KPCC News In Brief

December 2008 Archives

• Little Tokyo holds New Year's festival

  Downtown L.A.’s Little Tokyo celebrates the New Year with a festival tomorrow. Southern California’s Japanese Chamber of Commerce sponsors the event called Oshogatsu.

  The chamber’s Jeffrey Yamazaki says traditional foods like mochi figure big in the holiday.

  Jeffrey Yamazaki: “Mochi is a rice cake, right? We have red and white mochi we throw away to the audience for free. We have 600 mochi.”

  Yamazaki says this is the 11th year Little Tokyo has hosted a free celebration that helps raise money for cultural exchanges between the United States and Japan. A program of music and performances begins on two stages at 11 o’clock in the morning on New Year’s Day.

  Link: Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California

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  • December 31, 2008 4:20 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Governor's aides issue budget plan

  Aides to Governor Schwarzenegger today unveiled the latest plan to close California’s $41 billion budget deficit. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: The plan covers the next 18 months. It includes earlier proposals – raising the state sales tax from 5 to 6.5 percent, and reducing the public school year by one week to save money. Spending cuts top $17 billion. One new proposal: borrowing almost $5 billion from the private sector.

  The governor’s finance director reiterated that the state faces a major fiscal crisis as the bad economy causes tax revenues to plummet. He said California will run out of money in February unless the legislature enacts deep spending cuts and raises taxes. So far, Republican legislators have refused to go along with tax increases.

  Governor Schwarzenegger, who’s declared a fiscal emergency, was absent from the budget briefing. Aides said he’s out of state – but they refused to say where, citing security and privacy concerns.

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  • December 31, 2008 2:55 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Coachella attorney continues free New Year's ride program

  A Coachella Valley lawyer is once again sponsoring a safe ride program for New Year’s Eve revelers who’ve had one or two drinks too many. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has details.

  Steven Cuevas: Every holiday season Palm Desert attorney Walter Clark teams up with the Valley’s Taxi Owners Association to give tipsy partiers a free ride home. Clark’s law firm shells out around $5,000 every New Year’s Eve to cover the fares.

  He launched the Safe Rides Home program to raise awareness of what he says is the Coachella Valley’s growing drunk driving problem. The city of Palm Springs has one of the highest rates of alcohol-related car accidents in California.

  Any Coachella Valley resident is eligible for the one-way, confidential ride through 2 a.m. tonight. Drivers will only go far as a person’s doorstep, as long as it’s no further than 15 miles away. The ride is free, but there’s a $40 cleanup fee for people who get sick in the cab.

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  • December 31, 2008 2:27 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Actress Cloris Leachman is grand marshal for Rose Parade

  To fans of 1970s sitcoms, or certain Mel Brooks movies, or this year’s “Dancing with the Stars,” the grand marshal for tomorrow’s Rose Parade will be a familiar face. Actress Cloris Leachman is as funny now as she was more than three decades ago in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Phyllis,” and “Young Frankenstein.” She reminded KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” just how funny after the two fielded a phone call from one of Leachman’s friends.

  Patt Morrison: Maybe she’ll wave to you from the convertible on the Rose Parade route.
  Cloris Leachman: I will. I’m gonna – I’ve learned how to wave.
  Morrison: Oh, they’ve given you waving lessons?
  Leachman: Remember how the queen of England waves?
  Morrison: The queen mother?
  Leachman: With her wooden hand. No, I’ll be waving to anybody who’s waving at me, I’ll wave right back.

  That’s Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress – and Rose Parade grand marshal – Cloris Leachman, having some fun with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.”

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  • December 31, 2008 2:12 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Attorney general files lawsuit over Endangered Species Act

  State Attorney General Jerry Brown is taking on Washington again - this time over the 35-year-old Endangered Species Act. Brown told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that he’s filed a lawsuit to block new regulations the federal government used to interpret the law.

  Jerry Brown: “Because George Bush at the last minute is sabotaging, or attempting to sabotage, the Endangered Species Act by freezing out important scientific analysis.”

  The federal interior department issued no comment about the lawsuit. President-elect Barack Obama has already pledged to try and reverse the regulations the Bush administration’s put in place during its final days.

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  • December 31, 2008 2:08 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Anchorage brings float to Rose Parade

  For the first time ever, the city of Anchorage, Alaska is entering a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade. The parade happens just a couple of days before Alaska celebrates 50 years of statehood. Jeannette Moores of the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau describes the contents of her city’s booth at the post-parade Showcase of Floats.

  Jeannette Moores: “Dogs with dogsleds for dogsled rides. Glacier ice, a giant huge piece of glacier ice for people to come up and touch. A climbing wall so people can come out and climb and do some of the activities that we enjoy every day. So we’re hoping that people in Southern California will come out and see what Anchorage and Alaska has to offer.”

  The Showcase of Floats begins after the Rose Parade at 1 o’clock tomorrow afternoon, and continues through Saturday.

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  • December 31, 2008 1:56 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Viacom may pull channels from Time Warner Cable

  You won’t find cable TV’s fiercest wrestling match on pay-per-view. It’s taking place in the final hours of this year – as Viacom threatens to pull its channels from Time Warner Cable unless the cable operator pays a higher fee for its programming.

  Viacom channels include Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, and Comedy Central. Patricia Fregoso, regional vice president for Time Warner Cable, told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that Viacom’s pretty bold to ask for more money when the economy’s so bad.

  Patricia Fregoso: “We actually think the claims that equate to pennies to our customers are misleading and actually insulting, because when you do the math, Viacom is asking for another $39 million annually. And, of course, viewers, customers pay that price at the end of the day.”

  Viacom officials counter that the company’s programs are the most-watched on cable, so they’re worth more than Time Warner’s willing to pay. If the two sides don’t settle by midnight, Viacom’s 20 channels on that system will go bye-bye.

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  • December 31, 2008 1:38 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Time Warner may drop Viacom channels

  Time Warner cable subscribers may lose Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and 17 other channels after midnight tonight.

  Viacom owns those channels. The media company is in a dispute with Time Warner over pricing. Viacom spokeswoman Kelly McAndrew told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that Time Warner undervalues her company’s channels.

  Kelly McAndrew: “Our networks, nearly 20 of them, garner almost 20 percent of the cable viewing audience - and yet, the fees that Time Warner pays for our programming account for only 2 and a half percent of what they get from their average cable subscriber.”

  McAndrew says Viacom’s seeking a 12 percent increase in fees - worth about 23 cents a month per subscriber.

  But Time Warner’s regional vice president claims that what Viacom really wants is an extra $39 million a year - and that the cable operator would have to pass along that cost to consumers.

  If the two companies don’t reach an agreement by midnight, Viacom says its channels will go dark for Time Warner subscribers.

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  • December 31, 2008 1:36 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• No smoking along Rose Parade route

  If you’re planning to join the hundreds of thousands of spectators enjoying the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena and you’re a smoker, you won’t be able to light up that cigarette outdoors.

  Three months ago the Pasadena City Council approved a new ordinance that for the first time will prohibit smoking along the parade route. Takashi Wada with the Pasadena Health Department says this smoking ban takes effect tomorrow.

  Takashi Wada: “People are just going to get a warning. And they’re going to be asked to either put out their cigarette or move back away from the immediate parade route. If somebody doesn’t comply, or they’re a repeat offender, we do have the option of issuing a citation, and that would be $100 for the first offense.”

  Pasadena’s new ordinance also bars smoking within 20 feet of commercial buildings, on outdoor restaurant patios, at bus stops, even in line at automatic teller machines.

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  • December 31, 2008 1:21 PM
  • Categories: Health, Society/Culture

• Anchorage joins Rose Parade

  West Covina. Torrance. Duarte. A number of Southland cities have floats in the Tournament of Roses Parade. This go-round, Anchorage, Alaska joins them for one time only. KPCC’s Brian Watt tells us why.

  Brian Watt: Anchorage has been angling for a float in this parade for quite some time – because it happens so close to a very important date in Alaska’s history.

  Jeannette Moores: It is Alaska’s 50th anniversary of statehood. So it’s happy birthday Alaska on January 3rd.

  Watt: Jeannette Moores works for the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau.

  Moores: This is a great marketing opportunity for our state. Southern California is one of the top visitor markets for Alaska.

  Watt: So the float presents what Anchorage hopes visitors will come and enjoy: glaciers, kayaking, native Alaskan performers. The city’s even shipped down Alaskan spruce boughs and mosses for the decor.

  Don’t forget the life-size sled dogs. And Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the grueling 1000-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race, is set to ride on the float – in far warmer temperatures.

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  • December 31, 2008 1:17 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Orange County has three Rose Parade floats

  The floats for the Tournament of Roses are ready to go for tomorrow’s parade down Colorado Boulevard - right past the KPCC studios. This year’s theme is “Hats Off to Entertainment.” KPCC’s Susan Valot says that for Orange County, it’s “hats off” to three O.C. cities with Rose Parade floats.

  Susan Valot: This is the first time Mission Viejo has sponsored a float in the Rose Parade. It features a representation of Lake Mission Viejo with a diver, a sailboarder, a hiker, and others having fun in the city. The float celebrates Mission Viejo’s 20th anniversary as a city.

  Huntington Beach calls its float “Surf City USA,” with an entire family surfing a big wave - complete with the dog and a barbecue grill.

  This will be the 16th year that Anaheim has entered a float in the Rose Parade. This year, the city’s calling its float “Crank Up the Entertainment.” It features a music box with the Honda Center, Angel Stadium, and Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle, complete with bursting fireworks - made of flowers, of course.

  Some 40 million Americans tune in each New Year’s Day to watch the Rose Parade.

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  • December 31, 2008 11:46 AM
  • Categories: Arts, Society/Culture

• LAPD chief warns not to shoot guns into the air on New Year's

  LAPD Chief William Bratton headed the New York and Boston police departments earlier in his career. Before he moved to Los Angeles from the East Coast, he said he’d never heard of what seems to be a tradition in these parts - firing guns into the air to celebrate the New Year.

  William Bratton: “Fortunately, it seems to be getting better with each passing year. We pursue it aggressively, take people to court, and in some instances it can be a felony; in other instances a misdemeanor, depending on the circumstances of the incident and the arrest. But we treat it seriously and again, we are hoping for a safe year.”

  Bratton told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that his department plans to vigorously prosecute anyone police catch shooting into the air tonight.

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  • December 31, 2008 11:39 AM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Suspects in Deputy Escalante murder plead not guilty

  The two suspects in the murder of an L.A. County jail guard pleaded “not guilty” today. They’re charged in the execution-style killing of Deputy Juan Escalante. KPCC’s Nick Roman says prosecutors could ask for the death penalty.

  Nick Roman: That’s because they claim both suspects were active members of the “Avenues” gang in Cypress Park - and that both killed Deputy Juan Escalante to further the activities of the gang. That “special circumstance” allegation opens the possibility of the death penalty for 24-year-old Carlos Javier Velasquez and 20-year-old Guillermo Hernandez. Prosecutors haven’t decided whether they’ll go after it.

  Deputy Escalante was getting ready to go to work at the Men’s Central Jail last August when someone gunned him down outside his home. Prosecutors say Velasquez was the shooter. It’s not clear why Escalante was killed - but it is clear the Sheriff’s Department and the LAPD took the case seriously.

  They assembled a joint task force of detectives and other investigators. After the arrests two weeks ago, Sheriff Lee Baca gave a lot of credit to “forensic scientists.” Why he said that could become clear during the preliminary hearing in February.

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  • December 30, 2008 4:56 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Salvadoran refugees get immigration renewal for 18 months

  Time’s running out for Salvadoran nationals who wish to renew their legal residence in this country. Their immigration documents must be postmarked by midnight tonight.

  Hundreds of people waited in line for hours at El Salvador’s consulate in Los Angeles. Thirty-five-year-old Marvin Gutierrez was one of them. He said that money’s tight, even though he holds down two full-time jobs at a couple of grocery stores.

  Marvin Gutierrez: “I work in the produce department.” Patricia Nazario: “When do you sleep?” Gutierrez: I sleep like three or four hours every day and that’s it. I’m not working today. It’s my day off.”

  Gutierrez spoke with KPCC’s Patricia Nazario at the Salvadoran consular office near downtown L.A.

  The U.S. government’s granting its sixth extension for temporary protected status following a pair of major earthquakes that rocked El Salvador eight years ago. About 230,000 Salvadorans in the U.S. will benefit.

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  • December 30, 2008 4:54 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Muslims start fundraising for Gaza

  Southern California Muslim leaders today sharply criticized Israel’s attacks on Gaza. They also announced a $3 million fundraising effort to provide humanitarian aid to the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in Gaza. Mostafa Mahboob is with the aid group Islamic Relief.

  Mostafa Mahboob: “The situation there is very dire. The United Nations and other aid agencies have claimed before the current crisis that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was the worst in 30 years.

  “And now with this ongoing escalation, the need is tremendous on the ground. And we’re urging the public and communities across America to please open up your hearts and your pocketbooks to support the humanitarian needs on the ground in Gaza.”

  Mahboob spoke during a news conference at the Islamic Center of Southern California.

  Israel has said it launched its bombing campaign in response to rocket attacks from Gaza. More than 350 Palestinians have died. Many are said to be civilians. Four Israelis have died.

  Link: Islamic Relief USA
  Link: Islamic Relief Worldwide

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  • December 30, 2008 3:29 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Muslims ask US to stop Israeli attacks on Gaza

  Southern California Muslim leaders today described Israeli attacks on Gaza as “barbaric.” Hussam Ayloush heads the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He said concerned people should urge the Bush Administration to pressure Israel to stop the attacks.

  Hussam Ayloush: “We’re hoping that the American public will respond to the cries, to the images of pain, blood, murder that we’re seeing. No one can deny – with the access of Internet – no one can deny seeing the great injustice that is happening today in Gaza. Those who don’t respond should ask themselves what made me remain neutral in the face of this tragedy.”

  Muslim leaders also announced a $3 million fundraising effort to provide aid to the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in Gaza. Israel has said its bombing there is a response to Hamas’ rocket attacks.

  The four-day Israeli campaign has killed more than 350 Palestinians. Many are said to be civilians. Four Israelis have died in the latest conflict, says the Associated Press.

  Link: Council on American-Islamic Relations

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  • December 30, 2008 2:52 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Fire chief urges safety precautions for Rose Parade spectators

  The night before the 120th annual Rose Parade, organizers expect more than 500,000 spectators are expected to camp out along the route in Pasadena. Tomorrow night’s going to be chilly, so keeping warm will be key. Pasadena Fire Chief Dennis Downs says a few precautions will help campers pass a warm, safe night.

  Dennis Downs: “If you’re going to have a fire because it’s going to be cold, if you have a fire you’re going to need to make sure that the fire is in a container and that it is stable so that it doesn’t tip over.

  “You’re not allowed to bring couches. You’re not allowed to take tents because they can burn and they take up a lot of room, a lot of area. And once they catch fire they’re not so easy to put out.”

  Downs adds that Pasadena authorities will allow parade fans to camp out starting at 5 tomorrow afternoon. Fire and police officers, along with American Red Cross volunteers, plan to patrol the streets through tomorrow night.

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  • December 30, 2008 2:38 PM
  • Categories: Society/Culture

• Red Cross asks Rose Parade spectators to stay warm

  Temperatures are expected to drop to 30 degrees tomorrow night in Pasadena. Tournament of Roses officials expect half-a-million parade spectators to camp out along the Rose Parade route. The American Red Cross is warning those watchers about the potential for hypothermia.

  Todd Blecha with the Red Cross says dozens of volunteers will be available through the night to provide first-aid services - but he adds it’ll be a good idea for everyone to bring along plenty of blankets.

  Todd Blecha: “Stay warm. Also bring fruit and water to drink. They want to be able to make sure that they are drinking water, as well as have a good meal. It’s just going to help them keep warm. And bring enough clothing. Expect the cold – you can always take off a blanket.”

  Thirteen Red Cross stations staffed with 150 volunteers will be available along the parade route on New Year’s Day.

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  • December 30, 2008 2:34 PM
  • Categories: Health, Society/Culture

• LA County warns against home reassessment scam

  Los Angeles County officials say con men are targeting unwary homeowners amid the housing value crash. KPCC’s John Rabe reports.

  John Rabe: Here’s how L.A. County Assessor Rick Auerbach says it works: you want to get your property taxes lowered because your home’s value has dropped since you bought it. You get an official looking letter in the mail, offering to file a reassessment request form with the county. You pay between a hundred and two-hundred dollars for that form to be filed. And… you were scammed.

  Auerbach says first of all, his office is already going to be reassessing half-a-million residential properties this coming year. So you may not have to do anything at all. But if you want to make sure, you can file a simple form on your own, for free.

  Auerbach says these letters may violate laws requiring a disclaimer that the solicitation doesn’t come from the government. And he adds at least one of the companies involved is already under investigation in other counties.

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  • December 30, 2008 1:53 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Potentially suicidal feeling more pressure this holiday season

  Mental health advocates debate whether the incidence of suicide is higher during the holidays. But Sandri Kramer of the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center says that people prone to suicidal behavior are feeling particular pressure this holiday season.

  Sandri Kramer: “What we are hearing that is quite different this year is that there is an increased sense of hopelessness and a greater fear. Perhaps people are still holding on to jobs; still holding on to their homes. Perhaps things are relatively OK but they see the dominoes fall all around them.”

  Kramer spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk.” Her organization offers mental health services at nine locations in Los Angeles County and operates a 24-hour crisis hotline.

  If you or someone you know may need help with this issue, go online to SuicidePreventionCenter.org for more information.

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  • December 30, 2008 1:48 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Society/Culture

• Christmas Eve killer's rental car contained flammable liquid

  Covina police say the man who killed nine people last week at a Christmas Eve party had plotted the attacks for six months. Bruce Pardo, upset with his ex-wife, allegedly opened fire on the gathering at his former in-laws’ house, then set the house on fire.

  Police believe Pardo also meant to kill other people: his mother and his ex-wife’s divorce attorney, Chris Nord.

  Lieutenant Pat Buchanan said Pardo parked a rental car that contained flammable liquid near Nord’s house in Glendale. Pardo allegedly used a device to spray flammable liquid at the Covina home, burning it down.

  Chris Nord: “We believe that Mr. Pardo was going to recharge or fill the device that he was going to take over there and also target Mr. Nord and his family.”

  Pardo never went back to the house. He later killed himself. Police also believe that Pardo meant to kill his mother. She’d been invited to the Christmas Eve party in Covina, but she cancelled at the last minute because she was sick.

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  • December 30, 2008 1:09 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Charity entrepeneur calls for more creativity in nonprofits

  As this year’s tax deadline for charitable giving deductions approaches tomorrow night, here’s something to ponder – traditional thinking about the way Americans run nonprofits isn’t up to the problems we expect those organizations to address, charity entrepreneur Dan Palotta told KPCC’s “AirTalk.” He challenged donors to demand more creative approaches to problem-solving that mirror successful strategies in the for-profit sector.

  Dan Palotta: “We have to ask ourselves if we want our charity to be small, to be quaint, to be some kind of a salve for our consciences, then things work fine just as they are, but I don’t think that’s what we want.

  “I think we, as human beings, we want to see hunger ended in our lifetime; we don’t want to see those people on Skid Row anymore, suffering right in our midst; we don’t want to see people dying needlessly of AIDS.”

  Palotta helped to launch the charitable equivalent of the blockbuster - long-distance bicycle tours that raised money for AIDS research. Many people savaged those events because they required high overhead costs. Palotta responds to those critics in his new book, “Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential.”

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  • December 30, 2008 1:06 PM
  • Categories: Society/Culture

• Christmas Eve killer also meant to kill his mother

  Covina police believe the gunman in last week’s attack meant to kill additional people. Nine people died when Bruce Pardo allegedly opened fire on a Christmas Eve gathering at his former in-laws’ house and then set the house on fire. Pardo later killed himself.

  Covina Police Lieutenant Pat Buchanan says Pardo’s mother had also been invited to the party and investigators believe Pardo intended to kill her, too - because she liked his ex-wife, Sylvia.

  Pat Buchanan: “Recently she had expressed quite a bit of displeasure with her son over his actions in the divorce between him and Sylvia. And that she had also come to like Sylvia a great deal, and this bothered her son Bruce.”

  At the last minute, Pardo’s mother decided not to go to the party because she was sick.

  Covina police also believe that Pardo meant to kill his ex-wife’s divorce attorney. Earlier this week, investigators found a rental car that contained flammable liquid parked near the attorney’s house.

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  • December 30, 2008 12:53 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Government applies new adult education standards

  The federal government’s applying new standards for adult students in the Southland and across California. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario has the story.

  Patricia Nazario: The California Department of Education is raising the bar for adult literacy and “transition to job” programs. The state’s complying with changes in the federal Adult Basic Education Initiative for Student Success.

  Under that initiative, the federal government assesses adult students in each state and sets individual target performance goals. In California, one in three adults enrolled in high school-level classes is literate. Uncle Sam wants the state to increase that proportion to 43 percent.

  School districts have until January 16th to apply for access to consultants, technical assistance, and professional staff development opportunities. The three-year federal project doesn’t allocate new money for adult education, but its goals are negotiable.

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  • December 30, 2008 11:50 AM
  • Categories: Education

• Feinstein warns Obama of air traffic controller shortage

  One senator from California is warning the incoming Obama administration about a shortage of air traffic controllers in Southern California. KPCC’s Susan Valot reports.

  Susan Valot: Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein calls the current staffing situation at local airports “a serious accident waiting to happen.” She voiced her concerns in a letter to President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for transportation secretary.

  Feinstein says the number of fully certified air traffic controllers at the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control near Miramar dropped from 236 four years ago to 164 in April this year. That facility manages air traffic all over Southern California.

  Feinstein points out operation errors are up at that facility, too. She says ongoing “runway incursion problems” at LAX have been blamed partially on “controller fatigue.” She’s asking incoming Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to take immediate steps to boost staffing levels and retain veteran controllers at LAX and at the radar facility near Miramar.

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  • December 29, 2008 5:20 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• Immigration renewal deadline approaching for Salvadoran refugees

  The clock’s ticking for Salvadorans who want to remain in the United States legally under their temporary protected status. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario says the deadline falls tomorrow at midnight.

  Patricia Nazario: Salvadorans who lived in the United States when a pair of major earthquakes hit their homeland almost eight years ago must renew their immigration papers.

  The U.S. government is extending their temporary protected status for another 18 months. Immigration officials started getting the word out last fall. But El Salvador’s economic minister in Washington, D.C., Carmen Tobar, said most Salvadorans haven’t had the money to hire legal help.

  Carmen Tobar: What we do as a government, we offer, free of charge, advice, and we complete all the forms and all the information. They are sure that this information is right.

  Nazario: Tobar added that the economic downturn has caused many Salvadoran nationals to procrastinate. The application and work permit fees can cost more than $400 a person. Those who miss the deadline risk deportation.

  U.S. Immigration officials say about half the 230,000 Salvadorans eligible for temporary protected status have submitted their applications.

  Note: Salvadoran consular offices in Los Angeles and Santa Ana are staying open until 7 tonight - and until midnight tomorrow – to handle applications.

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  • December 29, 2008 5:17 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Community meeting follows shooting/fire deaths in Covina

  Officials at a meeting in Covina tonight will try to address neighbors’ concerns following the Christmas Eve shootings and house fire that left 10 people dead, including the alleged gunman. Kim Raney is the police chief in Covina.

  Kim Raney: “We’re going to come together tonight. We’re going to talk about what’s happened. We’re going to talk about what we can do to support the family, to support each other, bring in some grief counselors, and start setting up a road map to move forward.”

  Raney told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that city of Covina staff will not take reporter questions, but they will respond to questions from people who live there. The meeting will take place at the Royal Oak School Auditorium on North Glendora Avenue in Covina.

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  • December 29, 2008 3:33 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Deadline looms for Salvadoran immigration renewal

  Salvadoran nationals who lived in the United States when a pair of major earthquakes hit their homeland almost eight years ago are eligible to keep their special legal status.

  The U.S. government is granting its sixth extension for temporary protected status, said El Salvador’s economic minister in Washington, D.C., Carmen Tobar.

  Carmen Tobar: “And the State Department makes an assessment in that country in order to see if the conditions are normal, are back again, if the nationals can go back to the country.”

  Tobar said their homeland’s infrastructure is still too weak to accommodate an estimated 230,000 Salvadorans if they returned from the United States.

  They have until tomorrow to renew their immigration papers and avoid risking deportation.

  Salvadoran consular offices are offering free help to complete the forms. Those offices in Los Angeles and Santa Ana plan to stay open until 7 o’clock tonight and until midnight tomorrow.

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  • December 29, 2008 3:31 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• New LA parking meters cost drivers more

  The city of Los Angeles’ move to replace thousands of parking meters for electronic models with higher rates reflects a new approach to thinking about parking. Amir Sedadi, who runs parking management and regulations for the city, told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that stowing your car close to your destination is not a right but a privilege.

  Amir Sedadi: “We need to start changing some behavior by providing the on-street spaces which are the most sought after spaces at a little bit higher prices and encourage people to if they are going to stay longer to then, walk a little bit longer, or park in off-street facilities and provide that turn-over for all the businesses that are also suffering.”

  The new meters also will charge more for the most coveted street spaces. L.A. officials predict that the new meters could generate $18 million a year for the city.

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  • December 29, 2008 3:15 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Transportation

• Covina holds community meeting due to Christmas Eve massacre

  Covina police officials and other city leaders are meeting with residents tonight to discuss the shooting and fire that claimed nine lives on Christmas Eve. They want to hear from people who are dealing with the aftermath of violent event.

  Two days after the incident, Covina Mayor Kevin Stapleton offered a special message to the neighbors of Joseph and Alicia Ortega, who hosted the party where the shooting and fire took place.

  Mayor Kevin Stapleton: “We are here to support you, to try to assist you in any way that we can in meeting some of the difficulties, some of the stress that they are going through now and will be going through for some time to come. We’re a very close community, a very supportive community, and this is our opportunity for everybody to reach out.”

  Tonight’s meeting starts at 7 o’clock at Royal Oak Middle School on South Glendora Avenue in Covina. Mental health workers from Los Angeles County are also expected to attend.

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  • December 29, 2008 2:00 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• LA converts to new parking meters, charges more

  The city of Los Angeles is switching 6,000 of its parking meters from the coin-operated variety to multi-space machines that accept credit and debit cards. The change will bring LA in line with many cities that have adopted the new meters - and it’ll cost drivers more. Donald Shoup, who teaches urban planning at UCLA, said it’s about time the city caught up.

  Donald Shoup: “Prices in parking meters of Los Angeles haven’t really changed since 1990. That’s over about 18 years from now. And I think it shows that L.A. has left its parking meters kind of out in the rain and has not paid attention to the market price of parking.”

  Shoup - author of “The High Cost of Free Parking” – told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that higher parking rates could help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by causing drivers to skip unnecessary trips by car.

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  • December 29, 2008 1:49 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Transportation

• South LA activists plan vigil after shooting of 20-year-old

  South Los Angeles activists are decrying the shooting death of a 20-year-old man on a street corner during the weekend. They plan a vigil tonight to remember Trevion Collins. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports.

  Frank Stoltze: Gunmen shot Collins as he left a phone store with a friend near the intersection of 27th Street and Western Avenue early Saturday evening.

  Skipp Townsend: Right now, we’re unclear what actually happened. There was no argument, no exchange of words, the guys just opened fire when they saw them coming out of the store.

  Stoltze: Skipp Townsend is with the West Angeles Community Cease-Fire Committee. He says Collins was not a gang member, but his friend may have been. Townsend says the neighborhood - like the rest of L.A. - has been pretty quiet lately.

  Townsend: I’ve seen a drastic decrease in not only just in homicides, but in shootings and violence as a whole – however, when it hits one person and one family, then it’s hard to see the, so-to-speak, the forest for the trees.

  Stoltze: Townsend says Trevion Collins’ mother lost another son to gun violence just three years ago.

  Note: The vigil is scheduled for 6 o’clock, at the southwest corner of 27th and Western, where Collins died.

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  • December 29, 2008 1:46 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Covina holds meeting for residents after Christmas Eve massacre

  Officials in Covina are convening a meeting tonight to discuss the shooting and fire that claimed nine lives on Christmas Eve. KPCC’s Brian Watt reports.

  Brian Watt: Covina police and city leaders want to speak with neighbors and other people who are trying to cope after the violent incident.

  Mayor Kevin Stapleton: We are in shock that the event that could have happened anywhere in the world happened here.

  Watt: That’s Covina Mayor Kevin Stapleton at a media briefing two days after the shooting. Stapleton said the city wants to offer help to the close neighbors of the late Joseph and Alicia Ortega.

  Police say 45-year-old Bruce Pardo showed up at their home dressed as Santa Claus and shot and killed nine people before he drove to Sylmar and took his own life. Mayor Stapleton said people in Covina could experience stress related to the incident for quite some time.

  Stapleton: We are very close community, a very supportive community, and this is our opportunity for everybody to reach out.

  Watt: Mental health professionals from Los Angeles County will also attend the meeting at Royal Oak Middle School. It begins at 7 o’clock.

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  • December 29, 2008 1:32 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• LA Unified cuts arts partnership amid state budget cuts

  Mid-year cuts in the state education budget have prompted the Los Angeles Unified School District to suspend a partnership with area arts organizations. Danielle Brazell with the advocacy group Arts for L.A. lamented the decision on KPCC’s “AirTalk.”

  Danielle Brazell: “The purpose of arts education is not solely to create the next generation of artists. The purpose of arts education is to create the next generation of society. It’s to create a creative work force.

  “Southern California is built on a creative industry and we need smart, intelligent, critical thinkers who can fill positions that require creative thinking, so this is one of the things that arts education provides.”

  Brazell - whose program administers the partnership between public schools and 80 theaters, musical organizations, and other arts institutions – described arts education as a social justice issue. The partnership’s budget was about $8 million this year. L.A. Unified has to cut $400 million in state money from its annual budget.

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  • December 29, 2008 1:20 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Education

• UCI scientist to study gases in South Pole

  Forget the North Pole. One UC Irvine scientist is spending his holiday season in the South Pole. KPCC’s Susan Valot says he’s studying gases trapped in ice.

  Susan Valot: UC Irvine chemist Murat Aydin and three other scientists are drilling holes into the icy surface buried below the snow in Antarctica. They’re collecting samples of air from below that ice layer. They’ll then bring it back to UCI to study it.

  The scientists want to see how levels of various gases - like propane and butane - have changed over time. Aydin says understanding that will help scientists predict what will happen in the future and will help them understand how to respond to climate change.

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  • December 29, 2008 1:07 PM
  • Categories: Education, Environment, Science/Technology

• Volunteers still needed to decorate Rose Parade floats

  Perhaps you’ve wondered how the floats in the annual Rose Parade get so… flowery. It takes a lot of hands – and KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says some float sponsors are still rounding up helping hands before Thursday’s big event.

  Cheryl Devall: The kind of weather we’re enjoying this week inspired Pasadena’s Valley Hunt Club to stage the original Tournament of Roses - so its members could show their friends and relatives in colder climates just how lovely Southland winters can be.

  The floats they devised for that first parade in 1890 - flower-garlanded horse-drawn carriages - are a far cry from the elaborate, animated juggernauts that roll along the parade route these days. Professional design and decoration teams handle the work of attaching petals, grasses, and seeds to the surfaces of most floats.

  But quite a few organizations still rely on volunteers to ensure that the floats will look their best come New Year’s Day. If you’re interested in helping out, go online to www.tournamentofroses.com/events for info about pitching in. If you just want to appreciate the work-in-progress, you can find details at that same Web site.

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  • December 29, 2008 12:12 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Society/Culture

• Sculptor Robert Graham, 70, dies

  Funeral plans are pending for world-renowned sculptor Robert Graham. He died during the weekend at age 70.

  Graham crafted several well known projects in Los Angeles, including the bronze doors on the plaza of the downtown Music Center and at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. In his Venice studio, Graham also created many sculptures of the female figure.

  Several years ago, he talked with KPCC’s Kitty Felde about why he liked to sculpt women.

  Kitty Felde: “You know ,every culture has its kind of opposite, and one discovers throughout that opposite kind of attraction and everything that comes with it, the eroticism, the sensuality, one discovers a way of looking at the whole world through one figure.”

