February 2011 Archives

If campaign endorsements meant everything - or meant even as much as they used to - next month's election for a City Council seat in the northwest San Fernando Valley would be no contest.Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

Candidate Mitch Englander lists endorsements from more than 280 organizations and individuals, including at least 50 public officials. Rival Brad Smith is a distant second, listing 66 endorsements on his website, including three office-holders.

Their four opponents in the 12th District election on March 8 advertise no endorsements on their websites.

Englander said the long list of supporters should impress voters: He said it demonstrates his broad support and "shows I'm independent, because I've been able to work with so many different groups."

More than 4,000 churchgoers sang a heartfelt "Happy Birthday," to Cardinal Roger Mahony on Sunday, just minutes after he officially stepped down from leading the largest Roman Catholic Archdiocese in the nation to transfer his pastoral leadership to Los Angeles' first Latino archbishop.Susan Abram in the Daily News,

The birthday wishes inside downtown's overflowing Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels came during an historic Mass service that officially marked the Cardinal's retirement and the installation of Archbishop Jose H. Gomez. Mahony, who turned 75 on Sunday, kept the ceremony of transition lighthearted in spirit yet steeped in ancient traditions.

Tipoff: Coffee Party candidate wants chance to be in runoff.

n recent weeks, the Sunday morning masses celebrated by Cardinal Roger Mahony at the downtown cathedral have drawn larger-than-usual crowds, heavily populated by the poor and undocumented of Los Angeles. Tony Castro in the Daily News..

Those two constituencies, after all, make up the centerpiece of his quarter-century legacy as the leader of the Los Angeles Archdiocese - a post he will officially turn over Sunday as his 75th birthday forces his retirement.

In those years, the archbishop marched with Cesar Ch vez, championed immigrant rights and called for changes in the country's immigration policy.

The group backing a measure to increase the amount of property tax money used to support Los Angeles city libraries announced Thursday it has received the backing of local Democratic organizations.
The Los Angeles County Democratic Party, the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles County Young Democrats issued statements of support for Measure L on the March 8 ballot.
Under the plan, the amount of money diverted from the property tax would phase in to .3 percent to bring in $130 million a year. If approved officials said it wil allow the Library Department to restore many of the hours of service eliminated over the past two years.
"Measure L will re-open libraries and restore lost services without raising taxes and without leaving the tab for the next generation," said David Graham-Caso, president of the Los Angeles County Young Democrats. "Libraries are a place where students prepare to enter college, where teenagers study after school, where communities meet."
However, the proposal also has significant opposition from city unions and the Los Angeles Police Protective League who say it is a matter of budgeting by the ballot and could take money from other vital services.

Parents, students and community members favored keeping Los Angeles Unified School District in charge of a majority of the 13 campuses that will be opened for bidding in the second round of the district's landmark Public School Choice plan. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The reform program allows outside groups, such as charters and nonprofits, to compete with district-based teams to take over the operations of under-performing or new campuses.

The school community and public are allowed to cast non-binding votes expressing a preference for which team will run their local campus, but the final decision remains in the hands of the superintendent and school board

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other local officials on Wednesday urged the federal government to use transit projects to stimulate the economy while modernizing the nation's traffic systems. Daily News.

Testifying during a field hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Villaraigosa presented a six-point initiative that he said has received bipartisan support.

It is part of an effort called "America Fast Forward," which was developed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and calls for increased federal funding for transit programs.

While many of the nation's governors trek to Washington D.C. this weekend to talk shop, lobby federal officials and meet with President Barack Obama, California Gov. Jerry Brown will stay behind. Capitol Alert

"He's got pressing business here in the state of California," spokesman Gil Duran said this morning.

The Democratic governor, with a $26.6 billion budget deficit and a deadline for a resolution looming, will miss National Governors Association sessions on economic development, education and public finance, and also a "black-tie evening" at the White House, according to the governors association. The governors are scheduled to meet with Obama and Cabinet secretaries Monday.

