South Bay Pipeline

It wouldn't be the holiday season without a few words of from Steve Bradford:

Hello, this is Assemblymember Steven Bradford, representing the 51^st Assembly District.

With the leaves on the ground and the air becoming brisk, we are reminded that the holiday season is upon us.

Though this time of year takes on many different meanings for Californians, there are some universal themes that present themselves to all of us.

The holidays not only remind us to be thankful for what we have, but to remember those that are less fortunate, especially in the midst of our nation's greatest recession.

Audio:

http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/Newsline/Audio/20091123RadioAddressEnglishThanksgivingBradford.mp3

Readers, wake up from your turkey and retail coma to catch up on local news:

Plans for a high-density senior housing complex in the heart of Torrance have resurfaced.  Again.

How did you spend Thanksgiving? Volunteers at Torrance church offered food, comfort and friendship to South Bay folks.

Bravo shoppers for bucking a dismal economy and flooding stores this morning in search of bargains. Our own business columnist Muhammed El-Hasan shares his Black Friday experience from last year.

And while you're out shopping, why not pick up an athletic ball to bring to the Breeze's annual holiday ball drive, which supports local youth-focused nonprofits?

A jury has found that William Sadowski was legally sane when he killed a Los Angeles International Airport police officer in 2005. Now, he's headed for a lifetime in parole, rather than a mental institution.

One Palos Verdes Estates young lady has reached what could be the highest echelon of academic honor, earning a prestigious Rhodes scholarship.

After more than a year of fighting for a dog park on The Hill, it looks like a Palos Verdes Estates couple is finally starting to see some success.

Thanksgiving is sooo yesterday. Bring on Christmas, and visits from Santa Claus throughout the South Bay.

The ACLU has obtained an index of CIA documents -- mostly e-mails -- that deal with the destruction of videotapes of interrogation sessions.

One of the notable findings is that the White House was involved in discussions in February 2003 on how to respond to a letter from Rep. Jane Harman. In the letter, Harman warned the CIA not to destroy the tapes. The newly released information shows that the CIA then consulted with the White House on how to respond to her -- marking the earliest known White House involvement in the matter.

The tapes were ultimately destroyed more than two years later, in November of 2005.

Harman reacts:

Those videotapes should never have been destroyed, and it's now clear the White House had early knowledge of my February 2003 letter warning against their destruction.  This is further evidence of the Bush Administration's disdain for Congress and due process.

The CIA has declined to release the actual email confirming this discussion. Instead, they've put out the following description of it, accompanied by an explanation of why the document itself cannot be disclosed:

This is a one-page email, discussing a meeting between CIA and the White House regarding the CIA's response to a congressional inquiry. The document also includes the draft text of a letter to Congress. This document contains information relating to the sources and methods of the CIA. The document also contains predecisional, deliberative information, CIA attorney work-product, and information provided by a CIA attorney to his client in connection with the provision of legal advice.

For much more on this, check out the ACLU's timeline of events, the index of undisclosed emails, and close coverage of the issue at Firedoglake.

Readers, we're so thankful for all this news!

What's a South Bay native, Oscar-winning screenwriter to do while in prison for a year? Tweet, of course.

More than 200 active military service men and women got their Thanksgiving eat on Tuesday at the Bob Hope USO at Los Angeles International Airport. See pictures of the festivities.

Meantime, volunteers Tuesday in San Pedro assembled baskets for the needy in anticipation of what will likely be the biggest giveaways ever for First Presbyterian Church's 14th annual tradition.

The former head of the Transportation Security Administration and LAX's first security director has died.

Toyota Motor Corp. is working to mute speculation that the car giant, whose sales and marketing and finance arms are in the South Bay, would move workers out of California.

Defensive back Sean Parker will help his Narbonne High team mates take on Venice in the CIF quarterfinals tonight. Be sure to check out pictures of the player.

Your turkey probably isn't even defrosted yet, but here are some ideas about what to do with all those tasty leftovers.

If you thought the Democrats would welcome the appointment of Abel Maldonado to lieutenant governor in hopes of picking up his Senate seat in a special election, think again.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is saying today that such an election would be too costly. Here's his statement:

Senator Maldonado is a fine colleague, but I have grave doubts about filling this position with any sitting elected official for two significant reasons.

First, confirming Senator Maldonado will necessitate a special election to fill his Senate seat.  According to state elections officials, such an election would cost taxpayers more than $2 million.  Rather than using taxpayer money to pay for an avoidable election, it may be wiser to use that $2 million to defray recent fee increases in our higher education system.  For example, $2 million would significantly reduce the Winter/Spring 2010 fee increases for UC students, or it would cover the recent $6 per unit increase for 333,000 course units for community college students.  

