August 2010 Archives

While a blistering audit raised the prospect of a federal consent decree against his department, Los Angeles County Probation Department Chief Donald Blevins said Monday he's confident that ongoing reforms will avert that outcome.Troy Anderson in the Daily News,.

"We are implementing the recommendations in the report so we don't get to that point," Blevins said. "I certainly believe we're capable of doing that."

In a 93-page report released last week, Deputy Chief Cal Remington - who was interim head of the department before Blevins was hired in February - wrote that it is plagued by serious management problems and employs staff members who should have been weeded out in background checks long ago.

The principal of a Canoga Park charter school mishandled $2.7 million in public funds, including the transfer of about $1.1 million into a personal account he used to speculate on financial markets, according to an audit released Monday. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The 305-page audit by Los Angeles Unified's Office of Inspector General alleges that Edward Fiszer falsified bank statements and forged cashier's checks to transfer public funds out of NEW Academy Canoga Park Elementary School over two years.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa lent a receptive ear Monday to the pitch from a Chatsworth solar panel manufacturer for the city's assistance in a project that would create up to 260 jobs. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News

Vijay K. Kapur, founder, president and CEO of International Solar Electric Technology Inc., told the mayor the company had completed a "pilot production" line but needs $50 million to expand it at the 24,000-square-foot facility on Plummer Street.

"If I got the money today I could have product out in the marketplace in 18 months," said Kapur, who estimated that the operation would result in 130 production and 130 installation jobs.

RESEDA - China, be warned. And Washington, be ready. Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

Those were some sentiments declared Sunday by U.S Rep. Brad Sherman, who advocated tougher trade policies with China and a stronger national defense.

The San Fernando Valley congressman met with an estimated 400 residents during a town hall meeting to discuss trade, the economy, tax cuts and whether to privatize Medicare and Social Security.

Tipoff: Councilman Richard Alarcon gets some help

In one corner are candidates who began their political careers in the era of the ink-stained "Boys on the Bus," of male-dominated capitols, and of public cynicism stirred by Vietnam and Watergate. Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

In the other corner are products of the age of Twitter, rising female power, and voter cynicism of a different brand.

Democratic stalwarts Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer started in politics in the 1970s, while Republicans Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina are venturing in as novices after storied business careers. California's big statewide contests have prompted a look at how much the games of campaigning and governing have changed in a generation.

Let the McCourt divorce trial - er, circus - begin on Monday. Jill Painter in the Daily News.

Frank and Jamie McCourt moved to Los Angeles from Boston, where they made a fortune in the parking lot business. They purchased the Dodgers in a highly leveraged deal, then became high-profile folks, entertaining celebrities and dignitaries while living lavish lifestyles

Needy families are being turned away from some San Fernando Valley food pantries where supplies have hit near-record lows, forcing at least one location to temporarily close for the first time in more than a decade. Tony Castro and Cindy Von Quednow.

The shortages come as pantries report record high demand for assistance as the recession forces middle-class families to join the poor in the distribution lines.

"We're getting lawyers, teachers and even television writers who are coming for food," said Judy Aguilar, a supervisor at the Van Nuys-based Lutheran Social Services pantry, which feeds 1,300 clients each month. "They're people who might not have needed help in the past, but they do now.

Under pressure from environmental groups, the Department of Water and Power backed away Thursday from seeking an exemption to state law limiting the use of seawater to cool its three coastal power plants. Daily News.

Interim DWP General Manager Austin Beutner said the agency had abandoned its efforts to win support for a change in state law and instead would work with the state Water Resources Control Board to achieve a cost-effective compromise.

An emotional Ramon Cortines delivered his last "back to school" address as head of Los Angeles Unified on Wednesday, urging principals, parents and district officials to embrace reforms as the district faces increasing outside pressure to improve schools. Connie Llanos in the Daily News,

In a 30-minute speech at Hollywood High School, Cortines celebrated gains made by local students in the last few years and outlined programs he plans to launch in his final months at LAUSD, including the use of student test data in teacher evaluations.