  For the 1984 Olympic Games, Graham also crafted the “Olympic Gateway,” a sculpture of two headless figures outside the Coliseum in Exposition Park.

  Graham died Saturday at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. He reportedly had been ill for about six months.

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  • December 29, 2008 12:09 PM
  • Categories: Arts, History

• 'Marley and Me' leads post-Christmas box office

  Hollywood got a nice gift for the holidays: a big turnout at the box office. Details from KPCC’s Debra Baer.

  Debra Baer: After a strong debut on Christmas, Marley and Me continued to draw crowds this weekend, leading the box office with 37 million in sales. The dog tale starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson made a total of about 52 million since Thursday.

  Bedtime Stories, Disney’s new holiday flick with Adam Sandler, ranked second, making almost 39 milllion since Christmas.

  Running a close third was Paramount’s Bejamin Button with Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchett –with a total of 39 million.

  Rounding out the top five – MGM’s Valkyrie with Tom Cruise ranked 4th earning 30 million since opening on Christmas.

  And – Yes Man was in 5th after making 16 million over the weekend. Overall, the movie industry ended the year strong on the heels of a two-week slide. The top 12 movies made more than 182 million, up 8 percent over the same time last year.

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  • December 29, 2008 12:07 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Vigilante killer Ellie Nesler, 56, dies

  Ellie Nesler - the woman who shot and killed her son’s accused molester in a Northern California courtroom 15 years ago ndash; has died of cancer. KPCC’s Nick Roman reports.

  Nick Roman: A spokeswoman for the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento says the 56-year-old Nesler died there Friday morning. She’d battled breast cancer since 1994. A year earlier, Nesler shot Daniel Driver five times in the head during a break in his preliminary hearing in a Tuolumne County courtroom.

  He was about to be tried on charges that he molested four boys ndash; including Nesler’s son Willy - while he worked as a camp counselor. Nesler was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. She won an appeal based on jury misconduct and was out after three years.

  Her story became a 1999 TV movie - but that story didn’t end there. Nesler ended up back in prison a few years later after she tried to buy 10,000 cold pills from an undercover officer. Authorities said the pills could have been used to make methamphetamine.

  Nesler’s son - the boy who’d been molested - was convicted of first-degree murder three years ago for beating a man to death in a dispute over tools. He’s serving 25 years to life.

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  • December 29, 2008 11:55 AM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, History

• Pulp film actress Ann Savage, 87, dies

  Fans of offbeat movies are saying goodbye to a pulp film actress who enjoyed a late-life comeback. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more on Ann Savage, who died in Hollywood on Christmas Day.

  Ann Savage: From the noirish B movies in which she once said blonde actresses like her were just scenery for male protagonists, Ann Savage carved out one memorable role: as a woman who blackmailed a stranger in the 1945 film “Detour.”

  Her ferocious performance put a female character in charge in a way that mirrored social changes on the home front during World War II, but was rarely reflected on film. Under contract to Columbia Pictures, Savage worked in more than 30 films that, by her own admission, were mindless.

  Decades later, independent Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin cast her as another sort of bad girl - the harpy of a mother in his well-received “My Winnipeg,” a quirky personal portrait of his hometown. That recent art-house release directed new attention toward just how mindful an actress Ann Savage was. She was 87 years old when she died in her sleep at a Hollywood nursing home.

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  • December 29, 2008 11:36 AM
  • Categories: Arts, History

• Shoppers at mall not necessarily there to spend money

  Deal or no deal? Del Amo Fashion Center this weekend is crowded with people sorting through racks and sale signs to find out whether stores have stores have slashed prices to their liking. For Laveda Brisbane of Rancho Palos Verdes, it’s not about the shopping. She stood in Del Amo Mall, bagless and soaking in the scene.

  Laveda Brisbane: “I guess it was just to get out together. This is my daughter. And just to be together and we’ll stop and have a Starbucks coffee and… it’s just is a relaxed day. We’re not rushing around trying to find bargains.”

  Brisbane said she and her daughter visited the mall to look and browse, but not really to buy, except maybe some underwear. Apparently that’s what a lot of shoppers did before Christmas, too; most retail establishments say their holiday sales were down this year, compared to last.

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  • December 26, 2008 7:05 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Society/Culture

• Shoppers hit malls for post-Christmas sales

  Retail sales have been down this holiday season. But the malls are still crowded with shoppers trying to snag after-Christmas deals.

  Vicky Vaughn is visiting Southern California from Sacramento. She and her family ended up at Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance. Vaughn said she found some good deals on clothes and shoes, but she spent a little more conservatively than usual.

  Vicky Vaughn: “Just because of, you know, wanting to make your money go farther, and I think thinking about what other people may not have might make you a little bit reserved and kind of going over the top. You know, makes you think twice this year, than last year.”

  Some people apparently are doing that thinking at home… before they press the “send order” button. Amazon.com reported a 17 percent increase in orders over the holiday season. It’s one of very few retailers to do better this year than last.

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  • December 26, 2008 6:45 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Society/Culture

• Holidays allow insights into condition of aging relatives

  This is sometimes the only time of year that some of us see our aging relatives. So elder care experts say it’s a good time to make sure everything’s going okay for them. KPCC’s Susan Valot reports.

  Susan Valot: Sure, it may seem like grandma’s hanging in there and doing well on her own. But show up around the holidays and you might notice she has a stack of unpaid bills, has trouble remembering things, or isn’t keeping up the house. Maybe her driving’s a lot worse than you realize, but you don’t find out until you get into the car with her.

  UC Irvine’s Center of Excellence in Elder Abuse and Neglect says the holidays are a good time to gauge how an older friend or relative is really doing. The center says it’s also the time to look for signs of abuse. It’s estimated that about three quarters of elder abuse cases are caused at the hands of family members. For every one elder abuse case, experts say 14 go unreported.

  Cuts and bruises are obvious signs of abuse. But it can be as subtle as the caretaker withholding necessary medication or not caring for bed sores. That’s when you might have to call in a doctor or other professional to take a closer look.

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  • December 26, 2008 6:41 PM
  • Categories: Health

• Actor and theater professor remember playwright Harold Pinter

  A private funeral is scheduled for Nobel literature laureate Harold Pinter, who died Wednesday at age 78. The late playwright inspired a new approach to dramatic speech, actor and writer Roger Guenveur Smith told KPCC.

  Roger Guenveur Smith: “I think that (pause) Harold Pinter was (pause) a master of the (pause) terror of silence.”

  UCLA theater professor Michael Hackett said Pinter’s genius lay in part in the way he employed seemingly ordinary words.

  Michael Hackett: “The language is used to hide something much deeper, often very frightening; just beyond the limits, or the horizon, of the stage space, there is something threatening beyond.”

  Pinter’s spare, character-driven plays were a favorite of regional theaters. Eight years ago, when he turned 70, South Coast Repertory presented “The Homecoming” and Pasadena Playhouse mounted “The Birthday Party.”

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  • December 26, 2008 5:15 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• It was forty years ago this week... The White Album marks anniversary

  Where were you 40 years ago? If you were a teenager back then, chances are you were headed to your local record store. KPCC’s Nick Roman says this week marks 40 years since the Beatles “White Album” topped the Billboard charts.

  Nick Roman: This was the first of nine weeks that the “White Album” would spend at the top of the charts. The Beatles’ only double-album is considered a classic … although for many fans, the iffy tracks demote it to an album-and-a-half. But there’s still a lot to cherish on the “The White Album.”

  There’s the nod to the Beach Boys’ fun-fun-fun style in “Back in the USSR.” There’s the guitar solo by Beatle-for-a-day Eric Clapton on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” “Glass Onion” told us “the walrus was Paul”… and that set off crazy speculation that Paul McCartney was dead. He wasn’t.

  On the dark side: Not much can match the infamy of “Helter Skelter,” a McCartney rocker that Charles Manson twisted into a call for murder. But that’s on Manson, not the Beatles.

  If you want your kids to enjoy “The White Album” on their iPods, good luck; Apple the record company still won’t release Beatles songs for Apple Computer’s iTunes service. My advice? Buy a record player.

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  • December 26, 2008 5:09 PM
  • Categories: Arts, History

• Police contribute to replace a family's stolen gifts

  Riverside Police are responding to a Christmas Day burglary… in more ways than one. More on the story from KPCC’s Cheryl Devall.

  Cheryl Devall: A family in Riverside left home to go visiting Christmas afternoon. When the parents and three daughters returned, they discovered that somebody had visited them through a bedroom window… and had made off with several presents the girls hadn’t unwrapped.

  A Riverside Police officer who arrived to take the burglary report said the girls (aged 8, 11, and 16) were in tears when he got there. So he asked his sergeant whether there was anything he could do. There was.

  The officers decided to present the family with $500 from the Riverside Police Officers Association’s charitable fund. They’re hoping the family will be able to replace the stolen gifts… and settle in for a long winter’s nap.

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  • December 26, 2008 5:00 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Society/Culture

• Fade to black for VHS format

  For about 20 years, until 1997, the VHS tape was the preferred home video medium. But the last U.S. distributor of that format has announced he’s going out of business. New York Times personal tech correspondent David Pogue told KPCC what that means for the videotapes in your cabinet.

  David Pogue: “Getting your stuff transferred – your personal records, your photos, your films – getting that stuff transferred to the latest format is really expensive. It’s possible. There’s companies that will do it, but to get it done right and color corrected and all that will cost thousands of dollars.”

  Pogue predicted that from now on, any home user who wants to preserve and access that data will have to get used to shifting formats every few years… just as they have with their favorite music.

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  • December 26, 2008 4:38 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Santa Anita opens winter racing meet

  Santa Anita opened its winter thoroughbred racing meet today under clear skies… and a cloudy economy. KPCC’s Nick Roman bets it’ll be a tough 84 days of horseracing at the Arcadia track.

  Nick Roman: There are three big days at Santa Anita. The last Saturday in January features the eight Sunshine Millions races. The million-dollar Santa Anita Handicap in March is the track’s richest race. The Santa Anita Derby in April shows off the West Coast contenders for the Kentucky Derby a month later.

  The trick isn’t to draw bettors to Santa Anita on those days. They’ll show up for the big races. The trick is to lure them in on the other days. The lousy economy and an Internet wagering dispute punched a hole in Hollywood Park’s handle during its autumn meet. Santa Anita officials hope to do better.

  Among the keys will be good horses and big fields. But it’ll be tougher to draw both since the economy’s forced the track to cut the purses by 10 percent. Weather will be important, too. Rain that wouldn’t drain fouled Santa Anita’s synthetic track last season. It was so bad they had to cancel racing days. The surface has been replaced, and it’s reportedly held up well during the recent storm.

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  • December 26, 2008 4:35 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Sports/Recreation

• High levels of post-Christmas returns expected

  In more prosperous times, this day after Christmas was the punch lines for jokes about “National Returns Day,” when people throng the malls with gifts they hope to exchange for cash or store credit. Scott Krugman of the National Retail Federation told KPCC that the trend may hold true, even in this grim economy.

  Scott Krugman: “We expect maybe slightly above average return activity. I think because of that, retailers are loosening return policies for consumers, with the idea that this influx of store traffic, there’s an opportunity to covert that into sales.”

  Merchants are eager for any sales they can rack up. Preliminary reports indicate that Americans spent about 20 percent less on women’s clothing, electronics, and jewelry during this year’s holiday shopping season than last year’s. That adds up to the biggest Christmastime shopping decline in four decades.

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  • December 26, 2008 4:32 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Police continue to gather details from Christmas Eve shooting

  New information is surfacing slowly after the grisly Christmas Eve shooting and fire that left at least 10 people dead, including the alleged gunman. KPCC’s Brian Watt said that Covina Police who spoke at a briefing today are still seeking answers.

  Brian Watt: At this point, they still have not identified people who were killed in this incident, but they sort of have to take their time on this, because they say that all the bodies that they did recover have been so badly burnt and charred that they are unrecognizable.

  Investigators did say they believe the victims’ ages range from 17 to 80. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office has recovered nine bodies at the crime scene, where the parents of the gunman’s ex-wife had hosted a holiday house party. Law enforcement officials say a bitter divorce may have triggered the murder-suicide.

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  • December 26, 2008 4:26 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Christmas Eve shooter may have planned escape to Canada

  Police say the man who attacked a Christmas Eve party at the Covina home of his ex-wife’s family may have planned to escape to Canada after the rampage.

  Bruce Jeffrey Pardo apparently intended to burn the house after shooting everyone inside. But Covina Police Chief Kim Raney says after spraying some sort of flammable mist inside the house, the 46-year-old engineer was caught in an explosion and badly burned.

  Chief Kim Raney: “Mr. Pardo did have $17,000 of cash Saran-wrapped to his leg or concealed inside a girdle he was wearing. He also had a plane ticket for a flight, for an early morning flight on Thursday, Christmas morning, from LAX to Canada. All indications are that he intended to commit this crime and then flee the country. What it appears is that he did not anticipate injuring himself to the point where, obviously, he took his own life.”

  Raney says Pardo’s Santa suit burned onto his skin. LAPD officers discovered Pardo’s body in the rented car he’d driven from Covina to his brother’s house in Sylmar. He was dead from a gunshot in the head.

  The L.A. County Coroner’s office says at least nine people died at the Covina house.

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  • December 26, 2008 4:20 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Another judicial strike team deployed to clear case backlog in Riverside County

  Riverside County has deployed another judicial strike team. Six retired judges are volunteering their time to help clear a growing backlog of civil cases. KPCC’s Inland Empire reporter Steven Cuevas has details.

  Steven Cuevas: About 31,000 civil cases are waiting for their day in court. We’re talking about divorces, labor disputes, and probate cases. A handful of them are more than four years old. The court can toss out cases not heard within five years of their filing date. Some of the Riverside County cases are just weeks away from that deadline.

  Criminal cases take priority over civil matters, and Riverside County has a lot of them; around 5,000 right now. Judges who usually deal with civil matters have been forced to hear criminal cases. The judicial logjam spurred California’s chief justice to deploy a 12-member judicial strike team more than a year ago.

  This new judicial strike team took the bench this week. The six judges aim to clear a couple hundred civil cases by the end of January. Dozens more cases, each with less than $50,000 dollars at stake, could be settled by Riverside County’s recently established Civil Mediation Panel.

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  • December 26, 2008 4:13 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• City of Irvine marks anniversary of growth-plan approval

  As big as the city of Irvine is today, it’s hard to believe that a scant 50 years ago, most of it was still a ranch. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says it reached a pivotal point in its development on December 28, 1971.

  Cheryl Devall: At the end of the 1950s, the owners of the Irvine Company had begun to open small areas of their sprawling property to construction.

  The University of California’s acquisition of 1500 acres for its new campus in 1959 jump-started that development. The university’s architects and Irvine Company staff drafted blueprints for a new live-work community that would eventually house 50,000 people.

  Within a little more than a decade, many Irvine occupants were feeling the need for elbow room. Those who lived in the villages of Culverdale, the Ranch, Turtle Rock, University Park, and Walnut voted 37 years ago this Sunday to incorporate, and to expand Irvine beyond the original master plan.

  Within 18 years, the city did grow, to almost three times the population that plan had envisioned. Now, Irvine’s the fourth biggest city in Orange County. Irvine anticipates 200,000 people on just under 70 square miles within the next dozen years.

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  • December 26, 2008 4:03 PM
  • Categories: History, Politics/Public Affairs

• Surveys reveal slowest shopping season in decades

  Early surveys indicate what the gloom-sayers have been predicting for weeks: this has been the slowest holiday shopping season in decades. Malachy Kavanaugh of the International Council of Shopping Centers confirmed that trend on KPCC.

  Malachy Kavanaugh: “We’ve been tracking sales on a weekly basis for the last few weeks and it shows that consumers have cut back. Merchandise categories like discounters and, uh… they seem to be doing well this holiday season, but on the flip side you have department stores and specialty stores and high-end retailers that have been suffering the most.”

  Something to think about if you happen to be navigating post-Christmas mall traffic today.

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  • December 26, 2008 4:00 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Hutchinson remembers Eartha Kitt's activism

  Admirers are remembering entertainer Eartha Kitt as a self-made woman who defied the racial and gender stereotypes of her era. Kitt died yesterday at age 81.

  Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable interviewed Kitt for the LA Free Press three decades ago; he described his memories of that conversation to KPCC’s Larry Mantle.

  Earl Ofari Hutchinson: “She was really a multi-faceted person. She spoke many languages. She was quite a philanthropist, a quiet activist for social causes. When King wanted something, the March on Washington and other demonstrations, she was always there. So, her legacy is a full-bodied legacy that I just feel that we just really have to pay tribute to the legends and the giants that did so much for the cause of peace and social justice.”

  During a White House luncheon at the height of the Vietnam War, Kitt denounced President Lyndon Johnson for sending Americans off to die. For years after that, she had difficulty finding bookings in the United States, so she lived and worked abroad.

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  • December 26, 2008 3:54 PM
  • Categories: Arts, History, Politics/Public Affairs

• City of L.A. looks to increase parking meter revenue

  Drivers may have just gotten a holiday break from feeding the parking meters, but the city of L.A.’s about to draw a lot more money from that revenue stream. Details from KPCC’s Cheryl Devall.

  Cheryl Devall: Los Angeles is in the process of changing out 6,000 parking meters. The city’s transportation department expects those meters to boost annual revenues by $18 million.

  Here’s how: they’ll accept credit or debit cards and coins. On many of them, you may end up paying for more time than you need. That’s because the minimum charge if you’re using a card is $1. If you’re running out of time, these smart meters can send a text message to your cell phone, and you can feed the meter with the phone, too.

  Another change: On these meters you’ll have to pay for parking until 8:00 in the evening, not the traditional 6:00 cutoff time. That by itself could rack up a lot of parking ticket revenue.

  The city’s describing this as an experiment. If the new meters live up to expectations, they could become the standard on all 40,000 metered parking spaces in L.A.

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  • December 26, 2008 3:47 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• JPL hears from two faraway spacecraft

  The holidays offer an opportunity to hear from faraway friends and relatives. KPCC’s Nick Roman says it’s the same for the scientists at Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

  Nick Roman: They heard from Cassini, the spacecraft swooping and sailing around Saturn’s moons. This week, it swept past Titan, the second largest moon in the solar system. Titan has a dense atmosphere and lakes of liquid methane. It’s a fascinating place, and it’s why Cassini has flown by Titan 49 times.

  This visit allowed it to map a portion of Titan, and to pick up some topographical info about the hills and mountains that lead down to Ontario Lacus, a big methane lake near Titan’s south pole. They’re trying to learn how that liquid methane flows.

  JPL scientists also heard from Jason 2. Actually, they’ve been talking to the satellite since it was launched into low Earth orbit in June. It’s the successor to Jason 1, which spent years studying the oceans. It showed the sea level is rising about an inch and a third every year. That rate is speeding up, and scientists think it’s a sign of climate change.

  Engineers have finished calibrating Jason 2, and the satellite’s measurements are now available just days after they were collected.

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  • December 26, 2008 3:31 PM
  • Categories: Science/Technology

• Oscar ballots to go out on Friday

  Nomination ballots go in the mail tomorrow for the 81st Academy Awards. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has details.

  Cheryl Devall: Seems it’s always election time in Hollywood. Just as movie people have gotten past the presidential contest and postponed the Screen Actors’ Guild strike authorization vote, it’s time for them to choose their favorites for the Academy Awards.

  The nominations are almost as involved as all those propositions and judicial races in last month’s general election. Along with the high-profile categories – Best Picture, Director, and performances by actors and actresses – the 5,810 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will have to pick contenders for best costuming, art direction, editing, sound, and other categories.

  They’ll have until January 12 to return their ballots. Ten days after that, the Academy announces the nominations, and the Oscar presentation’s scheduled for February 22.

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  • December 25, 2008 1:53 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Police investigate Covina Christmas Eve shooting rampage

  Investigators in Covina are trying to piece together details and a motive for last night’s shooting rampage at a house party on a quiet cul-de-sac. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more on the story.

  Cheryl Devall: About half an hour before midnight on Christmas Eve, a man in a Santa Claus suit fired into the party, where neighbors said about 25 people had gathered. One, a teenaged boy, reportedly ran from the two-story house shouting, “Someone just shot my family.”

  A family dispute apparently provoked the suspected gunman, identified as 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo. But police may never know for certain. Hours after the shooting left three people dead and three others injured, authorities found Pardo dead of an apparent suicide at his brother’s house in Sylmar.

  The house into which Pardo fired with a handgun caught fire, and investigators found additional bodies in its ashes.

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  • December 25, 2008 1:08 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• ACLU director fondly remembers favorite Hanukkah

  The holidays are a time for family and friends. ACLU Director Mark Rosenbaum’s favorite holiday memory happened years ago – his first Hanukkah with his daughter. He says it made him realize that Hanukkah means a great deal more when you have your own kids.

  Mark Rosenbaum: “It was nice to have the entire family, including the extended family. It happened just a few years before my father died. And we knew at the time that my father was very ill. That meant a great deal. It meant the beginning of a set of gifts that still continue to boggle my mind.”

  By gifts, Rosenbaum means the physical and spiritual virtues of the holiday. He says from that first Hanukkah, he’s seen his children bring those virtues into their lives every day, not just during the holidays.

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  • December 24, 2008 3:37 PM
  • Categories: Religion/Spirituality, Society/Culture

• Gifts-for-guns exchanges round up hundreds of weapons

  What’s become a holiday tradition – guns exchanged for gift cards – has collected hundreds of weapons, Southland law enforcement agencies say. More on the story from KPCC’s Cheryl Devall.

  Cheryl Devall: In a season that’s supposed to be about peace on earth, people in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties this week handed over more than 750 pieces to law enforcement. In return for the weapons, police and sheriff’s departments distributed tens of thousands of dollars worth of gift cards redeemable at stores including Ralphs, Food 4 Less, and Stater Brothers Supermarkets, Wal-Mart, and – yes – Target.

  Police in Indio, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, and Palm Springs jointly sponsored a gift cards-for-guns program that brought in more than 450 firearms since Saturday. A similar drive in L.A. County’s Lennox area rounded up about 300 weapons. L.A. sheriffs plan another exchange this Saturday in Compton.

  Law enforcement officials concede that hardcore criminals aren’t likely to take advantage of these no-questions-asked programs. But the swaps can keep guns away from people who might fire them by accident or without proper safety training.

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  • December 24, 2008 3:35 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Arrests made in beating of Highland pastor

  Authorities in San Bernardino County have arrested two suspects in connection with the beating earlier this month of an Inland pastor. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says one of the suspects is a 16-year-old girl.

  Steven Cueavas: The girl’s name is not being released because she’s a juvenile. Her boyfriend – 20-year-old Allan Gomez – was also arrested. The duo is charged with receiving stolen property and fraudulent use of a credit card. Gomez could also be charged with robbery and attempted murder. Both suspects are being held without bail. Police are looking for a third suspect.

  Pastor James Warman was attacked a few weeks ago at Church of the Valley in Highland as he was putting up Christmas decorations. Authorities say he was beaten with a blunt object and suffered severe facial and head injuries. He was in a coma for several days. The pastor is now recovering at home.

  His wife told the Riverside Press-Enterprise that she and her husband want to help the young attackers get the help they need. Medny Warman says God forgives them, and she and her husband are called to do the same.

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  • December 24, 2008 3:33 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Religion/Spirituality

• Script supervisor shares holiday wish for the world, Obama

  Some people want a flat screen TV this holiday season. Others prefer cash. Fifty-five-year-old Patty Fullerton wants something you can’t put your hands on. She shared her most urgent holiday wishes with KPCC’s Brian Watt.

  Patty Fullerton: “I want peace in the world. That’s what I want. And I want Barack Obama to have a fresh start.”
  Brian Watt: “All right. Any advice for President Obama?”
  Fullerton: “No. Just be himself and get it done.”

  Patty Fullerton is a script supervisor for films and television shows. She lives in Canyon Country.

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  • December 24, 2008 3:30 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Pacific storms roll through Southland

  A couple of more Pacific storms are rolling through the Southland. San Bernardino mountain resorts could see an extra eight inches of snow on top of what they’ve already got. Forecasters say the snow level could drop as low as 4,000 feet.

  San Bernardino County’s Department of Public Works is asking holiday travelers to keep roads clear for snow removal crews. The county even hired private contractors to help clear mountain roads.

  Karen Baldwin runs a home security firm in Lake Arrowhead. She says a lot of unseasoned travelers forget basic of winter driving rules when snow starts falling.

  Karen Baldwin: “It’s just given they don’t have chains. They don’t have just some of the appropriate you would need for winter travel.

  “Carry a shovel. Certainly, have your chains and plan to put them on. Know how to put them on. Carry gravel, rock salt.

  “We send our patrolmen out with gravel so if they get stuck, they can get unstuck. All the common sense stuff that sometimes people leave behind.”

  Forecasters say all the new snow will be accompanied by gusty winds. That’ll make it tough to see on the roads. There’s a chance that flash floods could hit low-lying areas, and in areas burned in recent wildfires.

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  • December 24, 2008 3:27 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Transportation

• CHP steps up enforcement over Christmas holiday

  Never mind the weather – starting tonight at 6, the heat is on. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more about enhanced patrols on Southland freeways this holiday.

  Cheryl Devall: Whenever people have more than the usual reasons to celebrate, the California Highway Patrol shifts into higher-than-usual gear. That means deploying all available officers to spot drunken drivers and other potential traffic problems.

  There’s a high likelihood of both this chilly weekend, when the weather could create snow-clogged passes and icy roads. A highway patrol spokesman urges drivers to slow it down, leave earlier than you usually would, and be patient during delays.

  The law will not exercise patience with anyone they suspect is driving under the influence of alcohol. Last year during the Christmas holiday, CHP officers arrested more than 1,650 drunk driving suspects and responded to 43 traffic fatalities in the state. Half those crashes involved alcohol.

  The highway patrol urges travelers to call 911 – with a hands-free phone – if they see suspicious driving… and to choose a designated driver if they’re making merry.

  Note: The CHP’s “maximum enforcement” period continues through midnight Sunday.

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  • December 24, 2008 3:24 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Transportation

• More snow expected in mountain areas in time for Christmas

  A couple of Pacific storms are expected to dump more snow in our mountain areas. The Christmas snow fall should start tonight and linger through Friday.

  Snow levels will drop as low as 4,000 feet. San Bernardino mountain resorts could get another eight inches of white stuff.

  That may sound good to jolly old elves – but not to longtime Lake Arrowhead resident Karen Baldwin.

  Karen Baldwin: “Palm Springs looks reeeally good this time of year. But it’s always fun when it snow and the kids love it. They get to bopping around and sledding. And to have a white Christmas is, you know, everybody’s dream.”

  Unless you’re in a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer, chains are required in most mountain areas. Remember to pull all the way off the road before you strap them on.

  Also: carry a sturdy snow shovel, a few bags of rock salt or gravel for traction, and a basic emergency kit.

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  • December 24, 2008 2:35 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• High schooler Washington offers advice to Obama

  The economic slowdown weighs on the minds of local high school students. Fifteen-year-old Jasmine Unique Washington at Animo Film and Theater Arts Charter High School in South L.A. says she wants President-elect Barack Obama to restore the country’s economic prosperity. She offers this advice about how to begin

  Jasmine Unique Washington: “Create jobs for Americans that have a fair wage and will support a family.”

  Washington wants Obama and his economic advisers to prevent American companies from shifting jobs to developing countries.

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  • December 24, 2008 1:27 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Free LA County Holiday Celebration held at Dorothy Chandler

  A seasonal celebration almost as old as downtown Los Angeles’ Music Center will unfold this afternoon and evening. Dozens of Southland singers, dancers, and musicians are scheduled to perform, introduced by a succession of celebrity chefs. One of them – Susan Feniger of the Two Hot Tamales – described the event to KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.”

  Susan Feniger: “This is going to be the 49th year for the annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration, and it is down at the Dorothy Chandler, and it’s free – six hours, starts at 3 o’clock, and this year they are doing a little bit of a twist where they are having each hour is going to be hosted by a chef. So they are connecting food and holiday celebration and entertainment and music and singing.”

  Admission and parking for the program are free. But this year, organizers are asking audience members to bring along canned or boxed food items for the L.A. Regional Food Bank.

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  • December 24, 2008 1:18 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Reported maintenance lapses at San Onofre plant raise concerns

  The public disclosure of apparent maintenance lapses at the San Onofre nuclear power plant has prompted attention from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Commission spokesman Victor Dricks spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.”

  Victor Dricks: “The plant is being operated safely. None of these equipment problems rose to the level that would jeopardize plant safety or pose any risk to the public, but we are concerned about what we see here as a pattern of underlying themes, and it’s something that we have directed their attention to and are very closely monitoring.”

  Dricks’ agency is increasing its inspections at the Southern California Edison facility south of San Clemente. Crews there discovered in March that a battery used to power safety systems had been disconnected for four years.

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  • December 23, 2008 5:43 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• Annual downtown holiday celebration will feature dance, music, and a food drive

  The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Downtown Los Angeles is the scene of a lot of instrument tuning and sound-checking right now. Almost four dozen acts are preparing to take the stage tomorrow for the L.A. County Arts Commission’s annual holiday celebration.

  The commission has presented the free Christmas Eve concert as a gift to Angelenos for almost 50 years. Producer Adam Davis says that this year, the organizers are asking the audience to arrive with cans or packages of food for needy families:

  Adam Davis: “There’s no admission, there’s no parking fees, so we said, ‘Hey, bring a can down.’ So our goal is: last year we had 10,000 people attend the show. If we can get 10,000 cans, that would be a really great thing. The Food Bank thinks of it as 10,000 pounds. 10,000 pounds of food really can a long way to help people. L.A. Regional Food Bank told us that there was a 41 percent bigger need than last year.”

  The event starts at three in the afternoon tomorrow and ends at nine at night. It’ll include something for everybody: Latin jazz, Celtic music, choirs, mariachis, dance troupes, celebrity chefs, and Taiko drumming.

  LINK: L.A. County Arts Commission Holiday Celebration

  LINK: L.A. Regional Food Bank

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  • December 23, 2008 5:41 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Society/Culture

• New York's yule log tradition becoming an L.A. tradition

  You won’t see carts selling roasted chestnuts on Hollywood and Vine. That’s a New York thing. But KPCC’s Special Correspondent Kitty Felde reports there is one hot trend from New York that’s made it to the West Coast this Christmas…

  Kitty Felde: Imagine a TV program with no dialogue and just one picture: a log burning in a fireplace. The Yule Log broadcast was created in 1966 by a New York television executive as a Christmas present to his viewers. It ran for years, and was returned to the air by popular demand after 9/11.

  The Log moved west five years ago to L.A. station KCAL. And now, KTLA is getting into the act. Station Manager John Moczulski says he decided to broadcast the Christmas morning Yule Log after advertisers kept asking for it.

  John Moczulski: If you don’t have a fireplace – and many homes in Southern California don’t – it’s a nice, soothing visual element for someone to have on while they’re opening packages in the morning.

  KTLA will run 10-second ads over the fire. It runs from 5 to 8 Christmas morning. KCAL’s Yule Log runs from 6 to 10. Both broadcasts feature Christmas music to accompany the crackling fire.

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  • December 23, 2008 4:21 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Society/Culture

• Yorba Linda adjusts evacuation policy after series of rain storms

  Yorba Linda officials say they’ll stop ordering evacuations near burned-out canyons when flash floods are forecast. The new policy will start with the storm that’s moving into our area now.

  For the first few storms of the season, Yorba Linda ordered everyone out when the rain came down. But so far, none of the storms triggered major mudslides or landslides. Yorba Linda Mayor Mark Schwing says he’s concerned because this is the fourth storm of the season.

  Mayor Mark Schwing: “The hills are saturated now. They’re not, you know, there’s not enough time between storms to dry out. And we’ve got rain coming tonight and tomorrow, maybe a little bit by the weekend. And every little bit of rain is just more saturation in these hills.”

  If the hills do get overly saturated and do give way, then the city will issue evacuations. That’s when they’ll send police with loudspeakers through the neighborhoods.

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  • December 23, 2008 4:04 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• High schooler suggests priorities for President-elect Obama

  For people lucky enough to have jobs, there’s still the nagging question: Is there enough money in the paycheck to cover food, rent, and other necessities… especially if you clean hotel rooms, park cars, or sew jeans in the garment industry?

