March 2011 Archives

Gov. Brown's decision to pull the plug on budget negotiations left Capitol partisans plotting their next moves, which could include a push by the Legislature's ruling Democrats to move Brown's tax-and-cut package to the ballot with simple-majority votes.Capitol Weekly.

But that move is all but certain to fracture a fragile coalition, forcing business interests from the fold and pushing labor into a fighting crouch.

A veteran educator scored an upset win to become president of the Los Angeles teachers union, running on a platform of saving jobs and retaining benefits for its 40,000 members. Connie Llanos in the Daiiy News.

With just 25 percent of eligible members casting ballots in this week's runoff, United Teachers Los Angeles elected Warren Fletcher to take over as president on July 1. He defeated Julie Washington, a UTLA vice president who had led the field of eight candidates in the union's primary election in February.

Fletcher's promise to focus on retaining teacher pay, benefits, jobs and pensions

With the city's population now at almost 3.8 million, officials are launching an effort to redraw City Council districts to reflect demographic shifts, particularly in the fast-growing west San Fernando Valley. Daily News.

Deputy Legislative Analyst John Wickham told the City Council Wednesday the 2010 census put the Los Angeles population at 3,792,621.

As the City Council was advised on plans to create a citizens reapportionment commission, Council President Eric Garcetti said boundaries of the 15 council districts will have to be redrawn to reflect changes in

The governor goes on YouTube to explain his decision to end budget negotiations.

Los Angeles Unified officials on Tuesday approved a new reading curriculum for all elementary schools, replacing the long-standing Open Court program. Connnie Llanos in the Daily News

While Open Court was credited with improving reading skills, district officials said it was time to replace the 11-year-old program, which was also criticized as too scripted and rigid.

The program was also ineffective for LAUSD's English language learners, who make up one-third of the district's student population.

After two wet winters, Gov. Jerry Brown is scheduled to announce today that California's three-year drought has ended, although officials will continue to call for conservation measures. Daily News,

Brown is expected to make the official announcement after receiving manual snowpack measurements from the Department of Water Resources. Officials expect the statistics will confirm electronic readings that the water content is nearly 60 percent above average - enough to call an end to the drought of 2007-09.

Los Angeles officials said they are not prepared to rescind lawn-watering restrictions until they have more confidence about the long-term outlook. And Brown spokesman Evan Westrup also said the governor will be urging Californians to continue to watch their water use.

Manny Banuelos is known for his ability to motivate kids - both in his fourth-grade classroom at Fullbright Elementary and on the neighborhood baseball diamond, where he volunteers as a Little League coach. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Jolene Kuebler is beloved by students and colleagues, who marvel at the stamina that allows her to teach health classes, coach drill team and lead the school band at Cleveland High School.

Despite their success, the two San Fernando Valley teachers are among 5,200 educators who have received layoff notices from the financially troubled Los Angeles Unified School District. With just seven years each in the classroom, they're unlikely to beat the state-mandated system of using seniority to determine who gets to stay and who must go.

Tipoff -- Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas warns of dealing with NFL.

Jane Skeeter had built her UltraGlas Inc. into one of the nation's leading architectural glassmakers, adorning cruise ships, casinos, hotels and the homes of Hollywood stars.
Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News,
Having weathered the Great Recession, the award-winning CEO is now poised for a great expansion - tripling production and jobs at her Chatsworth plant - spurred by tax incentives from a state enterprise zone.

"The enterprise zone will really fuel the enterprise," Skeeter said, walking between panels of shimmering screens, tiles, table tops and cutting-edge recycled and laminated glass. "I couldn't do it without it. I would have had to wait a long time to afford it.

Leading by example in tough times, Los Angeles Unified Deputy Superintendent-elect John Deasy said Saturday he wants to forgo the $55,000 raise he would get when he takes over as superintendent next month. Connie Llanos in the Daily News,

In a letter the school board members Saturday, Deasy said he wants to continue earning his $275,000 salary when he takes over from Superintendent Ramon Cortines on April 15.

Cortines makes $250,000 a year.

Looking for a sign that the real estate market is poised for a pickup? Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News,

Here it is: More "For Sale" signs are being manufactured these days.

