KPCC News In Brief

February 2009 Archives

• Men trail women in health awareness

  When it comes to self-awareness about health matters, American men trail women. A new report called “Out of Touch: American Men and the Health Care System” says that a quarter of respondents to its survey didn’t make any regular physician visits in the previous year, and one-third said they don’t have a regular doctor. The study’s lead author, Dr. David Sandman, said culture plays a big role in men’s approach to their well-being.

  Dr. David Sandman: “Men consistently told us that they take better care of their automobiles than they do their own bodies. And a big part of that was their own attitudes and the sort of, you know, classic macho ideas.

  “Men are taught from a very young age when we’re all boys out on the playing fields, ‘we should be tough, we should be strong, we shouldn’t cry, and we shouldn’t ask for help.’”

  Sandman told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that he’s guilty of some of those same behaviors. Many men, he said, ignore medical problems for much too long.

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  • February 27, 2009 3:01 PM
  • Categories: Health

• Permafrost thaw will release 10 times the methane currently in the atmosphere

  When organic matter decays, it gives off the greenhouse gas methane. Unless it’s trapped in arctic-zone ice. When that ice melts – as researchers say it’s doing now – bubbles that contain methane will surface and release all that gas, says Katey Walters, an aquatic ecologist at the University of Alaska.

  Katey Walters: “In the winter, the ice cover traps the gas in the lake ice. Because of that we are able to quantify where these methane seeps are, how many there are, and how much they’re contributing to the atmosphere.”

  Walters told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that once the permafrost thaws, it’ll release 10 times the amount of methane that’s in the atmosphere now.

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  • February 27, 2009 2:57 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• New York Times health columnist writes book about death

  Everybody’s got to go there, but many of us don’t want to think about it. That’s one reason the New York Times’ health columnist has written “Jane Brody’s Guide to the Great Beyond.”

  Brody told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that although the circumstances of each person’s death may vary, age or illness can prompt similar thoughts in most people.

  Jane Brody: “They know themselves that they’re closer to death, and yet they’re not able to say what is really bothering, what they really want to leave behind as a legacy.

  “What they want to say to family members from whom they might have been a little estranged or perhaps committed some error of omission or commission that they want to correct before they leave this planet.”

  Brody calls her book a practical primer on how we can prepare – medically, legally, and emotionally – for the inevitable.

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  • February 27, 2009 2:54 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Health

• Boyle writes new novel about Frank Lloyd Wright

  Architect Frank Lloyd Wright had begun to build his creative reputation beyond Oak Park, Illinois where he lived with his first wife, novelist T.C. Boyle told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.”

  T.C. Boyle: “But in 1909, he left her behind with the six children and a $900 grocery bill to run off to Europe with the wife of one of his clients, Mamah Borthwick Cheney, who left her husband and two children behind. And by God, the press had a field day with this.”

  Boyle – who lives in a house Wright designed – re-imagines the architect’s relationships with successive wives and lovers in a new novel, “The Women.”

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  • February 27, 2009 2:46 PM
  • Categories: Arts, History

• Sustainable animal husbandry makes for tastier steaks and curry goat

  When it comes to raising livestock that’s good for the animals and for consumers, sometimes the old ways are best, says Nicolette Hahn Niman. She’s married to a son of the family that produces sustainably-raised Niman Ranch beef and pork. Niman told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that she and her husband run their own ranch now – and that they’re reviving some time-tested practices.

  Nicolette Hahn Niman: “When you put goats and cattle in the same pasture land, either one after another – or they can either be together if you want – but normally they can be one after the other, they actually eat different things.

  “You can have one pasture used for both species and that’s what we’ve been doing. It’s been a great thing for our ranch – it actually helps our pastures get better having both goats and cattle on them.”

  Niman, an environmental activist, is the author of “Righteous Porkchop.” It’s an account of her transition from attorney to rancher. She’s a vegetarian, by the way, but she said she doesn’t have a problem letting her husband eat the meat they raise.

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  • February 27, 2009 2:43 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• LA law firm lays off hundreds in biggest large firm layoff ever

  A major U.S. law firm founded in Los Angeles is giving pink slips to hundreds of lawyers and staff. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports it’s the largest ever layoff at a big firm.

  Molly Peterson: Latham and Watkins was founded in downtown Los Angeles 75 years ago – it’s still got headquarters here. Since then it’s grown to more than 2,500 lawyers worldwide.

  The layoffs announced today include more than 250 staffers and paralegals, and 190 U.S. based associates. That represents about 12 percent of the firm’s associate base. The move came after the firm announced tough financial news last year – two of Latham’s major clients were investment firms Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, both of whom collapsed.

  Overall, Latham’s revenues dropped 4 percent, and profits were down 20 percent per partner – the worst drop among major firms. The firm’s managing partner said newly unemployed associates will get six months’ worth of severance at an amount up to $100,000, and six months of health insurance.

  That package is among the most generous among major firms that have released staff lately. Latham’s not the only major Los Angeles based firm with major clients troubled by the financial crisis – they and other firms say they’re watching their wallets closely in 2009.

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  • February 27, 2009 2:33 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice

• Islamic group says FBI informant instigated rather than informed

  The head of a Southern California Muslim group says he and other Muslims feel betrayed by allegations that the FBI used an informant to infiltrate Southern California mosques. Craig Monteilh claims the FBI paid him to identify and thwart terrorist operations in the Orange County Islamic community.

  Hussam Ayloush is executive director of the Greater L.A. Council on American-Islamic Relations. He told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that Monteilh was more instigator than informant.

  Hussam Ayloush: “At a same time when we’re promoting a partnership – with our law enforcement – for the sake for national security, our FBI were hiring shady characters and individuals to try to instigate against the Muslim community.

  “And instigate acts of violence to ruin the reputation of the Muslim community. We feel very betrayed by this very unprofessional behavior.”

  Ayloush notes that Monteilh had been convicted of grand theft and forgery in the past. Monteilh claims he was gathering information on Ahmadullah Niazi.

  He’s an Afghan national who authorities arrested last week on charges of lying on documents about his alleged connections to terrorist groups. Niazi denies the charges. The FBI has not confirmed Monteih’s claims.

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  • February 27, 2009 2:29 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Religion/Spirituality

• MacArthur Foundation gives LA grant for housing

  A major foundation has recognized Los Angeles as a leader in the preservation of rental housing. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says the MacArthur Foundation has backed up the praise with a million-dollar grant to the city.

  Cheryl Devall: The money will go to L.A.’s Housing Department and Community Redevelopment Agency. They’ll try to maintain apartments that working people can afford within the city limits – especially in central Los Angeles and in Skid Row residential hotels.

  City officials hope to hang onto 1,450 units of housing in the next three years. That may seem like a drop in the bucket as tens of thousands of apartments are prime candidates for conversion to higher-rent units or condos.

  The MacArthur Foundation notes that close to two-thirds of the 4 million people who live in L.A. are renters. But city officials hope the foundation’s grant will add momentum to a coordinated five year housing plan that will preserve affordable rental housing, redevelop public housing, and foster housing development close to mass transit. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who’s up for reelection, called the grant a vote of confidence in what the city’s trying to do.

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  • February 27, 2009 2:25 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Muslim group members angry at FBI over informant

  A Muslim group says its members are angry and disillusioned with the FBI. The statement by the L.A. office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations follows allegations by an Irvine man that he functioned as a paid FBI informant at several Southern California mosques.

  Craig Monteilh claims he recorded one man, Ahmadullah Niazi, talking about plans to blow up local buildings. But Jarir Saaeoun told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that he used to attend an Irvine mosque with Monteilh – and he thinks the alleged informant was an instigator.

  Jarir Saaeoun: “There’s been, like, many times when he’s come and asked about jihad and verses in the Koran, what do they mean, how can we implement them, and what sort of things like that.”

  Saeeoun also said he never heard Niazi make any kind of extremist comments. Authorities arrested Niazi, an Afghan national, last week, claiming that he’d lied on passport and citizenship applications about his alleged connections to terrorist groups.

  Niazi has denied being a jihadist. He claims the FBI is retaliating against him because he refused to become an informant.

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  • February 27, 2009 2:21 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Religion/Spirituality

• Free spaying and neutering for San Fernando Valley pets

  San Fernando Valley families with pets can get their animals spayed or neutered free tomorrow. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario explains how it works.

  Patricia Nazario: Los Angeles Animal Services is partnering with city councilmembers Richard Alarcon and Tony Cardenas to offer the service. The procedure would cost at least $100 at a veterinary clinic. City officials are limiting the offer to families who live in the San Fernando Valley, generally from Encino to Sylmar.

  Owners must drop off their dogs or cats at 6:30 in the morning. Animal Services officials say they hope to fix 100 pets. It’s first come, first served though, so latecomers will get vouchers for the surgery at a future date.

  City Animal Services officials say more people are leaving pets at shelters these days because they can’t afford to keep them. City shelters are euthanizing 20 percent more animals a month than they did a couple of years ago.

  That’s one reason the city’s promoting spaying and neutering pets as a humane alternative. Besides, City of L.A. law requires most cats and dogs older than four months to be spayed or neutered.

  Link: Los Angeles Animal Services
  Link: Free Valley Spay and Neuter Day press release (PDF)

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  • February 27, 2009 1:38 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Society/Culture

• Producers alliance president retires

  The president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers has one month left on the job. Nick Counter is retiring after 27 years in the position. KPCC’s Brian Watt reports.

  Brian Watt: Nick Counter could be considered a founder of the producers’ alliance – or AMPTP. Counter worked 10 years as outside legal counsel for the Association of Motion Picture and TV Producers. In 1982, the Association became an Alliance, and Counter became president on day one.

  The AMPTP represents studios, broadcast networks, some cable networks, and independent producers in their contract talks with almost all of Hollywood’s guilds and unions. In a town where deal making is key, Counter has been the chief negotiator for his side on more than 300 big ones.

  Whether he can cut one more with the fractured Screen Actors Guild before his retirement remains to be seen. Counter – who’s 68 years old – is set to step down at the end of March. But SAG still won’t be rid of him then. He’ll continue as a consultant to the AMPTP for the next five years.

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  • February 27, 2009 1:32 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• DJs, hip-hop artists hold benefit for Soles4Souls

  Some high-profile DJs and hip-hop artists are planning a good time tonight for a good cause. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario has more on the Hollywood party and shoe drive that’ll benefit Soles4Souls.

  Patricia Nazario: Los Angeles organizers have asked party goers to bring a new or gently worn pair of shoes to the door of the event at Element Hollywood. The venue is a couple of blocks east of the Kodak Theater.

  It’s one of L.A.’s hottest 18-and-over clubs. The DJ will probably spin hip hop, classic soul, and funk. Everyone on the celebrity roster is donating time to the charitable event.

  Soles4Souls is a global non-profit. The mission statement on its Web site is simple – the organization wants to affect as many lives as possible with the gift of shoes. The site says Soles4Souls is working in over 45 states and 61 countries where local agencies have said there’s a great need.

  You don’t have to get your groove on to donate your kicks. Go online to Soles4Souls.org and type in your zip code to find a drop-off location in your ‘hood.

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  • February 27, 2009 1:28 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Health, Society/Culture

• Bipartisan group pushes for budget reform, rainy day fund

  Governor Schwarzenegger and a bipartisan group of lawmakers yesterday began their push for a set of ballot measures designed to reform state government. The measures are part of the budget deal signed earlier this month. Voters will decide on them during a special statewide election in May. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports.

  Frank Stoltze: The measures include a spending cap tied to higher taxes, and the creation of a rainy day fund. Governor Schwarzenegger:

  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Our budget mess probably goes back to Earl Warren.

  Stoltze: He was California’s governor from 1943 to 1953.

  Schwarzenegger: Who was the last one that had a rainy day fund. And since then every single time when we had extra money we spent it and then in downturns we didn’t have money to draw down in a rainy day fund.

  Stoltze: Republican Assemblyman Mike Villines, who opposed the governor on the budget, and Democratic State Senator Darrell Steinberg, promised to campaign with the governor for the measures. So did the president of the California Chamber of Commerce, Alan Zaremberg.

  Alan Zaremberg: We need to make sure that for future generations, this volatility doesn’t ever happen again.

  Stoltze: The special May 19th ballot also includes a bond that would borrow billions of dollars against future lottery earnings, and a measure that would transfer restricted money from some social programs to pay for others.

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  • February 27, 2009 1:24 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• City of Industry approves plan for NFL stadium

  The Industry city council has unanimously approved a plan to build a complex that includes a 75,000 seat stadium for a National Football League team.

  Billionaire developer Ed Roski says he’s ready to finance and build retail, office, and entertainment space on 600 acres. Roski also hopes to buy part of an NFL team and move it to the Southland by next year. John Semcken is vice president of Ed Roski’s business, Majestic Realty.

  John Semcken: “The National Football League will not consider coming back to Los Angeles until they have a certain stadium that they know can be built. And what we have done, in conjunction with the City of Industry, is prove that this stadium can be built. This stadium can be built environmentally, this stadium can be built financially without public dollars. And that we’ll be able to put it in the region so that it benefits everyone.”

  Some homeowners and officials from the neighboring cities of Diamond Bar and Walnut have raised concerns about the air pollution, traffic, and safety problems that could accompany the complex. They have 30 days to file a legal challenge.

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  • February 26, 2009 6:37 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Sports/Recreation

• Controller Chick reports on moving gang programs under mayor's office

  One year after the City of Los Angeles placed all its anti-gang programs under the control of the mayor’s office, City Controller Laura Chick says: So far, so good. She also says the hard work isn’t over yet. More on the story from KPCC’s Nick Roman.

  Nick Roman: Chick’s report surveys L.A.’s progress with the Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development. That’s the mayor-controlled umbrella office that manages the anti-gang programs formerly scattered across city government.

  Chick’s report says its first year has worked out pretty well, but there’s more to do. She says that for L.A.’s anti-gang programs to work, they’ll have to coordinate with L.A. County and with L.A. City schools.

  Her report doesn’t mention whether Los Angeles gang prevention programs are doing a good job at keeping kids out of gangs. That’s why the controller called for the management switch a year ago. Nobody knew which gang prevention programs worked; and they didn’t know how to figure it out, either.

  Laura Chick, who’ll leave as city controller when her term is up this summer, says that before she goes, she wants to have an anti-gang program evaluation process in place.

  LINK: Laura Chick’s Report - pdf file

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  • February 26, 2009 5:32 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Jury begins deliberations in wildfire arsonist trial

  A Riverside County jury will begin deliberating tomorrow in the trial of suspected arsonist Raymond Lee Oyler. The 38-year-old car mechanic is accused of setting the Esperanza Fire near Banning two years ago.

  Five US Forest Service Firefighters died in that wildfire. Oyler could get the death penalty. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has more on today’s closing arguments.

  Steven Cuevas: Prosecutors reviewed evidence they say links Oyler to more than a dozen fires – including the Esperanza Fire. Prosecutors said Oyler bundled matches around cigarettes to set fires.

  They said investigators found his DNA on some of the cigarettes. There’s also testimony from a relative who says Oyler is a confessed serial arsonist.

  But the defense argued that in the rush to find the person responsible for killing five firefighters, prosecutors got the wrong guy. Attorney Mark McDonald conceded that Oyler may have started some of the fires – but not the Esperanza Fire. McDonald argued the fires are the work of several different arsonists.

  The defense is also leaning on a pair of conflicting alibis. Oyler told investigators he was at a local casino the night the fire broke out. But his sister testified she was smoking methamphetamine with him that night at his apartment in Beaumont.

  If Raymond Lee Oyler is found guilty of first degree murder, he could be sentenced to death.

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  • February 26, 2009 5:28 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• New state tax credit for newly built homes

  Californians in the market for new homes may qualify for a new state tax credit starting Sunday. The incentive – part of the state budget package that became law last week – is worth 5 percent of the home price or $10,000 – whichever is less.

  Tim Coyle of the California Building Industry Association hopes the tax credit will help wake up the sluggish housing market – and create jobs. Coyle says more home construction ripples throughout the economy.

  Tim Coyle: “Just ask the people at Home Depot, and ask the furniture manufacturers, and the accountants, and the lenders who are involved in the home construction, home sale, and home improvement process.”

  Homebuyers must meet two criteria to qualify for the tax credit. They need to buy a newly-built home – and it must be their main residence for two years from the time of the sale. The program will run until a year from March or until its $100 million budget runs out – whichever happens first.

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  • February 26, 2009 2:58 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Authorities bust Sinaloa drug cartel operators in LA

  Authorities say they’ve made a big dent in the Southern California operations of a giant Mexican drug cartel. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports the bust was part of a two-year-long nationwide crackdown on the Sinaloa cartel.

  Frank Stoltze: South of the border, Sinaloa is best known for ruthless violence. Special Agent Sarah Pullen of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration says locally, the cartel’s focused on repackaging and distributing cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and other drugs.

  Sarah Pullen: What’s interesting to note is the individuals who were arrested here in Los Angeles were really the hub and the central point for the entire national and international organization.

  Stoltze: The DEA arrested more than 150 Sinaloa associates in Southern California over the past two years – 13 this week. Pullen says it’s progress, but it will hardly shut down the drug trade.

  Pullen: Obviously, we’ve got to reduce the demand for drugs before we have a very, very significant impact in this.

  Stoltze: Pullen’s pessimistic that the arrests here will have much impact in Mexico, where violence has exploded as various cartels compete for territory.

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  • February 26, 2009 1:02 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Authorities target Sinaloa drug cartel in LA

  Authorities say they arrested more than 150 people in the Los Angeles area as part of their crackdown on the Sinaloa drug cartel. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Sarah Pullen says L.A. was a hub for the notorious Mexican drug organization.

  Sarah Pullen: “Some of them are us citizens. Some of them are illegal immigrants – many of them Mexican nationals.

  “But the majority of the individuals that we did arrest in the local Los Angeles area were part of trafficking organizations or transshipment organizations and they were responsible for getting the drugs here, repackaging them, and then distributing them.”

  During the nearly two-year operation, authorities arrested more than 750 people nationwide. They also seized $60 million in cash and confiscated more than 40 million pounds of cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and other drugs.

  Investigators say they also grabbed three boats, three planes – and 150 cars.

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  • February 26, 2009 12:59 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• UC Irvine holds Great Park forum for students and faculty

  Plans for the new Great Park on the old El Toro Marine Corps air base in Irvine are moving forward into the “production” stage. Park designers today touted their designs at a forum at UC Irvine. Designer Ken Smith says the nearly $2 billion park will open gradually over the next few years.

  Ken Smith: It’s going to come online as we build it. So I would think within this 3- to 5-year period, there are going to be big parts of the park that are going to start opening up with trails and access. It won’t be a finished park, you know, there won’t be big full-grown trees and complete shade and all that, but it’s important for people to get out into the park and use the park even while it’s still growing.

  There is one snag: Development was supposed to provide the money to create the Great Park, but construction has ground to a halt because of the sluggish real estate market. It’s not clear what effect that will have on plans for the giant park.

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  • February 25, 2009 6:24 PM
  • Categories: Society/Culture, Sports/Recreation

• Federal grand jury awards over $1 million to wrongfully jailed man

  A federal jury has awarded more than $1 million to a Sunland man the Glendale Police Department had falsely accused of murder. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze says the man spent eight months in jail.

  Frank Stoltze: Three years ago, Glendale police arrested Edmond Ovasapyan for the murder of a 21-year-old man who’d been shot while trying to protect his mother during a home invasion robbery. Ovasapyan was working as a tile contractor at the time. He told detectives he had cell phone records that could prove he was working in Burbank when the shooting occurred.

  He said police ignored his alibi, and sued the Glendale Police Department for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. A federal grand jury agreed and awarded him just over $1 million in compensatory damages. It also found two detectives liable for $150,000 in punitive damages.

  One juror told the Los Angeles Times that “when someone is charged with murder, you must have probable cause, not possible cause, or the whole system falls apart.”

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  • February 25, 2009 6:15 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• LA superintendent says student abuse must be reported immediately

  L.A. school superintendent Ramon Cortines says any report of possible abuse of any student must be reported right away. Cortines says he sent an e-mail to all public school employees in Los Angeles last night to make that clear.

  The Cortines e-mail came after the schools chief reassigned six employees at Taft High following a report about alleged hazing of athletes on the boys’ volleyball team. Cortines says the police should have been told about the Taft incident, whether it was true or not.

  Ramon Cortines: “It is not who you like, it is not about what you thought. You must take action immediately. We are the stewards as it relates to our children and young people, and protecting them from what first was seen as horseplay but obviously based on preliminary information was far more serious.”

  Cortines spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” Police investigators say no school employees were involved in the alleged hazing. The L.A. school superintendent says any such incident must be reported to the LAPD and the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services – without exception.

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  • February 25, 2009 4:29 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Education

• Closing arguments scheduled in Esperanza wildfire arson case

  Closing arguments are scheduled tomorrow in the Riverside County trial of suspected arsonist Raymond Lee Oyler. He’s charged with setting a wildfire two years ago that killed five U.S. Forest Service firefighters. Oyler is also charged with other arson-related offenses. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has details.

  Steven Cuevas: Throughout the month-long trial, prosecutors created a portrait of a troubled man “bent on destruction.” They say Raymond Lee Oyler set increasingly larger fires climaxing with the 40,000 acre Esperanza wildfire that killed five federal firefighters and destroyed dozens of homes. Prosecutor Michael Hestrin says the wind whipped fire was so intense it burned firefighters to the bone.

  Oyler says he’s not guilty, though several witnesses, including Oyler’s girlfriend, say the 38-year-old car mechanic is a confessed firebug. Defense attorneys say the fires are the work of multiple, independent arsonists.

  Oyler’s sister testified that she was with her brother on the night of the deadly Esperanza fire. Joanna Oyler said the two were smoking methamphetamine together. That contradicts earlier statements made by the suspect. Oyler told investigators that he’d spent the evening at a local Indian casino. If convicted, Raymond Lee Oyler could get the death penalty.

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  • February 25, 2009 12:28 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• LAUSD investigates school staff role in reporting alleged hazing

  The Los Angeles Unified School District says a student-on-student hazing investigation has led them to reassign six staff who’d worked at Taft High School in Woodland Hills. David Holmquist is the district’s chief operating officer.

  David Holmquist: “The Superintendent Tuesday of last week learned that there were some incidents involving boys on the varsity volleyball team that might have arisen to the level of requirement on the district employee part to report suspected child abuse.”

  Holmquist wouldn’t reveal details about the allegations. He’d only say the reassigned employees are “high ranking.” The school district continues to look into the matter and the LAPD’s aware of the allegations. A jury convicted one L.A. Unified administrator of a felony last year for concealing a sexual relationship between a minor and a teacher. State law compels school employees to inform their supervisors about actual or alleged child abuse.

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  • February 24, 2009 6:07 PM
  • Categories: Education

• NASA to send orbiter to Jupiter moon Europa

  At Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, success and failure are never far apart. That’s evident today. One group of scientists was stunned by the launch failure of an important environmental satellite. But another group is celebrating NASA’s decision last week to send an orbiter to Europa – one of Jupiter’s moons.

  Bob Pappalardo – JPL’s lead scientist for the mission – spoke with KPCC’s “AirTalk.” He says Europa is one of two Jovian moons that might support life.

  Bob Pappalardo: “As these moons orbit around Jupiter, they get a little closer and a little farther as they orbit around. And this means the moons stretch and compress again as they orbit around. And that generates heat, like bending a paperclip back and forth generates heat.”

  There’s enough heat so a cold ocean can flow deep below the surface ice. JPL’s Bob Pappalardo says the mission to Europa will look for life in that freezing water.

  Pappalardo: “In part what we want to do with this mission is understand, really, how thick is that ice? And are there thin spots, are there places where there’s water within the icy shell that might be places that could be habitable?”

  Those questions will remain unanswered for years. The mission won’t be launched until 2020 – and the trip to Europa will take six years.

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  • February 24, 2009 4:27 PM
  • Categories: Science/Technology

• Negro Head Mountain may change name to Ballard Mountain

  One of the highest peaks in the Santa Monica Mountains may get a new name. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario says the Los Angeles County supervisors voted today to rename Negrohead Mountain – Ballard Mountain.

  Patricia Nazario: The peak that rises about 2,000 feet above sea level near the Seminole Hot Springs is named after the African-American pioneer who used to live there. John Ballard and his family filed homestead claims on 320 acres of that property at the turn of the 20th Century.

  He was among the few dozen Blacks who lived in L.A. shortly after the Civil War. Ballard helped establish L.A.’s First African Methodist Episcopal Church. Patty Colman, who teaches history at Moorpark College, told L.A. County supervisors about the information she found in old census records. She said it’s been a very exciting research project.

  Patty Colman: And we’re truly starting to see that there was a vibrant, active Black community in Los Angeles in the late 19th century.

  Nazario: Her research partner, retired filmmaker Nick Noxon, said that he and Colman hope to find Ballard’s descendants to represent the family when the mountain’s new name becomes official.

  Nick Noxon: Perhaps some of them don’t know what an extraordinary ancestor they had.

  Nazario: The United States Board on Geographic Names has to approve the change. That process could take at least a year.

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  • February 24, 2009 4:21 PM
  • Categories: History

• Riverside County approves public protest limits

  Riverside County supervisors today approved an ordinance that bars protests within 30 feet of residential property lines. The action comes a few months after a demonstration outside a Church of Scientology compound near Hemet. A protestor ended up in a scuffle with a security guard hired by the church. Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone drafted the ordinance.

  Jeff Stone: “Government must take the necessary precautions in regards to public safety witnessed and addressed in other municipalities. Many jurisdictions including the County of San Diego, the City of Riverside, and Los Angeles have adopted local laws which establish buffer zones to protect the well-being of residents and also respect the First Amendment rights and safety of demonstrators.”

  An anti-Scientology group says the ordinance violates its right to free speech. It claims the Scientology compound in Hemet is used to clamp down on members who want to leave the church. Scientology officials say the facility is the church’s media headquarters – and serves as a residence for some church members.

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  • February 24, 2009 3:48 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Los Angeles Public Library extends borrowing period, raises late fees

  No matter how much you’re enjoying that read from the library, a couple of weeks may not be enough time to finish it. So starting Sunday, the Los Angeles Public Library is extending the borrowing period. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has the details.

  Cheryl Devall: The library will allow users to check out most books, magazines, and audiobooks for three weeks instead of two. Unless someone else has requested the same item, it’ll be possible to renew twice.

  While the borrowing time is longer, late fees will be higher – 35 cents a day instead of 30 for adult and teen library materials, and 15 cents a day instead of 10 for children’s items. It’ll also cost library users more to replace lost overdue books and DVDs.

  Library commissioners expect the new fees to generate up to 400,000 extra dollars a year. Anyone who lives in Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties may get a free card to use the L.A. central library and the system’s 71 branches. More information about the new fee schedule – and about reserving books for pickup at any city of L.A. library – is available online at LAPL.org.

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  • February 24, 2009 3:25 PM
  • Categories: Education, Society/Culture

• Mayor cuts ribbon on refurbished Watts school parent center

  L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa cut the ribbon today on a refurbished parent center at a Watts schools run by his Partnership for L.A. Schools. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez was there.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Parents at Gompers Middle School said they’d asked L.A. Unified for years to improve the campus parent center. No money, the district replied. When the mayor’s schools partnership began running this and nine other schools last year, its officials said they’d find the funds.

  Satellite television company DirecTV has donated $250,000 to convert the old campus woodshop into a comfy parents’ lounge, outfitted with computers, books, and DirecTV’s 80 education channels. DirecTV also is a donor to the mayor’s reelection campaign. Gompers parent advocate Lily Robinson said the center will help ensure that no parent is left behind.