  Fifteen-year-old Celine Gonzales attends Animo Film and Theater Arts Charter High School in South Los Angeles. She’d like the next president to address the economic squeeze.

  Celine Gonzales: “My advice to President-elect Barack Obama would be to work on the regulations of the business here in the United States, in order to better have some regulations on the companies, so there would be more jobs for Americans, that they would be able to make a living wage on, like, a humble job.”

  Gonzales says she also wants Obama to invest in schools, and especially in arts education.

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  • December 23, 2008 3:40 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• L.A. law enforcement agencies announce major counterfeit goods bust

  Some knockoff gifts won’t land under the tree this week. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says that’s because authorities in Los Angeles announced they’ve cracked down on a big counterfeit trafficking ring.

  Cheryl Devall: Talk about hot items. The confiscated goods included pirated DVDs of first-run movies including “Seven Pounds” and “Bolt”… fake designer jeans, watches, and sunglasses… and bootleg compact discs of popular Spanish-language music acts.

  With help from private industry investigators, L.A. police and sheriff’s deputies rounded up about 200,000 items that, if they’d been legit, would’ve been worth close to $3 million.

  Between last Thursday and Saturday, the law also arrested 28 people and charged them with manufacturing, distributing, and selling counterfeit goods. The region’s anti-piracy task force calls it the second-largest bust of ersatz goods in Los Angeles history.

  Authorities say this isn’t a victimless crime; they claim that gang members often move these items for more money than they can make selling illegal drugs. Like those drugs, these knockoffs will be destroyed after prosecutors are done using them as evidence in the suspects’ trials.

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  • December 23, 2008 3:36 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Anonymous donor gives 300 free pet adoptions at L.A. Animal Services

  A secret Santa has left quite a gift under the tree at Los Angeles Animal Services. KPCC’s Brian Watt tells what it is.

  Brian Watt: An anonymous donor has pledged to pay the adoption fees for 300 pets that Angelenos agree to take home between now and Christmas.

  The fees normally run up to $68 for cats, and $91 for dogs. They cover vaccinations, spaying or neutering, micro-chipping, and the first year’s license with the city.

  The agency will only call the benefactor “Santa Paws” and convey Santa’s one request: that people who adopt the critters write letters (to Animal Services) explaining how it changed their lives.

  Animal Services says the generous gift arrives as the agency’s seen a 20 percent increase in owners who surrender their pets because of the home foreclosure crisis.

  But General Manager Ed Boks urged anyone who considers taking advantage of the offer to make sure they’re ready. These adoptions might be free, but they require a long-term financial and emotional commitment to keeping a pet.

  Note: All six LA Animal Care Centers will be open until 7 p.m. Tuesday, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday.

  LINK: LA Animal Services

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  • December 23, 2008 3:26 PM
  • Categories: Society/Culture

• On heels of Broad bailout, new MOCA CEO promises improvements

  Months before it was expected to run out of money, trustees of L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art announced today they’re accepting a $30 million bailout from philanthropist Eli Broad. More on the story from KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Broad offered the money on the condition that MOCA will shake its administration. Trustees bought out the remaining year of director Jeremy Strick’s contract, and appointed former UCLA Chancellor Charles Young to guide the museum through the overhaul.

  Young described his goals to museum trustees and reporters gathered in MOCA’s downtown L.A. auditorium.

  Charles Young: There are many challenges which we have to address. We have to bring our expenses in line with our revenue. We have to find new ongoing sources of revenue, and create an endowment that will help to sustain MOCA’s operation into the future.

  Guzman-Lopez: Young said the museum needs these changes to get past the financial mess it’s experiencing now. MOCA administrators failed to secure donations, and the economy sapped the value of its endowment.

  Half of Broad’s $30 million will pay for art exhibits during the next five years. The other half will match money MOCA raises for its endowment.

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  • December 23, 2008 3:20 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Orange County Sheriff's deputies shoot and kill 70-year-old woman

  Orange County Sheriff’s officials say deputies feared for their lives when they shot and killed a 70-year-old woman last night in front of her La Habra home. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: Assistant Sheriff Michael Hillman said Jerry Nadine Lunceford pointed a gun at deputies when they arrived at her home around 10:30. Two Orange County Sheriff’s deputies and two La Habra Police officers opened fire on Lunceford. A third deputy fired non-lethal beanbag rounds at her.

  Lunceford died in the driveway of her home on Chestnut Street in a quiet La Habra neighborhood. Hillman said deputies went to her home after authorities received an emergency call about a possibly suicidal woman. A sheriff’s spokesman said deputies had been called to Lunceford’s home before over reports of disputes with neighbors.

  The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident.

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  • December 23, 2008 3:14 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Fry's vice president arrested for embezzlement

  Federal authorities have arrested a Fry’s Electronics executive on charges he’d embezzled company money to finance his high-stakes gambling. KPCC’s Brian Watt has the story.

  Brian Watt: As Fry’s vice president of merchandising and operations, Ausaf Umar Siddiqui supervised the buying of whatever the electronics retailer solid in its 34 stores.

  The IRS accuses Siddiqui of making side-deals with five suppliers to keep their goods on Fry’s shelves. He allegedly bought more of those vendors’ goods than normal, and at higher prices, in exchange for kickbacks that totaled more than $65 million.

  Siddiqui reportedly drove a Ferrari, and prosecutors say he was such a high-rolling gambler that casinos chartered private jets to fly him to Las Vegas. The Internal Revenue Service also alleges that Siddiqui set up a shell company to hide the embezzled money, and that he paid nearly $18 million to subsidiaries of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, operator of the Venetian Casino Resort.

  Siddiqui lives in Palo Alto. Fry’s, based in San Jose, has several locations in the Southland.

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  • December 23, 2008 1:21 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice

• MOCA board of trustees agrees to bailout, resignation of museum director

  The trustees of L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art announced today they’re accepting a $30 million bailout from philanthropist Eli Broad to stay afloat. The board also accepted the resignation of longtime museum director Jeremy Strick.

  The trustees and Strick fostered several acclaimed exhibits at MOCA. They also failed to secure the museum’s financial footing as contributions declined in recent years and the economy soured.

  Broad told reporters he wants changes in the museum’s fiscal practices to accompany his donation.

  Eli Broad: “Well, we can’t look back; we’ve got to look to the future. Clearly mistakes have been made; those have been already reported. It’s a new day. And there’s no point in going back and talking about what happened and why it happened. Clearly things should have not have happened that happened. That’s history now, we’re moving forward, not backward.”

  Broad and MOCA’s trustees have hired former UCLA chancellor Charles Young as interim chief executive as trustees shore up the museum’s finances and locate a new director.

  LINK: MOCA

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  • December 23, 2008 1:16 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Actors voice differing views on potential strike

  A potential strike by the Screen Actors Guild has caused a deep divide between members. SAG’s contract expired in June, and negotiations have broken down over residual payments to actors in projects distributed on the Internet. The union has postponed next month’s scheduled strike authorization vote by at least two weeks. Ron in Hollywood told KPCC’s “AirTalk” he supports the idea of a strike.

  Ron in Hollywood: “A union is only – has teeth if it can get a strike authorization. If the membership won’t back its union, there’s no point in having a union. So anybody who won’t vote for a strike authorization right now I think is saying they don’t want to be in a union.”

  Michael, who called from Silverlake, said he feared that many who’d vote to strike are either non-working actors with day jobs, or stars so successful they’d be able to weather a long spell without steady work.

  Michael from Silverlake: “It concerns me that our fate lies in the hands of so many who really don’t have much of a vested interest in not striking. In other words, they don’t lose a thing if we do.”

  Actors for and against a strike have announced their positions on competing Web sites.

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  • December 23, 2008 12:05 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Actor: strike issue is sharply dividing Hollywood

  The embattled Screen Actors’ Guild has put the brakes on a strike authorization vote… for now. SAG leaders have announced they’re putting it off until after a two-day national board meeting next month. The issue of whether to strike has deeply divided people in Hollywood, actor Tess Harper told KPCC’s Larry Mantle.

  Tess Harper: “I’ve been to three Hollywood parties in the last week; at two of them the host met people at the door saying, ‘Please, please don’t talk about the SAG issue.’”
  Larry Mantle: “It’s that divisive.”
  Harper: “It’s that divisive. So much for consensus.”

  Harper is a former SAG board member. Actors are debating the pros and cons of authorizing a strike against movie and TV producers over residual payments for projects distributed online. Some SAG members fear missing out on a big potential revenue stream; others say an economic recession is the wrong time to shut their industry down.

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  • December 23, 2008 11:56 AM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Court orders CA health agency to comply with a 2002 law on AIDS insurance

  The state’s public health agency must meet a deadline for offering medical insurance to Californians with the virus that causes AIDS. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more on the order from Los Angeles Superior Court.

  Cheryl Devall: This order reinforces the court’s finding earlier this month that California hasn’t moved quickly enough to extend Medi-Cal coverage to non-disabled people with HIV.

  The insurance program for the poorest Californians had only covered people with full-blown AIDS, despite a six-year-old state law that broadened Medi-Cal to those who’d tested positive for the virus that causes the immune system deficiency.

  In its most recent ruling, the court has ordered the state Department of Health Care Services to take specific steps toward offering that coverage, including outreach that will encourage eligible people to enroll in Medi-Cal, and to report back to the court on its progress within 120 days.

  While AIDS activists maintain that expanding coverage to HIV-positive people will save treatment costs by catching the disease in its early stages, the court’s order takes place amid California’s fiscal emergency, during which most state agencies will have to cut budgets and services.

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  • December 23, 2008 11:46 AM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• L.A. Controller Chick says city may have to privatize some services

  Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick says the city may have to privatize some of it services to address a growing budget deficit. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports.

  Frank Stoltze: In a report released Monday, Chick listed golf courses, animal shelters, and the maintenance of city cars as services that might be privatized. She highlighted airports too; likely Palmdale or Van Nuys, not L.A. International Airport. A spokesman for the mayor said the city’s already looking into privatizing its parking facilities.

  Chick said “dire circumstances sometimes lead to drastic measures.” L.A. faces a more than $400 million shortfall in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

  The city’s powerful labor unions – some of the mayor’s and the controller’s biggest political supporters – have opposed any efforts to privatize. They argue that private companies pay lower wages than the city, and that there would be a loss of good jobs.

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  • December 23, 2008 11:04 AM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Bad economy prompts people to swap guns for gift cards

  Southland law enforcement officials say a record number of people are exchanging guns for gift cards this year. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze says they attribute the increase to the bad economy.

  Frank Stoltze: It’s become an annual tradition in some areas: police offer gift cards to people who surrender their guns. It’s an anonymous program, no questions asked. Before police destroy them, they examine the weapons to see whether anyone used them in a crime.

  In Compton last month, sheriff’s deputies collected a thousand guns – more than twice last year’s total – plus two grenades. Cops in the Coachella Valley say they’re collecting more firearms than ever, too.

  They’re expecting another big turnout for an exchange program today and tomorrow in Lennox, an unincorporated area wedged between Inglewood and L.A. International Airport. Police will trade $100 gift cards for guns that work; $50 gift cards for those that don’t.

  Assault weapons are worth a $200 gift card. The cards are redeemable at Target stores or Ralphs supermarkets.

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  • December 22, 2008 7:01 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice

• Economic downturn hits Toyota with $2 billion in losses

  In a sign that the economic recession reaches beyond borders, Japanese automaker Toyota’s reporting close to $2 billion in likely losses at the end of the current fiscal year.

  Irv Miller, a spokesman for Toyota’s domestic sales unit based in Torrance, told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that his company’s hurting from the same consumer credit and spending crunch that affects other car manufacturers.

  Irv Miller: “This is a very far-reaching economic situation. Toyota is not immune to situations such as this, and we are experiencing the same kind of economic crises that other companies are.”

  Auto industry analysts predict that South Korean and European-based automakers will also report losses soon. The Bush administration last week offered $17 billion in federal loans to help General Motors and Chrysler through a similar slump.

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  • December 22, 2008 5:46 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Transportation

• Toyota announces expected operating loss, adjustments

  Make some room, General Motors and Chrysler. For the first time in its 70-year history, Japanese automaker Toyota reported that it anticipates an operating loss.

  Irv Miller, a spokesman for Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales USA, said the world’s number-two car company plans to adjust the way it does business in the year ahead.

  Irv Miller: “We believe that we can take a look at our manufacturing process and become more efficient there. We can find ways to defer some of our capital investment to a little bit longer term, committing to the R&D that got us here, and find a, find a more efficient way to do things.”

  Miller spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” Toyota made $28 billion in profit last year, but it expects almost $2 billion in losses when the fiscal year ends in March.

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  • December 22, 2008 4:05 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Transportation

• Governor Schwarzenegger prods lawmakers on budget from beside the 405

  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held a news conference today alongside the 405 freeway in West Los Angeles. KPCC’s Brian Watt says the governor was nudging state lawmakers to pass a budget he can accept.

  Brian Watt: Freeway traffic: Southland motorists know it well, and Governor Schwarzenegger used it to highlight the budget stalemate’s impact on infrastructure projects. Nearly $4 billion in funding is on hold right now, said the governor, and that’s jeopardizing 2,000 projects all over the state. That includes a 10-mile carpool lane on the 405 north of L.A. International Airport.

  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Now, this would reduce 23,000 hours of congestion every day. And now this project has been… cannot move forward. So instead of seeing cranes here, and instead of seeing of bulldozers here, and instead of seeing more construction workers here, we see more gridlock.

  Watt: Schwarzenegger spoke over the shouts of more than a dozen sign-carrying protesters. The environmental and labor activists urged him to sign the budget proposal Democrats in the legislature passed last week. He’s threatened to veto it. State Assembly speaker Karen Bass calls that threat the single biggest obstacle to progress on the state’s road construction projects.

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  • December 22, 2008 3:59 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs, Transportation

• Robert Mulligan, director of "To Kill a Mockingbird," dies at 83

  Funeral arrangements are pending for the man who helped create one of Hollywood’s best-loved films. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more on “To Kill a Mockingbird” director Robert Mulligan, who died during the weekend.

  Cheryl Devall: The subject matter of Robert Mulligan’s 1962 film was pretty volatile stuff: the rape trial of a black man in a small Southern town. As racial tensions reached a boiling point in this country, the director made a choice: to approach Harper Lee’s story of injustice with the same delicate yet direct child’s-eye view that had made the novel a best-seller.

  “The big danger in making a movie of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’” he told the New York Times, “is in thinking of this as a chance to jump on the segregation-integration soapbox. The book does not make speeches.”

  It, and the movie, did make a powerful statement that won over critics and fans. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including one for Mulligan as Best Director. It scored the Best Actor award for Gregory Peck’s quietly heroic portrayal of defense lawyer Atticus Finch, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Robert Mulligan, who also directed “Summer of ‘42,” died of heart disease. He was 83 years old.

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  • December 22, 2008 2:48 PM
  • Categories: Arts, History

• Coachella Valley cities sponsor "Gifts for Guns" program

  Short on holiday cash? If you’re packing heat, head to the Coachella Valley. You can swap that gat for goodies. Police departments there are surrendering gift cards to anyone who surrenders a firearm. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has details on the “Gifts for Guns” program.

  Steven Cuevas: Turn in that rusty .22 or Grandma’s old sawed-off shotgun, and earn a $100 gift card to Target, Wal-Mart, or another retailer of your choice… no questions asked. Authorities will even return stolen guns to their rightful owners, provided the person is still licensed to carry the weapon.

  Over the weekend, more than 150 guns were handed over to cops in Cathedral City, Indio, and Desert Hot Springs. Cathedral City saw the biggest turnover. Officers ran out of gift cards in 15 minutes. A crowd of pistol-packing Christmas shoppers waited impatiently while more were retrieved. A few dozen people were turned away in Indio when cards ran out there.

  The “Gifts for Guns” exchange program continues through Tuesday at police departments throughout the Coachella Valley.

  Note: Indio, Cathedral City, Palm Springs, and Desert Hot Springs Police Departments are all taking part in the program.

  Gift for Gun Locations, Dates, and Times:

  December 20 and December 22, 2:00pm - 4:00pm, next to the IMAX, Cathedral City

  December 20 and December 22, 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Animal Care Center, Indio

  December 20 and December 22-24, 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Carl May Center, Desert Hot Springs

  December 23, 12:00pm - 3:00pm, PSPD 200 South Civic, Palm Springs

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  • December 22, 2008 2:44 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice, Society/Culture

• Report says state budget cuts on social services will hurt economy in long run

  To close a crushing multi-billion dollar budget gap, state lawmakers are proposing cuts to everything from education to roads. But a new report from the Sacramento-based California Budget Project says slashing social programs will do more than hurt low-income and newly unemployed Californians at a bad time.

  Project director Jean Ross says slashing food stamp, Medi-Cal, and Cal-Works programs will damage the economy, too.

  Jean Ross: “The worst thing you can do during an economic downturn is to cut back on that flow of dollars. And as a result families buy less, have a tougher times making ends meet, and so would ask lawmakers that they be creative in devising strategies to address the budget gap, and that they minimize the cuts to low income families.”

  The California Budget Project instead recommends that state lawmakers impose carefully chosen tax hikes. Jean Ross says that’s better than cutting deeply into safety net programs during a bruising recession.

  LINK: California Budget Project

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  • December 22, 2008 2:33 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• L.A. County assistant fire chief denies killing puppy

  A Los Angeles County assistant fire chief accused of beating a puppy to death last month spoke with reporters today.

  Glynn Johnson says the charges against him just aren’t true. He says that as a 30-year veteran of the fire department, he’s dedicated himself to helping humans and animals.

  Glynn Johnson: “I’ve personally rescued many dogs from peril as a fire fighter and would never, ever harm a dog that posed no danger to me.”

  Animal rights activist Chris DeRose accuses Johnson of doing just that to the 45-pound shepherd-mix puppy involved in the attack.

  Chris DeRose: “Our investigation thoroughly proves that this man has done some pretty horrendous things with this animal. We’re not at liberty right now to bring it out. It will come out in court.”

  The dog eventually was euthanized. Johnson is scheduled for arraignment on an animal cruelty charge on January 13 in Riverside County Superior Court.

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  • December 22, 2008 2:29 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Law school dean Eastman criticizes Attorney General Brown's Prop 8 challenge

  In response to state Attorney General Jerry Brown’s plan to urge a California Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, Chapman University Law School dean John Eastman took issue with Brown’s premise that the prohibition overturns a basic human right.

  John Eastman: “Marriage to whomever you want has never been a fundamental right; marriage to somebody of the same sex has never been a fundamental right; marriage to a sibling has never been a fundamental right; marriage to somebody under eighteen has never been a fundamental right. And to say that the voters of the this state don’t have a say on such a fundamental policy question as that is to really undermine the very basic notion of government by consent.”

  Brown has asked the state’s high court to invalidate Proposition 8 because, he said, the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish constitutional rights without compelling justification. Prop 8 supporters have also filed court papers defending the same-sex marriage ban.

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  • December 22, 2008 2:11 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Legal scholars debate Attorney General Jerry Brown's Prop 8 challenge

  Legal scholars are pondering state attorney general Jerry Brown’s decision to challenge the legality of Proposition 8, the voter-approved constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage. Erwin Chemerinsky is founding dean of the UC Irvine law school.

  Erwin Chemerinsky: “The key here is, is this an amendment or a revision? I think there is a very reasonable argument that it’s a revision, because it’s changing a fundamental right. Jerry Brown had entirely the power, the discretion, even the duty to tell the California Supreme Court that he believes that it’s unconstitutional, and that’s all he did.”

  John Eastman, dean of Chapman University law school, maintained that Brown was out of bounds when he argued that a ballot referendum cannot overturn the right to marry.

  John Eastman: “It was so bad it was an embarrassment. I understand there are people in this state that want to do everything they can to try and undo the will of the people expressed in Proposition 8, but his defense of his legal position was laughable.”

  Eastman and Chemerinsky spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk.”

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  • December 22, 2008 1:37 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Weather service warns of gusty cold winds

  The National Weather Service warns gusty cold winds will blow until late tonight across much of Southern California. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: The strongest winds will blow across coastal areas from San Luis Obispo to L.A. County, in the mountains of Santa Barbara, and in the Antelope Valley.

  The winds won’t be anything like the hot, 70-mile-an-hour gusts that drove the fires of last month. Forecasters say sustained winds could reach 25 miles an hour, with gusts up to 35. They warn gusts could be stronger on the ocean.

  Forecasters say the weak but fast-moving cold front won’t produce a lot of rain, so they’ve refrained from issuing a flash food watch for burn areas. But, up to seven inches of snow could fall in the mountains at elevations of 6,000 feet or more.

  And on the holidays: There’s a 50 percent chance of rain on Christmas Eve (that’s Wednesday) and 40 percent chance on Christmas Day.

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  • December 22, 2008 1:35 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• U.S. Census Bureau relases numbers on demographic movement

  The U.S. Census Bureau has released the latest look at how people are moving about the country. KPCC’s Steve Julian has more.

  Steve Julian: Nevada had been one of the nation’s fastest growing states for most of the past quarter century. No longer. It’s in the 8th spot this year.

  The fastest growing state is now Utah, where the population climbed by 2.5 percent from July 2007 to July of this year. Arizona is now the second-fastest growing state, followed by Texas, North Carolina, and Colorado.

  Only two states, Michigan and Rhode Island, saw a drop in population. California is still the most populous state, followed by Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois.

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  • December 22, 2008 1:29 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Society/Culture

• Schwarzenegger orders hiring freeze, worker cuts

  By JUDY LIN

  Associated Press Writer

  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday ordered a state hiring freeze and payroll cuts to conserve cash as California struggles to deal with a $42 billion budget deficit.

  The governor issued an executive order that requires state agencies to reduce payroll by 10 percent, which could lead to massive layoffs. He also ordered the state’s 235,000 employees to take two days off a month without pay, starting Feb. 1.

  Schwarzenegger also issued an executive order calling lawmakers back into session to deal with the budget for the third time in two months. On Thursday he announced he would veto an $18 billion Democratic deficit-cutting package that he said didn’t do enough to address the financial crisis.

  In a letter to state workers, Schwarzenegger said California must take emergency steps that will require sacrifices from everyone.

  “It is imperative that state government look inside itself and be part of the solution,” the governor wrote. “We simply have no other choice.”

  Labor officials said they were considering filing a lawsuit to prevent job losses.

  “We definitely think we have grounds for filing an unfair labor charge,” said Jim Herron Zamora, a spokesman for the Service Employees International Union, Local 1000, the largest state employee union. “Our contract doesn’t allow him to do this.”

  Officials warn that the state will run out of cash in February unless Schwarzenegger and lawmakers can reach a deal to close the budget gap with spending cuts, revenue increases or a combination of both.

  Schwarzenegger ordered all state employees to take two days off a month without pay or take a similar salary cut to achieve $1.3 billion in savings through the next fiscal year.

  On top of that, the governor directed agencies that get their money from the state’s largest budget account, the general fund, to achieve a 10 percent payroll savings. Officials said that could lead to an undetermined number of layoffs.

  Department of Personnel Administration spokeswoman Lynelle Jolley said any workers who lose their jobs as a result of the order could seek employment at other state departments that use special state funds.

  “We’re hoping we can do this with the least number of layoffs possible but the goal is to address this imminent cash crisis,” Jolley said.

  Lawmakers adjourned for the holidays Thursday after Democrats pushed through a package of spending cuts and tax increases using a creative maneuver to bypass Republican opposition.

  Schwarzenegger’s decision to veto the package left Democratic leaders scrambling to save their plan. They argued that it met some of his demands for speeding up public works projects and selling surplus state property.

  Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, said it was “mind-boggling” that the governor would throw away a package that begins tackling the state’s fiscal problems because it didn’t contain exactly what he wanted.

  “It’s like a child telling Santa if you don’t bring every single item on the list, then stay out of my chimney,” Bass said. “I am hoping that the governor over these next few days will really reconsider saying he will veto the budget.”

  Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said they would remain at the Capitol to negotiate with the governor or his staff, but would not call the other 118 lawmakers back until a deal could be reached.

  Under the governor’s special session declaration, lawmakers have 45 days to send the governor bills that address the budget crisis. If they fail to do so, the Legislature may not act on other bills.

  The governor had sought what he said was assistance for homeowners facing foreclosure, broad authority to relax environmental regulation on public works projects and more toll roads. Democrats allowed only partial waivers for a limited number of road projects and for certain state properties up for sale.

  Additionally, Schwarzenegger requested deeper cuts than Democrats were willing to offer, such as reductions in welfare and senior assistance programs, greater flexibility to reduce school spending, and the elimination of two of 14 state employee holidays.

  Environmental advocates also questioned why the governor would toss aside the only deficit-cutting legislation to reach his desk since he declared a fiscal emergency on Nov. 5. Paul Mason, deputy director of the Sierra Club in California, suggested that by demanding environmental exemptions, the governor was betraying his public image as a crusader against global warming.

  Associated Press Writers Samantha Young and Steve Lawrence contributed to this report from Sacramento and Garance Burke contributed from Fresno.

  (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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  • December 19, 2008 7:01 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Judge moves to block implementation of mandatory algebra for eighth graders

  A judge in Sacramento tentatively ruled today that mandatory algebra plus eighth graders does not equal good policy. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez adds up the story.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Algebra’s the branch of math that uses letters and symbols to represent numbers and values. It’s useless for understanding state education politics.

  This summer California’s state Board of Education, at the behest of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, voted to require algebra testing for all eighth graders. They argued that it’s good for kids, and that the state would avoid losing some federal money.

  The California School Boards Association sued to block the mandate. It said the state was ill-equipped to meet the requirement.

  The state superintendent of schools contends that it’ll cost about $3 billion to enroll and test all eighth graders in algebra. Public schools are facing $2 billion in mid-year cuts.

  In her tentative ruling, the Sacramento superior court judge said the state Board of Education acted outside its jurisdiction and without public input.

  The president of the state board promised an appeal if the injunction becomes final. He said more stringent requirements will lead to higher student achievement.

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  • December 19, 2008 5:09 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• Orange County transportation officials line up possible projects

  If President-elect Barack Obama is able to push through a comprehensive economic stimulus plan, Orange County’s roadways and railways could see some of the windfall. At least, that’s what county transportation officials hope. KPCC’s Susan Valot says today they unveiled what they’d do if they get the money.

  Susan Valot: Orange County Transportation Authority officials say the top project on their list is widening the 57 Freeway. That’ll cost $140 million, but officials point out it would generate more than 5,000 jobs.

  In all, OCTA has a list of projects that totals more than $2 billion. It includes building a parking structure at the Metrolink station in Tustin, improving railroad grade crossings throughout the county, and widening Alton Parkway in South County.

  Transportation officials say investing in infrastructure, like roads and bridges, is critical for turning the economy around. Their projects would create nearly 56,000 jobs. But it all hinges on what’s in President-elect Obama’s stimulus plan… and whether federal lawmakers pass it.

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  • December 19, 2008 5:04 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs, Transportation

• City of L.A. passes renter protection law in face of foreclosures

  The mortgage crisis doesn’t just hurt homeowners. Renters can be in for a shock when lenders foreclose on their landlords’ properties. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says the City of Los Angeles signed off on a rescue plan for renters today.

  Cheryl Devall: In the first nine months of this year, 1300 apartment buildings in Los Angeles went into foreclosure. That meant the tenants had to move out right away. And LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said that shouldn’t happen if they kept up with their rent and lease payments.

  A new city law will make it illegal to turn out tenants in foreclosed buildings, at least until a new owner takes control of the property. City officials predict that the change could affect 300,000 apartment buildings and houses for rent.

  The law echoes mortgage guarantor Fannie Mae’s decision this week to renew the leases of renters who live in the foreclosed buildings it owns. Renters who face eviction because of foreclosure may seek help from the City of L.A. housing department toll-free at 866-557-R-E-N-T. (866-557-7368)

  LINK: City of L.A. Housing Department

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  • December 19, 2008 4:19 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Society/Culture

• Founder of nonprofit Homeboy Industries praises Solis pick for Labor

  The next head of the federal Labor Department has a soft spot for Los Angeles’ gang intervention non-profit, Homeboy Industries.

  Father Gregory Boyle, who founded the rehabilitation program 20 years ago, says that throughout her political life Hilda Solis has been a friend to his cause.

  Father Gregory Boyle: “…and a model, especially, to Latinas who look at her and see what she’s accomplished. She’s been a very prophetic voice in the Congress. I anticipate she’ll be the same in this cabinet.”

  President-elect Barack Obama today announced he’s chosen the Latina Congresswoman from El Monte as his Secretary of Labor.

  LINK: Homeboy Industries

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  • December 19, 2008 4:14 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Schwarzenegger announces further state layoffs, cutbacks

  Governor Schwarzenegger told state employee unions that to save some cash, they’ll face unpaid furloughs for two days every month beginning in February. The governor’s also ordering a 10 percent cut in the state workforce. That could result in thousands of layoffs.

  Jon Haveman with Beacon Economics, a research and consulting firm, told KPCC that these moves could further darken California’s ominous employment outlook.

  Jon Haveman: “This year we’re down about 150,000 jobs. And next year, I won’t be surprised if it’s also an equivalent number. So we’re talking about, in a decline, about 300,000 jobs in the state.”

  Haveman predicted that by the end of the coming year, the state’s unemployment rate will edge toward 10 percent. California officials announced an unemployment rate of almost 8.5 percent for last month.

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  • December 19, 2008 3:53 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• City of Hemet imposes city-wide layoffs

  The city of Hemet is the latest local municipality to impose layoffs. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says the axe is even falling on once-sacred cows: The police and fire departments.

  Steven Cuevas: Hemet is laying off four police officers. By some city’s standards, that might not seem like much. But the Hemet PD has only about 80 cops on the payroll.

  It already slashed two dozen positions through attrition and a hiring freeze. The latest cuts take effect in 30 days. Many officers are already looking for work elsewhere.

  The city of 70,000 will also close one of its fire stations. It has only five. Nine city workers will also get the axe. Two dozen others have been offered early retirement incentives. The Hemet City Council wants all departments to trim spending by as much as 25 percent.

  The city’s budget woes are tied to a drop in development fee income, and declining revenue from property and sales taxes.

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  • December 19, 2008 3:47 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Highland Park resident praises Solis' work as congresswoman

  President-elect Barack Obama has given the nod to Southland Latina Congresswoman Hilda Solis to head the Labor Department.

  Angelenos are proud of her success story. Beth Steckler from Highland Park described the Democratic representative from El Monte as a fighter.

  Beth Steckler: “She’s carried that Green Jobs bill, and she did that before Obama was elected. I really think that idea of transforming – using the economic stimulus and job creation to transform our energy system is a really good idea, and I think she understands that.”

  Solis is a leader in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and political observers regard her as pro-union.

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  • December 19, 2008 3:42 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Solis accepts Labor post; credits upbringing with shaping her values

  East L.A.’s Congresswoman Hilda Solis is president-elect Barack Obama’s pick for Secretary of Labor. This morning she introduced herself to national reporters who are just learning her story.

  Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis: “As a daughter of immigrants raised in La Puente in the San Gabriel Valley, near the beloved East Los Angeles, I learned at a very young age the value of hard work, public service, and commitment to family. That’s why I share President-elect Obama’s belief in an America where, if you work hard, anything is possible.”

  Southland organized labor leaders are praising the appointment. Solis is the daughter of union members who came to this country from Mexico and Nicaragua. She’s focused on workers’ and immigrants’ rights during her years in Congress and the California legislature.

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  • December 19, 2008 3:35 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Obama selects Congresswoman Hilda Solis for Labor Secretary

  President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Southland congresswoman Hilda Solis as his Secretary of Labor.

  Obama praised Solis as a champion of the middle class.

  President-elect Barack Obama: “For the past eight years the Dept. of Labor has not lived up to its role either as an advocate for hard working families or as an arbiter of fairness in relations between labor and management. That will change when Hilda Solis is Secretary of Labor. Under her leadership, I am confident that the Department of Labor will once again stand up for working families. I’m confident about that because Hilda has always been an advocate for everyday people.”