Burbank voters on Tuesday voted to re-elect Councilman Gary Bric as a runoff between Planning Commissioner Emily Gabbey-LIddy and Police Commissioner Robert Frutos will be held on April 12.
Semi-final results showed Bric with 4,653 vptes, Gabel-Ludd with 4,856 vptes and Frutos with 3,071 votes. Jacqueiline Waldman, a state parole agent, trailed with 2,131 votes.
In the race for three seats on the Board of Education,three incumbents _ Ted Bunch, Roibert Grande-Reynolds and Dave Kemp were re-electred.
Bunch received 4,373 votes, Grande-Reynolds had 4,491 and Kemp had 5,041 votes/ A fourth candidate. parent activist Gregory Bragg had 3,318 votes.

Faced with drastic budget cuts that have forced the early retirement of dozens of prosecutors, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office has turned to training law school graduates or entry-level attorneys who volunteer to try criminal cases for free. C.J. Lin in the Daily News.

More than 100 of these volunteers have tried more than 250 misdemeanor criminal cases - ranging from DUIs, battery, domestic violence and vandalism charges - since City Attorney Carmen Trutanich launched the program in September 2009.

The volunteers, all of whom have passed the bar, go through a month of training and then prosecute cases for five months. They have helped fill in a gap left by the loss of about 70 prosecutors who took early retirement packages after an 18 percent cut to the office's budget in 2009 as the city struggled to make ends meet.

Of the three Los Angeles City Council races outside the San Fernando Valley, most of the attention has been on Councilman Jose Huizar's bid for a second term in the eastside district once represented by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Daily News.

Huizar and challenger Rudy Martinez, a businessman, have been trading body blows from the outset, and despite a pledge by both sides to ease up, it has continued to remain a bitterly fought campaign for the District 14 seat.

Tipoff: Industrial encvlave fights to head of disiincorporation

First Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner, the wealthy financier brought in by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to revive his business team, said Friday he is inching closer to deciding whether to run for mayor in 2013. Daily News.

"I will decide sometime in March whether or not it is something I can do," Beutner said. "If I think I can add to the dialogue and that I could make a difference, I will do it."

Beutner, 50, came to City Hall a year ago and was given authority over the city's major economic departments and the Department of Water and Power. At the time, he said he had no interest in elective office.

A plan to tear down the existing Mulholland Drive bridge over the 405 Freeway and build a bigger one 200 feet to the south has residents and environmentalists worried about increased traffic congestion and threats to wildlife. Daily Nwes.

The new bridge is part of the $1.03 billion freeway widening project to accommodate new carpool lanes.

Originally, Metropolitan Transportation Authority and CalTrans engineers were set to widen the Mulholland Bridge gradually, similar to the construction currently underway on the Sunset Boulevard bridge.

Ron Nichols, the new general manager of the Department of Water and Power, has called a meeting with field workers for March 2 as part of a "code of excellence" program for employees Dailiy News.

More than 1,200 DWP employees are expected to take part in the program at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills, where Nichols will speak about the city-owned utility and what is expected of its workers.

"This event is a joint labor-management initiative which is part of an overall program to reinforce the principles of safety, adherence to policies that were created over the years to ensure employee and public safety and employees' responsibilities," DWP spokesman Joe Ramallo said.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan visited a Los Angeles Unified high school Friday as part of a nationwide effort to encourage more teens to think about teaching as a future career. Connie Llanos in the Daily News

But during the hourlong event at the Edward Roybal Education Complex, the crowd of students insisted on highlighting the financial crisis plaguing their schools.

"You say that education is the way out of poverty right?" 16-year-old Yamilet Miranda asked Duncan from the crowd. "So then why is education always the main target during budget cuts?"

Developers of a planned downtown football stadium and events center submitted their first formal proposal to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's NFL Blue Ribbon Commission on Thursday, repeating their promise not to spend any tax dollars on the $1 billion project. Vincent Bonsignore in the Daily News,

Under the Anschutz Entertainment Group plan, the West Hall of the Convention Center would be razed to make room for a stadium with a retractable roof capable of seating 64,000-78,000 people. A new West Hall would be built on a different section of Convention Center property, and the parking lot would be expanded.

Members of United Teachers Los Angeles will have to wait another month to know who their new team of union leaders will be, according to early voting results.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

With a sixth of the union's membership voting in the citywide election, tallies show that all but one of UTLA's seven open leadership positions will require a runoff - including the top UTLA post that will be vacated by current President A.J. Duffy this summer.