"We are very busy. It's a wonderful phenomenon in such a sad market," said Alana Fugnetti, a regional vice president of sales for Dee Signs Inc., which is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has a

Councilman Bernard Parks learned Friday that he definitely will not have to face a runoff campaign to return for a third term, as final certified results showed he captured 51.21 percent of the vote in the March 8 election. Daily News.

Parks won 9,482 votes over a tough labor-backed challenger, businesswoman Forescee Hogan-Rowles, who took 8,058 votes for 43.52 percent.

BEVERLY HILLS - For a former cop who has appeared publicly in drag, City Councilman Dennis Zine would seem almost insusceptible to embarrassment. Tony Castro in the Daily News,

But on Thursday night, the San Fernando Valley councilman saw his life stripped to the funny bone at what has become one of the year's most anticipated Los Angeles political events.

More than 900 politicians, businesspeople, lobbyists and police officers packed a ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for the 14th annual political roast, which is expected to bring in more than $500,000 for the American Diabetes Association.

In a watershed deal that could avert furloughs and layoffs for city employees, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday that city unions have agreed to require civilian workers to contribute more to retiree benefits, including contributions to healthcare for the first time. Daily News.

The tentative agreement was reached with the leaders of the six unions making up the Coalition of City Unions, representing some 22,000 employees. The deal could save the jobs of up to 600 workers and spare thousands of others from furloughs.

"This is a watershed moment," Villaraigosa said at a news conference in his City Hall offices surrounded by labor leaders. "When other states and cities are at war with their unions, we showed that collective bargaining can work."

Rudy Montiel, the ousted director of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, could receive upwards of $405,000 under an 18-month buyout of his contract, officials said Wednesday. Daily News.

The city is negotiating a separation package for Montiel, whose contract included a provision that he receive 18 months worth of benefits if he was fired.

Montiel earned an annual salary of $270,000 and 10 weeks of vacation, plus benefits that included health insurance and a pension. He also received a housing allowance that could add $104,000 to his buyout package, officials said.

With reluctant agreement from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the City Council on Wednesday erased most of the deficit in the current Los Angeles budget by delaying the hiring of police officers. Daily News.

The council followed the advice of its top budget advisers and agreed to delay hiring 45 new officers until after July 1, when a lower pension rate takes effect.

While that move will save only about $700,000 this year, it is expected to save taxpayers millions of dollars in future years in lower pension costs. It was also seen as an important symbolic shift because the Los Angeles Police Department has in the past year been protected from some of the deep cuts that other agencies have suffered.

Layoffs prompted by declining enrollment and a crippling budget deficit would thin the ranks of Los Angeles Unified's educators by 15 percent, leaving few schools unscathed by the financial crisis, according to district documents. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The breakdown of layoff notices at 952 schools shows that roughly two-thirds of them would lose at least one educator when classes start in the fall.

In the San Fernando Valley, 193 of the 287 schools listed would lose certificated positions - primarily teachers, but also librarians, counselors and nurses. Two dozen of those schools could lose one-fourth of their staffs.

Expanding his efforts to keep filming in Los Angeles, City Councilman Richard Alarcón proposed Tuesday creating a discount card for entertainment industry workers to let them know how valuable they are to the local economy.Daily News,

Alarcón asked for a study on giving a "Film Friendly L.A." card to industry workers who could get discounts of at least 10 percent from businesses who sign up for the program.

"This is something that you have to constantly do to market the city to the industry," Alarcón said. "We don't know how many vendors would sign up for it, but I think once they see it can increase their business, they will be eager to enroll."

After months of turmoil, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles fired its director after complaints about his tactics and a fight with the agency's commission over travel expenses. Daily News.

The Housing Authority Commission fired Rudolf Montiel late Monday after several tenants of public housing projects renewed complaints that Montiel had evicted those he considered troublemakers.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who appoints the commission, said he supported the decision to dismiss Montiel, who was paid nearly $450,000 to oversee the $1 billion agency and was eligible for 10 weeks vacation a year.

Gov. Jerry Brown gives his own three-month update on the state of negotiations with the legislature over his plan to balance the satte budget.

