September 2007 Archives

As the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power seeks a hefty taxpayer rate hike, a Daily News review of salary data shows the average utility worker makes $76,949 a year - or nearly 20 percent more than the average civilian city worker. Beth Barrett in the Daily News.

More than 1,140 of the utility's employees - or about 13 percent - take home more than $100,000 a year. And General Manager Ron Deaton, who is on medical leave, rakes in $344,624 a year - making him the city's highest- paid worker.

DWP salaries are on average higher than city and far higher than private-sector workers' even as the utility has come under fire for recent power outages and another round of rate hikes: A 9percent, three-year electric-rate hike and a 6 percent, two-year water-rate hike

Even more:
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Go here, for a complete data base on the salary of all DWP workers.

With the glut of advertisements hitting airline passengers everywhere from terminal walkways to in-flight magazines, companies will soon reach new heights in hawking their wares. Art Marroquin in the Daily News.

Signs the size of three football fields are expected to appear along the flight paths of Los Angeles International Airport and other international aviation hubs as part of a marketing blitz crafted by Ad-Air, a London-based advertising agency.

The signs are designed to lie flat on the ground and be spotted by passengers on inbound and outbound flights, said Kate Rosser, an Ad-Air spokeswoman.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president Friday, then suggested that the one-time New York mayor is too liberal for conservative voters in the California primary. Associated Press.

Riordan, a moderate Republican who was elected to two terms as Los Angeles mayor, spoke as Giuliani campaigned in the city and visited Riordan's famed restaurant, The Original Pantry Cafe.

"Rudy Giuliani is too liberal for the solid, right-wing Republicans in California, that part of the party," Riordan said. "But I do believe, when it comes to the presidency and the national election, these people may put that apart and look at him as the type of leader our country needs."

A major New York fundraiser for GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has been revealed as the money man behind a proposed ballot measure that would have changed California's winner-take-all Electoral College vote system - and likely benefited Republicans. San Francisco Chornicle.

Paul Singer, a billionaire hedge fund executive and Giuliani policy adviser, acknowledged his role to the New York Daily News on Friday just a day after GOP organizers in California said they were folding their effort to collect signatures for the group called Californians for Equal Representation.

The Chronicle reported earlier this week that Missouri attorney Charles Hurtt III was the legal agent for a tax-exempt corporation called "Take Initiative America," which provided the sole donation - $175,000 - to the effort to qualify the measure for the California ballot.

Hundreds of nonprofit youth groups in the San Fernando Valley and across the city would have to pay to use Los Angeles Unified facilities and athletic fields under plans quietly set to launch next year. Naush Boghossian at the Daily News.

The move comes just two years after district officials abandoned similar efforts after a broad public outcry that it could force youth groups to cancel thousands of worthwhile after-school events.

Superintendent David Brewer III, who is reviewing the options, said a fee is needed to offset the $3.8 million a year the district pays for utilities, maintenance and other costs involved in making the facilities available.

"We're one of only very few school districts that do not charge, including the city, so all we're doing is coming in line with everybody else," Brewer said.

Efforts to halt the planned auction of the historic Van Nuys Library failed Friday when the Los Angeles City Council rejected pleas to retain the building as a cultural landmark. Daily News.

"We have done all we can to keep this, but the city Library Department and other agencies have determined this is the best course of action," said Councilman Tony Cardenas.

"I am not happy about the loss of any services to my district, but I have been assured the money raised from the sale of this building will come back to the residents of the 6th District."

Frustrated at the lack of progress in improving Los Angeles' traffic gridlock, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a major restructuring in the city's transportation department Friday. Daily News.

At a City Hall news conference, Villaraigosa said he is moving Rita Robinson from the Bureau of Sanitation back to temporarily take over transportation. The current general manager, Gloria Jeff, resigned, he said.

Robinson had been a deputy general manager in the department before being named to head the Sanitation Bureau.

Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks, is introducing a resolution calling for a three-state solution in Iraq.

The nonbinding measurel is similar to one that Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Joe Biden, passed in the Senate earlier this week to break Iraq into Kurdish, Sunni and Shia sections.

But, Gallegly spokesman Thomas Pfeifer said, the congressman has been considering the concept of federalized regions for years -- on his own.

``They are simpatico, but he's not doing it because Biden did,'' Pfeifer said of the resolution.

Gallegly's bill calls for Iraq to remain unified but for Shiites, Sunis and Kurds to be granted powers in federal regiosn to conduct most day-to-day government functions. The central government would be in charge of national issues like the sharing of oil revenue and foriegn policy.

“Sectarian violence is a major component of instability in Iraq, and I believe the creation of federal districts along sectarian lines would greatly reduce the violence,” Gallegly said in a statement. “Our military success in Iraq coupled with a political solution will resolve the divisions and lead to long-term security in that country.”

Several influential Republicans resigned abruptly Thursday from a political committee established to change the way California awards its electoral votes in presidential elections—a proposal Democrats said was an attempt to rig the 2008 election in favor of the GOP nominee. Associated Press in the Mercury News.

The shake-up dealt a devastating and likely fatal blow to the attempt to change the California vote rules for 2008. The committee was struggling because of poor fundraising, and even Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had said he was dubious about the idea of changing the rules.

"Sometimes it just doesn't work out," said Kevin Eckery, a committee spokesman who also resigned Thursday. "The money hasn't been coming in the way it needs to come in."

A budding "lights out" movement could darken Los Angeles County for one hour next month. Allison Hewitt in the Daily News.

The plan is to turn off as many lights as possible - in homes and offices, government buildings and public landmarks - to reduce pollution and raise awareness about energy conservation. Lights needed for safety reasons, such as streetlights and stoplights, would remain on.

The effort began in Australia, gained momentum in San Francisco, and got a boost this week when county Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke introduced a motion supporting Lights Out Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County beaches had the worst water quality in the state over the summer, despite record-low rainfall and improvements at the notoriously polluted Santa Monica Bay, an environmental group reported Thursday. Daily News.

Heal the Bay assigned letter grades ranging from A to F to 494 beaches along the California coast, based on bacteria pollution levels detected at monitoring stations from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

According to the group, 17 percent of Los Angeles County beaches earned F grades during the summer, making it the worst county in the state for beach water quality.

A $1 billion development that would shape the North Hollywood skyline took a big step forward Thursday as the Metro board approved negotiating with Lowe Enterprises for the massive mixed-use project. Daily News.

Details of the plan will be worked out over the next six months, but the initial deal for the NoHo Art Wave includes more than 1.72 million square feet of retail, commercial and residential development.

The complex on Metro-owned land at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards would revitalize 15.6 acres near a San Fernando Valley subway and bus hub and include 562 housing units - with 15 percent set aside for low-income residents.

Former Gov. Pete Wilson, who had many of the problems on social issues that now confront Rudy Giuliani in his quest for the presidency, came out Thursday to endorse Giuliani for the GOP nomination as actor-director Rob Reiner announced he is backing New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic position.

The Giuliani campaign issued a statement, noting:

" Wilson, whose public service in California ranged from serving as Mayor of San Diego to U.S. Senator to two-term Governor, is the latest in a strong delegation of support for Giuliani in California.

"Wilson is currently a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Similar to Rudy Giuliani’s accomplishments as New York City Mayor, Wilson gained prominence by revitalizing San Diego in his eleven years as Mayor. In San Diego, Wilson declared an increased emphasis on public safety and held the city government accountable.

“The Republican Party is fortunate to have Rudy Giuliani as a candidate. Rudy’s executive experience and record of results in New York are unmatched,” said Governor Wilson. “Rudy has proven he is the leader and the problem solver this country needs as President, and he is the Republican’s best opportunity to win the general election because of that.”

“Pete Wilson’s accomplishments in virtually all levels of government in California prove that common sense governing is key to success in public service,” said Mayor Giuliani. “Pete will be an excellent advocate for our campaign and I am grateful to have his support.”

In the meantime, the Clinton campaign quoted Reiner as saying:

Until now, my wife Michele and I have supported all of the Democratic candidates. After watching the candidates debate, stake out their positions on the issues and lay out their visions for our nation, it is clear that Hillary Clinton should be our next president.

Today, I am excited and proud to endorse Hillary Clinton and pledge to do everything I can to elect her.

Hillary has what it takes to get us out of Iraq, and ensure that we truly keep our nation's promise to "leave no child behind."

