September 2010 Archives

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and her Republican opponent, Carly Fiorina, will hold their second debate on Wednesday, albeit a long-distance affair.
Fiorina will be in Pasadena at the station of KPCC in a debate also hosted byh La Opinion. Boxer will participate from Washington, D.C.
The hour-long debate will begin at 1 p.m.

H. David Nahai, the former general manager of the Department of Water and Power, has joined the law firm of Lewis, Brisbois ,Bisgaard& Smity, it was announced Tuesday,
Nahai will be co-chair fo the firm's energy, environmental, water practices and real estate practice.
Nahaii will focuse on expanding the firm's renewable energy opportunities as well as traditional real estate opporrunities.
Prior to his work as DWP general manager, Nahai served as president of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners.

For the second week in a row, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is making a quick hit in Washington, D.;C., to promote his 30-10 plan to get advanced federal funding to speed up building of the Subway to the Sea as part of the Measure R sales tax program.
Villaraiogsa was appearing before the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee, which is chaired by Sen Barbara Boxer D-Ca. Boxer has endorsed the 30-10 proposal.
While in Washington, Villaraigosa also is scheduled to met iwth a bi-partisan delegation of Congress to detail the funding plan and what it would build.

Following the apparent suicide of a veteran South Gate teacher, Los Angeles Unified officials said Monday that they plan to expedite a crisis hotline for employees who might be facing stress at work. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The hotline would specifically handle calls from employees distraught over looming layoffs, drastic budget cuts and a controversial Los Angeles Times database, which was released last month and ranked teachers as "effective" and "ineffective" based largely on student test scores.

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said he hopes to set up the crisis hotline, which he said was in the works prior to the teacher's death, within a few weeks.

State agriculture officials are threatening to end the nomadic Valley Fair and disburse its $2.8 million savings to other venues unless its organizers find a more "stable" home, officials said Monday.Dana Bartholomew in the DAily Newsa,.

After the fair's poor turnout this spring at Birmingham High School, the Department of Food & Agriculture has ordered its operators to find a more permanent site.

Failure to find a suitable home could result in the dissolution of the 51st Agricultural District, a nonprofit state agency that launched the San Fernando Valley Fair in 1946.

A comprehensive package of election reforms dubbed the Voters Bill of Rights was proposed Monday as a way to boost turnout in municipal elections and move toward total public financing of political campaigns. Daily News

Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar said he will introduce the package at today's council meeting with the hope that three City Charter amendments needed to implement the plan could be on the ballot next month.

A fourth proposal that would allow applicants to register to vote on Election Day would require a change in state law.

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and busiensswoman Meg Whitman will face off Tuesday at UC Davis in their first debate of the campaign season.
It is sponsored by Capital Public Radio, KCRA-TV (NBC) Sacramento, The Sacramento Bee and UC Davis. Southern California partners are Southern California Public Radio and La Opinión.
It will not be televised locally, but radio station KNX (1070 am) plans to broadcast it. It will also be available on the internet at: http://debate.ucdavis.edu.
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Update: KABC-TV IChannel 7) announces it will broadcast the debate.

California voters are leaning toward approving a majority budget and marijuana legalization, but appear poised to vote against shelving the state's landmark greenhouse gas emissions reduction law, according to the results of a Field Poll on statewide propositions released over the weekend. Saacramento Bee Capitol Alert

The poll of 599 likely California voters gave opponents of Proposition 23, the initiative to suspend Assembly Bill 32, an 11-point edge.

After their ranks surged to an all-time high in 2008, more and more Latino voters are growing disillusioned about the lack of immigration reform, according to polls and analysts - and some Democratic leaders fear that could lower their turnout and cost their party the gubernatorial and senate races in California.Tony Castro in the Daily News,

While Democrats are still interested in registering new Latino voters, a main focus this campaign season will be getting the Latinos who are already registered to show up at the polls.

The stakes are high with most political observers and polls agreeing that the two top races in California remain close.

The teenagers hurry into the classroom of their Chatsworth high school for their daily lesson on kidnappings, pogroms, torture and massacres. Susan Abram in the Daily News,

The subject matter may be grim, their teacher, Leslie Gilbert-Lurie, says, but how else will they learn about their power to save a life?