Cortines plans to step down in the spring. Deputy Superintendent John Deasy is expected to replace him.

Cortines spoke hours before U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan chided LAUSD for failing to give teachers and parents more data on student achievement exam scores.

The Department of Water and Power is in negotiations with the state to ease regulations on how it uses ocean waters to cool its coastal plants - putting the agency at odds with environmentalists. Daily Nerws,

Interim General Manager Austin Beut ner defended the effort as a necessary step to avoid cost increases of $170 million a year that would result in a 6 percent increase to DWP customers.

"We're in round-the-clock discussions with the state to pursue an alternative plan," Beutner said. "We don't disagree with the goal, it's the timing. We need to get some certainty around this."

Metrolink and one of its contractors have agreed to pay the maximum $200 million in liability to survivors and victims of a horrific 2008 Chatsworth crash that killed 25 people and injured 102 others. Daily News

While the amount represents the most that can be paid for train crashes under federal law, some families are expected to continue pursuing additional compensation for damages suffered in the head-on crash between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train.

"The rationale is this is the maximum that could be recovered in any event and will expeditiously get the maximum compensation to the victims and their families," said Keith Millhouse, chairman of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority.

California students will miss out on $700 million in education grants after finishing among the losing states in the second round of the federal "Race to the Top" contest, U.S. Department of Education officials announced Tuesday. Connie Llanos in the Daily News,.

Los Angeles Unified could have come home with $120 million from the contest, which aims to reward states with reform-minded teachers unions and administrators.

Department of Education officials said detailed explanations for picking the 10 winners, including the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio, would be released Wednesday.

More than 60 percent of Los Angeles Unified's sophomores passed the California High School Exit Exam on their first try, guaranteeing they can graduate with the Class of 2012, according to results released Tuesday.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The state exam ensures that students can read, write and perform math skills at the 10th grade level before they're allowed to graduate from high school. Students who fail the test as sophomores have several additional opportunities to pass.

The new results show that 62 percent of LAUSD's sophomores passed both the English and math portions on their first attempt, compared with 69 percent of sophomores statewide.

The assessed values of properties in Los Angeles County dropped for the second year in a row, falling about $19 billion to just over $1 trillion, county Assessor Robert Quon said Tuesday.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The further reduction in overall assessed value should give additional property tax breaks to many homeowners, especially those who bought at the peak of the real estate market in 2007.

Specific information on property taxes was due out later this month or next as the assessor's office analyzes the numbers.

Members of City Hall's engineers' union have agreed to share in their health care costs, the first time a city union has made such a concession and one which Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hopes to use to leverage similar deals from other labor groups. Daily News.

Flanked at a Tuesday news conference by members of the Engineers and Architects Association, Villaraigosa said he hopes that other unions will agree to similar money-saving concessions. He estimated the breakthrough EAA agreement will save the cash-strapped city $20 million this year and up to $10 million annually in the future.

"No one wants to furlough people," Villaraigosa said. "No one wants to ask workers to make further sacrifices. But in this economy, shared sacrifice is the name of the game. We simply cannot afford the status quo."

The head of the Los Angeles teachers union said Monday he's ready to negotiate changes in how teachers are evaluated, a controversial topic that has often met with resistance from educators.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Los Angeles Unified officials have laid out a plan that would use student test scores to help measure teacher effectiveness and determine compensation, according to a memo from Deputy Superintendent John Deasy. The plan could be enacted as early as next fall.

In the past, leaders of United Teachers Los Angeles have fiercely opposed the inclusion of test data in gauging the effectiveness of educators. However, union President A.J. Duffy said Monday he is open to reforming the evaluation process and that "everything is on the table."

For many senior citizens, it is the only hot meal they get each day. Daily News

For others, it is their only contact with the outside world.