Calling same-sex marriage a civil right, more than a dozen San Fernando Valley clergy members joined a statewide effort Wednesday to pressure the California Supreme Court to end the ban on gay marriages. Sue Abram in the Daily News.

Ahead of what is widely expected to be the next major state Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, reverends, pastors and rabbis met at St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Hollywood to announce they would file 30 amicus briefs, formal documents intended to persuade courts on an issue.

The religious leaders, who were joined by 90 civil-rights organizations across the state that also filed briefs, are hoping to influence the court's decision on an upcoming review of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban on gay marriage.

Warning that residential neighborhoods are at risk of being overbuilt, Los Angeles city officials on Wednesday said they will seek to limit future development and bonuses to developers who provide affordable housing. Daily News.

The move comes after county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky sent a four-page letter to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa indicating his concern that protections approved by voters to limit the height of buildings are in jeopardy.

Yaroslavsky said the density bonuses permitted under a 2005 state law are a "poorly thought-out effort" to increase affordable housing at the expense of residential areas.

Getting a Senate vote on the "Dream Act" bill granting illegal immigrant students a shot at legalization is becoming a nightmare for supporters, who said this week they have been besieged by angry faxes and phone calls. Lisa Friedman and Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Activists said illegal immigration hard-liners have mobilized against the bill. A vote that had been tentatively scheduled for last week was forced off the table, and now advocates said the bill might not see the light of day until next week.

"We still have a good chance of getting a vote, but opponents have made it very clear they will use any and every tool at their disposal," said Josh Bernstein, federal policy director for the National Immigration Law Center.

California taxpayers have foot the Iraq War bill to the tune of $57.8 billion so far -- nearly 13 percent of the total war spending, according to a liberal anti-war group that has broken down war spending state-by-state.

The National Priorities Project estimates come as Congress is considering a $147 billion Department of Defense spending bill. The group estimates that if that and other war-related funding requests are approved, California's share of Iraq spending will mount to $78.1 billion.

That's more than any other state -- hardly a surprise, given California's population size.

The Department of Education this morning announced millions of dolalrs to Hispanic-serving institutions in Southern California.

The money is part if $17.2 million in grant funding aimed at expanding educational opportunities at colleges and other post-secondary school that serve a large number of Hispanic students.

Among the local recipients:

- University of LaVerne: $483,500
- California State University of San Bernardino: $499,994
- Valley Glen, Los Angeles Valley College: $570,693.
- Ventura College: $574,011.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will announce this morning the single largest donation ever made by individuals to Los Angeles schools this morning in his latest effort to raise funds for a plan to control a cluster of them. Daily News.

Real estate developers Richard and Melanie Lundquist will donate $50 million over 10 years to the Partnership for Los Angles Schools, the nonprofit organization that will allow mayoral oversight of two low-performing high schools and the middle and elementary campuses that feed into them.

The money donated by the owners of Continental Development may also be used at other schools, according to Villaraigosa aides.

Los Angeles' $15 million, high-tech camera system designed to catch red-light runners let nearly half of all violators in the San Fernando Valley off the hook last year because the drivers couldn't be identified, according to police data. Rachel Uranga in the Daily News.

While officials had hoped the cameras would result in a citation rate as high as 80 percent, in the Valley that was running at only 55percent last year.

While the rate citywide is slightly better at 60 percent, critics question the gaps and note that the project is now nearly five months behind schedule with only 26 of 32 cameras in place.

Citing last week's $1.4 million settlement in the hazing of a former firefighter, Los Angeles city officials renewed efforts Tuesday to review the costs and process of hiring private attorneys to represent the city. Daily News.

Councilman Dennis Zine - who opposed the settlement with firefighter Tennie Pierce, served spaghetti laced with dog food - said the case highlights the need to control the cost and activities of city-hired lawyers.

In addition to the $1.4 million settlement, the city is spending an estimated $1 million for Jones, Day, Reavis and Pogue to provide analysis and representation in the Pierce case.

In what would be a a multibillion-dollar plan to ease congestion at Los Angeles International Airport, city officials on Tuesday proposed extending the Gold Line light-rail system to provide direct service to Ontario Airport. Daily News.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, joined by officials from San Bernardino County and Ontario, said he will urge the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and federal officials to consider funding the line's extension from Azusa to the airport to help increase passenger access to the facility.

"Right now, Ontario has 7.9 million passengers a year," Villaraigosa said at a City Hall news conference. "We hope to see it grow to 30 million a year to take some of the traffic from LAX.

City leaders challenged the faith-based community Tuesday to spearhead efforts to turn young people away from gangs. Rick Coca in the Daily News.

Recently appointed Los Angeles gang czar Jeff Carr told about 200 people at Shepherd of the Hills Church that the presence of about 39,000 gang members in the city means political leaders have failed to resolve the gang problem.

"We are failing, and we have been failing for almost 30 years," Carr said at the fourth annual San Fernando Valley Faith Coalitions Community Summit.

Amid growing concerns about the effectiveness of Los Angeles' network of neighborhood councils, the City Council on Tuesday began reviewing broad changes that could reinvigorate the panels and strengthen the system of grass-roots democracy. Daily News.

After a two-hour presentation in which council members voiced their own frustrations with neighborhood councils, the proposed changes were sent to the council's Education and Neighborhoods Committee for analysis.

"We will bring this back as quickly as we can, but we have to realize we are a long way from perfection," said Councilman Richard Alarcon, who chairs the committee and has been a longtime supporter of neighborhood councils.

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman is fuming over apparent stonewalling at the State Department in response to his inquiries surrounding corruption in the Maliki government.

The Los Angeles Democrat congressman fired off a letter this morning to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice blasting her for an agency directive forbidding officials to discuss corruption in the Iraqi governmetn unless the committee agreed to treat all of the information as classified, and for her personal refusal to testify.

In addition, he noted that the private security firm Blackwater under scrutiny for alleged use of excessive force, informed hte panel that the State Department ordered it not to turn over documents without agency approval.

``I urge you to reconsider the unusual positions you are taking," Waxman said. "You are wrong to interfere with the Committee's inquiry."

State Department spokesman Curtis Cooper refused to comment, saying he hasn't seen Waxman's letter. But when a reporter offered to e-mail it to him, Cooper declined.

"I still won't have a response," he said.

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, blasted the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday for condemning Israel while ignoring abuses throughout the rest of the world.

Calling the Council’s treatment of Israel ``hypocritical,’’ Berman said the group _ made up of countries with questionable human rights records themselves _ spend ``an inordinate amount of time vilifying Israel’’ while remaining silent on abuses from Uzbekistan to Zimbabwe.

``It has passed one-sided resolutions condemning Israeli human right violations in the Palestinian territories, called several `extraordinary’ sessions on Israeli actions in Lebanon and Gaza, and appointed successive `rapporteurs’ to investigate alleged Israeli `war crimes,’’’ he said.

Berman spoke as the House considered a resolution condemning the council. It passed 416-2.

Berman ``I stand here to criticize the Human Rights Council, simply because I know the UN can do better,’’ Berman said. ``I believe that while the Council is still in its infancy, we can help ensure that it develops into a respected and forceful champion of human rights—not simply another proxy in the vitriolic campaign against Israel.

Violent crime in Los Angeles fell for the fourth straight year in 2006, bucking a national trend and putting the city on track this year to have its lowest murder rate since 1970. Rachel Uranga in the Daily News.

Violent crime fell by 4 percent in L.A. last year, while nationwide it crept up 2 percent, according to figures released Monday by the FBI.

And so far this year, the city has recorded just 293 homicides, a staggering drop from five years ago, when 656 killings prompted Chief William Bratton, who had just been appointed to head the Los Angeles Police Department, to vow a crackdown on violence.

One year after the LAPD flooded Skid Row with dozens of officers to crack down on crime, a study has found that crime in the area plunged 40 percent but the city has failed to develop any long-term solutions. Daily News.

The UCLA study also found higher crime in communities adjacent to the nearly one-square-mile Skid Row area, as well as an increase in the number of transients in other parts of the city.

It also found that monthly arrests averaged more than 750, with more than half minor drug offenses. Of the 1,000 citations issued month, the majority were for such infractions as loitering and jaywalking.

Defending last week's settlement of a harassment and hazing case involving a former Los Angeles firefighter, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday said the city sent a message that it would not be an easy mark for payouts. Daily News.

Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles City Council signed off Friday on a $1.49 million payout to former Firefighter Tennie Pierce. The deal included $60,000 in back salary that guarantees his pension.

