January 2012 Archives

City Councilman Eric Garcetti is finding the downside of being a popular politician, with someone developingi a Twitter account using his name.
"So far, it seems harmlesss, but we would prefer people got the real information from us," spokesman Yusef Robb, said of the site: #eric_garcetti.
The site, with a picture of an open-mouthed Garcetti identifies him as "your next mayor, your next best friend, your next everything."
Tweets on it are fairly harmless items, but aides are concerned it could develop into something malicious.
"We wish they had a more appropriate name like #toomuchtimeonour hands,' Robb said.
--30--

Residents of Sunland-Tujunga feel betrayed. Sherman Oaks and Studio City residents are divided over what might happen to them. And there is wide confusion from Lake Balboa to Silver Lake over how they'll share a single City Council district. Daily News.
Last week the Los Angeles redistricting commission released new maps that dramatically reshape City Council districts. That's prompted a flurry of emergency meetings by neighborhood councils and other groups to determine how the new maps will affect them, while City Council members stage rallies in opposition to their new districts.

"If there is one thing that is certain, it is that these maps will change," said Arturo Vargas, chair of the 21-member redistricting committee.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Monday the soon-to-be completed Orange Line busway extension has at least $180 million in excess funding that can be spent on other transportation projects in the San Fernando Valley. Christina Villacorte in the Daily News.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority planned to spend $180 million from Measure R, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax. But, the agency secured enough state and local funding for the busway that it won't have to tap the Measure R money.

"We're committed to applying it to other San Fernando Valley projects," Villaraigosa said of the unused sales tax revenue.

With the election 15 months away, two city officials said Monday they have raised more than $1 million each in what is expected to be a crowded and costly race for mayor.
City Controller Wendy Greuel and Councilman Eric Garcetti each said they will file reports today showing they have exceeded the million-dollar mark at this point in the campaign.Daily News.

Greuel said she will report $1.1 million, having raised an additional $488,126 in the past six months.

Garcetti said he will report a total of $1,062,815 as of the Dec. 31 deadline.

- Gov. Jerry Brown told a Los Angeles TV station today that the state's proposed high speed rail system will cost much less than $100 billion, and will partly be funded by new taxes on major air pollution emitters. Daily News,

The governor told ABC 7's "Eyewitness Newsmakers" program that environmental impact fees paid by industries that emit large amounts of greenhouse gas will help fund the big train project. California has a "cap and trade" law that will collect fees if businesses do not reduce emissions, the governor said.

Flexing his power as newly appointed City Council president, Herb Wesson ousted council members Bernard Parks and Jan Perry from two key committees on Friday. Dakota Smith in the Daily News,

Wesson, who took over the presidency from Eric Garcetti in November, removed Parks as chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee. Parks, who held the position since 2003, was widely viewed in City Hall chambers as an astute and disciplined fiscal leader. He was replaced by Councilman Paul Krekorian.

Mayoral candidate Austin Beutner announced Friday he has dropped the campaign firm of SCN Straregic Consultants headed by Ace Smith in favor of Washington, D.C., consultant Bill Knapp for hius 2013 campaign for Los Angeles mayor.
Beutner said he was making the change at this time to better reflect what he wants the campaign to reflect his goals in the coming year.
Smith had handled the campaign of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Knapp has been involved in a number of Californian campaigns,.
**
Seag Clegg, a spokesman for the firm, said it decided to end its relationship with Beutner because of a disagreement over the direction of the campaign.

When Nancy Dominguez de Garrido was caught running a stop sign in San Fernando, she knew of no other choice but to pony up for the $234 ticket. | Watch the YouTube video here
Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.
She didn't realize she could have asked acting San Fernando Chief Lt. Jeffrey Eley to have it dismissed - as he did for another ticket, written the same morning for the same violation, issued to a high-level aide to Rep. Howard Berman.