  Lily Robinson: We have Spanish workshops, ESL workshops where the Spanish parents get to learn how to speak English, and it’s free. We have anger management classes for our parents, and teach them how to talk to their teens and pull back some. We have reading classes, math classes, computer classes, and we just keep going.

  Guzman-Lopez: With those skills under their belts, she said, parents will be better equipped to help their kids succeed.

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  • February 24, 2009 3:18 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• Bail set for OC man accused of terrorist ties

  An Afghan national who lives in Tustin has been ordered to answer charges next month that he lied on his citizenship and passport applications. KPCC’s Susan Valot says a federal judge in Santa Ana today set the man’s bail at a half-million dollars.

  Susan Valot: Federal investigators arrested Ahmadullah Sais Niazi at his Tustin home last week. They say he lied about alleged ties to terrorism groups – including al-Qaida and the Taliban – on his naturalization and passport applications.

  Prosecutors also say Niazi lied to authorities about traveling to Pakistan to visit family. They say his sister is married to Osama bin Laden’s security coordinator. Niazi calls the charges a “conspiracy.” His family says the FBI threatened two years ago to make Niazi’s life a “living hell” if he didn’t become an informant.

  His family and a Muslim civil rights group are calling for an investigation into whether the 34-year-old was arrested because he refused to become an informant. A federal judge said Niazi will have to surrender his passport and wear an electronic monitor if he makes bail.

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  • February 24, 2009 2:38 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• OC grand jury sides with sheriff over concealed weapons

  The Orange County grand jury is siding with the sheriff, when it comes to concealed weapons permits. KPCC’s Susan Valot says the grand jury released a report today in Santa Ana.

  Susan Valot: Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens came under fire by county supervisors and gun-rights advocates when she planned to revoke certain concealed-weapons permits. In the end, the sheriff left her critics grumbling when she decided to bump forward the expiration dates of the permits in question.

  Hutchens is worried about permits given out for “good cause” by former sheriff Mike Carona. Hutchens says she’s found that in many cases the “good cause” wasn’t good enough to carry a concealed weapon. The grand jury says Hutchens is simply doing her job by coming up with a comprehensive policy to deal with concealed weapons permits.

  The grand jury says criticism of Hutchens is “unfounded and not warranted.” It says county supervisors, leave the sheriff alone – and let her do her job. The supervisors are required to respond to the grand jury report.

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  • February 24, 2009 1:13 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Environmental satellite launch fails, satellite crashes near Antarctica

  NASA and environmental scientists are trying to figure out what to do now that an important research satellite has crashed in the ocean near Antarctica. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory was to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – and answer nagging questions about global warming.

  But minutes after this morning’s launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the shroud covering the satellite failed to break loose – and the satellite fell back to Earth.

  Caltech’s Paul Wennberg studies geology and planetary science. He watched the launch, and he told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that the failure is a giant blow to environmental research.

  Paul Wennberg: “There’s certainly some of us who have been involved since the get-go, but perhaps it’s a fraction of what we do. But there are a handful of individuals who really, this was their day, their night, their weekend job, and it’s really devastating. And well, we hope that we have an opportunity to do this again.”

  A Japanese satellite launched last month is also measuring carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Caltech’s Paul Wennberg says scientists in the U.S. will try to use that data for the studies they’d planned.

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  • February 24, 2009 1:02 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Science/Technology

• Chinese man convicted of exporting sensitive imaging

  A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has convicted a Chinese man in a scheme to illegally export thermal-imaging cameras to China. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze says he’s the second man convicted in the case.

  Frank Stoltze: Prosecutors say intelligence agencies can use the thermal-imaging technology to observe what the human eye can’t usually see. They say Zhi Yong Guo was an engineer at a technology development company in Beijing when he asked an accomplice to obtain ten thermal-imaging cameras for the Chinese Special Police.

  Prosecutors contend that the U.S. company that makes the cameras repeatedly warned that nobody could export them without a special license from the federal Commerce Department. Authorities arrested Zhi Yong Guo and Tah Wei Chao at L.A. International Airport last year and found the cameras hidden in suitcases, stuffed in shoes, and concealed in clothing.

  Both have yet to be sentenced. Zhi Yong Guo faces up to forty years in prison.

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  • February 23, 2009 6:32 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• NewsCorp CEO Peter Chernin to leave post this summer

  NewsCorp president and chief operating officer Peter Chernin will mark 20 years with the media conglomerate next week. But he won’t renew his contract when it expires in a few months. Chernin has headed NewsCorp’s 20th Century Fox and the Fox Broadcasting network. NewsCorp chief Rupert Murdoch called his contributions “immeasurable.”

  Alex Ben Block is editor-at-large of the Hollywood Reporter. He says Hollywood will miss the way Chernin used his clout to break through labor disputes.

  Alex Ben Block: Someone new is gonna be there, and whoever it is, they’re not gonna have the same gravitas, the same confidence and respect, to be able to deal with all the other players here, the other companies, as well as the unions and guilds. So this is a negative for Hollywood, a negative for NewsCorp. Chernin leaving is a big deal, and it really shakes Hollywood to its roots.

  The news about Chernin’s departure follows a day after “Slumdog Millionaire” – the first Fox Searchlight film to win a Best Picture Oscar – swept the Academy Awards with eight trophies.

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  • February 23, 2009 6:15 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• UCLA releases annual report on college-going rates

  In an annual report released today, UCLA education researchers say high school and college diplomas remain out of reach for many students. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has more.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: One-third of ninth graders enrolled in the fall of 2003 didn’t make it to graduation day four years later, says the report from UCLA’s Institute for Democracy Education and Access. Researchers say that California’s public schools are segregated, and campuses with black and Latino majorities often end up with the least experienced teachers and the fewest advanced course offerings.

  The proportion of California students who enroll in college right after high school is almost the lowest in the nation, the report says. It doesn’t spell out the direct causes of all this. But it does advise Californians to think about whether directing more money toward education will improve the state’s economic outlook.

  Other data suggests that high school seniors are finding their way to college, even if they wait awhile. More students are transferring to Cal State from community colleges each year. Close to 33,000 transfer students started at Cal State campuses in the fall of 2002. Five years later, 36,000 transferred.

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  • February 23, 2009 4:55 PM
  • Categories: Education

• Huntington Beach introduces new 'virtual' city hall

  Huntington Beach City Hall is going virtual. Today officials there unveiled a new online system that makes it faster and easier to find the answers to city-related questions.

  The system’s called Surf City Pipeline. You type in a question – about city services, permits, and such – and the system routes your question to the appropriate person or department. The city’s Beverly Braden says the new system also allows city officials to view requests on a map to spot patterns.

  Beverly Braden: “It gives us the ability to look not only based upon a topic, but also, is there an area within town, within the city that has a specific request that seems to be more frequent in that particular area.”

  The new service launches today on the Huntington Beach city Web site.

  Link: Surf City Pipeline

  Link: Huntington Beach official city Web site

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  • February 23, 2009 2:19 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• LA Daily News redesigns paper to save on paper

  If your Los Angeles Daily News feels a bit thinner today, it’s no accident. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall tells about cost-conscious changes in the paper.

  Cheryl Devall: In response to slumps in advertising, drops in circulation, and the rising cost of just about everything, newspapers are trying to save in every department – personnel, distribution, printing costs – especially newsprint.

  To use less paper, the Daily News is moving some daily features – puzzles, comics, the TV schedule, and advice columns. On Mondays and Tuesdays, those will run in the first section. Monday papers from now on will not include separate sections for opinion columns and business news.

  In a note to readers, the Daily News’ management explained the redesign in detail and thanked readers for their loyalty amid economic challenges. The San Fernando Valley-focused paper is making the same kinds of changes as the much bigger Los Angeles Times. Starting next week, that daily will discontinue its standalone section for California news so it can spend less on printing and paper.

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  • February 23, 2009 2:01 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Tyler Perry tops box office

  Most moviegoers were in the mood for a comedy this weekend. Details from KPCC’s Debra Baer.

  Debra Baer: Tyler Perry’s “Medea Goes to Jail” led the box office, making an estimated 41 million in its opening weekend. That’s the best opening ever for a Lionsgate film and for the once-homeless Perry who dresses in drag to play the feisty, gun-toting granny, Madea.

  In second place – Liam Neeson’s kidnap thriller “Taken” earned more than 11 million.

  The stop-motion animated film “coraline” rose to number 3 with $11 million, and in 4th place, “He’s Just Not That Into You” earned 8-and-a-half million.

  Oscar frontrunner “Slumdog Millionaire” pulled in more than 8 million in sales to rank number five at the box office before winning 8 of the 10 categories it was nominated for at the Oscars – including the Best Picture. Who doesn’t love to see the underdog win?

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  • February 23, 2009 12:54 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Daniel Craig and Sarah Jessica Parker present Academy Awards for design

  The producers of this year’s Academy Awards ceremony promised a different kind of show. The staging reflected that difference. As they introduced the awards, last night’s presenters tried to de-mystify the filmmaking process.

  Current James Bond Daniel Craig and Sarah Jessica Parker of “Sex and the City” strode through what looked to be the open door of a soundstage decked out with random props to introduce the award for art direction and one other.

  Sarah Jessica Parker: “We don’t have to tell you what the make up artist does.”
  Daniel Craig: “Just look at us.”

  The makeup and art direction Oscars, by the way, went to “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” It also won for visual effects – and failed to score in 10 other categories for which it was nominated. Last night’s Oscar show incorporated film clips and stars from box office hits that didn’t win any nominations this year, including “High School Musical,” “Mamma Mia,” and “Pineapple Express.”

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  • February 23, 2009 12:11 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Heath Ledger's family accepts Academy Award on late actor's behalf

  The Best Supporting Actor Oscar – as many critics and fans expected – went to the late Heath Ledger for his maniacal turn as the Joker in the Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight.”

  The family of the 28-year-old Australian actor – who died a year to the day before the nominations were announced – accepted on his behalf. After his mother and father, Ledger’s sister Kate spoke to the audience – and to her late brother.

  Kate Ledger: Heath, we both knew what you had created in the Joker was extraordinarily special and had even talked about being here on this very special day. We really wish you were, but we proudly accept the award on behalf of your beautiful Matilda.”

  Matilda is Heath Ledger’s 3-year-old daughter with actress Michelle Williams. The golden statuette will be held in trust for the little girl until she turns 18.

  The motion picture academy has awarded only two posthumous Oscars. The other went to Peter Finch, who died after his nomination for “Network” in 1976.

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  • February 23, 2009 12:08 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Milk wins Best Original Screenplay Academy Award

  The Best Original Screenplay award went to “Milk.” Its writer, Dustin Lance Black, referred to his Mormon childhood – and to recent political history – as he accepted his Oscar for the story of the gay San Francisco supervisor killed just over 30 years ago.

  Dustin Lance Black: “When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California, and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope that one day I could live my life openly as who I am and that maybe even I could fall in love and one day get married.”

  Black went on to pledge to young gays and lesbians that they would soon enjoy equal rights across this great country. Sean Penn, who won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Harvey Milk, also spoke from the stage against the voter-approved measure that outlawed same-sex marriage in California.

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  • February 23, 2009 12:05 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Kate Winslet wins Best Actress Oscar

  For the major awards, the producers of last night’s Oscar ceremony arrayed multiple previous winners. In the Best Actress category, honorees Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard, Shirley MacLaine, Halle Berry, and Nicole Kidman appeared on stage.

  Each one addressed one of the nominees with praise for her nominated performance. The woman who joined their ranks last night was Kate Winslet. She accepted the Academy Award for her role in “The Reader” – and hugs from her predecessors.

  Kate Winslet: “I’d be lying if I haven’t made a version of this speech. Before, I think I was probably 8 years old and staring into the bathroom mirror, and this would have been a shampoo bottle. Well, it’s not a shampoo bottle now.”

  Winslet had been nominated for five previous Oscars without having won. She saluted the other actresses in her category – Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Melissa Leo, and Angelina Jolie – as “goddesses.”

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  • February 23, 2009 12:02 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Sean Penn wins Oscar for Best Actor

  The biggest surprise of last night’s Academy Awards ceremony was Sean Penn’s win for his role as a pioneering gay politician in “Milk.” That performance upset Mickey Rourke’s widely-praised comeback in “The Wrestler.” Less surprising was the political nature of Penn’s acceptance speech.

  Sean Penn: “I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against same sex marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that way of support – we’ve got to have equal rights for everyone.”

  Penn noted that demonstrators outside Hollywood’s Kodak Theater last night protested the nominations for “Milk.” The story of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, assassinated just over 30 years ago, also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

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  • February 23, 2009 12:00 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Slumdog Millionaire wins big at Oscars; director thanks Mumbai

  The runaway winner at last night’s Academy Awards was “Slumdog Millionaire” – the Hollywood-Bollywood mashup that almost went straight to video after most American studios refused to distribute it. Like its hero, the film came from nowhere to capture the Oscar for Best Picture.

  Director Danny Boyle praised his cast of unknowns, his international crew, and the turbulent Indian city that was the setting for the film.

  Danny Boyle: “To Mumbai, unending, inseparable, and borne, all of you who helped us make the film and all of those of you who didn’t – thank you so much. You dwarf even this guy. Thank you so much indeed.”

  “Slumdog Millionaire” won 8 of the 10 categories in which it was nominated. The movie has generated some controversy in Mumbai, where protesters have denounced its graphic depiction of the city’s poorest areas as “poverty porn.”

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  • February 23, 2009 11:57 AM
  • Categories: Arts

• UC Irvine students work at new free health clinic

  In a time of budget cuts, some UC Irvine medical and nursing students are providing a silver lining. KPCC’s Susan Valot says they’re opening a free health clinic this week.

  Susan Valot: The new clinic is at the Orange County Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope. That’s at the old Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin. It’ll be run out of the village’s Hurtt Family Health Clinic.

  The students will work under UCI faculty physicians to provide free services from 8 in the morning until noon every Saturday. Those services include preventive care, lab testing, and medication for people with low incomes who don’t qualify for government programs.

  The grand opening’s this Wednesday. The UC Irvine Outreach Clinic’s being paid for with donations and by the university’s School of Medicine. The campus hopes to expand the hours – and branch out to other locations.

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  • February 23, 2009 10:11 AM
  • Categories: Education, Health

• OC transit officials discuss falling revenues

  With the economy hitting a few bumps, so are Orange County’s prospects for transportation projects. The Orange County Transportation Authority today is due to get an update on how Measure M projects and revenues are doing. KPCC’s Susan Valot says it’s not a rosy picture.

  Susan Valot: Two years ago, Orange County voters approved extending the Measure M half-cent sales tax for another 30 years. The money goes toward transportation projects.

  Some of those projects are moving forward. Engineers recently studied ways to speed up traffic on Interstate 5. They looked into adding lanes to the 405 Freeway, between the 55 and the 605. They synchronized light signals on Oso Parkway in South County to speed up the flow of traffic.

  But money crunchers are reeling back their sales tax forecast. People aren’t spending as much – so not as much Measure M money is coming in.

  Over its 30-year life, planners expected Measure M to bring in more than $24 billion. But that figure’s been downgraded to a little more than $16 billion – an $8 billion shortfall. Orange County transportation officials will mull over those figures when they get the official update today.

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  • February 23, 2009 10:09 AM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Transportation

• Orange County gets second new firefighting helicopter

  The Orange County Fire Authority will officially “get the keys” to its second new firefighting helicopter on Sunday. KPCC’s Susan Valot reports.

  Susan Valot: The Santiago Fire ripped through the hills of eastern Orange County about a year-and-a-half ago (November 2007), destroying a dozen homes and threatening hundreds more.

  Afterwards, fire officials and other experts came up with a list of what could have helped them fight the fire better. That list included replacing the county’s two Vietnam-era Bell “Super Huey” firefighting helicopters. They’re hard to find parts for these days.

  So the county agreed to spend nearly $22 million on two new Bell 412 Helicopters. The twin-engine choppers have night-flying capabilities. They each can drop up to 350 gallons of water or foam on fires. And they can find the hotspots more easily, thanks to a fire mapping system.

  Firefighters officially take control of one of the new helicopters at a helicopter trade show in Anaheim this weekend.

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  • February 20, 2009 6:03 PM

• City of LA awards annual juried arts fellowships

  The City of Los Angeles has announced its annual fellowship awards to fifteen mid-career artists. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez says that for some of those recognized, the money that accompanies the award couldn’t arrive at a better time.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Each fellowship comes with a $10,000 grant to create new work. The recipients include a visual artist who’s created art installations from paper and hair, a post-modern dance professor at UCLA, an Iranian American percussionist, and a video artist who documents social and political changes around the world. All 15 artists are based in L.A.

  Department of Cultural Affairs chief Olga Garay said the fellows’ innovative work allows L.A. to claim it’s one of the most vibrant creative economies in the world.

  An exhibition of the visual artists’ work opens in May at L.A.’s Municipal Art Gallery in East Hollywood. In June, the writers and performers awarded fellowships will showcase their talents during a performance at California Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles.

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  • February 20, 2009 5:48 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Authorities indict three Southern California men on movie piracy charges

  Just before the Academy Awards, the feds have indicted three Southern Californians for movie piracy. KPCC’s Brian Watt says two of the cases involve films nominated for Oscars.

  Brian Watt: The crime is called “uploading a copyrighted work being prepared for commercial distribution.” It carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and at least $250,000 in fines.

  A federal grand jury indicted Owen Moody of San Marcos, alleging he’d uploaded a copy of “Slumdog Millionaire” to a Web site called “thepiratebay.org.”

  The grand jury charged Derek Hawthorne of Moorpark with uploading the films “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Australia” to Web sites where visitors could download them to their own computers.

  Authorities arrested Jack Yates of Porter Ranch last week in another case. Yates allegedly copied a screener of Mike Myers’ comedy “The Love Guru” before Paramount Pictures was set release it last June. The government contends that he distributed the copy to others and it wound up on the Internet before the release date.

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  • February 20, 2009 5:46 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy, Criminal Justice

• San Bernardino furloughs police

  Two days after agreeing not to cut its public safety budget, San Bernardino city officials have voted to slash the salaries of more than 300 police officers. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says the move widens a rift between the city and its cops.

  Steven Cuevas: The furloughs would require police officers to take off four hours a week without pay. It might not seem like much – but city officials reckon it would save San Bernardino more than $600,000 over the next three months. It could also spark a lawsuit by the cops who say the furloughs violate their contract.

  The Police Officers Association already offered to take about $3 million in cuts over the next two years. But there’s a caveat in that offer. The officers union wants the city to dump police chief Michael Bildt. He was scheduled to step down next month anyway, but will stay on a little longer until a replacement is named. The city says it’s sticking to that plan.

  San Bernardino is trying to close a $9 million budget shortfall. On Wednesday, the city council laid off more than 50 workers and imposed job furloughs on municipal workers.

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  • February 20, 2009 4:26 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Albertsons closes 9 Southland supermarkets

  The Albertsons supermarket chain began closing nine Southland stores this week. The parent company says the economy’s to blame. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez stopped by one location on its final day.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: At an Albertsons in Lakewood, plywood covers the 15-foot windows like a blindfold. Alonzo Alexander misses the store’s convenience. It’s close to the school where he works. He’d often stop in to buy…

  Alonzo Alexander: Different stuff for the school, cakes, pies, coffee, etcetera.

  Guzman-Lopez: For 30 years Bob Franklin drove an Albertsons delivery truck to this and other area stores. He left on disability six years ago. He’s parked his car in the lot to see workers remove what’s left inside.

  Bob Franklin: I know everybody in this store. They all go to another store. The ones that want to go.
  Guzman-Lopez: How did they take it?
  Franklin: Well, they were sad, they didn’t want to see it closed. Nobody wanted to see it closed.
  Guzman-Lopez: What about the ones who got laid off?
  Franklin: Well it’s mostly courtesy clerks, people who push the carts and stuff, who’ve only been here for six months or something.

  Guzman-Lopez: About a dozen employees lost their jobs at the first four Southland stores that closed. The grocer says it’s trying to find jobs at its other locations for hundreds of other workers. Albertsons’ parent company expects sales to drop this year as more people shop at cheaper retailers and buy only the basics.

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  • February 20, 2009 4:24 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Appeals court strikes down video game age restrictions

  A federal appeals court has struck down a state law that bans the sale of violent video games to minors. KPCC’s Brian Watt reports.

  Brian Watt: When Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the law a little more than three years ago, the video game industry fired back with legal challenges. So, the law never took effect.

  It would have prohibited the sale or rental of violent games to anyone under 18. It also mandated strict labeling requirements for video game makers.

  The video game industry argued that California’s law could open the door for other states to limit minors’ access to other material under the guise of protecting children. A lower court – and the federal appeals court – sided with the industry. The latest decision said there are less restrictive ways to protect children that include the industry’s current voluntary rating system.

  The Democratic state senator from San Francisco who wrote the law is also a child psychologist. He wants state attorney general Jerry Brown to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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  • February 20, 2009 4:19 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Criminal Justice

• Couple visits LA to spot stars at Oscars

  A couple visiting Los Angeles from London is on a singular mission: to spot as many stars as they can during Sunday’s Academy Awards in Hollywood. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario has more on how they landed a birds-eye view of the red carpet right across the street from the Kodak Theater.

  Patricia Nazario: I ran into LeAnn Miles and her fiancé David Stetney at a bus tour company on the strip. It’s just a few doors down from the Hollywood International Hostel. He’d stayed there a few years ago to stargaze during the Oscars and loved it so much, LeAnn Miles says they wanted to come back and try it again.

  LeAnn Miles: We didn’t get the room we wanted and the prices were slightly more expensive than we expected. But, you expect that this time of year, don’t you?

  Nazario: Can you show me out here where your hostel is? So, it’s right here at the corner.

  Miles: Yep, it’s right here on the corner.

  Nazario: So, where’s your room?

  Miles: Well, our room’s at the back, unfortunately. But you can see out of the front here. It’s a common room and it’s got open windows.

  Nazario: And, so it’ll be a little Oscar party on Sunday? So, who are some of your favorite stars that you’re hoping to see?

  Miles: Well, I’m hoping to see Hugh Jackman, because he is delicious. And, hopefully, other young gorgeous men. I don’t mind who. I’m not fussy.

  Nazario: So, what are you gonna tell your friends when you get back home?

  Miles: They’re gonna be jealous no matter what I tell them. (laughing) I might have to make up some stories. But we are gonna take the camera and the video camera and hopefully get some stars on that.

  Note: Hugh Jackman is the Australian actor who’s hosting the Oscars this year. Hollywood Boulevard and several streets surrounding the Kodak Theater will be closed to traffic on Sunday for security reasons. More details – about traffic and the awards show – are online at Oscars.org.

  Link: The Academy Awards
  Link: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  Link: Hollywood Hostels and Hotels

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  • February 20, 2009 3:48 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Public Utilities Commission rules on Explo light rail crossings

  After more than two years of debate, the California Public Utilities Commission today made final decisions on two disputed street crossings for the Expo light rail line. KPCC’s Special Correspondent Kitty Felde says that clears the way for the rail project.

  Kitty Felde: The light rail will run down Exposition Boulevard – right past the Foshay Learning Center Middle School and Dorsey High School. School officials and residents say the street-level tracks are dangerous. They want pedestrian bridges near the schools.

  The Public Utilities Commission said “no” to a bridge near Foshay, saying an existing pedestrian tunnel is good enough to get across the tracks. But a pedestrian bridge will likely have to be built near Dorsey.

  Damien Goodman, who heads up a group of South L.A. residents, says he’s ecstatic about the Dorsey decision. But he says residents might have to sue to get a bridge near Foshay.

  Damien Goodman: We haven’t made that decision yet and we are hopeful. I mean, you’re literally talking about a pedestrian bridge that would cost less than $5 million to construct

  Felde: Goodman says there’s money in the new federal stimulus package for projects like the Dorsey bridge. The PUC decision means the Expo line is back on track. Trains could start running between downtown L.A. and Culver City next year.

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  • February 20, 2009 3:10 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• Tustin man arrested, accused of terrorist connections

  An Afghan national is due in federal court in Santa Ana this afternoon. He’s accused of trying to hide terrorist connections. KPCC’s Susan Valot says federal agents arrested the man at his Tustin home this morning.

  Susan Valot: Members of a federal anti-terrorism task force say Ahmadullah Sais Niazi lied on his U.S. naturalization and passport applications about various names he’s used and about his connection to terrorist groups.

  In a newly-unsealed indictment, federal authorities say the 34-year-old denied having ties to radical groups, including al-Qaida and the Taliban. Authorities also say the Tustin man lied about traveling to Pakistan a few years ago to visit family.

  The feds say that visit included a meeting with Osama bin Laden’s security coordinator. Niazi now faces federal charges of perjury, naturalization fraud, and other charges. If convicted, he faces up to 35 years in federal prison and a more than $1 million fine.

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  • February 20, 2009 2:58 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Hollywood streets close for Oscar prep

  Oscar preparations along Hollywood Boulevard are complicating commutes for people who have to get around giant outdoor tents, stages, and TV camera positions.

  Donna Cicatelli is the head makeup artist for the Jimmy Kimmel show on ABC. She told KPCC’s Patricia Nazario that the show tapes next door to Disney’s El Capitan Theatre – across the street from the Kodak Theater where the Oscar ceremony takes place Sunday night.

  Donna Cicatelli: “And we have a show right after the Oscars, so we’re actually working as the Oscars are going on.”
  Patricia Nazario: “So what does this do to your commute time to get to work?”
  Cicatelli: “Twenty-five minutes. Just from the freeway off-ramp down here takes an additional 20 minutes. Yeah, it’s quite a bit.”

  Cicatelli commutes on the 101 Freeway from Woodland Hills to Hollywood to get to work.

  Many streets and sidewalks around Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue will close during the weekend to secure Sunday night’s red carpet gala.

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  • February 20, 2009 2:29 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Transportation

• No deal yet in SAG contract talks

  Contract talks broke down last night between the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers. KPCC’s Brian Watt says the producers made an offer, but SAG’s new negotiating team wasn’t ready to accept it. Brian Watt: Hollywood already had a screenplay for these talks – the producers alliance would offer a few “concessions” to make SAG’s new negotiators look tough but productive, and they’d reach a tentative deal.

  Both sides were following the script when a new conflict arose over how long the next contract should last. The producers alliance says three years from the date it’s ratified – SAG’s team says July of 2011. That’s three years from when the last contract expired – and a lot closer to the expiration dates of other Hollywood labor contracts.

  Jesse Hiestand: We just don’t think that makes any sense for the industry because you’re basically inviting a situation where you’d have constant labor turmoil.

  Watt: That’s Jesse Hiestand, spokesman for the producers’ alliance.

  Hiestand: Also, it just economically makes no sense to give them three years of gains in what amounts to a two-year contract.

  Watt: Hiestand says the producers have included a compromise on that sticking point in what they call their “last, best, and final offer.” SAG hasn’t commented yet. Its national board of directors meets tomorrow.

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  • February 20, 2009 2:05 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Republican base unhappy about lawmakers approving budget

  The fight over the state budget will likely carry into this weekend when California Republicans hold their convention in Sacramento. Lawmakers approved a budget this week that includes more than $12 billion in tax increases. Six GOP lawmakers voted for the budget. John Myers of “The California Report” says the GOP faithful isn’t happy.

  John Myers: “You know, this is the ideological battle between Democrats and Republicans – one of them – over taxes. And there’s a battle internally in the Republican Party as well in California over moderates and conservatives and what’s the best course of action. And I think you’re going to see a lot of tense moments at this convention.”

  Some conservatives are talking about censuring the six Republican legislators that voted for the budget. The Sacramento Bee reports a GOP committee will decide tomorrow whether to call for a Sunday vote on a censure resolution.