It also includes an additional $1 million to his attorneys and city payments of about $1 million to the private firm of Jones, Day to investigate the case.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed the United Nations today in New York, outlining California's steps to combat global warming and urging other nations to come to new agreements on the issue.

"The current stalemate between the developed and the developing worlds must be broken," Schwarzenegger said, according to a transcript issued by his office. "It is time to come together in a new international agreement that can be embraced by rich and poor nations alike. California is moving the United States beyond debate and doubt to action. So I urge this body to push its members to action also."

A photo essay, video and transcript of the governor's remarks is available on his official website.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed the United Nations today in New York, outlining California's steps to combat global warming and urging other nations to come to new agreements on the issue.

"The current stalemate between the developed and the developing worlds must be broken," Schwarzenegger said, according to a transcript issued by his office. "It is time to come together in a new international agreement that can be embraced by rich and poor nations alike. California is moving the United States beyond debate and doubt to action. So I urge this body to push its members to action also."

A photo essay, video and transcript of the governor's remarks is available on his official website.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed the United Nations today in New York, outlining California's steps to combat global warming and urging other nations to come to new agreements on the issue.

"The current stalemate between the developed and the developing worlds must be broken," Schwarzenegger said, according to a transcript issued by his office. "It is time to come together in a new international agreement that can be embraced by rich and poor nations alike. California is moving the United States beyond debate and doubt to action. So I urge this body to push its members to action also."

A photo essay, video and transcript of the governor's remarks is available on his official website.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed the United Nations today in New York, outlining California's steps to combat global warming and urging other nations to come to new agreements on the issue.

"The current stalemate between the developed and the developing worlds must be broken," Schwarzenegger said, according to a transcript issued by his office. "It is time to come together in a new international agreement that can be embraced by rich and poor nations alike. California is moving the United States beyond debate and doubt to action. So I urge this body to push its members to action also."

A photo essay, video and transcript of the governor's remarks are available on his official website.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Monday he would support legislation to have the state pull its support from investing in Iran.

Here is his statement:

"California has a long history of leadership and doing what's right with our investment portfolio. Last year, I was proud to sign legislation to divest from the Sudan to take a powerful stand against genocide. I look forward to signing legislation to divest from Iran to take an equally powerful stand against terrorism."

After more than a year of study, the panel charged with reviewing Los Angeles' network of neighborhood councils is recommending a myriad of changes to make life a little easier for those who volunteer in the name of grass-roots democracy. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The panel is urging streamlined elections, simpler bill-paying rules, more intelligible bylaws and an expedited grievance process.

The Neighborhood Council Review Commission rejected the concept of"mini city councils" concept but didstressthe needcalled for less bureaucracy - a move that could significantly reshape the council network.

An ambitious plan to re-establish a passenger-rail line between Santa Clarita and the Ventura coast faces serious hurdles, although all sides agree an alternative is needed to the region's increasingly congested freeways. Patricia Farrell Aidem in the Daily News.

A draft study commissioned in part by the Ventura County Transportation Commission recommends extending the existing east-west Santa Paula line to the north-south railroad that runs through Santa Clarita. There, planners hope to reclaim an abandoned rail corridor through the city's commercial and business hub.

"The most important thing is that we think about it and do some long-range planning so maybe in 30 years, if we start reserving the right-of-way now, we can do something," said Kerry Forsythe, the commission's deputy director.

TIPOFFS: A proposal to review the City Charter again and an urging to look at creating a boroughs system. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa finds support at fundraiser.

In apparent violation of state laws requiring officials to seek bids on big purchases, internal documents reveal that California officials agreed to buy "flex-fuel" vehicles from General Motors during private meetings a month before any bid was issued. Kimberlly Kindy in the Daily News.

E-mails, memos and documents obtained by MediaNews show the meetings took place over five months and culminated with state officials signing a memorandum of understanding with GM for what was then a small pilot project of 50 to 100 vehicles. No other automaker was offered a chance at the deal.

Soon after, the state solicited bids to buy an entire fleet of flex-fuel vehicles designed to run on high-grade ethanol. General Motors dealerships won all of the contracts for what was ultimately 1,300 cars and trucks and $17 million in sales - because they were the only automaker that met the state's qualifications.

He's known as `The King' of Skid Row.

But it's not the baseball cap crowning his head or the karaoke microphone he carries like a scepter that earned Roland Burris the nickname. Tony Castro in the Daily News.

It's the voice - the pain of poverty and addiction coming out in the ballads and blues - that spark comparisons to that world-famous singer.

"He sure sounds like The King, doesn't he?" says Billy Blade, a neighbor of Burris at the Lamp Lodge, a transitional housing complex in the heart of Los Angeles' Skid Row.

Capping a high-profile case that had pitted the mayor against the city attorney, Los Angeles officials agreed on Friday to pay nearly $1.5 million to settle a racial-discrimination lawsuit filed by a black firefighter whose colleagues put dog food in his spaghetti. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Under the deal, the city will pay Tennie Pierce $1.43 million. He also will get $60,000 in back salary, which makes him eligible to receive his 20-year service pension.

With attorney fees and legal expenses, the cost of the case is expected to be about $2.7 million - about the same settlement that had been proposed by City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and approved by the City Council last year.

Alarmed that the annual taxpayer tab for teachers' and state workers' pensions and health benefits has soared from $1 billion to more than $5 billion since 2000, California officials called on Friday for fixes to stem the financial outpouring. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The calls come amid growing concern about California's pension crisis, which has deepened over the past seven years as the average county fund has gone from being flush with cash to being at least 9 percent underfunded.

And officials are worried that the state's already massive unfunded liabilities for pensions and retiree health benefits - estimated as high as $300 billion combined - will only continue to grow.

After years of declining enrollment, Los Angeles-area community colleges are seeing a surge in students, fueled by relatively low tuition costs, a slowing economy and increased outreach. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Across the nine-campus Los Angeles Community College District, enrollment is up 7 percent this year, officials said.

Mission College's 16 percent increase is the largest in the system. Meanwhile, Pierce College enrollment jumped 8 percent from last year and Valley College is kicking off the school year with 6 percent more students than last year.

The Los Angeles City Council moved Friday to ask voters in February to approve a $30 parcel tax on every city property owner to raise funds to fight gangs. Daily News.

In a 12-0 vote without comment, the council instructed the City Attorney's Office to craft language for a ballot measure on the plan.

The move comes despite public opposition this week from City Controller Laura Chick, who has vowed to fight the measure if the council sends it to voters before her audit of city gang programs is completed.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will announce today that longtime Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. James Featherstone will take over as general manager of the Emergency Preparedness Department. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Featherstone takes over from Ellis Stanley, who announced his retirement this week and is expected to get a four-month, $60,000 consulting contract to help the new manager transition into the job.

Featherstone already has experience. He is a captain in the LAFD's tactical training division and he was the assistant general manager of the Emergency Preparedness Department from January through July 2006.

A plan to tax Los Angeles property owners $30 a year to fund gang programs drew new fire Thursday as City Controller Laura Chick vowed to fight its placement on the February ballot. Daily News.

Proposed earlier this year, the plan would generate about $30 million for gang-intervention and -prevention efforts. But Chick told a meeting of the city's business leaders that she will oppose the measure if it's placed on the ballot before she completes her audit of existing gang programs.

"Before we ask taxpayers to give up more of their hard-earned dollars, we need to look at what we're doing, at what works and what changes we are making," she said.

Battling the stigma of being unfriendly to business, Los Angeles officials pledged Thursday to step up tax-reform efforts, develop policies to boost growth, and seek to draw up a comprehensive economic plan for the city. Daily News.

The emphasis comes just two days after a study found that neighboring cities are siphoning off Los Angeles business with better incentives and policies.

"We need to have a partnership if we are going to succeed," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told more than 400 business leaders who converged at City Hall in an annual Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce event.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is announcing that a second Mexican trucking company has been given the green light to participate in a controversial pilot project allowing them free access to American highways.

IBC Inc., based in San Diego, as well as Transportes Rafa, based in Baja, Mexico, both have been given authority for long-haul trips.

The DOT approved the project September 6, but its future is unclear Both the House and Senate have passed language in the transportation funding bill prohibiting the pilot project from going forward. The trucks keep rolling, though, pending President Bush's signature.

New legislation by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein would require that all retailers who sell decongestant medication to be trained in federal anti-meth laws.