"I don't think she considered that," said her son David Garrido, 18, of San Fernando. "It's messed up. They can do that, and Mom got a ticket and couldn't do anything about it.

Reluctant to invest $1 billion to rebuild Men's Central Jail, the county Board of Supervisors sought alternative proposals Tuesday to address the growing inmate population. Christina Villacorte in the Daily News,

Sheriff Lee Baca's plan to modernize the 50-year-old jail remains on the table, but the board wants to also consider "alternatives to incarceration" such as house arrest and ankle bracelets.

"There are counties and cities and states all over the country that have rethought the way they deal with their prison populations that could save us hundreds of millions of dollars without compromising anything," said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

Sheriff Lee Baca's plan to modernize the 50-year-old jail remains on the table, but the board wants to also consider "alternatives to incarceration" such as house arrest and ankle bracelets.

"There are counties and cities and states all over the country that have rethought the way they deal with their prison populations that could save us hundreds of millions of dollars without compromising anything," said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

Superintendent John Deasy is taking the first steps in restructuring Los Angeles Unified, with a plan that would thin the district's administrative ranks and redirect resources to improving classroom instruction. Barbasra Jones in the Daily News,

Under a draft of the proposed reorganization obtained by the Daily News, LAUSD's eight local district offices would be squeezed down to four, with a new structure that diversifies administrative responsibilities. A fifth office would be responsible for overseeing the overhaul of dozens of low-performing schools.

The plan would cut 64 of the system's 311 administrative positions, shaving nearly $6.3 million from a deficit of nearly a half-billion dollars.

After a few tough questions, a City Council committee Tuesday recommended energy industry consultant Fred Pickel fill the new position of ratepayer advocate for the Department of Water and Power. Melissa Pamer in the Daily News,

Pickel was nominated last week by a citizens committee to become executive director of the new Office of Public Accountability.

If confirmed by the full council and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Pickel will become the first ratepayer advocate providing analysis of DWP rates. Voters overwhelmingly approved creation of the position in a March ballot measure.

In the runup to the June primary election, Rep. Brad Sherman beat out Rep. Howard Berman from a Democratic Party endorsing conference on Sunday.
Sherman received 54 percent of the vote, to 36 percent for Berman, with the remaining members saying no endorsement should be given,
Sherman's campaign said the action is the first step needed in winning the full party endorsement.
The two Democratic Party stalwarts are facing off against each other as a result of redistricting where their congressional districts were combined.
\

Fred Pickel last month was named ratepayer advocate for the Department of Water and Power, which now can seek higher rates. (Photo Courtesy of Kevin Mapp)
For the man nominated as Los Angeles' first-ever utility ratepayer advocate, the challenges are already mounting. Melissa Pamere in the Daily News.

On Tuesday, utility consultant Fred Pickel faces his first confirmation hearing to be executive director of the Department of Water and Power's Office of Public Accountability.

The next day, the City Council is slated to consider an "emergency" water rate increase - the first in a queue of major utility rate hikes expected to soon be proposed by the DWP.

Tipoff: Gov. Jerry Brown gets out of Sacramento to pitch tax plan.

When Dodgers owner Frank McCourt announced last November he was selling the team, dozens of fans rushed to the streets of Echo Park, gathering near Dodger Stadium to celebrate the end of McCourt's tumultuous reign. Daily News,

Now that the sale is inching closer to reality, many fans have high expectations for an ownership group that cannot only maintain success on the field, but restore pride in the team as a civic institution.

Monday is the deadline for potential buyers of the team to submit their initial bids to McCourt. And unlike when McCourt bought the Dodgers, this time around there is a long list of heavy hitters lining up to bid on the team, many with deep pockets and a wealth of experience in business and sports management.

The acting police chief of San Fernando has been put on leave during an investigation into alleged ticket fixing on behalf of an aide to Rep. Howard Berman highlighted in a police video shown on YouTube. | Watch the YouTube video here/ Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

San Fernando Police Chief Tony Ruelas returned to work days before he retires Monday to put Acting Police Chief Lt. Jeff Eley on administrative leave, the city announced late Friday.