  Solis said she learned the value of hard work growing up in La Puente as the daughter of immigrants. She added that she’d work to enforce federal labor laws and to strengthen worker protections.

  Solis was the first Latina to serve in the California state senate. For eight years she’s represented East Los Angeles and parts of the San Gabriel Valley in Congress.

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  • December 19, 2008 3:30 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• City of Redlands imposes city-wide layoffs in face of budget gap

  Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to order state workers to take unpaid leave is nothing new. At least one Southland city has already moved ahead with furloughs in an effort to close its own ballooning budget gap. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has more.

  Steven Cuevas: About 400 city employees are being ordered to take two weeks of unpaid leave through the end of the fiscal year in June. The furloughs could save the city around half-a-million dollars.

  Redlands is trying to face down a budget deficit that approaches $3 million. It has around twice that in reserves, but that money’s supposed to be saved for emergencies like earthquakes or fires, not a bad budget.

  On top of the furloughs, most city offices in Redlands will be shut down on Fridays. They’re already closed every other Friday.

  Unions representing city workers agreed to the cost-saving actions. The cuts do not affect the Redlands police and fire departments… for now. The city is negotiating similar cuts with those unions. It might offer early retirement packages, too.

  The culprits behind Redlands’ budget collapse are the same as in other cities: Property values have fallen sharply. Development has slowed to a crawl. Sales tax revenue is down.

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  • December 19, 2008 3:28 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• City of L.A. offers lead toy testing and exchange

  Parents who live in Los Angeles are invited to test their children’s toys for lead tomorrow at four different sites around the city. Frank Mateljan is with the L.A. City Attorney’s office.

  Frank Mateljan: “We have our experts there with the equipment to test the toys. If the toys do preliminarily test at a high level of lead, parents will then have the opportunity to exchange that toy for a $25 gift certificate.”

  Families can exchange up to two toys for gift cards. A legal settlement with Mattel and other toymakers is paying for the program. The city and state sued them after last year’s massive recall of lead-painted toys made in China.

  For more information, visit the City Attorney’s Web site

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  • December 19, 2008 3:24 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice, Society/Culture

• Gang member rehabilitation program cuts back in face of financial hard times

  Los Angeles’ one-stop shop for gang member rehabilitation has fallen on hard times. Homeboy Industries has imposed a hiring freeze in its food service and silk-screening enterprises, because there’s no money to fill 100 jobs that have opened up since last summer.

  The non-profit’s executive director, Father Gregory Boyle, says any gesture of public support, including eating at the Homegirl Café or ordering bread from the bakery, counts for a lot right now.

  Father Gregory Boyle: “Most importantly, if they’re an employer who’d be willing to secure one spot for one person who is released from prison and is ready to redirect his or her life. Those are huge helps.”

  Boyle says this is the first time in its 20-year history that Homeboy Industries has frozen hiring for its learn-on-the-job programs. He says the economic downturn is forcing some of its sustaining donors to cut back on contributions.

  LINK: Homeboy Industries

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  • December 19, 2008 3:18 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Society/Culture

• Blagojevich denies wrongdoing, vows to fight charges

  Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich reiterated today that he has no intention of stepping down from his job amid allegations he’d tried to sell the open seat of former U.S. Senator Barack Obama.

  Governor Rod Blagojevich: “I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. That I intend to stay on the job and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight, I will fight, I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong.”

  Federal prosecutors contend that the governor had hoped to cut a deal for a lucrative job with whomever he appointed to succeed Obama in the Senate. The president-elect and a host of elected officials have urged Blagojevich to resign. This week, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a claim that the governor was unfit to hold office.

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  • December 19, 2008 2:55 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Weather delays flights to Northeast at start of holiday travel season

  Winter storms in the Northeast are causing flight delays in the Southland. Katherine Alvarado with Los Angeles World Airports says that flights destined for the New York metro area are backed up for hours.

  Katherine Alvarado: “New York International Airport is experiencing delays averaging five hours and 27 minutes. This is also due to weather, snow and ice. And JFK is experiencing delays of three hours and 20 minutes.”

  Alvarado advises travelers to check with their airlines before they head to the airport on one of the busiest travel days of the year. She suggests arriving two hours early for domestic flights and three hours ahead of international departures.

  By the way, if you’re traveling with some snow globes for gifts, pack them, carefully, in your checked baggage. They’re considered “liquid” and security will confiscate them if you try to carry them onto the plane.

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  • December 19, 2008 1:09 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Transportation

• Obama names Southern California congresswoman Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor

  President-elect Barack Obama named Southern California congresswoman Hilda Solis as his Secretary of Labor this morning.

  Solis said she’ll work to strengthen unions and support the nation’s diverse workforce..

  Hilda Solis: “I look forward to working with President-elect Obama to reinvest in workforce training, build effective pipelines to provide at-risk youth in underserved communities with sustainable skills, and support high-growth industries by training the workers that they need. This includes promoting green-collar jobs.”

  Solis said those jobs would help to combat climate change as they offer economic security to working families.

  Voters just elected Solis to a fifth term in Congress. She represents a district that includes East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. Solis also served in the state legislature for eight years.

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  • December 19, 2008 1:06 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Testimony ends in corruption trial of ex-Orange County Sheriff Carona

  Testimony in the federal corruption trial of former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona is now over. KPCC’s Susan Valot says it wrapped up this morning.

  Susan Valot: Carona will not testify at his trial. Instead, defense attorneys used a series of witnesses to try to discredit testimony by the key prosecution witness, Don Haidl. He’s Carona’s former assistant sheriff.

  Haidl testified about alleged illegal money schemes he cooked up with Carona. He secretly recorded conversations with Carona as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. Parts of those conversations were played several times in court during the trial, which started in late October.

  Now, jurors get to go home for a holiday break. The attorneys will return next week to talk to the judge about jury instructions. Then, everyone comes back in a couple of weeks for closing statements and the start of deliberations.

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  • December 19, 2008 12:07 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Gas prices starting to rise again

  When you fill ‘er up this weekend, bring along an extra handful of change. KPCC’s Nick Roman says gas prices are moving up just a little bit.

  Nick Roman: In L.A. and Orange Counties, you’re paying a little more than $1.73 for a gallon of gas. That’s still less than last week, but you won’t be able to say that for long.

  The Oil Price Information Service says the price of gas has gone up for two straight days in L.A. County… for three days out of the last five in Orange County. That’s after falling every single day for three months in a row.

  A lot of it has to do with OPEC’s talk this week about cutting back oil production. Some of it has to do with increased demand for gasoline during the holiday travel season. But OPEC’s promise to cut production didn’t shake the markets all that much; holiday traveling will be over in a couple of weeks; and if the economy shivers in January, the demand for gasoline will drop even more.

  That means chances are a pretty good gas will get even cheaper soon. Just so you know: What we pay for gas now is about the same as in Chicago. In New York, they pay 20 cents a gallon more. In Texas, about 18 cents a gallon less.

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  • December 19, 2008 11:41 AM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Transportation

• Agua Dulce resident describes snowed-in conditions

  This week’s weather reports for the Antelope Valley, full of high winds and snow, read more like something out of the Midwest than Southern California. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario spoke with Kevin Bennett, who lives with his family a mile up a mountain in Agua Dulce.

  Kevin Bennett: I tried getting home last night, but with the snow it was way too deep. I ended up just parking right here and trekking it home.
  Patricia Nazario: What’s happening up there? Are people who are up there, are they stranded in their homes?
  Bennett: Some people have their tractors out and they’re clearing the snow off the roads and making it bearable, so people can get their smaller cars in. This is a private road, so the city doesn’t care much for it.
  Nazario: This is Juniper Valley Road, a private road that crosses Sierra Highway. It’s really beautiful today. The mountains are snow-capped. It’s brisk. What’s it like out here when it’s not snowing?
  
  Bennett: It’s really nice to actually have snow, because normally we have droughts through here, and there’s a lot of dust because of the dirt roads and things like that. But it’s nice to get snow every once in a while. I don’t know how those people who live in the mountains out in the Midwest do it. It gets pretty annoying sometimes, but maybe California will be prepared for it after something like this, next time.

  That was Kevin Bennett of Agua Dulce, speaking with KPCC’s Patricia Nazario.

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  • December 18, 2008 5:42 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Environmentalist applauds Obama's selection of Hilda Solis

  A prominent environmental activist calls Congresswoman Hilda Solis a true grass-roots hero. Van Jones of Oakland wrote “The Green Collar Economy.” He says Barack Obama’s choice for Secretary of Labor has championed environmental justice throughout her career.

  Van Jones: “She understands that the environment is about the planet, but it’s also about people. She thinks holistically. She thinks about health, she thinks about work, she thinks about the environment as one thing. And that’s why Hilda Solis is such an extraordinary leader. And it’s not just that she’s the first Latina in that position. It’s not that she’s brown. It’s that she’s green, too. She’s the first green person in that position.”

  Jones credits Solis with co-sponsoring the first piece of federal legislation that funded training for jobs that promote energy conservation and efficiency. Jones appeared today at a downtown Los Angeles forum on building a sustainable, eco-friendly economy.

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  • December 18, 2008 5:40 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Journalist: Solis pick could bring immigration issues back to the fore

  President-elect Barack Obama’s reportedly picked Southland Congresswoman Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary. She represents the largely Latino 32nd district that includes much of the San Gabriel Valley.

  Harold Meyerson of the American Prospect magazine told KPCC that her appointment may help push immigration, an issue that didn’t surface often during the presidential campaign, back into the national spotlight.

  Harold Meyerson: “Hilda Solis, both in the California State Legislature and in Congress, has been a very strong proponent for immigrant rights on the job, in the community. Certainly supports what I guess people call ‘earned amnesty.’”

  Voters just elected Solis to her fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. The president-elect may announce her appointment as soon as tomorrow.

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  • December 18, 2008 5:31 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Car salesman says it's a great time to buy a car

  The freeze on consumer credit, and the general economic slump, have caused most people to flee from that new car smell. Falling demand is one reason that starting tomorrow, two of the major automakers, General Motors and Ford, are shutting down dozens of manufacturing plants for longer than the usual holiday break.

  Tawny Arnaud, vice president of sales at Galpin Ford, told KPCC that it may seem funny, but this is a great time to buy a car.

  Tawny Arnaud: “Actually, buying a car, whether it’s Chrysler product, GM, or Ford, right now, if people would turn around and buy those vehicles, we won’t have to be talking about a bankruptcy because we won’t have that bankruptcy.”

  Arnaud refuted claims that it’s hard for anyone but buyers with perfect credit to get financing for a car. His employer in Van Nuys is the country’s biggest Ford dealership.

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  • December 18, 2008 5:27 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Transportation

• Boxer says green technology could create jobs

  The new Congress meets the first week of January, but U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer says global warming legislation will take a backseat to an economic stimulus package.

  Boxer heads the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. She says she agrees with L.A. Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman, who chairs the House committee tasked with global warming legislation, that tackling “greenhouse gas” will strengthen the economy.

  Senator Barbara Boxer: “Henry Waxman and I see the world very much the same way in terms of mobilizing this nation to fight global warming, creating a lot of jobs in the process, making the country energy efficiency; leading to the development of technologies that we can export around the world will make us a great leader in this century.”

  In the short run, Senator Boxer says there is a “green” side to the proposed economic stimulus package, such as building new schools with solar rooftops.

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  • December 18, 2008 4:43 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Culver City councilman cautiously optimistic on economic stimulus

  This week, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer promised Southern California cities that economic help was on its way from Washington. But she says a stimulus package now in the works won’t be passed for at least a month.

  Culver City Councilman Micheal O’Leary is cautiously optimistic.

  Councilman Micheal O’Leary: “As a new politician, I listen to politicians like the general public still. I’m skeptical till I see results. But I’m confident that I heard that there is concern at federal and state level for what’s happening at the local level. I will hold all full judgement till I see the results.”

  Councilman O’Leary says he believes cities are more responsible when it comes to dispensing federal funds than Washington, especially when the feds eliminate the red tape.

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  • December 18, 2008 4:35 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Slippery roads present commuter hazards

  Slippery, wet mountain roads may pose driving hazards during tonight’s rush hour.

  Long-distance commuter Payo Rojo was on the 14 Freeway heading home to Boron in Kern County from work in West Los Angeles. He said the traffic stopped suddenly and he hit his breaks, but his car kept going.

  Payo Rojo: We were only going 65 miles per hour, and all of a sudden there was a water spot where I couldn’t even stop, and I hit the truck in front of me.
  Patricia Nazario: And it was the road? What was the road like? What did it feel like?
  Rojo: There are water spots, puddles in places. That’s about it. I guess I must have hit one and just kept on going. I mean, there’s some dry ice in the road. Just be careful.”

  Payo Rojo spoke with KPCC’s Patricia Nazario in Acton. California Highway Patrol officials say rain and chilly temperatures tonight will likely leave the roads icy.

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  • December 18, 2008 4:33 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• Loyala Marymount Professor praises Solis for bridge-building

  President-elect Barack Obama’s apparent choice for Labor Secretary is Southland Congresswoman Hilda Solis. Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, praised the selection. Guerra told KPCC that in L.A. and in Washington, Solis has tried to create bridges between immigrants, business, and organized labor.

  Fernando Guerra: “The reason that labor has been able to sustain itself, and even incrementally grow, here in Los Angeles County is because of their focus on the Latino community and immigrants. And you know, she’s been at the forefront of that. I think this appointment talks about how, if labor is to prosper, it has to be able to bridge and make immigrants part of the movement, an integral part of the movement. And also make the environmental movement part of the labor movement.”

  Guerra also is a member of the Southern California Public Radio board. Solis, who grew up in a Mexican-Nicaraguan household, is the only Congress member of Central American descent.

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  • December 18, 2008 4:04 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Journalist praises commitment of Labor Secretary-designate Solis

  The next federal Labor Secretary may hail from the San Gabriel Valley. President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly chosen Congresswoman Hilda Solis as the next member of his Cabinet. He may make the announcement tomorrow.

  Harold Meyerson, editor-at-large for the American Prospect magazine, covered Solis when he was executive editor of the L.A. Weekly. He told KPCC that Solis is one gutsy elected official.

  Harold Meyerson: “Hilda Solis took her own campaign funds, which she had raised, and funded the signature gatherers to put an initiative on the ballot to raise the minimum wage in California. They got the signatures, the measure was put on the ballot, and it passed. And politicians really don’t normally dig into their own campaign kitties to do something for the general good, apart from their own re-election.”

  Solis has represented her largely Latino district in Congress for eight years. Before that, she spent eight years as a legislator in Sacramento.

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  • December 18, 2008 3:57 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Greenhouse gas legislation must wait for economic stimulus

  On Capitol Hill, two committees likely to tackle global warming issues are headed by Californians. Barbara Boxer chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee on the Senate side. Henry Waxman will chair Energy and Commerce on the House side. KPCC’s Special Correspondent Kitty Felde spoke with Senator Boxer about legislation on global warming.

  Kitty Felde: If you were counting on the new Congress to immediately push for a cap-and-trade system on carbon, or to impose stricter rules on “greenhouse gas” emissions, you’ll be disappointed. Senator Barbara Boxer says Congress has a different priority.

  Senator Barbara Boxer: I think the very first thing we’re going to do is this economic recovery package. And in that package, there’ll be a lot of things that will lead us to reduce carbon. Such as … making buildings like this very energy efficient, putting solar rooftops on schools. Things like that are going to be the way we cut down on carbon. But the actual cap-and-trade legislation is going to wait just a little bit until we see what President-elect Obama wants.

  Felde: Senator Boxer says the president-elect has told her he wants to “think about” whether he wants a flexible cap-and-trade program, or a plan where Congress spells out all the details.

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  • December 18, 2008 3:55 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Commerce Department refuses to revive 241 toll road project

  Surfers and environmentalists are cheering today. The U.S. Commerce Department has refused to revive the proposed tool road extension in South Orange County. The California Coastal Commission voted down the project 10 months ago, and KPCC’s Nick Roman says this ruling looks like the end of the road.

  Nick Roman: The appeal to the Secretary of Commerce was a long shot, but it looked as if it might have a chance when the backers of the 241 toll road extension filed it. They claimed the six-lane road that would run close to San Onofre State Beach was key to national security.

  At a Commerce Department hearing in Del Mar in September, the toll road backers said it provided another evacuation route in case of a nuclear emergency at the San Onofre reactors. And they said no other road project could relieve jammed traffic along Interstate 5 in South Orange County.

  But the Commerce Department ruled that at least one other project could ease traffic. And it said claiming it was a good evacuation route didn’t make the toll road extension vital to national security. So the Coastal Commission’s decision stands, and the 241 toll road extension is dead… maybe. The toll road agency might go to federal court to keep the project alive.

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  • December 18, 2008 3:51 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Transportation

• LAPD and ACLU reach settlement limiting police searches

  Police searches of people in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row will be subject to new restrictions. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more on a settlement the LAPD and civil liberties activists that the L.A. City Council approved today.

  Cheryl Devall: The settlement follows five years after the American Civil Liberties Union alleged that police routinely searched Skid Row dwellers without probable cause.

  A year and a half ago, a federal judge ruled that LAPD officers violated homeless people’s rights with unnecessary searches and parole checks. That decision didn’t sit well with police department officials, who’d assigned more patrols to Skid Row in a major crime-fighting effort.

  The settlement between police and the ACLU will mean that officers won’t be able to arrest people merely for jaywalking or sleeping on the sidewalk. Police also will have to undergo special training to help ensure that future searches and seizures comply with the Constitution.

  An ACLU spokesman said the settlement signals that aggressive policing is not going to solve the problem of homelessness. At the same time, LAPD representatives say their efforts to this point have contributed to a significant drop in crime downtown.

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  • December 18, 2008 3:43 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Panel votes to suspend Clean Trucks ports fee

  A federal panel has voted again to suspend the Clean Trucks fee at the Los Angeles-Long Beach ports complex. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports.

  Molly Peterson: It’s the second time the Federal Maritime Commission has voted to delay a $35 container fee that the ports have been trying to collect since October. The fee is meant to help replace the oldest, dirtiest trucks at the ports. But the commission has repeatedly moved to block it.

  In this most recent decision, the maritime commission noted the slumping economy - and the struggling cargo industry – as reasons to hold up the fee. A judge who’s hearing the commission’s complaints against the harbor complex won’t decide in that matter until next month.

  In another federal courtroom, the American Trucking Association is also trying to throw out some Clean Trucks program rules that require drivers to be employees, not independent contractors. The association contends that those rules violate interstate commerce laws. Collecting an estimated million dollars a day in fees will depend on settling both of these disputes.

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  • December 18, 2008 2:57 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• I-5 reopens after night of snow

  The California Highway Patrol has reopened Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles – much to the relief of long-haul truckers who’d cooled their heels - literally - waiting for snow plows to clear the road.

  KPCC’s Patricia Nazario talked to a trucker who spent the night at a busy stop near the I-5 interchange with Highway 14.

  Patricia Nazario: “He said he got up there at about 10 o’clock last night and that’s when he realized the road was closed. So he just pulled over and snuggled up.

  “So I asked him what it was like, getting through last night. Out here in the San Fernando Valley, it was really windy. You could hear the winds gusting, and the mountains are snowcapped out here.

  “And he just said, ‘It was cold.’ He said his temperature reading said it was 1 degree. But he said it was all right. It was warm inside.”

  Patricia Nazario says a cold night was no big deal for this trucker. He’s from Vancouver.

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  • December 18, 2008 1:39 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• Obama to choose LA Congresswoman Solis for labor secretary

  The next federal labor secretary may be Southland Congresswoman Hilda Solis. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says President-elect Barack Obama could announce his decision as soon as tomorrow.

  Cheryl Devall: It’s one of the last cabinet-level appointments Obama has to make. Labor also could be one of the most important, given the persistent downward trends in employment and the economy.

  In Congress, Hilda Solis has represented her largely Latino district - spanning much of the San Gabriel Valley – for eight years. She spent the previous eight years in Sacramento, where she began in the state assembly and moved to the California senate. Her upbringing in a Mexican-Nicaraguan home helped attune her to immigration concerns - another likely focus of the next secretary of labor.

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  • December 18, 2008 1:21 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Democrats vote on plan to cut deficit through taxes

  State lawmakers today will cast their votes on the latest plan to reduce the state’s widening budget gap. Republicans and anti-tax groups are already threatening to block the Democratic plan in court if it passes and becomes law. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that she’s confident it will withstand a legal challenge.

  Karen Bass: “We vetted this. This is not something we cooked up in the last few days. This is an idea that we have been working on for months and literally the original idea started a couple of years ago, so we have had it vetted legally a number of times.”

  The complicated plan would raise some taxes and cut others as part of what Democrats say is a revenue neutral approach. Another part of the Democrats’ strategy is to replace state gasoline taxes with a fee that’s 13 cents a gallon higher.

  Democrats say the approach requires only a simple majority vote - not the two-thirds backing that would require Republican support. Governor Schwarzenegger had insisted that Democrats include about 15 items related to economic stimulus before he signs the proposal. Bass told KPCC that Democrats are meeting him halfway.

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  • December 18, 2008 1:15 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• I5 reopens after snow closure

  Interstate 5 re-opened a few minutes ago to truck traffic. Strong winds and snow had forced the California Highway Patrol to close the truck route last night.

  Twenty-eight-year-old Rabbi Sekhon was among the truckers stranded on the side of the freeway who spent the chilly overnight in their rigs.

  Rabbi Sekhon: “It was, yeah, minus one. I’m just waiting, talking on the phone, watching TV, listening to news.”

  Sekhon is a contract driver. He’s hauling building supplies to Vancouver, Canada.

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  • December 18, 2008 12:59 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• Legislature votes on tax increase to close deficit

  The Assembly and Senate are scheduled to vote today on a Democratic plan to narrow the state’s budget deficit. The plan is an attempted end-run around Republicans, who’ve opposed the tax increases in previous Democratic plans.

  Assembly Speaker Karen Bass told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that the plan will only require majority support, instead of the typical two-thirds vote tax hikes need.

  Karen Bass: “Given that we do not have those votes we have to look long and hard - and , if you will, we discovered a couple of loopholes where we can actually cut taxes in one area, raise them in another, so that we are able to use a majority vote.”

  Bass contends that the plan would close almost half of the state’s estimated $38 billion deficit. But Republicans and anti-tax groups are planning to challenge it in court, if it passes the legislature and if Governor Schwarzenegger signs it. Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines said yesterday that the new plan relied on “trickery.”

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  • December 18, 2008 12:57 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Obama defends pastor Rick Warren invocation

  President-elect Barack Obama today defended his decision to invite Southland pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. Gay rights advocates are criticizing the choice.

  Warren backed Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban that voters approved last month. Obama said it’s important for Americans to come together, even though they might disagree on certain issues.

  Barack Obama: “That dialogue I think is part of what my campaign’s been all about - that we’re not going to agree on every single issue, but what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere where we can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans.”

  Warren preaches at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest. Obama noted that Warren had previously invited him to speak at Saddleback, even though the two disagree on some social issues.

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  • December 18, 2008 12:50 PM

• Los Angeles City Council cuts budget

  The Los Angeles City Council has approved a combination of cuts in city services and fee increases to address a $130 million budget deficit. City officials say plummeting tax revenues fueled by the bad economy prompted the move. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has the story.

  Frank Stoltze: City Council President Eric Garcetti said most departments face a three percent cut in their budgets. The city will cut police and fire departments by one percent.

  Councilman Eric Garcetti: The pain is really spread pretty evenly. It’s in everything from a few less library books to trimming some hours at our parks and some of our maintenance, being able to hold off on the purchase of some of our police cars.

  Stoltze: The council also decided to pay for a $20 million legal settlement with a bond issue; to sell surplus city property; and to bump spay and neuter fees from $28 to $40 dollar per pet. Garcetti predicted bigger cuts in July.

  Garcetti: I think it’s very difficult to look at this coming year without facing layoffs in the city, or at least attrition, in which we don’t hire people after people retire.

  Stoltze: The city faces an estimated $400 million shortfall in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

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  • December 17, 2008 6:45 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Southern California uses state grants to crack down on drunk driving

  DUIs really won’t fly this holiday season. At least that’s the goal of an annual program. KPCC’s Susan Valot says law enforcement in Southern California will crack down on drunken driving starting tomorrow.

  Susan Valot: State officials have awarded more than $5 million in grants to local law enforcement agencies so they can set up DUI checkpoints. Dozens of those checkpoints will pop up through the end of the year, including checkpoints in Aliso Viejo Friday and in San Juan Capistrano Saturday.

  The L.A. Police Department secured a $100,000 grant to patrol bars and nightclubs to make sure they’re serving alcohol legally. In the past 12 years, the city’s closed down 90 establishments using similar grants.

  Friday, the state kicks off its holiday DUI campaign. It encourages people to call 9-1-1 if they spot anyone who looks like they’re driving under the influence.

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  • December 17, 2008 6:39 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Amid economic downturn, Getty Trust tightens belt, freezes hiring

  As freezing temperatures hit the region, the Getty Trust imposed a hiring freeze today. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more on the latest Southland arts organization to feel the economic chill.

  Cheryl Devall: The chief executive of the trust behind one of the world’s biggest arts endowments says stock market turbulence has significantly drained that pool of money.

  The value of the Getty Trust, estimated at almost $6 billion at the end of the last fiscal year, has declined by about 25 percent, James Wood told Getty staff in a memo. He said that means the operator of museums and research facilities in West Los Angeles and Malibu will have to significantly reduce its spending in the fiscal year ahead.

  More immediately, Getty facilities will have to stop hiring new employees, and promoting or raising the salaries of current staff, for the foreseeable future.

  The economic squeeze has prompted institutions including the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena and the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana to cut budgets, staff, and planned exhibitions. L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art is weighing a potential merger with the L.A. County Museum of Art for the same reasons.

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  • December 17, 2008 5:24 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• As projects are put on hold, senator urges California lawmakers to balance budget

  U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer came to Culver City today to reassure local officials that “help is on the way.” A federal stimulus package that Congress is expected to pass early next year could provide money to build highways, schools, prisons, and other projects.

  But Boxer said the money isn’t coming right away. The California Democrat Boxer also had a message for Sacramento lawmakers: Get your “budget act together.” Now.

  Senator Barbara Boxer: “And I just call on every representative and every state senator to put the state first, regardless of your party or anything else; we are at that point where we have to set aside almost everything else to make sure that we save our state and that we keep our state whole.”

  About the same time Boxer was speaking, a board chaired by State Treasurer Bill Lockyer voted to cut off all state funding for those same projects until June. Lockyer says the state can’t sell bonds until its budget is balanced.

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  • December 17, 2008 5:08 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Sacramento Democratic deficit plan doesn't need GOP votes

  Democrats in Sacramento say they’ve found a way to bust the impasse with Republicans over the best way to fill in the state government’s growing budget deficit. They’ve crafted a complex 18-billion dollar plan that they say doesn’t need Republican support.

  Democrats have proposed tax increases to fill in the deficit, but Republicans have refused to provide enough votes to get any proposal the needed two-thirds support. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass says she and her fellow Democrats think they can get around that.

  Karen Bass: “We have what we believe is a significant solution, taking care of 44 percent of the problem, through a way of raising revenue with majority votes.”

  Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg say lawmakers will vote on the package tonight.

  They say they only need Democratic votes because the package of tax and fee hikes won’t increase the overall amount of tax coming into California’s general fund. One provision eliminates the state gas tax that goes to transportation projects - but replaces it with a 39-cent-per-gallon fee.

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  • December 17, 2008 4:35 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Kids make holiday cards and gifts due to bad economy

  Some kids in the Southland plan to get creative this Christmas - they’re making holiday cards and gifts.

  Ten-year-old Jacklyn Chavarri is a fifth grader at Plainview Elementary School in the San Fernando Valley. She says her mom is making arts and crafts a family project this year because she’s trying to save money.

  Jacklyn Chavarri: “Having to cut back on like buying a lot of stuff like ice cream, candies, a lot of toys, and not that much presents this year.”

  The last shopping weekend before Christmas is approaching. In a national phone survey released today, America’s Research Group found that consumers are extremely conservative with their money this Christmas. More people are spending less; they told researchers they’ll stay within their gift shopping budgets.

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  • December 17, 2008 4:29 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• LA City Council passes new gun laws

  A package of measures intended to get illegal guns and ammunition off the streets got the Los Angeles City Council’s approval today. One ordinance bans the sale of 50-caliber ammunition. The state already bans the sale of 50-caliber firearms. Council President Eric Garcetti:

  Eric Garcetti: “I mean this is longer than someone’s finger. It isn’t just two-and-a-half times the size of a .22. The impact of this is exponential. These don’t just kill people. They wreak havoc through bulletproof vests.

  “They can tear through anything and there’s no reason to buy them except to kill human beings. And we do hope with a sympathetic Congress and White House now that this will be an example nationally of what we can do nationally as well.”

  The City Council also approved an ordinance that allows landlords to evict tenants who illegally possess guns within 1,000 feet of their property. Another requires licenses for ammunition vendors. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa helped to craft the proposals, and promised to sign them into law.

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  • December 17, 2008 4:18 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• OC wildfire disaster center temporarily closing

  If your home or business sustained damage during Orange County’s wildfires, you’ve only got a couple more days to grab some help before a holiday break. KPCC’s Susan Valot reports.

  Susan Valot: People whose property took a hit in last month’s Freeway Complex fire can qualify for disaster loans from the federal government. The Small Business Administration distributes low-interest loans of up to $40,000 for property damage insurance doesn’t cover.

  That’s for homeowners and renters. Homeowners may also apply for loans of up to $200,000 to cover un-insured damage. Businesses can get help, too. But you’ve gotta’ move quick if you want to start the process before the holidays.

  The government’s shutting down its disaster assistance center on Santa Ana Canyon Road in Anaheim on Friday. It’ll be closed for three weeks, and it’s scheduled to re-open in mid-January.

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  • December 17, 2008 4:11 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• 5th grader expects fewer Christmas presents due to economy

  Many families are tightening their budgets this holiday season, and children are feeling the pinch.

  Ten-year-old Edith Salcido is a fifth grader at Plainview Elementary School in the San Fernando Valley. She says she’s expecting fewer presents under the Christmas tree this year, because her mom has other obligations.

  Edith Salcido: “She said that because she wants to send some money to her mom from Mexico. Yeah, she wants to make her money stretch.”

  It’s just eight days ‘til Christmas and the U.S. economy continues to spiral downward. Chrysler announced today it’s shutting down all its domestic vehicle production plants for a month starting Friday. That’s two weeks longer than the auto industry’s usual seasonal lull.

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  • December 17, 2008 3:44 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa praises selection of Cortines as LAUSD superintendent

  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today lauded the selection of Ramon Cortines as superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports that Cortines gives the mayor a key ally in his effort to reform the district.

  Frank Stoltze: The mayor smiled when a reporter asked what he thought of Cortines’ selection as superintendent. Cortines used to work for the mayor.

  Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: Congratulations to Ramon Cortines! I said when we first hired him as our deputy mayor for education to lead our education reform effort that he was the best of the best.

  Stoltze: The mayor reportedly lobbied for the ouster of former Superintendent David Brewer. Two years ago, the school board selected Brewer without consulting Villaraigosa. Last week, the board bought out Brewer’s contract. The mayor suggested that the new schools chief will be a better political fit.

  Villaraigosa: Ramon Cortines has the urgency and the commitment to partner with me.

  Stoltze: Under a deal struck with the district, the mayor’s non profit Partnership for Los Angeles Schools already supervises 10 L.A. Unified campuses, including three high schools.

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  • December 17, 2008 3:03 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• Cal State San Bernardino hosts summit on recession-related stress

  There are all kinds of special conferences and summits these days about the economic crisis. There’s another one tomorrow at Cal State San Bernardino. But this one’s different. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says it’s all about the impact the bad economy is having on our mental health.

  Steven Cuevas: Record unemployment, empty food banks, home foreclosures, bankrupt businesses… who doesn’t have a little worry and a lot of stress?

  You might want to hear what mental health and financial experts have to say about coping with the recession stress. The idea came about last October, after a San Fernando Valley man killed five family members and himself over apparent financial worries.

  Cal State San Bernardino’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences is hosting the free one-day summit. Anyone can attend. Several experts on the economy and mental health will be there, as well as a panel of public health and social service providers. The aim is to explore ways that all of us can fend off a mental health crisis to match our economic crisis.