While current law requires that stores selling medication that contain pseudoephedrine certify that their employees are trained, the Drug Enforcement Agency recently estimated that thousands of establishments have failed to do so, Feinstein said.

Under the propopsed bill, distributors could only sell pseudoephedrine products to retailers who have filed self-certifications with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). These certifications attest to the fact that their employees are trained and in compliance with the Combat Meth Act.

Feinstein called it "plugging a hole" in the current law.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials announced Wednesday they have hired the company that successfully implemented the city's payroll system to help the district fix accuracy problems in its own payroll network. Naush Boghosian in the Daily News.

Hess & Associates Inc. will be paid $100,000 to improve the accuracy of LAUSD's new payroll process, which has overpaid and underpaid thousands of employees for more than eight months.

"When it comes to paying our teachers accurately and on time, the district cannot be too proud. If we cannot fix the problem here, then we must look elsewhere for help," said school board member Tamar Galatzan, who sought the city's help with the payroll problem.

"Our primary goal is to have the payroll system operating so smoothly that everyone is paid the correct amount. But until that great day is here, we must have the capacity to verify quickly whether an employee is getting paid correctly."

Clearing the final hurdle for construction to start, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday routinely approved an environmental report and zone changes for the $2.5 billion Grand Avenue redevelopment project. Daily News.

"As long as I've been in Los Angeles, people have been talking about how there is no heart to downtown, no center," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents the area where the project is to be built.

"This will change all that. This will be a redefinition of downtown and I want us to do it right."

With graffiti on the rise, city officials on Wednesday said they are deploying high-tech security cameras to the east San Fernando Valley to catch vandals in the act. Alex Dobuzinskis in the Daily News.

The FlashCam, a solar-powered gizmo being used at spots heavily hit by graffiti, shines a light and uses a recorded voice to warn potential vandals to move along.

When motorists drive through an intersection and see a flash from a similar camera, they know they've run a red light and that "a ticket is on the way," City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel said.

"This is the same concept," she said.

The city is putting three new FlashCam cameras in Greuel's East Valley district, where graffiti crews' work has tripled this year. She is putting up $35,000 in matching funds to help buy an additional 10, with residents and businesses expected to put up another $35,000 to buy those cameras.

Foreclosures soared nearly 400 percent across the greater San Fernando Valley in August as the residential real estate market sank further and lenders tightened credit standards, a research center said Tuesday. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

Last month, 289 families from Glendale to Calabasas lost their homes, 231 more than in August last year, or a 398.3 percent increase, said the Economic Research Center at California State University, Northridge.

So far, there have been 552 foreclosures in the first two months of the year's third quarter, and the final number will likely top the 632 foreclosures in the second quarter, said Daniel Blake, the center's director.

Business is thriving in a half-dozen cities ringing Los Angeles thanks to a mix of tax incentives, employee-training programs, shortcuts through red tape and even personal tour guides coming from the various city halls. Patricia Farrel Aidem in the Daily News.

Burbank, Lancaster, Palmdale and Santa Clarita earned kudos Tuesday as four of the finalists in a contest to determine the most business-friendly of Los Angeles County's 88 cities. Long Beach and Cerritos also made the cut.

"I think what we see here is that cities are successful when they are close to their business community. It shows the city of L.A. and the county what can be done," said Carrie Rogers, vice president of business assistance and development for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., the nonprofit advocacy group sponsoring the competition.

Motorists in Los Angeles face the absolute worst rush-hour traffic in the country, spending nearly two workweeks stuck behind the wheel in jams and wasting nearly 60 gallons of gas, according to a study released Tuesday.Sue Doyle and Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Angelenos spend 72 extra hours a year on the road - 12 more than commuters in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, which all have the second-highest traffic delays in the nation, according to the report by the Texas Transportation Institute.

The national average is just 38 hours of extra delay each year. But the report found traffic congestion around the country has continued to worsen, creating a $78 billion annual drain on the U.S. economy as motorists consume 2.9 billion gallons of fuel idling in bottlenecks and lose 4.2 billion hours from their lives.

Less than a year after voters approved $9.5 billion in bonds for water infrastructure projects, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday proposed another $9 billion water bond for the February ballot. Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

If approved, local water agencies would have to match the state funds with an additional $5 billion, bringing the total cost to at least $14 billion.

But the new bond money is needed to address a growing crisis exacerbated by drought conditions and increasingly restricted supplies, the governor said.

Setting a broad agenda for reform, Douglas L. Barry was sworn in Tuesday as the city's 23rd fire chief and the first African-American to head the Los Angeles Fire Department. Daily News.

Barry, 54, was sworn in by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at a plaza across from City Hall after receiving unanimous support from the City Council. Barry has been serving as interim chief since December, when Chief William Bamattre retired.

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce endorsed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's health-care reform proposal Monday, becoming the largest business group to support the effort. Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

The California Chamber of Commerce, a normally staunch Schwarzenegger ally, continues to be concerned about the costs businesses would bear under the plan.

But the Los Angeles chamber traditionally has been closer to the political center on many issues, and chamber Chairman David Fleming said the governor's plan does not burden businesses alone.

Hoping to head off more studies that would stall its $143 million expansion plans, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center launched a public-relations campaign Monday to try to win community support and pressure city officials to give the project final approval. Daily News.

The first full-page advertisements appeared in Monday newspapers and featured former LAPD SWAT Officer Bruce Hunt's story of how the hospital saved his life after he was injured in an off-duty car crash.

"We think we have a message about what we do that we want to get out to the community," said Kerry Carmody, administrator for the Mission Hills hospital. "We want to educate the public and public officials about the need for the expansion."

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, of course, but can you judge a senator by his recipe? Perhaps spotting this recipe months ago would have revealed some things about Sen. Larry Craig before his recent airport bathroom misadventures.

Here are two links to the senator's favorite recipe, the "Super Tuber." Link here or here.

Essentially, you take an Idaho potato, rub it with shortening or butter, core a hole through the middle and, uh, insert a hot dog through the hole. Top with cheese sauce and sour cream and then cook until tender. Craig's serving suggestion is to "eat as a finger food."

As one blogger on www.chow.com commented, "Bet they're toe-tappin' good!"

And this blog has some photos of the end product of this recipe, which as it suggests does somewhat resemble "food porn."

Providence Holy Cross Hospital is putting on a full court press to pressure Los Angeles
Councilman Richard Alarcon to drop his call for a frull environmental review of its planned expansion.
The hospital took out a full-page advertisement in today's Daily News featuring a former LAPD SWAT officer, who says the hospital saved his life and urged readers to contact the councilman.
Alarcon has said he does not oppose the expansion, but believes further studies are needed on how to dela with traffic,a position also embraced by several homeowner groups.

After a year of gridlock, lawmakers say they want to reach deals with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to reform health care and improve the state's water supply. Associated Press in the Daily News.

But a special legislative session called last week by the governor might not result in consensus and compromise.

On health care, the governor and Democrats still do not have the Republican support they need to legislate reform, and their plan now is to seek voter approval through a ballot initiative.

Tipoffs: Los Angeles City Council urged to put anti-war resolution before voters; Washington, D.C., protests and bad timing for diversitty program.

Following three recalls of Mattel Inc. toys from China, parents concerned about the health of their children are paying a premium for toys made in the good ole USA. Julia M. Scott in the Daiily News.

Almost two-thirds of parents say they will no longer purchase toys made in China - where factories cut corners on millions of Mattel toys by using toxic lead paint - according to shopping Web site Shopzilla. There's evidence many parents are putting their money where their mouths are.

Several makers and sellers of American-made toys say they have seen a surge in sales since the recalls, the last of which was announced two weeks ago.

When Dave Beaty tells children about NASA's plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2020 - and to Mars, perhaps as early as 2030 - he almost always gets the same response. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

"When I go into kindergarten classrooms and ask students, `How many of you want to be the first person on Mars?' all their hands go up," said Beaty, chief scientist for the Mars Exploration Directorate at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

"I think it's a great frontier. It's something humans have never done before. The people who do it will be regarded as heroes ... These people will get engraved in history."

Call it an animal shelter for a kinder, gentler era.

At least that was the description officials gave the new East Valley Animal Care Center in Van Nuys as they unveiled it Saturday. Alex Dobuzinskis in the Daily News.