Of the 37,000 ballots that were sent out to members, 6,300 were returned, union officials said. Some educators complained about ballot issues, including not receiving ballots on time.

With Gov. Jerry Brown considering the elimination of redevelopment agencies to save money, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa sought Thursday to make his case on why they are still needed. Daily News

Villaraigosa spoke at the downtown YWCA, which was built with money from the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency and a project that he cited as an example of how such agencies can benefit a neighborhood.

"Investments like the YWCA, where we stand today, bring recovery to our local economy," Villaraigosa said at the event with business and labor leaders.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered a state government hiring freeze amid California's ongoing fiscal crisis, hours after he dropped a lawsuit filed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over whether the governor has the authority to pay state workers minimum wage.AP in the Daily News,

Brown announced Tuesday what he said was a comprehensive hiring freeze that applies to vacant, seasonal, full-time and part-time positions. The administration estimates it will save $363 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The Democratic governor is allowing for certain exemptions that are critical to public safety, revenue collection and other core functions.

Republican former Assemblywoman Sharon Runner easily defeated Democrat Darren W. Parker in early returns Tuesday in a special election to fill the state Senate seat that had been held by her husband. Kevin Modesti in the Daily News,

George Runner represented the district from 2004 until November, when he resigned in the middle of his second term after being elected to the state Board of Equalization.

This would be the second time Sharon Runner follows George Runner into office. She won the first of her three two-year terms in the Assembly in 2002 after he was forced out by term limits.

Los Angeles Unified officials approved sending layoff notices to more than 7,000 employees Tuesday, to address a budget shortfall of at least $408 million for the 2011-12 school year.Connie Llanos in the Daily News,.

After spending more than two hours debating the grim financial picture, the LAUSD school board voted 5-2 to approve a budget outline that makes sharp cuts to programs that include high-performing magnet schools, arts and music classes and pre-school.

The board also voted 4-2, with one abstention, to send layoff notices to 7,300 district teachers, principals, counselors, nurses and librarians. While not all are expected to lose their jobs, the district is required by state law to notify those who are at risk of being cut.

The city will free up 27 police officers to patrol the streets by borrowing funds intended to help the community near the Sunshine Canyon landfill, under a plan approved Tuesday by the City Council. Daily News,

The plan by Councilman Greig Smith calls for keeping a group of 27 civilians working through June 30 at the new Metropolitan Detention Center, relieving sworn officers from their assignment as jailers.

The city will borrow $639,706 from the Sunshine Canyon Community Amenities Fund to free up the civilian jailers, with plans to repay the money in two years at no interest.

The general manager of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum resigned today, just hours before the stadium's governing body was set to meet in closed session to consider his fate.
Daily News wires,
Patrick Lynch, who was been managing the stadium and adjacent Sports Arena since 1994, tendered his resignation in an e-mail to the nine members of the Coliseum Commission.

"This last year has been very trying and it has taken its toll on me, both physically and mentally," Lynch wrote. "I would like to thank the president and other commissioners for their support over this difficult period. I would also like to thank the commissioners who have worked so hard in the past to achieve what I believe to be many successes. Many projects are in front of you and I wish nothing but the best for all your efforts."

Looking to whittle down a $408 million deficit facing Los Angeles Unified, incoming Superintendent John Deasy wants to trim taxpayers' contribution to employee benefits - long considered an untouchable perk.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The cost-cutting option is one of several scheduled to be discussed today by the school board as it considers whether to send layoff notices to some 7,000 district educators.

Deasy, the district's No. 2 administrator who will take over the top spot on April 15, said his plan is an attempt to avoid direct and drastic cuts to schools.

After years of cramming two and even three patients into treatment rooms, physicians and nurses at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center celebrated Monday during the ceremonial opening of the expanded $53 million emergency department. Susan Abram in the Daily News.

The 32,000-square-foot facility will officially open March 6 with 51 treatment beds, including two for critical patients. This is likely to improve treatment and shorten wait times for emergency patients, who previously had to share one of the 30 treatment rooms or wait on gurneys in the hall of the 15,000-square-foot ER.