But the meal-assistance programs that benefit more than 6,700 elderly Los Angeles residents daily could end by Sept. 1 because of the state budget stalemate in Sacramento. The programs are funded by the federal government but administered by the state, which is now 55 days past the deadline for approving a budget for the current fiscal year.

Fighting for re-election in November, Sen. Barbara Boxer said Monday she believes that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's effort to advance $40 billion in funding for Los Angeles transportation projects could serve as a national template. Daily News.

The California Democrat joined the mayor at a round table with local supporters of the so-called 30-10 initiative, designed to advanced 30 years of funding for transportation projects in only 10 years.

Boxer said she hopes to announce in October that the federal government can advance the funding to be repaid by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority through revenue from the Measure R sales tax.

After spending more than $154 million for a system of locking turnstiles and electronic payment cards for the county transit system, officials are discovering that at least a third of the money may have been wasted because they can't use the new devices as planned.
Troy Anderson in the Daily News.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority placed the locking turnstiles at subway and light-rail stations to stop fare scofflaws and end what had previously been an honor-based system.

Installed under a $46 million contract, the turnstiles were predicted to save $13 a million a year in lost revenue and reduced fare inspector costs.

Tipoff: City Council, DWP have rival plans for ratepayer advocate.

Launching election season for the leadership of the Los Angeles teachers union, veteran educator Jordan Henry announced this week he plans to run for president of United Teachers Los Angeles. Connie Llanos in the Daily News,

Henry, a teacher with Los Angeles Unified since 1994, said he wanted to provide new leadership for the union, which he said has lost public support because of its tactics.

"I believe this union has been conflict driven for so long that now, faced with innumerable conflict, we've got few partners and little public collateral," Henry said Thursday during an education forum in Hollywood sponsored by the website and magazine Good Inc. and the University of Phoenix.

Rejecting pleas that the loss of a hazmat squad imperils the San Fernando Valley, the Los Angeles City Council on Friday refused to provide the estimated $50,000 needed to keep full staffing of the unit. Daily News.

But fire officials insisted the public will not be in danger when the hazardous materials unit at Fire Station 87 in Granada Hills - the only one in the Valley - is taken out of service at the end of the month.

"If I thought there would be any danger to the public, I would have raised an alarm," Fire Chief Millage Peaks said. "Would I like to keep these at full strength? Of course. But we have a budget we have to deal with."

Dozens of San Fernando Valley residents spoke up in support of City Council efforts to rein in the Department of Water and Power on Wednesday at the first of six hearings on reforming the agency. Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

Council members have proposed creating a position to represent ratepayer interests at the utility and other changes in its management and policies, following a prolonged conflict over rate hikes earlier this year.

About 60 DWP customers attended the first hearing, held at the Police Activity League Supporters Youth Center in Northridge, to give input on the proposals and offer their own suggestions.

The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan Wednesday to lease out nine publicly owned parking garages in order to replenish city coffers and avert worker layoffs and furloughs.Daily News.

The plan calls for private companies to lease and operate the garages for 50 years, giving the city a payment up front and a share in the operators' annual revenue. Officials estimate the deal will generate $53.2 million in the next fiscal year and help avoid layoffs and cuts to city programs.

Three months ago, City Councilman Richard Alarcón stood in front of a dilapidated house devoid of any landscaping except unkempt plants and overgrown weeds and decried the neglect. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

The veteran lawmaker was grandstanding for his pet legislation that would fine banks that allowed their foreclosed homes to fall into decrepit condition.

Today, though, some of Alarcón's neighbors marvel at an incredible irony.

"He could very well have been standing in front of his own home," says businessman Jason Gustanski, who lives just a few houses up the street from Alarcón's Panorama City ranch-style home that some neighbors say stands out as a community eyesore and that is now the focal point of his legal troubles.

Burglar alarm installed in March
The city installed a burglar alarm in the Panorama City home of City Councilman Richard Alarcón in March of this year - more than three years after he claimed he began living there, according to documents obtained by the Daily News. | Related Story: Some say house Councilman Richard Alarcón claims as legal residence is in the worst shape of any in area.