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  • February 20, 2009 12:34 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• State Republicans hold annual convention; tension over budget vote

  State Republicans hold their convention this weekend in Sacramento – and there will likely be some tense moments. The convention follows the legislature’s approval this week of a budget that increased income and sales taxes.

  John Myers with “The California Report” says the Republican faithful is angry at the six GOP lawmakers who voted for the higher taxes.

  John Myers: “I think you’re going to hear a lot of that at this convention this weekend. You know, these really are rock-ribbed faithful Republicans that are showing up at the convention here in San Diego.

  “And they don’t’ believe in tax increases, and frankly we may even see a formal censure motion put forward against these Republican lawmakers. So it will be very interesting to see how they handle that pressure.”

  At least two Republicans who are exploring a run for governor are expected to attend the party convention – former eBay chief Meg Whitman and State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.

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  • February 20, 2009 11:22 AM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Length of contract a sticking point in SAG negotiations

  Film and television producers have presented what they’re calling their “last, best, and final” contract offer to the Screen Actors Guild. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers presented the offer yesterday as the two sides broke off talks.

  Jesse Hiestand is with the producers’ alliance. He told KPCC that a sticking point in talks is when the contract should end.

  Jesse Hiestand: “The producers set out last April to negotiate a three-year deal. That’s the industry standard and that’s, and that’s what we negotiated with the five other unions and guilds over the last year.

  “SAG is saying because they haven’t made a deal for eight months – that they want a deal that would last a little over two years. And we just don’t think that makes any sense for the industry because you’re basically inviting a situation where you’d have constant labor turmoil.”

  Hiestand says producers have offered a compromise to the problem – but so far, SAG has rejected it.

  The Screen Actors Guild has not returned calls to comment on the contract offer. The union’s board is scheduled to meet tomorrow. The offer will stay on the table for 60 days.

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  • February 20, 2009 11:19 AM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Irvine homebuilder files for bankruptcy protection

  The downward spiral in the housing market has driven a major Southland developer to file for bankruptcy protection. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has more about John Laing Homes.

  Cheryl Devall: The privately-held company that also does business as WL Homes has been around for 161 years. But the mortgage crisis, falling real estate values, and sluggish demand for new houses has battered John Laing Homes.

  Trouble has been brewing for a while – especially as housing construction slowed in the last three years. About that long ago, a developer in Dubai bought John Laing Homes and continued to operate it as an Irvine-based subsidiary.

  Recent articles in building trade journals reported that Laing had stopped construction, sales or both at developments in Sacramento, Colorado, Arizona, and Southern California. Earlier this week, a company spokesman said in published reports that Laing was considering all options to meet its funding needs. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is the option it’s chosen for now.

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  • February 20, 2009 10:53 AM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• SAG contract talks less confrontational

  The Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers finished a third day of contract talks yesterday. KPCC’s Brian Watt reports.

  Brian Watt: A negotiations insider says that the tone of the talks has been much less confrontational than during last year’s bargaining session. Then, the Guild had chief negotiator Doug Allen – and a harder-edged negotiating committee at the table.

  A group of moderates on SAG’s national board of directors has ousted Allen and replaced the committee with a negotiations “task force.”

  The board is scheduled to meet tomorrow in a videoconference. The agenda isn’t public, but many industry observers figure it’ll be a strategy session on talks with the producers’ alliance. The board has delayed a planned strike authorization vote, but it hasn’t taken that option completely off the table.

  SAG’s board also has another set of negotiations to think about – talks for a new commercials contract begin on Monday.

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  • February 20, 2009 10:50 AM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Assembly speaker wasn't sure she could hold onto Republican votes

  One of the top Democrats in the state legislature says lawmakers passed that massive budget bill just in time. Only five Republicans – three in the Senate, two in the Assembly – voted for the compromise package of spending cuts and tax hikes.

  Assembly Speaker Karen Bass told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that she wasn’t sure those five Republicans would stay on board.

  Karen Bass: “In the next 24 hours, there’s going to be a Republican convention in Sacramento. Right-wing radio has been up on the air threatening any Republican that was going to vote for taxes.

  “And so I really felt that we had a window of about 24 hours, that if we did not pass the budget within 24 hours – with new leaders coming in, a Republican convention, and right-wing radio on the air threatening our members – that the situation was going to get much, much worse.”

  The crucial vote came from Republican Abel Maldonado. The state senator from Santa Maria backed the budget bill after Democrats agreed to take out a proposed gas tax increase – and agreed to put an “open primaries” measure on the ballot in two years.

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  • February 19, 2009 5:19 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• LA city officials hope to receive millions from federal stimulus

  Los Angeles city officials say they hope to receive millions of dollars from the federal stimulus package President Obama signed this week. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports that police and gang prevention programs may be among the beneficiaries.

  Frank Stoltze: The stimulus bill provides $4 billion for law enforcement programs nationwide – a quarter of that for new cops.

  Bill Bratton: One billion dollars for new police – approximately 13,000 new police – and we will aggressively compete for those additional positions.

  Stoltze: LAPD Chief Bill Bratton says that, unlike an earlier federal program to help cities hire police officers, this bill requires no matching funds. Democratic Congressman Xavier Becerra of L.A. says stimulus money for transportation and other projects do.

  Xavier Becerra: To be competitive and get those monies, the federal government’s gonna want to know that it doesn’t have to foot the entire bill for a particular project, which means you gotta bring in some matching dollars.

  Stoltze: He said L.A. County is well positioned in this regard, with its recent passage of a half-cent sales tax for transportation. At the same time, cities and counties across the region face falling tax revenues and may not have enough matching funds.

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  • February 19, 2009 2:55 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Riverside County supervisor opposed tax inreases, but no alternative

  The new state budget is getting a cool reception from Inland counties. Many leaders there urged state lawmakers to pass a budget with minimal tax hikes. A proposed gas tax increase was ditched – but Californians will pay more in state sales and income taxes, and they’ll pay more to register cars and trucks.

  Riverside County Supervisor John Taviglione opposed higher taxes – but he says there was no alternative.

  John Taviglione: “No one wants to see tax hikes, but the condition of the state budget is so severe that there had to be a balance. There was no way to fix this budget without some level of tax hikes, and I have a lot of people that are going to disagree with me, but you know, enough is enough. Move on and fix the system up there so we don’t run into this every year.”

  While the state budget was stalled, Riverside County paid about $50 million from its own “rainy day” fund to cover welfare and other social service costs.

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  • February 19, 2009 2:51 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Bank of America gets rid of Countrywide brand name

  The name of Calabasas-based Countrywide – the home loan company that symbolized the highs and lows of the mortgage crisis – is disappearing soon. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says it’s a strategic move by the company’s new owner, Bank of America.

  Cheryl Devall: After years of risky lending caught up with onetime industry leader Countrywide, Bank of America bought the company last year for $4 billion. Months after that transaction, the bank agreed to restructure hundreds of thousands of Countrywide mortgages to help settle borrowers’ claims against the lender.

  Now one of the country’s largest financial institutions has announced it’s ending Countrywide as a separate brand. The Wall Street Journal reports that the decision follows the elimination of more than 7,000 jobs at Countrywide and the installation of new management.

  It also further distances Bank of America from the public perception of Countrywide as a key player in the mortgage meltdown. Starting in late April, the division will be known as Bank of America Home Loans.

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  • February 19, 2009 2:48 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Disney announces restructuring, including layoffs

  The Walt Disney Company has announced it’s restructuring – a move that will lead to layoffs. KPCC’s Steve Julian has more.

  Steve Julian: Last month, Disney offered voluntary buyout packages to about 600 executives in the parks division. Now, the company, which is based in Burbank, said it will layoff an unspecified number of workers in the wake of declines in attendance and revenue.

  Parks and resorts revenue fell 4 percent in the final quarter of 2008, and attendance dropped 5 percent at its Walt Disney World and Disneyland parks in Florida and California.

  Global business and real estate development will be combined under a new team led by Executive Vice President Nick Franklin. Engineering and design teams will be merged into a single unit. The changes take effect immediately.

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  • February 19, 2009 12:17 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Probation and community service for man involved in starting Malibu fire

  It’ll be five years’ probation and community service for one of five men accused of starting a destructive wildfire in Malibu a year and a half ago. More on the sentence from KPCC’s Cheryl Devall.

  Cheryl Devall: The fire that started in the Corral Canyon area eventually destroyed 53 homes and burned almost two dozen others. Investigators traced its origin to a popular party area in a cave on state park land.

  One of the five men charged with starting an illegal campfire was 28-year-old Brian Franks. He pleaded no contest to the charges and agreed to testify against the four other men.

  During his sentencing hearing in Van Nuys, about 20 people who’d lost their homes in the fire spoke up. One denounced Franks’ sentence as an insult, and described him and the others as cowards who ran off and left homeowners to die in their beds.

  Franks’ public defender said the sentence was fair because his client was the only one of the accused who tried to put out the fire. The presiding judge noted that Franks’ testimony in other hearings provided key information in the prosecution’s case against four other men who will be tried later.

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  • February 19, 2009 12:15 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• California Legislature approves budget bill

  By JUDY LIN, Associated Press Writer

  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The California Legislature passed a budget early Thursday to help close a $42 billion deficit, ending an epic impasse that involved several all-night sessions and threatened to throw thousands of state employees out of work.

  Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the bill, passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate and Assembly. He came out of his office after the budget vote and disconnected a large deficit clock counting the number of days - 106 as of Thursday - that the Legislature had failed to act since he declared a special session to deal with the state’s fiscal problems.

  “I’m absolutely delighted about the budget passing,” Schwarzenegger said outside his office.

  The budget deal flew through the Assembly less than an hour after it won approval by a single vote in the Senate after late-night horse trading to win over a final Republican vote. The vote marked the end of the Senate’s longest session at 45.5 hours.

  The package included a combination of spending cuts, tax increases and borrowing, intended to close a projected multibillion dollar deficit and avert fiscal disaster for the state. Some 10,000 state workers could have lost their jobs without the budget package.

  It plan California’s current fiscal year spending by nearly $13 billion from $103 billion to $90.7 billion. For the 2009-2010 bookkeeping year, which begins July 1, it sets a spending plan of $96.3 billion.

  The plan would raise the state sales tax by 1 cent on the dollar and increase the fee for licensing vehicles. The state personal income tax rate would go up by 0.25 percent.

  On the spending side, education funding would be cut $8.6 billion over two years, likely forcing schools to lay off teachers, slash salaries and postpone spending on construction and textbook purchases.

  Senate leaders secured the final vote needed from moderate Republican Abel Maldonado in late-night negotiations by agreeing to his demands for election changes, government reform and removal of a gas tax increase, giving them the two-thirds vote needed to pass the package.

  To win Maldonado’s support, legislators also agreed to ask voters to revise the state’s constitution to allow open primaries for legislative, congressional and gubernatorial elections.

  Leaders also met Maldonado’s demands to freeze legislators’ salaries in deficit budget years and to eliminate new office furniture budgeted for the state controller.

  Republicans who broke from their party in passing the tax portion of the package harkened back to former Gov. Ronald Reagan’s decision to pass tax increases during hard economic times.

  “What would Ronald Reagan do? Ronald Reagan would vote yes,” said Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield.

  Maldonado brought out a photograph of Reagan at a tax bill signing in 1972. He said he never thought he would have to defend California against members of his own party.

  “This is not about my political career. This is about the health and safety for the people of California,” Maldonado said. “My friends, this might be the end for me. This ensures it’s not the end for California.”

  For Ashburn’s support, legislative leaders included an amendment he backs that provides a $10,000 tax credit for those who buy new homes. The credit, supported by home builders, would be available starting in March and run through 2010. It would be capped at $100 million.

  Californians would be able to use the credit to offset their state income taxes over three years.

  Lawmakers also agreed to help the horse racing industry in his district - and throughout the state - by using $32 million in state funding each year to offset maintenance fees at fairgrounds.

  During the middle of the marathon budget battle, Republicans in the Senate ousted their leader over opposition to tax increases. Senate minority leader Dave Cogdill ultimately provided Democrats the first of the three necessary GOP votes.

  Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of Irvine said the tax increase will further harm the depressed economy.

  “We will be right back here in one year with the same problem,” he said during the floor debate. “No economist argues increasing taxes especially during weak economic times is going to result in people adding payroll, in people getting back to work … The opposite will happen.”

  Newly installed Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth warned about the crippling effects of passing the state’s largest tax increase in California history.

  “You may count this as a win because you got a few Republicans to vote for it,” he said. “The taxpayers of California are going to view this as a loss.”

  Associated Press writer Samantha Young contributed to this report.

  (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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  • February 19, 2009 11:47 AM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Grant would help clinics treat underserved patients via electronic medical records

  Uninsured and under-insured patients in Los Angeles County could receive seamless medical care if a $1 million grant works as visionaries intended. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario describes how it might work.

  Patricia Nazario: The money is intended to help about two dozen neighborhood clinics create a Web-based electronic medical records system. It would allow doctors to gain easy access to patients’ personal information – health history, previous medical procedures, and prescribed medications – no matter where a patient goes for care.

  A coalition of health care associations, public agencies, foundations, universities, consumer groups, and researchers called Health-e-LA received the grant from private medical insurers. PacificCare Health Systems and United Health Group were required to make the $50 million charitable investment when they merged four years ago.

  The grant aims to improve health care delivery for blacks and Hispanics who live in underserved areas of L.A. The California Department of Managed Heath Care is monitoring the transition to electronic records. It’s the only public HMO watchdog agency in the country.

  LINK: Health-e-LA

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  • February 18, 2009 5:46 PM
  • Categories: Health

• LAPD could soon clear 10 percent of untested rape kit backlog

  About 10 percent of the LAPD’s nagging backlog of untested rape kits could be cleared within a few weeks. L.A. Police Chief William Bratton told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that 400 cases have been sent to the lab for priority analysis.

  Chief William Bratton: “We are prioritizing those that are most likely to produce results immediately. But the goal is, over the next year or so, to get rid of the backlog totally, and then stay contemporary with the issue of rape kit analysis.”

  Bratton says the rape kit backlog that had been calculated at about 7,000 is actually about 4,000. The LAPD was loudly criticized last year after news reports about the backlog of untested rape kits. Some of the potential evidence from those kits might no longer fall within the statute of limitations.

  The LAPD isn’t the only law enforcement agency with a rape kit backlog. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has about 800 untested kits.

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  • February 18, 2009 5:43 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Dodgers once held ladies-only baseball clinic to spur ticket sales

  The Dodgers hold their first workout in their new spring training facility this weekend. But the team is having a hard time tempting L.A. fans to make the drive to Arizona to see the boys in blue work out. Tommy Lasorda is taking a bus to spring training to drum up interest. But the Dodgers have always tried unusual tactics to attract the fans. KPCC’s Special Correspondent Kitty Felde tells of a promotion 50 years ago this week, aimed at the “gentler sex.”

  Kitty Felde: The Dodgers were still new in town in 1959, their second season in Los Angeles.

  Keith Thursby: The Dodgers, being very smart, figured out that they should do everything they can to publicize their team and bring thousands of people into the Coliseum because they had all these empty seats to fill and they, you know, wanted to build momentum.

  Felde: Keith Thursby writes about sports history for the L.A. Times’ “Daily Mirror” blog.

  Thursby: So one of the things they did was they had a two-day session at Bullocks downtown, for ladies only, to teach “ladies,” as they called them then, how to understand baseball.

  Felde: Dodger announcer Jerry Doggett called a pretend inning while the ladies practiced their scorekeeping and Sandy Koufax danced around audience questions about his social life. And the Dodgers sold more tickets in 1959 than they did in their premiere season the year before.

  LINK: Keith Thursby blog post on the “ladies baseball clinic”

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  • February 18, 2009 5:33 PM
  • Categories: History, Sports/Recreation

• State schools superintendent talks about state budget

  State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said today it’s been a good news/bad news week for California education. Public schools and community colleges in the state are thirsty for the nearly $10 billion in federal stimulus money approved in Washington, D.C.

  At the same time, O’Connell told reporters in a teleconference that lawmakers in Sacramento are close to approving a budget that will cut about $7 billion from statewide education. He said that’ll hurt schools in the short and long term.

  Jack O’Connell: “When we have a bad budget, when we have all this uncertainty, when we have a record number of layoff notices, fewer college students are entering the teacher preparation pipeline. And that’s going to cost us when you’re looking at a dramatic need to recruit the best and the brightest among us to enter the teaching profession.”

  He said the state budget rules that require two-thirds of lawmakers to approve have made the financial picture worse. O’Connell’s urging that the legislature reduce that threshold to a simple majority.

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  • February 18, 2009 5:25 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Education

• State superintendent gives state budget mixed review

  During a teleconference today, state schools superintendent Jack O’Connell praised federal officials for greenlighting close to $10 billion for California public schools and community colleges. Still, O’Connell added, state lawmakers are likely to approve a budget soon that will force many school districts to send layoff notices to teachers in three weeks.

  Jack O’Connell: “I’m going to project a record number of layoff notices. This is more than just morale. We know from a difficult budget last year, many of our outstanding teachers leave the schools. I have seen billboards from other districts in other states, stating that our district values public education, come teach here.”

  Budget cuts would also swell class sizes, especially in the higher grades. O’Connell said California’s budget stalemate has worsened the state’s economic prospects during this recession. He urged Sacramento lawmakers and the governor to overhaul the budget process.

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  • February 18, 2009 5:03 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Education

• LA County harbor complex begins collecting Clean Truck fees

  Los Angeles County’s harbor complex started to collect fees for the Clean Truck program on every truck coming in and out of the ports today. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports it was slow going.

  Molly Peterson: At times, traffic headed into the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles backed up for miles. Now that the Clean Trucks fee is in place, trucks must carry an electronic pass that signals an accounting system to collect up to $70 for each container that moves in or out of the port.

  The fee is meant to pay for cleaner-burning trucks to replace old, dirty diesel models. It’s part of a program aimed at improving air quality around San Pedro and Long Beach. Port officials estimate as much as 20 percent of traffic to the ports didn’t get through because trucks didn’t carry the electronic pass.

  Long Beach port spokesman Art Wong says thousands of trucks are getting through the new checkpoints, but slowly. Hundreds are not getting through, and port officials are still figuring out why. There’s already fewer containers to move – shipments through both ports were down almost 19 percent last month compared to the previous January.

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  • February 18, 2009 4:55 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Environment

• Congressman Becerra says stimulus will improve health care

  Democratic Congressman Xavier Becerra hopes the new federal economic stimulus plan will help Southland hospitals and clinics improve the region’s health care infrastructure. He spoke at a news conference today at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario was there.

  Patricia Nazario: The Los Angeles congressman says the stimulus plan provides direct dollars for Medicare programs. That means about $11 billion to California’s state-paid insurance for low and modest income families.

  Becerra says that money will go a long way toward helping working-class people with chronic asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure manage those medical conditions.

  Xavier Becerra: We want you to be able to work. We want you to also be healthy as you continue to work. One of the major components of this legislation is dollars to the states to help them make sure that they can continue to provide good health care to their citizens.

  Nazario: Becerra says the trick will be making sure that lawmakers in Sacramento don’t direct that money toward closing California’s $42 billion budget gap.

  The federal stimulus package also isolates about $20 billion to help community health clinics establish a national electronic medical records system.

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  • February 18, 2009 4:01 PM
  • Categories: Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• Congressman Becerra says stimulus benefits Southland health care

  President Obama’s economic stimulus plan carves out special funding for neighborhood health clinics. Congressman Xavier Becerra praised the move as vital for uninsured and unemployed people, especially in South Los Angeles. He said many of them suffer from medical conditions similar to those doctors see in rural areas where people don’t live near hospitals or clinics.

  Congressman Xavier Becerra: “Here, our issue is not so much that we don’t have a hospital or a health facility within driving distance, it’s that they’re inaccessible to too many people, because people don’t have the money.”

  Becerra and about a dozen health care advocates and providers discussed Obama’s stimulus plan today at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

  The plan also includes federal money to help clinics establish a nationwide system that would store and disseminate electronic medical records.

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  • February 18, 2009 2:56 PM
  • Categories: Health

• Foreclosure plan lets bankruptcy judge modify loan terms

  President Obama’s $75 billion plan to stave off foreclosures uses a variety of approaches to keep families in homes. The plan includes a provision that allows a bankruptcy judge to modify terms of a home loan. That way, a homeowner who’s declared bankruptcy can keep making mortgage payments – and not lose the house.

  Business professor Thomas Davidoff at UC Berkeley’s Haas Real Estate Group says that’s a positive step.

  Thomas Davidoff: “It avoids some defaults – and moreover, it makes lenders more willing to bargain with borrowers because now they are worried about what happens in the event of foreclosure. There might be a default where they don’t get fully paid. So I think that provision, legal provisions, would right now be, on balance, a very good idea.”

  Davidoff spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” The White House says the Obama plan to slow foreclosures could help more than 7 million families. It also says the provision to allow bankruptcy judges to modify home loans will not apply to “millionaire homes.”

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  • February 18, 2009 2:44 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Stimulus package includes money for Filipino veterans

  One provision of the new federal economic stimulus package offers a one-time payment to Filipinos who fought for the United States during World War II. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says the measure’s generating mixed reviews among the Southland’s Filipinos – and beyond.

  Cheryl Devall: The stimulus bill sets aside $198 million for payouts to the surviving Filipino veterans. That translates into $15,000 for each one who became an American citizen and 9,000 for each who didn’t.

  Some vets in their eighties and older consider those amounts too little too late. The authorization arrives decades after this country failed to deliver on promised payments to Filipinos in the U.S. military who’d battled Japanese troops during some of the fiercest episodes of the war.

  Veterans and their allies note that the measure does not allow further claims for disability payments, and that it provides no money for veterans’ widows.

  While Philippine president Gloria Arroyo welcomed the payments as a culmination of “many years of struggle,” news media in the Philippines have made much of the fact that only about 15,000 of the 400,000 men who fought are still alive. All but about 3,000 of them live in the Philippines.

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  • February 18, 2009 2:35 PM
  • Categories: History, Politics/Public Affairs

• San Bernardino approves deep budget cuts

  State lawmakers take note – bipartisanship is possible in times of deep fiscal crisis – at least at the local level. San Bernardino officials worked late into the night Tuesday to close a mounting budget deficit. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says the city’s revised $150 million budget includes dozens of layoffs.

  Steven Cuevas: In all, about 50 people will lose their jobs. Most of those people work in city parks and libraries. Every other city department will also feel the pinch through pay and spending cuts – all departments, that is, except the police.

  The San Bernardino Police Officers Association vowed to sue the city if it did make cuts. Association president Richard Lawhead says 49 officers were sent layoff warnings last week.

  Richard Lawhead: “It’s robbing the city of the resources we have. The reason they’ve been able to enjoy such a low crime rate now and they’ve been touting it everywhere is the amount of visibility we’ve had on the street, the amount of men and women that are out there on the street protecting the citizens of this city.”

  In the end, San Bernardino council members decided not to lay off any police officers. But the council may still pressure officers to take a 10 percent pay cut to help the city close a $9 million budget shortfall.

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  • February 18, 2009 1:05 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice

• San Bernardino County pressures legislature to pass budget

  San Bernardino County is renewing its call on state lawmakers to pass a budget – fast. County chairman Gary Ovitt sent a letter to legislative leaders urging them to pass what he called a “fiscally responsible” budget. In other words: no new taxes.

  Ovitt believes tax increases would only make things worse for thousands of struggling people in his county. Spokesman David Wert says San Bernardino’s already dealing with its own fiscal crisis.

  David Wert: “Our county is facing budget troubles completely separate from whatever damage the state might do to the county. Our county has seen a 20 percent decrease in property values, the county’s single largest source of revenue. The county is looking at a, potentially a $140 million deficit for the current fiscal year and the coming fiscal year combined.”

  If state lawmakers don’t pass a budget soon, San Bernardino County could be saddled with millions of dollars in additional social service costs. Next week county supervisors will consider a resolution that formally opposes any new state tax hikes.

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  • February 18, 2009 12:21 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• State Senate still one vote shy; Republican leader ousted

  The State Senate was in session overnight, but the effort to pass a budget culminated in the removal of the Republican leader. KPCC’s Steve Julian explains.

  Steve Julian: California is more than $40 billion in the hole. And a plan worked out by Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican and Democratic leaders included $14 billion in new taxes.

  California requires a two-thirds vote to pass tax increases, and the Senate is one vote shy – one Republican vote shy. But GOP senators are so opposed to any tax increase, they ousted the leader who supported the budget package – Dave Cogdill.

  He was replaced by Dennis Hollingsworth who’s vowed not to support new taxes. This change in leadership jeopardizes the budget deal and could force a new round of negotiations.

  California doesn’t have the tax revenue it needs to pay bills. Twenty-thousand layoff notices went out yesterday, and hundreds of public works projects may be canceled.

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  • February 18, 2009 12:13 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• City councilman unsure how he'd vote on solar measure

  A solar initiative on next month’s Los Angeles city ballot heated up at a debate last night. Measure B would require the Department of Water and Power to develop a plan to put 400 megawatts of solar power online in L.A. within 5 years.

  But local activists have complained that voters know too little about what the initiative would do or how much it would cost. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl sponsored the debate. He said he wasn’t sure how he’d vote on Measure B.

  City Councilman Bill Rosendahl: “The risk is worth taking if you believe we have to get off coal and oil and if you believe the cost can be handled in your budget. I am not yet 100 percent certain about the cost factor.”

  The L.A. City Council voted unanimously last fall to send the question to voters. At least three councilmembers beside Rosendahl now oppose the measure. Angelenos will weigh in on the solar initiative and other questions on March 3.

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  • February 18, 2009 12:11 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• County unions agree to no pay raise amid financial crisis

  Labor unions that represent more than 17,000 Los Angeles County government employees have agreed to forgo cost-of-living and salary increases for the next year. Steve Remige of the union that represents sheriff’s deputies said the county’s plunging tax revenues prompted the move.

  Steve Remige: “Ya know, we knew that these times were going to be hard, and we felt that it was more productive for our membership to make sure that we didn’t have to go through any type of concession bargaining with the county, like a lot of the other cities and counties up and down the state are currently experiencing with their employee unions.”

  Some cities and counties are laying off workers and cutting back on salaries. In addition to falling tax revenues, Los Angeles County could face more than $1 billion in deferred payments from the state of California through August.

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  • February 17, 2009 6:13 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Los Alamitos City Council eyes financial cuts... including city budget

  Like most cities around Southern California, Los Alamitos is feeling the pinch of a tight budget. The city council tonight will consider making a few more cuts. And, KPCC’s Susan Valot says, city officials may target themselves.

  Susan Valot: Los Alamitos city council members need to trim about $600,000 from the budget to stay on track. The Orange County city’s dealing with decreased revenue because sales tax and other fees are down.

  The city’s number crunchers suggest converting some positions to part-time and eliminating some jobs, like the assistant to the city manager. But city leaders might also take the scissors to their own budgets. They’re considering a 10 percent cut in their pay, and they’re planning to cut their own travel budget. That could save Los Alamitos about $20,000.

  The city’s also thinking of cutting back part-timer hours in the police department. The cuts could also mean eliminating of some park programs and ditching two of the “concerts on the green” in Los Alamitos.

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  • February 17, 2009 6:02 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• County unions agree to no pay raise amid financial crisis

  Labor unions that represent more than 17,000 Los Angeles County government employees have agreed to a one-year extension of their labor contract, without any changes. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze says that means no cost-of-living or salary increases this year.

  Frank Stoltze: As tax revenues plunge and the state faces a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall, Steve Remige of the union for L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputies says more pay seemed unlikely.

  Steve Remige: You know, we felt like this wasn’t a time that we needed to go to the County of Los Angeles and look for salary increases. You know, we realize that everybody is looking at the short end of the stick on this, with a lot of people being laid off, industries going under.