Standing up against fear, hate and discrimination, she says, could have prevented the deaths of 1.5 million people in the 1915 Armenian Genocide - a slaughter she says created a ripple effect of crimes against humanity: the Holocaust in Europe, the Pol Pot massacres in Cambodia, and the ethnic genocides in Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur.

Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe describes his behavior as "irrational" and "bizarre." Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

His supporters call him a "super American hero."

Former taxpayer advocate attorney Richard I. Fine has achieved a certain degree of fame - or notoriety - for his single-minded crusade against excessive pay for Los Angeles judges, a battle which may have contributed to him spending 583 days in solitary confinement for contempt of court.

Tipoff: Councilman Jose Huizar has package of election reform proposals.

Months of speechifying, millions of dollars spent on advertising, and where do Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman stand in their race for governor? Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

With the election 40 days away, the contest is a flat-footed tie, with increasing numbers of voters undecided and both candidates losing popularity.

That's the snapshot from a Field poll released Thursday which shows Republican Whitman and Democrat Brown each with 41 percent support among likely voters.

Rick Caruso said Wednesday he is "leaning towards" running for mayor, and the billionaire developer sounded like a candidate as he won applause from a San Fernando Valley business group with a speech that took his swipes at the subway, the school system and government regulation. Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

The builder of The Grove at Farmers Market, The Commons at Calabasas and Americana at Brand in Glendale resisted encouragement to run for mayor last year, citing commitments to his family and business.

But in response to a question from the audience of about 100 at a Valley Industry & Commerce Association luncheon, Caruso, 51, sounded more positive about entering politics in 2013.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa formally announced Wednesday the creation of a small-business team that will help companies cut through red tape, access municipal services and add jobs to their payrolls. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

The Office of Small Business Services will operate out of Villaraigosa's Office of Economic and Business Policy and will serve as a conduit between local companies and City Hall.

"Los Angeles has more small businesses than any city in the country and is the economic engine of our economy," Villaraigosa said in a statement. "We expect this new initiative to help unlock the doors to much-needed resources for the small-business community as well as provide them with an advocate solely dedicated to their specific needs."

Los Angeles will extend a $5.1million "bridge loan" to organizations that serve senior citizens and are being affected by the state budget stalemate, officials said Wednesday. Daily News.

The failure of the Legislature to adopt a budget has held up the disbursement of $14.6 million in federal money to the city Department of Aging, placing meal programs for seniors in jeopardy.

"This means everything to us," said Linda Abrams, chairwoman of the Valley Interfaith Council. "We've been operating on a month-to-month basis and this will give us some stability."

A dismal job market and a lost sense of urgency among buyers sent San Fernando Valley home sales tumbling in August, although prices managed to gain a little traction in climbing out of the doldrums, figures released Tuesday show.Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

The overlapping reports from the Southland Association of Realtors and the Valley Economic Research Center at California State University, Northridge, showed an abrupt sales slump following the expiration of a popular federal homebuyers' tax credit.

The CSUN center, which tracks the market between Glendale and Calabasas, said sales fell 16 percent, from 1,478 in August 2009 to 1,245 last month. Sales were also down 11 percent from 1,402 in July.

A San Fernando Valley-based nonprofit was one of 21 groups selected Tuesday to receive a coveted federal "Neighborhood Promise" grant designed to revitalize struggling communities. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The Youth Policy Institute, based in Pacoima, was one of only two Los Angeles area nonprofits selected to receive the $500,000 planning grant. Proyecto Pastoral, based in the Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles areas, was also awarded the grant.

With fears Los Angeles could be vulnerable to a natural gas pipeline explosion similar to the one that killed four people and destroyed 56 homes in San Bruno earlier this month, local officials called Tuesday for updating local emergency and evacuation plans.Daily News.

Council members Bill Rosendahl and Janice Hahn pressed officials from city agencies, Southern California Gas Co., and state officials on how much information is available to the public on the locations of pipes and steps the public can take in an emergency.

"It is not a question of if, but when something will happen," Rosendahl said. "We need to make sure the public knows what the danger is and what they should do."