Responding to a Public Records Act request, the Information Technology Agency said the city-provided alarm system was installed March 18 in Alarcón's home on Nordhoff Street. Daily News.

The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a deal allowing billionaire Eli Broad to build a museum downtown by leasing county land for $7.7 million over 99 years - instead of the $1 a year that had originally been proposed.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The money will be placed in a special county treasurer and tax collector's account to pay for affordable housing as part of the larger Grand Avenue project.

A former executive for a Wall Street investment firm has been hired to oversee an Office of Small Business Services that is being created to help local companies navigate the bureaucracy at City Hall. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

Todd Wilson, a former principal at American Capital Ltd., was hired July 12 to the $94,464-a-year position that will be located in the office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Sherman Oaks residents have successfully waged a campaign to keep a controversial cellular phone tower out of their neighborhood. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

By a 5-0 vote, the South Valley Area Planning Commission last week overturned a zoning administrator's decision to allow T-Mobile to erect a 49-foot-high cell tower and transmitter on the roof of a three-story commercial building at 15216 Burbank Blvd.

After hearing from more than 100 cyclists on the future of biking in Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pledged Monday to speed plans to boost bikeway miles in the city fourfold over the next five years.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Speaking at a bike summit, held a month after the mayor broke his elbow in a cycling accident in Venice, Villaraigosa said the number of bikeway miles in the city would grow by 200 a year until reaching 1,600 miles in 2015.

There are 372 designated bikeway miles today.

"This is an opportunity for us to say, 'We want to move ahead and accelerate this," Villaraigosa said during the town hall meeting at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority headquarters downtown.

A federal appeals court put same-sex weddings in California on hold indefinitely Monday while it considers the constitutionality of the state's gay marriage ban. AP in the Daily News.

The decision, issued by a three-judge panel of the 9 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, trumped a lower court judge's order that would have allowed county clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Wednesday.

Lawyers for the two gay couples that challenged the ban said Monday they would not appeal the panel's decision on the stay to the U.S. Supreme Court. They said they were satisfied the appeals court had agreed to expedite its consideration of the Proposition 8 case by scheduling oral arguments for the week of Dec. 6.

Despite a shorter school year, the elimination of most summer classes, fewer counselors and larger class sizes, local schools made strong gains in reading, math, science and social studies, according to statewide test results released Monday. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Some 40 percent of students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are considered proficient or advanced in English and math, according to results from the California Standardized Testing and Reporting. Five years ago, only a third of the district's students reached proficiency in both subject areas.

As many before him, President Barack Obama is visiting Los Angeles today for a chance to raise money to bolster the campaigns of Congressional candidates.

And, as those before him, it is Hollywood he is after at a cocktail party and dinner afterwards at the home of John and Marilyn Wells, Variety is reporting.

The president and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are the featured guests at the event, which counts Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as co-hosts. Tickets run $2,500 per person and up to $30,400 per couple.

Also expected to attend is Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who has been lobbying the president and the Los Angeles Congressional delegation to get behind his 30-10 funding for transit projects.

The state aid bill President Obama signed last week is expected to provide $1.2 billion to help California's cash-strapped schools, but uncertainty over the state budget could delay plans to rehire laid-off teachers or restore school days. AP in the Daily News.

The emergency legislation provides $10 billion to states to save or create estimated 160,000 education jobs, including up to 16,500 in California.

The Obama administration plans to begin distributing the education money to states later this month and wants school districts to use the money to retain and rehire teachers for the 2010-2011 academic year, which has already begun in some districts.

Max Carrizo loved his online community college classes because his professors got to the point and never wandered off subject. Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

Alina Hall took an online course and said she hated it because it lacked professorial support.

Both recent graduates of Los Angeles Mission College represent a scholastic divide over the fastest growing segment of community college instruction: distance learning.

Tipoff: City, state officials grapple with tickets for ceremonial events.