  Stoltze: Up and down the state, cities and counties are laying off employees or cutting salaries. Governor Schwarzenegger is threatening to lay off 10,000 state workers. L.A. County could face more than a billion dollars in deferred state payments. Remige says he’s happy to sign a one-year contract extension that keeps his union members working with the same salary.

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  • February 17, 2009 5:48 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Charles Drew University to hold Q&A with students about school's finances

  Students at a South Los Angeles medical school will be able to ask officials there about the school’s finances and future tomorrow afternoon. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario says the president of Charles Drew University wants one-on-one time with the students.

  Patricia Nazario: University president Dr. Susan Kelly started hearing about students’ concerns soon after she announced salary and job cuts almost two weeks ago.

  She promises that student amenities and services will not factor into her cost-cutting equation. Kelly says she wants more of the institution’s resources to go toward students.

  Dr. Susan Kelly: Because they have great needs at the moment. There’s not as much part-time work out there. We’ve put in a place a new scholarship program. We also will be distributing more of our own scholarship funds to students in needs, because these are hard time for everybody.

  Nazario: The medical university focuses on training urban health care practitioners. Its closest teaching hospital used to be the L.A. County run King-Drew Medical Center. Charles Drew lost millions of dollars when L.A. County supervisors closed the hospital a year and half ago.

  The global financial crisis is causing foundations and donors to scale back donations to the school. President Susan Kelly hopes that cutting executive salaries, travel, and overtime costs will help reduce annual expenses by $10 million.

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  • February 17, 2009 5:42 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Education, Health

• Senator Boxer speaks in Beverly Hills about stimulus bill

  California’s junior senator Barbara Boxer was in Beverly Hills today to talk about how much federal economic stimulus money is heading to California. KPCC’s Special Correspondent Kitty Felde says the senator talked about counting Republican votes as well as stimulus dollars.

  Kitty Felde: Senator Boxer says California can count on 10 percent of the $787 billion in the stimulus package. She also expects to see positive effects from the spending within a few weeks.

  Boxer insists that passing the package was a bipartisan effort, despite the fact that not one House Republican voted for the measure and only three of Boxer’s Republican colleagues in the Senate cast “aye” votes.

  Senator Barbara Boxer: It’s very major to get those three Republicans. And even though that doesn’t look like a lot, in a body when there’s only about, we got almost 10 percent of them. It’s major. It’s big time.

  Felde: The House, she said, was a different matter.

  Boxer: I think there is no question that in the House there was the party of hope versus the party of nope.

  Felde: Boxer says while Senate Democrats invited Republicans to work on the bill, rules in the House of Representatives let the majority write bills without the other party.

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  • February 17, 2009 5:21 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• County unions agree to no pay raise amid financial crisis

  Labor unions that represent more than 17,000 Los Angeles County government employees have agreed to forgo cost-of-living and salary increases for the next year. Steve Remige of the union that represents sheriff’s deputies said the county’s plunging tax revenues prompted the move.

  Steve Remige: “Ya know, we knew that these times were going to be, and we felt that it was more productive for our membership to make sure that we didn’t have to go through any type of concession bargaining with the county, like a lot of the other cities and counties up and down the state are currently experiencing with their employee unions.”

  Some cities and counties are laying off workers and cutting back on salaries. In addition to falling tax revenues, Los Angeles County could face more than $1 billion in deferred payments from the state of California through August.

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  • February 17, 2009 5:17 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• California will get 10 percent of federal stimulus package

  U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer says California will get 10 percent of the money from the $787 billion stimulus package signed today by President Obama. She told reporters in Beverly Hills that the money will help stem job losses in a state where more than a million-and-a-half people are unemployed.

  Boxer will fly to Sacramento tomorrow to urge California lawmakers to pass a balanced budget. She says lawmakers have three options.

  Senator Barbara Boxer: “One is to do nothing, and that’s really not a passive act. That’s to me a very negative attack really on the people you represent. ‘Cause it means the status quo will continue. Then the other approach is to say I’ll only vote for perfect bill. But if you take that approach, nothing gets done either. So the third approach is to compromise.”

  Boxer says federal stimulus dollars will stretch out unemployment benefits, pay for public works projects, and fix schools. She says the money will also support school lunches and senior meals programs.

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  • February 17, 2009 4:34 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Garden Grove to install Amber Alert signs on city streets

  The Amber Alert is moving from highways and freeways to city streets. KPCC’s Susan Valot says soon you’ll see Amber Alert signs on two streets in Garden Grove.

  Susan Valot: The electric signs flash vehicle descriptions to alert drivers so they can help police nab alleged kidnappers fast. Right now, you see those signs only on freeways. But Garden Grove plans to install two signs by the end of this month on Harbor Boulevard at Flagstone Avenue and on Valley View Street at Tiffany Avenue.

  Garden Grove traffic engineers say Harbor and Valley View carry tens of thousands of commuters each day – so lots of people will see the signs. The city’s using federal and state money to pay for the two-and-a-half-million-dollar project.

  The signs also will be hooked into the city’s 40-camera traffic management system. When the signs aren’t being used for Amber Alerts, they’ll tell drivers about traffic jams. Garden Grove’s the first city in California to install Amber Alert signs on city-owned streets.

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  • February 17, 2009 4:26 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• LA County Metro switching from paper to plastic passes

  Passengers on L.A. County’s biggest public transit system won’t have a choice of paper or plastic starting in about a month. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says that’s because Metro buses and trains are switching all their multi-use passes to plastic.

  Cheryl Devall: The change has been in the works for a long time. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority began to phase in re-loadable Transit Access Passes called TAP cards more than a year ago. The plastic cards are more durable – and ultimately cheaper – than monthly paper transit passes.

  From March 15th on, Metro’s replacing its $5 day passes with TAP cards. Transit officials say those cards will simplify Metro’s accounting – and eventually they’ll work on every public transit system in Los Angeles County.

  The arrival of mandatory TAP cards coincides with another big change. Metro’s installing fare gates at all its subway and light rail stations – eliminating the honor system that allowed about 5 percent of rail riders to travel without paying for tickets.

  In the next few weeks, Metro will provide blue plastic TAP cards to any passenger who buys a $5 day pass. After mid-April, those cards will cost two bucks each.

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  • February 17, 2009 4:24 PM
  • Categories: Transportation

• Long Beach neighborhood spared from damage after second storm

  Long Beach officials were ready for this weekend’s downpour, a week after storms flooded low-lying streets in the city’s west side. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez visited the neighborhood today and has this story.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Under the Wardlow Road bridge, the concrete banks of the L.A. River swell with thousands of gallons of rainwater from far away hills and mountains. On Friday, officials warned people to keep an eye on rising water because Long Beach sits at sea level.

  Rudy Grajeda lives on River Avenue. He said storms a week ago flooded two of his cars and put his family on edge.

  Rudy Grajeda: I was worried about my granddaughter, because when it first happened, she got scared looking out the window, saying, “Papa, papa, what’s happening, I don’t want to die.” I said, “No, you’re not going to die. It’s OK, it’s doing down, it’s doing down.”

  Guzman-Lopez: Grajeda said he’s upset city officials didn’t clear the drains before the storms hit last week. The neighborhood’s dry after this weekend’s rain. A spokeswoman said the Long Beach Police Department received no calls about flooding in the area.

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  • February 17, 2009 4:20 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Lawmakers wait for one more vote on budget plan

  All that’s needed to pass a budget fix in Sacramento is one more Republican vote in the State Senate. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass says she has the votes in her house to pass the spending cuts and tax hikes that will close the state government’s $42 billion deficit. Bass told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that GOP lawmakers who’ve held back votes to honor a “no new taxes” pledge are way off base.

  Karen Bass: “I think the pledge that we all took when we were sworn in to be public officials should trump any pledge that you made to an organization. That is the pledge that you need to abide by – the pledge that you took your oath of office when you were sworn in on December 1st.”

  But Orange County Republican Assemblyman Chuck Devore says he’s opposed to the tax hikes in the proposed budget because they’ll hurt the economy.

  Chuck Devore: “I get e-mails. Every day, I get reports on my Facebook and my Twitter account from people who have lived in this state all their life and are in tears because of the taxes and regulations and are, are moving to places like Nevada or Texas – to name two states that don’t have income tax.”

  The budget package includes $15 billion in program cuts, more than $14 billion in temporary tax increases, and about 11-and-a-half billion in borrowing. The package also would send five ballot measures to voters in a special election in May.

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  • February 17, 2009 3:39 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Restaurants cut back due to economic downturn

  It’s hard enough for restaurants to get customers through the door in a recession, but it’s just as hard getting diners to buy more than the main entree. Appetizers, drinks, dessert, and other extras are where these businesses realize their best profits – and these days, customers are likely to say, “no, thanks.” Jot Condie, head of the California Restaurant Association, said the decline in revenues is forcing some Southland eateries to cut back, too.

  Jot Condie: “If you can’t drive customers by value, or you can’t drive them by sort of retooling your menu, offering of course healthier options – you know the last resort is scaling back hours, closing for lunch.

  “For instance, a lot of restaurants that are in some of the downtown areas that are doing marginal business are shutting down for lunch altogether to try to keep the doors open.”

  Condie told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that chain restaurants – California Pizza Kitchen, Chili’s, P.F. Chang’s, and the like – are staying afloat by to using their higher-grossing locations to carry those that generate less revenue.

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  • February 17, 2009 3:16 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Producers alliance strengthened by SAG shakeup

  The Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers are back in contract talks for the first time since last November. Since then, there’s been some internal turmoil at the Guild. A group of moderates has grabbed a slim majority on the national board.

  They’ve put off plans for a strike authorization vote, replaced SAG’s national executive director and chief negotiator, and retooled its negotiating committee. Jay Fernandez of the Hollywood Reporter says those maneuvers strengthen the hand of the producers alliance – or AMPTP – at the bargaining table.

  Jay Fernandez: “My intuition is that the AMPTP will throw some slight gains their way to sort of close the deal, get it done, nail it down – and to sort of stick it to the hardline faction at SAG that was rattling their sabers for a strike.”

  Contract talks are scheduled to continue through tomorrow. SAG actors have been working in film and primetime television without a contract since July.

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  • February 17, 2009 3:12 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Southland restaurant business slow

  Home cooking is back. So is brown-bagging lunch. All this recession-triggered economizing – along with higher costs for ingredients, supplies, and rent – creates a big problem for restaurants. Economist Jack Kyser told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that these businesses are scrambling to respond.

  Jack Kyser: “What they call the white tablecloth restaurants, they are struggling because people have, cutting back on expense accounts. You have what you call the AIG effect – business doesn’t want to be perceived as spending too wildly.

  “Even in the fast food segment, McDonald’s is doing quite well, but a lot of the other fast food chains are struggling. And then there are the independent restaurants, and they are dropping like flies.”

  Kyser suggested that restaurant owners need to practice innovation and let their customers know how much they’re appreciated. More than 120 Southland restaurants are offering discounted three-course menus through the end of the month in a coordinated promotion called dineLA.

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  • February 17, 2009 2:27 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• San Bernardino proposes public safety layoffs, higher fees

  It could be a late night for San Bernardino officials as they hammer out a budget. The city is facing a $9 million deficit. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says the revised budget will probably include higher fees – and some severe cuts.

  Steven Cuevas: If there’s any good news to be had in San Bernardino’s bleak budget outlook, it’s that 200 city workers won’t lose their jobs as first thought. One reason is because the city plans to raise fees for weed abatement, pet licenses, and parking meters. That would enable San Bernardino to reduce the number of proposed layoffs by half.

  The city could try to keep library branches open with the help of volunteers. An education program for the disabled could stay open with the help of private money.

  San Bernardino had proposed laying off a handful of cops and firefighters. Now it looks like the cops will stay on the job – but they might have their hours reduced. That’s not going over well with the police union. It’s promised to sue if San Bernardino goes ahead with pay cuts for police officers.

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  • February 17, 2009 2:16 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Budget needs one more Republican vote

  California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass says the fate of the budget package depends on wringing one final vote from a Republican senator. Bass, a Los Angeles Democrat, told reporters she’s confident she’s lined up the votes to pass the budget by a two-thirds majority on the Assembly side.

  During a press briefing at the capitol today, Bass rejected the idea that her party could win Republicans over if the final package of budget bills included perks for Republican senators’ districts. Bass said there’s only one reason for a senator to step forward and cast the final vote needed to pass the budget.

  Karen Bass: “The vote should be cast because we do not want California to go over the cliff. Frankly, I think we’re already over the cliff. We haven’t landed yet, but we are sliding down the mountain.”

  Bass pointed to the latest announcement from Governor Schwarzenegger – he’s preparing to lay off 10,000 government workers and halt the state’s remaining public works projects in the face of the unresolved budget crisis. Bass said the state would lose close to $400 million by shuttering those projects.

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  • February 17, 2009 2:13 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Long Beach public agencies were ready for weekend storm

  On Friday, a week after flooding damaged homes and cars in West Long Beach, city officials there said public agencies were ready for this weekend’s storm. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez reports that the area held up well under heavy rain.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: A Long Beach police spokeswoman said her department received no calls of flooding in West Long Beach. City officials cleared drains there a week ago after heavy rains inundated neighborhoods near Santa Fe Avenue and Wardlow Road under more than two feet of water.

  People who live in the area said they’re relieved that this weekend’s rains drained straight into the nearby Los Angeles River. But some say they’re still upset the city didn’t clear those drains before the last storms.

  In a news conference last Friday, Long Beach’s mayor and other officials warned people that the city’s sandwiched between the L.A. and San Gabriel Rivers – that makes many low-lying areas prone to flooding. Some fire stations provided free sandbags and sand for property owners in Long Beach.

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  • February 17, 2009 2:02 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Assembly speaker says some Republicans don't want budget deal

  State lawmakers are back in session today trying to reach agreement on a budget. It’s the fourth straight day they’ve met. Democratic leaders still need one more Republican vote in the State Senate.

  In an interview with KPCC’s Larry Mantle, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass of Los Angeles claimed that some Republicans don’t want to see any budget deal.

  Karen Bass: “There are several of the Republican senators who I don’t think they would be upset at all if this whole deal exploded and if the state went over a cliff. And I really hate to say that.

  “Because I think some people believe that if everything falls apart, they will have an opportunity to put it back together from their point of view. And that’s just a horrible statement to make, but it’s a true statement.”

  If the legislature fails to pass a budget today, the state will send layoff notices to thousands of state workers, and it will suspend more than 270 public works projects.

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  • February 17, 2009 2:00 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Huntington Beach celebrates 100th anniversary

  Huntington Beach puts 100 candles on its birthday cake today. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says the city’s launching a year of celebration.

  Cheryl Devall: At the turn of the 20th century, Philip A. Stanton and Colonel H.S. Finley envisioned a West Coast Atlantic city, so they bought up coastal land in Orange County.

  They brought in Henry Huntington, the man who owned the region’s electric railcars. He extended the Pacific Electric Red Car rail line to the fledgling beach community – and a few years later, it incorporated into the city of Huntington Beach.

  The place really struck gold when drillers struck oil in 1919. It didn’t take long for the population of Huntington Beach to double. There’s still a working oil derrick in the City Hall parking lot today.

  In the 1920s, Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku introduced surfing to Huntington Beach. Now surfing’s ingrained into the Huntington culture.

  All of that’s being celebrated today, as Huntington Beach unveils a time capsule that’ll be buried at City Hall. That’s not the end of Huntington Beach’s 100th anniversary party. Events will take place throughout the year.

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  • February 17, 2009 1:48 PM
  • Categories: History

• Even if budget passes, cutbacks will still affect state workers

  Governor Schwarzenegger plans to start the process today of laying off 10,000 state employees. The governor’s office says the move is necessary because legislators have failed to reach agreement on a budget.

  But Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Governor Schwarzenegger, told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that even if lawmakers pass a budget, cutbacks will still affect state workers.

  Aaron McLear: “There will be some kind of savings to employee compensation within this budget – furloughs, layoffs, or otherwise. And so obviously, we’re working through that with the legislative leaders, but at this point we don’t have a budget, and so we need to start the process of laying off state employees.”

  The governor’s office will also shut down the remaining 275 state-funded public works projects. McLear says the state doesn’t have the money to pay for them.

  Lawmakers are still one Republican vote shy of passing a budget that would close the state’s nearly $42 billion deficit. Most Republicans oppose the plan because it includes $14 billion in tax hikes.

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  • February 17, 2009 12:24 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• California public works projects suspended due to lack of cash

  Governor Schwarzenegger is planning to suspend almost 280 public works projects because of the state budget impasse. Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Governor Schwarzenegger, told KPCC’s Larry Mantle the state has run out of money to pay for them.

  Aaron McLear: “What happens is they, you know, they start the process of shutting them down now. Not all of them will be shut down immediately. Some of them take some time to actually be shut down. So of course, once we have a budget, we’ll be able to start those back up. But we simply don’t have the cash to pay for them right now.”

  The governor’s office had initially allowed these projects to continue, despite the state’s cash crunch. That’s because they involved public safety, or because it would cost a lot of money to shut them down.

  The governor’s office also plans today to send layoff notices to 10,000 people. Lawmakers are meeting today in hopes of breaking the budget impasse. Legislative leaders are one Republican vote shy of the support they need in the state senate to pass the budget.

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  • February 17, 2009 12:22 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Governor Schwarzenegger orders layoff notices go out today

  State legislators have been told they won’t be able to leave the Capitol until they agree to a budget deal. The state faces a deficit of more than $40 billion and Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered layoff notices to go out today. KPCC’s Steve Julian reports.

  Steve Julian: A budget deal is one vote away. But the deal, as it stands, includes $14 billion in tax hikes – something very few Republicans feel they can support and still get re-elected. And one GOP vote would give the deal the two-thirds support it needs in the state Senate. Without it, the budget cannot get into the hands of Governor Schwarzenegger.

  Already, the governor has furloughed state workers – one day a month now, not two, as initially ordered – and layoff notices go out today to thousands of less-senior state workers. Also on hold are hundreds of public works projects, potentially putting thousands of construction workers out of jobs. Besides the tax increases, the bill also calls for $15 billion in program cuts and more than $11 billion in borrowing.

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  • February 17, 2009 12:20 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Sylmar burn areas susceptible to mudslides

  The winds and rain pose a particular threat to Sylmar’s Sky Terrace Mobile Home Park. Last year’s Marek Fire destroyed more than half of the park’s 60 homes. The burned areas nearby are vulnerable to mudslides.

  Ronald Owen and his family evacuated from their mobile home during a fire last October. He says they filled their pantry to ride out this storm.

  Ronald Owen: “We always have, are stocked up for a couple of weeks, or a week at least. Bottled water and all the necessary things.”

  Owen is 58 years old. He’s retired from working for the city of Glendale.

  Fire stations near burn areas in Sylmar, Sierra Madre, and Orange County are giving away sandbags. Emergency officials are encouraging people to help reduce potential mudslide damage by placing those bags near areas that used to be covered with thick brush.

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  • February 16, 2009 4:39 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Heavy rain, hail hit Interstate 5, send drivers to local motels

  Heavy rain and some hail have changed motorists’ travel plans on Interstate 5 in northern Los Angeles County. In Castaic, near the Grapevine, dozens of stranded drivers pulled aside and checked into nearby motels until the weather eases up. Tyson Schmid manages the Castaic Inn.

  Tyson Schmid: “Most people are just commuters trying to get up further north towards like Fresno or areas like that. And a lot of times they’re just asking for any ways around the 5 or they just stay here because they can’t get any further up north.”

  Schmid says snow in the Tejon pass has booked his 51-room motel solid the last couple of nights. He expects more stranded motorists tonight.

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  • February 16, 2009 4:37 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Transportation

• Snow closes I-5 Grapevine, travelers stay in area motels

  The final day of a holiday weekend turned busy for motels near the Interstate 5 Grapevine. Snow stranded some travelers and truckers who’d planned to drive through the Tejon Pass. On the Los Angeles County side, some drivers heading north on I-5 decided to book rooms for the night.

  Tim Wildey at the Hyatt Hotel in Valencia near Magic Mountain said that business travelers occupied all but a couple dozen of the inn’s 244 rooms. But he expects weather-related guests to fill the rest. He spoke with KPCC as some of those drivers checked in.

  Tim Wildey: “They really are distressed. They are trying to get home to friends and family or they are trying to drive to an important business meeting somewhere north of here and they simply can’t get there. It’s a stressful situation for them. So we just offer friendly hospitality and make sure they have everything they need.”

  Wildey said his hotel may call in extra staff if the weather keeps the place full through tomorrow morning.

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  • February 16, 2009 4:17 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Transportation

• LA uses LEDs for street lights, cheaper to operate

  The city of Los Angeles plans to retrofit 140,000 of its residential street lights with technology that uses less energy. City Council President Eric Garcetti says that light emitting diodes – or LEDs – cost less to power up than the incandescent lights L.A. uses now.

  Eric Garcetti: “We’re looking at about 10 to 12 million a year in cost savings probably. Just for switching those lights on in a different way than we do now. And we’ve been doing this with our traffic lights already which you’ve seen go from an incandescent bulb to LED. And the nicer thing too is we save costs on the labor side. These last two to four times longer.”

  Garcetti says that loans, rebates, and a citywide street lighting assessment will pay to install the new lights for the next five years. City officials say L.A. expects to repay the loans through energy cost savings in seven years.

  Former President Bill Clinton also was on hand to announce the plan. The Clinton Climate Initiative is working with L.A. and other large cities around the world to promote the use of more LED lights.

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  • February 16, 2009 4:14 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Sylmar's burn areas brace for rainstorm

  People who live in Sylmar near mountain areas last year’s wildfires burned are watching today’s rainstorm.

  Donna Cornell lives in the Sky Terrace Mobile Home Park above the 210 Freeway. She says she never unpacked after she evacuated during a fire last October.

  Donna Cornell: “We’re seeing mudslides on the sides of the canyons… yeah, I’m always prepared.”
  Patricia Nazario: “How close did the fire come? We’re talking about the Marek Fire, right?”
  Cornell: “Right, well, everything in front of me and everything in back of me is burned.”

  Cornell spoke with KPCC’s Patricia Nazario. Her mobile home is one of about 20 of the 60 at Sky Terrace that came through the fire intact.

  The wet and windy storm that’s soaked the Southland heightens the potential for mudslides in the hills of that burned during last year’s Marek, Sesnon, and Sayre fires.

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  • February 16, 2009 3:54 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Southland restaurant owners hold annual discount promotion

  So you’re cooking at home and counting your pennies these days… KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says Southland restaurant owners are extending a promotion to coax you back into their dining rooms.

  Cheryl Devall: Eateries from Malibu to San Pedro pooled their resources and launched the first dineLA for a couple of weeks last August. The coordinated promotion offered special menus and prices designed to entice foodies who wanted to try new tastes and venues.

  Fast-forward to the present, when many of us are less likely to dispose whatever disposable income we have. The restaurant owners behind this year’s second edition of dineLA figure that if two weeks of discounted dining are good, a month of it is better. They’ll continue serving up three-course dinners in three price categories – 26 dollars for deluxe, 34 bucks for premier, and 44 dollars for fine dining – through the end of this month.

  Lunch for less is available too. Prices don’t include drinks and tips. Participants include some of the most celebrated restaurants in the Southland – places that usually charge a lot more. For information and reservations, go online to dineLA.com.

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  • February 16, 2009 3:48 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Congressman Issa unhappy about census plans

  There’s controversy in Washington over which agency will handle next year’s census.

  Representative Barbara Lee of Oakland, a Democrat, chairs the Congressional Black Caucus. She fought to transfer responsibility for the population count to the White House instead of the Commerce Department.

  Some of Lee’s motives were partisan – Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire had been President Obama’s nominee for commerce secretary until he withdrew his name from consideration last week.

  Jack Shaw, a reporter for Market News International, says Republican congressman Darrell Issa – who represents parts of Riverside and San Diego Counties – isn’t happy about other prospects for the big count.

  Jack Shaw: “Issa points out that this census, the 2010 census coming up, is extraordinarily sensitive and actually politically consequential – 435 congressional seats are allocated to states based on the census.

  “And he is very, very troubled about having this shifted from the Commerce Department, which is supposed to be neutral, to the White House, which of course just by nature is very political.”

  Jack Shaw spoke with KPCC’s Steve Julian.

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  • February 16, 2009 1:59 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Grand Avenue developer has to pay penalties when construction begins

  The developer behind downtown Los Angeles’ Grand Avenue project apparently won’t avoid penalties for not beginning construction on time. The president of Related California, Bill Witte, tells KPCC the city-county board that oversees the project is deferring the penalties.

  Bill Witte: “They have agreed to defer the penalties until the earlier start of construction or the current extension deadline of February 15th, 2011.”

  Related was supposed to begin paying penalties if it didn’t begin construction by yesterday. Witte says that if Related begins construction before February two years from now it will have to pay the accumulated penalties then.

  In return for the deferred penalties Witte says Related will have to pay $100,000 per year for the next two years toward overhead costs for the Grand Avenue oversight committee.

  The credit crunch has made it hard for Related to secure financing for the urban redevelopment project.

  No one from the city-county board overseeing the project was available for comment.

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  • February 16, 2009 1:23 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Grand Avenue developer penalties deferred

  The developer of the Grand Avenue Project had until yesterday to begin construction or pay penalties of $250,000 a month. Now the president of Related California tells KPCC the city-county board overseeing the downtown L.A. makeover has agreed to defer the penalties until the start of construction – or until the next extension deadline in two years.

  KPCC business analyst Mark Lacter says Related has had trouble lining up financing.

  Mark Lacter: “You know there’s not much the developer can do to magically get that financing. And if it’s forced to shell out that kind of money, we’re talking about Related here, it might just decide it’s not worth the whole thing and pull out. Keep in mind that it could be hard to get the necessary loans for a lot of months down the road.”

  Related California president Bill Witte says that in return for the deferred penalties, the developer will pay $100,000 for the next two years toward overhead of the Grand Avenue committee staff that assists the city-county board in the project.

  There has been no confirmation from anyone on the board. Its members have not responded to efforts to contact them today.

  Witte says Related is moving forward with the county on beginning construction of the civic park – part of the project’s first phase. He says construction should begin on that in the first half of next year.

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  • February 16, 2009 1:11 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• 3 Republicans in each house needed to pass state budget

  California’s Legislative leaders need one additional Republican vote to pass a budget. During the weekend, leaders announced they had the votes in the Assembly, but they’ve been unable to secure the final vote in the Senate.

  John Myers of the California Report says at least three Republicans in each house need to vote for the budget if it’s going to pass.

  John Myers: “We knew that was going to be the problem all along and that was the problem at the end of the day. There just weren’t enough Republicans to vote for a tax increase even when some Republican lawmakers were going to do it in exchange for a few items in the budget, a few nips and tucks or things here and there.”

  The plan calls for $14 billion in temporary tax increases, including higher gas and sales taxes. Republicans have insisted that raising taxes during a recession will further hurt the economy. The plan also includes some deep spending cuts, including $8 billion to education.

  Lawmakers are back in session again today.

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  • February 16, 2009 12:23 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Legislative leaders one vote away from state budget

  After their marathon weekend session, lawmakers are still deadlocked over a budget proposal. Legislative leaders are apparently seeking one more Republican in the state senate who’s willing to vote for the budget that includes $14 billion in temporary tax increases.

  John Myers of the California Report says legislative leaders have been using various incentives to rally lawmakers to their side.

  John Myers: “In Orange County, you had to get the vote of State Senator Lou Correa who is a Democrat who really is a big critic of tax increases. So Senator Correa was able to secure more public education funding for his folks in Orange County than they would have otherwise gotten.”

  Both houses of the state legislature reconvened at 11 this morning.