He was replaced Thursday by Acting Chief Lt. Robert Parks, a 28-year veteran of the department.

Labor leaders and city officials rallied outside an Atwater Village plant Thursday morning to call for more regulation of the private waste industry. | See photo gallery.Dakota Smith at the Daily News,

"Shame on you, shame on you," shouted union members, who sought to embarrass executives at American Reclamation, which operates the waste sorting facility.

The company is under investigation by California Division of Occupational Safety and Health over worker conditions. The California Labor Commissioner is also investigating retaliation threats made against those who complain at the site.

Rebecca Mieliwocki, known for inspiring her seventh-grade English students at Luther Burbank Middle School in Burbank, was named Thursday as one of four finalists for the 60th annual National Teacher of the Year Award.Barbara Jones in the Daiiy News,

Mieliwocki was notified about two weeks ago, then sworn to secrecy, that she had made the final cut from among nearly 287,000 public school teachers in California, and an estimated 3.2 million nationwide.

If she is announced as the winner in April, she'll be honored at a Rose Garden ceremony with President Barack Obama. She'll then embark on a yearlong speaking tour, sharing with educators and others the infectious enthusiasm and unflagging optimism that have made her a favorite among students and colleagues.

With President Barack Obama's new plan to streamline the visa process, the prospect of having more tourists arrive in Los Angeles left the head of a local business group feeling "ecstatic." Christina Villacorte in the Daily News,

"Tourism is extremely important to all of us," said Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association.

"With the Wizarding World of Harry Potter coming to Universal Studios as well, this is going to be a boom for Los Angeles."

Amid mounting confusion and frustration over how cities control medical marijuana clinics, the state Supreme Court will try to bring some order to the chaos of local regulations. Daily News,

Representatives from both sides said Thursday they welcome the court's intervention as a way to develop common guidelines on where dispensaries are allowed and how they will operate.

Measures adopted by the cities of Long Beach, Upland and Riverside will be reviewed but the court decision will also affect the city of Los Angeles, which has a measure in place similar to the Long Beach law and is now considering a ban on all dispensaries.

After delivering his annual State of the State address in Sacramento Wednesday morning, Gov. Jerry Brown took his show on the road, flying to Los Angeles to make his pitch for new taxes and sharp budget cuts to local politicians and teachers.

Brown delivered a version of his speech at Los Angeles City Hall and then headed to Burbank to meet privately with teachers and administrators.

While most local leaders are wary of Brown's plan for severe spending reductions and elimination of community redevelopment agencies, some offered support for other proposals, like a $100 billion high-speed rail line from Sacramento to San Diego.

Speaking for big cities nationwide, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Wednesday called for the federal government to develop new economic policies that recognize and invest in urban areas. Daiiy News.

In his role as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Villaraigosa used the group's meeting in Washington D.C. to take on Congress and urge passage of measures to reinvest in cities and the nation.

"The American people need an economic strategy and not a political strategy," Villaraigosa said. "If we gave the 112th Congress a mid-term report card, the grade would be clear: Congress would get an F."

Riding a wave of popular, hometown support, political newcomer and Los Angeles police officer Joe Buscaino swept to a stunning 20-point blowout Tuesday to fill the vacant Harbor-to-Watts district seat on the Los Angeles City Council.Donna Littlejohn in the Daily Breeze,,

With all of the ballots counted, Buscaino ended with 60.7 percent of the vote to Assemblyman Warren Furutani's 39.3 percent.

Some 15 percent of the voters turned out for the special runoff election.

Although a $200 million settlement of a lawsuit over the 2008 Metrolink crash in Chatsworth was approved last summer, victims on Tuesday continued to press their case that they should get additional funds because of medical expenses that far exceed those payments. Bob Strauss in the Daily News,

They were disappointed, however, when an attorney for the employer of the train engineer believed responsible for the crash abruptly canceled his scheduled meeting with the victims and their families.