Providing what the campaign of Sen.Barbara Boxer hopes will be a late surge, First Lady Michell Obama announced she will campaign for Boxer next month.
Boxer aides announced Mrs. Obama will come to Los Anglges on Oct. 27 to campaign for the senator, who is in a tight race with former HP executive Carly Fiorina.
"We're thrilled that in the closing days of the campaign, the First Lady will be coming to California to campaign with us and urge Californians to go to the polls," said Rose Kapolczynski, Boxer Campaign Manager.

An English instructor at Sutter Middle School in Canoga Park was among 16 educators named Monday as Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year, an annual event that awards the profession's best. Susan Abram in the Daily News.

Josie Torres-Saffie of Winnetka, who has taught at Sutter for seven years, and four other teachers from Los Angles Unified were among the veteran educators honored at a ceremony at Universal City. Paul Groves of Sylmar, who teaches at South Pasadena High School, was also named a winner.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa released a blueprint Monday for a system to coordinate volunteers for myriad projects, kicking off Los Angeles' participation in the President Barak Obama-inspired Cities of Service program. Daily News.

"Small acts of everyday heroes bring communities together and help individuals through difficult times," Villaraigosa said at a news conference at Carver Middle School.

"If our young people, especially, do their part and answer the call to service, cities across this country will support their efforts."

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa goes on the road again this week and possibly next with a pair of trips to Washington, D.C..
The trip this week is expected to be a quick turnaround on Wednesday and Thursday for a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Villaraigosa is first vice president of the organization.
The mayor also might have to travel to D.C., again next week when Sen. Barbara Boxer, D- Cal., is hoping to hold a hearing on the 30-10 funding proposal for Los Angeles transportation programs.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck was joined by about 50,000 people at Sunday's 27th Central American Parade in Los Angeles, an annual street fair that was somewhat overshadowed by recent friction between police and some factions in the MacArthur Park area.Daily News,

No arrests or disruptions were reported.

The parade, which concluded a two-day festival at MacArthur Park, began at 11a.m. and drew a few protesters mixed in with the throng of celebrants, said Sgt. Joseph Sanchez at the nearby LAPD Rampart Station.

Tipoff:; Business group wants to extend political influence.

Protests against the police killing of a Guatemalan day laborer continued Saturday when a smaller-than-expected group of demonstrators marched downtown and in the Westlake area, accusing the Los Angeles Police Department of brutality and harassment. | See photo gallery.C.J. Lin in the Daily News.

Carrying signs likening police to pigs, murderers and the Ku Klux Klan, about 200 protesters marched on the LAPD's Rampart Station.

Demonstrators, who had been expected to turn out in the thousands, later converged on MacArthur Park but no arrests were made during Saturday's protests.

A former taxpayer advocate attorney from Tarzana who spent 18 months in jail for refusing to hand over information about his finances was free Saturday after being released unexpectedly by the judge who put him behind bars.Troy Anderson in the Daily News,

Richard Fine, 70, told the Daily News in a phone interview that his release from Men's Central Jail shows that "right will win over might." "This is really a great day for Los Angeles and for California," said Fine, a former Beverly Hills attorney who once worked for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Reunited with his wife and daughter at their home on Saturday, Fine said Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe essentially released him because Yaffe would be retiring soon and did not think it would be fair to hand over the complicated case to another judge.

Having failed in their effort to recruit companies to the so-called Clean Tech Corridor in downtown Los Angeles, city officials are shifting gears and asking companies to come to them with proposals for developing the 20-acre site.Daily News.

The Community Redevelopment Agency has put out a request for proposals, due Dec.3, for projects that could help revitalize the industrial area at 15th Street and Santa Fe Avenue.

"You have to start somewhere," said Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner, who heads Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's business development team. "The first piece of the puzzle is always the hardest to find.

Mayor Antonio Villariagosa announced an internal shuffling on Wednesday, promoting his director of communication to a Deputy Chief of Staff role.
Deputy Mayor Janelle Erickson will be in charge of policies involving education, the environment and transportation as well as scheduling for the mayor.
Deputy Mayor Matt Szabo will take over responsibiiilty for communications as well as his other assignment of overseeing the budget.
Deputy Mayor Larry Frank also was assigned to work with the mayor's E-team of advisors.