  The budget proposal also includes $15 billion in spending cuts and about $11 billion in borrowing.

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  • February 16, 2009 12:21 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Environmental groups have to wait for state money

  The state’s prolonged budget crisis has held up grant money to environmental organizations. A recent survey by the L.A.-San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council found that 40 percent of the groups the state funds for water conservation projects have laid off some employees. Nancy Steele is with the council.

  Nancy Steele: “A lot of the nonprofits are doing work that was requested in a way, you could say, by the voters when they passed these clean water clean beaches bonds, as diverse as protecting homes from flood, fires, and erosion, water conservation projects, and saving fish that are going extinct.”

  Steele says that most groups surveyed have stopped paying private contractors for work like water monitoring and coastal restoration. Those projects could start back up when the state gets a budget. But Steele says they’ll cost more, take longer, and yield fewer results.

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  • February 16, 2009 10:03 AM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Japanese media flock to LA Open golf tournament to see Ishikawa

  Organizers of this week’s professional golf tournament at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades say they expect a record number of reporters to cover the event. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze explains why.

  Frank Stoltze: His name is Ryo Ishikawa. He is 17 years old. And he’s captured the imagination of Japanese golfers around the world. Ishikawa won his first professional tournament in Japan when he was 15, and he’s ranked the 64th best golfer in the world. Through an interpreter, he told CNN he doesn’t feel any particular pressure.

  Ryo Ishikawa (through interpreter(: It is delightful. With all of the attention and expectation of me, people are very supportive, even when I do not play well. I do not think it puts pressure on me or any bad influences on me. I will work harder in order to thank them for their support.

  Stoltze: How popular is Ishikawa in Japan? Organizers of this week’s Northern Trust Open – formerly the Los Angeles Open – say more than 100 Japanese reporters and photographers have applied for credentials to cover the event. Tournament officials say that more than makes up for the drop in the number of American reporters covering the event because of the bad economy and newsroom budget cuts.

  Note: Qualifying rounds for the tournament start today. The competition starts Thursday.

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  • February 16, 2009 9:36 AM
  • Categories: Sports/Recreation

• Tuesday is deadline to register for upcoming LA city election

  The deadline to register to vote for the March 3 primary election in the city of Los Angeles falls Tuesday (February 17), says KPCC’s Debra Baer.

  Debra Baer: You have to be a U.S. Citizen, and at least 18 years old by Election Day, to register. Voters who’ve moved or changed their names need to re-register. You can do that in person at county registrar recorder’s office in Norwalk. Register-by-mail forms have to be postmarked by Tuesday. They’re available at most city and county offices; also at post offices and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

  The March 3 city primary election features 10 candidates for L.A. mayor. Whoever gets more than half the vote wins. If nobody does, the top two contenders face a runoff in May’s general election.

  Other races include city attorney, city controller, city council seats in the odd-numbered districts, and some local school district and community college board seats.

  All of that, plus five ballot measures… and just two short weeks to study your sample ballot.

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  • February 13, 2009 7:23 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• AIDS group decries FOX TV rejection of commercial spot promoting condom use

  It’s not often you hear about a business turning down money, especially now. But that’s what a local Fox TV affiliate did when an AIDS advocacy group tried to place a 30-second spot promoting condom use on Sunday’s episode of “The Family Guy.”

  Michael Weinstein with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation says Fox-11 turned away his media buyer because its parent network doesn’t allow condom advertising during prime time.

  Michael Weinstein: “We wanted to point out the most glaring example of hypocrisy. They won’t run a condom ad, but they will have very offensive content that demeans women, and that really sends the wrong messages to young people. The right message is, ‘if you’re going to be sexual, use a condom.’”

  “The Family Guy” is a popular animated cartoon series. The watchdog group Parents Television Council gives it a Red rating for its sexual themes and language.

  LINK: AIDS Healthcare Foundation

  LINK: Fox-11

  LINK: The Family Guy

  LINK: Parents Television Council

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  • February 13, 2009 7:16 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy, Health, Society/Culture

• Many offices to be closed Monday for President's Day holiday

  If you notice fewer cars on the road Monday, it’s not just because of the weather. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario has more on what’s closed and who’s off this Presidents Day.

  Patricia Nazario: Most federal, state, and local government offices, courts, and schools throughout the Southland are closed Monday. So are post offices, so don’t expect mail delivery. Some banks are open; check with your local branch to be sure.

  In Los Angeles County, Metropolitan Transit Authority buses and rail lines are scheduled to operate as usual. Details about their hours and directions are online.

  Some Foothill Transit lines, including the Silver Streak rapid system, will run on a weekend schedule. Those details are online at foothilltransit-dot-org.

  The Metrolink commuter rail system in L.A., Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties is on its regular weekday schedule.

  While scheduled Monday trash pickup in many areas will happen as usual, people in Riverside County may want to roll out their trash and recyclables bins Tuesday, because collection there is suspended Monday.

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  • February 13, 2009 6:50 PM

• Insurance Commissioner Poizner denounces California budget deal

  Two Republican candidates for governor are denouncing the state budget deal as they seek to burnish their conservative credentials with the GOP faithful. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports.

  Frank Stoltze: Even before the governor and legislative leaders presented the deal, leading GOP gubernatorial candidates Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman were flogging it. Poizner told KPCC that raising taxes is a terrible idea.

  Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner: Our economy is extremely weak right now, and raising taxes on working class folks right now when they’re struggling to make ends meet, worrying about their mortgages and their jobs, is really just going to make matters worse. It’s like taxing misery.

  Stoltze: Whitman also said that raising taxes is a bad idea, even as the state faces a $42 billion budget shortfall, a falling credit rating, and massive cuts in social spending. She said instead that the state should cut its payroll by 10 percent, and double its twice-a-month furloughs for state workers. Poizner joined Whitman in calling for more cuts.

  Poizner: We should roll back spending to two or three years ago, which doesn’t seem hard to conceive. The state survived just fine two or three years ago.

  Stoltze: The budget deal the governor and legislative leaders worked out already calls for $15 billion in spending cuts.

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  • February 13, 2009 6:43 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Fifth annual bulldog beauty contest in Long Beach Sunday

  If you’re in the mood for some puppy love this Valentine’s weekend, head on over to Belmont Shore in Long Beach for the fifth annual Bulldog Beauty Contest. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario says organizers have also planned a pet adoption fair Sunday, alongside the area where drooling contestants will compete for a bejeweled crown.

  Patricia Nazario: Even though they have faces only a mother could love, French and English Bulldogs and Pugs will strut their stuff down the red carpet, in four different pageants, to impress the judges. Awards will go to the most congenial pooch and the one with the best smile.

  There’s no swimsuit competition. That’s probably a good thing, since the breeds in these pageants are known for their distinctive layers of wrinkly skin, squashed snouts, and short, bowed legs. Prizes include free grooming, bow-wow daycare, and, for the owners, subscriptions to Fido-friendly magazines.

  About 400 bulldogs have signed up. They range in age from adorable puppies to senior dogs up to 15 years old.

  Note: The festivities begin at 10:00 a.m. Sunday with a pet adoption fair competitions in the grassy park along the north end of Long Beach’s Marine Stadium (no matter what the weather). Tickets to the Haute Dog Pageants cost $5.

  LINK: Bulldog Beauty Contest

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  • February 13, 2009 6:35 PM

• Judge delays decision on Orange County Sheriff deputy pensions

  A Los Angeles judge has decided to delay making a decision about Orange County Sheriff’s deputy pensions. KPCC’s Susan Valot says the judge today put off making a ruling until later this month.

  Susan Valot: Orange County supervisors last year filed a lawsuit to roll back sheriff’s deputy pensions.

  The supervisors say boosting the pension plan to “three percent at 50” a few years ago and making it retroactive amounted to an illegal gift of state funds. They say the plan encourages deputies to retire earlier, at age 50. The supervisors also say the pension hike is an unfunded liability that digs the county deeper into debt.

  The union for deputies says the pension increase does not violate the state Constitution. It also says a deal’s a deal.

  L.A. County Superior Court Judge Helen Bendix earlier this week indicated she might side with the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs and throw out the lawsuit. But now she’ll mull it over a little more… and rule on or before February 23.

  Local lawmakers up and down California are watching this case. It could set a precedent that could allow them to sue to save money on unfunded pensions.

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  • February 13, 2009 6:31 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice

• FCC commissioner pushes converter boxes for switch to digital television

  The big switch from analog to digital television was supposed to happen Tuesday, February 17. But Congress has delayed the deadline until June. That gives millions of households four more months to buy new televisions, subscribe to cable or satellite TV, or buy converter boxes.

  Those boxes for analog TVs are the low-cost option, and the Federal Communications Commission is trying to get them out to TV viewers who need them. In Los Angeles last week, Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said the converter box makes any television’s reception better.

  Jonathan Adelstein: “Even on your old TV that you might have had sitting around – a tiny TV for 15-20 years – it looks like you’ve never seen it before because the picture is so much crisper. It’s not high definition, but digital is, when it works, a much crisper picture; you get better quality sound. And you get more channels for free over the air.”

  Converter boxes cost from $40 and $80, and a federal program provides $40 coupons toward the purchase of a box. More information on the coupon program is available online at dtv2009.gov

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  • February 13, 2009 6:24 PM

• City attorney goes after Mara Salvatrucha's LA drug headquarters

  The Los Angeles City Attorney is seeking to take over an apartment complex that the Mara Salvatrucha gang allegedly uses as a drug headquarters. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: More than any previous Los Angeles City Attorney, Rocky Delgadillo has used nuisance laws to seize control of properties gang members have allegedly owned or overrun. In this case, he’s filed a lawsuit against the owner of a 24-unit apartment building in the Pico-Union district just west of Downtown.

  A Delgadillo spokesman says the building is a hangout for Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13. He says the gang uses the complex for drug sales and distribution. The suit asks a judge to appoint a receiver who would take control of the property and work with police to eliminate criminal activity. It also seeks civil penalties and the recovery of law enforcement investigation costs from the owner.

  The owner of the building tells the Associated Press he has no knowledge of illegal activity there.

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  • February 13, 2009 6:20 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Two counties sue Controller to get scheduled payments

  Supervisors from two counties, San Diego and Sacramento, have gone ahead with a lawsuit against the State Controller. KPCC’s Nick Roman says they’re trying to pry loose millions of dollars in scheduled payments from California’s government.

  Nick Roman: Controller John Chiang is holding that money so he has cash to pay the state government’s bills while the governor and lawmakers bicker over the budget.

  San Diego and Sacramento counties, and about two dozen others that could join the lawsuit, say that money is theirs. They’re due hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for services for poor, elderly, and disabled Californians.

  Controller Chiang says he shares the counties’ anger about the money delays. But he also says that as long as the state government is in a budget mess, he’ll pay only the bills he has to by law, like debt service.

  For their part, the counties say their lawsuit isn’t an “attack” on the Controller. They just want the money that’s coming to them.

  A budget deal this weekend could render the counties’ lawsuit meaningless… although their anger with the governor and state lawmakers might linger for a long time.

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  • February 13, 2009 6:14 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• People adjust Valentine's plans during economic crisis

  A dozen roses, a box of chocolates, or a night out on the town are specters of Valentine’s Days past for many Southern California families.

  Twenty-eight-year-old Elsis Martinez and her husband are raising two small boys and saving to buy their first home. She says they can’t afford to exchange romantic gifts this year.

  Elsis Martinez: “My 3-year-old changes shoe size practically every month. So, we have to keep up with him – just the monthly bills. Our monthly bills are getting higher and higher. We can’t afford to make any expenses, extra expenses.”

  Martinez is a legal assistant. Her husband is a warehouse supervisor.

  The National Retail Federation’s spending survey found that Americans plan on spending about $100 per person this Valentine’s weekend. That’s about $20 less than people generally spent last year.

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  • February 13, 2009 4:48 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Retailers lure Valentine's Day shoppers with discounts

  Retailers are luring thrifty shoppers this Valentine’s Day with discounts on flowers, early-bird gift specials, and free online shipping.

  None of that is enough to persuade newlyweds Diana Renteria and her husband to pull out their credit cards and splurge. She says they’ve been trying to save money, so they plan to stay in this year.

  Diana Renteria: “Not so much because of the money, but because we both don’t like waiting a long time and being that Valentine’s this year is a Saturday, there’s gonna be a huge line. So, we just decided to have dinner at home.”

  Renteria is a legal assistant – her husband’s a baggage security officer at Los Angeles International Airport.

  The National Retail Federation’s spending survey found that Americans plan to spend about $15 billion this year on gifts this Valentine’s weekend.

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  • February 13, 2009 3:28 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Grand Avenue developers ask for more time

  The real estate bust means the grand ideas of revitalizing downtown L.A. are scaling down. KPCC’s Shirley Jahad reports.

  Shirley Jahad: Ground breaking for The Grand Ave project is nearly two years overdue. Now developers are asking for another break on fines and penalties for being late.

  Developers faced hefty fines starting next week if no shovels were in the ground. The related company is asking the county-city panel overseeing the project to wave the quarter of a million dollar a month fine.

  Some observers and economists say the project is sinking in the credit crunch and it could be months before developers get the financing they need to start.

  The Grand Avenue project is just one of a slew of downtown development efforts now on hold. About a third of more than a hundred condo developments are stalled.

  The grand avenue project includes hotels, condos, retail, and restaurants around downtown L.A.’s civic and cultural institutions. It was supposed to be complete this year. Now it will be 2011 – if it happens.

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  • February 13, 2009 3:26 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Storms roll in to Southern California

  Forecasters say there will be about three to five hours of steady rainfall in the Southland beginning this afternoon. That first storm is expected to drop up to an inch and a half of rain in the foothills. Then a bigger storm will roll in Sunday night.

  Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service says the rain raises the chance of flash floods, even in places that haven’t been burned by wildfire.

  Stuart seto: “The problem here is that we’ve already had a couple of storms already that have moistened the ground and actually saturated it, especially with this one that’s coming through right now. Or that will go through Los Angeles this afternoon.

  “So after that the ground will be saturated, so the next one, that comes through with the heavier rainfall amounts. There’s going to be a lot more runoff with the storms.”

  As much as three inches of rain could fall in coastal and valley areas during the second storm, and there could be up to five inches in the mountains.

  There’s a winter storm warning in effect for the mountains of L.A. and Ventura counties today. Seto says the snow level could fall to 3,500 feet in some areas. That could mean problems for drivers on the Grapevine section of the I-5 and on parts of the 14.

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  • February 13, 2009 12:55 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• State agencies pool resources to compile invasive species database

  Several state agencies are forming a joint effort to combat non-native plants and animals. Money’s tight, but KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports that California agriculture managers say there’s value in the project.

  Molly Peterson: Invasive species cause different problems for different agencies. For CalTrans, weeds creep up along roadways. Fish and Game has kicked non-native mud snails out of fish hatchery waterways. And the Department of Food and Agriculture keeps watch over state crops. The ag agency’s Mike Jarvis says each department has held a piece of the puzzle.

  Mike Jarvis: Just in our department you can look at the Asian citrus psyllid. This is a pest that can spread what’s known as citrus greening disease. It has devastated tens of thousands of acres of citrus trees in Florida. If you look at the oranges, they look half orange, half green. They’re like a split down the middle. Basically the tree dies.

  Peterson: Food and Ag has $11 million in federal, state, and industry funding to protect California citrus. But few invasive species draw that much attention. Jarvis says the state’s joint effort will pool information, and small amounts of money, to create a joint database.

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  • February 12, 2009 7:32 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• Bad economy sends more people to public hospitals instead of clinics

  A survey by the California Association of Public Hospitals finds the economic downturn is sending more people to public hospitals. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: The survey of 19 public hospitals throughout the state found the number of patients up four percent in October of 2008, compared to October the year before. It found that public hospitals have also seen a 10 percent increase in the number of uninsured patients, and a 19 percent increase in the number of uninsured patients who visited emergency rooms.

  The president of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems says that as more people lose their jobs, they also lose their medical insurance or the means to pay for it. The closing of several public and private hospitals in Southern California compounds the problem.

  The survey included County-USC, Olive View, and Harbor UCLA Medical Centers, all in Los Angeles County.

  LINK: California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems

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  • February 12, 2009 7:13 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Health

• Utility companies: metallic balloons can disrupt power lines

  Valentine’s Day is sure to be electric for many couples. Utility companies are warning them to keep those heart-shaped metallic balloons away from power lines and on a string. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez explains.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Utilities blame stray metallic balloons, like the red and pink hearts that show up everywhere on Valentines Day, for a spike in disruptive power outages around the second week in February.

  When released, the balloons can drift toward power lines, get tangled, and cause electricity to arc. That can lead to short circuits, burnt wires, and power outages that could damage home and business equipment. Southern California Edison officials said outages caused by metallic balloons nearly doubled in the last eight years, especially around Valentines Day. The utility company recorded 55 outages in its service area last February.

  Last year Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed an outright ban on sales of metallic balloons. State law does force retailers to sell the balloons with weights attached to the strings to keep them grounded.

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  • February 12, 2009 6:58 PM

• Elgin Baylor files discrimination lawsuit against Los Angeles Clippers

  Elgin Baylor worked 22 years as general manager for the Los Angeles Clippers. Now, he’s suing the team, its owner Donald Sterling, and the National Basketball Association for age and race discrimination.

  The 74-year-old basketball Hall of Famer said the team’s owner and president began harassing him about his age four years ago. Then last August, Baylor said, the team gave him a take-it-or-leave it offer to retire and work as a consultant.

  Elgin Baylor: “I did not retire. I have so much more to give. The way I was treated by the NBA and the Clippers was unfair, and in many ways discriminatory. It was wrong.”

  Baylor says that after the 2006 season, when the Clippers made the playoffs, the team gave coach Mike Dunleavy a new four-year, $22 million contract… while Baylor’s salary remained at $350,000.

  An attorney for the Clippers says Baylor received numerous salary increases over 22 years, and was always treated fairly.

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  • February 12, 2009 5:41 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Sports/Recreation

• Specialist describes DOJ review of Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger

  If the Department of Justice approves the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the new company will combine the world’s top ticket seller with the world’s dominant concert promoter.

  Marc Schildkraut is a mergers specialist at the Howrey law firm in Washington. He spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” about the Justice Department’s investigation.

  Marc Schildkraut: “The DOJ is going to go out and get everyone’s opinion, it’s going look to everyone in the industry to try and find out whatever they can find out about the deal. They’re going to be, probably will be getting ten of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, sometime even millions of documents from the companies.”

  The Department of Justice investigation into the proposed Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger will likely last several months.

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  • February 12, 2009 4:33 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Congressman Pascrell criticizes Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger

  As the Justice Department begins its investigation into the proposed merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, some members of congress are actively lobbying against the deal.

  The merger would combine the world’s top ticket seller with the world’s top concert promoter. One of those loudly opposing the proposal is Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell of New Jersey.

  Bill Pascrell: “We’re talking about a $21 billion industry, so I understand why they would want to control the whole caboodle. They want to control the actors, they want to control the music, they want to control the management, they want to control the world’s top acts.”

  Pascrell spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” The Justice Department’s investigation of the proposed Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger could take several months.

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  • February 12, 2009 4:31 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Congressman criticizes proposed Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger

  Ticketmaster and Live Nation are hoping the Justice Department approves their merger. But some in Congress are vowing to fight the consolidation of the world’s biggest ticket seller with the world’s biggest concert promoter.

  Congressman Bill Pascrell is a Democrat from New Jersey. He’s been leading the charge against the merger.

  Bill Pascrell: “People just want a little entertainment, they don’t want to be ripped off, they don’t want to be bogged down by the anxiety about how much this is going to cost. They want to know what it’s going to be before they go into the situation. This is illegal scalping, there’s no two ways about it.”

  Pascrell spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” If the government approves the merger, Ticketmaster and Live Nation could control 80 percent of the $21 billion ticket sales market.

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  • February 12, 2009 4:29 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Court rules that vaccines don't cause autism

  A special federal court ruled today that vaccines do not cause autism. More than 5,000 families had filed claims seeking compensation for their children’s autism, on the grounds that it was caused by vaccinations for measles or other diseases.

  NPR science correspondent John Hamilton has covered this issue for many years. He told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that the government presented a much stronger case.

  John Hamilton: “The arguments put forth by the government were very persuasive – they involved large numbers of people in very highly controlled scientific experiments and epidemiological studies, of which there have been many.

  “And, on the other hand, the plaintiffs often were individual pediatrician, who said ‘well in my clinical judgment I think the vaccine could have caused this,’ and so it did not seem like a close contest.”

  One of the judges on the special court said the families seeking compensation were “the victims of bad science conducted to support litigation rather than to advance medical understanding” of autism. The families’ lawyers said they may appeal today’s ruling.

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  • February 12, 2009 4:26 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Health, Science/Technology

• Federal court rules against families in autism/vaccine case

  A special federal court today dealt a major blow to those who claim that routine childhood vaccinations cause autism. The U.S. Court of Claims ruled against three families seeking compensation for their children’s autism.

  One of the “special masters” sitting on the court called the families’ evidence “weak, contradictory, and unpersuasive.” NPR Science Correspondent John Hamilton says researchers have come to the same conclusion for years.

  John Hamilton: “It is pretty uniform. Every time they have done a study that looked at populations where you compare kids who got vaccines with kids who didn’t both in this country and in other countries, you find the same thing, that there is no difference in the rate of autism among the kids who got vaccinated and the kids who didn’t. And that makes a pretty convincing case that the vaccines are not causing autism.”

  Hamilton spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” The ruling is unlikely to persuade those who are convinced of a link between vaccinations and autism. Lawyers for the families say they may appeal.

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  • February 12, 2009 4:23 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Health, Science/Technology

• County supervisors complain about state budget negotiations

  Lawmakers in Sacramento are getting an earful from a crowd of county supervisors from around the state. Local officials from San Bernardino, Riverside, and other counties are in the state capital to growl about the state budget mess – and how it’s thrown county budgets into chaos.

  KPCC’s Julia Mitric says they’re meeting with a small crowd of lawmakers and reporters at an office in downtown Sacramento. She says each supervisor was supposed to talk for just three minutes – but that didn’t work.

  Julia Mitric: “The county supervisors are so angry and they have a lot that they want to get off their chests. And so everyone has consistently been talking on and on about the cuts that they’re seeing in their local programs and about how fed up they are with the lawmakers and the entire budget process itself.”

  The county supervisors are especially upset about that the state budget negotiations have been carried out in private.

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  • February 12, 2009 4:20 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Skid Row hotel reaches settlement with low-income residents

  The Western Center on Law and Poverty says it’s reached a settlement with a Skid Row hotel that kicked out low-income occupants to make way for renovations. The center’s Andrea Luquetta says the settlement strengthens requirements that Los Angeles city-financed redevelopment projects help relocate the people they displace.

  Andrea Luquetta: “This is a policy to address the fact that when there is redevelopment, particularly in a low income building, there is tremendous incentive to get rid of the poorest tenants. And often that includes the elderly, people with disabilities, including mental and physical disabilities, which was many of the client population at the Alexandria.”

  The center’s lawsuit alleged that the Alexandria Hotel in downtown L.A. gave as little as three days’ notice and failed to pay relocation costs. The settlement provides up to $400,000 in payments to 100 people.

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  • February 12, 2009 4:18 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Nonprofit head argues for health care funding

  As Sacramento lawmakers iron out the details of an agreement to close California’s $42 billion budget gap, few details have surfaced about cuts in state health care programs. Anthony Wright heads the nonprofit Health Access California. He told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that the state needs to maintain health care spending.

  Anthony Wright: “What we’re concerned about is this spending limit that would arbitrarily cap our ability to meet health care and other needs into the future, especially for health care.”

  Wright added that because the cost of medical care keeps rising and the population is getting older, it’s important for lawmakers to ensure that Californians can rely on the state for the health care they need.

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  • February 12, 2009 4:16 PM
  • Categories: Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• Gregg withdraws nomination to become commerce secretary

  By DAVID ESPO
  AP Special Correspondent

  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire abruptly withdrew his nomination as commerce secretary Thursday, citing “irresolvable conflicts” with President Barack Obama’s handling of the economic stimulus and 2010 census. “We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy,” Gregg said in a statement released by his Senate office.

  Gregg, 61, is a former New Hampshire governor who previously served in the House. He has been in the Senate since 1993 and currently serves as the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, where he is known as a crusader against big spending.

  He was Obama’s second choice to fill the Commerce portfolio.

  New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew several weeks ago in the wake of a grand jury investigation into alleged wrongdoing involving state contracts. He has not been implicated personally.

  The withdrawal appeared to take the White House by surprise, with members of the president’s media operation learning of Gregg’s decision from reporters. An administration official said Gregg dropped out without warning for a position that he had expressed interest in just a few weeks ago.

  In his statement, Gregg thanked Obama for the nomination, and said, “I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle.”

  In citing the stimulus and census, he said, “Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.”

  The unexpected withdrawal marked the latest setback for Obama in his attempt to build a Cabinet.

  Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was confirmed despite revelations that he had not paid some of his taxes on time, and former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle withdrew as nominee as health and human services secretary in a tax controversy.

  In his statement, Gregg said his withdrawal had nothing to do with the vetting into his past that Cabinet officials routinely undergo.

  Gregg’s reference to the stimulus underscored the partisan divide over the centerpiece of Obama’s economic recovery plan. Conservatives in both houses have been relentless critics of the plan, arguing it is filled with wasteful spending and won’t create enough jobs. Gregg has refrained from voting on the bill - and on all other matters - while his nomination was pending.

  The Commerce Department has jurisdiction over the Census Bureau, and the administration recently took steps to assert greater control. Republicans have harshly criticized the decision, saying it was an attempt to politicize the once-in-a-decade event.

  The outcome of the census has deep political implications, since congressional districts are drawn based on population. Many federal funds are distributed on the basis of population, as well.

  Both of those factors mean there is a premium on counting as many residents as possible. Historically, the groups believed to be most undercounted are inner-city minorities, who tend to vote Democratic.

  The Congressional Black Caucus and a group representing Latino elected officials had raised questions about Gregg, noting that as chairman of the Senate panel overseeing the Census Bureau budget he frequently sought to cut funds that they believe led to an undercount of minorities.

  To allay concerns over Gregg, the White House initially indicated that it might take greater control over the Census Bureau. But amid GOP criticism it has since clarified that the White House will “work closely with the census director,” and that the Census Bureau would not be removed from the Commerce Department.

  Gregg’s announcement also undid a carefully constructed chain of events.

  The New Hampshire senator had agreed to join the Cabinet only if his departure from the Senate did not allow Democrats to take control of his seat.

  New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, in turn, pledged to appointed Bonnie Newman, a former interim president of the University of New Hampshire.

  She, in turn, had agreed not to run for a full term in 2010, creating an open seat for Democrats to try and claim.

  In a statement, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Gregg “made a principled decision to return and we’re glad to have him. He is among the smartest, most effective legislators to serve in the Senate - Democrat or Republican - and a key adviser to me and to the Republican Conference. It’s great to have him back.”

  Lynch, who spoke to Gregg several hours before the announcement, said he respected Gregg’s decision to withdraw and remain in the Senate. He thanked Newman for her willingness to serve.

  A day after Gregg’s nomination was announced, The Associated Press reported that a former staffer was under criminal investigation for allegedly taking baseball and hockey tickets from a lobbyist in exchange for legislative favors while working for Gregg.

  The former staffer, Kevin Koonce, has been identified in court papers only as “Staffer F” in the sprawling corruption probe stemming from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

  Gregg said at the time that he had been told he was neither a subject nor target of the investigation, and would cooperate fully.

  Associated Press Writers Liz Sidoti in Washington and Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.