Some 35 people gathered at the Ventura Government Center Tuesday afternoon for a pre-arranged meeting with Alan B. Moldawer, executive vice president and general counsel of Veolia Transportation, Inc. Under contract with Metrolink, the French-owned company had employed Robert Sanchez, the engineer determined to be responsible for the disaster because he was text messaging while operating the train.

Expanding the debate on the future of Los Angeles Unified, a divided school board on Tuesday ordered a study on the pros and cons of erasing the district's attendance boundaries.Barbara Jones in the Daily News,

Superintendent John Deasy will return in 90 days with a study that dovetails with another report he's compiling on ways to increase the district's sagging enrollment and expand its successful magnet program.

On a parallel track, administrators at underperforming schools are preparing their own plans to improve student achievement, beginning with the fall semester.

This convergence of events sparked heated debate among board members, who split 4-3 on whether to explore the attendance boundary issue.

Ten months after voters created the position, a citizens commission Tuesday picked an energy industry expert and neighborhood council member as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's first ratepayer advocate.Daily News,

Fred Pickel, 59, will become executive director of the new Office of Public Accountability if confirmed by the City Council and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Pickel is president of Wilshire Energy Consulting Group, a collaborative of experts who work with energy industry clients. He is also president of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council.

Despite the threat of lawsuits and forcing production underground, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday gave final approval to a measure requiring the use of condoms in adult film shoots.Daily News,

The 9-1 vote, with Councilman Mitch Englander objecting, now sends the proposal to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for consideration. Aides said he will study the proposal before deciding whether to sign it.

"The mayor is a proponent of safe sex, but doesn't have a take on this particular ordinance," spokesman Peter Sanders said.

As he did during his first term as governor, Gov. J erry Brown is planning to make a Los Angeles version of his "State of the State" address Wednesday afternoon _ and capping off his day with a visit to an old haunt, Lucy's El Adobe.
Brown is scheduled to make his formal address tomorrow morning in Sacramento and then fly down to Los Angeles where he will make a speech in City Hall's Board of Public Works hearing room.
From there, he will go to El Adobe to meet with political supporters.

Tipoff: The unanswered qauestion of 2013; ratepayer advocate appointment nears.

A tug-of-war has ensued over whether Los Angeles police should impound the cars of unlicensed drivers, or let the mostly illegal immigrants arrange to have the vehicles driven home.Dana Bartholomew in the Daily News.

Chief Charlie Beck said this week he will soon stop the 30-day seizures, which he calls a police procedure not determined by the police commission or City Council.

Some council members, however, dub the decision a shift in public policy that should be reviewed by elected leaders. They have moved to block Beck's planned change to impound procedures.

For years, 311 has been advertised as the way for Los Angeles residents to request service and file complaints with one call to City Hall.Daily News.

Now, it's a victim of its own success -- and budget cuts.

Four years ago, the system had 50 operators for 1.4 million calls. This year, 311 has half as many operators to answer an estimated 1.2 million calls.

The result is a system increasingly overwhelmed with calls -- and one that crashes when operators are unavailable to answer.

The chief executive officer of the beleaguered California High Speed Rail Authority resigned abruptly Thursday amid mounting criticism of the agency's current plans for building a bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Christina Villacorte in the Daily News.

"The time has come to focus more on my family and other interests," said Roelof Van Ark, who will step down in March. He was appointed in June 2010.

The shake-up did not end there.

It's not going be the typical chamber of commerce mixer. Instead of a business card exchange and brief chat, this networking scene will play out over nine days in the cultural time warp that is Cuba. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News,.

Why Cuba?

Why not Cuba, reasons Nancy Hoffman Vanyek, CEO of the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce, which is sponsoring the trip.

Los Angeles missed out on $23.1 million that it should have earned from the city's bus stop furniture contract, according to a just released audit.Daily News.

