a press conference - before his wife knew anything about it."

That candidates have been able to overcome the stigma of infidelity should encourage Villaraigosa backers and give pause to naysayers who suggest that Villaraigosa's marital breakup - and subsequent admission that he is seeing another woman - could dim his rising political star.

Drivers might soon have to pay for the privilege of using the Southland's increasingly crowded car-pool lanes. Fred Ortega in the Daily News.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members asked staffers last week to look into "congestion pricing" to reduce traffic while raising funds for local transportation projects.

Measures being considered include a truck-only toll lane on the Long Beach Freeway and charging drivers for entering downtown Los Angeles during rush hour.

A similar program already in place in London, where drivers heading into the city center are charged the equivalent of $16 a day, is being examined as a possible model for future congestion pricing programs in L.A., Metro spokesman Marc Littman said.

Don't dismiss Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa from the 2010 governor's race just because he revealed Tuesday he had an ongoing extramarital relationship, political analysts say. Sacramento Bee.

Many believe Villaraigosa's revelation will have only a marginal impact on the Democrat's chances to win the state's top office in three years. The former Assembly speaker is still considered among the early front-runners in a large field once Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is termed out.

Villaraigosa said Tuesday he has had a relationship with reporter Mirthala Salinas of the Spanish language network Telemundo that has evolved over time, according to a recording posted online by the Los Angeles Times.

Salinas once covered the mayor as a political reporter. About a year ago, Villaraigosa said, the relationship "had grown to a point where it was necessary to inform her management that she shouldn't cover me. ... They agreed," the Associated Press reporte

As three newly elected members took their posts on the Los Angeles Unified school board Tuesday, pressure mounted to give Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa oversight of a cluster of low-performing schools. Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

The ceremonies officially swearing in Tamar Galatzan, Yolie Flores Aguilar and Richard Vladovic were upstaged by a media frenzy over Villaraigosa's revelations of a romantic relationship with a television news anchor.

In the school board meeting that followed, Monica Garcia also was elected president in a 6-0 vote.

But the formal ceremonies marked a win for the mayor, who now has majority support on the LAUSD board. Garcia immediately highlighted the challenges faced by the district including low graduation rates and overcrowded schools.

Garcia introduced motions to boost accountability, parent engagement, graduation rates, smaller community schools and help for English learners.

"It's about action, it's about accountability, it's about let's have the plan," Garcia said. "The direction is set."

And despite firm statements Friday from Superintendent David Brewer III that the mayor won't get oversight of a cluster of low-performing schools before September 2008, the new board members

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday defended his romantic relationship with a Telemundo newswoman, saying it is a "friendship that evolved over time" and has had no effect on his performance as mayor. Beth Barrett and Naush Boghossian in the Daiily News.

Amid a media frenzy after swearing-in ceremonies for new Los Angeles Unified school board members, Villaraigosa reiterated that his relationship with Mirthala Salinas is a personal matter and he appealed for privacy.

"I believe that the vast majority of people base their sense of trust on what you do in your public life, whether or not you keep your promises," the mayor said. "I'll leave the speculation to others. I'm not going to get into every detail of my relationship, nor should I."

The relationship came to light in a Daily News story published Tuesday after the mayor had dodged months of questions about the breakup of his marriage to his wife of 20 years, Corina.

The new majority of Los Angeles Unified board
members backed by the mayor officially took office today, with the three
newcomers indicating a desire for change and a disdain for the status quo, City News Service reports.
.
Yolanda Flores Aguilar, Tamar Galatzan and Richard Vladovic join
incumbent Monica Garcia in giving board members backed by Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa a 4-3 majority.
Aguilar, Galatzan, Vladovic and second-term incumbent Marguerite
Poindexter LaMotte took their oaths of office in a ceremony at the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion.

Vowing to steer a bolder direction, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously re-elected Eric Garcetti as its president for two more years.Daily News.

"This place is an idea factory and it's time to put some of those ideas into action," Garcetti said after the 15-0 vote by the council at its annual reorganization meeting.

Councilwoman Wendy Greuel was re-elected as president pro tem.

Garcetti said he believes the council is prepared to be more aggressive on a variety of fronts and take advantage of the smooth relations it has had with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the two years since Villaraigosa's election.