  (Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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  • February 12, 2009 2:10 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Former Clippers GM files age, race discrimination suit against Clippers

  The owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, envisioned a plantation-type structure for his team, says the Clippers’ former general manager Elgin Baylor.

  Baylor is suing Sterling, the Clippers, and the National Basketball Association for race and age discrimination. Baylor says that during his 22 years as general .anager, the team limited his authority.

  Elgin Baylor: “It was like working with one hand tied behind my back. But given the shortage of blacks in the executive roles within the NBA, I felt obligated to hang in there and endure whatever came my way.”

  Baylor says that after the 2006 season, when the Clippers made the playoffs, the team gave coach Mike Dunleavy a new four-year, $22 million contract – while Baylor’s salary remained at $350,000.

  In a statement, the Clippers’ attorney called Baylor’s claims ridiculous and said the team will defend itself vigorously against them.

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  • February 12, 2009 2:02 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Sports/Recreation

• Hollywood pet store shifts from purebred to mixed breed dogs

  A Hollywood pet store has shifted from selling high-end purebred dogs to peddling the same mixed-breed pups you’d find at shelters.

  A growing awareness about the existence of breeders known as puppy mills inspired the new business model. President Barack Obama’s self-deprecating remarks about his mixed heritage have also raised the profile of mixed-breed dogs.

  During a news conference shortly after he won the presidency, President Obama described the challenge of adopting a puppy from the shelter, because his daughter Malia is allergic to dogs.

  Barack Obama: “A lot of shelter dogs are mutts, like me. So, whether we’re gonna be able to balance those two things, I think, is a pressing issue on the Obama household.”

  Clark DuVal owns the OrangeBone puppy store on Melrose Avenue. He says his clients think the mutts in his windows are cool, and they appreciate his decision not to deal with the puppy mills.

  Clark DuVal: “Very, very aware, absolutely in this city about what’s going on. Acutely aware and huge supporters of President Obama. This is definitely Obama territory around here.”

  Customers realize cost savings, too – purebred dogs can go for thousands of dollars a pup, while the rescued shelter animals DuVal sells cost 300 or 400 dollars. All in keeping with the new era of cheap chic.

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  • February 12, 2009 12:58 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Assembly speaker explains cuts to public schools

  As Sacramento lawmakers approach an agreement with the governor on the state’s budget gap, they’re coming in for criticism from educators upset about big cuts to public schools and community colleges. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass told KPCC’s Larry Mantle why legislative leaders didn’t trim from other programs and services.

  Karen Bass: “The deficit is so large, $41 billion, there was no way to cut from one sector only, and you probably know that we’re under court order around the prisons. And so we definitely cut where we could, but this is a question of shared sacrifice, like our president said in his inaugural speech.”

  Bass said she hopes that money from the proposed federal economic stimulus package will ease the pain of state budget cuts.

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  • February 12, 2009 12:53 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• State agencies collaborate to share info on invasive species

  Invasive plants and animals brought to the state can wipe out native species, take over the environment, and threaten agriculture. Now six public agencies are forming a new council to address the problems these invasive species pose.

  Mike Jarvis is an official with Cal Food and Agriculture. His agency and five others will each choose a member to work on the invasives council.

  Mike Jarvis: “They will appoint an advisory committee that’s going to make recommendations regarding the priority in which invasive species are going to be categorized and how the state will develop an invasive species rapid response plan, so I think we’re just looking at a bigger cooperative collaborative approach as compared to single interest, single department, single issues.”

  Jarvis says one plan is to share, in a central database, information about the problems non-native plants and animals cause. All of the agencies are committing some money to the program. Jarvis says he expects the joint effort to move forward even with budget constraints.

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  • February 12, 2009 12:51 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Assembly speaker says state budget not done deal yet

  Legislative leaders are meeting with Governor Schwarzenegger today to try and hammer out final details of a budget proposal.

  Assembly Speaker Karen Bass says reports of what are in the budget are about 90 percent accurate. But she told KPCC’s Larry Mantle it’s not a done deal yet.

  Karen Bass: “Well some very technical points regarding education and a couple of other issues such as, for example, we need to call a special election, when should we do that, etcetera.”

  Voters would have to approve certain elements of the budget.

  The budget plan lawmakers are discussing reportedly would cut almost $8 billion from schools and community colleges. It also includes cuts to local public transit agencies. The plan reportedly also calls for about $14 billion in new and increased taxes, and about $12 billion in borrowing.

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  • February 12, 2009 12:23 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Budget agreement could cut $8 billion from public schools

  State lawmakers appear to be closing in on a budget agreement that reportedly would cut almost $8 billion from public schools and community colleges.

  The official who oversees San Diego County schools says that would deliver a world of hurt. Superintendent Randy Ward told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that, in the past, districts have cried wolf – threatening to fire teachers and then pulling back.

  Superintendent Randy Ward: “This is not one of those cry wolf situations and we are going to have quite an extensive number of layoffs. And we don’t expect many of them to be rescinded.”

  Legislative leaders will meet with Governor Schwarzenegger today to try and finalize the budget agreement. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass says they still have to work out some technical details.

  The proposed budget reportedly would also cut close to $500 million from local public transit systems. The proposal also includes higher gasoline and sales taxes. It would also impose a new surcharge on personal income taxes.

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  • February 12, 2009 12:20 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• LA City Attorney reaches settlement deal with Health Net

  The Los Angeles City Attorney has reached a settlement with Health Net over accusations that the insurance company wrongfully terminated the policies of people who’d filed expensive medical claims. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: State regulators already have reached settlements with Los Angeles-based Health Net. Jeff Isaacs of the city attorney’s office argues that L.A.’s settlement is better, starting with its requirement that Health Net pay people whose policies it terminated.

  Jeff Isaacs: Six-point-three million that will be distributed to approximately 800 or so rescission victims. And it will be distributed automatically so they don’t have to do anything. And the average amount of the distribution will be close to $8,000 per victim.

  Stoltze: The state settlements include no such provision. Isaacs says the city’s deal also makes it easier to obtain reimbursement for medical costs incurred after people lost their coverage, although it caps the total amount at $3 million. Health Net also has agreed to pay $2 million in civil penalties.

  The state insurance commissioner also has announced a settlement with Anthem Blue Cross that includes reinstating the policies of 2300 people.

  In recent years Los Angeles, two state regulators, and policy holders have sued various health insurance companies over their alleged practice of dumping people who make expensive claims.

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  • February 11, 2009 6:18 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice, Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• San Bernardino County latest to sue state over deferred payments

  The number of California counties suing the state government over deferred payments is growing. San Bernardino County joined the fray yesterday. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says the county is demanding millions from Sacramento for social services.

  Steven Cuevas: California Controller John Chiang says payments could be deferred at least a month. That gives the state government some fiscal wiggle room as it carves out what could be the final details of a long-delayed budget.

  Not having that money means around 90,000 welfare recipients in San Bernardino County will go without. The county will only cover the welfare through March. It’s already facing worker furloughs and massive program cuts. Chief financial officer Mark Uffer.

  Mark Uffer: We can get through July 1st of 2010, assuming there isn’t some catastrophic incident at the state or the federal level, or if the economy doesn’t tank further.

  Cuevas: Uffer says income from property taxes and sales taxes could plunge another 12 percent over the next year. It’s already off around 20 percent. Uffer told county supervisors the budget mess could get a lot messier.

  Uffer: There’s a huge cliff there, and we’re headed toward it. We work every day to try and fix that. But there’s no magic. We’re running out of magic. At that point, we’ll probably be in a triage mentality. And if things don’t turn around, the cliff is July 2010 (long pause)… got really quiet all of a sudden.
  Supervisor Ovitt: I was gonna say, on that light note, we’re going to open it up to public testimony.

  Cuevas: San Bernardino and Riverside counties will join several other counties in Sacramento for a noon rally to pressure lawmakers to end the budget impasse. The legislature might vote on a proposed budget before the week is over.

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  • February 11, 2009 5:11 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Blue Cross agrees to reinstate health insurance policies, and pay reimbursement and fine

  The state’s largest for-profit health provider has agreed to reinstate medical insurance policies for 2300 people in California. State regulators had accused Anthem Blue Cross of wrongfully terminating their policies. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports.

  Frank Stoltze: State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said Anthem Blue Cross has agreed to reinstate policies, and to reimburse any medical costs people incurred after the insurer terminated them, at an estimated cost of $14 million.

  Commissioner Steve Poizner: This is a very major important settlement here. I pushed these companies extremely hard – lots of arm twisting to get them to really help these 2300 people who are really in a desperate situation.

  Stoltze: Anthem Blue Cross will also pay a $1 million fine to the state.

  Jerry Flannigan of Consumer Watchdog called the fine an insult to Californians. He told the Los Angeles Times that it pales in comparison to what the company probably saved by cancelling the policies of people facing illnesses.

  Poizner said that in the last five years, Anthem used innocent mistakes on applications to claim people had failed to disclose pre-existing health problems… and cancel their policies. The company’s agreed to simplify applications, and to refine medical pre-screening. That could result in more rejected applications.

  Regulators have reached similar agreements with Blue Shield and Health Net, and they’re reviewing market practices by Kaiser and Aetna.

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  • February 11, 2009 4:51 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• Senate President Pro-Tem says budget deal may be near

  A compromise state budget deal is apparently near completion in Sacramento. But top lawmakers and the governor are not ready to call it a deal… yet. Senate President Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg told reporters in Sacramento that negotiators are ironing out the loose ends of a “common framework.” Steinberg says lawmakers and the governor are aware the public wants quick, responsible action to solve the state’s fiscal crisis.

  Senator Darrell Steinberg: “We must avert the stoppage of 142 CalTrans transportation projects, and the jobs these projects create. That’s something that’s going to occur this week. We must avert mass layoffs. We must avert IOUs. We must avert the continuing downward rating of our credit. And most importantly, we must end the fear and anxiety that Californians feel today.”

  Steinberg says budget cuts might be slightly less painful, depending on how much California benefits from a federal aid package making its way through Congress. But he says budget negotiators are not relying on a federal bailout to fix the state’s fiscal problems.

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  • February 11, 2009 4:46 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• LAUSD reaches three year deal with unions on health benefits

  After six months of negotiations, eight L.A. Unified labor unions that represent more than 100,000 active and retired employees announced today a significant three-year agreement on health and welfare benefits. United Teachers Los Angeles president AJ Duffy spoke with reporters about the deal.

  AJ Duffy: “This is a good agreement. This will allow the current level of benefits to be continued for active employees, and will allow the district to maintain it’s time-honored agreements with retirees who’ve given a lifetime of service.”

  The deal guarantees that for the rest of this year, active and retired L.A. Unified employees will keep their current benefits and won’t have to pay health care premiums.

  In the following two years, a school district committee that consists almost entirely of union members will have more power to negotiate benefits with providers. It’ll cost L.A. Unified more than $900 million to provide these benefits this year.

  The teachers union is negotiating separately with the school district on salary increases. UTLA leaders are moving forward with a strike authorization vote next month.

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  • February 11, 2009 4:43 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Education, Health

• House Financial Services Committee grills bank executives

  Before the federal government distributes the second half of the money in what it used to call the Troubled Asset Relief Program, lawmakers in Washington want to know what happened to the first half.

  The U.S. House Financial Services Committee grilled the chiefs of major banks over the way their institutions spent that dough. Southland Congressman Brad Sherman was on the panel. He told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that he got disappointing answers to his questions.

  Brad Sherman: “Transparency is not really the big problem here, because these guys have the intestinal fortitude to take the money and tell you they took the money, and keep the money, and tell you they are going to keep the money.

  “This $78 billion, everybody agrees it’s the right figure. That’s how much we were screwed. Are they going to give back the money? No. The huge bonuses were paid. Is anybody gonna get back the money? No.”

  Sherman, a San Fernando Valley Democrat asked during the House hearing why bank executives spent taxpayer money on employee bonuses and shareholder dividends.

  Most members of Congress who’d voted on the bailout said they believed it would allow the banks to free up credit for consumers. Treasurer Timothy Geithner calls the second phase of the program the Financial Stability Plan.

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  • February 11, 2009 3:34 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• LA police file charges in severe burning attack

  Los Angeles police charged a Tarzana woman today in connection with last week’s fiery attack on an exotic dancer outside a bar. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says authorities are still trying to establish a motive.

  Cheryl Devall: The incident happened outside the Babes and Beer bar in Van Nuys around 1:30 in the morning last Thursday. The dancer, Roberta Dos Santo-Busby, was counting her tips near the end of her shift when someone called her outside.

  Prosecutors say it was Rianne Theriault-Odom, who allegedly argued with the dancer before dousing her with a flammable liquid and setting her on fire. Santo-Busby, who has two children, is in critical condition with burns over 60 percent of her body.

  Her alleged attacker is in jail in lieu of $1 million bail. The L.A. County district attorney’s office says that if a jury convicts her on felony counts related to the assault, Theriault-Odom could face life in prison.

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  • February 11, 2009 3:20 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Congressman Sherman dissatisfied with bank executives

  During today’s hearing of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Representative Brad Sherman took some of the nation’s top bankers to task for paying shareholder dividends and offering employee bonuses with taxpayer money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Sherman told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that none of the execs’ responses satisfied him.

  Brad Sherman: “The biggest concern is the report issued by the Congressional Oversight panel that showed that we got screwed out $78 billion. And I asked these CEOs, ‘Okay, you’ve got our money, you’ve shortchanged us, will you give us the shortfall?’ And eight out of eight said no.”

  Sherman, a Democrat, represents parts of the San Fernando Valley in Congress. The banking committee queried the chiefs of Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and five other institutions about the way they spent the first half of the federal bank bailout.

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  • February 11, 2009 3:00 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• State budget deal must have 'spending cap' for GOP support

  The deal isn’t done yet – but the compromise state budget rumored to be near completion will have some kind of spending limit.

  John Myers – the Sacramento correspondent for “The California Report” – says without that limit, Republicans won’t vote for a budget that includes tax increases.

  John Myers: “Key to their demands for some kind of voting for a tax increase would be some kind of limitation on future state spending. And if you place a new limit or cap, as a lot of people like to call it, if you place that cap up as to how high spending would grow and you put the rest of the money in a rainy day fund, well, how do you set that cap? And is it high enough to account for future growth in services that Californians depend on, not the least of which would be public schools?”

  Myers spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” One possible formula for a spending cap would require lawmakers increase state budgets no more than the average increase seen in the previous 10 state budgets.

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  • February 11, 2009 2:45 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Governor and legislature reach tentative deal on deficit

  The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the governor and the California legislature have reached a tentative deal on the state’s $42 billion budget deficit.

  Neither side is confirming the details. But the newspaper says this version would increase the state sales tax by 1 percent, to 9-and-three-quarters percent. That’s prompted some political observers to wonder whether consumers will buy more items online – where many sites don’t charge sales taxes.

  Sacramento Bee reporter Dan Walters told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that avoidance strategy may not work for some purchases.

  Dan Walters: “You aren’t going to have a car shipped in for example. You can’t avoid the sales tax on a car. It will give us basically the highest sales tax rate in the country.

  “It’ll have some effect on retail sales – whether it’ll be a big effect or a small effect, I don’t think we will ever know how big of an effect, because retail sales go up and down with the economy. But it does raise a lot of money. A 1 cent increase in sales tax raises about five-and-a-half billion dollars a year.”

  The bill also would create a temporary, one-quarter-of-one-percent surcharge on personal income taxes, and would double the vehicle license fee. Lawmakers are still ironing out the details. They’re expected to deliver the bill to the floor on Friday.

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  • February 11, 2009 2:43 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• State senate president pro tem says no budget deal yet

  A compromise state budget deal is apparently near completion in Sacramento. The plan calls for increasing the California sales tax by 1 percent, increasing gasoline taxes by 12 cents a gallon, and raising vehicle license fee a bit more than 1 percent. The budget deal also includes a provision to raise the state income tax across the board.

  KPCC’s Julia Mitric was at a Sacramento Press Club briefing today with Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. She says he wouldn’t confirm the budget deal.

  Julia Mitric: “As he walked up to the door of the luncheon, he said, ‘There is no deal. There’s an agreed-upon framework. There is a common framework.’”

  The budget deal – if it’s completed – could come up for a vote on Friday. That day also marks the 100th day since the governor called a special session to deal with the state’s fiscal crisis.

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  • February 11, 2009 2:25 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Southern California Edison signs world's largest solar power deal

  Southern California Edison officials say they’ve signed what they believe is the world’s largest agreement for solar power. Edison is pairing up with BrightSource Energy on seven solar power projects. Utility spokesman Stuart Hemphill says the projects will produce enough energy to power more than 800,000 homes.

  Stuart Hemphill: “These are out in the Mojave desert, fairly close to the Nevada border. And what you’d find is six of the projects will be located east of Barstow area.”

  The projects are expected go online in the next half-dozen years. As of last year, renewable sources accounted for 16 percent of Edison’s energy portfolio. Edison believes that proportion will rise to 20 percent after it’s phased in the new projects. The deal still needs the approval of the California Public Utilities Commission.

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  • February 11, 2009 2:21 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Environment

• San Bernardino County sues state over deferred payments

  San Bernardino County has joined other California counties that are suing the state over withheld social service money. The 100-day state budget crisis is to blame for the holdup.

  But word out of Sacramento is that lawmakers could vote on a proposed budget compromise as early as Friday. San Bernardino County spokesman David Wert says that’s not stopping a coalition of counties from pressuring lawmakers to act with a public meeting tomorrow in the state capitol.

  David Wert: “If the state can solve its problems on Friday, that’s great for the counties, but so far the state’s been unable to do that. The type of announcement that was made this morning has been made many times over the last year.

  “And until something is voted on, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and the other counties need to be up there where state officials can hear the message.”

  If lawmakers don’t reach a budget agreement, San Bernardino County could lose out on a month or more of funding for 90,000 welfare recipients. That’s on top of a $140 million budget deficit the county is already wrestling with.

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  • February 11, 2009 2:14 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Southern California Edison signs deal to increase solar energy

  Southern California Edison has signed a deal to increase the amount of power it generates from solar energy. Edison announced the agreement with BrightSource Energy this morning.

  Stuart Hemphill is Edison’s vice president for renewable and alternative power. He says the deal may represent the world’s largest commitment to solar energy in a single set of agreements.

  Stuart Hemphill: “I think we’re going to be changing the way electricity is produced and consumed in the state and it’s an exciting place to be. I think we’re going to have a very different electrical system 10 years from now than what we have today.”

  Under the deal, Edison would pair with BrightSource on seven projects. All would be located in the Mojave Desert. They’d go online in the next four to seven years.

  The California Public Utilities Commission still needs to approve the agreement.

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  • February 11, 2009 1:48 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Environment

• LA County Supervisors approve hiring freeze

  The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors continued bracing for the fallout from the state’s budget crisis. It approved a hiring freeze for all county jobs. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: The hiring freeze includes all county departments. It excludes jobs that Chief Executive Officer Bill Fujioka decides are critical to public health and safety.

  The supervisors acted as state Controller John Chiang prepares to withhold more than $100 million in payments to the county because of California’s budget crisis. L.A. County supervisors have voted to join a lawsuit challenging the controller’s right to do that.

  In addition, Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed delaying more than a billion dollars in payments to the county through August. He’s promised that the state will pay it back. A spokesman for Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky says that, given the state’s $42 billion budget shortfall and no end in sight to the recession, county officials “would be fools” to expect to see the money soon… if at all.

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  • February 10, 2009 6:46 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Experts say moving inmates onto parole/probation can work... with lots of support

  A panel of federal judges could soon order California to release thousands of prison inmates. The judges say it’s the only way to improve overcrowded prisons. They also say the state could do it through parole reform.

  Jerry Powers, the chief probation officer for Stanislaus County, says sweeping thousands of prison inmates onto parole or probation could be a disaster.

  Jerry Powers: “I’ve heard discussions about direct discharge, which would result in these offenders coming out straight into the community with no parole supervision. I’ve heard discussions about a system where they come out and they have a very short parole period. You’re talking about an order that will potentially drop these people into counties and cities with virtually no resources available to them.”

  Powers says counties would need more parole and probation officers.

  Phyllis MacNeal, who’s a parole officer in Pomona, says expanding parole can’t work without enough resources.

  Phyllis MacNeal: “Inmates potentially need programs, like drug programs, vocational programs. They need jobs. They need something to be released to on the positive level versus just shooting them out to the streets, because they will re-offend again.”

  The federal judges have told state officials to prepare plans to release more than 50,000 inmates over the next three years.

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  • February 10, 2009 5:44 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• LA church dedicates mass to Solis' nomination for Secretary of Labor

  The nomination of Congresswoman Hilda Solis for Secretary of Labor is stalled in the Senate. During a mid-day Mass today, worshipers at downtown L.A.’s La Placita Catholic Church prayed for the process to move forward. KPCC’s Brian Watt reports.

  Brian Watt: Father Richard Estrada began the Spanish-language service by asking how many people knew Congresswoman Solis. Most in the crowd of a hundred raised their hands.

  Once the praying and singing were over, two dozen parishioners phoned members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in Washington. Sixty-two-year-old Maria Luna of Boyle Heights placed one of the first calls to support the El Monte Congresswoman she’s seen a lot at the church.

  Maria Luna: She’s working for a long time, for the poor, the workers, for the families, for the union of the families. She is very important person for us.

  Watt: President Obama’s nomination of Hilda Solis as his Labor Secretary hit a wall last week, when reports surfaced about tax liens against her husband’s business. The congregants at La Placita say the Senate should focus on Solis’ qualifications, not on her husband’s tax troubles.

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  • February 10, 2009 5:38 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Religion/Spirituality

• Orange County joins lawsuit against state over budget deferrals

  Orange County is joining several other counties in a lawsuit against the state. KPCC’s Susan Valot says they want the state government to pay what it owes the counties.

  Susan Valot: Orange County’s budget director says if the state goes through with a plan to defer some payments for up to seven months, it would leave the county with a more than $100 million hole in its budget by the end of June.

  So the Orange County supervisors have agreed to get in on a lawsuit by several counties against the state. Supervisor Chris Norby says they’re basically suing the state for money it doesn’t have.

  Supervisor Chris Norby: We did it anyway, because we think that while they may not have it, we’ll at least be first in line once they get it. And it will send a shot to the legislature that you’ve got to resolve this one way or the other.

  Valot: The counties haven’t field the lawsuit yet. San Diego, Sacramento, and San Francisco counties are already on board. In the meantime, Riverside and San Bernardino county supervisors say they’ll join other county supervisors Thursday in Sacramento, to put pressure on state lawmakers to come up with a budget and keep the money flowing.

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  • February 10, 2009 5:33 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Teachers union may vote to authorize strike

  For a year and a half, L.A. Unified and its teachers’ union have faced each other at the negotiating table over salaries, benefits, and other contract provisions.

  KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez attended a news conference today where union leaders said they’ve had enough.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: United Teachers Los Angeles wants a contract that includes pay raises and continued free lifetime medical benefits for members. Freemont High School Teacher Matt Taylor rejects a school district proposal that would make new hires pay premiums for health care benefits. Current union members don’t pay premiums.

  Matt Taylor: The teachers will vote to go on strike if all else fails to convince the district to keep pay cuts as far away from the classroom as possible and to bargain reasonably with UTLA.

  Guzman-Lopez: Negotiations are so bad, Taylor and other union officials said, that UTLA has scheduled a vote next month to move closer to strike authorization. Superintendent Ramon Cortines is the school district’s main negotiator.

  Superintendent Ramon Cortines: They are wrong, negotiations are not so bad.

  Guzman-Lopez: Both sides said they are closer to agreeing on other provisions of the labor contract.

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  • February 10, 2009 5:08 PM
  • Categories: Education

• Charles Drew University cuts 10 percent of faculty and staff

  Charles Drew University in South Los Angeles plans to lower its expenses by cutting jobs, reducing some salaries, and limiting staff travel.

  The teaching hospital nearest the campus – L.A. County-run King-Drew Medical Center – closed a year and a half ago. The president of the medical school, Dr. Susan Kelly, says she hopes to lay off no more than three or four dozen people.

  Dr. Susan Kelly: “Some jobs are redundant. We don’t need them anymore, because we don’t do that work anymore. Others, we need fewer of them and others, we need to adapt to the fact that revenues have declined. Some people need to be part time until we can restore the funding to that area.”

  Kelly says donations to the private, non-profit medical school are drying up.

  She says financial aid for its 325 students is not in jeopardy. But Kelly might stop construction of the university’s nursing school building, if Sacramento doesn’t make good on a $10 million grant toward the project. That’s a real possibility amid California’s $42 billion budget crisis.

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  • February 10, 2009 3:52 PM
  • Categories: Education, Health

• LA church dedicates mass to Secretary of Labor-designate Solis

  Parishioners at La Placita Catholic Church in downtown L.A. sent phone calls – and some prayers – to the U.S. Senate today The church dedicated its midday mass to the congresswoman Hilda Solis. The El Monte Democrat’s nomination to be secretary of labor is stalled in the Senate.

  When mass was over, two-dozen churchgoers and labor activists phoned members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Father Richard Estrada says they should move ahead now with the Solis nomination.

  Father Richard Estrada: “Our country is in dire need of a leader, especially in the field of employment, of jobs, of the worker. And as secretary of labor, I think that President Obama picked the right person.”

  Obama’s nomination of Solis is held up in the Senate over concerns about her husband’s tax problems.

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  • February 10, 2009 3:43 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Religion/Spirituality

• LA Unified teachers union threatening strike

  Leaders of L.A. Unified’s teachers union said today that contract talks with the school district are so bad they’re moving toward a strike vote. United Teachers Los Angeles Secretary Betty Forrester said that so far, offers from school district negotiators are unacceptable.

  Betty Forrester: “After 18 months of district intransigence at the bargaining table, on both economic and non-economic issues, UTLA wants the district and the public to know that a strong public education cannot be sacrificed, even in hard economic times.”

  Union officials want a 6 percent pay increase. They also reject a district proposal to start charging new employees premiums for health care benefits. Union teachers don’t pay premiums under the current contract.

  L.A. Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines said negotiators are making progress. He added that an agreement is close on a portion of the contract talks. The union’s strike authorization vote is set for next month.

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  • February 10, 2009 3:24 PM
  • Categories: Education

• USC buys two of its affiliated hospitals from Tenet Healthcare

  In addition to the hospital it runs with Los Angeles County, the University of Southern California is affiliated with a few private hospitals. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says USC plans to buy two of those facilities.

  Cheryl Devall: All the University of Southern California hospitals help train the next generation of doctors. Hospital management company Tenet Healthcare operated two of the smaller ones – USC University Hospital and the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Both accept only private or physician-referred patients.

  A couple of years ago, the university went to court to end its relationship with Tenet. It claimed the company wasn’t investing enough in the facilities. Tenet countersued. USC’s acquisition of the two hospitals settles the legal dispute. University officials say the $275 million deal will foster more coordination and control of USC’s medical teaching, research, and practice.

  That could, ultimately, affect operations at the biggest of the USC hospitals, the one it runs with L.A. County. Fifty-thousand patients check into County-USC Medical Center each year. Another three-quarters of a million get outpatient treatment there.

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  • February 10, 2009 3:20 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Health

• 10,000 state employees to be laid off if no budget deal

  Governor Schwarzenegger said today that layoff notices will go out to 10,000 state workers Friday – unless he reaches a budget deal with the legislature. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: The governor has proposed eliminating up to 10,000 jobs to save $750 million over the next year. He says he’d consider abandoning the plan if state legislators come up with another way to save the money. The state faces a $40 billion-plus budget shortfall.

  It’s unlikely all 10,000 workers would get the axe. Some could retire. The state might transfer others to positions funded by special revenue streams, not the general fund. But analysts say thousands of layoffs are likely, unless there’s a deal. Layoff notices would go to employees with the least seniority.