Distance learning at Los Angeles Unified has grown steadily over the past several years, but this fall the school district will open its first ever virtual high school. Connie Llanos in the Daily News

Los Angeles Virtual High School Academy will be a full-time online school enrolling some 650 ninth- and 10 th-graders during the 2010-11 school year.

The goal is to have a K-12 online school in the near future, said Themy Sparangis, LAUSD's chief technology director.

The day he was sworn into office in 2005, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proclaimed his desire to see Los Angeles become "the greenest big city in America." Daily News.

As mayor he committed to boosting the city's renewable energy portfolio, promised to make traffic flow faster to reduce emissions and launched the Million Trees L.A. initiative to literally make the city greener.

A $995 CD set on "how to avoid paying taxes" was among the items an Ivy Academia charter school official purchased with more than $200,000 in misused public funds, authorities alleged in court documents unsealed this week.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The husband-and-wife team that runs the high-performing West Valley charter school was charged in June by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Public Integrity Division with 38 felony and misdemeanor crimes, including misuse of public funds, embezzlement, money laundering and tax fraud.

attling back against the tough economic times, thousands of union members swarmed outside Los Angeles City Hall on Friday, calling on city leaders and politicians to save jobs, create more work and stop outsourcing.C.J. LIn in the Daily News

"Today is a national call for good jobs now," said Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

"It starts in L.A., but it's going to make its way all across the United States of America."

Th

The rocket engine was primed, its engineers poised. And Roy Conner stood in a nearby bunker, squinting through a 4-inch-thick bullet-proof window, braced for the mega blast. Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News,.

Countdown in 1954 at America's first large rocket test stand in the Simi Hills above Canoga Park began: "10, 9, 8 ... ignition."

"There was a huge swoosh," recalled Conner, 78, of Simi Valley, staring at the ghostly remnants of the historic test stand Thursday at the former rocket test lab. "You heard a roar - and ... little ink pens recording all the action.

"I broke both my eardrums working here. I burned my throat. I finally got paid for my destroyed lungs."

rying to do more with less will be an economic reality in Los Angeles for the immediate future, elected officials told local business leaders during their annual confab on Thursday. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

The top concerns among business leaders and politicians at the Valley Industry and Commerce Association's Local Officeholders Luncheon focused on increasing city revenues and making Los Angeles more business friendly.

City Councilman Paul Koretz told the sellout crowd of 270 that city revenues could be boosted by more than $100 million by simply being more determined about collecting overdue bills.

Los Angeles County auditors could not fully track how $79 million intended to improve conditions in juvenile halls and camps was actually spent but do not believe the money was taken fraudulently, officials said Thursday.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The $79 million was allocated over several years to hire 901 employees to improve conditions in the county's juvenile camps and halls. The U.S. Department of Justice has spent more than a decade investigating allegations of civil rights violations and violence in the facilities

Operators of the long-term care facility at the Motion Picture and Television Fund said Thursday they plan to appeal findings in a state inspection that concluded patients' rights were violated and others suffered injuries from too many falls.Susan Abram in the Daily News.

In the 29-page report released this week by the state public health department, inspectors concluded that two of 16 selected patients suffered injuries from falls that could have been prevented if a plan had been in place. Another patient with dementia suffered a bruise under his eye and laceration to his left foot. Both injuries were undocumented.

In addition, state inspectors say facility officials failed to notify patients of their rights to remain in long-term care at the MPTF if they wanted to, instead of transferring to other facilities. The state also said the facility operators failed to uphold their own policy on notifying residents that they have 30 days to leave after deciding to be transferred.

Angelenos will be allowed to water their lawns one extra day per week under new rules given preliminary approval Wednesday in an effort to ease pressure on the city's aging pipes.Daily News.

The new plan approved by the City Council would allow watering for three days a week, eight minutes a day, instead of the current restrictions that allow just two days a week but for 10 minutes eachper day.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The personal income of California residents declined last year for the first time since World War II, state officials said Wednesday.AP in the Daily News,

An analysis by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis found that statewide income fell by $40 billion in 2009 to $1.56 trillion. That's down about 2.5 percent from the previous year and even lower than the 2007 figure.