Today is Tom Del Beccaro's first full day as chair of the beleaguered California Republican Party - and he freely says the next two years will be the most challenging the party ever experiences, bemoaning how the GOP has "trapped ourselves into talking to the converted."

"We've become the party of limited communication," Del Beccaro, a Lafayette attorney, told 1,000 delegates and attendees Sunday at the close of the three-day California Republican Party convention.

With the popular Orange Line busway now being extended from Woodland Hills to Chatsworth, Metro is launching a $2 million study of mass-transit options for the congested north-south corridor through Van Nuys. Daily News.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seeking public comment on a number of alternatives, including a $170 million busway that would run down the middle of Van Nuys Boulevard, between Burbank Boulevard and Plummer Street.

Another proposal would add grade separations at four busy intersections to the busway plan, while a third would take a north-south busway through a tunnel under the Orange Line route at Vanowen Street.

Tipoffs: 2013 candidates can't wait to get started.

Now it's clear why Rick Caruso was lusting after Glendale's Golden Key Hotel and an adjacent property. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

Nordy wanted a new home.

Caruso's company, Caruso Affiliated, and Nordstrom Stores Inc. announced last week that the upscale retailer will be moving from its longtime home at the Glendale Galleria and will anchor the planned expansion of The Americana at Brand.

Billionaire developer Ed Roski Jr., who hopes to build a football stadium in the City of Industry in a competition with one proposed by AEG in downtown Los Angeles, has dropped his team of lobbyists and public relations consultants. Daily News.

Senior Vice President John Semcken said work on their project has moved to a new stage and they no longer need the help they required.

"We decided a couple of months ago that we would be hiring some local people to make sure message and benefits of our project are understood by the L.A. City Council when they are making their deliberations," Semcken said.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry declared Wednesday she intends to run for mayor in 2013, quietly filing papers to begin raising money for the race.

Perry, who is in her third and last term on the City Council, joins Controller Wendy Greuel, radio talk show host Kevin James and businessman Y.J. Draiman of Northridge as declared candidates.

Perry, who represents the downtown area, has been meeting with various neighborhood groups over the past several months to discuss city issues.

Perry was chief of staff to former Ninth District Councilwoman Rita Walters, and was elected to succeed her in 2001. Perry was re-elected in 2005 and 2009.

"I have the experience, the focus and the ability to take the city in the direction that it needs to go and realize its full potential," Perry said.

"We need to hit that point where we can continue to provide basic services in a realistic manner and have a budget that is balanced so that we can build a city for the future," she said.

Gov. Jerry Brown has voter support for calling a June special election and extending higher taxes, but his window of opportunity may close soon, according to results from the latest Field Poll. Sacramento Bee.

The survey shows voters are more negative toward tax increases than tax extensions, and Brown has only a few weeks left to put his proposals on the ballot as the latter, poll director Mark DiCamillo said.

The Los Angeles Unified school board exerted its political muscle Tuesday, reversing several recommendations from outgoing Superintendent Ramon Cortines by placing more charter operators in charge of district schools. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Following a packed five-hour hearing, the board gave charters control of schools representing nearly a quarter of the students in the Public School Choice reform plan. Cortines had recommended that more of those schools be managed under teams led by district employees.

The school board also asked that three chronically low-performing campuses be overhauled, forcing all employees at those schools to reapply for their jobs. Cortines had only recommended one school for an overhaul.

Teachers protest layoffs.
Sporting red T-shirts to symbolize solidarity, educators rallied Tuesday at campuses across Los Angeles Unified as the district sent out the last of the 7,300 pink slips to employees targeted for layoff. Connie Llanios in the Daily News,

The notices were sent this month to teachers, counselors, school nurses and librarians as Los Angeles Unified struggles to close a $408 million deficit in the 2011-12 budget. The district must notify anyone whose position might be eliminated, although it is unlikely that everyone who received a pink slip will lose their job.

Still, the notices elicited strong emotions from educators like Thomas Bullis, a fifth-grade teacher at Vintage Math, Science and Technology Magnet Elementary in North Hills.