  The free conference starts at 8:30 in the morning at Cal State San Bernardino. RSVPs are requested.

  LINK: Cal State San Bernardino - info on summit

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  • December 17, 2008 3:00 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Health, Society/Culture

• Head of L.A. County's transportation agency to retire

  The head of L.A. County’s transportation agency announced today that he’s planning to retire. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has the story.

  Cheryl Devall: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Roger Snoble is 63. He’s spent two thirds of his life working in public transit, including the last seven years as the boss at Metro.

  Now that Snoble’s won a big political battle – passage of the half-cent L.A. County sales tax called Measure R – he says he’s ready to pass the baton to another chief executive.

  That ballot measure narrowly met the two-thirds voter approval it needed to win in last month’s election. It’s supposed to generate $40 billion for regional transportation projects during the next three decades.

  Before he arrived at Metro, Roger Snoble was an executive with public transit systems in Dallas and San Diego. Los Angeles County officials praise him for expanding the Orange Line busway in the San Fernando Valley, fostering the East L.A. light rail project, and presiding over record mass transit ridership throughout L.A. County.

  Snoble will leave his job after Metro completes a national search for his successor.

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  • December 17, 2008 2:27 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• Exxon Mobil to pay six million dollar settlement to EPA for refinery pollution

  Oil giant Exxon Mobil will pay $6 million in penalties to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports that some of the air pollution happened at Exxon’s Torrance plant.

  Molly Peterson: The six million is a national total that covers violations of a settlement Exxon made with the EPA for refineries in California, Louisiana, and Texas.

  Three years ago, Exxon agreed to do a better job controlling sulfur pollution from its smokestacks. The company also agreed to shell out $13.5 million dollars under the original terms of the settlement.

  Exxon has paid almost $8 million in penalties, plus nearly $7 million more for environmental projects in neighborhoods near its refineries.

  Most of the present violations are for failing to monitor and control sulfur in some fuel gas streams. Sulfur dioxide can cause respiratory problems in surrounding communities. Exxon Mobil says it’s properly monitoring and controlling sulfur at its refineries in Torrance and other places.

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  • December 17, 2008 2:07 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice, Environment, Health

• Strapped California puts infrastructure projects on hold; Boxer says new year should bring relief

  Finance officials in Sacramento today put road, rail, and bridge projects in California on hold. State Treasurer Bill Lockyer says without a state budget deal, he can’t sell bonds. KPCC’s Special Correspondent Kitty Felde says Senator Barbara Boxer added her voice to the chorus calling for a speedy budget agreement.

  Kitty Felde: Boxer says there will be federal money eventually to help with road and school construction. It’ll be part of an economic stimulus package Congress is expected to pass in the new year.

  But for the time being, she says it’s up to the state to get its house in order by balancing its budget. Senator Boxer said banks need to do their part to get projects back on track by lending again.

  Senator Barbara Boxer: There’s no reason, with the overnight rate almost at zero right now, and the fed getting ready to buy up treasuries so that they can pour more money in, why we can’t step up to the plate for a state like California where we voters have voted to pay back these bonds in the future.

  Felde: Boxer was in Culver City to deliver a statewide report on the recession’s effect on California. She cites a statewide unemployment rate of more than 8 percent, the highest in 14 years, as another reason to get California’s building projects back on track.

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  • December 17, 2008 2:01 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs, Transportation

• Snow and ice shut down parts of I-15 and Highway 138 in Inland Empire

  Ice and snow have once again shut down busy Interstate 15 between the High Desert and the Inland Empire. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has details.

  Steven Cuevas: The California High Patrol closed I-15 between Hesperia and Devore around noon. The icy asphalt temporarily idled a team of San Bernardino county snowplows. The CHP says dozens of motorists and truckers are stranded on the shoulder of the highway.

  Earlier, officers escorted commuters off the summit, and those escorts will resume as soon conditions improve. Authorities could partially reopen the highway later today. Caltrans and the CHP are conducting ‘round-the-clock road evaluations.

  Intense sleet and snow also forced the closure of Highway 138 between Interstate 15 and the desert town of Phelan, as well as a few surface streets in the Barstow area. In the Coachella Valley, persistent snowfall also forced the closure of the Palm Springs Ariel Tramway.

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  • December 17, 2008 1:49 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Transportation

• Ray Cortines talking with school unions about health benefit cuts

  The new head of L.A.’s public schools says that because of the state’s budget mess, he expects that he’ll have to make $200 to $400 million in mid-year cuts to the LAUSD budget.

  Incoming Superintendent Ramon Cortines told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that he’s already working on where to find the cuts, and that one area he’s looking into is the district’s union contracts.

  Ramon Cortines: “We are negotiating with all of our unions on health care, and together the unions and the district understand the perilous financial future both here and in the state, and are trying to hammer out a program that protects all of our present employees and looks at new employees that come on board.”

  Cortines was senior deputy superintendent until the school board bought out the contract of outgoing Superintendent David Brewer last week.

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  • December 17, 2008 1:46 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Education, Health

• Ramon Cortines has mixed feelings about taking over as LAUSD superintendent

  Ramon Cortines, the L.A. Unified School District’s new superintendent, admitted today that he’s feeling conflicted about taking on the job.

  Ramon Cortines: “The stars are not aligned, and it is a daunting time, but it is a job that has to be done in behalf of our youth.”

  Cortines spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk” about he may have to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to the public schools’ budget. Cortines officially takes over as superintendent on January 1. The school board appointed him this week after it bought out the contract of outgoing Superintendent David Brewer.

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  • December 17, 2008 1:32 PM
  • Categories: Education

• Ramon Cortines anticipates mid-year budget cuts for LAUSD

  The newly-appointed superintendent of L.A.’s public schools officially starts work on New Year’s Day, but Ramon Cortines says he’s not waiting until then to start dealing with massive budget cuts.

  Cortines expects $200 to $400 million in mid-year cuts, and another $700 million in reductions over the next two years. He told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that he’ll be working closely with the LAUSD Board.

  Ramon Cortines: “One of the things I will be doing after the first of the year is bringing to the board options for the mid-year cuts, and we will work up until Christmastime on ideas to help the board in making the best decision possible, even though it’s going to be a difficult decision.”

  Cortines said he’s talking to the unions representing teachers and other school workers about possible cuts in health care benefits for new employees.

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  • December 17, 2008 1:29 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Education

• Ramon Cortines ponders challenges of being LAUSD Superintendent

  The new Superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District officially takes over on January first. Ramon Cortines has a three-year contract to run a district that is facing huge budget cuts. He’ll be nearly 80 when he finishes his term, but he told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that physically, he’s up to the challenge of the job. Cortines said he does wonder about being mentally up to it, however, because:

  Ramon Cortines: “These are not quick fixes; there are no pat answers. This means you need to be creative, innovative, you need to think out of the box, you need to be logical, it needs to be reasonable, and it’s always got to be practical.”

  Cortines served as L.A.’s public school superintendent back in 2000, and he also headed up the school systems in New York and San Francisco. He said he’s already working on how to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the budget.

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  • December 17, 2008 1:27 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• Storm not expected to hit fire areas hard

  Officials don’t expect the latest storm that’s moving through Southern California to hit the burn areas too hard. No reports of major mudslides or damage in Yorba Linda. KPCC’s Susan Valot reports.

  Susan Valot: The storm earlier this week dropped more than 2-and-a-half inches of rain in the Freeway Complex burn area near Yorba Linda. So far, this latest storm has only dropped about a quarter of an inch – and it isn’t expected to add too much more.

  Sandbags and concrete barriers still line high-risk areas, like the neighborhoods in Box Canyon and along San Antonio Road. The hillsides above were stripped bare by the fire. So far, crews have managed to keep mud and debris from damaging homes. They’re working to keep the drains unclogged.

  Further to the north, it’s a different story – one that looks like a winter wonderland, but isn’t so much fun for commuters. Heavy snow in the Antelope Valley has forced officials to cancel local bus service in Lancaster and Palmdale.

  Metrolink trains are also running up to about 45 minutes late in that area because of signal problems caused by the snow. Train engineers have been ordered to “go slow” in that area.

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  • December 17, 2008 1:13 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Transportation

• SAG holds strike authorization town hall meeting

  The Screen Actors Guild – or SAG – is convening a town hall style meeting tonight in Hollywood to inform members about the upcoming strike authorization vote. KPCC’s Brian Watt says there’ll probably be some tension in the room.

  Brian Watt: There was certainly more than tension when the Guild held a similar meeting two days ago in New York. Members there took the union’s Hollywood leaders to task for the way they’ve handled contract talks with film and TV producers.

  A few days earlier, the Guild’s New York board had called for replacing SAG’s negotiating team and stopping plans to hold a strike authorization vote next month.

  But the Guild’s national president Alan Rosenberg still wants to hold the vote – and to tell the rank and file why they need to authorize a strike. He’ll need a “yes” from 75 percent of the voters, and he’s got support from stars including Mel Gibson and Martin Sheen. One-thousand more actors have signed a solidarity statement on the SAG Web site.

  But two former SAG presidents and more than 130 A-list actors – from Morgan Freeman to Glenn Close – signed another letter urging a “no” vote. Rhea Pearlman and Danny DeVito wrote the letter, and now it’s on a Web site where the number of endorsers topped 700 this morning.

  Link: Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
  Link: No SAG Strike

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  • December 17, 2008 1:10 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Study finds natural disasters less deadly than temperature

  California has a reputation as a place that’s prone to earthquakes and wildfires. But a new study has found that the more spectacular disasters aren’t as deadly as things such as heat waves or cold snaps.

  Susan Cutter led the study. She’s a disaster geographer at the University of South Carolina.

  Susan Cutter: “It confirmed what as researchers we had suspected, and that is that it’s not these catastrophic single large events, like the Northridge earthquake or Hurricane Katrina, that drive the patterns of mortality.”

  The study found that between 1970 and 2004, heat and drought accounted for nearly 20 percent of the deaths from natural hazards. Earthquakes, wildfires, and hurricanes caused less than five percent. The study is in the International Journal of Health Geographics.

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  • December 17, 2008 1:04 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Science/Technology

• LA Congressman Becerra turns down Obama administration job

  Los Angeles Congressman Xavier Becerra will not join President-elect Obama’s administration. Becerra was the leading candidate to become U.S. trade representative.

  Becerra told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that the next president will have a lot of important issues to deal with, including the economy. Becerra suggested that he could wield more influence if he remains in the House of Representatives.

  Congressman Xavier Becerra: “The issue of all these priorities that President-elect Obama would have, I thought would make it more difficult in the short term to try to deal with trade the way I could deal with so many other issues if I remained in the House. So that was one of the considerations I had in making my decision.”

  Voters just elected Becerra to his ninth term in Congress. He’s set to become vice chairman of the House Democratic caucus. Becerra’s also a senior member of the House Ways and Means committee.

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  • December 17, 2008 12:57 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• OC supervisors change restaurant health inspection signs

  Orange County restaurants won’t post A’s, B’s, or C’s at the door. And they’re not going to display color-coded health inspection signs either. KPCC’s Susan Valot says county supervisors in Santa Ana yesterday did approve a small change to the current health inspection placards.

  Susan Valot: It’s really tough to tell how well an Orange County restaurant fared in its most recent inspection. The current signs include an orange circle with tiny print that looks the same from a distance – whether the restaurant passed with flying colors or barely scraped by.

  County supervisors agreed to add the words “pass” or “re-inspection due” in bolder type, so customers can determine the rating at a glance. Supervisor John Moorlach voted for the measure, but said he’s disappointed the county didn’t take the restaurant grading a step further with an A-B-C system. He says he’s gotten lots of letters from constituents about it.

  John Moorlach: They really appreciate a letter grade when they go to L.A. County or other neighboring counties, and how helpful that is when they’re traveling or when they’re making a food establishment decision, because a lot of times, it is rather spontaneous.

  Valot: Supervisor Chris Norby voted against changing the current system. He says it’s fine the way it is. The new placards will start showing up in Orange County restaurants next October.

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  • December 17, 2008 12:31 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• City council considers budget cuts

  The Los Angeles City Council considers several possible fee increases and budget cuts today. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze says the council members have to address an $86 million budget deficit.

  Frank Stoltze: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s proposed raising spay and neuter fees for city pets, and selling under-used fire stations and libraries. But his most controversial proposal is to negotiate a voluntary retirement plan with the city’s union employees. He’s threatening layoffs if the unions don’t go along.

  Some city council members are asking why L.A. should raise fees, force retirements, or lay off employees as the city expands its police department. The LAPD is in the midst of a five-year plan to hire 1,000 new officers. The mayor repeatedly has said he won’t slow down that expansion.

  LAPD chief Bill Bratton argues that his department is doing its part to save money. He says it returned nearly $7 million to the general fund from the LAPD’s overtime account, and it’s not buying 53 new cars. Seventy percent of the city’s $7 billion budget is related to police, fire, and emergency management services.

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  • December 17, 2008 12:27 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• L.A. prosecutors charge 2 men in sheriff's deputy shooting

  Prosecutors in Los Angeles have charged two men in connection with the shooting death of an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy in a driveway during the summer. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says the suspects are reputed members of the Avenues gang.

  Cheryl Devall: Like many new deputies, 27-year-old Juan Escalante worked at L.A. County’s Men’s Central Jail guarding inmates. Outside his childhood home in Cypress Park, someone shot Escalante in the back of the head as he was about to go to work one August morning.

  Investigators have been trying to determine whether the two-and-a-half-year department veteran was the victim of a random shooting or a deliberate hit. The deputy was the married father of three children. Within days of Escalante’s death, the L.A. city council and county supervisors offered a $95,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in his shooting.

  The two young men arrested, Carlos Velasquez and Guillermo Hernandez, are charged with murder, including the special circumstance of a gang-related killing. Their arraignment is scheduled for December 30. Prosecutors are deciding whether to seek the death penalty.

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  • December 16, 2008 6:19 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• California considers report recommendations on hazardous chemicals

  Efforts to rethink the way California manages hazardous chemicals are getting a boost from a newly released report. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports on the state’s Green Chemistry Initiative.

  Molly Peterson: The new report, a summary of recommendations, is the product of more than a year of talks among scientists, manufacturers, and consumers.

  California environmental managers are promoting policies that scrutinize chemicals – and their potential hazards – more closely, and earlier, than at present.

  Maureen Gorsen, director of the state agency that monitors toxic chemicals, led the initiative.

  Maureen Gorsen: These ideas are less than 10 years old, and what we’ve been doing for 30 years at the Department of Toxic Substances Control is basically managing waste.

  Peterson: Some suggestions in the report have made their way into bills the legislature’s already debating. Other recommendations are complicated.

  Listing a product’s chemical ingredients online sounds like a simple idea, but California protects trade secrets, too. Lawmakers and agencies will have to wrestle with those and other competing interests as they move forward with the initiative.

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  • December 16, 2008 6:11 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• LAUSD school board appoints Cortines for three-year superintendent term

  L.A. Unified’s board of education today voted unanimously to replace Superintendent David Brewer with veteran educator Ramon Cortines, Brewer’s top deputy. The three-year appointment follows a contentious effort to remove Brewer two years before his contract was up.

  Cortines thanked board members and told them he’s determined to help L.A. Unified through upcoming budget cuts. He said he also hopes to boost graduation rates.

  Ramon Cortines: “And I’m not going to promise you that we’re going to do all these wonderful things in the next six months; what I do promise you is that I will work hard, that I will work with this board of education.”

  Board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte said she’s still concerned that Brewer’s ouster was unfair. Earlier this month, the school board bought out that superintendent’s contract.

  The school board approved a $250,000 yearly salary for Cortines, the same pay he’s gotten in his current job. He becomes superintendent on January 1.

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  • December 16, 2008 6:08 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• San Bernardino moves to oust county tax assessor Bill Postmus

  The San Bernardino County board of supervisors is taking action to remove a top official from office. The board’s agreed to hire a legal team to oust the county’s embattled tax assessor. Details from KPCC’s Steven Cuevas.

  Steven Cuevas: The supervisors took action amid allegations of corruption and drug abuse against assessor Bill Postmus. Earlier this year, a grand jury report alleged that Postmus had improperly used his office promote his political ambitions. A former assistant county assessor faces multiple felony charges in connection with the continuing criminal probe. Postmus has not been charged with a crime.

  As the allegations piled up, Postmus took an extended medical leave for what he said was chronic back pain. Several county officials allege that Postmus was being treated for addiction to prescription painkillers and methamphetamine. He has since returned to work.

  Postmus used to be a star of the Inland GOP. With promises to root out corruption, he won a board of supervisor’s seat when he was just 30. Removing him from office could take a couple of years, and could cost county taxpayers a million dollars in legal fees.

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  • December 16, 2008 6:05 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Auto writer appraises the upcoming electric Mini Cooper car

  When it comes to electric cars, BMW is trying to move to the head of the pack. It’s produced an all-electric Mini Cooper, called the Mini E. The company has people testing 500 Mini Es in L.A. and New York.

  David Booth writes about the car industry for the Canadian National Post. He told KPCC he likes the Mini E.

  David Booth: “I believe it’s got 204 horse power, it actually feels like much more, they claim about 8-and-a-half seconds, 0 to 60. But it, again, it feels like it’s quicker than that. You know, it’s a little heavy because it’s carrying around all those batteries, and there’s no rear seat right now of course, because that’s where the batteries go. But it performs all right; sure it does, absolutely.”

  BMW says that in ideal conditions, the two-seater Mini E can go 150 miles without a charge. While American car companies have been working on electric cars for years, BMW took the Mini E from concept to road test in only ten months.

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  • December 16, 2008 6:02 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Transportation

• L.A. County to send 112 deputies to Obama inauguration

  The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today approved a scaled-back plan for sheriff’s deputies to help with security at President-elect Obama’s inauguration next month. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports.

  Frank Stoltze: For sheriff’s officials, helping to protect people at the inauguration of the President of the United States seemed like a good idea.

  Larry Waldie: We want to help out. We feel it’s an honor to do this, and a privilege.

  Stoltze: Undersheriff Larry Waldie said Washington D.C. police requested the help, and agreed to pay the cost of sending 350 L.A. deputies. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky scoffed. He said the offer wouldn’t cover indirect costs in tough fiscal times.

  Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky: The employee benefits, the health benefits, the retirement contributions, which is what, about 25-30 percent on top of the salary.

  Stoltze: Supervisor Mike Antonavich worried about public safety in L.A. County during the deputies’ four-day visit to D.C. next month.

  Supervisor Mike Antonavich: I just don’t think we should shortchange our citizens by participating at this level. I would support a smaller number.

  Stoltze: So supervisors agreed to send 112 deputies to the inauguration – about one third of the requested number. L.A. is one of 90 law enforcement agencies around the country sending personnel to help with security during Obama’s swearing-in. Authorities say they expect a record four million people in the nation’s capital for that event.

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  • December 16, 2008 5:58 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Expert says industry manipulated light cigarette tests

  The cigarette industry is bracing itself for a wave of new lawsuits after Monday’s Supreme Court ruling on so-called “light” cigarettes. The Court ruled that cigarette makers could be sued for allegedly deceptive advertising.

  Dr. Stanton Glantz teaches medicine at UC San Francisco’s Center for Tobacco Control. He told KPCC that the industry manipulated tests with smoking machines by punching tiny holes in the “light” cigarettes.

  Dr. Stanton Glantz: “So that when the machines sucked air through the cigarette it would get diluted with room air, and so the amount of tar and nicotine that was delivered to the machines was reduced, knowing full well that when actual human smokers put the cigarettes in their mouths, they covered up these microscopic holes with their lips, and so got much higher actual doses of tar and nicotine.”

  A lawyer for Altria, which owns Phillip Morris, issued a statement saying the company believes it will be able to successfully defend itself against the anticipated lawsuits.

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  • December 16, 2008 4:16 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice, Health

• LACMA offers financially troubled MOCA assistance

  As the board of Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art met to discuss that institution’s financial future, the L.A. County Museum of Art has offered a lifeline. More on the story from KPCC’s Cheryl Devall.

  Cheryl Devall: A persistent budget gap has jeopardized one of the world’s most-acclaimed modern art museums. Artists, patrons and art scholars, and administrators have rallied to help keep open the Museum of Contemporary Art.

  Along with online petitions, rumors circulated that L.A.’s larger, public art museum would step in to help the smaller private one. The grapevine turned out to be right. The nonprofit that manages the L.A. County Museum of Art presented MOCA’s board with a governance plan that would incorporate members of both boards under LACMA’s management.

  The proposal also would encourage both museums’ collections to share space in the buildings they operate in the mid-Wilshire area and downtown L.A. This plan would not involve financial support from Los Angeles County, LACMA officials said in a statement.

  Note: There’s no guarantee that the contemporary art museum’s officials will approve the plan, despite the county museum’s assurance that it’s intended to preserve the independence and integrity of both institutions.

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  • December 16, 2008 4:14 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• LA County board hires health department watchdog

  Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is making strides to correct its Department of Heath Services. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario has more on today’s move to foster more accountability in the long-troubled agency.

  Patricia Nazario: Supervisors put the word out to independent contractors that they’ve agreed to hire a watchdog. The board directed L.A. County’s chief executive to start accepting proposals as soon as possible.

  The job will be anything but a cakewalk. The person who takes it will be responsible for analyzing the public health department and recommending ways to improve it.

  L.A. operates the second-largest publicly funded health care system in the nation, with an annual budget that exceeds $3 billion. It includes three general hospitals and a network of clinics that treat about 700,000 patients a year. Most of them are uninsured. The system’s biggest problem is the problem-plagued King-Harbor medical facility in Willowbrook.

  County Supervisor Gloria Molina said she intends the watchdog to promote responsible, transparent management within the health department, and to start delivering straight answers about the future of King-Harbor.

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  • December 16, 2008 4:09 PM
  • Categories: Health

• Directors Guild honors Ebert with lifetime achievement award

  The Directors Guild of America has announced the recipients of its latest lifetime achievement awards. KPCC’s Brian Watt says one award is a “thumbs up” to a well-known film critic.

  Brian Watt: Movie buffs likely know Roger Ebert as half of the televised film critic duo he formed with the late Gene Siskel. The two Chicago-area newspaper movie critics traded reviews in the balcony “At The Movies” and made “Two Thumbs Up” a popular and sought- after rating.

  Ebert has reviewed movies for the Chicago Sun-Times for more than 40 years. He’s also written several books about film. Ebert’s the first film critic to have won the Pulitzer Prize.

  The Directors Guild has singled him out for its Honorary Life Member award as news organizations around the country are eliminating the jobs of film and other arts critics.

  Directors Guild President Michael Apted praised Roger Ebert for keeping directors on their toes. From the blockbuster to the tiny independent film, Apted said, Roger Ebert has shared his love of cinema with generations of moviegoers. The award ceremony is at the end of next month.

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  • December 16, 2008 3:47 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Jewish charities didn't know they were investing with Madoff

  A number of Jewish charitable groups in Southern California are reeling from the alleged financial scam perpetrated by Bernard Madoff. At least one family foundation has reportedly closed, and a foundation that invests for local charities and individuals says it has lost $18 million. Rob Eshman is editor-in-chief of the Jewish Journal. He says this is by far the biggest story of the year for the Jewish community.

  Rob Eshman: “It’s not clear that many of these organizations even knew that they were investing directly with Madoff. Madoff used something like a system of rainmakers, guys who would come and collect money or bundle money and invest it in his company, Bernard Madoff Investment Securities.”

  Eshman spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk.” The Jewish Federation of Greater L.A. says it has lost more than $6 million. Other victims of Madoff’s alleged fraud include Hollywood executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, and a charity founded by Steven Spielberg.

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  • December 16, 2008 3:28 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• LA County sends sheriff's deputies to inauguration

  The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today approved a plan to send 112 sheriff’s deputies to Washington, D.C. next month. They’ll help with security during the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca had proposed sending 350 deputies. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky argued that none should go.

  Zev Yaroslavsky: “I just don’t think it’s appropriate. And I don’t think most taxpayers in Los Angeles County think it’s appropriate – however good the reason is and however important the need is – that to take 350 Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and uproot them, take them out for four days and move them to Washington and move them back, is a disruptive thing to the organization.”

  Sheriffs officials said Washington, D.C. police would pick up the cost of sending the deputies to the inauguration. Officials also promised that L.A. would not reduce street patrols during the four days those deputies will be in the nation’s capitol. More than 90 law enforcement agencies around the country are sending personnel to help with security during Obama’s swearing-in.

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  • December 16, 2008 3:17 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Madoff scandal hurts Jewish charities

  The massive fraud allegedly perpetrated by Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff has hit Southern California Jewish charities especially hard. Some groups have lost millions of dollars, and at least one family foundation has reportedly shut down. Rob Eshman is the editor-in-chief of L.A.’s Jewish Journal.

  Rob Eshman: “I did talk to a major philanthropist yesterday, who said that as far as he’s concerned, the community’s going to have to cut back its priorities to really just what it was when Jews first came to L.A. in the 1850s, which is feeding the poor, feeding and clothing the poor and the hungry, and just start from there again and really make sure basic needs are met before we go into the things like education and other things that are so important, and that the Jewish community has been so successful in supporting.”

  Eshman spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk.” The Jewish Federation of Greater L.A. says it lost more than $6 million in the scam. Other victims include Hollywood executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Steven Spielberg’s Wunderkinder Foundation.

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  • December 16, 2008 3:14 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Homes sales up in LA County

  Bargains and bargain hunters are keeping the housing market alive in the Southland. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario has the latest numbers.

  Patricia Nazario:Home sales across Southern California were up last month, largely because prices are down in the six-county region.

  In L.A., about 5,000 homes sold. That’s almost a 15 percent jump compared to November a year ago.

  Low prices spurred a similar trend in Orange County, but those realtors made twice as many deals over the same time last year.

  Real estate research firm DataQuick in La Jolla calculated the numbers. That company has made a name for itself tracking property deals in L.A., Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Orange counties.

  Its regional report shows that nearly 20,000 homes sold last month. The median selling price was $285,000. It was 435,000 in November of last year. That means this season’s buyers picked up properties at a 35 percent discount.

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  • December 16, 2008 2:53 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Environmental managers recommend new chemical policy

  State environmental managers are recommending new policies to control toxic and hazardous chemicals. That’s part of a new report from California’s Green Chemistry Initiative. The initiative’s director, Maureen Gorsen, says California should focus on the way companies use chemicals before they’re in consumer products.

  Maureen Gorsen: “So the question is, is there something safer? And if there isn’t something safer than this then what are we going to do in terms of inventing that safer material through R & D, workforce development, technology transfer? So there’s very much an investment in the future science of our materials economy that’s in this.”

  Gorsen’s report also suggests more that the state place more chemical information online, so consumers can make better shopping decisions and scientists can focus their research. Lawmakers have already taken up some of the initiative’s ideas.

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  • December 16, 2008 1:13 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• New survey says people less likely to buy foreclosures

  A new survey from real estate tracking firms Trulia.com and RealtyTrac finds that potential home buyers are less likely to buy a foreclosed property now then they were six months ago. The survey says that fewer than half the adults in this country would consider buying a foreclosed house, even if it was in good shape.

  Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac says that worry over hidden costs and declining home value are driving the apparent “foreclosure phobia.”

  Rick Sharga: “And one of the questions we had looking at the survey results is whether or not the fears that people are expressing in terms of buying a foreclosure, like if the property would hold its value over time, we’re wondering if that’s not endemic to the overall real estate market – and one of the things that’s keeping sales at a lower than normal average.”

  Potential homebuyers also want to pay a lot less for foreclosed properties - as much as half what they’d fork out for a non-foreclosed house of equal size. The average foreclosure discount rate in Southern California is closer to 30 percent.

  Consumers’ aversion to foreclosed properties could make it harder for Southland municipalities that hope to buy, fix, and sell distressed houses under the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The government plans to distribute money from that program starting next month.

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  • December 16, 2008 1:05 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Report suggests California chemical policy update

  A new report from the state’s top environmental agency proposes ways to update California’s policies about chemicals in consumer products. KPCC’s Molly Peterson has more.

  Molly Peterson: The state calls it a Green Chemistry initiative. For more than a year policymakers and scientists have been debating ways to regulate what chemicals are in products we use - and to prevent health and environmental impacts from toxic chemicals.

  Now the initiative’s leaders are making recommendations - from improving pollution prevention programs to increasing the evaluation of certain chemicals. One idea already getting traction is an online database of ingredients in products. Existing state laws that protect trade secrets may complicate that plan.

  The Green Chemistry team also suggests online access to more information about how chemicals are used, and their health and environmental hazards. That could inform consumers and help scientists determine new and relevant research possibilities.

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  • December 16, 2008 12:35 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Obama names education secretary

  President-elect Barack Obama named Arne Duncan as his education secretary this morning. Duncan currently runs the nation’s third-largest public school system, in Chicago.

  Veronica Anderson edits a publication about public education improvement efforts in Chicago. She told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that, for the most part, Duncan is a collaborative leader.

  Veronica Anderson: “He’s tried to tackle the tough problem of raising performance in the lowest scoring schools, he’s tried to do something about high schools, and he’s had some success around teacher quality and principal leadership issues, doing some things to change the way the district hires teachers and supports them once they are on the job.”

  Anderson says that Duncan has had run-ins with the Chicago teachers union over his promotion of charter schools and some other changes he’s instituted. The U.S. Senate will need to confirm Duncan’s appointment.

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  • December 16, 2008 12:33 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• KB Toys going out of business, more retailers could go under

  More tough times may lie ahead for the retail industry. KB Toys announced last week it was going out of business. Eleven-thousand people in that company expect to lose their jobs.

  KPCC Business Analyst Mark Lacter predicted that more retailers could go under in the months ahead.

  Mark Lacter: “Consumers need to feel more comfortable about spending money and we’re probably a good year away from that happening. The most recent UCLA economic forecast doesn’t have taxable sales picking up until 2010 and that’s way too long for a number of other chains that are on the edge.”

  During October, Lacter said, 15,000 people in the retail business lost their jobs in California. That’s usually when stores are hiring for the holidays.

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  • December 16, 2008 10:47 AM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• MOCA trustees meet to approve action plan to keep MOCA open

  The trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles meet today to seek a solution to the worst financial crisis in the museum’s 29-year history. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: The slow economy isn’t the only reason MOCA’s in a financial hole. For years the museum tapped into its endowment - and didn’t replenish the money - so it could pay for day- to-day operations. Earlier this year, auditors warned MOCA administrators about that practice.

  Museum officials say they’re closing a satellite gallery in L.A.’s Little Tokyo next month. They also say they’re likely to run out of money next year to keep open the main venue in downtown L.A. and another space in West Hollywood.

  Trustees discussed their options at a meeting a month ago. A spokeswoman would not disclose the agenda for today’s meeting. Observers expect trustees to approve an action plan to keep MOCA open. Many of the private institution’s supporters oppose a proposal to merge it with the much larger and financially healthier L.A. County Museum of Art.

  L.A. philanthropist Eli Broad has promised MOCA $30 million in rescue money if other donors can match a portion of that amount.

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  • December 16, 2008 10:31 AM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• MOCA trustees meet to discuss financial crisis

  The trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles are meeting today to explore possible solutions for the museum’s financial problems. MOCA may run out of operating money sometime next year.

  The sour economy and museum administrators’ decisions are to blame. For years the private institution’s tapped into its endowment for day-to-day operations, and it hasn’t replenished those funds.

  Bettina Korek, founder of the online arts resource guide ForYourArt, says many artists are waiting to hear how they can help.

  Bettina Korek: “If there’s anything positive that’s come out of this, I think that it is the kind of wider awareness for how beloved MOCA is by Los Angeles artists and international artists. And just how critical it is for Los Angeles and the international art community.”

  Korek says many people she’s talked to oppose an idea to merge MOCA and its holdings into the larger L.A. County Museum of Art. L.A. Philanthropist Eli Broad has committed enough funds to get MOCA back on its feet. Some observers say they want changes to who runs the museum - and how – as a condition of any bailout.