After months of dodging questions about the breakup of his marriage, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa acknowledged Monday that he is involved in a romantic relationship with television newswoman Mirthala Salinas.

Since January, the mayor has repeatedly faced questioning that began when reporters noticed he and his wife, Corina, had stopped making public appearances together and his gold wedding band was missing from his ring finger.

The mayor glibly rebuffed all probes when the questions reached a peak in January, and aides said he had been working out a lot and lost weight so the ring was at the jeweler's getting resized.

But with the Daily News set to publish a story about his relationship with Salinas, an anchorwoman and reporter for NBC-Telemundo (Channel 52), and his mother-in-law's account of the climactic moment in his marriage, Villaraigosa issued the following statement:

"It is true that I have a relationship with Ms. Mirthala Salinas. As I've said I take full responsibility for my actions, and I once again ask that people respect my family's privacy. For my part, I intend to stay focused on my job, and to work as hard as I can every day to be the best mayor I can be."

Salinas did not respond to repeated request. Beth Barrett in the Daily News.

L.A. Times calls for Rocky to resign
City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo came to office with sterling credentials and the support of some of Los Angeles' most esteemed leaders. He had a captivating personal story — Eastside kid who did well, went to Harvard, then to Columbia, then on to one of the nation's most impressive law firms and City Hall, where he worked for Mayor Richard Riordan. In short, Delgadillo had the drive, the education and the support to be one of this city's leading public officials. Instead, he has squandered those advantages on egocentrism and bad judgment, falling well short of the high standards required of an office that prosecutes others for offenses such as he has committed. He should resign. L.A. Times.

Despite MTA Fare Hike, Riders Stay on Board

What can you say about a $2 bus fare increase when you can't buy a gallon of gas for that much or park downtown anywhere near City Hall — and that's assuming you can afford to own a car?

No riders aboard the Metro buses and trains on the first workday of the new fare hike said they were happy about it, but they weren't boycotting either.

"I don't know what the big deal is," said North Hollywood writer Jordan Halverson, waiting for an Orange Line bus to take him to Sherman Oaks for a story meeting after a ride back from downtown on the Red Line. "I think they've done amazing things with the bus system, and the quality of service is good." Tony Castro in the Daily News.

Valley Leaders Say Count Us In

San Fernando Valley leaders called Monday for Uncle Sam to scrap a plan to wipe the region off the U.S. Census map.

The plan by the U.S. Census Bureau not to provide fought-for data on Valley population, ages, racial makeup, jobs and other matters could cost the region tens of millions of dollars in federal and private grants, officials said.

"It's about big fat checks; it's all about money," Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel said during a news conference by business leaders and local, state and federal officials representing the Valley. "The (census) numbers provide it." Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

Councilwoman Janice Hahn sent out an update today on our favorite, formerly-free alligator, Reggie. He's doing just fine at the LA Zoo, waiting for his new enclosure and feasting on quail.

Reggie, as you may recall, was first spotted in Machada Lake in August 2005 and repeatedly eluded gator wranglers who tried to capture him. His freedom ended on May 24 when people spied him near a partially eaten chicken leg. He was nabbed shortly thereafter and taken to the LA Zoo.

Since his arrival at the zoo, Reggie managed to update his blog, where he thanked supporters for their love and urged them to visit him at the zoo. Scroll down his blog and check out Reggie's response to a survey. So is this chicken-chomping reptile a lover or fighter? A lover.

Call it a B+, with room for improvement.

Midway through his term, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is getting generally solid marks from local business leaders for his performance. Howard Fine in the Los Angeles Business Journal.

The popular mayor has won praise for his lobbying for more state and federal funding and for boosting the city’s profile both here and abroad. He’s also credited with sustaining the city’s development boom as several mega-projects have steamed ahead even as the local housing market has stalled.

But, local business leaders say, the mayor could do more to aid existing enterprises coping with the high cost of doing business and to bring Los Angeles International Airport into the modern era. And they lament the mayor’s inability or unwillingness to rein in the pro-union tendencies of the City Council.

“Looking back on the first two years, he deserves a lot of credit for leading on transportation and education. He has a very good track record on development. But there could also be a little more balance with labor interests and we’d like to see more attention on an economic strategy for the future of jobs in this city,” said Brendan Huffman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association.