Sohn to resign
James Sohn, the embattled chief of Los Angeles Unified's facilities department, is resigning from his $220,000-a-year job, he said Tuesday. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Sohn, who was criticized for a shortage of inspectors and contracting irregularities in the district's massive construction program, will leave his post at the end of March. He has worked for Los Angeles Unified since 2002 and was promoted to head the facilities department in October 2009.

Conservative radio talk-show host Kevin James is scheduled Wednesday to announce his candidacy for Los Angeles mayor in 2013 in what is expected to be a crowded field. Daily News,

James, 46, has been a fixture on talk radio in the region since 2005, when he began working at KABC-AM. He now works at KRLA-AM hosting a show that airs from midnight to 3 a.m.

James, who lives in the Laurel Canyon area, has long been a critic of Los Angeles officials, turning up at City Hall to comment on a range of issues - from water and power rates to employee pensions.

Gov. Jerry Brown, a battle-scarred survivor in California politics who has vanquished well-armed opponents such as billionaire Meg Whitman, has said his strategic guidebook for decades has been a slim, 2,500-year-old volume: "The Art of War" by Chinese general Sun Tzu. San Francisco Chronicle.

This week, as he asked Republican and Democratic legislators to delay a crucial vote on the state budget in order to "find common ground" over closing the $26.6 billion deficit, Brown's actions suggest that he's taken the book's lessons to heart.

Los Angeles Unified's Marshall and Franklin high schools tied for first place in the Academic Decathlon Super Quiz relay Sunday in Sacramento, putting them in a competitive position to take the overall state title today.Daily News,.

Marshall and Franklin each scored 53 out of a total 60 points in the oral portion of the Super Quiz, which is the only event open to the public in the brain-draining weekend competition.

Teams of students had to answer successive questions about the Great Depression, this year's theme, to accumulate points.

A $2.6 million shopping center/office complex, with a Mediterranean design and upscale restaurants, is coming to Sylmar.Daily News.

The Hubbard Village Center, a 23,000-square foot center, is to be built at 14117 Hubbard St., near Glenoaks Boulevard, on land that once had three single-family homes that were torn down as part of the plan to develop the site. A formal groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Thursday.

The project will also allow one of the developers, Ralph Torres - known as Rapha to his friends - to keep his Casa Torres Restaurant in business.

Tipoff: Councilman Bernard Parks sweats it out, Councilman Tom LaBonge has bakery skills of nuns to thanks.

To the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency and its counterparts across the state, Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to shut them down is a mystery. Daily News.

But it's one that threatens their survival, and so they are fighting it with every political and legal maneuver they can muster.

Brown, looking for cash to help balance the $25 billion shortfall the state is facing, has proposed eliminating the 398 redevelopment agencies in California.

Los Angeles is a city at a cross-roads and needs to reinvent itself to develop the jobs, opportunity and education of the future, First Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner told business leaders on Thursday.
Sounding more like a candidate for mayor in 2013 than he has in the past, Beutner told directors of the Los Angles Area Chamber of Commerce that all city officials now in office bear the blame for the city's failure to deal with a $400 million shortfall.
"I am not talking about any one (council) member, but the body as a whole," Beutner said. "When is the last time you heard any of them talk about the $400 million problem we have. The new budget will be in effect on July 1 and we have the same problem.
"We had an election this week where half the City Council was up. I don't recall hearing any one of them come up with a solution to this budget problem."
Beutner, as he has in the past, said he is giving himself this month to decide whether to enter the race for mayor in 2013.
With Villaraigosa unable to run for a third term, it is expected to be a crowded field. Controller Wendy Greuel last week filed the papers allowing her to raise money for the campaign.
Others said to be considering a run include Council President Eric Garcetti, Councilwoman Jan Perry, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, state Sen. Alex Padilla and billionaire developer Rick Caruso.
Despite his own personal wealth, Beutner said he plans to finance the campaign through donations.
One of the biggest problems facing the city, he said, is getting a trained workforce to perform the jobs of the future.
The city worked with local car dealers and the Los Angeles Community College Distrcit to develop an intern program for students.
But, he said, the problem goes beyond that to the Los Angeles Unified School District, which graduates only about half its students.
"I want to see a school system that I can send my kids to," Beutner said.