Second, just months from now Californians will choose their own nominees for the job of Lieutenant Governor.  And the voters will elect a new Lieutenant Governor to a four-year term less than one year from now.  It may be both fiscally and politically prudent to permit the people to make their own selection for this statewide office next year and avoid the expense of a costly special election.

If Maldonado were a stock, now would be the time to sell. If only there were somebody out there who didn't hold an elected office...

UPDATE: The governor's office is calling b.s.:

If Senator Steinberg acts promptly and confirms Senator Maldonado as California's next Lieutenant Governor within 84 days, the Governor will consolidate the 15th district's special election with the statewide June election to save tax payer dollars. If Senator Steinberg is concerned about state revenues and college tuition hikes he should stop fighting his own pay cut.

UPDATE 2: Steinberg:

To fill the Maldonado seat, there will almost certainly be two elections:  1) a primary, and 2) a run-off.  It is only possible to consolidate one of those two elections with the June primary.  Thus, there will have to be at least one unconsolidated election for the 15^th SD, which would involve 5 separate county election offices.  The cost of administering one such election is estimated at $2 million.  That number is based on the most recent Senate special election to fill SD 26 (Curren Price) and what we've been told by the Secretary of State's office.

Readers, so much news this morning:

A Carson man was arrested this morning in connection to a Harbor College break-in, but another man escaped.

Trial began Monday for Brandon Manai, the Torrance man accused of throwing his wife of just 13 days over a Rancho Palos Verdes cliff in July 2005.

Los Angeles Unified School District leaders have instigated a a hiring freeze, and slashed other expenses like travel, conferences and eats at district meetings as the district faces a deficit of up to $60 million this year.

Looks like El Segundo's new fire station is almost finished after a few delays.

Los Angeles International Airport traffic in October increased for the second month in a row. Whoo hoo!

More than 2 million drop-side cribs manufactured by an arm of the El Segundo-based Mattel have been recalled.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went on the Jay Leno Show today to name Sen. Abel Maldonado his lieutenant governor.

For our purposes in the South Bay, this is important largely because Maldonado is not Bob Hertzberg. Had Hertzberg gotten the nod, he might well have been the instant favorite in the Democratic primary. That would have been bad news for L.A. Councilwoman Janice Hahn, whose only competition for the nomination at this point is Sen. Dean Florez.

If he chooses to run next year, Maldonado, a moderate Republican, may have some trouble winning his party's nomination due to his vote in favor of the tax-hiking budget deal last February.

Another South Bay note: Maldonado picked a fight earlier this year with Controller John Chiang, who lives in Torrance, over some new office furniture. At the time it looked like Maldonado might have been setting the stage for a run against Chiang next year, but so far the only Republican who has expressed an interest in the race is Bill Leonard.

Despite high unemployment figures and a sagging economy, more than
17,000 travelers passed through the Port of Los Angeles World Cruise
Center on Sunday, breaking the previous record by about 2,500 people.

The Golden Princess and the Star Princess, each capable of holding
2,700 passengers, dropped off and picked up passengers bound for
Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand. The Mariner of the Seas, capable
of holding 3,150 passengers, dropped off and picked up travelers
headed to the Mexican Riviera.

Here are some photos from the port:

Readers, let's roll:

A teenage boy was killed in San Pedro after a fight this weekend. Check out pictures of the scene afterward.

Nearly 30 years after buying some coastal land from its school district, Rancho Palos Verdes is finally getting ready to build a park that isn't sitting so well with neighbors.

South Bay unemployment rates stayed mostly stable in October, bucking a downward trend across the county and state. Poor Torrance was the only city in the area to see an increase in the statistics released last week.

Local nonprofits are gearing up for record holiday needs, beginning with a massive food drive that starts Tuesday. Meantime, one San Pedro-based group is working on its first effort to give Thanksgiving baskets to families who have lost children to violent crimes.

What's that stench coming from the Walteria Sump in Torrance?

Rancho Palos Verdes city officials ponder why its hotel tax increase failed at the polls earlier this month, and what the possible ramifications could be.

Three former Hermosa Beach surf buddies are busy brewing beer.

S.F. Chronicle columnists Matier & Ross toy with the possibility that Dianne Feinstein will retire in 2012. And as long as they're speculating, why not float some names of potential replacements:

Those said to be looking include Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Rep. Jane Harman of Venice (Los Angeles County), Controller John Chiang and Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

As to Harman, Matier & Ross may want to check in with their colleague, Willie Brown, who had her running for governor a few weeks ago.

M&R note that Feinstein is 76, and may not want to commit to serving through her 85th birthday. (Though it hasn't deterred Robert Byrd or either senator from Hawaii.)