Controller Wendy Greuel in her analysis of the 2002 contract with CBS Decaux said the city was slow to permit street furniture, which reduced the amount of advertising revenue the city could earn.

Under the contract, CBS Decaux was to install street furniture that included public toilets, transit shelters, newsstands and public amenity pillars and kiosks containing 3,430 advertising panels. The company was in charge of selling the advertising and it was to provide a portion of its earnings back to the city. However, as of last year, the city had approved permits for about 69 percent of the panels.

Mayor Antonio Villlaraigosa is heading back to Washington, D.C., next week as part of a trip leading a delegation of mayors to meet with President Obama.
Villaraigoa, who is serving as president of the U.S. Confererence of Mayors, willalso be releasing a report on the state of the cities.
During the conference, the mauyors will meet with members of Congress and the Adminisration to discuss job creation and economic development.
Villaraigosa is expected to be in Washington on Tuesday and return to Los Angeles on Friday.

Double-digit unemployment and high foreclosure activity. Rising food and utility bills. Stagnating income and savings. Barbara Jones in the Daily News.

With families facing challenges like these, the Los Angeles Unified School District may find itself facing an uphill battle persuading two-thirds of L.A. area voters to approve a $270-a-year parcel tax.

Factor in Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed half-cent sales tax hike for education - along with other tax and fee measures likely to appear on the same Nov. 6 ballot - and LAUSD's path to victory gets even steeper, political experts said Wednesday.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Brian Cummings replaced three members of his command staff this week, becoming the first chief to use the new power granted by a ballot measure passed last year.CJ Liin in the Daily News.

The three who were replaced - Chief Deputy Donald Frazeur, Chief Deputy Emile Mack and Deputy Chief Andy Fox - will be demoted to the rank of assistant chiefs and reassigned other duties effective Feb. 12, according to officials.

Six months after an audit exposed problems with LAPD's evidence rooms, concerns remain that the department's outdated tracking system could lose evidence crucial to criminal cases. CJ Lin in the Daily News.

The June audit looked at the current evidence tracking system, installed 20 years ago, and found errors in 6 percent of the pieces studied. The audit said evidence was not described accurately, items weren't stored where they were supposed to be, and the potential for the program to malfunction was "imminent."

"It's certainly a risk," said Richard Drooyan, president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian oversight board of the LAPD.

The city severed ties with the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles on Wednesday, ending a 64-year relationship with a department praised and criticized for funneling millions of dollars to developers. Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

By a 9-3 vote, the City Council rejected becoming CRA/LA's "successor agency," saying the financial risk is too grave.

The successor agency is tasked with winding down operations and liquidating the CRA/LA, which has been abolished by state law

Facing a budget deficit of more than a half-billion dollars for 2012-13, Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy today proposed a parcel tax for the November ballot as a way to head off cuts he said would decimate the nation's second-largest school district.Barbara Jones in the Daily News,

Presenting an update on the impacts of the proposed state budget Deasy said the district has already accrued a deficit of $543 million for the new school year because of deferrals in state funding over the last five years.

That shortfall could grow by as much as $278 million if voters defeat a plan by Gov. Jerry Brown to salavage public education through a sale-tax hike and higher income taxes for Californians earning more than $250,000.

Free speech advocates swooped down Tuesday on the Hall of Administration and blocked - at least for now - a proposal they believe would have restricted the public's ability to address the Board of Supervisors at its weekly meetings.Christina Villacorte in the Daiy News.

"The proposal concerning public speaking proposed today is illegal," said George Buzzetti, policy director for the Congress of Racial Equality for California, a civil rights group.

Buzzetti was one of almost a dozen people who spoke on the issue Tuesday during the board of supervisors meeting.

A city report released Tuesday recommends Los Angeles relinquish its role with the Community Redevelopment Agency, stating the financial risks are too burdensome. Dakota Smith in the Daily News

Absorbing the remnants of CRA/LA could cost the city as much as $109 million for fiscal year 2012-2013, Chief Administrator Officer Miguel Santana said.