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  • December 16, 2008 10:28 AM
  • Categories: Arts

• Private funeral being held for pinup model Bettie Page

  Private funeral services are scheduled in Los Angeles today for iconic pinup model Bettie Page. Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner told KPCC that he maintained great affection for the curvy, playful brunette – one of the first models he picked to appear in his publication when it launched 55 years ago.

  Hugh Hefner: “She was a very dear person and a very close friend. And I was honored to be able to help her in some significant ways in the later part or her life, to make sure that she had the right kind of legal representation and to be properly compensated for the many, many people who were fans, but some of whom also took advantage of her or in some cases didn’t properly compensate her for the use of her image.”

  Page claimed in her later years that the enduring popularity of that image mystified her. But before she died last Thursday at age 85, she was able to collect and control some profit from the photos for which she’d posed in her prime.

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  • December 16, 2008 10:23 AM
  • Categories: Arts

• Judge sentences Pellicano to 15 years

  A federal judge in Los Angeles Monday sentenced Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano to 15 years in prison. In May, a jury convicted Pellicano on 78 counts, including wiretapping, wire fraud, and racketeering. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: During his court appearance, Pellicano said he’s taken “full and complete responsibility” for what he did.

  Prosecutors say he charged clients a minimum $25,000 fee for spying on their rivals, competitors, and ex-lovers. He wiretapped billionaire Kirk Kerkorian’s former wife in a child support battle. He bribed police officers to check records for dirt on comedian Garry Shandling.

  Authorities started investigating Pellicano six years ago after Los Angeles Times reporter Anita Busch found a dead fish with a rose in its mouth on her car, along with a sign that read “stop.” She’d written a series of unflattering articles on one-time super-agent Michael Ovitz - a Pellicano client. Sixty-four-year-old Pellicano faces state charges in that case next. Ovitz - and many of Pellicano’s clients - maintain they never knew about his tactics.

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  • December 16, 2008 10:21 AM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Volunteer talks about volunteering at East LA church

  For some people, volunteering during the holidays is as much a tradition as Christmas trees and menorahs. Jane Argento of Pasadena is a longtime supporter of Dolores Mission Church in East Los Angeles. She’s paid particular attention this year to the Catholic parish’s program that matches willing shoppers with needy families’ wish lists.

  Jane Argento: “About three years ago, I picked up a pink bicycle that was one little girl’s wish. And when I delivered it with some staff people from Dolores Mission to this one-room apartment where a mother lived with three of her children – a little kitchen. A bathroom. That was it. Mother just stood there, she’d just come home from work, and tears running down her cheeks.”

  Argento said the level of poverty 20 minutes away from her two-story Pasadena home staggered her. She said she keeps returning to the Dolores Mission neighborhood because its families have become her friends and teachers.

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  • December 16, 2008 10:04 AM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Energy Secretary-designate Chu on his selection

  Two of the four people President-elect Obama named to his environmental team are from California. Energy Secretary-designate Steven Chu teaches physics at UC Berkeley, and is head of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Chu said he has a strong commitment towards alternative energy.

  Steven Chu: “In our current economic crisis, people are losing their jobs and homes, companies are collapsing. Some say we have to concentrate exclusively on re-establishing the health of the economy. I look forward to being part of the president-elect’s team which believes that we must repair the economy and put us on a path forward towards sustainable energy.”

  Obama said that by picking Chu to head the Energy Department, he’s sending a signal that his administration will, in his words, “value science.” Mr. Obama has criticized the Bush administration for letting politics trump science on some issues.

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  • December 15, 2008 5:00 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Madoff investment fraud hurts Southland charitable organizations

  Two Southland charitable organizations have confirmed that alleged fraud by a New York-based investment advisor probably hurt their finances. More on the story from KPCC’s Cheryl Devall.

  Cheryl Devall: Individual and institutional investors entrusted Bernard Madoff with their retirement funds and philanthropic endowments because he delivered consistent returns. Last week, federal agents arrested Madoff in connection with an investigation into his firm’s loss of at least $50 billion, possibly more.

  One organization that expressed shock and outrage over that development is the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles - the area’s largest charitable gift asset manager for Jewish philanthropists. In a statement, foundation officials said they’d invested less than five percent of its assets in the Madoff firm. They said they expect the foundation to remain stable and to meet its present and future commitments.

  The private philanthropic fund of director Steven Spielberg confirmed that it had invested 70 percent of its dividend and interest income with Madoff. A spokesman for that charity, the Wunderkinder Foundation, declined comment beyond admitting some financial loss.

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  • December 15, 2008 4:54 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice

• Yorba Linda escapes storm with little damage

  City crews are roaming neighborhoods in the Yorba Linda burn area. They’re on the lookout for mudflows and clogged storm drains. Officials say sandbags and concrete barriers seem to have worked.

  So far, there are no reports of any major mud damage to homes, even though a mandatory evacuation order remains in effect. KPCC’s Susan Valot says that just because this storm is moving out doesn’t mean the danger’s over.

  Susan Valot: It takes three to five years for enough vegetation to grow back after a wildfire. That growth keeps steep slopes in place during rain storms.

  So far, the hilly Yorba Linda neighborhoods in the Freeway Complex burn area have withstood two storms without major mudslides or landslides. But Assistant City Manager Mark Aalder says they’re not out of the woods.

  Mark Aalder: They really do expect that the major flows or of the most concern are generally the third and fourth rain storms. So that’s why we are paying particular attention with this one. The first one is always kind of the saturation phase, and then after that, they can be far worse off.

  Valot: That’s because the water soaks in. After it reaches a certain point beneath the soil, the land can break apart. During the first storm of the season, fissures formed behind a duplex in Yorba Linda. That hillside has still not broken loose. When it rains, that building gets red-tagged.

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  • December 15, 2008 4:52 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Some praise Iraqi reporter who threw shoes at Bush

  A lot of people are talking about Sunday’s shoe throwing incident in Iraq. During a news conference in Baghdad, an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at President Bush - a very serious insult in Iraqi culture.

  Reaction in Iraq has been mixed, but the reporter seems to have struck a nerve among critics of the U.S. L.A. Times reporter Tina Sussman spoke with KPCC from Baghdad.

  Tina Sussman: “The interesting thing is the amount of support for this man. He’s been hailed as a hero. He seems to have achieved, you know, martyr-like status. And even people who say that his behavior was rude, a lot them also say that they can really sympathize with his behavior and that he did something that a lot of people here would actually like to do but have never had the chance to do.”

  The AP reports that the shoe throwing reporter, Muntadhar al-Zeidi, was kidnapped once by militants, and detained on another occasion by the U.S. military. Thousands took to the streets in the Shia neighborhood of Sadr City to demand his release.

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  • December 15, 2008 4:48 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Yorba Linda fire areas fare storm well

  The rainstorm delivered a few mudflows over roadways - but no major damage - to neighborhoods near Yorba Linda’s burn areas. Yorba Linda assistant city manager Mark Aalder says city crews have been out, trying to clean up mud and debris as it trickles down the scorched hillsides.

  Mark Aalder: “Obviously some of the sandbags have collapsed in certain portions, which we’re putting back into place. There have been pools of water behind the K-rails, as well as mud and debris. So those have held quite well, and now the water is just flowing into the storm drains, and they’re not being clogged.”

  Three neighborhoods in the Yorba Linda burn area are under mandatory evacuation orders, in effect since about 7 this morning. Some people chose to stay in their homes. A few miles away, in Anaheim, the rain caused the roof on an adult school to collapse. That hurt about a dozen people, none seriously.

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  • December 15, 2008 2:23 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Obama volunteer talks about weekend planning meeting

  Over the weekend, supporters of President-elect Obama held meetings throughout southern California as part of a national day of discussions about the way forward for their movement. Marta Evry of Venice went to a meeting at L.A. Trade Tech.

  Marta Evry: “The very first thing that we are going to do with our group in Venice, is we are organizing around a food bank. That’s completely non-partisan and we are having Republicans involved in this.

  “So, there are ways for us to connect and so, when we do get into partisan issues, we will know these people through our other work and we will be able to talk to each other and educate one another.”

  Evry spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk.”

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  • December 15, 2008 2:20 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Jury rules against selling Oscar statuettes

  A jury in Los Angeles has determined that it’s not proper to sell an Oscar, even to benefit a charity. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more on today’s verdict.

  Cheryl Devall: The case in L.A. Superior Court involved three women who inherited three golden statuettes through their relationship with old Hollywood royalty - Charles “Buddy” Rogers and Mary Pickford. An attorney for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - the organization that awards the Oscars - said in his opening statement that Rogers and Pickford were more famous in their day than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The defendants were related to the woman Rogers married after Pickford’s death.

  Those relatives had hoped to sell one of the Pickford Oscars and donate the proceeds to charity. They argued that they were not bound by the Motion Picture Academy’s rule that anyone who wants to sell an Oscar must give the academy the right to buy it back first for $10. The jury took an hour to decide otherwise, but the attorneys plan to present arguments in a non-jury portion of the case next Monday.

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  • December 15, 2008 2:14 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Criminal Justice

• Orange County officials respond to flooding in Sunset Beach

  Heavy rains and a very high tide flooded sections of Pacific Coast Highway at Sunset Beach today. Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Greg McKeown:

  Greg McKeown: “This morning at about 9:18, our units responded to report of flooding across PCH. They arrived on scene and did indeed find all five, four lanes of PCH under water. Firefighters worked quickly, called in extra resources, and were able to sandbag most of the businesses and homes in the area. One business did sustain minor water damage to the floor.”

  Firefighters, Caltrans, and sanitation employees used gasoline-powered pumps to drain the water into Anaheim Bay. Homeowners nearby complained that Caltrans could have prevented the flooding if the agency had de-activated a bladder device it uses to divert water from drains during high tide. Caltrans could not be reached for comment.

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  • December 15, 2008 2:07 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• First big winter storm of season in San Bernardino Mountains snowbounds many residents

  The storm that’s slicing its way across the Southland has dropped mounds of snow from Ventura County to the High Desert. About 10 inches of snow have piled up in parts of the San Bernardino Mountains. The Rim of the World School District called a snow day for all eight of its schools. Karen Baldwin of Lake Arrowhead is riding the storm out at home with her teenage son and 7-year-old daughter.

  Karen Baldwin: “Actually, the kids are playing – they’ll go out and do snow play later. We’ll be shoveling, lots and lots of shoveling and lots of snow blowing. My daughter’s crushed, she’d much rather go to school – she likes it.

  “So, snowmen and snow angels. But its snowing so hard right now it’s not very inviting. I did my walking tour to see what the roads are really like and its pretty, it’s pretty blizzardy.”

  The Baldwins can’t get their car out of the garage. Some of the roads in Lake Arrowhead are still impassable too. A lot of the county’s snow plows are busy clearing Interstate 15. The Baldwin family plans to hit the slopes at Snow Summit once the weather lets up and they can pull out of their driveway.

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  • December 15, 2008 1:57 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• New York SAG actor: Producers' offer doesn't necessitate a strike

  There reportedly is a rift within the Screen Actors Guild over next month’s planned strike authorization vote. New York leaders of SAG want the union to call off the vote. They contend that it’s irresponsible in the current economic climate.

  SAG has argued that the studios’ offer doesn’t meet its demands on residual payments, particularly in the area of new media. Former SAG president and New York board member Richard Masur told KPCC’s Larry Mantle he doesn’t buy that argument.

  Richard Masur: “What’s in this current proposal is increases in every single across the board, virtually every single area of residuals, either direct increases or increases by virtue of the fact that minimums are increasing. The only place that there is an issue about residuals is in made-for-new-media products; made under a certain budget level that is not ad supported.”

  Masur made clear that he was speaking for himself, not for the organization.

  SAG president Alan Rosenberg has criticized the New York board’s action. He called it “extraordinarily destructive and subversive.” He’s called an emergency national board meeting Friday in Hollywood.

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  • December 15, 2008 1:14 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Interstate 15 in Cajon Pass re-opened after storm closure

  Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass is open to traffic again. Heavy snow forced it to close around six this morning.

  Snowplows and other emergency vehicles spent all morning cleaning up after fender-benders and escorting stranded motorists down the Pass. This stretch of Interstate 15 between the High Desert and the Inland Valley is a major thoroughfare for commuters and truckers.

  More severe weather could be just around the corner. California Highway Patrol officer Daniel Hesser says that means commuters should be ready for more possible route changes.

  Daniel Hesser: “We understand that’s a main thoroughfare, so Caltrans and CHP will do constant evaluations and if they don’t feel it’s safe, they just won’t, so its just a constant evaluation of weather conditions. Hopefully people have a relationship with their employer that they understand if there’s just no way they can get through. My partner who works here wasn’t able to come down as well. He lives up on the other side of the Pass.”

  Weather forecasters say the wet, freezing weather will probably stick around for another couple of days.

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  • December 15, 2008 1:12 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Transportation

• Storm causes damage and injuries in Orange County

  Parts of Yorba Linda are still under mandatory evacuation orders this afternoon as steady rain starts to turn to showers. KPCC’s Susan Valot says the storm caused some damage in Orange County.

  Susan Valot: Mud flowed into Yorba Linda yards and streets near the Freeway Complex burn area. So far, there are no reports of major damage.

  Mudslides along Carbon Canyon Road forced the Highway Patrol to close that thoroughfare. So people who live in the Olinda Village area are stuck in their neighborhood until the road’s cleared.

  In Anaheim, storm water caused a roof to collapse at an adult school. Fire officials say a drain malfunctioned and water collected on the flat roof at the Orange County Regional Occupation Program building on Ball Road. The roof fell into one classroom shortly after nine this morning. The cave-in trapped one person for a little while. About a dozen people suffered minor to moderate injuries, including back and neck problems. Paramedics took several of them to the hospital to be checked out.

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  • December 15, 2008 1:08 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Producers run ad vs. SAG in trades; SAG deals with inner conflict

  The Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers has placed an ad in Hollywood’s trade papers today. It takes aim at claims made by Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg about the producers’ final contract offer. KPCC’s Brian Watt has this update.

  Brian Watt: Since the beginning of the contract drama between the Guild and the producers alliance, the issue of residuals for work streamed or downloaded on the Internet has been the star. In the producers’ ad today, it gets top billing once again.

  What the producers call Alan Rosenberg’s “rhetoric” – that their contract offer is the beginning of the end of residuals” – occupies one side of the ad.

  On the other side, bullet points aim to debunk that rhetoric. The producers say they’re increasing the residual rate for permanent downloads, and offering the first-ever residuals for films and TV shows streamed on the Web.

  In a statement, SAG calls the entire ad “great fiction,” and goes on to refute the producers’ bullet points.

  SAG has its own internal conflict to resolve. Late last week, leaders of the Guild’s New York branch called on the union to stop plans for the strike authorization vote scheduled for next month, and to replace SAG’s negotiating committee.

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  • December 15, 2008 1:05 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Los Angeles looks at major budget cuts

  A Los Angeles City Council committee Monday will begin looking at how to reduce a $90 million budget deficit. The mayor wants cuts in place in two weeks. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: To address the deficit, Mayor Villaraigosa has proposed raising the fee to spay or neuter pets from $28 to $40, delaying the city’s plan to install left turn arrows, and selling “under-used” fire stations and libraries.

  The mayor also wants to issue a $20 million bond to pay for major lawsuit settlements. That could cover a possible settlement with hundreds of immigrant rights marchers who fell under the batons of LAPD riot police in MacArthur Park last year.

  Villaraigosa says the budget deficit grew $30 million in the past three weeks alone, mainly because of plummeting property and sales tax collections. The city’s overall budget is $7.1 billion. The L.A. city budget could face a $400 million deficit in the next fiscal year, which starts July 1.

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  • December 12, 2008 5:48 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Former hospital CEO pleads guilty in health care fraud scheme

  The former head of City of Angels Medical Center pleaded guilty today to his part in a scheme that used L.A.’s Skid Row homeless to defraud Medicare and Medi-Cal. More from KPCC’s Debra Baer.

  Debra Baer: Dr. Rudra Sabaratnam pleaded guilty in federal court to two felony counts of paying half-a-million dollars in illegal kickbacks for patient referrals. Prosecutors say he and a co-defendant, who also admitted guilt, recruited homeless people on Medicare and Medi-Cal for hospitalization, even though they weren’t sick. They then billed the government health programs for unnecessary medical care.

  Sabaratnam agreed to pay more than $4 million in restitution to Medicare and Medi-Cal. The 64-year-old Brentwood physician faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in June.

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  • December 12, 2008 5:40 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Health

• Metrolink peer review board presents safety recommendations

  Metrolink must develop a stronger, more unified culture of safety. That’s one of several recommendations from a review panel appointed by the commuter rail system after the deadly Chatsworth crash.

  The panel of transit industry experts presented its report today to Metrolink’s board of directors. Panel member Linda Bohlinger says Metrolink has added trains and contractors over the last seven years - but it’s kept its staff at about the same size.

  Linda Bohlinger: “Although it may show you’re very efficient, it may also show that you need to keep pace from an oversight perspective as your system’s trains increase and as your contractors increase. We want you to require an increase in contract oversight when there are increases in train service, fleet size, and infrastructure.”

  Bohlinger says more staff means Metrolink can do a better job of making sure everyone’s doing their jobs correctly - and safely.

  Next month, Metrolink’s board will talk about how quickly it can put the panel’s recommendations into action - and how much it’ll cost.

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  • December 12, 2008 5:19 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• Shelters, missions overwhelmed by homeless demand

  Los Angeles County’s homeless authority says on any given night 73,000 people are sleeping on the street. More than 10,000 are children or teens.

  And it’s getting worse thanks to the slowing economy and big job losses. Union Rescue Mission President Andy Bales says the number of people visiting his shelters is up three fold over this time last year. He says it reminds him of the 1930s.

  Andy Bales: “During the depression, the Union Rescue Mission provided 42 percent of the meals that were provided to the city of L.A. and somehow made it through. We’re trying to live up to heritage.”

  Bales says it’s not easy. Demand for his nonprofit’s winter shelters is up sharply, while cash and food donations are shrinking.

  The Union Rescue Mission provides shelter for about 1,500 families during the winter months. Bales says so many people need help that he’s considering opening the mission’s chapel to house another 50 families.

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  • December 12, 2008 5:17 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Society/Culture

• First big snowstorm of season coming to San Bernardino Mountains

  Winter is dishing it out this weekend. We’ll have rain across the region, gusty winds in the high desert, and even a sprinkling of snow on the Grapevine. Mountain areas could get a couple of feet of the white stuff. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has the forecast for the San Bernardino Mountains.

  Steven Cuevas: By Sunday morning, a layer of snow should whiten treetops and mountain sides above the 7,000 foot level. The snow should drop to around 5,000 feet by Monday. That’s just right for the popular winter resort towns of Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, and Big Bear.

  The snow should keep falling through at least midweek. But why wait? The slopes are already open at Bear Mountain and Snow Summit with around a 10-inch base of manmade snow.

  If you’re more of a purist, just wait ‘til Wednesday. Snow could fall as low as 2,000 feet - that’s low enough to make snow angels in the Devore area near San Bernardino.

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  • December 12, 2008 3:10 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Weather forecast calls for rain and cold temps

  It’s time to put those flannel sheets on the bed, wear your fleece jacket, and don’t forget those mittens you got from Santa last Christmas. Ol’ Man Winter has arrived a bit early this year and the National Weather Service predicts that Sunday through Wednesday, we’ll be shivering through the coldest nights yet and the longest cold spell to hit Southern California in several years.

  Bill Hoffer: “It will be in the 30s, probably mid-30s somewhere around there at this point in time. It’s a little bit too early to tell because the system is still up there and its still evolving towards us.”

  That’s meteorologist Bill Hoffer with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. He says a Pacific Northwest weather system is spinning south like a giant wheel of rain and snow and it’ll arrive sometime Saturday night.

  Hoffer: “There’s gonna be several impulses that are gonna come down, primarily impacting temperatures, and there will be precipitation, but it’s hard to say at this point in time exactly how much we’re gonna get.”

  But Hoffer says it’s not a stretch to expect mountain resorts to get up to two feet of snow – while the basin may get an inch or more of rain, especially Sunday night through Monday.

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  • December 12, 2008 2:45 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Senate leader Steinberg promises swift action toward balanced budget

  Democratic State Senator Darrell Steinberg is the new president pro tem of the state Senate. He wants to work on health care, energy, and water issues, but he’ll find it hard to do much of anything until he helps broker a deal to balance the state budget. Steinberg promises to keep the pressure on lawmakers to reach an agreement soon.

  Senator Darrell Steinberg: “Our goal here, and in fact our commitment, is by the end of December, even if it means working through the holidays, which I hope isn’t the case, that we will take a $17- to $18-billion chunk out of this problem.”

  Steinberg spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk.”

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  • December 12, 2008 1:50 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• CA Senate President Pro Tem lays out policy goals for health care, renewable energy, water

  The new president pro tem of the state Senate spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk” today. Sacramento Democrat Darrell Steinberg said that besides dealing with the gaping budget deficit, he has other policy goals.

  Senator Darrell Steinberg: “First of all, I think we need to get children’s health care done in California within the first 120 days. Secondly, renewable energy. This is of course an issue which is not only crucial to meeting our climate change goals in California but it’s also, I think, the new economy.”

  Steinberg said he also wants to increase water availability. He hopes to get a water infrastructure bond on the ballot in 2010.

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  • December 12, 2008 1:44 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Environment, Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• Audubon Society begins annual Christmas bird count

  Thousands of Californians are expected to participate in the annual Christmas bird count, which begins this weekend. KPCC’s Molly Peterson has more on the Audubon Society event, now in its 109th year.

  Molly Peterson: In the late nineteenth century, Christmas was a time for “side hunts,” where teams of hunters would compete to shoot the most birds in a single day.

  Early Audubon members started a one-day count as an alternative. Instead of guns, they used binoculars.

  Now that one day happens at hundreds of places at different times. It’s the oldest count of its kind in the world, and the data gathered helps track the health and decline of bird species.

  Over the next several weeks, teams of experienced birders and first-timers will spot and tally birds in California from San Diego to Tule Lake.

  This weekend, binocular toting bird counters will meet in Malibu and in Orange County to keep up the tradition. The one-day counts will continue through early next year.

  LINK: Audubon California

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  • December 12, 2008 1:39 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Dolores Mission Church marks 20th anniversary of homeless shelter

  The Dolores Mission Church in East Los Angeles is marking its 20th anniversary as a shelter for the homeless.

  To celebrate, the eighth-grade class at the church’s on-site Catholic school sponsored a breakfast feast this morning. Their moms worked overtime to prepare Menudo, and the students helped serve up the traditional Mexican soup. Their teacher, Giselle Haro, says feeding and serving the hungry is a graduation requirement.

  Giselle Haro: “In order to build that character in them, it’s our main responsibility to teach them how to do it, and I think the kids take great pride in being able to provide that to the community.”

  The church takes in 55 men at a time for a three-month stay. They sleep inside the church, as well as in the parish community room and garage.

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  • December 12, 2008 1:36 PM
  • Categories: Religion/Spirituality, Society/Culture

• Bettie Page, celebrated pin-up girl, dead at 85

  Bettie Page, the infamous 1950s pin-up girl who later developed a cult following, has died.
  Page gained fame for sexy photographs featuring her in lingerie, bikinis. and sometimes nothing at all.

  Author and journalist Richard Foster wrote a book about Page. He told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that she had two very different sides.

  Richard Foster: “She had this very fresh face, innocent girl next door look, that men just fell in love with; I mean more than just lusted for, fell in love with. But at the same time, there was a much darker side to Bettie Page both in her professional and her personal life…”

  Foster says in the 1950s, Page began doing bondage photography, which was illegal at the time. Later in her life, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and put in a mental institution. But the pictures lived on, giving Page cult status. She inspired comic books, Web sites, and a movie about her life.

  Doctors placed her on life support last week after she suffered a heart attack; she never regained consciousness. Bettie Page was 85.

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  • December 12, 2008 1:31 PM
  • Categories: Arts, History

• Cold temperatures, rain, and snow forecast for the coming days

  It’s going to be cold this weekend. The National Weather Service says temperatures will drop down into the 50s. That will be the daytime high. Lows will be in the 40s, and could even reach the 30s in some areas.

  National Weather Service forecaster Todd Hall says we may also get some rain.

  Todd Hall: “I think we’re going to see just some showers on Saturday. It looks like a better chance of rain Sunday night into Monday.”

  The chance of rain on Monday is 50 percent in L.A. county and 60 percent in Orange County and the Inland Empire.

  The snow level is expected to drop to 3500 feet on Saturday night, and could drop even lower next week.

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  • December 12, 2008 1:29 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• California to adopt new, stricter air pollution rules for trucks and buses

  California is expected today to adopt what would be the country’s most comprehensive rule to get the dirtiest trucks and buses off the road, starting in 2010. KPCC’s Steve Julian says trucking firms are vehemently opposed.

  Steve Julian: California has the dirtiest air in the nation, so the goal is to get rid of the vehicles that cause that pollution.

  But the California Trucking Association maintains that, in a recession, it’s unfair to force them to replace their vehicles, or outfit them with pollution filters or new engines. The cost to businesses, school districts, and transit agencies statewide is estimated at $5.5 billion.

  Air regulators, however, say the cost would be spread over 16 years. They add that the cost is dwarfed by the tens of billions in health benefits to people who incur asthma and suffer heart attacks from breathing dirty air. The State Air Resources Board says the requirements would prevent 9400 premature deaths over 20 years.

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  • December 12, 2008 1:19 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Environment, Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• Early morning shooting on 101 freeway backs up downtown traffic

  Police say they have no motive for a shooting on the southbound 101 freeway that snarled traffic throughout downtown Los Angeles this morning. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: Police say someone shot and critically wounded a man driving a brand new Bentley Continental around 3:30 this morning. It happened on the connector road linking the southbound 101 with the eastbound 10 freeway.

  Police say the Bentley crashed into the center divider. They found the driver slumped over the steering wheel.

  Bentleys are worth about $175,000. This one still had the dealer’s paper license plate.

  LAPD Lieutenant Paul Vernon says the car was riddled with at least 10 bullet holes. He says investigators believe someone shot at the car while it was moving. Vernon says witnesses saw the car weaving erratically, and initially thought the driver was drunk.

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  • December 12, 2008 10:02 AM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Transportation

• LA County gets $210 million from Transportation Department; much will be used to turn carpool lanes into toll lanes

  Transportation planners in Los Angeles County got an item on their wish list today. But KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says a big grant from the federal government may not go over so well with drivers.

  Cheryl Devall: The $210 million from the Department of Transportation will go a long way toward freeing up freeway traffic. Federal Transportation Secretary Mary Peters called it the biggest grant of its kind to any city so far.

  Here’s the coal in the stocking - much of the money will help convert more than 60 miles of freeway carpool lanes into high-occupancy toll lanes. When those lanes are done, drivers will shell out depending on the traffic flow and time of day.

  The plan involves stretches of the 110 and 10 Freeways in L.A. County. Hold the road rage over paying tolls on what’s supposed to be a free-way - federal transportation officials are encouraging drivers to try something new.

  Secretary Peters pledges that the change will result in cleaner air and less traffic. Part of the grant is also going to improve bus service and park-and-ride transit lots.

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  • December 11, 2008 4:22 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• Former Lawrence Berkeley National Lab director Shank praises likely Obama energy secretary Chu

  President-elect Obama’s apparent choice for energy secretary has a strong interest in pursuing alternative energy as a way to fight climate change. UC Berkeley Physicist Steven Chu is a Nobel Prize winner and former Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. His predecessor at the lab was Charles Shank.

  Charles Shank: “Steven Chu is a remarkable person. He is one of the best scientists of our age. And he has such a range of interest and excitement, that he has moved into many different fields. He’s become passionate about energy, and I think that’s probably why he’s off to where he’s going.”

  Shank spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” He said Chu will face a big challenge learning to navigate the Washington bureaucracy.

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  • December 11, 2008 4:10 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Anderson forecaster says some California regions will feel more recession pain

  Economists with UCLA’s Anderson Forecast confirmed today that the country’s in a recession, and that California’s along for one rough ride. But some parts of the Golden State will feel more economic pain than others.

  Senior economist Jerry Nickelsburg says the Inland Empire, for example, will feel a “triple whammy” in the year ahead.

  Jerry Nickelsburg: “It has a very large logistics industry, which serves imports for all of the United States – that’s down. Large retail sector – that’s down. Large residential construction sector, and that’s down. So the Inland Empire, you know, is going to be a region that is hurting.”

  Nickelsburg says Orange County will suffer from declines in the mortgage finance industry and in tourism. But he says the recession won’t sock Los Angeles County, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley as hard.

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  • December 11, 2008 4:07 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Ex-Lawrence Berkeley Lab chief lauds likely Obama energy secretary Steven Chu

  President-elect Obama’s apparent selection of Steven Chu as energy secretary signals a new direction for the government’s energy policy. Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, is a strong advocate of alternative energy.

  Charles Shank preceded Chu as director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. He says Chu will face a steep learning curve when he tries to implement his agenda.

  Charles Shank: “I think that he’s going to be drinking from a fire hose to figure out just exactly how it is to tame that bureaucracy and work with President Obama administration and with the Congress.

  “This is a major challenge and it’s something which there are few people I know that could possibly do that, and I think that Steve is definitely one of them.”

  Shank spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” He called Steven Chu “one of the best scientists of our age.”

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  • December 11, 2008 4:05 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• UCLA economist looks at how national recession will affect California

  A nasty national recession means California’s economy is in for a rough ride during the year ahead. That’s the analysis from UCLA’s Anderson forecast today. Senior economist Jerry Nickelsburg considered what the Golden State might take away from the country’s economic table next year.

  Jerry Nickelsburg: “We’re looking at employment declining by about a percent and a half. We’re looking at income declining. And personal income in California rarely declines in a recession. But it does happen about half the time in the deeper recession, and it will happen this time. So 2009 is going to be sort of a tough road to hoe for us.”

  Nickelsburg added that California’s messy state budget crisis won’t help matters.

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  • December 11, 2008 3:53 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• African-American civic leaders call on LAUSD for inclusion in superintendent choice

  More than a dozen Los Angeles African-American civic leaders called on the L.A. Unified school board today to make the superintendent selection process more open and transparent. The appeal follows days after the school district’s board decided to replace Superintendent David Brewer.

  The process that led to Brewer’s selection, some in the group said, didn’t include enough opportunities for parents and other concerned observers to weigh in. Eric Lee heads the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in L.A.

  Eric Lee: “We want to have a role in the selection process for the new superintendent by having a community representative on the selection committee. Second, we want the establishment of a task force specifically for improving the quality of education for our black children.”

  Lee said the group also wants meetings with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and L.A. Unified leaders to voice these concerns. Neither Brewer nor the current board of education have done enough to raise the very low test scores of most African-American students, Lee and others said.

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  • December 11, 2008 3:49 PM
  • Categories: Education

• USC Medical Center nurse comments on hospital inequity

  South Los Angeles public health professionals and advocates are using a Health Equity Scorecard to measure the resources in their area against those on L.A.’s Westside. The non-profit Community Health Councils released the yearlong study today and hosted a panel about it.

  L.A. County USC Medical Center nurse Robin Ellis attended the meeting at Holman United Methodist Church. She says the report describes what she sees every day.

  Robin Ellis: “I went to visit a friend in Glendale Memorial the other night. There were two people in the emergency room there. At work the previous day, I’m working in the psychiatric emergency room. In the waiting room, in the ER, we have 200-plus.”

  Ellis says the difference is that patients at County USC’s waiting room didn’t have medical insurance. County USC and Glendale Memorial Hospitals are about 10 minutes apart.

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  • December 11, 2008 3:41 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Health

• California Air Resources Board passes greenhouse gas reduction plan

  State air regulators have passed a blueprint for California’s landmark greenhouse gas reduction laws. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports.

  Molly Peterson: The Air Resources Board passed what policy wonks call a “scoping plan.” It’s a road map toward an aggressive goal. The state’s planning to cut greenhouse gas emissions within 12 years to their level 18 years ago, with the aim of slowing global warming.

  The devil’s in the details, though, and much of the public comment before the vote focused on whether and how to implement a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases.

  Advocates for people who live near fossil fuel emitters – a big source of greenhouse gases – are worried about health effects from pollution. They say the air could stay dirty in those neighborhoods while polluters pay for carbon reduction projects somewhere else.