City Councilman Tony C ardenas was reluctant to even call it a shelter - a term that he said isn't good enough for this $12.3million state-of-the-art animal pound, which actually opened in May.

"In the old days, we used to call these shelters, and as you can see we've built a sanctuary," Cardenas said.

The facility has a synthetic grass enclosure with a yin-yang shape, where prospective dog adopters can get a good look at the charges they might be taking home.

Consumer advocates fought more than four years for regulations to protect California's 28 million cell-phone users. It took only eight months and a nudge from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to make the rules disappear. Edwin Garcia in the Daily News.

Since then, the Legislature has considered nine consumer laws that would make it easier for cell-phone owners to do such things as terminate their contracts, transfer their phones to different carriers and dispute billing discrepancies. Only one has become law.

Consumer groups and some lawmakers blame the failure of the other measures on the increasingly influential telecommunications lobby.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proclaimed "Year of Health Care Reform" has turned out to be a year of gridlock with the state Legislature. Mike Zapler in the Daily News.

But the ever-optimistic governor is clinging to his dream of bringing universal health care to California and has called lawmakers back to town for an overtime shift with the hopes of cutting a deal.

The outline of a possible compromise has already begun to take shape. Schwarzenegger and Democrats would agree on a basic reform package, which the Legislature would approve during the special session.

But lacking the votes of Republicans needed to finance it, they would take the measure to voters next year in a ballot initiative that would seek billions in new taxes.

Concerned about recent federal limits on the region's water supply, a Los Angeles city official called on Friday for a review into whether usage restrictions should be set for new developments. Daily News.

"We have a serious problem statewide and before we get to mandatory rationing here, we need to know where we stand," Councilman Dennis Zine said. "We need to look at all new developments, conversions and additions to make sure we have enough water."

Long Beach imposed mandatory water rationing this week, including limits on daytime watering of lawns and using water to clean driveways, sidewalks and patios.

San Fernando Valley neighborhood councils are getting dueling letters over the proposed Las Lomas mini-city - even before the 5,500-home development in the Newhall Pass has been considered by city leaders.Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Hoping to block the project, Councilman Greig Smith sent a letter to Valley neighborhood councils this week calling the project a "tsunami of sprawl" and asking them to officially oppose it at their next meeting.

"It is too big, too dense, and in the wrong location," he wrote. "The impacts of the proposed Las Lomas development are simply impossible to ignore."

Dozens of health clinics across California, including in the San Fernando Valley, are bracing for funding cuts and layoffs this month that could threaten efforts to aid the region's thousands of uninsured children. Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

Promised state funding earlier this year, the nonprofit health clinics, along with local government agencies, began hiring extra staff to enroll more low-income children in subsidized health insurance programs.

But last month Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed funding for the outreach programs as part of about $700 million in cuts he was forced to make to win Republican support for the budget.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on the new talk show, "Conversations with Carlos Watson" on Wednesday night. The conversation was hardly revelatory, but clips can be viewed on the show's website.

How sad was this year's legislative session in Sacramento? It seems like nearly every newspaper in the state agrees: pretty darn sad. You be the judge. Here's a list of headlines, compiled with help from www.rtumble.com:

"Partisanship keeps grip on Capitol" -- Los Angeles Times.

"Session ends with a thud" -- Sacramento Bee

"Legislative session gets poor marks from critics" -- San Jose Mercury News

"Divided they stood this year" -- Orange County Register

"Pathetic session ends at last" - Sacramento Bee

"California Legislature ends regular session without a bang" -- Fresno Bee

To find out what they did do this year, link here to a list compiled by the Daily News of the more interesting bills that were debated this year in the Legislature. As you'll see, most of the more significant ones didn't go anywhere.

Or link here for the story which ran in the Daily News, (from our sister paper the Mercury News.)

Long under fire as the "sheriff to the stars," Lee Baca now faces accusations from his deputies that most of the officers he promoted to his command staff contributed to his political campaigns. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The issue was first raised by the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, which claimed that Baca has sharply increased the number of senior leadership positions since being elected in 1998 and that a large number of those positions are now held by campaign contributors.

A Daily News analysis of promotion and campaign-contribution records bear out the claim.

Of 62 sheriff's employees with ranks of captain or higher who were promoted in the past three years, 45, or 73 percent, made campaign contributions to Baca. Many did so shortly before or after their promotions.

A key Los Angeles City Council committee took a step Wednesday toward putting on the February ballot a $30 million tax measure to fund gang prevention programs. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The measure would levy a parcel tax on property owners, averaging about $40 a year.

The council's Rules and Elections Committee asked the city attorney to draft ballot language that would spell out how the $30 million a year would be awarded to gang prevention and intervention programs and how the city would ensure the money is spent

The measure, introduced by Councilwoman Janice Hahn, is scaled back from an earlier $50 million parcel-tax proposal in order to make it more appealing to voters.

Home sales plunged across Southern California to their lowest level in 15 years and prices declined in all but two markets as the nation's growing credit mess bogged down more buyers, sellers and lenders, an industry tracker said Wednesday. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

The big Los Angeles County market also saw a steep sales drop, but it did post the region's biggest price gain, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month, sales in the six-county region plunged 36.3 percent to 17,755 transactions and slipped 0.6 percent from July, the La Jolla-based company said.

A proposed DWP rate hike is drawing an outcry from grass-roots neighborhood councils as the giant utility defends itself over recent power outages that left thousands of Los Angeles residents sweltering amid a summer heat wave. Daily News.

While Department of Water and Power officials are seeking a 9 percent boost to pay for upgrades to a rapidly aging electric system, a neighborhood council oversight panel is opposing the move and questioning the high pay of DWP workers and the limited time available to review the potential impact of a rate hike.

Members also wonder why a rate hike is needed when the utility transfers about $200 million each year to the city's general fund.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani opened his California headquarters on Wednesday to have a presence in the state for its Feb. 5 primary election.

And, he has chosen Glendale as his base of operations.

Giuliani was not on hand, but folks from his national campaign did show up for the opening at 300 W. Glenoaks Blvd.

In a battle over turf and authority, the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to consider overruling a Board of Public Works decision that gave permits to a controversial El Sereno hillside subdivision after the council put the development on hold for more study. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The vote involves a 25-home project on one of the last major swaths of open space in Northeast Los Angeles, but the unanimous decision to assert jurisdiction touches on long-simmering frustration among some council members that commissions and department heads answer more to the mayor than the council.

"There are times we've discussed on council floor ... the tensions we've felt and at times the disregard, if not disrespect, from city department heads, from city staff, in how they respond to this council," Councilman Ed Reyes said.

Hoping to fix the disastrous payroll system that has overpaid or underpaid thousands of employees for nearly a year, the Los Angeles Unified School District board Tuesday agreed to spend $9.8 million on a new consultant. Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

Board member Tamar Galatzan said the unanimous vote to hire Atlanta-based EPI-USE was rushed, but necessary.

"I certainly don't want to throw good money after bad, but we have to fix this system, and we have to look at every resource out there to fix it," Galatzan said. "I'm concerned that the board didn't get a copy of this contract to review until (Monday) afternoon."

LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer said Tuesday that it would take until July if the district tried to fix the massive computer glitches on its own.

As Los Angeles prepares to open the new County/USC Medical Center next spring - the largest, most expensive and complex project in county history - county officials on Tuesday lambasted project overseers for tens of millions of dollars in unanticipated cost overruns and change orders. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The project to replace the downtown hospital, made famous in the opening scene of TV soap-opera drama "General Hospital," was expected to cost $818 million when the Board of Supervisors voted in 2001 to seek bids from contractors.

But Department of Public Works officials on Tuesday said the cost of the project has risen to $899 million - mostly due to rising construction costs but also due to about $100 million in change orders.

The slumping housing market and rising foreclosures will continue to erode California's economy until late next year or early 2009, but UCLA forecasters still maintain it will not tug the state into recession, according to a report released this morning. Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

That's because most business sectors will experience job growth, albeit anemic, said the quarterly UCLA Anderson Forecast that takes a more cautionary tone than past assessments.

"With housing as weak as it is, the rest of the economy is going to keep its head above water. This is the glass is half full kind of a take," said University of California, Los Angeles, senior economist Ryan Ratcliff, author of the California report.

Los Angeles City Council members Monday ordered an independent audit of the city's power needs after accusing DWP officials of misleading them and being woefully unprepared for this summer's heat wave. Daily News.