Upgrading to larger quarters and expanding its work force, toy retailer Hobbytron.com is part of California's stealth recovery.Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

The company recently relocated from San Fernando to a 93,000-square-foot facility in Valencia, added 10 employees and is building a 5,000-square-foot showroom for a planned retail operation.

"Business has definitely gotten better," said Ben Ibarra, vice president of the 10-year-old company, which imports model aircraft,vehicles and toy air guns.

A Canoga Park charter school whose former principal allegedly mishandled $2.7 million in public funds will be allowed to stay open after making changes recommended by Los Angeles Unified, officials said Tuesday.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines originally said he would move to close down NEW Academy in Canoga Park after an Aug. 30 audit raised serious questions about the school's accounting standards.

But at a special meeting Tuesday to consider the elementary school's future, Cortines said NEW Academy had made changes to its board of directors and strengthened its financial oversight over the past few weeks.

Prompted by the scores of free tickets Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa received to high-profile events, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission adopted a ban Tuesday on accepting or soliciting gifts from sources that do business with the city. Daily News.

In a series of votes, the commission decided that elected officials should be able to perform ceremonial functions at events hosted by sources that do business with the city but would have to leave once they complete their official duties. They could remain at the event if they pay for their ticket.

The commission also agreed to require officials to publicly disclose details about the event and the source of the ticket and to maintain the records for four years.

Los Angeles Unified school board members on Tuesday unanimously approved the district's negotiating proposals for unions representing local teachers and administrators. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The move is the initial step in a process that could ultimately overhaul the way teachers are evaluated, hired and fired.

District officials want United Teachers Los Angeles and the Associated Administrators to agree to the use of student data in employee evaluations, which they also intend to use to guide hiring and firing at LAUSD.

With the state budget in perpetual limbo, Los Angeles city officials on Tuesday said they would provide a $5million bridge loan to the Department of Aging to run a meals program for 6,700 seniors. Daily News,

The council voted 10-0 to find the funds from different programs to make sure the meals and jobs training programs continue.

"This is a pressing issue," Laura Trejo, director of the city Department of Aging, told the council. "We are one of three states that are prohibited from getting the money authorized under the Older Americans Act until the state adopts its budget."

Los Angeles Unified students continue to make steady gains in academic achievement, surpassing a key milestone on a closely watched state benchmark test, according to data released by the Department of Education Monday. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Los Angeles Unified scored 709 on the Academic Performance Index, up 16 points from the previous year and exceeding 700 for the first time.

"There is much to celebrate in LAUSD with the release of this data," Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines said in a statement.

In what officials are calling a major milestone in the city's effort to develop more green-power sources, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday signed agreements with firms in the San Fernando Valley and China. Daiily News.

The city-owned Department of Water and Power will work with Quallion LLC of Sylmar, and BYD Inc., based in Shenzhen, on a project to be located at Pine Tree Wind Farm in the Tehachapi Mountains. The companies plan to invent batteries that will be able to store energy generated by wind or solar power, then release electricity to the DWP power grid at night or during periods of high demand.

Soldiers who leave for combat duty as law-abiding citizens sometimes don't return the same people - a fact officials in the legal system have begun to recognize. Melissa Evans in the Daily News.

Mirroring efforts across the country, Los Angeles County is launching a pilot program today that establishes a special court for veterans who have committed nonviolent felonies as a result of the emotional toll of their military service.

"These men and women come back from long deployments with personal and emotional experiences that are unique," said John Lonergan, a Torrance deputy district attorney and colonel in the Army Reserves who has advised the project. "We want to make sure they get appropriate treatment."

Tipoff: Board of Referred Powers to try to unwenthangle conflicts

The Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) announced that its annual golf tournament has been renamed the Chief Daryl F. Gates Memorial Golf Tournament. The Los Angeles Police Protective League announced this weekend it is naming its annual golf tournament after former Chief Daryl F. Gates.