  Some air board members said they’d also like to consider an alternative, a carbon tax on emitters. The governor isn’t sure the politics of that option will work. Economists who studied what the board approved say Californians should keep an eye on the costs - some of which are very uncertain.

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  • December 11, 2008 3:40 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Community Health Council compares inequities in South LA

  A discussion of health disparities between South L.A. and the city’s Westside animated a panel this morning that included Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

  His plan to close the gap focuses on the reopening of Martin Luther King Medical Center as a full-service hospital. Ridley-Thomas said his goal includes a public-private partnership.

  Mark Ridley-Thomas: “It will drive the quality of health care, the extent of the technology that’ll be in place, as well as the innovation that’ll do things that could very easily be cutting edge.”

  About 100 people attended the talk at Holman United Methodist Church. Ridley-Thomas cautioned them against expecting a quick fix. He said they should expect incremental changes over the next few years.

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  • December 11, 2008 3:37 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Health

• Senior NPR VP says show cancelations won't change quality of reporting

  The economic crisis that’s affected all kinds of companies has spread to National Public Radio. A $22 million budget deficit has prompted the network to cancel two daily programs, including “Day to Day” heard weekdays on KPCC.

  Ellen Weiss, Senior Vice President for News at NPR told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that staff cuts at the network’s production facility in Culver City will not change the quality of its reporting and storytelling.

  Ellen Weiss: “The fact that we have to make an economic decision about two programs does not mean that we’re lessening our commitment to the west, to the region, to California.

  “And part of what we have to do is both working with our member stations and looking internally and ask ourselves, what will be the new definition of NPR West’s role in addition to being a place where excellent journalism takes place and Morning Edition is co-hosted out of.”

  NPR is eliminating 64 positions in various departments, for a seven percent reduction in staff. It’s the network’s largest layoff in a quarter-century. “Day to Day” and another program based at NPR West, “News and Notes,” will cease production in March.

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  • December 11, 2008 2:17 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• 'Jamiel's Law' fails to qualify for March ballot

  Supporters of a proposed ballot initiative that would allow Los Angeles police to arrest illegal immigrant gang members say they’ve failed to qualify the measure for the March ballot. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports.

  Frank Stoltze: Supporters of the measure call it Jamiel’s Law. Seventeen-year-old Los Angeles High School football player Jamiel Shaw was fatally shot on his way home earlier this year. In connection with the shooting, police arrested a gang member who was illegally in the country.

  The proposed measure would have modified Special Order 40, which prohibits LAPD officers from stopping people solely based on their immigration status. It would have allowed officers to target and arrest gang members who are illegally in the United States.

  Supporters needed 74,000 signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the March ballot. They say the city clerk has informed them they fell well short.

  Police Chief Bill Bratton and immigrant rights advocates opposed the measure. They said that police already arrest illegal immigrant gang members who commit crimes, and that changing Special Order 40 could lead to racial profiling. Supporters, including Jamiel Shaw’s parents, say they’ll keep trying to qualify the measure for future ballots.

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  • December 11, 2008 2:15 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Air regulators meet to talk about reducing global warming, disel truck air pollution

  State air regulators meeting in Sacramento today will be talking about cutting global warming - and cutting air pollution from diesel trucks. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports.

  Molly Peterson: The California Air Resources Board released a study this week that the longer truck drivers are behind the wheel, the greater their risk of lung cancer. Air regulators say tightening rules about how much diesel trucks can spew would save the state billions of dollars in health care costs, not to mention thousands of lives.

  The proposed rule would install particle traps on trucks’ exhaust pipes in the first years, then phase in tougher controls over 15 years. But truckers say they’re feeling financial pain over this proposal. Even small retrofits can cost upwards of $10,000 a pop, and clean trucks - the kind the state will eventually require – cost up to $200,000.

  Air regulators say California needs to control pollution from diesel engines so it can meet federal air standards - and protect federal highway money. But lobbyists for the trucking industry are vowing to fill the air board’s airtime with plenty of public comments against the proposed rules.

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  • December 11, 2008 1:25 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Environment, Transportation

• Obama and Health and Human Services secretary nominee Daschle differ on health care mandates

  President-elect Obama wants to reform the health care system, and his choice for secretary of Health and Human Services will lead that effort. Former Senator Tom Daschle says fixing health care is the nation’s greatest domestic challenge.

  Gerald Kominski teaches health policy at UCLA. He says that Daschle’s positions on health care reform are mostly consistent with Obama’s, but the two differ on the issue of mandates.

  Gerald Kominski: “The president-elect would prefer to have mandates for insurance only on children. Whereas Senator Daschle and Senator Clinton have both proposed mandates for the entire population - not just for children. But this is, I think, a minor philosophical difference that can probably be hashed out in the political process.”

  Kominski spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk.”

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  • December 11, 2008 1:16 PM
  • Categories: Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• UCLA's Anderson Forecast says this is no typical recession

  The economists of UCLA’s Anderson Forecast weigh in today on the financial crisis in the country and in California. KPCC’s Brian Watt reports.

  Brian Watt: This is no ordinary recession - the UCLA economists say it’s a “nasty” one. Forecast director Edward Leamer says that past recessions have looked on a chart like the letter “V.”

  Ed Leamer: In the first stroke of the “V”, you lose a couple of million jobs, 3 million jobs - mostly manufacturing jobs. In the second stroke of the V, you get them back.

  Watt: This go-round, says Leamer, most of the job losses aren’t in manufacturing, but in retail, restaurants, and temporary business services. So while most economists agree the recession started almost a year ago, the economy still hasn’t reached the bottom of the “V.”

  Leamer: Right now, the economy is being driven by fear on the part of both investors and consumers. And it’s very hard to predict when that fear is going to dissipate.

  Watt: The forecast calls for the country’s unemployment rate to rise from 6.5 percent two months ago to 8.5 percent late next year.

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  • December 11, 2008 11:52 AM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Golden Globe nominees announced

  Hollywood’s awards season is almost here. This morning, the Golden Globe nominations were revealed. KPCC’s Steve Julian has the results.

  Steve Julian: Three movies were mentioned the most this morning: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” and “Doubt” each grabbed five Golden Globe nominations.

  Doubt’s mostly up for acting awards, with Meryl Streep getting a nod for best dramatic actress. Streep, by the way, is also up for best comedic actress for her role in “Mamma Mia.”

  “Benjamin Button” and “Frost/Nixon” are up for the best dramatic movie prize. So are “The Readers,” “Revolutionary Road,” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”

  In the best dramatic actor category, Sean Penn earned a nod for his portrayal of gay rights advocate Harvey Milk. That was the movie’s only nomination.

  One other movie received only one nomination even though it received a lot of buzz: The Dark Knight. The late Heath Ledger is competing for a supporting actor award.

  The Golden Globes are on January 11th.

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  • December 11, 2008 11:29 AM
  • Categories: Arts

• California air regulators consider new rules to limit truck pollution

  State air regulators meeting in Sacramento today will be talking about cutting global warming and cutting air pollution from diesel trucks. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports.

  Molly Peterson: The California Air Resources Board released a study this week that said that the longer truck drivers are behind the wheel, the greater their risk of lung cancer.

  Air regulators say tightening rules about how much diesel trucks can spew would save the state billions of dollars in health care costs, not to mention thousands of lives.

  The proposed rule would install particle traps on trucks’ exhaust pipes in the first years, then phase in tougher controls over 15 years. But truckers say they’re feeling financial pain over this proposal. Even small retrofits can cost upwards of $10,000 a pop, and clean trucks, the kind the state will eventually require, cost up to $200,000.

  Air regulators say California needs to control pollution from diesel engines so it can meet federal air standards and protect federal highway money. But lobbyists for the trucking industry are vowing to fill the air board’s air time with plenty of public comments against the proposed rules.

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  • December 10, 2008 8:05 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Environment, Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• City of Norco gives $1 million lifeline to a pair of struggling auto dealers

  As Washington lawmakers debate a multi-billion dollar bailout for Detroit automakers, the Riverside County city of Norco has signed off on a lifeline of its own for a pair of struggling car dealers. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has details on the deal.

  Steven Cuevas: Whatever you do, don’t call it a bailout.

  Jeff Allred: Right, it’s a temporary line of credit for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

  Cuevas: Jeff Allred is Norco’s city manager. He says Norco Mazda and Frahm Dodge each got a half-million dollar line of credit to offset slack sales. The money will cover the dealers’ basic operating costs until the credit market thaws and car sales pick up. In a small city like Norco, with annual sales tax income of only about $5 million, these modestly-sized car dealerships are simply too big to fail. City manager Jeff Allred.

  Allred: The auto dealers in Norco provide up to 40 percent of our sales tax revenues. So this should be viewed as an investment, using redevelopment money to protect general fund revenues. Norco is dependent on revenues from auto dealers to provide services like police, fire, park maintenance, trail maintenance.

  Cuevas: It’s not the first time Norco has extended lines of credit to auto dealers. But the other times were for a lot less, and the money was typically invested signs and lighting. Now, all those bricks and all that mortar are the collateral the Norco will use to secure the million-dollar lifeline.

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  • December 10, 2008 5:21 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Holiday postal deadlines coming up

  This is one item on your holiday “to-do” list you may not want to put off: if you want to send a card or gift to a military man or woman stationed outside Iraq or Afghanistan, the mailing deadline is tomorrow. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says the clock’s ticking for other holiday mailing, too.

  Cheryl Devall: Last-minute shipping to active duty military isn’t an option. The last holiday mail to Afghanistan and Iraq had to go out by last Thursday. But if you act fast, there’s still time to deliver mailed greetings and presents to other American bases around the world.

  Domestic holiday mailers have a little more slack. They can choose the inexpensive parcel post option for Christmas delivery until Tuesday. The deadline for Priority Mail and first class cards and letters is Saturday, December 20th. And procrastinators willing to pay a premium can push it until December 23rd with Express Mail.

  The U.S. Postal Service anticipates moving 19 billion packages, cards, and letters during the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The postal equivalent of the busiest travel day of the year falls on Monday, when the post office expects to process 1-and-a-half billion pieces of mail.

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  • December 10, 2008 5:10 PM
  • Categories: Society/Culture

• Interfaith immigrants' rights coalition launches week on rights

  On this International Human Rights Day, Los Angeles area immigrants’ rights activists and interfaith leaders launched a week of events to teach immigrants about their rights in the legal system. More on the story from KPCC’s Brian Watt.

  Brian Watt: At Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in downtown L.A., Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Jewish clergy blessed the first educational tool: business-size cards in seven languages that spell out undocumented immigrants’ basic rights when officers confront them. Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Solis runs the L.A. Archdiocese’s Office of Justice and Peace.

  Oscar Solis: The best protection against human rights violations being experienced by many immigrants is to know their rights.

  Watt: The group plans to distribute a million cards. Jorge-Mario Cabrera of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles expressed hope that a new political climate will yield new immigration policies.

  Jorge-Mario Cabrera: We do recognize that it’s not necessarily going to be a priority for the new administration. The economy is – for all of us. But immigration should be there.

  Watt: The coalition also plans to host a forum with immigration attorneys early next week.

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  • December 10, 2008 4:48 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Society/Culture

• LA City Council votes to rename a park for Randy Simmons

  A square block of green in the San Fernando Valley will become a memorial to the first LAPD SWAT officer killed in the line of duty. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more on the Los Angeles City Council’s unanimous vote today.

  Cheryl Devall: West Valley Park between Vanowen and Archwood streets in Reseda will become Simmons Park. The children’s play area in that park already bears the name of officer Randal Simmons, who died last February during a standoff at a house in Winnetka. It’s an appropriate tribute to the 51-year-old officer, said Councilman Dennis Zine, who introduced the motion to rename the entire park.

  Along with his full-time policing job, Simmons was a minister at Glory Christian Fellowship International Church in Carson. There, he emphasized outreach to children and young adults including a carnival and an annual holiday toy giveaway. A city council aide said a formal rededication of the park will take place within weeks.

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  • December 10, 2008 4:22 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Prosecutors wrap up case against former OC sheriff

  Federal prosecutors today wrapped up their public corruption case against former Orange County sheriff Mike Carona. KPCC’s Susan Valot reports it’s the defense’s turn now.

  Susan Valot: Prosecutors have spent the last six weeks building their case against Carona. It centers around conversations that ex-assistant sheriff Don Haidl secretly recorded with his former boss as part of a plea deal.

  Prosecutors claim that a decade ago, Carona got Haidl to fund his first run for sheriff with illegal campaign contributions. Prosecutors also say Haidl floated money to keep alive the law firm of then-assistant sheriff George Jaramillo.

  They say Carona steered potential clients to the law firm - among them, the widow of a sheriff’s deputy - and that Carona got a fee for referring the case. Prosecutors say while he was sheriff, Carona also doled out concealed weapons permits and reserve badges in exchange for campaign donations.

  Now, defense attorneys will make their case. It’s not clear whether Carona will testify. The trial may not wrap up until the new year.

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  • December 10, 2008 4:16 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Norco gives $1 million lifeline to a pair of struggling auto dealers

  As Washington lawmakers debate a multi-billion dollar bailout for Detroit automakers, the Riverside County city of Norco has signed off on a lifeline of its own for a pair of struggling car dealers. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has details on the deal.

  Steven Cuevas: Whatever you do, don’t call it a bailout.

  Jeff Allred: Right, it’s a temporary line of credit for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends June 30th.

  Cuevas: Jeff Allred is Norco’s city manager. He says Norco Mazda and Frahm Dodge each got a half-million dollar line of credit to offset slack sales. The money will cover the dealers’ basic operating costs until the credit market thaws and car sales pick up.

  In a small city like Norco – with annual sales tax income of only about $5 million – these modestly-sized car dealerships are simply too big to fail. City manager Jeff Allred:

  Allred: The auto dealers in Norco provide up to 40 percent of our sales tax revenues. So this should be viewed as an investment, using redevelopment money to protect general fund revenues. Norco is dependent on revenues from auto dealers to provide services like police, fire, park maintenance, trail maintenance.

  Cuevas: It’s not the first time Norco has extended lines of credit to auto dealers. But the other times were for a lot less - and the money was typically invested in signs and lighting. Now, all those bricks and all that mortar are the collateral the Norco will use to secure the million-dollar lifeline.

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  • December 10, 2008 4:14 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• LA Times Publisher says Tribune bankruptcy won't disrupt operations

  The publisher of the Los Angeles Times spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” today about the bankruptcy of the Tribune Company, which owns the Times. The Times has laid off dozens of staffers in recent months, but Publisher Eddy Hartenstein said the bankruptcy won’t lead to more cuts.

  Eddy Hartenstein: “This is really not affecting operations in the least. None of our readers, none of our advertisers are seeing any change day-to-day. It is all about restructuring the debt at the Tribune company level.”

  In addition to the Times, the Tribune Company owns the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, and other papers.

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  • December 10, 2008 4:03 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• GOP strategist says Schwarzenegger out of touch with his own party

  The struggle over the state budget got even more complicated today. Governor Schwarzenegger said the deficit has now grown to nearly $15 billion. Schwarzenegger’s budget plans have so far been stymied by the members of his own party in the legislature. GOP strategist Arnold Steinberg says the governor needs to overcome his differences with his fellow Republicans.

  Arnold Steinberg: “Ultimately the chief executive bears responsibility for bringing his own party to the table. But this is a governor who actually once joked that he can’t remember the first names of some of the legislature and they have to wear name tags, but it’s not just a petty matter of lack of personal rapport, he simply hasn’t addressed some of their philosophical or ideological concerns.”

  Steinberg spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” Schwarzenegger says he wants to meet with Republican and Democratic leaders tomorrow to discuss the budget mess.

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  • December 10, 2008 3:55 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Democratic strategist says GOP upping the ante in budget fight

  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said today that the state’s budget deficit has ballooned by another three-and-a-half billion dollars, to nearly $15 billion. State lawmakers continue to bicker over how to balance the budget.

  Republicans are sticking to their opposition to new taxes. They want spending cuts and limits, and they want to relax environmental and labor laws to stimulate business. That has Democratic consultant Bill Carrick worried.

  Bill Carrick: “They have upped the ante beyond anything we have ever, you know, debated in these impasses before. So, it’s going to be very difficult. I have a lot of difficulty seeing what the end game is for anybody in this, the governor, the Democrats, or the Republicans. It’s just hard to figure out where this is going. It’s in uncharted territory”.

  Carrick spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” Governor Schwarzenegger wants to meet with the legislative leaders of both parties tomorrow.

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  • December 10, 2008 3:48 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Governor Schwarzenegger says lawmakers should give up weekends until Christmas to solve budget gap

  The holidays are approaching, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he’s willing to give up his weekends until Christmas to work on this budget crisis. He’s asking lawmakers to do the same.

  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: “We should work through this in order to get this done because there will be not be a Christmas gift that will be greater for the people of California than for us to solve this crisis. And this problem as I said, it gets worse every day. So as we speak right now, more and more money is being spent.”

  At a news conference today, the governor said the state faces a fiscal armageddon if lawmakers don’t close a rapidly-widening budget gap that he warned could reach $15 billion. Republicans and Democrats in Sacramento haven’t been able to reach a compromise.

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  • December 10, 2008 1:59 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Governor Schwarzenegger urges lawmakers to take action on budget gap

  It’s day 35 of the state legislative stalemate over California’s budget deficit. The gap has grown from 11 billion to almost 15 billion dollars. At a Sacramento news conference, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged lawmakers to do something about it.

  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: “The most costly and damaging thing that we can do right now is not to take any actions. So I call on the legislatures to be leaders, to negotiate, to compromise and to come to the table, and to come to a conclusion here, and to solve this financial problem once and for all.”

  The governor’s scheduled a meeting tomorrow with the party leaders from both houses of the legislature.

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  • December 10, 2008 1:54 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Activists, religious leaders educate immigrants about their rights

  Immigrant activists and interfaith leaders gathered today outside Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in downtown Los Angeles. They launched a week of events intended to educate immigrants about their rights in the legal system. Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Solis runs the L.A. Archdiocese’s Office of Justice and Peace.

  Oscar Solis: “Many immigrant families, as well as other members of our communities, are suffering the impact brought about by workplace immigration raids that are separating families. Most of them feel helpless and do not know basic information about the legal rights and other options.”

  The coalition is printing a million business-size cards in seven languages that spell out undocumented immigrants’ basic rights when officers confront them.

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  • December 10, 2008 12:52 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Society/Culture

• Gay rights activists organize Prop 8 protest today, ask supporters to skip work and shopping

  Gay rights activists are staging another protest today against Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports that activists want gays and lesbians - and their supporters - to boycott work and refrain from shopping.

  Frank Stoltze: Activists organized the protest using a social networking Web site.

  Steve Holzer: It started with inviting 200 of our friends on Facebook.

  Stoltze: Steve Holzer is a TV news producer in Los Angeles.

  Holzer: We quickly learned that there were a couple of other people who came up with the same idea to have a day without gays where gays literally took the day off – went out on strike. And our Facebook invitation went from 200 on November 5th to at last check 750,000 people. And those are just the people on Facebook.”

  Stoltze: Holzer hopes a million people will participate nationwide. The National Organization for Marriage, an opponent of same gender marriage, has described recent boycotts of businesses that supported Prop 8 a “new McCarthyism.” It’s launched a Web site to support those businesses.

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  • December 10, 2008 12:49 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Society/Culture

• SAG chief negotiator says strike authorization doesn't mean union will strike

  The Screen Actors Guild plans to send out strike authorization ballots on January 2nd. More than 100,000 SAG members will receive ballots. Three quarters of those who cast ballots would need to vote yes in order to authorize a strike.

  But SAG’s chief negotiator Doug Allen told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that even if that happens, it doesn’t mean the union will strike.

  Doug Allen: “A vote yes is not a decision to strike - it’s a decision to empower the national board to make that decision. And I would certainly anticipate that we would take a strong ‘yes’ vote by our members back to the bargaining table to use that, get an agreement if we could.”

  The group representing film and television producers has claimed that SAG’s unwilling to accept a deal like those the Writers Guild and other unions have agreed to. Allen says that deal doesn’t address the issues that are important to his membership.

  Allen says the biggest issue of dispute right now involves residuals for programming created for new media platforms.

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  • December 10, 2008 12:45 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• SAG negotiator says strike authorization vote is negotiating tool

  The Screen Actors Guild will send strike authorization ballots to its members on January 2nd. SAG says it will count the votes on January 23rd.

  Even if the rank file authorizes a strike, it doesn’t mean the union will call one. SAG’s chief negotiator Doug Allen told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that the vote is a negotiating tool.

  Doug Allen: “There is the misconception on the part of management that we’re not capable of doing this and I hope that when we demonstrate that we are that it will help us move the bargaining process forward and get an agreement.”

  Three-quarters of voting members would need to vote yes to authorize a strike.

  SAG is holding town-hall style meetings to answer members’ questions. The next Southern California meeting will be a week from today at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel.

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  • December 10, 2008 12:35 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Gay rights supporters take day off work in support of cause

  Gay rights activists urged gays and lesbians - and their supporters - to take today off work and refrain from shopping. Steve Holzer of Los Angeles helped organize the nationwide protest.

  Steve Holzer: “A day without gays is an answer to the anti-gay initiatives that passed on November 4th in California, in Arizona, in Arkansas and Florida. Its a way of social protest that isn’t in your face, out in the streets with big signs protesting that turned agitated and can turn violent.”

  Holzer said he and friends did most of the organizing on the social networking site Facebook, after California voters passed Proposition 8. That measure reverses a State Supreme Court ruling that had permitted same-gender marriages. Holzer said more than 750,000 people indicated they’d participate in the protest.

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  • December 10, 2008 12:01 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• LA Film Critics Association announces top movie picks for 2008

  The year’s not over yet – but film critics in L.A. have seen enough to make their “Best of 2008” picks. KPCC’s Nick Roman has some highlights from the L.A. Film Critics Association list of winners.

  Nick Roman: KPCC listeners know more than a few of the Association’s 50 or so members. Lael Lowenstein, Andy Klein, Peter Rainier, Henry Sheehan, and others review the latest flicks each Friday on AirTalk’s “FilmWeek.”

  Here’s the L.A. Film Critics Association pick for the Best Picture this year: “Wall-E” – the Disney/Pixar animated movie about a robot that falls in love. Runner-up was “The Dark Knight” – the second installment in the new Batman series.

  Speaking of “The Dark Knight” – the L.A. critics gave the late Heath Ledger the Best Supporting Actor nod for his violently chilling role as The Joker. Sean Penn – the star of “Milk” – was picked as Best Actor.

  Sally Hawkins was the Best Actress choice for her portrayal of a British schoolteacher in “Happy-Go-Lucky.” The L.A. film critics present their awards next month. Do they predict the Oscars? Last year, their choices for Best Actor and Actress took home Academy Awards.

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  • December 10, 2008 11:58 AM
  • Categories: Arts

• San Bernardino County hosts workshop series to aid small businesses

  Struggling Inland Empire entrepreneurs are getting a helping hand through a series of business survival workshops in San Bernardino County. The first happened today in Colton.

  Vincent McCoy heads the non-profit Inland Empire Small Business Development Center. It offers guidance on how to get a business loan in lean times.

  Vincent McCoy: “If you’re going to a bank for a loan, you will need a business plan, solid financial projection, data that supports your loan application. We work with you on that application and make a better presentation to that lender. The second thing we can help you do is help identify the right lender. Some lenders don’t do restaurants. Some don’t do construction. So you want to go to the right lender, as opposed to any lender.”

  McCoy’s firm also helps business owners dissolve their businesses or find a new buyer. Future workshops will also offer free business plan analysis, as well as guidance on how to take advantage of tax rebates and government loans.

  LINK: San Bernardino County

  LINK: Inland Empire Small Business Development Center

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  • December 9, 2008 6:25 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Pediatrician warns of germ risks to children at some restaurants

  Birthday parties at restaurants with enclosed play equipment can expose kids to a smorgasbord of infections, says a parenting Web site that hired a microbiologist to run tests at three popular party spots in the L.A. area.

  Dr. Cara Natterson, a pediatrician who’s also a medical advisor to the site Mom Logic, told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that babies and infants aren’t as immune to viruses and bacteria as older children are.

  Dr. Cara Natterson: “There are cautions to be taken when you bring a little baby into those environments; that just because they’re friendly for an older child doesn’t necessarily mean that this is a place where a young infant should be playing, because there’s a bigger risk to a smaller baby with some of these bacteria.”

  Natterson said prevention’s the best policy, so it’s a good idea to keep a sick child home from play-and-pizza parties.

  LINK: Momlogic.com article

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  • December 9, 2008 6:15 PM
  • Categories: Health

• LAUSD board votes to buy out Superintendent David Brewer's contract

  Ending a week of speculation, the board of the L.A. Unified’s School District decided on a split vote today to replace former U.S. Navy Admiral David Brewer as Superintendent. Two years remained on the contract. The motion’s author, School Board President Monica Garcia, said the district needs new leadership.

  Monica Garcia: “We have acted to buy out the superintendent’s contract, effective December 31st of 2008. I want to thank Superintendent Brewer for his commitment to children and his hard work and dedication over the last two years. We have a lot of work to do in public schools. Many of our children don’t get to graduation. Most don’t read at grade level.”

  She did not respond to questions about what prompted the move or who’d replace Brewer.

  The teachers union president urged the board to complete Brewer’s term with veteran superintendent Ramon Cortines. Cortines is working as Brewer’s instruction deputy; he’s also advised L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on education matters.

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  • December 9, 2008 6:12 PM
  • Categories: Education

• Mom Logic Web site hires microbiologist to check out kids play areas

  Almost every kid’s idea of a good time - pizza and hamburger places with enclosed play areas - can become almost any parent’s nightmare. A Web site called Mom Logic hired a microbiologist to check out three of these spots in the Los Angeles area.

  The tests turned up three varieties of infectious bacteria. But Dr. Peter Katona, an infectious disease specialist at UCLA Medical School, said the same bugs are common in classrooms at playgrounds.

  Dr. Peter Katona: “To actually culture these things without really any standardization at all of what you’re doing, I think actually is more harmful than it’s helpful, because it frightens people into saying, ‘Oh my god, I shouldn’t be taking my children to these places.’ And I’m not sure that you can make that assertion based on this evidence.”

  Still, to protect kids from stomach flu, colds, and other illnesses, it’s a good idea to have them wash their hands frequently - especially before they handle pizza or birthday cake – Katona and other doctors told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.”

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  • December 9, 2008 5:07 PM
  • Categories: Health

• LAUSD magnet admissions policies go before appeals court in discrimination challenge

  The Los Angeles Unified School District magnet admissions policies were the subject of an appeals court hearing today in Los Angeles. The district is defending its programs against a challenge from the Pacific Legal Foundation.

  That organization claims that L.A. Unified is violating a state ban on race-based discrimination and preferences in public education, by factoring race into decisions about who can attend magnet schools and take free transportation to certain schools. Attorney Sharon Browne with the Pacific Legal Foundation brought the case on behalf of the American Civil Rights Foundation.

  Sharon Browne: “The use of race was prohibited in 1996 when the voters of California adopted Proposition 209, which prohibits school districts including Los Angeles from using race in assigning students to public education.”

  Peter James, an attorney representing the school district, said magnet schools are supposed to offer students opportunities that might not be available in their home neighborhoods.

  Peter James: “Do they violate Proposition 209, is very clearly no. The people who put Proposition 209 on the ballot were very careful to exclude situations where there was an existing court order or consent decree.”

  James and Browne spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” California’s Second District Court of Appeal is expected to rule on the matter within 90 days.

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  • December 9, 2008 4:59 PM
  • Categories: Education

• LA Junior Philharmonic puts on free concert

  Music lovers of every age may find something to enjoy at a free concert tomorrow night in Beverly Hills. More from KPCC’s Hettie Lynne Hurtes.

  Hettie Lynne Hurtes: One of the oldest youth orchestras in the nation, the Junior Philharmonic, is presenting a musical journey from Mozart to Duke Ellington at the Beverly Hills High School Auditorium. This concert also features Handel’s Water Music, along with selections from the Broadway musicals “The King and I” and “Les Miserables.”

  The Junior Philharmonic’s operated in Los Angeles for more than 70 years. The ensemble includes talented young musicians between the ages of 12 and 25. The concert starts Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but you do need reservations. More info is available on their Web site.

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  • December 9, 2008 4:44 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• LA County sheriff's deputies invited to DC for inauguration, inaugural committee wouldn't pay full trip cost

  Los Angeles County’s considering the value of an honor. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has this story about a request for L.A. County sheriff’s deputies to help staff next month’s presidential inauguration in Washington D.C.

  Cheryl Devall: Hollywood stars, big campaign donors, marching bands, and plenty of other people are eager to get to the nation’s capital for the official launch of President-elect Barack Obama’s administration. But L.A. County supervisors are weighing how to respond to the inauguration planning committee’s invitation to more than 300 sheriff’s deputies.

  There’s a catch - the inaugural committee can only reimburse less than half those sheriffs’ travel costs for the three days they’ll need to be in Washington. A sheriff’s report to the supervisors estimates that the trip will cost just over $1.5 million.

  County taxpayers hadn’t counted on that big an inaugural gift, one supervisor’s spokesman told the Los Angeles Times. So far, 93 law enforcement agencies have signed on to help with security for the inauguration. L.A. County sheriffs say they’re negotiating with that committee - and making clear that they’ll only supply deputies if somebody’s willing to pay for them.

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  • December 9, 2008 3:20 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• OC economists predict we're near bottom of recession

  Economists at Chapman University predict there’s nowhere to go but up after the end of this year. They released their annual economic forecast this afternoon in Costa Mesa.

  Chapman economist Esmael Adibi predicts the first half of next year will be weak in gross domestic product growth and job creation. He expects things to pick up slowly after that.

  Esmael Adibi: “We are counting quite a bit on Mr. Obama’s stimulus package. In fact, we’re assuming that the package that is going to eventually come through is going to be roughly about $500 billion.

  “That’s the minimum. It could be even bigger than that. And by the time that spending takes place, that’s going to be third and fourth quarter. And that’s going to give some life to the economy.”

  Adibi says if President-elect Barack Obama doesn’t get an economic stimulus package done, we’ll have serious problems.

  On a more optimistic note, he adds that since California was one of the first states to enter recession, it’ll likely be one of the first out.

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  • December 9, 2008 3:09 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• OC economists say worst may be close to over

  The worst may almost be over. Chapman University’s annual economic forecast suggests that may be the case. KPCC’s Susan Valot says economists released their forecast in Costa Mesa today.

  Susan Valot: Chapman University economist Esmael Adibi predicts this quarter will be the bottom of the recession. He says we’ll lose more jobs nationwide during the first half of next year. But after that, Adibi expects things to pick up slowly. He says Orange County and the rest of California could be among the first to come out of the recession, since they were among the first ones in.

  Esmael Adibi: So I think most of the job losses in Orange County and the rest of California are beyond, behind us. Look at Orange County mortgage industry. That was a major engine of job growth. And that industry disappeared and most of the layoffs are done.

  Construction sector went through correction - still there’s going to be some correction, especially on commercial side, office and retail - but I think Orange County and California are going to show smaller job losses.

  Valot: At least compared to the rest of the country. Adibi says unemployment is still a challenge. He based his forecast on the assumption that once in office, President Barack Obama will implement a $500 billion economic stimulus plan that will help.

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  • December 9, 2008 3:06 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• LAUSD board votes to buy out Superintendent Brewer's contract

  Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent David Brewer will leave his post by the end of this month. A majority of L.A. Unified board members voted this afternoon to buy out the remaining two years of his contract. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez reports from L.A. Unified headquarters.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: In closed session the board of education voted to award Brewer the compensation and benefits in his contract. That could total half a million dollars.

  Board members Julie Korenstein and Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte opposed the motion to buy out Brewer’s contract.

  The vote ends a week of contentious debate about the superintendent’s future at the district. His African-American supporters said board president Monica Garcia’s behind-the- scenes move to oust him didn’t allow for a fair assessment of his performance.

  The president of L.A. Unified’s teachers union welcomed the buyout motion and recommended Brewer’s instruction deputy, Ramon Cortines, to fill out Brewer’s remaining two years as superintendent.

