A likely precursor to litigation, the claim prepared by the law offices of Akudinobi & Ikonte asserts that "city officials were slow in enforcing the order” for the club to stop operating.

Amount of damages for Ebony's death are listed as "unknown" however "the damages exceed the jurisdictional limit for a limited jurisdiction action.”

Unfortunately, they helpfully copied hundreds of pages of Form 460s. The forms were filled in by hand, wildly varied in their completeness, scrawled in degrees of illegibility. There was no way to quickly browse the information, to do any kind of meaningful comparison. To actually search for a donor's name required you flip every single page of every single candidate's forms.

Mrs. Clinton entered the room Tuesday night not as the underdog, but as a curiosity. Primed by cable newscasts, viewers were eager to witness the latest incarnation: Would she seem sensitive or sarcastic? Bountiful or brass-knuckled? Magisterial or just plain mad? Earlier in the day on MSNBC, when a Clinton supporter said the candidate should just be herself, the anchor, David Gregory, replied, “I don’t mean to be cynical about this, but which self?”

"The city of Pasadena is looking at ways for all recreational loop users to have a safe and enjoyable experience. A public meeting to discuss improvements is scheduled Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. in the Mediterranean Room at Brookside Clubhouse, 1133 Rosemont Ave."

Drove up and parked right in the old lot at the top last night. With the major renovation work being subterranean, the structure's footprint is little changed, and the interior still offers an unchanged, intimate experience. After more than a year, a couple of the exhibits no longer functioned, which struck a sentimental chord with me.

By Bob Tourtellotte and Paul Eckert

LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Oscar-winning film director Steven Spielberg withdrew on Tuesday as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing over China's policy on the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

"I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual," Spielberg said in a statement issued on a day when Nobel Peace laureates sent a letter to China's president urging a change in policies toward its ally Sudan.

"At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur," he added.

Perhaps there were too many parallels with another standards-defining film auteur, Heroine* of the Third Reich Leni Riefenstahl, who also spent the final arc of her career focused on the Sudan.

* Fixed, though I kind of liked the metaphoric appeal of "heroin."

Either way, it wouldn't be surprising if schools rethink the practice of sending children into portable, enclosed and darkened theaters with a third-party contractor. (Picture of "the bubble" at the preceding link.)

Of course statistics show most sexual abuse occurs at the home, by family or friends. Although I won't be covering the trial any further, I got the sense in court Monday that the defense is likely to bring that fact up and try arguing that Smith -- who has pleaded innocent -- was a convenient scape-goat.

(Picture is copyright Mobile Productions Inc., linked here under fair use provisions.)

It's Lt. Chekov, not "Checkov."

At least Chekhov would have netted the right nationality and lent a convenient literary defense!

Assemblymember Anthony Portantino Announces Candidacy for Assembly Speaker

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today Assemblymember Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) announced his intention to run for the position of Assembly Speaker.

“With the date now set by the Caucus, I would like formally announce my candidacy for Speaker of the Assembly. I intend to meet with my Assembly Democratic colleagues to make my case on how to move California forward. I believe my performance to date and my positive, consensus-building approach to tackling California’s challenges shows I have something to offer,” Portantino said in announcing his bid.

The Assembly Democratic Caucus today agreed to hold a vote for Speaker on March 11th.

Despite being a freshman legislator, Anthony arrived in Sacramento with heavy-weight status, drawing attention from the party apparatus for the enormous sum of cash he raised.

Anthony really had no chance of losing to his opponents in late 2006, but raised the money just to show that he could. Trying to find my story from the time but it seems to have escaped the grasp of our internal archive.

Not a lot of attention was paid to Proposition 93, but now that the term limit "tweak" has been defeated, all the uncertain political futures -- from lines of succession to chamber migration -- can be cast.

Voters kept pols like state Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, from having to make a decision on whether to seek another term -- he's out. Sighs of relief from the likes of former Assemblywoman Carol Liu who can move forward with seeking his seat as planned.

I often get copied on e-mails pertaining to back-and-forth disputes, from topics serious to insane.

Recently, my inbox has witnessed a quiet feud between Lisa Derderian and Ann Erdman, of the Pasadena Fire Department and City Hall, respectively.

Both women are heads of public information duties, and it's precisely their heads at stake -- at least what's on them.

From what I've been able to reconstruct, Lisa sent this photo to Ann to rub in just how awesome her PIO helmet is:

Gripped with jealousy, Ann put her leet crafting skills to work to forge a helm worthy of her station:

Maybe now that Measure D has passed, they can give that thing a proper retrofit.

Didn't have a breakdown of vote-by-mails and PAVs versus actual votes cast Tuesday night. Political consultant Fred Register said the results showed support had narrowed in the ensuing weeks -- but not enough to drop below a majority of support.

In other news, Tuesday night also saw the first class I'm teaching at the University of La Verne. Polling the group to find out what sources they get their news from, one erudite student shouted -- "Your blog!"

I'm seeing a bright future for that one.

Voters OK user tax, bond measures
By Caroline An and Kenneth Todd Ruiz, Staff Writers
Article Launched: 02/06/2008 10:50:22 PM PST

PASADENA -- Anxiety over the economy didn't stop voters from agreeing to be taxed in Pasadena and giving generously to schools in San Gabriel.

After all the votes were counted early Wednesday morning, Pasadena's utility user tax was passed by a comfortable margin, with 58 percent of 30,860 voters supporting it.

"We all recognize that the Internet is a new technology that is changing the face of today's world and avoiding taxation of this new technology is a good policy," said Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard. "Pasadena simply wants to maintain a tax on telephone services that has been in place for 40 years."