"Chief Gates was often described as a 'cop's cop,'" said LAPPL President Paul M. Weber. "He had a tough public demeanor, but he cared deeply about LAPD officers and their families, and supported them tirelessly.
"The LAPPL Board of Directors felt strongly it would be appropriate to rename our annual fund-raising golf tournament in his memory and we are pleased to do so."

The annual tournanmet begins MOnday at the Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge.

Gates, who was LAPD chief from 1978 to 1992, died April 16, 2010, at the age of 83.

Not too long ago, we published a photograph of our celebrity mayor hugging a monkey on the front page. We asked the mayor to quit monkeying around and get to work. Editor Carolina Garcia in the Daily News.

Admittedly, it was gimmicky and irked some at City Hall. But it worked. It got right in the mayor's face, as we issued a much-needed call to action and challenged the mayor to fix our broken city.

In fairness, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and his staff responded at first, explaining, pointing out and taking credit for some progress on the myriad issues pushing the city to the brink of bankruptcy. But like all things related to this mayor, the hot, rapid response has fizzled. His interest has flagged and again we see a rudderless City Hall.

There are some pockets of the San Fernando Valley that are breaking free of the malaise that has weighed down the residential construction sector. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

New homes are being built - and sold - in neighborhoods in Canoga Park, Reseda, Winnetka, Pacoima, Sylmar, Valley Village and Granada Hills.

Seven of the projects are being developed by Canoga Park-based California Home Builders, providing paychecks for some 750 construction workers.

The petite preacher from Kansas raised her right hand to solemnly swear the unimaginable: an oath to become a Los Angeles police officer. Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

In pinning on that "Policeman" badge 100 years ago today, Policewoman Alice Stebbins Wells shattered an exclusive mens' world at police stations across Los Angeles, the nation and the globe.

But would she ever make arrests? That was the question asked by a skeptical press and public.

"I don't want to make arrests," declared the Bible-toting mother of two with a penchant for social work. "I want to keep people from needing to be arrested, especially young people."

For the first time, local businesses would be given preferential treatment when bidding for contracts with the city of Los Angeles under a proposed ordinance unveiled Thursday.Daily News.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the so-called Local Preference Ordinance would create about 10,000 jobs.

"Currently the city of Los Angeles spends approximately 84 percent of its procurement dollars with businesses that are located outside of the city of Los Angeles," he said. "Therefore, out of $1 billion allocated for governmental contracts, only $180 million goes back to local businesses. This represents a significant missed opportunity to stimulate the local economy."

The District Attorney's Office is investigating allegations that a candidate running for a state Assembly seat on the Nov. 2 ballot doesn't live in the district representing the east San Fernando Valley, officials said Thursday.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Prosecutors are looking into whether Republican candidate Sunder Ramani actually lives in a home he and his wife own in La Cañada Flintridge, outside the 43rd Assembly District. Ramani, a small business owner, has claimed that he lives in a home he owns in Burbank, in the district.

CHATSWORTH -- Clean it up to the highest standards or face renewed pressure. Susan Abram in the Daily News,.

That was the message to The Boeing Co. on Wednesday by federal, state and local elected officials who called on the aerospace corporation to purge every inch of the land they own at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory of radioactive and chemical contamination.

Bolstered by an announcement last week that both the Department of Energy and NASA have committed to state cleanup standards for their portion of the 2,849-acre site, elected officials stood outside the entry gate of the property between Chatsworth and Simi Valley and pledged to pressure Boeing to clean up the former Rocketdyne lab.

Congressman Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, and Los Angeles City Councilman Greig Smith all signed a letter addressed to Boeing Chairman and CEO W. James McNerney. State Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, who was not there, also pledged support.

CHATSWORTH -- Clean it up to the highest standards or face renewed pressure.

That was the message to The Boeing Co. on Wednesday by federal, state and local elected officials who called on the aerospace corporation to purge every inch of the land they own at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory of radioactive and chemical contamination.

Bolstered by an announcement last week that both the Department of Energy and NASA have committed to state cleanup standards for their portion of the 2,849-acre site, elected officials stood outside the entry gate of the property between Chatsworth and Simi Valley and pledged to pressure Boeing to clean up the former Rocketdyne lab.