"The risk is too big," Santana said, adding the city is already facing a $200 million deficit next fiscal year.

"Our primary responsibility is to the general fund and to our employees."

In a bold attempt to regulate safe sex practices on adult film sets, City Council members tentatively approved a measure on Tuesday that would require the use of condoms in order to get film permits. Daily News,

The City Council ordinance caps months of debate at City Hall over how - and if - to oversee a billion-dollar industry accused of skirting local filming regulations. Similar attempts by groups to monitor condom use in the adult film industry have been met with threats of lawsuits and cries of Big Brother government.

The City Council voted 11 to 1, with Councilman Mitch Englander casting the dissenting vote. A final procedural vote is set for Tuesday.

NASHUA, N.H. - For political junkies who fly in from around the country every four years to enjoy classic election theater, the campaign for Tuesday's New Hampshire primary shaped up as a letdown. Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

New Hampshire's make-or-break influence on the presidential race had shrunk in recent decades. Curiosity about the 2012 candidates had been diluted by months of nationally televised debates. Only the Republicans had a real contest going, so there were fewer contenders and fewer events.

With polls leaving little doubt New England local Mitt Romney would top the vote, rivals already were turning to the next battle. Even the weather was disappointing - meaning it wasn't as freezing as normal for January, and roadside campaign signs weren't buried in snow up to their slogans.

Huggy Bob" Hertzberg could be planning a political comeback. Daily News,

Bob Hertzberg, the former Assembly speaker who left politics after losing his bid for Los Angeles mayor, said Monday he is considering a run for the state Senate.

"Once we know what the district will look like, I can decide whether to get in," Hertzberg said of his intention to run for the 27th state Senate District seat now held by Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Simi Valley.

Liningf up for Gallegly seat

Rep. Elton Gallegly's announcement last week that he will retire has set off a chain reaction of potential successors in the June 5 election. Daily News.

Ventura County Supervisor and moderate Republican Linda Parks announced her candidacy Monday. Democrat Supervisor Steve Bennett had already thrown his hat in the ring, and aides to state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Simi Valley, said he will make his decision in the coming days.

With the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles facing dissolution, local and state leaders are scrambling to understand how to shut down the multi-million-dollar agency while still preserving some of its blight-fighting powers. Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

Last month, the California Supreme Court upheld a ruling that ends the state's community redevelopment agencies, putting CRA/LA out of business as of Feb. 1.

Established in 1945, redevelopment agencies collect tax dollars in blighted areas to encourage and fund new development and affordable housing. Critics of the agencies, including Gov. Jerry Brown, successfully fought this year to divert the tax funds to core state services, such as education.

Tipoff: Councilwoman Jan Perry developing plan on new city-schools lrelationship.

A series of simple steps like buying better light bulbs and disconnecting unused phone lines has helped Los Angeles County save about $218 million a year under an efficiency initiative triggered by the budget crisis. Christina Villacorte in the Daily News,.

County Chief Executive Officer William Fujioka launched the effort in spring 2009 as the county faced a massive deficit.

Seven of the 26 cases filed so far against Occupy L.A. protesters have been dismissed due to paperwork errors made by police officers during the Nov. 30 raid. Dakota Smith in the Daily News,

In the first batch of cases filed by the City Attorney's Office, six were voluntarily dismissed because Los Angeles Police Department officers listed the wrong arresting officer on the arrest sheet.

Additionally, a seventh case was dismissed by the court because the wrong officer's name was listed on a report.

Sure, crime was down in 2011, yet again. But 2012 has really gotten off to a bad start.CJ Lin in the Daily News.

In the span of one week, Los Angeles saw dozens of vehicles torched in a one-man arson spree; seven officer- or deputy-involved shootings; a freeway shutdown for the manhunt of a parolee who shot a parole agent; and at least eight killings.

