Mayor's mid-term review ****

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.