Congressman Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, and Los Angeles City Councilman Greig Smith all signed a letter addressed to Boeing Chairman and CEO W. James McNerney. State Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, who was not there, also pledged support.

Daryl Gates had Rodney King and William Bratton had the May Day melee. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

Now, just 10 months after being sworn in as LAPD chief, Charlie Beck faces his first big test with the city's minority community following the police shooting of a knife-wielding day laborer near MacArthur Park.

After two days of unrest in the Westlake area, Beck canceled a Wednesday night appearance in Pacoima and met instead with Westlake District residents angry about Sunday's shooting death of Manuel Jamines, 37.

He asked local residents for "peace on the streets" while the Los Angeles Police Department investigates the shootin

Los Angeles Unified officials released a detailed proposal Wednesday for overhauling the district's teacher evaluation system, including the broader use of student test data and establishing incentive pay programs.Connie Llanios in the Daily News,

The documents represent the district's initial bargaining position with unions, which are wary of potential changes they fear may be unfair to teachers.

Under the proposal, employee attendance, classroom observations and student test scores would be among the measures used to evaluate teachers and administrators. The system would also include a self-assessment from every educator.

While motorists expressed anger about being stuck in gridlock when President Obama visited Los Angeles last month for a fundraiser, city officials said Thursday they have little ability to avert similar problems in the future. Daily News,

The federal government and the need for presidential safety overrule City Hall and local motorists, officials said.

"None of us want to be sitting before a congressional subcommittee saying we decided to save money at the risk of presidential safety," Councilman Bernard Parks, the former Los Angeles police chief, said during a hearing.

Expecting yet another budget deficit next year, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a union contract that for the first time extracts concessions on employee health care costs and could serve as a model for future labor deals. Dailiy News.

The one-year agreement with the Engineers and Architects Association, which had stood apart from the city's other unions in past negotiations, is expected to save the city $19 million this year and $10 million per year if renewed in the future.

"This is the type of savings we need if we are going to address our structural deficit," Chief Administrative Officer Miguel Santana told the council prior to its 13-0 vote.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles-area officials and business leaders are off to Asia this week on overlapping trade missions, hoping to bring home investment and jobs to a region starved for economic boosts. Daily News.

Schwarzenegger heads a delegation leaving Thursday for China, Japan and South Korea - a six-day trip his office said could result in billions of dollars in commerce for California companies.

Separately, Lancaster leaders leave tonight for China on a nine-day trip that will likely include efforts to entice BYD, a Chinese manufacturer of electric cars and solar panels, to build a manufacturing plant in the Antelope Valley.

The Board of Supervisors took the first steps Tuesday toward replacing Los Angeles County's voting system, which some officials said is outdated and hard to maintain. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Although InkaVote Plus has been in use only since 2003, its vote-counting system is based on a computer program developed in 1968, according to Registrar-Recorder's Office Chief Deputy Debbie Martin.

"Our voting system is 40 years old," Martin said. "So what we want to do is gather data to determine what the voters are looking for. We want to evaluate some models and that's why we asked the board to set up a committee."

Operators of medical marijuana clinics appealed to the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday to allow more clinics to stay open citywide, saying many facilities would otherwise just operate illegally. Daiily News.

Under the city's latest interpretation of a new ordinance, only 41 clinics would be allowed to stay open citywide, even though the City Council initially said it wanted to allow at least 70.

The store had been a perfect fit for Martin Khachaturian's small Canoga Park strip center. Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News,.

It brought in tons of business. It paid its rent on time at well over market rates and up to a year in advance. It was a good neighbor and even had its own security guard.

But then Los Angeles clamped down on hundreds of medical marijuana shops across the city and the dispensary known as the Roscoe Compensation Collective closed its doors - its three-year lease gone to pot.

Battered by a faltering economy and threatened by salary cuts and reduced pensions, labor unions in Los Angeles have little to celebrate this Labor Day. Daily News.

As unemployment lingers in the 10 to 12 percent range in many sectors, unions have seen jobs go to non-union workers as they scramble to find work in the hard-hit construction trades.