Still, LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck thinks that one bad week doesn't represent an omen of the year ahead.

"We have bad weeks all the time," Beck said,

Crime down to 1952 levels
Crime in Los Angeles fell for the ninth consecutive year in 2011, marking a drop to historic levels on par with those last seen in 1952, officials said Thursday. CJ Lin in the Daily News,

Violent crime citywide was down 7.3 percent and the number of rapes reported was down almost 20 percent - although the 298 reported murders was one more than in 2010, police said.

Gang crime was also down significantly, marking a 15.2 drop from 2010, but gang-related murders was slightly up at 170 in 2011 from 161 in 2010.

Locked in the toughest campaign battle of his life, U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman was asked Thursday why voters should pick him over fellow Democrat Rep. Howard Berman. Dakota
Smith in the Daily News,

"I am accessible," Sherman replied, noting he made 300 appearances at San Fernando Valley events in 2011. "It's not only that I'm in the Valley, it's that I am at events at the Valley."

But Gene Smith, campaign manager for Berman, immediately countered: "Brad goes to the opening of every envelope in the Valley. But how many bills has he passed?"

Plans have been shelved for MetroStudios@Lankershim, a controversial 1.5 million square foot office tower planned atop a subway stop near Universal City, executives at Thomas Properties Group said Wednesday. Dakota Smith in the Daily News.
In a statement, Thomas Properties Group said real estate market conditions led to the cancellation of the project, which was intended to house NBCUniversal as an anchor tenant. Additionally, NBCUniversal's needs have changed, said executives at the media company.

"While we are disappointed that the project is not in a position to proceed at this time due to the economic climate and its impact on the real estate market, we continue to have a strong working relationship with NBCUniversal," James A. Thomas, chairman and CEO of Thomas Properties said in a statement.

Billionaire developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers manager Joe Torre confirmed Wednesday they will join the bidding to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from embattled owner Frank McCourt. Daily News.
The pair will likely make a formidable entry into what has become a crowded field of suitors eyeing the bankrupt team.

Other potential buyers include a range of businessmen and former athletes such as Orel Hershiser and Steve Garvey, Magic Johnson, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and even talk show host Larry King.

Seeking a greater political voice for the San Fernando Valley, dozens of local leaders called for a major re-do of the city's council district map at a Tuesday night hearing. Dakota Smith in the Daily News

Representatives from Sherman Oaks, Sun Valley and Granada Hills spoke in favor of creating six districts contained wholly in the Valley. The region currently has seven districts, but two stretch over the Santa Monica mountains into Hollywood and West Los Angeles.

"Someone from Los Angeles presiding over the hill can't possibly understand Valley concerns," said Cherie Mann, a member of the Granada Hills Neighborhood Council. "It's a whole other planet, really."

A new era began Tuesday for the Los Angeles City Council as Councilman Herb Wesson took over as council president, the first change in leadership since 2005. Daily News

And, if first impressions mean anything, Wesson was able to gavel the meeting to order at 10:04 when 12 of the 14 current members were present. A 13th member showed up minutes later.

There is one vacancy left by former Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who was elected to Congress, and another seat is temporarily empty while Councilman Bernard Parks is recuperating from surgery.

The same technology that points gadget geeks to the nearest Starbucks or maps alternate routes to the freeway is now helping them turn the tables on would-be thieves. C.J. Lin in the Daily News,

Take, for example, Kenneth Gootnick's decision to install a program on his iPad to help him store contact data online. It turned out to be a smart move that helped him recover thousands of dollars in goods stolen from his home on Christmas morning.

Gootnick, a business adviser from Westlake Village, had installed a cloud application called MobileMe on the iPad to help him look up his contacts from an online server no matter what device he used. Fortunately, it also helps track the location of hardware that has the program installed.

Tipoff: Community asks that it have one council member; Controller Wendy Greuel hits the new year running.