Four council members said they were led to believe that the replacement of thousands of transformers over the past year would allow the city to get through a heat wave this summer without massive outages like those in 2006.

With his universal health care proposal stalled in the Legislature, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday he will call a special session of lawmakers to craft a framework for statewide reform. Mike Zapler in the Daily News.

With the special session, the governor hopes to break the stalemate over his plan to extend medical coverage to the 6.6 million uninsured Californians.

The governor's top priority has bogged down in partisan bickering, with the Senate passing a Democratic plan that Schwarzenegger has vowed to veto, Republicans refusing to back the governor's plan, and lawmakers facing a Friday deadline to end their session.

Painting a picture of a city in terror despite reductions in crime, a Los Angeles city official called Monday for a review of a controversial police work schedule and its impact on getting more officers on the street. Daily News.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry took her complaints about the schedule - under which officers work three, 12-hour days - to the council's Public Safety Committee.

"I recognize this is not just a South Los Angeles problem, that it exists in the Valley and the eastside," Perry said. "But I have families that live in fear. That they tell their kids they can't ride their bikes in their front yards in the afternoon. That their kids sleep in bathtubs so they don't get hit when someone drives by and shoots into their house.

Last weekend, about a thousand members, alternates and guests gathered at the California Republican Party Convention at the Renaissance Esmerelda Hotel in Indian Wells in the Coachella Valley/Palm Springs area. As is typically the case, we'll be sharing some stories and happenings from this event over the next few days. Jon Fleishman in the Flash Report.

First and foremost, we're pleased to announce the return of our highly-acclaimed, caddy and pithy "Winners & Losers of the CRP Convention" column, which we should be featuring at the end of this week. While your trusted FR team had many of our team members on the ground, looking over the convention for nominees, we typically get some of our best suggestions from FR readers. If you have a nomination, you can e-mail us here. As always, we ensure the confidentiality of anyone who contacts us.

I'll start by fast forwarding to a couple of results from the weekend that I want especially emphasize. The first is that convention delegates unanimously put the party on record as opposing the ballot initiative sponsored by Senate President Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. In a resolution that instructs the party to prominently display opposition to this measure, where feasible, on the party's voter-contact mail, the CRP attacked this measure as a brazen effort by termed-out liberal politicians to try to circumvent voter-approved term limits.

Nearly two decades after neighbors learned the hilltop Santa Susana Field Lab was rife with toxic and radioactive contamination, the long-delayed cleanup is at a critical crossroads. Kerry Cavanaugh at the Daily News.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is now considering signing a bill that would force Boeing and the federal government to clean up the former nuclear and rocket-engine test lab to the highest environmental standards.

Under judge's orders, the federal Department of Energy is about to begin a new study of the radioactive and chemical contamination at its former nuclear research facility.

One of California's leading conservatives delivered a public slap at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday, two days after the celebrity governor called for the Republican Party to move to the political center or risk a future of irrelevance. Associated Press in the Daily News.

Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, never mentioned the governor by name, but his speech to GOP activists at a state convention was thick with transparent digs at Schwarzenegger and referenced remarks the governor made last week.

On Friday, the governor declared the GOP was "dying at the box office" and would drift into the political margins unless it tackles issues such as global warming to attract new voters, especially from the growing ranks of independents.

Tipoffs: Naming rights being studied for Coliseum to pay for improvements; pension wars, Zine-staff tunovers.

After her son was shot in front of her apartment complex in 2003, Lela Jones started making a list of suffering.

Jones began collecting the names of young people lost to gang violence, and she put them in a book. On Saturday, more than 70 names were posted on a tall board at Hubert Humphrey Park in Pacoima, and Jones experienced what she called a personal victory - bringing young people together to hear a message of hope. Alex Dobuzinskis in the Daily News.

Calvary Baptist Church of Pacoima, where Jones worships, organized the Youth & Young Adult Love Summit, which brought together former gang members and youths from the street.

Political fissures divided state Republicans on Saturday as they faced questions about the future of a party that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says has lost its way. Associated Press in the Daily News.

At a state GOP convention, a committee made only incremental headway trying to craft a new platform while some members angrily complained about being shut out or misled.

And a day after Schwarzenegger declared the party had lost the political middle ground and was "dying at the box office," state party Chairman Ron Nehring did respond directly when asked if he agreed with the governor's assessment.

Faced with a flood of claims and lawsuits in the wake of a melee at a May Day rally in MacArthur Park, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo on Friday asked for $1.1 million to create a special unit of attorneys to review the cases. Daily News.

The proposed May Day unit would consist of eight attorneys and support staff to review and process the more than 200 claims and lawsuits already filed against the city.

"If additional staffing is not provided, outside counsel would be required to handle these cases," Delgadillo wrote to the City Council.

In a twist worthy of a Hollywood legal drama, the official credited with saving Los Angeles County taxpayers millions of dollars in legal costs has quietly been paid $450,000 to settle his wrongful-termination suit. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Los Angeles County supervisors on July 31 approved the settlement with Robert Nagle, the former litigation cost manager who filed a $2.2 million suit in April and accepted the deal late last month.

In the year since the 58-year-old Agoura Hills attorney was fired, the county's costs for judgments, settlements and outside legal fees have begun to creep back up.

County legal costs hit a high of $109 million in 2002-03 but dropped to $74 million in 2003-04 and $75 million in 2004-05 during Nagle's tenure, according to the County Counsel's Office. They are projected to total $89 million for 2006-07.

In a preview of the harsh fight expected next year, California public unions are already campaigning against a pension-reform measure some 14 months before it potentially even goes before voters.Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, representing about 9,000 officers, recently started airing radio ads in Los Angeles urging the public to disregard petitions to place the measure by former Assemblyman Keith Richman on the ballot.

"If you value the job that your police officers, firefighters and teachers do for the community, please don't sign this petition," the ads urge.

The job market took a serious and unexpected turn for the worse last month, raising the risk of a recession and putting added pressure on the Federal Reserve to move more aggressively to keep the ailing housing industry from infecting the rest of the economy.New York Times in the Daily News..

The Labor Department reported Friday that 4,000 jobs were lost from July to August, and the deepest cuts were in industries connected to the housing market, such as construction and manufacturing. It was the first employment decline since 2003, when the job market was still struggling to emerge from the slump after the 2001 recession.

The jobs report all but guarantees that the Fed will cut its benchmark short-term interest rate when its policy-making committee next meets, Sept. 18. A quarter-point reduction, to 5 percent, remains the most likely move, although a half-point cut should not ruled out, economists said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered an indictment Friday of his own California Republican Party during an address at its annual fall convention in Indian Wells, suggesting that the state GOP has a defeatist mentality and calling on the party to pursue independent voters in order to regain power. Sacramento Bee.

The Republican governor has long been at odds with his party's conservative base, but the tone in his Friday speech was more strikingly critical of California Republicans than at any other time in his governorship.

"In movie terms, we are dying at the box office," Schwarzenegger declared, according to prepared text of his remarks. "We are not filling the seats."

While the presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton touts such high-profile Latino endorsements as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Sen. Barack Obama is attempting to make his own inroads with the Latino community.

Obama's campaign announced on Friday that has picked up the endorsement of Federico Pena, former mayor of Denver and who served as energy secretary under former President Clinton.

“I look forward to working with Federico to bring about the transformation this country desperately needs. His vision for change as Mayor of Denver and his strong record on energy and transportation issues brings invaluable experience to our team,” Obama said.

Pena said he decided to back Obama because of the change he would bring.

"The challenges we are facing in Colorado, in the Hispanic community and across the country are formidable and it is time for bold and thoughtful leadership in the White House, ” Pena said.

Prior to his appointment as Energy Secretary, Pena served as Transportation Secretary for Clinton.

Hours after multimillionaire Richard Riordan sued billionaire Ron Burkle on Thursday over a business deal gone sour, the Beverly Hills supermarket magnate settled a long-running dispute with the former Los Angeles mayor that had wrecked their friendship. Beth Barrett in the Daily News.

Riordan's suit claimed that Burkle, who recently tried unsuccessfully to buy the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal, had refused to let him sell his investment in a high-tech firm he had become disenchanted with. He accused Burkle of being motivated by money and ego, accusing him in the lawsuit of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, deceit, and violation of state business and professional codes. Riordan sought damages in excess of $5 million, as well as punitive damages.

Stunned by the filing, which came after at least two years of rancor, Burkle told the Daily News he would buy out Riordan's investment interest, originally valued at $5 million.