- Now that California lawmakers have missed Gov. Jerry Brown's self-imposed budget deadline, it remained unclear Thursday when they have to act to meet his demand for a special election to consider extending recent tax hikes. AP in the Daily News.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said lawmakers are planning to work through the weekend to try to secure Republican support to call the election in June. He said he is aiming for a floor vote next week. Both the Assembly and Senate are on call, which means lawmakers are required to be within a few hours of the Capitol throughout the weekend.

"I think that there is some real progress," Steinberg said.

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines gave district educators a vote of confidence Thursday as he recommended they operate most of the campuses in this second round of the Public School Choice plan. Conniei Llanos in the Daily News.

The reform effort allows charter operators, nonprofit groups and Los Angeles Unified teachers and principals to compete for the opportunity to run new and underperforming district campuses.

Cortines recommended that teacher-led groups operate 21 small schools, with charters taking over six campuses. He did not issue a recommendation for John Muir Middle School in South Los Angeles, saying its programs need to be dismantled and rebuilt.

Fresh off of Tuesday['s election, the Los Angeles City Council goes into recess until Friday, March 18, so a number of its members can attend the National League of Cities meeting in Washington, D.C.
The Congressional Cities Conference allows local officials to meet with federal officials and lobby them on behalf of local projects.
Two of the main speakers are MSNBC's Morning Joe, former Rep. Joe Scarborough, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Driven by surging numbers of Latinos and Asians, California's population swelled 10 percent over the last decade, while the San Fernando Valley is on pace to see 5 percent growth, according to new census figures released Tuesday. | Read the report. Tony Castro in the Daily News,

From 2000 to 2010, the number of Latinos grew by 28 percent to 14 million in the nation's most populous state, while Asians increased by about 31 percent to 4.8 million. In contrast, non-Hispanic whites decreased by 5 percent, and the black population dipped by 1 percent.

Los Angeles County grew by 3.1 percent to more than 9.8 million, while the population of the city of Los Angeles increased by 2.6 percent to reach 3.8 million.

In an effort to thwart Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to eliminate community redevelopment agencies statewide, Los Angeles will take over $930 million in local CRA projects, the City Council decided Tuesday after a lengthy and contentious debate. Daily News,

Brown has proposed shutting down the more than 400 agencies and using their tax revenue to fund education and help balance the state's $26 billion deficit. The Legislature is expected to vote as early as Thursday to abolish the agencies, although Los Angeles and other cities have vowed to sue to block the action.

The council debated five hours before voting 12-2 to order the drafting of an ordinance that would transfer 33 project areas from CRA/LA - an independent agency under state law - to the city's Community Development Department. Councilmen Paul Krekorian and Greig Smith opposed the action, which came in 33 separate votes.

Los Angeles voters decided to send incumbent City Council, school board and community college board members back to office in Tuesday's election.
At least three councilmen, Tom LaBonge, Bernard Parks and Jose Hyuzar, had been sweating out the election during the last few weeks, but all three appeared likely to return to office along with Councilmen Paul Krekorian, Tony Cardenas and Herb Wesson.
Also, it appeared as if Mitch Englander, chief deputy to outgoing Councilman Greig Smith, would be elected.
On ballot measures, voters were giving easy approval to reforms affecting the Department of Water and Power, a change in property taxes to give more support to libraries and a tgax on medical marijuana. A proposed oil extraction fee, however, was trailing.\

For full election covertage go to the Daily News,

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will receive on Wednesday the Elected Official of the Year award from the California Charter School Association.
Villaraigosa, who has promoted charter schools as one of the many reforms needed for public education, will call on the group to develop higher standards for t heir schools, expand their reach and partner with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The even is being held at the San Diego Convention Center.
After the meeting, Villaraigosa is scheduled to fly to Washiington,D,C., to meet w ith federal officials over transportation funding.

A plan to triple the size of a Simi Valley landfill could send hundreds of heavy garbage trucks a day along the 118 Freeway and over the steep pass at Rocky Peak, according to an environmental study. Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

While Waste Management Inc. contends there would be no increase in truck traffic under its plan to expand the Simi Valley Landfill & Recycling Center, an environmental study projects the number of round trips will soar from 500 to nearly 1,200 on the freeway bordering the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley.