In the public sector, state workers are being forced to take furloughs, while city workers have faced layoffs, pay cuts and furlough days.

s head of the nation's second-largest local teachers union, A.J. Duffy has become as well known for his color coordinated wing-tip shoes, suspenders and double-breasted suits as he has for his feisty attitude and volatile remarks. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

With the build of a stocky bulldog, the Brooklyn native makes no apologies for barking and biting to defend the rights of the 45,000 teachers, substitutes and counselors he represents.

In his final year as president of United Teachers Los Angeles, Duffy says he'll remain committed to his members but he's also determined to get back to what he calls his true passion.

Federal agencies owning about a quarter of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site Friday agreed to meet the strictest environmental standards in cleaning up their portion of the property that was contaminated with toxic and nuclear waste during years of rocket testing.
In what state officials called a "major breakthrough," Tony Castro in the Daily News.

NASA and the federal Department of Energy have consented to clean their 740 acres of the 2,849-acre site to the highest standards sought by activists and required by state law.

Amid growing community pressure and media attention, the Los Angeles Unified board Thursday launched negotiations with local unions to overhaul teacher evaluations and include the use of student test data. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The board wants the evaluations to include multiple measures of how effective principals and teachers are at their jobs, including using student test data analyzed under the controversial "value-added" method. That method compares student performance from one year to the next to evaluate their teachers' abilities, and has been sharply criticized by some union leaders and experts as flawed and unfair.

"Every child in this district deserves to have an effective teacher, in every classroom, every single day... this board will accept nothing less," said board member Yolie Flores.

Despite protests from dozens of residents, Santa Clarita is poised to join a growing movement of budget-strapped communities that are turning over their libraries to private management. C.J.Lin in the Daily News.

The move, approved by the City Council in a 4-1 vote last week, was designed to save the city hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars by withdrawing its three libraries from the county system. But it left some residents fretting about a loss of service without access to the county's vast resources.

"Nobody complained about our library," said Barbara Cogswell, a resident of 15 years, who was among protestors advocating more research before the council made its decision.

MORAGA - In a bitter debate filled with personal attacks Wednesday night, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer repeatedly slammed Republican rival Carly Fiorina's record as the CEO of tech giant Hewlett-Packard while Fiorina called the veteran Democrat an out-of-touch career politician indifferent to the suffering of ordinary Californians. Sacramento Bee.

The two women also staked out contrasting stands on issues such as abortion rights, the state's climate change law and gun control, with Fiorina defending positions that public opinion polls show are unpopular with many of the state's voters.

Boxer, for her part, entered the debate identified with a Democratic administration suffering from sinking approval ratings and viewed as unable to turn around crippling unemployment.

Debate Watch
Fitting for an election year of multimillion-dollar TV ad campaigns, both Republican and Democratic faithful in the San Fernando Valley were glued to large TV screens watching the debate between U.S. Senate candidates Wednesday night. Tiony Castro in the Daily News.

"It is ironic that politics in California can't get away from television - the candidates pour large amounts of money into it to get known, and we have television viewing parties when they debate," said Democratic activist Marilyn Grunwald, who attended a gathering at her party's Valley headquarters in Van Nuys.

Los Angeles County officials may have failed to properly count up to 21 child deaths from abuse or neglect in the last two years, raising concerns about whether they are misleading the public, an investigator said Tuesday.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Michael Gennaco, chief attorney for the Office of Independent Review, told the Board of Supervisors that the deaths may not have been classified or reported as required under a 2008 state law.

If true, it raises questions about statistics that show a drop in the number of children who died after allegations of abuse or neglect were reported to the Department of Children and Family Services.

Following allegations of mishandling of funds at two San Fernando Valley charter schools, the Los Angeles Unified school board Tuesday passed a set of new rules intended to tighten district oversight of the independent campuses. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The board unanimously approved regulations that will dictate how charter schools are approved and renewed - or shut down if they miss academic benchmarks or fraud and mishandling of funds are discovered.

"Before there were no clear procedures or guidelines. ... Now we will be better able to support quality and hold schools accountable that are not performing or where we find egregious issues," said Jose Cole Gutierrez, LAUSD's executive director in charge of charter schools.