Mayor and schools
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's two-year drive for a role over Los Angeles schools has hit another obstacle: District officials say they won't give him even a small group of schools to oversee until the fall semester 2008. Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

With Villaraigosa now having support from a majority of the new board in the Los Angeles Unified School District, it was widely assumed — even by the mayor — that he would gain control of some campuses this fall.

But school officials said in interviews Friday that such a partnership would require extensive planning, and the earliest it could begin would be September 2008.

The new mainstream in L.A. politics

Almost three decades ago, a politically connected Hollywood restaurateur and her husband organized a massive rally to show Latino support for several Latino elected officials who had become the targets of negative news coverage. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

Then-Gov. Jerry Brown headlined the dinner of about 7,000 at the Los Angeles Convention Center on behalf of then-State Education Secretary Mario Obledo, who was battling allegations of ties to the Mexican Mafia, and Congressman Ed Roybal, who was the subject of a corruption scandal.

Today, that Hollywood restaurateur continues to lobby for Latino issues and candidates, but she said she has no misgivings about the recent negative coverage of Southern California's top three Latino elected officials: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Sheriff Lee Baca and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.

Singing his way out

It's time for political farewells and welcomes in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Tipoffs.

The changing of the guard was particularly nostalgic for school board member David Tokofsky, who decided not to seek re-election after serving four terms in office.

Tokofsky, who says he's now weighing various options in education or youth programs, was feted at his final meeting last week.

Among the tributes was a musical parody (sung to the tune of "Officer Krupke" from "West Side Story") that took note of Tokofsky's defense of LAUSD against Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's vocal criticism:

At the midpoint of his first four years at Los Angeles' helm, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa finds himself at a personal and professional crossroads. Daily News.

In contrast to a first year burnished with high-profile successes such as winning funds for a 405 car-pool lane and a legislative measure giving him more control of Los Angeles public schools, his second year has seen smaller gains and some setbacks.
Courts struck down the school legislation; he failed in a bid to make Los Angeles the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games; and personal troubles have taken their toll on his marriage.

But Villaraigosa likens any setbacks to bumps in the road as he maintains a nearly breakneck pace of appearances across the city and continues to press an optimistic outlook.

"For every setback, I have had a victory," Villaraigosa said. "You are not going to win everything. But when you lose something, you find a new way to do things."

And there have been successes: He won a majority of seats on the Los Angeles Unified school board. He reduced the city deficit from $296 million to $130 million. And he announced a major initiative to quell the spread of gang violence.

Report update
The mayor's office said the two-year report on his accomplishments was delayed in getting on line. They hope to have it available by late Monday or early Tuesday at www.lacity.org.

Mitt Romney was in Valencia in May for a private fundraiser and fellow Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani followed last week. Judy O'Rourke in the Daily News.

In between, a local woman hosted a neighborhood party for John Edwards' supporters, with the candidate taking part via conference call.

Santa Clarita, for some reason, has become a stop on the campaign trail in one of the most exciting presidential elections in decades.

Some say it's because Santa Clarita is now among the state's vote-rich, dollar-rich Republican enclaves — though the Democrats' influence is gaining in town.

As baby boomers and others have moved from the core of Los Angeles into the suburbs, politicians have followed, said Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Santa Clarita.

"Here in our district we see an educated citizenry who are active and involved in kitchen table topics such as immigration, economy, gas prices, education and health care," said McKeon, who was the city's first mayor nearly 20 years ago. "Because of this and because of the influence the area now has, it only makes sense for our community to be on the 'campaign route' per se."

Take a walk down the 20100 block of Marilla Street in Chatsworth and you see kids playing dodgeball while their parents hover over barbecue grills and set up picnic tables for an early start to the Fourth of July. Dennis McCarthy in the Daiily News.

The 12-home, tree-lined, cul-de-sac built in the early 1960s has the all-American feel of the Cleavers' old neighborhood in the TV series "Leave It To Beaver."

But the Beav and his brother, Wally, and their parents, Ward and June, never lived on a block like this.

And that's too bad, the people on Marilla Street say. They would have been so much richer and wiser if they had.

"I grew up on this street in the '60s when it was all white," says Chuck Bunnell, who now lives with his wife, Beth, in his parents' old home.