Per capita income was a little more than $42,000 in 2009, compared with nearly $44,000 in 2008, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

After months of conflict with the Department of Water and Power, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday launched a bid to assert more control over the utility's budget and operations. Daily News.

Council President Eric Garcetti, backed by several other members, called for two City Charter amendments requiring DWP to release its budget earlier and to create a position to represent ratepayers' interests.

"I don't want us in the dark like we were this year," Garcetti said after the council voted 14-0 to take the initial steps toward placing the measures on the March ballot.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation wasted $855,000 and went over budget by nearly $2.5 million on a contract to equip parking enforcement vehicles with GPS systems, City Controller Wendy Greuel said Tuesday.Daily News.

A new audit found that Transportation Department officials failed to properly oversee the $1.5 million contract with Integrated System Resources. As a result, the company eventually received $4 million.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach region received a $69 million federal grant on Monday to help boost local homeland security programs and avert terrorist activity.Daily News.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraiogsa and Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster voiced appreciation for the Department of Homeland Security grant, which they said will be used to improve regional communications.

"We have learned a lot since Sept. 11, 2001," Foster said during a news conference with Villaraigosa at Los Angeles City Hall. "What these funds are being used for is to make sure we communicate with each other. Nothing is more important than for intelligcence to flow back and forth."

The iconic Reseda Theater, which once anchored a business district but has sat vacant for more than 20 years, has once again sparked the interest of developers after a $9 million renovation fell through.C.J. Lin in the Daily News.

A meeting is scheduled Wednesday as the city Community Redevelopment Agency seeks proposals to upgrade the 62-year-old theater, renewing hopes among civic leaders for a showcase project that could spark a neighborhood revival.

"Anything's better than a vacant building," said Nancy Sweeney, president of Revitalize Reseda, a nonprofit group that focuses on quality-of-life issues. "It's been a long time coming.

Tipoff: Is anyone paying attention? Well, Whitman is paying.

In the five years he has been in charge, Antonio Villaraigosa has expanded the staff of the mayor's office to 206 people - including deputy mayors and managers, assistants and analysts - in moves his aides say are needed to deal with the city's complex problems. Daily News

It has grown to be the largest mayoral staff in Los Angeles history, dwarfing that of former Mayor James Hahn, who had 121 employees, and former Mayor Richard Riordan, with 114.

Staff salaries account for $7.4 million of the $25.02 million budget for the mayor's office.

Villages are popping up across the west San Fernando Valley. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

The latest one is being proposed by Porter Ranch Development Co., a joint venture between Shapell Homes and Liberty Building.

The project - called Aldea, the Spanish word for village - is planned for the north side of Rinaldi Street between Mason Avenue and Porter Ranch Drive.

Aldea joins Tarzana Village Walk along Ventura Boulevard and The Village at Westfield Topanga, a Woodland Hills project that Westfield LLC introduced last month.

At a time that racial bias in policing is under scrutiny, a report released Friday found that sheriff's deputies in the Antelope Valley were involved in a disproportionate number of "contempt of cop" charges involving minority suspects.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The report by Special Counsel Merrick Bobb examined the role race plays in policing, particularly whether deputies may misinterpret frustration and anger by minorities as threatening or potentially violent.

In the analysis, Bobb examined cases where deputies made arrests for resisting arrest, obstructing a peace officer or battery on a police officer without injury - charges colloquially known as "contempt of cop."

The highest-paid public officials in Los Angeles city are not necessarily the highest-ranking, according to a Daily News survey of local government salaries. Daily News.

Unlike in Bell - where the city manager's nearly $800,000 salary made him likely the highest paid local official in the nation - the top manager at Los Angeles City Hall is only the fifth-highest paid department head in the city, while the mayor is eighth-highest.