Supporters say the expansion could generate jobs and bring millions of dollars to Ventura County from extra fees generated by the disposal of trash from Los Angeles.

There's something unseemly about money in political campaigns.And the bigger the money, the more unscrupulous it all seems. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

So, limiting campaign contributions sounds like a good way to reduce the influence of big donors in politics.

But in Los Angeles, it hasn't exactly worked out that way. Campaign finance spending limits haven't curtailed the big contributions. The money just comes in different - and less transparent - ways.

State regulators have given Los Angeles Unified until Friday to provide certified construction inspectors at 14 campuses or face a shutdown of the improvement projects for violating state law. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Certified letters sent March 4 by the Division of the State Architect warn that stop-work orders may be issued if the district misses its deadline for providing inspectors to "competently, adequately and continuously" oversee the construction and renovation projects.

An audit released Monday criticizes California redevelopment agencies for lacking performance measures that track how well they fight blight and create jobs, but supporters claimed the report was compiled to bolster Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to abolish the agencies. Daily News.

State Controller John Chiang's review of Los Angeles' and 17 other community redevelopment agencies found they funded questionable projects, delayed in making tax payments and engaged in irregular reporting practices.

"For a government activity which consumes more than $5.5 billion of public resources annually, we should be troubled that there are no objective performance measures," Chiang said. "The existing approach is not how anyone concerned with performance, efficiency and accountability would draw it up today."

As expected, Controller Wendy Greuel was the first to file to begin fundraising for the 2013 race for mayor, when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is termed out of office.
The surprise candidacy, however, came from J.Y. Draiman, a member of the Northridge Neighborhood Council, who also filed in what is expected to be a crowded race of known and unknown figures.
Draiman, who falls in the latter category, said he decided to test the political waters out of his belief that "a qualified citizen should run for office, on who has no political allegiance to anyone, one whose only allegiance is to the voterts.
Draiman has opened a webpage, at http://yjdraiman.org, said he decided to enter the race after members of the Northridge Neighborhood Council suggested he run.
--30--

- On a clear day atop Wilacre Park, hikers call the sage-fragrant trails and spectacular views of the San Fernando Valley, heaven on earth. Susan Abram in the Daily News,

But below, residents whose homes run up against the foothills of the park say they have been forced to deal with a hellish mix of parking problems, insensitive hikers and petty crime.

Thanks to word of mouth and reviews on blogs, the trails through Wilacre Park just off Laurel Canyon Boulevard have drawn increasingly larger flocks of hikers and nature enthusiasts.

Tipoff: Chief Deputy D.A. Jackie Lacey moves to Porter Ranch to prepare fore D.A. race

The race to succeed retiring City Councilman Greig Smith features six contenders, but the election Tuesday in the northwest San Fernando Valley may boil down to what voters think of candidate Mitch Englander. Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

Englander - who is Greig Smith's chief of staff - inherited the role of "insider" in the 12th District campaign, enjoying huge advantages in fundraising and endorsements while becoming the target of opponents' anti-City Hall rhetoric.

Armineh Chelebian, Dinesh Lakhanpal, Kelly Lord, Navraj Singh and Brad Smith hope to deny Englander an outright majority in this primary round and force a May 17 runoff between the top two vote-getters.

An array of ballot measures
Los Angeles voters will be asked Tuesday to decide a dizzying array of issues, including the appointment of a ratepayer advocate for the Department of Water and Power, a tax on medical marijuana and oil, and changes in the pension system for police and firefighters. Daily News.

Ten measures are on the ballot as well as elections for seven City Council seats.

Councilman Paul Krekorian, in his second election in as many years, has taken out a television ad to be run on nine cable stations in his 2nd Council District.
The spot, which details his efforts in opposing Department of Water and Power rate increases, working with the Los Angeles Police Department and helping preserve the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment.
Krekorian has one opponent in the election, in businessman Augusto Bisani.