Forget living in "The 818." Overwhelmed by demand for new lines, the telephone area code that has defined the San Fernando Valley for more than two decades is quickly running out. Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

And the California Public Utilities Commission now is considering adding a 747 area code to the Valley because the remaining 818 numbers are expected to be used up within the next two years.

Options include dividing the Valley geographically into two area-code zones, roughly along east-west lines, or simply assigning the new 747 code to all new phone lines no matter where they are in the Valley.

An equestrian center on six bucolic acres is at the center of a bitter dispute over whether the panel charged with protecting California's coastline bent the rules and could be endangering public health.Beth Barrett in the Daily News.

The California Coastal Commission recently agreed to allow Malibu Valley Farms Inc. to continue operating stables and riding arenas near a stream that drains into Malibu Lagoon, even though it didn't get a permit before building the facilities about six years ago.

Its decision prompted the Coastal Law Enforcement Action Network to accuse the commission of ignoring environmental laws intended to protect the coast from pollution, and to file suit to shut down the thoroughbred breeding facility.

Disputing statements by Los Angeles police that demonstrators started the melee that erupted at the May Day immigration rally in MacArthur Park, attorneys for 152 people filed additional claims Thursday for damages. Daily News.

"We are providing video clips and evidence that the problems that developed that day were not caused by demonstrators, but by the police themselves," attorney Carol Sobel said at a news conference outside City Hall where the claims were filed.

The claims, the precursor to a lawsuit, now total more than 240, and Sobel and other attorneys are asking federal courts to allow a class-action suit to be filed.

Van Nuys Democratic Rep. Howard Berman is at the center of multibillion-dollar legislation before the House today that pits the high-tech industry against drug companies and manufacturers over arcane changes to the rules of patent law. Lisa Friedman in the Daily News.

Determined to enact the first sweeping changes to patent law in half a century to a system he describes as outdated and rife with abuse, Berman, of Sherman Oaks, on Thursday said he has spent the past several days in intense negotiations with university researchers, biotechnology leaders and union officials whose opposition threatened to block the bill.

The result Thursday was a series of compromises that won over both the AFL-CIO and major universities, including the University of California.

Democratic presidential contender Bill Richardson breezed through Los Angeles today to hit the ATM machine -- fundraise, that is.

The New Mexico governor is making one public appearance - at the AIDS wall in Los Angeles -- before heading to Orange County for another round of fundraisers.

"This state has always been very good to me in terms of fundraising,'' Richardson said. "I'm not like the other candidates that are billionaire candidates."

Richardson polled a dismal 3 percent among California's likelly Democratic voters according to an August field poll, but the candidate tonight said he feels his stock rising in the state. He's focusing strongly on the war, and chastized Democratis in Congress for what he called a "meek" opposition to President Bush.

"Congress is being very meek in calling for benchmarks and funding cuts and semi-troop withdrawls," he said. "I'm very disappointed that they're not more aggressive."

He called on lawmakers to deauthorize the war under the War Powers Act of 1973 and bring all U.S. troops home immediately.

"The basis for that authorization is not there anymore," he said. "A national movement could be brought to bear on reauthorizing the war."

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) are running neck and neck in the race to raise campaign dollars in Silicon Valley, a key source of funds for both candidates that could have an impact on either’s policies as president. The Hill.

Clinton has raised more cash for the Democratic primary in America’s technology capital, but her lead is slim. Her campaign has collected $1.16 million in funds that can be used in primary season compared to $1.12 for Obama, according to a study of Federal Election Commission (FEC) records conducted by The Hill.

In total political contributions from the valley, Clinton has a $170,000 edge. Clinton has raised $1.43 million for the primary and general elections from donors in the five zip codes making up the Silicon Valley area, while Obama has raised $1.26 million through June 30, according to FEC records.

A GOP-backed initiative to toss out California's winner-take-all system of assigning electoral votes was approved for circulation Wednesday, and Democrats immediately slammed it as a backdoor attempt to hand Republicans the 2008 presidential election. San Francisco Chronicle.

The initiative is a ticking time bomb for Democratic presidential hopes next year, which are pinned on winning all of the state's 55 electoral votes. The measure would award a single electoral vote to the presidential winner in each of the state's 53 congressional districts and two to the statewide victor.

The approval Wednesday by the secretary of state's and attorney general's offices means supporters can begin gathering signatures to qualify the initiative for the June ballot.

Southern California water officials are drawing up plans that could force rationing in some cities as early as next year, officials said Wednesday. Alex Doubuzinskis in the Daily News.

For now, residents are being asked to voluntarily use less water, but the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California warned that mandatory rationing could become necessary for the first time since 1991.

The immediate trigger for concern arose from U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger's ruling last week that to protect the delta smelt, a small fish threatened with extinction, water imports from Northern California must be cut by up to 30 percent.

Officials said the threat of earthquakes and flooding, saltwater intrusion and aging levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta compound the problem.

Los Angeles County children's services workers pocketed at least $100,000 in unwarranted overtime and bonus pay amid lax oversight and a payroll system riddled with problems, according to an audit released Wednesday. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

In the second review of the Department of Children and Family Services in the past month, auditors cited numerous instances of overpayments and underpayments because of incorrect timecards, errors in payroll-system input, and misapplications of payroll rules and regulations.

In one case, auditors reviewed 30 employees who work at the 24-hour Child Protection Hotline or the Emergency Response Command Post who each averaged $26,000 in overtime in 2005.

After years of struggle, efforts to require stricter standards for cleaning up the Santa Susana Field Lab site gained momentum Wednesday as state lawmakers sent new legislation to the governor's desk. Harrison Sheppard and Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The bill by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, would prevent the Boeing Co. site in the hills above Chatsworth and Simi Valley from being transferred or sold unless it is cleaned up to federal Superfund standards.

Kuehl and co-author Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, believe the federal Department of Energy is currently using lower standards for cleanup that could leave some contamination in the area and endanger local residents.

"If they don't clean it up, it can't be sold and developed," Brownley said. "That becomes critically importa

A congressional hearing examining a failing Iraq report card turned snippy Wednesday as Republicans moved to discredit government investigators as incompetent to make military assessments.

The report by the Government Accountability Office -- formerly the General Accounting Office -- found that the Iraqi government met three of 18 mostly political benchmarks, partially met four and failed to meet 11. Democrats have siezed on the findings to counter what they believe will be a more positive White House report later this month.

Republicans, meanwhile, noted that GAO investigators have no military experience and questioned whether bean-counteres should be examining the war and reconstruction effort.

"Generally people go to their accountaint not for leadership policy, but for auditing numbers,'' Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach/Long Beach told GAO Chief David Walker.

"I'm not saying you're out of your realm of experience,'' added Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida. But, she added "I just feel uncomfortable listening to a report by a government accounting office about our war effort."

Walker defended the integrity of the report and the investigators' qualifications. He also managed to get in a potshot of his own -- telling lawmakers who noted his lack of military experience, "It is my understanding that Secretary of Defense Gates does not have military experience either."

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson's political playbook - a high-profile visit to "The Tonight Show," a splashy bus tour, the efforts to take a familiar actor and reintroduce him in a new political role - contains pages that look eerily familiar to California voters. San Francisco Chronicle.

Maybe that's because the former Tennessee senator has at his side some of the same key aides who, in nine short weeks, helped transform Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger from "The Terminator" into the chief executive of the Democratic-leaning state that is the most populous in the nation.

Thompson plans to formally kick off his presidential bid - shaped around the themes of "security, unity and prosperity" - beginning today with a blitz that reflects his media savvy and his advantage as an actor better known to many Americans as District Attorney Arthur Branch on TV's "Law & Order."

***
The New York Times political blog also obtained this first internet commercial for Thompson:

California Republicans are headed for a showdown over the direction of the party that could highlight national schisms over gay rights, gun control and abortion. Associated Press in the International Herald Tribune.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants the state Republican Party platform — the party's statement of core values — boiled down to as little as a single page focusing on lowering taxes, limiting the size of government and building a strong national defense. A centrist, the actor-turned-governor describes himself as a "post-partisan" who wants to bridge the political divide that often leaves the state capital Sacramento gridlocked.

But some conservatives see his move as an attempt to undercut party positions on everything from traditional marriage to opposition to abortion rights.