Greuel post salaries
As promised earlier this week, Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel on Friday posted the salaries of nearly all city workers by job category on the Internet.Daily News

The move was prompted by public outrage over the exorbitant salaries paid to former city officials in Bell, where the city manager earned $787,637 and the police chief made $457,000.

New companies will get a three-year break from paying Los Angeles' business tax under an ordinance approved Friday by the City Council, which also approved a Taxpayers Bill of Rights and a plan to study other economic incentives.'Daily News.

The council's 10-0 vote is designed to fuel the growth of new businesses &nash; particularly the small- to medium-sized companies that hire local residents. A study by USC's Marshall School of Business estimated the tax break could result in 55,000 jobs being added to local payrolls.

Following up on a community rally for City Councilman Richard Alarcón, a trio of civic leaders spoke out Friday in favor of the embattled San Fernando Valley politician.Daily News.

Using the public comment section of the City Council meeting, the speakers questioned the investigation that led to the indictment of Alarcón and his wife, Flora Montes De Oca, this week on a total of two dozen charges of voter fraud and perjury. Prosecutors say the couple has not been living in the Panorama City home in Alarcón's 7th Council District that they claim is their legal residence.

The first televised debate between Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and her Republican challenger, Carly Fiorina, has been scheduled for Sept. 1 at St. Mary's College in Moraga.
The hour-long debate is sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle, KQED and KTVU Channel 2 News. The program, which is commercial free, will be offered to television stations across the state.
A panel of reporters -- Carla Marinucci of the San Francisco Chronicle, Pilar Marrero of La Opinion and Scott Schafer of KQED -- will question the candidates. KTVU's political editor Rand Shandobil will serve as moderator.

The tug-of-war over lucrative concession contracts at Los Angeles International Airport was placed on indefinite hold Wednesday amid allegations of a conflict of interest raised by the company that stands to lose its grip on the airport's food and beverage stands. Art Marroquin in the Daily News.

Executives with HMS Host International Inc. claim the bidding process was "tainted" when airport officials hired consultants that have ties to two companies that won four of the five airport's culinary concession contracts.

SmartDesign Group and Jacobs Consultancy were hired by airport officials to help draft the call for bids for five dining concession contracts spread across Terminals 4, 5, 7 and 8.

PANORAMA CITY -- Supporters of City Councilman Richard Alarcón packed a storefront chapel Thursday and prayed for the embattled politician's exoneration of 18 felony charges for allegedly living in a house outside his district. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

The emotional outpouring drew a wide cross section of northeast San Fernando Valley residents, ranging from Ed Rose, the co-founder of the MEND antipoverty food pantry in Pacoima, to Stefni Valencia, a graduate of the councilman's Young Senators program.

Several ministers from Alarcón's 7th Council District said he would be included in their worship services and asked constituents to keep the lawmaker and his wife in their prayers.

Responding to a study that rated Los Angeles' drinking water quality among the lowest of large U.S. cities, county officials said Thursday that follow-up testing showed the local water is safe.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich ordered the follow-up study of local drinking water after a report released in December by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group ranked the city Department of Water and Power 83rd out of 100 cities and the Metropolitan Water District 58th.

In the follow-up study, the county's weights and measures, public health and other departments tested water at eight DWP and MWD treatment plants and pumping stations and found the water meets California drinking water standards.

Facing charges that could cost him his office and land him in jail, Councilman Richard Alarcón and his wife were indicted Wednesday on 24 felony counts of perjury, voter fraud and other crimes for allegedly living in a house outside his district.Daily News,

The grand jury indictment against the San Fernando Valley councilman and his wife, Flora Montes De Oca Alarcón, follows a 15-month investigation by the Public Integrity Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors allege Alarcón, 56, was living in his wife's Sun Valley house, just blocks from her Panorama City house in Alarcón's Council District 7, where they both claim residency.

AX officials offered assurances Wednesday that the traveling public is safe at all city-owned airports after questions were raised about the effectiveness of its security plan.
Daily News,
The concerns were outlined in a series of reports by KNX-AM (1070) and the union representing police officers at Los Angeles International Airport.