Twenty years ago, what should have been a routine traffic stop on a San Fernando Valley freeway escalated into an altercation that forever changed policing - and race relations - in Los Angeles. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

Unaware they were being filmed by an amateur cameraman, four white LAPD officers beat an African-American motorist named Rodney King. The 12-minute video was aired that night by a local TV station, giving Angelenos and the rest of the world a glimpse of shocking behavior from those sworn to protect and serve.

"That day put in motion the forces that changed and dramatically transformed Los Angeles, the LAPD and many of our institutions," says Bernard Kinsey, who helped lead Rebuild Los Angeles, the economic redevelopment agency formed after the 1992 Los Angeles riots. | See photo gallery.

With the city's financial problems continuing to mount, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Wednesday called for scaling back benefits for retired city workers, ranging from health care cuts to raising the retirement age. Daily News.

The city is facing a $350 million deficit next year, while pension and health benefits for retirees have been one of the fastest-growing liabilities facing government agencies nationwide that are dealing with an aging workforce.

Health care costs for retired sworn employees in Los Angeles, for example, have spiraled from $31 million to $113 million over the past five years, according to city officials.

In a rare special action, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Controller Wendy Greuel ordrerd city department heads to take a number of steps to save money and close the projected $53 million budget gap in this year's budget,
"Inaction is simply unacceptable," the two wrote in their order.
Under the plan, department heads were instructed to halt all non-salary expenditures, including any remodeling, replacemenr of furniture and all travel not approved by the mayor's office.
This includes trips to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., to lobby on behalf of c ity programs.
It also includes expenses for mailings not required by law and food for any employee events and any outside contracts.

With little fanfare, Los Angeles Unified lost one of its crown jewels to a growing reform movement Tuesday, as El Camino Real High School was approved for charter conversion starting this fall. Connie Llanos in the Daily News,

The school board approved El Camino's move by a unanimous vote with no discussion.

The Woodland Hills school - which holds the national record for U.S. Academic Decathlon championships, maintains top test scores and boasts several city athletic titles - is the latest in a string of LAUSD campuses to opt for freedom from district regulations by shifting to charter status.

Each working day, there's not a member of the North Valley Family YMCA at Porter Ranch who isn't touched by Cynthia Couture and Claire Sommers.Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

The two adults with developmental disabilities wash 1,000 towels a day for freshly scrubbed YMCA clients. And each bubbles with infectious laughter at their task.

"These guys work like little troopers," said Jane Stanton, executive director of the Northridge Y, which employs both women via the Tierra del Sol Foundation. "They enrich our lives, our members' lives, and themselves."

Los Angeles pays for cell phones for nearly 12,000 municipal employees - more than a quarter of its workforce - City Controller Wendy Greuel said Tuesday, as she called for slashing that figure by 60 percent. Daily Bews,

Greuel said the city could save $5 million annually by taking phones away from about 7,200 workers by the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.

And she volunteered to turn in her own city phone and start using her personal phone for city business. She called on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and the 15 City Council members to follow suit.

Layoffs at Los Angeles Unified have left the district without state-mandated inspectors at dozens of school construction sites, potentially compromising the safety of children, the Daily News has learned. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Regulators have been warning the district for more than two months that California law requires a state-certified inspector to be assigned to every construction site, in order to ensure compliance with building and safety codes.

The Division of State Architect has the authority to shut down construction or withhold certification unless an inspector is present to oversee the work.

Los Angeles saved $32.2 million through employee furloughs during the first half of the fiscal year, putting it on track to reach its $64 million goal by June 30, officials said Monday. Daily News.

City Controller Wendy Greuel released her savings estimate as the City Council grapples to close a $50million budget shortfall during the current fiscal year and a deficit of more than $350 million in 2011-12.

"These savings certainly helped reduce the city's budget deficit," Greuel said in her report to the council and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Unofficially launching the 2013 mayoral campaign, City Controller Wendy Greuel said Monday she will file paperwork this week that will allow her to raise money in a potential run for mayor in 2013.Daily News.

Greuel, 47, estimated she would need to raise $3 million to $4 million in order to mount a viable campaign - especially since two millionaires are also considering a run.

Greuel said she will notify the Ethics Commission this week of her plans, allowing her to begin raising money when the period officiallly opens Saturday.