A federal lawsuit has been filed challenging the curfew provision of Los Angeles' gang injunctions, a controversial law-enforcement tool that officials say has helped reduce crime and violence. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

Christian Rodriguez and Alberto Cazarez, who authorities claimed were in a West Los Angeles street gang, say they are not gang members so they were unfairly arrested in June 2009 when officers found them out after 10 p.m. near a housing project known for its gang activity. Charges stemming from their arrest were eventually dismissed.

Their lawsuit, which seeks class-action status and was filed in federal court Friday, takes aim at one of the more contentious elements of gang injunctions, which have become an increasingly favored law-enforcement tool aimed at curbing gang activity.

Undeterred by the lack of interest from parking lot operators, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Monday for a new effort to lease nine municipal garages to a private company as he struggled to shore up the city's budget. Daily News.

In a two-page letter to the City Council, Villaraigosa urged members to quickly revive the parking lot deal, but without the conditions, such as limits on parking rate hikes, that discouraged operators from bidding on the initial contract by Friday's deadline.

This is one of the 80 entires that Councilman Paul Krekorian received from high school students around the region in the first student film festival ever hosted by a city official.
"It was clear tonight that the future of Hollywood is very bright," Krekorian said. "The pure ingenuity, creativity and originality brewing throughout our high schools was inspiring to me as I am sure they were to the hundreds who attended the festival.
"In order to preserve local production in Los Angeles, we need to continue to develop and encourage our next generation of filmmakers."

To many in City Hall, it seems as if Tom LaBonge has been the councilman for life. Daily News.

In fact, City Hall has been the life of LaBonge, the 57-year-old seeking his third term on the 15-member body at the March 8 election.

Perhaps that is because LaBonge has taken on the role of unofficial historian. He's worked for the city since 1974, when he was part of the youth team - along with now-City Controller Wendy Greuel - recruited by then-Mayor Tom Bradley to learn about how the city works.

Tipoff: Nick Patsaouras working on memoires.

Public library supporters say the institution is the symbol of democracy - providing information and contrasting voices on any topic.Daily Breeze (via Daily News)

Yet, for the past two years, that symbol has been in tatters as the Los Angeles Public Library has undergone cuts. Not only have libraries closed their doors two days a week, they have also limited operating hours on the days they are open.

Gov. Jerry Brown hit the road Thursday to line up support for his proposed fix for California's $27 billion budget mess, courting business leaders that he hopes will help win over Republicans resistant to tax increases in Sacramento. AP in the Daily News,

The newly installed Democrat wants to slash billions in spending and extend temporary tax increases to cover the yawning gap, the result of a recession-driven crisis that has badly damaged the state's image and credit rating.

The governor needs Republican votes to push his plan through the Legislature, and he told reporters at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank that the backing of business leaders could help shift support his way.
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A broad plan that would limit sober living and group homes in residential areas was sent to the City Council on Thursday after a contentious debate. Daily News.

The Planning Commission divided 4-1 over the measure, sending it to the council without a formal recommendation because it was not a unanimous vote.

The measure seeks to address years of complaints by residents who say they have seen a growth in homes for recovering alcoholics, ex-cons and others in their quiet single-family neighborhoods.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League on Thursday came out against the Measure L proposal on the March 8 ballot that would increase the amount of property tax dollars going to city libraries.
Protective League President Paul Weber said the proposal, which does not increase individual property taxes, is a case of ballot box budgeting
"It moves money from more urgent needs, including public safety," Weber said. "We know that public safety issus always come first in the minds of voters."
The city Public Library system has faced major budget cuts, reduicng its service to five days a week and lost 28 percent of its staff _ 328 poistions _ through attrition, layoffs and early retirement.
Measure L, which nees a majority to be approved, asks voters to increase the guaranteed share of property taxes from .0175 percent, which brings in $76 milion a year and phases in increases to reach 0.3 percent in four years to bringin $130 million a year.
Also, on Thursday, the campaign for the measure announced support from several prominent authors, including Ray Bradbury, Tavis Smiley, Joseph Wambauch and Michael C0onnelly, among others.
***
Tyree Wieder, former president of Los Angeles Valley College and president of the Board of Library Commissioners, said there is wide support for the measure.
"LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, former Mayor Richard Riordan and I support Measure L because we know neighborhood libraries are a critical component of our city's public safety system. For a minimal investment our neighborhood libraries provide an adult-supervised safe haven to our children after-school and on the weekends"

Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to eliminate redevelopment agencies is sparking heated discussions among local and state officials, but education experts say the benefits for school districts are beyond debate.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The proposal to close more than 400 community redevelopment agencies would funnel an estimated $1.7billion back to California's coffers by 2012-13. State officials say about $1billion of that total would be allocated to schools, boosting the districts' finances after three years of devastating budget cuts.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other city officials are campaigning aggressively against Brown's plan, which they say will hurt communities and kill jobs. Education experts, however, say it would be a boon for schools.

The seasoned local business leaders picked by the mayor to analyze plans for a downtown NFL stadium on the public's behalf seem to have one thing in common: deep financial, political and civic ties with the company promoting the venue.AP in the Daily News

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's panel includes a former governor who received generous donations from entities connected to the owner of Anschutz Entertainment Group; entertainment executives who have partnered with the firm or its affiliates; and business owners who have served alongside company president and CEO Tim Leiweke on local civic boards and commissions.

That makeup could cast doubt on its ability to objectively evaluate the stadium project that may involve financial risk for the cash-strapped city, said Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles.

A city councilman on Tuesday proposed a streetcar line that would run a five-mile loop around downtown from the Civic Center to Staples Center, saying it could help boost downtown development and fill city coffers. Daily News

The proposed streetcar line would cost about $125 million to build, much of it funded from a new assessment that downtown businesses would be asked to pay. A private firm estimated the streetcar would help generate $1.1 billion in downtown development and provide the city with $47 million in annual tax revenue.

The proposal is part of the Bringing Back Broadway plan advocated by City Councilman Jose Huizar. Search-www.dailynews.com-www.dailynews.com

Los Angeles officials are looking into the possibility of annexing the tiny city of Vernon, a prospect opposed by leaders of the beleaguered community. Daily News.

Los Angeles Councilman Jose Huizar, who has been at odds with Vernon over the siting of a power plant, urged colleagues to approach Vernon about a friendly takeover of the five-square-mile enclave.

Huizar asked the full City Council to consider opening talks with Vernon officials despite their stated opposition.

Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, has introduced a measure that would provide for the dissolution of any city with fewer than 150 people.

After years of public complaints about the DWP budget and bureaucracy, two measures going before Los Angeles voters on March 8 would grant the city greater oversight of the agency. Daily News

Measures I and J are the result of a dispute that erupted last year after the Department of Water and Power threatened to withhold a badly needed transfer of $73 million to the city unless the City Council approved a rate hike.

The council eventually passed a smaller rate hike and the DWP Commission transferred the money.

City Councilman Jose Huizar found himself on the defensive Monday, apologizing for an objectionable e-mail about a political rival and firing the campaign aide who wrote it. Daily News

Huizar, who is seeking his second term to his Eastside seat, said he'd fired his spokesman, Michael Trujillo, after learning about an internal e-mail he'd sent about challenger Rudy Martinez.

With U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-El Segundo, expected to announce she will be resigning her seat to head the Woodrow W8ilston International Center for Scholars, it has not taken long for a list of potential contenders lining up.
Heading the list of wannabes is Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who was easily re-elected to her second and final term last November. Also looking at it is Councilwoman Janice Hahn of San Pedro
Hahn was re-elected in 2009. She ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor last year.
Harman, whose husband recently purchased Newsweek Magazine, has become one of the top experts on international terrorism. Former Rep. Lee Hamilton has headed the Washington-based think tank and is expected to step down soon.

Voters will face a familiar, burning issue on the March 8 city ballot: Marijuana.Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

In contrast with last November's failed California proposition to legalize recreational pot use, Los Angeles' more complicated Measure M asks if the city should impose a hefty tax on medical-marijuana dispensaries.

Proponents say requiring dispensary operators to "pay their fair share" - in this case, 5percent of gross receipts - could raise $10million a year for the city's deficit-plagued general fund.