Keith Richman, the former California assemblyman and San Fernando Valley secessionist who died last week, was remembered Wednesday by nearly 1,000 mourners as a down-to-earth citizen-politician whose brief public career left a long legacy.Kevin Modesti in the Daily News,

"He was a tireless champion of reform, a tireless advocate for the people of the San Fernando Valley," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said during a memorial service at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Hollywood Hills.

Referring to one of Richman's pet issues, Villaraigosa vowed that Los Angeles will reform the city pension system in his honor.

With an aerospace firm looking to shut down its West Valley fitness center, senior citizens are eyeing the property for a long-sought but elusive jewel - a community center dedicated exclusively for them.Tony Castro in the Daily News.

Seniors in the farthest west corner of the San Fernando Valley have felt the city's current and proposed facilities in the West Valley are not close enough for their easy access.

They have sought their own center for years, but have run into funding problems and already pending plans to build centers in other parts of the West Valley.

With pension costs expected to consume nearly a third of the city budget within five years, the City Council on Tuesday ordered new studies of ways to rein in the expense, potentially setting up conflicts with the city's powerful unions. Troy Anderson in the Daily News,

The 15-0 vote followed a report by City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana that said the city's pension contributions are expected to double from $1.1 billion this year to $2.2 billion in 2015-16.

"How can we run the city with a third of the budget in 2015 going to employee benefits?" Councilman Bill Rosendahl said. "We are in a very tough moment. We cannot sustain and maintain the present pension system as it is. We can no longer postpone pension reform."

San Fernando Valley residents will get a chance to meet police officers from their local stations tonight as part of the 27th annual National Night Out. C.Jl. Lin in the Daily News.

Free food and entertainment will be available at the event, which aims to spur participation in local anti-crime programs and strengthen neighborhood morale and police-community partnerships.

Focusing on crime and drug prevention, National Night Out is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch.

Tuesday, California's kindergartners are expected to be able to read aloud a story like Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" before they move on to first grade.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Soon they might not only have to read the children's classic, but also make a good case for whether they like or hate the rhyming tale of the stubborn Sam I Am.

Teaching 5-year-olds how to prepare an argument is among a new set of K-12 standards approved unanimously by the California State Board of Education on Monday.

Following the controversy over the exorbitant salaries paid to Bell city officials, Controller Wendy Greuel said Monday she is working to post Los Angeles city employee salaries on the Internet. Daily News

In a letter to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council, Greuel said she is using her authority as Controller to work with the Information Technology Agency to create an online searchable web page to post the salaries.

Today may be John Deasy's first day as deputy superintendent of Los Angeles Unified, but the fast-talking New England native has already ruffled a few feathers at the nation's second-largest school district. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Some senior staff members were upset by a memo Deasy sent two weeks ago that ordered them to bring organizational charts, project lists and details of their duties and goals when they have their first one-on-one meeting with their new boss.

Tipoffs: Mayor gets tips from Lance Armstrong.

The Los Angeles Community College District has awarded a series of lucrative building contracts to a Tarzana firm that district officials said needed to be baby-sat to meet construction standards and was doing an "absolutely awful job." California Watch in the Daily News.

The firm, Sinanian Development Inc., lost a contract in July 2008 about a month after district officials had criticized its work at public meetings

On a street as dark as ink, where only the brave, the foolish or the lost dare to walk alone, a voice echoes off the cold steel grates of shuttered warehouses.Susan Abram in the Daily News.

"You hungry? You want a burrito?"

In response, a man's arm emerges from under a stained blanket, his hand capturing the warm, tinfoil wrapped meal.

Maybe he's thankful. Maybe not. He doesn't say.

Keith Richman, a former California Assemblyman who would have been mayor of the San Fernando Valley if the 2002 secession drive had prevailed, has died after fighting brain cancer for more than a year.Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.
Richman died Friday night at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. He was 56.