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  • December 9, 2008 1:52 PM
  • Categories: Education

• California Attorney General Brown calls on Detroit automakers to drop environmental lawsuits before bailout

  As the Detroit automakers wait on a federal life-raft for their industry, California’s attorney general Jerry Brown wants to know whether a financial rescue would require those companies to drop their lawsuit against the state’s efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

  Jerry Brown: “We want the Congress to condition the bailout on the automobile companies dropping their lawsuits. I mean they’re spending tens of millions fighting many states, including California, that have adopted these strict tailpipe emission standards that are designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions.”

  Brown told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that efficiency is key if the United States wants to regain leadership in the auto industry. The leader of a U.S. House global warming panel said today that any bailout should hinge on the industry dropping the legal challenges Brown spoke about.

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  • December 9, 2008 1:50 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Comptroller report shows lenders with restructured loans re-defaulting

  A new federal report suggests that some homeowners continue to have trouble paying their mortgages even after lenders work out more favorable terms.

  The report by the Comptroller of the Currency tracked more than 70,000 loans that banks and other lenders modified during the first quarter of this year. Within six months, 53 percent of those borrowers missed a payment.

  Comptroller John Dugan told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that the skipped payments aren’t necessarily resulting in foreclosures.

  John Dugan: “Thirty days past due – some people cure that. And particularly some people who have trouble paying their mortgages can be chronically payers that do cure their mortgages.

  “But even when we look at numbers that are 60 days past due – and if we get out eight months past the first quarter. The re-default rate is over 41 percent.”

  Dugan calls those numbers “surprisingly high.” He says his agency doesn’t know why people re-defaulted.

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  • December 9, 2008 1:41 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Cal State instructors plan walkout for tomorrow

  Non-tenured instructors across the Cal State University system plan to walk off their jobs tomorrow over what they call unlawful bargaining practices. More on the story from KPCC’s Cheryl Devall.

  Cheryl Devall: About 4,000 graduate students, tutors, and teaching assistants in the 23-campus system are poised to go on strike. Many of these instructors teach to help pay living and other expenses as they work toward advanced degrees. These student employees want Cal State administrators to waive the fees the university charges instead of tuition.

  In recent years, the system has steadily increased student fees; for grad students that can run more than $3,700 per academic year. The fee issue has held up contract negotiations between the university and the United Auto Workers, the union that represents these instructors.

  This year, the nation’s largest public university system faces more than $66 million in midyear budget cuts amid California’s fiscal crisis. Cal State has already limited its enrollment and changed admission criteria in response to decreased state support.

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  • December 9, 2008 1:38 PM
  • Categories: Education

• Government agency finds those with modified loans still missing payments

  A government agency has found that most people whose loans were modified in the first quarter of this year ended up missing another mortgage payment during the next six months.

  The data is from the Office of the Comptroller – the agency that oversees regulations of all national banks. KPCC’s Business Analyst Mark Lacter says the data suggests that many mortgages are beyond saving.

  Mark Lacter: “A loan officer I interviewed said that seven out of 10 homeowners he sees cannot be helped – that is, they wouldn’t be able to afford a loan even if it’s adjusted downward.”

  The Office of the Comptroller report covered about 78,000 mortgages that were modified. Nearly 53 percent of those borrowers re-defaulted on their mortgages within six months.

  Lenders had modified the terms in various ways, such as lowering payments or giving borrowers a second opportunity to make those payments.

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  • December 9, 2008 12:47 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Southern California fire officials issue red flag warning

  The National Weather Service has issued a red flag fire warning for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The warning lasts until 4 p.m. tomorrow. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: Forecasters predict wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour across the passes and canyons of L.A. and Ventura counties, and have issued a high wind warning for the mountains.

  While temperatures will be relatively mild, humidity’s expected to drop into the teens or even single digits. Forecasters say despite recent rain, vegetation remains “exceedingly dry.”

  A National Weather Service red flag warning means there’s “explosive fire growth potential.” Under these conditions, fire departments typically deploy extra resources to fire prone areas.

  In an example of how weather can vary greatly across the region, forecasters have issued a freeze watch for the Antelope Valley. Overnight temperatures there could dip below 28 degrees.

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  • December 9, 2008 11:45 AM
  • Categories: Environment

• 3 people killed in fighter jet crash

  San Diego fire officials say three people on the ground have died in today’s fighter jet crash near the Marine Corps air base in Miramar. A woman and a child are known to have died in one of the two homes destroyed in the crash. At least one other person is missing.

  Military officials say the pilot ejected safely from his plane moments before it crashed just before noon. Eyewitnesses say the crash thundered through the neighborhood two miles from the San Diego base.

  Witnesses: “I was outside of my mother’s house. I was smoking a cigarette, and I noticed one of the Miramar fighter planes at a very low altitude. I didn’t see it crash, but I heard it crash. And when I got out to my backyard, two roofers on the roof next door did see it.

  “I immediately rode my bike down there to see if I could help. And this was before the police showed, and the fire and utilities showed up. The fire had consumed both houses to where I couldn’t even get the, near the house.”

  The FA-18 “Hornet” crashed as it was getting ready to land at Miramar. The plane had taken off from the USS “Abraham Lincoln” as part of a training exercise.

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  • December 8, 2008 5:23 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• Downtown LA introduces taxi pilot program

  From now on it could be easier to go dancing, to dinner, or to a concert in downtown Los Angeles - and park only once. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario has more on a pilot program that encourages people to cab it.

  Patricia Nazario: Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the United States, after New York. Nine million people live in the Southland and millions more visit each year. New York transplant – and executive with the L.A. Live entertainment district – Lisa Herzlick says she was feeling right at home, until she tried to flag down a cab.

  Lisa Herzlick: So, I kinda put my hand up and tried to hail a cab and the cabs drove by. They didn’t stop.

  Nazario: Now, they will. The L.A. City Council is allowing cabbies in Hollywood and downtown to load and unload passengers at curbside. Before, traffic officers would ticket them on the spot. Longtime cabbie Yikum Sayas says he hopes the new rule will generate a few extra bucks.

  Yikum Sayas: I make like $100 a day to $150.
  Nazario: And now? How much do you hope to make?
  Sayas: At least $200 in a day. That’s what I’m expecting.

  Nazario: L.A. Live executives and taxi operators expect the new city ordinance will draw more people to L.A.’s downtown entertainment district. Depending on how it works out, city council members say they may expand the program citywide.

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  • December 8, 2008 5:18 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Transportation

• White House Counsel John Dean on latest release of Nixon tapes

  Historians are poring over the latest batch of audio recordings of President Richard Nixon. Last week the Nixon Library released another 200 hours of tapes, along with 90,000 documents. Former White House Counsel John Dean told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that the tapes convey a strong sense of Nixon the man.

  John Dean: “There’s times in these conversations when Nixon does not think about the fact that he’s recording himself and if he does he certainly thinks these are materials that’ll never become public. So you do get a full spectrum picture of Nixon from this record and it’s a record the likes of which we will never have again. No other president is ever going to do this.”

  You can find out more information about the Nixon tapes at the National Archives website, at Archives.gov.

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  • December 8, 2008 5:10 PM
  • Categories: History, Politics/Public Affairs

• Highland pastor assaulted at church while decorating for Christmas

  Authorities in San Bernardino County are asking for the public’s help in tracking down two men who allegedly beat and robbed a pastor over the weekend. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says the pastor was assaulted while decorating his church for Christmas.

  Steven Cuevas: James Warman says he was retrieving Christmas decorations from a storage room at the Church of the Valley on Saturday night when he was blindsided by the muggers.

  They struck Pastor Warman in the head and face repeatedly with a blunt weapon, stole his wallet, and then fled out the front of the church. Authorities say Warman’s injuries were severe, but he’s expected to make a full recovery.

  San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigators are looking for two Latino men. The suspects face robbery and attempted murder charges. Anyone with information can leave anonymous tips with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

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  • December 8, 2008 4:41 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Metropolitan Transportation Authority introduces Transit Access Pass

  L.A. County’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is getting ready to “tap” its riders for some extra change. KPCC’s Nick Roman has the bottom line.

  Nick Roman: If you’re a Metro subway rider, you’ve seen those waist-high TAP stations in Red Line and Purple Line stations for a few years. But you didn’t have anything to tap on that TAP station. Starting next month, you will.

  TAP - short for “Transit Access Pass” - will be the only pass riders can use to board a bus, a subway, or a train in L.A. County. No more paper. When your TAP card runs low, you deposit a few more dollars and you’re good to go. By the end of June, all commuters who buy monthly passes will get TAP cards instead of paper passes - and that includes anyone who rides Foothill Transit or Metrolink, too.

  What it also means is something we haven’t had in L.A. yet: transit gates. No more “honor system” where the system trusts that you paid the fare. Soon you won’t get onto the subway without a TAP card. Metro will spend almost $5 million to install the gates – and it’ll take a couple of years to do that. But Metro says the TAP cards and the gates will bring in 8 million a year in dollars saved and dollars earned.

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  • December 8, 2008 4:33 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• LAUSD Superintendent Brewer asks school board to buy out his contract; Connie Rice comments

  L.A. school superintendent David Brewer today asked the school board to buy out the last two years of his contract. Various members of the board had lost faith in Brewer and were seeking his ouster. Last week Brewer – who is African-American – vowed to stay in office.

  But today he said he would step down so the fight over him would not become a “racial battle” that could spill over onto campuses and playgrounds. Connie Rice chairs L.A. Unified’s Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. She said Brewer made the right decision for all concerned.

  Connie Rice: “He’s a very honorable man; he has a lot of integrity, he has a lot of talent. He was just asked to do a job that he wasn’t equipped to do. And the fact that he has decided that the better thing for L.A. is not to have another racial fight, not to have a fight over him but for him to go in grace and dignity, I think says that he has put the interest of the children in the city above himself.”

  Rice is also a member of KPCC’s Board. She spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” Superintendent Brewer defended what he called his “undeniable record of significant accomplishments” in his two years on the job. He pointed in particular to much higher test scores in elementary, middle, and high schools.

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  • December 8, 2008 3:36 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• LAUSD superintendent says he's open to a buyout of his contract

  At a news conference this afternoon, L.A. Unified Superintendent David Brewer said he won’t resign amid movement from members of the board of education to remove him from his appointed position. Brewer did raise the possibility that he’d step down another way.

  David Brewer: “I am asking the Los Angeles school board to shield our students from this contentious debate and honor the buyout provisions of my contract.”

  Brewer took no questions from reporters. He left immediately after he read his prepared remarks. Four members of L.A. Unified’s board of education attended; they also left the school board chambers right after Brewer finished.

  The full school board is expected to deliberate in closed session tomorrow on whether to ask Brewer to leave the superintendent’s job halfway through his four-year contract.

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  • December 8, 2008 3:33 PM
  • Categories: Education

• Hollywood Reporter editor says SAG strike is possible

  The Screen Actors Guild has called its members to a closed-door meeting tonight. The leadership is trying to convince the rank and file to authorize a strike.

  After a months-long impasse in talks with the major studios, analysts expect SAG to hold a strike authorization vote later this month. Seventy-five percent of those who vote would have to authorize a strike. Hollywood journalist Alex Ben Block says the outcome is uncertain.

  Alex Ben Block: “Despite the economic crises going on in this country, it’s almost unthinkable they could go out on strike, but it’s a very real threat. And the possibility of a strike by the Screen Actors Guild, that could paralyze Hollywood.”

  Ben Block is editor-at-large for the Hollywood Reporter. He spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.”

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  • December 8, 2008 2:37 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Taxi restrictions lifted in new taxi pilot program

  Hailing a cab from the curb in Hollywood or downtown Los Angeles was illegal - until today. Traffic officers used to ticket cabbies who pulled over in red zones to pick up or drop off passengers.

  L,A, Live development executive Lisa Herzlick says that lifting the restriction elevates the city’s image as a tourist destination.

  Lisa Herzlick: “Not just for people who live downtown or who visit downtown that don’t want to get in their car once they’ve parked, but for people that visit us from all over the world. They will get what they expect when they come here from a transportation hub.”

  L.A. lawmakers launched the pilot program today in Hollywood and downtown. Cab operators had been trying for about five years to change a city ordinance that penalized them for loading and unloading passengers at curbside.

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  • December 8, 2008 2:35 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Transportation

• Downtown LA taxi program launches

  So, how do you hail a cab in Los Angeles?

  Wendy Greuel and Jan Perry: “OK, ready… taxi!”

  Los Angeles City Council members Wendy Greuel and Jan Perry practiced the shout on stage this morning. They were reminding visitors and locals that it’s finally possible to hail a taxi in downtown L.A., including the area around the L.A. Live entertainment complex.

  Until today, traffic officers would ticket cabbies who stopped in red curb zones to pick up or drop off passengers. From now on, drivers will only get warnings.

  It’s part of pilot program city officials inaugurated in downtown L.A. and Hollywood. They say the convenience of hiring a cab on the go will make life easier for people who live near the Staples Center and tourists visiting the zone for conferences and conventions.

  Over time, officials hope to roll out the program citywide.

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  • December 8, 2008 2:14 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Transportation

• LA Times parent company Tribune files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

  In a development that’s stunned the already-battered media industry, the parent company of the Los Angeles Times filed today for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has the story.

  Cheryl Devall: The Times is not unprofitable. That paper’s reporting that Chicago-based Tribune had enough cash on hand to make a $70 million payment to its banks. But the company couldn’t buy the time to restructure the rest of its debt load without filing for bankruptcy.

  In a memo to employees, Tribune owner Sam Zell said a sharp decline in advertising revenue, the credit crisis, and the persistent economic slump have combined to create what he called “a perfect storm.” Tribune plans to continue operating its eight daily newspapers and 23 television stations.

  It’s not clear whether the company can meet some of its other obligations - including severance and other payments to many of the employees it’s laid off lately to cut costs. Last year, Zell acquired Tribune in a heavily leveraged deal. The bankruptcy filing does not involve the Chicago Cubs baseball team - a Tribune property Zell had hoped to sell fast in order to meet a major payment.

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  • December 8, 2008 2:11 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Cal State Long Beach targets OC assemblyman to oppose cuts

  Educators at Cal State Long Beach are opposing budget cuts by targeting an Orange County member of the Assembly budget committee. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has more.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: The California Faculty Association printed 5,000 postcards addressed to Assemblyman Jim Silva. They’re urging students to write on the cards how cuts to the CSU will hurt their ability to earn college degrees.

  Cal State Long Beach President F. King Alexander says his campus has cut 40 percent of summer school courses and hired several dozen fewer professors to teach this year.

  State legislators are weighing cuts to the Cal State system and other public agencies to close a multi-billion dollar deficit.

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  • December 8, 2008 1:31 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• City attorney sues 18th Street gang leaders for monetary damages

  The first lawsuit of its kind filed in California seeks to make the chiefs of Los Angeles’ biggest gang liable for monetary damages. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more on the suit the city attorney filed today.

  Cheryl Devall: The suit focuses on nine leaders of the 18th Street gang. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo told reporters that L.A. is seeking to recover money from those men for property damage, loss in property value, emotional distress, personal injury, medical expenses, and out-of-pocket expenses of people that gang’s activities have harmed.

  That money would go back to gang-plagued neighborhoods. Delgadillo justified the unusual approach by saying “As the gangs who terrorize our neighborhoods evolve, so too must we adapt our laws and our tactics to fit the times.” The gangs have evolved, in part, by functioning while their leaders are behind bars - as are all nine people named in the lawsuit.

  One, who’s 46 years old, reportedly calls the shots from inside a federal maximum security prison in Colorado, where he’s serving multiple life terms. A new state law allows cities to sue gangs already under restraining orders to recover some monetary damages.

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  • December 8, 2008 1:29 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Caltrans sets new water reduction target

  The state’s transportation agency is setting a new target to reduce water use in Los Angeles under an agreement with the Department of Water and Power. KPCC’s Molly Peterson has the story.

  Molly Peterson: Caltrans has agreed with the utility to try to cut water by 20 percent within four years. Earlier this year the governor gave the transportation agency 12 years to hit that mark throughout California.

  The state agency and local utility will begin work on this together through pilot projects. Caltrans will run recycled water through two irrigation systems on the 405 Freeway at Sherman Way. Where the 5 Freeway meets the 110, Caltrans will put in a weather-based control system for watering.

  And near the 101 Freeway at Sunset Boulevard, the agency will just use less water. If Caltrans’ regional branch succeeds in cutting water use to its targeted goal, it’ll save enough water to serve about 1,000 homes.

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  • December 8, 2008 12:20 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Tribune, owner of LA Times and KTLA, files for bankruptcy

  The Tribune media conglomerate has filed for bankruptcy protection. Tribune - owner of the Los Angeles Times and KTLA Channel 5 – is trying to deal with $13 billion in debt.

  Bryce Nelson is a former L.A. Times reporter who teaches journalism at USC. He told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that the bankruptcy filing will greatly affect Tribune media properties.

  Bryce Nelson: “People will be reluctant to make advertising contracts, subscription contracts, go to work for these organizations - it will have a whole cycle of repercussions to each individual property in Tribune.”

  Most of the debt resulted from a complex transaction that allowed real estate magnate Sam Zell to take Tribune private last year.

  In a memo to employees, Zell blamed the company’s problems on the “perfect storm” of a decline in advertising revenue, a tough economy, and the credit crunch.

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  • December 8, 2008 12:19 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• LA Times' parent company files for bankruptcy

  The owner of the Los Angeles Times filed today for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

  Tribune Company has been struggling with a heavy debt load. KPCC’s Business analyst Mark Lacter says the company also faces the prospect of losing more advertising revenue.

  Mark Lacter: “There’s a lot of concern that beginning the first part of next year, a lot of retail advertising is going to dry up because the terrible situation going on with retailers these days. They’re actually getting a fair amount of advertising right now, but what happens in January when the holiday season is over? That’s a real concern of theirs.”

  Tribune also has had trouble selling some of its assets. The company had planned on selling the Chicago Cubs and its home stadium Wrigley Field, but it’s had trouble doing that in the current economic climate.

  Tribune went private last year in a heavily-leveraged deal. Along with the L.A. Times, the media company owns 11 other newspapers and almost two dozen TV stations, including KTLA Channel 5.

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  • December 8, 2008 11:59 AM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• UCLA neurologist suggests health care reform ideas in new medical journal articles

  A UCLA doctor who’s also an expert on health care reform says there’s only one way to get more value from medical care: change what you value. KPCC’s Nick Roman explains.

  Nick Roman: A neurologist like Dr. Marc Nuwer should know how to get into your head – and he does in a couple of new medical journal articles. He says we have the most expensive medical care in the world because we want it.

  Americans prize choice. We resist limiting care. If doctors can treat very ill patients aggressively to the last, they should. Nuwer says that’s why our health care costs so much. But he says a third of its costs are tied up in paperwork. And 10 percent goes for “defensive medicine” – tests with little value except to show the doctor tried everything in case there’s a lawsuit.

  Doctors don’t think enough about the cost of tests or prescriptions. And Nuwer says we spend a lot of money to treat the very sick at the very end of their lives. As for a solution: UCLA’s Dr. Marc Nuwer says we should think about what we value in medical care – and pay more attention to the cost of what we value. His articles are in the journal “Neurology.”

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  • December 8, 2008 11:16 AM
  • Categories: Health, Science/Technology

• Quake hits inland Southern California

  LUDLOW, Calif. (AP) - A moderate earthquake struck California’s Mojave Desert on Friday night and could be felt from San Diego to Los Angeles.

  The 5.1-magnitude temblor struck just outside Ludlow on Interstate 40 in San Bernardino County, about 120 miles east of Los Angeles, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The initial reports measured the quake at 5.5-magnitude.

  There were no immediate reports of damage.

  “The ground was rolling underneath but it was very light. Nothing,” said Jeremy Chestnut, 20, who works at a Dairy Queen in Ludlow. “I was standing in front of an ice cream machine and it makes the ground shake, too.”

  USGS geophysicist Rafael Abreu said the closest fault is the Lavic Lake Fault, in the Calico-Hidalgo fault zone, which is part of the San Andreas Fault region.

  He said the movement is related to the gradual movement of the Pacific plate against the North American plate along a strike slip fault that crosses California.

  The quake “is relatively shallow and if it were located in a more populated area it could be very damaging,” USGS seismologist Richard Buckmaster said. “But it’s out in the middle of the desert, in the middle of nowhere.”

  Kelly Ghiloni, a spokeswoman with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in Joshua Tree, said she felt shaking for about 15 seconds but saw no major damage.

  “There was some shaking, a little bit of rattling,” Ghiloni said. “It was enough to wake you up and know there was an earthquake.”

  KCDZ-FM news director Gary Daigneault said he felt the shake in Twentynine Palms, about 40 miles south of Ludlow.

  “It was a rolling motion,” he said. “It was a pretty good ride.”

  The quake was just a few miles from where a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit in 1999.

  (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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  • December 5, 2008 9:06 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Two Inland men indicted for income tax fraud

  Two Inland area men have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly trying to swindle the IRS out of a couple of million dollars. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has more on the scheme.

  Steven Cuevas: The set-up was simple, say investigators: Take the identities and Social Security numbers of dead people, and file phony tax returns. Federal authorities claim between 2002 and 2003, Ather Ali of Diamond Bar and Haroon Amin of Upland filed over 200 fake income tax returns, each claiming a refund. They allegedly prepared fake W-2 forms using stolen employer ID numbers and the Social Security numbers and names of dead people they found on the Internet.

  The two are accused of swindling around $2 million from the federal government before they were arrested. Authorities say most of the refund checks were deposited into Armenian and Pakistani bank accounts. If convicted of all charges, the men could spend more than 100 years in federal prison.

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  • December 5, 2008 8:35 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• LAUSD inaugurates urban debate league

  The Los Angeles Unified School District launched a new kind of competitive sport at some high schools this weekend. Students won’t be able to earn a varsity letter, but organizers promise a big payoff. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has more.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: The Los Angeles Urban Debate League kicked off this weekend with students from eight campuses, including Maywood High and Manual Arts High. Brett Flater, the league’s director, says anyone can join, but coaches are targeting struggling students and those close to giving up on school.

  Students identify with the sense that they’re not heard, that they get told what to do, that teachers determine what they should think. And the moment that you give students an opportunity to express their opinion, students are full of opinions and they’re full of a desire to listen to them, and to really respect what they have to say.

  Flater says competitive debate improves students’ reading and analytical skills. The Urban Debate League’s $326,000 budget comes mostly from school district funds and donations from members of a local advisory board. Organizers expect to expand the league in the coming school year.

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  • December 5, 2008 8:31 PM
  • Categories: Education

• Leimert Park group holds forum on LAUSD Superintendent ouster attempt

  The L.A. Unified board of education has scheduled a closed door session on Tuesday. The agenda includes an item on the Superintendent’s job performance. Last Tuesday, some board members said they intended to discuss asking Superintendent David Brewer to step down, but didn’t.

  Organizers of a Crenshaw District public forum are devoting Saturday morning’s session to the topic. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has more.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable founder Earl Ofari Hutchinson says he’s undecided whether Brewer should stay or go before his four-year contract is up. Two things concern him.

  Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Number one, the process. I think that you really have to look at the overall performance of Dave Brewer, vis a vis the district itself, and essentially what he set out to do and what the district expected him to do, namely performance.

  Guzman-Lopez: Hutchinson says he’s also worried about the growing influence of elected officials on the school district.

  L.A. Councilwoman Janice Hahn’s moving forward with a proposal to change the superintendent post from an appointed to an elected position.

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  • December 5, 2008 8:04 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• Las Vegas judge sentences O.J. Simpson in armed robbery case

  More than a decade after he was acquitted on murder charges in Los Angeles, O.J. Simpson is going to prison for armed robbery. KPCC’s Debra Baer has details on the sentencing in Las Vegas.

  Debra Baer: Calling him “arrogant and ignorant,” Clark County Judge Jackie Glass sentenced the former football star to as many as 33 years in prison for armed robbery. She also said Simpson won’t be eligible for bail during an appeal.

  Before sentencing, Simpson fought back tears during a rambling five minute plea for the judge’s leniency. He said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of it.”

  Simpson and a co-defendant were convicted in October on 12 criminal charges stemming from an attempt to recover, at gunpoint, his mementos and heirlooms from memorabilia brokers at a hotel.

  In deciding the sentence, the judge said she didn’t consider Simpson’s 1995 acquittal in the murder of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend, Ron Goldman. After the sentencing, Goldman’s father Fred told reporters, “There’s never closure. Ron is always gone. What we have is satisfaction that this monster is where he belongs behind bars.”

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  • December 5, 2008 8:00 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, History

• Museum exhibit focuses on Abraham Lincoln's ties to California

  President Abraham Lincoln never set foot in California, but he wanted to and probably would have if he hadn’t been assassinated. Susan Ogle is with the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum in Wilmington. Its new exhibit is about Lincoln’s ties to the Golden State. The 16th president greatly appreciated the gold California sent east to help pay for the Civil War.

  Susan Ogle: “About $5 million was raised during the Civil War. One fourth of it came from California. Our small population out here gave a quarter of what was raised. I think that’s amazing! It’s just so interesting. So Lincoln said he wanted to come out here and pay tribute and thank the people of California for what they had done.”

  Ogle says Lincoln wasn’t just thinking about visiting. He was talking with his wife Mary about moving to California.

  The exhibit will run for six months in honor of Lincoln’s 200th birthday in February. It’s free Saturday as part of the museum’s annual Civil War Christmas, a living history event that re-creates the dress, decorations and toys of the time.

  Events and exhibit run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  LINK: Drum Barracks Civil War Museum

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  • December 5, 2008 7:56 PM
  • Categories: Arts, History

• L.A.'s former first lady Ethel Bradley remembered at funeral

  Like that of her husband, former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, Ethel Bradley’s legacy will continue shaping the city they served for 20 years. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario has more on the funeral of the late mayor’s 89-year-old widow today.

  [Sound of organ music]

  Patricia Nazario: The organist played and the church choir, dressed in black, swayed as hundreds of old friends, Bradley relatives, and civic leaders filled the pews at South L.A.’s First AME Church.

  [Pastor sings: “For everything, there is a time and a season.”]

  Nazario: The church’s pastor, John Hunter, presided over Ethel Bradley’s funeral. The city’s former first lady died a couple of days before Thanksgiving at a West Los Angeles hospital.

  John Hunter: She was a woman who gave a lot to the city of Los Angeles.

  Nazario: Councilwoman Wendy Greuel was among the elected officials who praised Bradley.

  Councilwoman Wendy Greuel: She gave up a lot in her life. She shared her husband with the city of Los Angeles, and often the world. She really was the stronghold of the family and took care of the kids. We all want to pay respects. She was an incredible woman and will be missed.”

  Nazario: Ethel Bradley and her husband started a foundation 15 years ago, shortly before the former mayor died. Its mission includes awarding college scholarships, especially to minority city kids.

  LINK: Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation at UCLA

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  • December 5, 2008 7:52 PM
  • Categories: History, Politics/Public Affairs

• Journalist remembers Ethel Bradley's community involvement

  During her time as Los Angeles’ First Lady, Ethel Bradley hosted leaders from more than 100 countries.

  Today hundreds of people turned out at South L.A.’s First AME Church for her funeral. They included Libby Clark. She wrote about former Mayor Tom Bradley and his wife Ethel for the African-American weekly, the L.A. Sentinel, during their 20 years at City Hall.

  Libby Clark: “She was really the impetus in the community. More so than Tom; Ethel was a community person, because see, she had been a beautician. So, she was very active in the community.”

  The family’s civic involvement continues with their Tom and Ethel Bradley Foundation, based at UCLA. Its mission includes annual scholarships, especially for urban kids.

  LINK: Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation at UCLA

  LINK: L.A. Sentinel

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  • December 5, 2008 7:43 PM
  • Categories: Education, History, Politics/Public Affairs

• Biden's new economic advisor says job losses have increased rapidly

  The American economy shed more than half a million jobs last month. That guarantees an unemployment tally of two million this year. Jared Bernstein, director of the Living Standards Program at the Economic Policy Institute, said that while big companies lost value, workers suffered the most.

  Jared Bernstein: “We lost over half a million jobs in one month. What’s particularly notable is that if you look at the rate of job loss over this recession, it started off pretty mild; about 80,000 jobs per month. Not that that’s a picnic, but it’s better than what we’ve looked at. Over the past three months, the rate average job losses have been over 400,000.”

  Shortly before Bernstein spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” today, Vice President Joe Biden appointed him as his chief economic advisor.

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  • December 5, 2008 7:12 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Friends and family recount stories of Ethel Bradley at her funeral

  Longtime friends, family, and city lawmakers said their last goodbyes today at funeral services for the late L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley’s widow, Ethel Bradley. She was 89 years old when she died last week.

  Entrepreneur Barbara Walden, who created her own cosmetics line, described Mrs. Bradley as lady with “class” and strong ethics. Walden recalled a party at which Bradley was her special guest. She said Los Angeles’ First Lady got to the event on her own.

  Barbara Walden: “So when she arrived, I said, ‘We were gonna send someone to pick you up,’ and she said, ‘No. I drove myself.’ She said, ‘You know, Barbara, I always want the mayor to be remembered that we did not come into City Hall like our predecessor and use money for special services, special cars, drivers, special limousines.’ She says, ‘I drove myself.’”

  Ethel Bradley’s husband, Tom Bradley, died 10 years ago. The only African-American mayor of Los Angeles served five terms, from 1973 to 1993.

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  • December 5, 2008 7:10 PM
  • Categories: History, Politics/Public Affairs

• Loyola Law's Levenson comments on O.J. Simpson conviction

  Some observers are not surprised that Las Vegas Judge Jackie Glass gave O.J. Simpson a lengthy sentence for his armed robbery conviction. Laurie Levenson teaches at Loyola Law School.

  Laurie Levenson: “He was pretty much the Teflon defendant, but he just went into the wrong jurisdiction this time. Not only was he in Nevada, where the sentences are really harsh, but he ended up in front of Judge Glass and frankly, she had no use for him.”

  Levenson spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” The judge’s clerk said Simpson could serve up to 33 years in prison, but could be eligible for parole in nine years.

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  • December 5, 2008 7:02 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Local Civil War museum opens new exhibit on Lincoln and California

  If he hadn’t been assassinated, President Abraham Lincoln might have settled in California. That’s one of the facts featured in a new exhibit focusing on Lincoln’s ties to the Golden State.

  Susan Ogle is with the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum in Wilmington. She says Lincoln had close friends here, and he was grateful to the state for helping to fund the Civil War. California gold paid for a quarter of the Union’s costs.

  Susan Ogle: “The most interesting part for me was that on the last day of his life, Lincoln talked to several people from California. Had conversations about what was happening out here politically, about what was happening out here that he was interested in, and he talked to his wife Mary about settling in California after the end of his presidency. He thought California was the land of opportunity.”

  The exhibit opens Saturday at the Civil War museum. It runs for six months to honor Lincoln’s 200th birthday in February.

  Tickets are free this weekend to coincide with the museum’s annual holiday activities, which include a re-creation of a Civil War-era Christmas.

  LINK: Drum Barracks Civil War Museum

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  • December 5, 2008 6:43 PM
  • Categories: Arts, History

• New unemployment figures one of many bad economic signals

  The dismal unemployment figures for last month are only one of many signals the American economy has been on its way down for a long time, Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics told KPCC’s “AirTalk.”

  Christopher Thornberg: “People have been spending far beyond their means and that’s been reflected at the national level by this huge trade deficit. This was not sustainable.

  “Even though our policymakers like to pretend everything was fine, it was clear that there was this huge albatross that nobody was willing to acknowledge, and now we are paying the price for ignoring the obvious.”

  Last month, 533,000 people in this country lost their jobs - resulting in an unemployment rate of 6.7 percent.

  November’s under-employment rate, including people who put in part-time hours but would work full-time if they could, was more than twice that percentage - 12.7 percent.

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  • December 5, 2008 3:20 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Representative Brad Sherman says Big Three had better approach to Congress today

  The Big Three automakers still got a grilling in Congress today, but it wasn’t as bad as when they testified a couple of weeks ago. Congressman Brad Sherman spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” about the hearing.

  Brad Sherman: “They came here with a serious plan. Before they basically said, we flew here on our jets, we got room on the jets for cash, give us the cash. This time they came out with a much more realistic approach.”

  Sherman said there’s v