  California’s already forcing 200,000 state workers to take two unpaid days off a month. That amounts to a 9 percent pay cut for affected employees.

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  • February 10, 2009 2:57 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Corrections Department fights ruling requiring prisoner releases

  The state Corrections and Rehabilitation Department says it will fight yesterday’s ruling on prison overcrowding. A three-judge panel tentatively ruled that California must release tens of thousands of prisoners to improve conditions in state prisons that have been declared unconstitutional.

  Corrections spokesman Seth Unger told KPCC’s “AirTalk” that the panel can exercise many legal options, should its ruling become final.

  Seth Unger: “Well we strongly disagree with the panel’s tentative ruling that the release of 36- to 50-thousand prison inmates would be appropriate and that it wouldn’t jeopardize public safety. This would be the equivalent of us letting out seven to 10 full prisons onto the street.”

  Unger insists that medical care has improved in state prisons. He said the department could appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  The judges want the state to come up with a plan for releasing the prisoners in two to three years. They may hold additional hearings before they make the decision final.

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  • February 10, 2009 2:54 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Car wash manager used machete to intimidate workers

  Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo has filed a criminal complaint against the owners of four car washes.

  Delgadillo says Benny Pirian and his brother Nissan mistreated workers at their four car washes in Hollywood, Los Feliz, and Northridge.

  Delgadillo told KPCC his office and the federal Department of Labor have been investigating the car washes for four months, interviewing workers who were willing to talk.

  Rocky Delgadillo: “One of the managers, Manuel Reyes, actually brandished a machete to intimidate these individuals to not cooperate with us in our investigation. If they did cooperate, the brave souls who did, their hours were reduced or their job was eliminated.”

  Delgadillo alleges some workers earned as little as $35 for eight hours of work – and that some worked just for tips. Delgadillo also says the workers received no additional pay for working overtime and that managers discouraged the workers even from taking water breaks.

  Benny and Nissan Pirian have denied similar allegations in the past.

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  • February 10, 2009 2:52 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice

• City attorney files complaint against car wash owners

  Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo has filed a criminal complaint against the owners of four L.A.-area car washes. Delgadillo told KPCC that brothers Benny and Nissan Pirian pay dozens of their employees less than minimum wage and subject them to harmful working conditions.

  Rocky Delgadillo: “There were individuals who received acid burns, lacerations, puncture wounds, and none of those individuals were aided in any way, shape, or form by their employer to get medical attention. They were left to their own devices.”

  The complaint seeks $450,000 in wages Delgadillo believes the workers should have earned.

  The Pirians have denied allegations of low wages in the past, and they’ve accused the workers of falling under the influence of labor union organizers.

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  • February 10, 2009 11:37 AM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Criminal Justice

• Ticketmaster and Live Nation announce merger

  The world’s biggest ticketing service and the world’s biggest concert promoter are joining forces. Ticketmaster and concert promoter Live Nation announced this morning that they’ll merge into a new company called Live Nation Entertainment.

  Business analyst Mark Lacter told KPCC’s Steve Julian that the merger will likely require a long review process, because the new company would take on a dominant role in the concert business.

  Mark Lacter: “The Obama administration will clearly take a close look at this merger. Also, don’t be surprised if smaller competitors try challenging the deal in court. Whatever happens, Steve, it’s going to be a long time before this is resolved one way or another.”

  Ticketmaster’s chairman says the deal will give audiences more live entertainment options.

  Musician Bruce Springsteen is among the deal’s critics. He posted a statement on his Web site claiming the new company could exercise a near-monopoly on music ticket sales.

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  • February 10, 2009 11:34 AM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• Los Angeles County considers hiring freeze

  The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors is considering imposing an immediate hiring freeze for county government jobs. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports it’s the latest fallout from the state’s fiscal crisis.

  Frank Stoltze: In a memo to supervisors, Chief Executive Officer Bill Fujioka says L.A. County stands to lose $105 million in deferred state funding this month. That total could balloon to nearly one-and-a-half billion dollars by August. It’s money the county expects to get once the state regains its fiscal footing.

  But Fujioka says the delay could cause a serious cash flow problem. That’s why he wants an immediate hiring freeze for all but critical health and safety jobs. Fujioka also wants to freeze all non-essential purchases of services and supplies. That’ll place more strain on the local economy.

  California Controller John Chiang says the state must delay some payments to counties to preserve cash for education, debt service obligations, and other payments the law requires. He says delays begin Friday, and will continue until the governor and state legislature come up with adequate solutions to the state’s cash shortfall.

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  • February 9, 2009 5:50 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Judges order prisoners released to relieve prison overcrowding

  A special panel of federal judges tentatively ruled today in Sacramento that California must release thousands of inmates to relieve prison overcrowding. The judges say it’s the only way to improve conditions so bad that inmates often die from suicide or lack of proper care. KPCC’s Nick Roman has details.

  Nick Roman: The legal case has been going on for years – and state officials have expected an order like this. Governor Schwarzenegger warned about prison overcrowding two years ago – and he pledged to do something about it.

  Since then, the state’s transferred a few thousand inmates to private or out-of-state lockups – but California prisons still hold about 58,000 more inmates than the 100,000 they were designed for. Inmates are triple-bunked in cells. Gymnasiums double as dormitories.

  Unacceptable, say the judges – but reducing the inmate population doesn’t mean wardens will throw open the doors of California’s 33 prisons. The judges say the state can change parole and other policies so there’s no risk to public safety.

  They also say it doesn’t have to happen now. They want a two- or three-year plan to cut the number of inmates. The Schwarzenegger administration would draw up that plan – but the job of carrying it out would largely fall to the next governor.

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  • February 9, 2009 5:18 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Wildfires ravaging Australia hold lessons for the Southland

  Wildfires in southeastern Australia have killed at least 173 people, destroyed more than 750 homes, and burned 850 square miles of land. Officials there say at least 5,000 people have lost their homes. Jon Faine, a morning program presenter for radio station ABC Melbourne, told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that people in Southern California shouldn’t underestimate the force of nature.

  Jon Faine: “We’ve been told that the climate change scenario means that you get more natural disasters and more extreme weather. There’s no better illustration of it than a snapshot of Australia today.

  “We had our hottest day, ever, ever on Saturday, every record was broken. And people are saying, well we’ve had hot before, we’ve had fire before, we’ve had drought before, but they are all happening together.”

  Faine said that unlike the seasonal Santa Ana winds that drive Southland fires, the 60 mile-an-hour winds propelling the wildfires in Australia are frighteningly unpredictable. Many of the areas that burned are far suburbs of Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city.

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  • February 9, 2009 5:16 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• LAUSD ramps up solar panel installation training

  The Los Angeles Unified School District officially announced today that it’s expanding an innovative solar panel installation training program. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: L.A. Unified wants enough solar panels on school roofs in three years to produce 50 megawatts of electricity – enough to power tens of thousands of homes. It’ll have to hire contractors with experienced installers.

  There aren’t enough experienced workers to fill the need now, so the school district’s expanding its certification courses from one center in Lincoln Heights to others in South L.A. and the San Fernando Valley. Guy Mehula, head of L.A. Unified’s Facilities Division, says new schools built with voter-approved bond money are all wired to use solar energy.

  Guy Mehula: We have actually made a conscious effort in our bond program to build 130 new schools, but to make sure we’re reinvesting back into the community and making sure that those dollars are going back to our local labor force, and means jobs for us here in L.A.

  Guzman-Lopez: About 90 adults, a small portion of them high school students, are enrolled in the solar panel training program. Officials predict that hundreds will want to train for the well-paid jobs.

  LINK: East Los Angeles Skills Center - current location for Photovoltaic Installer Certification Preparation program

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  • February 9, 2009 5:13 PM
  • Categories: Education, Science/Technology

• Grandmother of octuplets critical of her daughter's decision

  A gossip Web page has posted a video of an interview with the mother of octuplet mom Nadya Suleman. KPCC’s Nick Roman says the mother – Angela Suleman – is critical of her unmarried daughter’s decision to have eight more children.

  Nick Roman: The interview video is on the gossip Web page RadarOnline.com. It’s only two minutes long – and it’s heavily edited. In it, Angela Suleman says what her daughter Nadya has done is “unconscionable.”

  She says she loves the six “wonderful, beautiful” children that already live in her three-bedroom home. She says she doesn’t know how her daughter will cope – and she says she hopes 33-year-old Nadya will find other living accommodations for “all her children.”

  In the written story that accompanies the video, Angela Suleman says she and her husband begged one doctor not to implant any more embryos in her daughter.

  The story includes four photos that show the inside of the Suleman house now – with just six kids living there. Clothes are stuffed into closets and piled on the floor. The publicist for Nadya Suleman says his client hasn’t been in the house for two months – and shouldn’t be responsible for its condition.

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  • February 9, 2009 5:11 PM
  • Categories: Health

• Weather to stay cool in Southland

  It’s been a windy, cold, and rainy Monday. The wind and the rain should be gone by tonight – but KPCC’s Nick Roman says keep the raincoat handy.

  Nick Roman: It took until February, but winter’s finally here. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration looked at January temperatures in the 50 states – and determined that California’s were “much above normal.” The state’s rainfall totals in January were listed as “much below normal.”

  The storm that just passed through boosted those numbers a little bit. It dropped an inch-and-a-half of rain on USC. In the hills above Flintridge, the storm delivered a four-and-a-half inch drenching. Even with that, this season’s rainfall is only half what it usually is.

  Next up is a small storm that’ll soon move east across the Southland. You could see some rain on Wednesday or Thursday. But the chance of rain is small – only about 20 percent.

  The National Weather Service is also talking about a slight chance of rain next weekend – but nothing big. Temperatures this week won’t move much above the high 50s or low 60s.

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  • February 9, 2009 4:32 PM

• FCC Commissioner visits to explain digital TV transition delay

  The big transition from analog to digital television was supposed to be complete next week. But Congress has voted to delay the deadline until June. That gave millions of households not yet ready for the switch four more months to buy new televisions, subscribe to cable or satellite TV, or buy digital-to-analog converter boxes.

  Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein is touring the Southland to ask churches and neighborhood groups for help with preparing in more households for digital TV.

  Jonathan Adelstein: “The government does not have in place a field operation to make sure that people that can’t do this for themselves have help in their homes if they need it.

  “Not everybody wants a stranger coming into their home. They trust members of their congregation, and that’s a particularly good source of help for those that need it.”

  Adelstein spoke with pastors at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in South Los Angeles, and to more than 100 people at the West Covina Senior Center. He said Los Angeles is home to more over-the-air TV watchers – that is, viewers without cable or satellite – than any other city in the country.

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  • February 9, 2009 4:27 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Politics/Public Affairs, Religion/Spirituality

• Former eBay CEO Whitman to run for governor

  Add Meg Whitman’s name to the list of candidates for California governor. In a video released on her Web site, the former eBay chief executive officer said she’ll seek the Republican nomination next year. Whitman’s never run for political office. She invited viewers to offer their ideas for her campaign.

  Meg Whitman: “So I’d like to hear from you, Californians, the people who make our state so great. Tell us your story. Tell us your hopes for California. Tell us what our state should be doing better to help you and your family.

  “We need your ideas if we’re going to restore California. We need your voice. And I need your help to build a new California.”

  Fifty-two-year-old Whitman joins Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former congressman Tom Campbell in the contest for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

  Link: Meg Whitman’s Web site

  Link: “Meg Whitman for Governor” video

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  • February 9, 2009 4:21 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• ACLU attorney talks about newly released immigration documents

  The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California hopes newly released documents will shine a light on what it calls illegal immigration raids and unlawful detentions.

  ACLU attorney Marisol Orihuela says internal memos a New York law professor obtained indicate that federal agents routinely robbed immigrants of their constitutional protection from unlawful search and seizure. In many cases, she says, agents arrested and deported those immigrants.

  Marisol Orihuela: “Any time the government detains someone where they take someone’s liberty away, it should be held accountable for its alleged basis for justifying that detention.”

  That professor and his students used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain internal memos about Immigration and Customs Enforcement practices.

  The memos suggest that immigration officials presented homeland security-based arguments to Congress to justify federal spending on searches for people with criminal records, but ordered raid teams to carry out broader searches. They also authorized agents to arrest immigrants who were not criminals or terrorists.

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  • February 9, 2009 4:16 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Former eBay CEO Whitman announces candidacy for governor

  Former eBay chief executive officer Meg Whitman confirmed today what’s been rumored for months – that she’s running for governor. Whitman will seek the Republican nomination next year, when Governor Schwarzenegger is termed out. Research Fellow Bill Whalen of the Hoover Institution says she’ll face a tough race against Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.

  Bill Whalen: “This is someone who did not even register as a Republican until 2007 – never run for office. Poizner’s run for both the Assembly and now state insurance commissioner, so he’s taken some positions. We don’t know where she is on those issues that define California politics, like immigration, like the environment, like taxes, like choice.”

  Whitman was an economic advisor to Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Former congressman Tom Campbell is also seeking the GOP nomination for governor.

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  • February 9, 2009 4:14 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Obama 'Hope' artist Shepard Fairey sues Associated Press

  The legal back-and-forth continues over the rights to a ubiquitous image of the new president. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says the L.A.-based artist behind the Barack Obama “Hope” poster is suing the distributor of the photo on which it’s based.

  Shepard Fairey: That’s because the Associated Press wants credit and compensation from artist Shepard Fairey for the image that became a touchstone for the Obama presidential campaign. Fairey argues that he worked with the shot by AP photographer Mannie Garcia under fair use guidelines that don’t violate the news cooperative’s copyrights.

  The lawsuit in a New York federal court also seeks to prevent the AP from using its copyrights against Fairey or anyone in possession of the poster. In theory, that would include the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., where an original of the red-white-and-blue graphic has been on display since inauguration week.

  The new court complaint isn’t the 38-year-old artist’s only dance with the law. On Saturday, Boston police arrested Fairey – who started his street art career pasting up posters under cover of night – on two outstanding warrants related to graffiti tagging. Police released him a few hours after his arrest.

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  • February 9, 2009 3:17 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Former eBay exec Meg Whitman announces run for governor

  Former eBay chief executive officer Meg Whitman announced today she’s running for the Republican nomination for governor of California. Governor Schwarzenegger is termed out next year. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Frank Stoltze: In a video posted on her Web site, 52-year-old Whitman offered herself as a businesswoman who could fix Sacramento.

  Meg Whitman: Hardworking Californians are losing hope, while in Sacramento, politicians argue but never lead. We can’t stand by and let this continue. I refuse to let California fail and that’s why I’m running for governor.

  Stoltze: Whitman offered no details on how she’d address the major issues facing the state. While she served as an economic advisor to Senator John McCain during his presidential campaign, Whitman has never run for office and has only recently registered as a Republican.

  Two other Republicans are running: Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner – another former Silicon Valley executive with money – and former congressman Tom Campbell. Many in the GOP consider all three social moderates, and some in the party are actively searching for a conservative to enter the race.

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  • February 9, 2009 3:14 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• USC doctor urges against rush to judgment with octuplet doctors

  The state medical board is investigating the doctor who helped a woman conceive octuplets born late last month. In her first interviews since the births, Nadya Suleman told NBC that an in vitro fertilization clinic in Beverly Hills helped her become pregnant with all 14 of her children.

  Richard Paulson, who heads the non-profit fertility practice at USC, cautioned against a rush to judgment regarding the doctors involved.

  Richard Paulson: “What patients tell you in the privacy of the patient-doctor relationship may be different from what they say to the public and what they say when the cameras are on and they’re getting this kind of national attention, so I continue to hold out hope that there is some reasonable explanation for how this all came down – and this will all unfold in some reasonable way, and we’re all going to say, ‘Oh, now I get it.’”

  Paulson spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk.” The 33-year-old single mother at the center of the multiple-births story has come in for intense criticism. In the televised interviews she calmly defended what she called her unconventional choices.

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  • February 9, 2009 2:01 PM
  • Categories: Health

• More details released about octuplet birth

  The mother who recently gave birth to octuplets has identified the fertility clinic that treated her. Nadya Suleman told NBC’s Today Show that West Coast IVF Clinic in Beverly Hills helped her conceive all 14 of her children.

  The Medical Board of California is investigating the doctor who assisted the most recent procedure.

  Richard Paulson is director of USC Fertility, a non-profit practice at USC. He spoke with KPCC’s Larry Mantle about the focus of the investigation.

  Richard Paulson: “The question is, was the standard of care breached in this case, and the standard of care would then pertain to both the number of embryos that were transferred, the quality of those embryos, the overall prognosis of the patient, and I think even to some extent, potentially, the psychological issues in this case.”

  The board did not identify the doctor it’s investigating, but KTLA-TV aired a video recorded a couple of years ago that shows a doctor named Michael Kamrava treating Suleman and discussing the implantation process.

  Suleman’s mother has told an online magazine that the fertility specialist who helped her daughter conceive octuplets was not the one who aided her previous pregnancies.

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  • February 9, 2009 1:38 PM
  • Categories: Health

• LA imposing more water use restrictions

  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants the city’s Department of Water and Power to set tighter limits on water use. L.A.’s already restricting some outdoor water consumption. The mayor wants more users to fall in line.

  Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: “Phase three will restrict residents in watering their lawns to two days a week. Mondays and Thursdays only. And prohibit watering between the hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.”

  The public utility’s commissioners must approve the new limits. The DWP board will also consider new water rates. Shortage year rates would lower the amount each customer can use without penalty – and would reward water conservation.

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  • February 9, 2009 12:57 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Robert Plant and Alison Krauss top Grammy awards

  Former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and bluegrass singer Alison Krauss were the top winners at last night’s Grammy Awards. The duo won five Grammys including Album of the Year for their album “Raising Sand.”

  Rolling Stone senior editor Michael Endelman says that didn’t surprise him.

  Michael Endelman: “I mean it’s a great record and it’s sold well, but it’s also clear that the Grammy voters are still very, you know, sort of have a boomer-rock bias, and that win, if there’s something that’s got a prestige project like that with Robert Plant and T-Bone Burnett nominated, then it’s going to win.”

  Burnett produced the genre-bending duets album. Krauss already was the leading female winner in the history of the Grammys. She’s won 26 in her career.

  Song of the Year went to Coldplay for “Viva La Vida”; Jennifer Hudson won Best R&B album; and Randy Brecker’s “Randy in Brasil” was awarded Contemporary Jazz Album.

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  • February 9, 2009 12:55 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Deal announced on stimulus; weekend vote likely

  AP Special Correspondent

  WASHINGTON (AP) - With job losses soaring nationwide, Senate Democrats reached agreement with a small group of Republicans Friday night on an economic stimulus measure at the heart of President Barack Obama’s plan for combatting the worst recession in decades.

  “The American people want us to work together. They don’t want to see us dividing along partisan lines on the most serious crisis confronting our country,” said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, one of three Republican moderates who broke ranks and pledged their votes for the bill.

  Democratic leaders expressed confidence that the concessions they had made to Republicans and moderate Democrats to trim the measure had cleared the way for its passage. No final vote was expected before Saturday or Sunday.

  Officials put the cost of the bill at $827 billion, including Obama’s signature tax cut of up to $1,000 for working couples, even if they earn too little to pay income taxes. Also included are breaks for homebuyers and people buying new cars. Much of the new spending would be for victims of the recession, in the form of unemployment compensation, health care and food stamps.

  Republican critics complained that whatever the cost, billions were ticketed for programs that would not create jobs.

  In a key reduction from the bill that reached the Senate floor earlier in the week, $40 billion would be cut from a “fiscal stabilization fund” for state governments’ education costs, though $14 billion to boost the maximum for college Pell Grants by $400 to $5,250 would be preserved, as would aid to local school districts for the No Child Left Behind law and special education.

  A plan to help the unemployed purchase health insurance would be reduced to a 50 percent subsidy instead of two-thirds.

  The agreement capped a tense day of backroom negotiations in which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, joined by White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, sought to attract the support of enough Republicans to give the measure the needed 60-vote majority. Democrats hold a 58-41 majority in the Senate, including two independents.

  Uncertain of the outcome of the talks, Democrats called Sen. Edward M. Kennedy back to Washington in case his vote was needed. The Massachusetts senator, battling brain cancer, has been in Florida in recent days and has not been in the Capitol since suffering a seizure on Inauguration Day more than two weeks ago.

  In addition to Collins, Republican Sens. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Olympia Snowe of Maine pledged to vote for the legislation.

  Whatever the price tag, the compromise marked a victory for the new president, who has veered between calls for bipartisanship and increasingly strong criticism of Republicans in recent days. And it indicated that Democratic leaders remain on track to deliver a bill to the White House by the end of next week.

  Late Friday night, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, “On the day when we learned 3.6 million people have lost their jobs since this recession began, we are pleased the process is moving forward and we are closer to getting Americans a plan to create millions of jobs and get people back to work.”

  Obama said earlier in the day that further delay would be “inexcusable and irresponsible” given Friday’s worst monthly unemployment report in a generation - 598,000 jobs lost in January and the national unemployment rate rising to 7.6 percent. And late Friday, federal regulators announced the closures of three banks, First Bank Financial Services in Georgia and Alliance Bank and County Bank in California, raising to nine the number of bank failures this year.

  “The world is waiting to see what we’re going to do in the next 24 hours,” said Reid who has spent much of the week trying to balance demands among moderates in both parties against pressure for a larger bill from liberals in his own rank and file.

  By midday, the majority leader had spoken once with Obama by phone and five times with Emanuel. He met with Collins and Specter as well as Sen. Ben Nelson, a conservative Nebraska Democrat who had long advocated cuts in the House-passed bill.

  Later, Nelson declared on the Senate floor, “We trimmed the fat, fried the bacon and milked the sacred cows.” He said the compromise included $350 billion in tax cuts that would reach 95 percent of all Americans.

  One Republican-proposed document that circulated earlier called for cuts of $60 billion from money Democrats want to send to the states. That money is targeted to avoid budget cuts for schools as well as law enforcement and other programs.

  Talk of cuts in proposed education funds triggered a counterattack from advocates of school spending as well as unhappiness among Democrats.

  One, Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, told reporters he and others hoped that some of the funds on the chopping block would be restored next week when negotiations open on a House-Senate compromise.

  At its core, the legislation is designed to ease the worst economic recession in generations, and combines hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending with tax cuts. Much of the money would go for victims of the recession in the form of food stamps, unemployment compensation and health care. There are funds, as well, for construction of highways and bridges.

  But the administration also decided to use the bill to make a down payment on key domestic initiatives, including creation of a new health technology industry and so-called green jobs designed to make the country less dependent on imported oil.

  And Democrats in Congress decided to add additional huge sums for the states struggling with the recession, as well as billions more for favored programs such as parks, the repair of monuments in federal cemeteries, health and science research and more.

  With Obama enjoying post-inauguration support in the polls and the economy shrinking, Democratic leaders in Congress have confidently predicted they would have a bill to the president’s desk by mid-February.

  But Republicans, freed of the need to defend former President George W. Bush’s policies, have pivoted quickly to criticize the bill for its size and what they consider wasteful spending.

  The entire Republican rank and file voted against the measure in the House, effectively prodding senators to take up the same cause.

  In the intervening days, Republicans have appeared to catch the administration and its allies off-guard, holding up relatively small items for ridicule and routinely seizing on comments from Democrats critical of the House-passed bill.

  At the same time, they have stressed a desire to help the economy but have said they prefer tax cuts and spending that would have a more immediate impact on job creation.

  Privately, Democrats in Congress have been critical of Obama and his aides for failing to counter the Republicans more effectively. In recent days, the president has sharpened his rhetoric against unnamed critics of the bill whom he accused of trying to re-establish the “failed policies” of the past eight years.

  Despite the struggle, some Republicans seemed to sense the White House would ultimately prevail, and sought political mileage.

  Obama “could have had a very, very impressive victory early on,” said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who heads the Senate Republican campaign committee. “But this is not turning out to be an impressive victory. it is turning out to be a little bit of a black eye.”

  (Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Erica Werner, Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Liz Sidoti and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.)

  (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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  • February 6, 2009 8:10 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• State committee on African American student improvement needs members

  Educators have largely failed to significantly improve the performance of African American students in California public schools. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez says the State Board of Education wants ideas.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: The state board’s decided to create an African American advisory committee of educators, parents, and others to share ideas and find out how some schools succeeding at raising black students’ test scores and graduation rates. State Board of Education member Greg Jones says one of the biggest obstacles is low expectations.

  Greg Jones: Most of the young people that find themselves on the bottom end of the achievement gap, whether they are African America, Latino, or poor kids, many of them live in a world of low expectations, whether it’s through their peer group, whether it’s even at home, and sometimes it’s at school.

  Guzman-Lopez: The board’s accepting applications for the committee until Tuesday, February 17. It wants people with experience in education or with African American communities.

  LINK: African American Advisory Committee (AAAC) - includes application

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  • February 6, 2009 7:43 PM
  • Categories: Education, Politics/Public Affairs

• Professional players hold baseball camp benefit for family killed in Christmas Eve attack

  Rain or shine, big leaguer Mike Sweeney says, he’ll be on the baseball field at Ontario High Saturday morning to raise money for the family killed in the Christmas Eve attack in Covina.

  Sweeney organized an instructional camp for kids in honor of 17-year-old Michael Ortiz. The Ontario High baseball player was one of nine people killed in the savage attack carried out by his aunt’s ex-husband.

  Sweeney, who’s a four-time All-Star,says when he got the call to help the Ortiz family, he jumped at the chance.

  Mike Sweeney: “I know there’ve been a lot of people wondering, ‘Is the camp gonna go on with the rain?’ And my feeling is, the Ortiz family has been through a huge storm. And I don’t think it’s asking much of us to sit out in the rain for a couple of hours, if it is drizzling, with a bunch of kids and have some fun playing baseball.”

  Sweeney says a dozen current or former big leaguers will help at the Ontario High School camp. They’ll start at 10:00. He’s asking families that participate to donate $50. He’s already collected $20,000. Sweeney has played Major League Baseball for 15 seasons. He’s signed with the Seattle Mariners this year.

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  • February 6, 2009 7:18 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Society/Culture, Sports/Recreation

• State Senate committee hears from mobile home park residents in wake of fires

  The clean-up phase at Sylmar’s Oakridge Mobile Home Park could be finished by the end of the month. Former occupants will likely start rebuilding soon after that. At a public hearing in Sylmar today, KPCC’s Patricia Nazario listened to state lawmakers, residents, and fire officials talk about the safety standards that may be in place as those new homes arise.

  Patricia Nazario: Dozens of property owners from a half dozen mobile home parks took turns at the microphone in the auditorium at Los Angeles Mission College. Some were angry about safety issues they said they’d complained about for years: low water pressure at fire hydrants, overgrown trees, and shrubs too close to homes.

  But Martha Martinez and her daughter Anna Lisa, from the Oakridge Mobile Home Park, just wanted to know when they could buy new manufactured homes and return to the property.

  Martha Martinez: We’ve been waiting since November. We wanna know when can we move back in.

  Nazario: Democratic State Senator Alex Padilla said that’ll probably happen by late spring. Padilla called the hearing on safety issues because, he said, he wants to make the rebuilt neighborhoods better.

  Senator Alex Padilla: More than one way in and out of mobile home community makes all the sense in the world. That, at a minimum. Along with improved fire hydrant service.

  Nazario: …And an evacuation plan. Padilla said his proposed Senate Bill 23 covers those points. It would require parks to adopt several of the safety recommendations that mobile home park occupants and fire officials outlined at the hearing.

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  • February 6, 2009 7:14 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Society/Culture

• Orange County Sheriff to give update on concealed weapons permits next week

  The Orange County Board of Supervisors’ meeting will likely be packed tomorrow Tuesday. That’s when the sheriff plans to give an update on her department’s concealed weapons permit policy. KPCC’s Susan Valot reports.