Hundreds of thousands of students are scheduled to stream back into Los Angeles Unified schools today for the start of the fall session as the district grapples with declining enrollment and the sixth year of a massive construction program. Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

A projected 700,000 students will be enrolled in the LAUSD this year - official figures are expected in October - down from last year's 708,000, officials said Tuesday.

The slipping student figures come, however, as the district has built 67 new schools and still has 77 to go in its $19.2 billion construction program - the largest public-works program in the nation.

Concerned that the region is slowly using up a vast reserve of water stored beneath the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, Glendale and Burbank have agreed to limit the amount of groundwater they pump so the basin can refill. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Under the proposed agreement approved Tuesday by the L.A. Board of Water and Power Commissioners, the cities can still pump their annual allotment of groundwater - which is the cheapest water available.

But they won't use most credits that would allow the cities to draw extra water during dry years and save millions of dollars spent on purchased water.

For now, hybrid cars can keep zooming along in California's car-pool lanes. But other solo motorists who have been sneaking into the lanes are going to have to go. Sue Doyle in the Daily News.

That's because, under federal pressure to speed up sluggish car-pool lanes, California transit officials said Tuesday that they will seek to crack down on motorists who use the lanes illegally and boost the fines for violators.

The beefed-up enforcement push comes as federal officials had set a deadline this month for Caltrans to develop strategies to deal with the traffic-clogging lanes that were supposed to be speedy options for drivers.

By a margin of 957 signatures, the term limits initiative has secured enough support to be placed on the Feb. 5 ballot, according to the secretary of state. Sacramento Bee.

Supporters of the term limits measure received a total of 764,747 projected valid signatures. They needed 763,790 projected valid signatures to qualify in a random sample count.

The initiative would reduce the total number of years that a lawmaker could serve in the Legislature from 14 to 12, but it would allow all of those years to be served in the Assembly, Senate or a combination of both.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to create a searchable, online database of campaign contribution data for all county offices going back to 1996.
The database, once its ready in several months, can be accessed through the Registrar-Recorder's Office Web site at http://lavote.net.
“I think this provides an added level of accessibility to people who want to look at this information without having to traipse down to the registrar's office in Norwalk,” Board Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky said. “Other jurisdictions are doing it. The cost to input the data is negligible and it's a service we're providing to the general public.”

Introducing the nation's latest YouTube star... Jack O'Connell?

O'Connell, the state's superintendent of public instruction, stars in this goofy-but-sorta-cute back-to-school video that he filmed with the students at Bret Harte Elementary School in Sacramento.

The two-minute video shows O'Connell in fast-forward going through the school day with the kids eating lunch in the cafeteria, playing basketball and working on an art project, accompanied by synthesizer music that can only be described as way-too-catchy for its own good.

O'Connell also presents his list of top 10 ways to have a great school year like "Turn off the TV and get creative" and "Make friends who are different."

The Legislature today passed a resolution urging the federal government to create a postal stamp in honor of the late Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.

Bradley was the city's longest-serving mayor and one of the first African-American mayors of a large U.S. city. During his 20-year term (1973-1993) the city hosted the 1984 Summer Olympics, grew to become the nation's second-most populous city, and developed new rail service.

The joint resolution, authored by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-West Hollywood, passed through both houses of the Legislature unanimously, and does not have to go to the governor for approval.

Earlier this year, the Los Angeles City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed similar resolutions asking the U.S. Postal Service for a commemorative stamp in honor of Bradley.

The folks at L.A. Observed and L.A. City Nerd remind us that today is the 226th birthday of the City of Los Angeles.

Where is Councilman Tom LaBonge when you need him to remind us of this historic event?

He's thrust himself onto the national stage while tackling global warming and health care reform, gracing magazine covers and chatting up the Sunday morning talk show circuit as he pushes his oversize political agenda. Steve Harmon in the San Jose Mercury News.

But when it comes to the most wrenching issue facing the nation - the war in Iraq - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has mostly shied away from the topic and avoided taking any hard-line position.

Now Schwarzenegger might not have a choice. Or, put another way, America's most famous politician who can't run for president now has the best opportunity yet to send a message on how he really feels about the war.

But

It has none of the history -- or cost -- of the Iowa straw poll, but former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani came out the winner in a straw poll of those who attended the State Fair in Sacramento.

Only 1,622 ballots were cast by those who happened to wander by the GOP booth at the fair and it did not allow those who were undecided to cast ballots.

But the results showed Giuliani the leader with 31 percent, followed by former Sen. Fred Thompson, who is expected to announce this week, with 24 percent. Others included former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 19 percent; Sen. John McCain, 8 percent; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 7 percent; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 5 percent; Rep. Ron Paul, 3 percent; Rep. Duncan Hunter, 2 percent and Rep.Tom Tancredo, 1 percent.

They weren't working on Labor Day.

Even so, labor union members on Monday had one good reason to wipe their brows. Donna Littlejohn in the Daily News.

Thanks to the sticky, miserable heat wave hovering over the Southland, thousands of workers enjoying the day off had to cope with abnormally high temperatures Monday at the traditional labor union picnic in Wilmington.

"It's a good thing this is a park with a lot of trees," remarked Vanessa Valles of San Pedro after staking out her family's spot with a blanket under a huge tree in Banning Park.

The Attorney General's Office is reclaiming honorary police-type badges it distributed to its 1,200 staff attorneys in Los Angeles and elsewhere because of the potential for misuse. Steve Geissenger in the Daily News.

In turn, local enforcement agencies have been advised to review their honorary-badge policies after the Attorney General's Office determined the practice illegal because badges could be misused by people who are not sworn peace officers.

Cases have come to light over the years in Southern California involving people attempting to avoid traffic citations or gain entry to restricted events by flashing honorary badges.

L.A. County's largest and most powerful labor organization is bracing for one of its busiest years in recent history as contracts for more than 200,000 union workers are up for renegotiation. Daily News.

Workers in high-profile industries ranging from entertainment and education to health care and shipping are set to sign new deals, and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, will be the central organizing point for building coalitions.

While Maria Elena Durazo has kept a low profile this past year as the new secretary-treasurer of the county federation, she has used the time to solidify her position - and the union's - for the discussions ahead.

Ingela Dahlgren enjoyed the benefits of a strong nursing union in her native Sweden before becoming a U.S. immigrant nearly 30 years ago. Julia M. Scott in the Daily News.

For more than two decades after her arrival, Dahlgren worked nonunion hospital jobs, but she was intent on one day using her experience with unions in Sweden to organize American nurses.

She eventually got her chance, and in 2002 a nurses union she helped start at the Northridge Hospital Medical Center negotiated its first contract.

When Southern California's residential real estate market began to slow down, it forced developer John Young to make some tough decisions. In the past year, he's laid off about 40percent of his workers at Rancho Cucamonga-based Young Homes. Daily News.

"Unfortunately, in our whole division we've had layoffs," said Young, the company's president. "They're all over the board. It's progressively gotten worse."

He said there's no telling whether more jobs will be lost, but he hopes the company can keep its current work force, which builds homes in Rialto, Fontana, Riverside, Moreno Valley and Perris.

In neighborhoods where congestion is bad and development and density are dreaded words, nothing gets homeowners' groups more riled up than traffic studies. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The reports - prepared by consultants for developers and fact-checked by city staff - are supposed to analyze how much traffic the project will create.

But residents complain the studies often underestimate the real impact new apartment buildings, office towers or malls will have on local streets so developers don't have to spend as much money on traffic fixes. Despite assurances from city leaders that the studies are legitimate, residents are suspicious of reports ordered and paid for by developers trying to get their projects approved.

Los Angeles Unified elementary and high schools showed gains in their state test scores that outpaced the rest of California, but middle schools leveled off as goals continued to get more challenging, a California Department of Education report released Friday said.Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

The district also did not meet its graduation goals: The graduation rate dropped 2.8 percentage points from last year, to 62.8 percent.

San Fernando Valley schools continued to outperform their districtwide peers. The Valley is home to most of the schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District with the target score of 800 and above on the state's Academic Performance Index.

A commissioner on the Board of Animal Services resigned from the volunteer post Friday, citing concerns about how the mayor's aides and General Manager Ed Boks are running the city's shelters and animal-rescue department.
Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

Maria Atake, a businesswoman and head of Forte Animal Rescue, was appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2005.

But in a letter to the mayor Friday, Atake complained that Boks makes "false, misleading and inflammatory comments" and that Villaraigosa's deputy chief of staff, Jimmy Blackman, refuses to rein him in.