Hundreds of admirers of President Ronald Reagan gathered at his hilltop Simi Valley library on a warm and breezy morning Sunday to commemorate his centennial birthday and pay tribute to a man many said inspired national pride and spread freedom throughout the world. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

Surrounded by lush green hillsides, the recently renovated Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum drew many GOP dignitaries, such as former Vice President Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, and members of Reagan's Cabinet.

Tipoff: The high cost of stadium politics.

It's long been known that Los Angeles City Council members are the nation's highest-paid, but a new national study has found they also spend more on staffs and are provided with better perks than most other cities as well. Daily News.

The Pew Research Center report found that Los Angeles council members have office budgets of $1.7 million per member, the highest among 15 of the nation's biggest cities. | Click here to see a database of salaries.

The council members are paid an annual salary of $178,792 - though many have volunteered for pay cuts during the budget crisis. The next highest council salary was in Washington D.C. at $130,538.

Results of the community vote in Los Angeles Unified's Public School Choice program will be delayed by three weeks to coordinate with the district's recently revised schedule, officials said Thursday.Connie Llanos in the Daily News,

The League of Women Voters, which is overseeing the vote of parents, students and residents, said the results will be announced Feb. 24 or 25, instead of today as originally planned. The group's decision came on the heels of an announcement by Superintendent Ramon Cortines that he was delaying his own recommendations.

The nonbinding election will help the LAUSD board decide who should control a dozen campuses, including new high schools planned for Granada Hills and San Fernando. Various charter operators, nonprofit organizations and teacher-led groups are competing for the opportunity to participate in the reform effort.

The Central City Association announced today it's endorsements for the March 8 city election, backing all incumbent City Council members and the chief deputy to a retiring member.
The organization of downtown businesses announced it is backing incumbent Council members Paul Krekorian, Tom LaBonge, Tony Cardenas, Bernard Parks, Herb Wesson and Jose Huizar. They also are supporting Mitch Englander, chief deputy to outgoing Councilman Greig Smith.
It also endorsed the re-election of school board members Tamar Galatzan and Dr. Richard Vladovic.

Teachers union leaders and some San Fernando Valley parents claimed victory Wednesday as LAUSD formally announced they were delaying the launch of the controversial "early start" calendar until 2012. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines said that uncertainty about the state's budget crisis, and its potential impact on Los Angeles Unified, had prompted his decision to start the upcoming fall semester in September, rather than on Aug. 15 as previously planned.

"The economic uncertainty in California continues to pose serious challenges to our district," Cortines said. "Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed tax election in June could result in deferred state and LAUSD budget decisions, which would have a significant impact on the preparation for the upcoming academic year and starting school early."

A City Council panel created a working group Wednesday to negotiate with AEG over its plans to replace part of the Convention Center and build a $1 billion stadium to lure an NFL team to Los Angeles. Daily News.

During the first public hearing on the plan, Anschutz Entertainment Group President Tim Leiweke told a council committee that the developer wants the project to generate convention business for the city and is prepared to foot the bill to build it.

The Valley Industry and Commerce Association political action committee has endorsed three council members for re-election and the candidate in the 12th District race.
The committee endorsed the re-election of Paul Krekorian, Tom LaBonge and Bernard Parks as well as Mitch Englander for the open 12th District seat. Englander is running to succeed his boss, Councilman Greig Smith.
VICA also endorsed school board member Tamar Galatzan for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

oup of PAC endorsements has just been announced: Paul Krekorian, Tom LaBonge, Bernard Parks, Mitch Englander for L.A. City Council and Tamar Galatzan for LAUSD Board

With a display of hyperbole to rival the Super Bowl, promoters of the latest plan to bring professional football back to Los Angeles announced Tuesday that Farmers Insurance has agreed to pay $700 million to attach its name to the proposed downtown stadium. | Vincent Bonsignore: LA's signal-callers can see end zone in sight Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

The multi-purpose events venue that AEG proposes to build next to Staples Center would be called Farmers Field. The price tag for that right could climb to $900 million if the developers manage to snag two NFL teams, according to sources involved in the deal.

Two years after a public outcry prompted changes in how rape kits are processed, the LAPD has cleared a backlog of more than 6,100 of the tests, officials said Tuesday.C.J. Lin in the Daily News.

The Los Angeles Police Department has completed DNA and other tests on all of the 6,132 rape kits - some of them years old - that were reported in 2008 to have been sitting untouched in lab freezers, Capt. Kevin McClure told the Police Commission.

A secondary backlog of rape kits generated since that time stands at about 275 - after hitting 2,500 at one point, LAPD officials said.

Los Angeles Unified will delay the launch of its "early start" calendar until 2012-13 because of uncertainty about the state budget, officials said Tuesday.Connie Llanos in the Daily News,

Based on the success of the calendar during a test run at 17 schools, administrators had planned to implement it districtwide beginning this fall. Classes were scheduled to start Aug. 15 - three weeks earlier than usual - and end June 1, 2012.

The decision to delay the "early start" calendar will be formally announced today.

The City Council whittled $16 million from the Los Angeles budget Tuesday, but avoided ordering more employee furloughs, although it faces the prospect of having to cut $30 million more by July. Daily News

"This is just the start of what we have left to do," warned Councilman Bernard Parks, who chairs the council's Budget and Finance Committee.

"The thing to remember is that any department we exempt from cuts means it will have to come from some other department."

The Los Angeles Police Protective League on Tuesday released its ehdorsements for the March 8 city election, backing all but one incumbent and a reserve police officer in the o[en City Council race.
Voting for the seven City Council seats actually begins on Feb. 15, when absentee ballots can be case.
The Protective League announced it was going aganst Councilman Bernard Parks for re-election to the 8th Counciil District and backing his challenger, businesswoman Forescee Hogan-Rowles. The Protective League has had a strained relationship with Parks, dating back to his days as Los Angeles Police chief.
The union also decided to back Mitch Englander in the 12th District. Englander is a reserve police officer and chief of staff to Councilman Greig Smith,
The League's board of directors made its endorsements following interview with teh candidates.
The Leauge also endorsed Councilman Paul Krekorianm for the 2nd District, Tom LaBonge for the 4th District, Tony Cardenas for the 6th District, Herb Wesson for the 10th District and Jose Huizar for the 14th District.

State Controller John Chiang unveiled an updated website showing the salary, pension benefits and other employee compensation for several hundred local transit, waste disposal, and fire and police protection districts. Chiang website

"Californians were offered instant access to salary information in their own communities when I launched the first public payroll site of city and county compensation last fall," said Chiang. "Posting this information allows California residents to see where their public dollars are being spent and to better hold their local agencies accountable."

Last October, the Controller collected and posted wage information for more than 600,000 city and county employees. He then ordered special districts across the state to report the same information.

Mitch Englander
Mitchell Englander tells audiences about "the day that changed my life." Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

The 40-year-old Granada Hills resident's name is known to many residents of the northwest San Fernando Valley because he is chief of staff for Greig Smith, the retiring 12th District city councilman whom Englander

Kelly Lord
Kelly Lord tends to say "we" and "us" instead of "I" as he talks about what he would do if elected to the City Council representing the northwest San Fernando Valley. Daily News.

The 61-year-old Northridge resident, whose campaign for the 12th District council seat is endorsed by the grassroots political organization Los Angeles Clean Sweep, presents himself as a leader of the neighborhood council movement.

Dinesh :Lakhanpal

Dinesh "Danny" Lakhanpal said that as a student, a businessman and a leader in the local Indian-American community, he always has been "a doer." Daily News.

Now, the Granada Hills resident said he'd like to do some good for the northeast San Fernando Valley as the City Council member representing the 12th District.

The long-delayed transfer of inmates from the dilapidated Parker Center jail to the new Metropolitan Detention Center begins at midnight tonight amid continuing concern about the use of LAPD officers as guards. Daily News.

Assistant Police Chief Michel Moore told city officials on Monday that 88 sworn officers - 83 jailers and five supervisors - have been trained to supplement the 331 civilian officers needed to staff the $84 million detention center.

"Parker Center jail will close and we will transition to the new Metropolitan Detention Facility that was completed 18 months ago," Moore told a joint meeting of the City Council's Public Safety and Budget and Finance committees. "We are doing this out of concern for the health and safety of the people in custody and the people who work there."