  Susan Valot: Gun rights advocates have blasted Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens because she wants to tighten guidelines for concealed weapons permits. Hutchens considered revoking the permits, but county supervisors were concerned that revocations would show up in federal criminal databases, and raise suspicions about people whose jobs rely on security clearance.

  Now, the sheriff’s thinking of moving up the expiration dates on the permits. That way, they’d expire and not show up on the permit holder’s record. But gun rights advocates don’t like that, either.

  When Sheriff Hutchens talked to county supervisors about concealed weapons permits last month, an official with her department used surveillance cameras to zoom in on the notes and Blackberry messages of county supervisors. The supervisors, and some free speech advocates, were extremely angry. This’ll be the first time the sheriff’s addressed the board since then.

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  • February 6, 2009 7:10 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Singer-songwriter Ne-Yo honored by six Grammy nominations

  The Recording Academy hands out Grammy Awards Sunday. Singer-songwriter Ne-Yo could lay claim to six of them. He took home one last year for Best Contemporary R-and-B Album. At a career day last week at USC, he spoke to students from local high schools and his own alma mater in Las Vegas.

  Ne-Yo: “The nomination alone is an honor, you know what I’m saying? That’s basically saying, of everything that happened in that year, you were in the top five, so, um, it’s above and beyond an honor, you know. And then to actually win a Grammy, like, I’m a songwriter and I’m supposed to be good with words, but I can’t even put it into words what it is, what that feels like.”

  In the “Album of the Year” category, Ne-Yo’s “Year of the Gentleman” is competing against albums by Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Radiohead, and Robert Plant and Alison Kraus.

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  • February 6, 2009 7:07 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• San Bernardino County tax assessor Postmus resigns

  San Bernardino County’s embattled tax assessor Bill Postmus abruptly resigned this afternoon. The move comes a month after he was charged with drug possession, and a week after some voters launched a recall effort. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas reports the resignation probably ends a once-promising nine-year career in politics.

  Steven Cuevas: Before he was assessor, Bill Postmus was chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. The young Republican raised thousands of dollars for George W. Bush’s presidential bids, and he was considered a shoe-in in for higher office.

  But his career began to unravel last year. A grand jury accused him of fraud and corruption. The District Attorney started looking into questionable real estate deals and allegations that Postmus traded county jobs for political favors. Rumors circulated of a methamphetamine habit and stints in rehab.

  Last month, Postmus was charged with felony drug possession. All the while, he refused to quit as assessor, even as the county hired a special prosecutor to look for ways to remove him from office.

  In his letter of resignation, Postmus said he’ll vacate his office next week. He cited his battle with substance abuse for his resignation.

  In a statement, Bill Ovitt, who chairs the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, hoped Postmus could overcome his problems.

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  • February 6, 2009 7:01 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Two Orange County community colleges go smoke-free

  When classes start up Monday at a couple of Orange County community colleges, something will be missing: smoke. KPCC’s Susan Valot says two campuses are joining the ranks of the “smoke-free.”

  Susan Valot: If you smoke, you’ll now be pushed to the outskirts at Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College. They’ve declared themselves “smoke-free” institutions, starting this semester.

  That means no tobacco in buildings, on sidewalks, or on the college mall. The ban includes cigarettes, cigars, pipes… even chewing tobacco. Smokers will have to head to the parking lots around the perimeters of the campuses if they want to light up. Initially, there’ll just be signs and polite reminders to let smokers and tobacco chewers know.

  The number of college campuses that have banned or limited smoking has grown over the past few years. Some campuses have really strict policies. For example, smoking’s not allowed anywhere on campus at Fullerton College and Santa Monica College… not even the parking lots.

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  • February 6, 2009 6:57 PM
  • Categories: Education, Health

• Activists demand U.S. Border Patrol records of immigration raids

  Rain or shine Saturday morning, dozens of immigration activists are planning to march from Riverside City Hall to the city’s U.S. Border Patrol office. They want details about recent immigration raids in the area. Several Border Patrol officers claim the agency has imposed an arrest quota. Immigration activist Emilio Amaya is with the San Bernardino Community Service Center.

  Emilio Amaya: “We have noticed increased activity by the Border Patrol since the beginning of last year in Lake Ellsinore, Perris, Temecula… so its been going for at least a year now. We wanna get numbers on how many people have been arrested under this quota system, and we wanna know for sure if this is policy and practice.”

  The Border Patrol says it doesn’t have an arrest quota, but says it will investigate the allegations. The agency refuses to give out arrest figures for the Inland area. This week, day laborer groups submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to get that information.

  The “Stop the Raids” march begins at the steps of Riverside City Hall Saturday morning at 10.

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  • February 6, 2009 6:52 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Music producer says Grammys are unique for recognizing everyone

  The recording industry presents the 51st annual Grammy Awards Sunday at Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles. More than 100 categories are up for grabs.

  Music producer Jimmy Jam says all that variety sets this show apart. He’s won his fair share of Grammys. At a Career Day for high school students last week, he explained that the Grammys recognize more than performing artists.

  Jimmy Jam: “I couldn’t get an American Music Award. I couldn’t get an MTV award. But I can get a Grammy as a songwriter and as a producer. So all of you that want to be songwriters, and producers, and engineers, and all the other great things that you can do in the music business, the Grammys is an organization and a show that will reward you for your hard work.”

  Jimmy Jam chairs the Recording Academy’s Board of Trustees.

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  • February 6, 2009 6:49 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• State Senate committee holds public hearing on fires that damaged mobile home parks

  Dozens of mobile home park residents who lost their homes in last year’s wildfires spoke directly to lawmakers today at a public hearing in Sylmar.

  Democratic State Senator Alex Padilla said he’s especially concerned about safety conditions at Sylmar’s Sky Terrace and Oakridge mobile home parks. He said low hydrant pressure and few exits created serious problems for fire fighters at the Marek and Sayre Fires.

  Senator Alex Padilla: “It’s lost on me why there’s not a current requirement that these mobile home parks don’t have better emergency preparedness plan and specific evacuation plans. So, I have introduced a bill that would require every mobile home park community in the state of California to have an evacuation plan.”

  Padilla said he wants to rush federal emergency aid money to the area and help speed along the debris cleaning process, so people displaced from the mobile home parks can begin rebuilding no later than early summer.

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  • February 6, 2009 6:46 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Society/Culture

• Christian bikers stage economic crisis prayer crusade in Inland Empire

  Thunderstorms won’t be the only thing rumbling through the Inland Empire this weekend. More than a hundred Christian motorcycle riders will roar across local freeways in what they call a “praying procession” for the region’s battered economy. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has details.

  Steven Cuevas: It’s the second time a coalition of Inland churches has hosted the “Ride and Pray” event. Bikers will fan out across the region from Riverside to Yucaipa delivering prayer and ministry to people in financial and emotional distress. Riders will wear t-shirts emblazoned with a message the churches have already been sending through a yard sign and billboard campaign.

  Debbie Hornsby: It says, “Cast your cares on him, for he cares for you. Give your life to Jesus.”

  Cuevas: Pastor Debbie Hornsby is one of the ride’s organizers.

  Hornsby: I think our heart is just, that if we can get the word out there that Inland people are hurting, they’ll begin to turn to churches and begin to say to their neighbor, ‘Who has that yard sign? Y’know, I’m really struggling. What’s that sign all about?” And then that opens the door for people to love them and share the gospel with them.

  Cuevas: Sunday afternoon, “Ride and Pray” participants will steer their choppers into the Stater Bros. parking lot in Fontana for the 1:00 start. The lot is just off the 15 Freeway at Summit Avenue. There’ll be six more rides through the summer.

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  • February 6, 2009 6:35 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Religion/Spirituality, Transportation

• Oakridge Mobile Home Park residents allowed in ahead of debris removal

  The Oakridge Mobile Home Park in Sylmar will be open through Sunday. City officials are allowing former occupants one last look for valuables before the debris-removal process begins.

  Eric Baumgardener, with the Emergency Management Department, says the City of Los Angeles’ public works department will probably select a contractor next week.

  Eric Baumgardener: “The process is using a list of on-call contractors the city deals with normally for debris removal and emergency abatement issues. So, it’s a smaller list than normal public bids.”

  Baumgardener says that list includes a couple dozen pre-qualified and pre-screened contractors. City officials chose that route to streamline the process… and to allow people whose units are still standing in Oakridge Mobile Home Park to begin moving back into their homes soon.

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  • February 6, 2009 6:31 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs, Society/Culture

• DMV customers unprepared for office being closed due to furloughs

  The twice-monthly state employee furlough kicked in today. Not everybody had heard the news that, because of California’s cash crunch, most state offices are closed on the first and third Fridays of every month. Early this morning, KPCC’s Brian Watt visited the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Culver City. So did a few customers.

  Brian Watt: A steady trickle of motorists pulled into the empty parking lot outside the dark DMV office. Some of what they said before they drove off is not suitable for broadcast.

  Sergio Cornejo: It’s terrible. It ruins my weekend. I was hoping to take out my car…

  Watt: Sergio Cornejo of Culver City works as an audio video technician.

  Cornejo: I had a four-wheel-drive Blazer that I actually wanted to actually take out this weekend and play with it, but because of this, we can’t.

  Watt: But Cornejo cut the state some slack for trying to save money.

  West L.A. artist Semere Ab had brought in a beat-up car for recycling. He took the Friday closing in stride, and said the state could be establishing a healthy trend.

  Semere Ab: I think it should be permanent; not because of economic reasons, but I think people should work only four days a week .

  Watt: That would allow more time for family and creativity, he said. But most state workers who have no choice but to take the day off would probably prefer to get paid.

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  • February 6, 2009 6:25 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs, Transportation

• State insurance commissioner announces AAA So Cal rate cut

  The state insurance commissioner has announced a rate reduction for drivers covered by AAA of Southern California. Commissioner Steve Poizner says the rate cut of more than 5 percent will save the average policyholder about $100 a year.

  Steve Poizner: “This is great news because it will infuse $101 million into the Southern California economy. Of course, that couldn’t come at a better time given the tough economic conditions.”

  Consumer groups are not cheering. Doug Heller is with Consumer Watchdog. It wanted the commissioner to cut AAA’s premiums by 13 percent – more than double what he approved.

  Doug Heller: “We’re still being overcharged. Commissioner Poizner did not go to the mat for consumers on this rate cut and he always should be looking out for consumers, especially at a time like this, in these tough financial times.”

  The consumer group says it will formally ask the state Department of Insurance to reconsider the size of the rate cut. An executive with AAA applauded the commissioner’s decision.

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  • February 6, 2009 5:24 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Animators gather to remember colleagues who've died

  For 14 years, animators have gathered to remember colleagues who’ve died in the previous year. This year’s wake happens Saturday in Hollywood, and everyone’s invited to attend.

  Organizer Tom Sito says the event remembers famous and the obscure with equal warmth – and with funny stories.

  Tom Sito: “We’ve had people who were like 99 and a hundred, and then last year we had a boy of 13 who died in a skateboard accident, who used to do voices for Nickelodeon.”

  This year’s list numbers 54. It includes Ray Ellis, who wrote the Spider-Man theme song; voice actor Harvey Korman; and CalArts director Bob Winquist. Also on the list are many storyboardists, layout artists, and Xerox processors you haven’t heard of.

  The free event starts at 1 o’clock tomorrow at the Hollywood Heritage Museum across from the Hollywood Bowl.

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  • February 6, 2009 5:21 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Wake held for animation workers who died in the past year

  A hundred people plan to gather in Hollywood tomorrow for the 15th annual wake for animation workers who died during the past year.

  This year’s list numbers 54. Some were famous, like Ollie Johnston, the last of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men;” Bill Melendez, who brought “Peanuts” to television; and entertainer Eartha Kitt, who lent her voice to “The Emperor’s New Groove.” But it also includes people most of us have never heard of.

  Animation historian Tom Sito says the event says a lot about people who work in animation.

  Tom Sito: “Robert Zemeckis said about us once, he said, ‘You people get together and you live like a family, and you, you have each other’s children and you bury each other’s grandfathers. It’s amazing.’”

  The wake at the Hollywood Heritage Museum across from the Hollywood Bowl starts at 1 o’clock tomorrow afternoon. It’s free and open to all.

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  • February 6, 2009 5:18 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• Robin Williams at TED conference

  Despite its assembly of high-powered thinkers and doers, the 25th annual Technology, Entertainment and Design conference in Long Beach is an easygoing event. So all kinds of characters there dropped in on KPCC’s “Patt Morrison,” including comic Robin Williams – in character.

  Robin Williams: “Uncle Sam right now right now is like, ‘Y’all man, I just need some liquidity. You know what I’m saying. (laughing) I need… you know I ran into some bad sub-prime. You know.”

  Patt Morrison: “Do you get the jitters if you don’t get your liquidity?”

  Williams: “Yeah! Yeah! I need 803 billion… by Tuesday. (laughing) Man, if I don’t get it man – no, I would not screw you… again.”

  That’s Robin Williams hanging out with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” at this year’s TED Conference. The sold-out event continues through tomorrow in Long Beach.

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  • February 6, 2009 4:42 PM
  • Categories: Arts

• People show up to find DMV now closed on 1st and 3rd Fridays

  Governor Schwarzenegger’s Friday furloughs of state employees started today. That means all Department of Motor Vehicles offices are closed.

  This morning, “Chris” – a 25-year-old from Manhattan Beach – drove to the DMV in Culver City. He got there early to update the registration on his car before he went to work. He took the closure in stride.

  Chris: “Just like every other business, they’re cutting back due to the economy and budget cuts, and they just don’t have the hours to have everybody in there. It’s frustrating, obviously, because the DMV is the last place you want to go, and when you show and they’re not open, it’s not fun. But I understand why they did it.”

  Some state agencies were granted waivers from the Friday furlough – Employment Development offices remain open, and state parks will close on a less popular day of the week.

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  • February 6, 2009 4:36 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Union workers in support of Employee Free Choice Act march in LA

  Hundreds of union workers marched in Los Angeles yesterday in support of the federal Employee Free Choice Act. The bill would allow people in a given workplace to organize by signing cards that authorize union representation.

  Greg Good, a spokesman for the pro-labor L.A. Alliance for a New Economy, explained why his organization supports the bill.

  Greg Good: “This, a landmark piece of legislation that’s going to help insure that, that, essentially more workers have the opportunity for good, middle-class jobs in this country, and the way it’s going to do that is, is to really afford them the choice to join the union through majority sign-up.”

  Many business leaders regard that alternative to secret-ballot union elections as an insidious end-run. Brian Worth, an independent electrical contractor who heads the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, wants Congress to reject the bill.

  Brian Worth: “This is a bad deal for workers because it exposes them, as part of a card-check campaign, to intimidation and coercion. I don’t think it takes any great stretch of the imagination, I mean, to know what it would be like to be the last person that the union needed to get a card signed.”

  Brian Worth and Greg Good spoke with KPCC’s “AirTalk.” The Employee Free Choice Act is likely to pass in the U.S. House, but opposition may stall it in the Senate.

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  • February 6, 2009 4:06 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Mayoral debate being held, Villaraigosa won't attend

  The National Association of Equal Justice sponsors a mayoral debate tomorrow at Holman United Methodist Church in South Los Angeles. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports that the incumbent refuses to attend it – or any other debate with his opponents in the March 3rd election.

  Frank Stoltze: Nine candidates are challenging Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The mayor’s campaign says none are serious, so he feels no obligation to debate them.

  Only attorney Walter Moore has raised a significant amount of money – $200,000. That still pales in comparison to the mayor’s 2.7 million.

  Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez has chastised the mayor in his column. So has activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Urban Policy Roundtable in South L.A.

  Hutchinson, who does not support the mayor’s re-election, describes Villaraigosa’s refusal to debate as the “height of arrogance” and a “slap in the face of city voters.” He says this should be an election – not a coronation.

  The mayor – who won election four years ago on promises of transparency and openness – hasn’t said much about that criticism and, a spokesman says, certainly won’t show up for the debate at Holman United Methodist Church.

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  • February 6, 2009 3:56 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Octuplet mom talks about being 'under the microscope'

  The mother of the octuplets born in Los Angeles this week has chosen to give her first interview to NBC’s Today show. In an excerpt released today, Nadya Suleman revealed that she had used in vitro fertilization for all six of the kids she had before the octuplets.

  She said she used the same fertility clinic for all of her kids, and that her doctor had fully explained the risks to her each time. Suleman said she had six embryos implanted every time she had kids, and she figured her last procedure would produce her seventh child – not numbers seven through 14.

  Nadya Suleman: “For me, I feel as though I’ve been under the microscope because I’ve chosen this unconventional life. I didn’t intend on it being unconventional, it just turned out to be. All I wanted was children. I wanted to be a mom; that’s all I ever wanted in my life. I love my children.”

  Suleman said she never considered aborting some of the embryos when she found out that she was pregnant with eight more children. She said a friend is the biological father of all 14 kids.

  The 33-year-old Suleman is an unemployed single mom – she’s planning on getting a Master’s degree in counseling. The Today Show will air the full interview on Monday.

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  • February 6, 2009 3:53 PM
  • Categories: Health

• Octuplet mom speaks with NBC's Today Show

  We’re finally getting to hear from the mother of those octuplets born in Los Angeles last week. Nadya Suleman spoke with NBC’s Today Show. NBC released an excerpt today – the full interview airs on Monday.

  In the interview, Suleman defended her decision to pursue fertility treatments, even though she was already raising six kids as an unemployed single mom. She said she’ll be able to give a lot to her brood of 14.

  Nadya Suleman: “I’m providing myself to my children. I’m loving them unconditionally, accepting them unconditionally, everything I do. I’ll stop my life for them, and be present with them, and hold them, and be with them. And how many parents do that? I’m sure there are many that do, but many don’t.”

  Suleman said that she had six embryos implanted, and two turned out to be twins. She said she never considered aborting some of the embryos when she learned that they all had taken.

  Suleman also said she used in vitro fertilization for each of her first six children, and that a friend is the biological father of all 14. Documents obtained by news organizations reveal that Suleman had three miscarriages over seven years before she had her first child.

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  • February 6, 2009 3:44 PM
  • Categories: Health

• 1 dead, 6 wounded in San Gabriel coffee shop shooting

  Police in San Gabriel are searching for two gunmen who opened fire in a crowded coffee shop last night. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze says the attack left one man dead and six wounded – two of them are in critical condition.

  Frank Stoltze: The Coffee Shop cafe sits in a strip mall along busy Valley Boulevard in the heart of San Gabriel. A Chinese bakery and Vietnamese restaurant are nearby. L.A. County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Pat Nolan told Channel Four that two gunmen with bandanas over their faces entered shortly after 11pm.

  Lieutenant Pat Nolan: They specifically targeted a particular table and then turned their attention to the rest of the cafe, fired additional shots, and then fled.

  Stoltze: The Associated Press described workers mopping up pools of blood and sweeping away blood-soaked playing cards after the shooting. Police said robbery did not appear to be the motive.

  They believe the attack was gang-related, but they’re having a hard time finding witnesses willing to talk. Police said the shop’s surveillance cameras were broken and did not record the incident.

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  • February 6, 2009 3:40 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Bank of America stock rebounds after 25 year low

  Bank of America stock rebounded today after it fell to a 25 year low during early trading yesterday. The bank has been suffering after it purchased troubled investment bank Merrill Lynch and mortgage lender Countrywide last year.

  Jim Wilcox teaches about banks at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He spoke with KPCC’s Larry Mantle about Bank of America’s problems.

  Jim Wilcox: “I always regarded it as something of a public service on the part of the B of A shareholders that they were actually willing to pay as much as they did either for Merrill Lynch or for Countrywide.

  “I never quite understood why they thought that was such an attractive buy at that price, and it’s turned out now that they’ve actually bought themselves a lot of trouble.”

  Some financial observers have worried that the federal government may take over Bank of America. That fear has caused the bank’s stock to plunge this year. But in a televised interview today, the bank’s CEO says that he’s talked with members of Congress and regulators, and that nationalization of the bank was “not even a remote possibility.”

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  • February 6, 2009 3:34 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Octuplet mom says she'll be able to provide for her 14 kids after schooling

  Nadya Suleman, the mother who gave birth to octuplets last week, is finally speaking in public. She gave an interview to NBC’s Today show. NBC released an excerpt today; the full interview airs on Monday.

  Many have criticized the 33-year-old Suleman for pursuing fertility treatments, since she was an unemployed single mom with six kids. She insisted that she will be able to care for all 14 children after she finishes getting her Master’s degree in counseling.

  Nadya Suleman: “I know I’ll be able to afford them when I’m done with my schooling. If I were just sitting down, watching TV, and not being as determined as I am to succeed and provide a better future for my children, I believe that would be considered to a certain degree selfish.”

  NBC said Suleman explained that a friend is the biological father of all 14 kids. She said that she had six embryos implanted for all six of the children she had before the octuplets. She said she used the same fertility clinic throughout, although she did not name it in the Today show excerpt. Documents obtained by news organizations revealed that Suleman had three miscarriages over seven years before she had her first child.

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  • February 6, 2009 3:31 PM
  • Categories: Health

• DMV now closed 1st and 3rd Fridays

  Most state offices are closed today under Governor Schwarzenegger’s furlough order. Some Californians found out the hard way. Sergio Cornejo showed up at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Culver City this morning.

  He hoped to register his four-wheel-drive Blazer so he could “play with it” this weekend. But the posted signs told him the office is now closed on the first and third Fridays of the month.

  Sergio Cornejo: “Well, it’s terrible. It’s terrible but I guess we gotta do what we gotta do, and we just gotta stick with it. Any way to save money and back off from whatever the state and the country owes.”

  The DMV has also reduced the number of offices open on Saturdays.

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  • February 6, 2009 12:59 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• UC Regents change the admissions rules

  The University of California’s governing board has unanimously approved a major overhaul of its admissions policy for freshmen. KPCC’s Nick Roman says the changes announced in San Francisco are the biggest in the UC’s admissions guidelines in almost 50 years.

  Nick Roman: Back then, the newly-adopted “Master Plan for Higher Education” guaranteed a tuition-free education at the University of California for the top one-eighth of the state’s high school graduates. That’s 12.5 percent, if you don’t do fractions.

  Now that’s shifting down to 10 percent. The UC’s Board of Regents has adopted new admission guidelines in the works for five years. The biggest change is the lower admission guarantee. But the Regents also tweaked the admissions formula of grades, college prep credits, personal achievements, and SAT scores.

  The aim is to get more Latino, African-American, and low-income students into the UC’s nine undergrad campuses.

  The new guidelines don’t take effect until today’s high school freshmen enter college in three years. But remember: They apply only to freshman admissions. Go to a community college and get good grades in the required courses, and you’ll be first in line among UC transfers.

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  • February 5, 2009 5:41 PM
  • Categories: Education

• State parks workers won't be taking Fridays off

  Close to 300,000 state employees are taking a mandatory, unpaid day off tomorrow. Governor Schwarzenegger ordered the furlough because California’s running out of money. Among the few state workers who will keep working on Fridays are staffing the state parks, the governor’s spokeswoman Lisa Page told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.”

  Lisa Page: “Parks is actually included in the 10 percent of the employees that do have exception to this first and third Friday. They’ll be able to take their furloughs at another time so that our parks can remain open.”

  Fridays are a typically busy day for state parks. The governor estimates that two unpaid days off a month – the equivalent of a 10 percent pay cut for California public employees – will save the state about one-and-a-half billion dollars through June of next year.

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  • February 5, 2009 5:19 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Silver Lake robberies not targeting gays

  Los Angles police today sought to calm fears in the Silver Lake gay community, after a rash of robberies that targeted men in the neighborhood just north of downtown. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze has more.

  Kitty Felde: Police say attackers have robbed 10 men in the last two months. They stabbed one man and crushed another’s cheekbone.

  Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz: In none of the crimes that we identified the suspects said anything or did anything to indicate that this was a hate crime or targeting gays.

  Felde: The LAPD’s Sergio Diaz said it appears gang members went after people who walked alone, mostly at night. News of the attacks first surfaced on the Internet, where writers speculated that gays were the target.

  Diaz: Quite frankly, we are adjusting to the new technology, because of the blogs, because people can do Twitter and all that, there’s a lot of communication within the community.

  Felde: Diaz said that communication sometimes fosters rumor mongering. He also conceded that the LAPD was slow to recognize the crime trend, and to inform people in Silver Lake.

  Note: The city has scheduled a public meeting about the attacks for 6 o’clock tonight at Ivanhoe Elementary School.

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  • February 5, 2009 4:36 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• State worker furlough takes effect Friday

  If you were planning to deal with the Department of Motor Vehicles or the unemployment office tomorrow, better make another appointment. California’s budget rut means that many state workers will take a mandatory, unpaid day off. The California Report’s John Meyers told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” there’s still a lot of confusion about what that will look like throughout the state.

  John Meyers: “I wish we had a global list of what was going to be closed. I mean a lot of reporters have been asking that. The one that people have obviously been talking about a lot, where they get a lot of impact, is obviously the DMV.

  “Those offices from what I can tell are pretty much going to be closed every other Friday now. But what I hear from officials is that your best bet is to pick up the phone and call, and if it rings and rings and rings, there’s your answer.”

  A judge said today that some state employees – including those in the treasurer’s and attorney general’s offices – may not have to abide by Governor Schwarzenegger’s furlough order. The governor’s office says the state will save one-and-a-half billion dollars through June 2010 if its employees take two unpaid days off every month.

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  • February 5, 2009 4:16 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• LA city controller's office releases report criticizing DWP

  A new report from the Los Angeles city controller’s office criticizes decision-making and management at the Department of Water and Power. More on the story from KPCC’s Molly Peterson.

  Molly Peterson: L.A.’s city charter mandates a wide ranging audit of the DWP every five years. This report from a consulting firm found that most goals from five years ago still need work – but that internal politics make it hard to know who’s responsible.

  The DWP has set ambitious goals to obtain more of its energy from renewable sources. But the new study concludes that the Department of Water and Power at this point hasn’t figured out how much customers would pay to switch from cheaper coal to more expensive solar, wind, and geothermal power.

  L.A. City Controller Laura Chick, who commissioned the report, said it showed the public utility shouldn’t be run by political projects and initiatives but by good business judgment and good government.

  Chick used the report’s release to voice her opposition to Proposition B – a measure that would add hundreds of megawatts of power to Los Angeles and hundreds of jobs to its water and power agency. Proposition B goes before L.A. voters next month.

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  • February 5, 2009 3:18 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Politics/Public Affairs

• LA mayor supports $13 million LAPD settlement

  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today said he supports a $13 million settlement with immigrant rights protesters who clashed with police in MacArthur Park two years ago. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports.

  Frank Stoltze: The mayor said he’ll sign the settlement. He also said he supports resolving similar lawsuits filed by nine journalists whom police hit that day.

  Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: I am urging a settlement in this matter. I think we recognize that mistakes were made – that it’s time to move on.

  Stoltze: The settlement with demonstrators requires new crowd control training at the LAPD and bans officers from striking passive protesters with batons. Police Chief Bill Bratton belittled the need for court oversight on these points.

  Police Chief Bill Bratton: Indeed, prior to this settlement, the whole department has been through that training that is only referenced in the document.

  Stoltze: Civil rights attorneys said that reference allows a federal judge to ensure that a department historically resistant to change does change.

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  • February 5, 2009 3:16 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries generates debate

  This week’s federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in West Los Angeles have generated new debate over the extent to which federal drug laws supersede California law that permits doctor-prescribed pot use. John Eastman, dean of Chapman University’s law school, said that as far as the feds are concerned, it’s all illegal.

  John Eastman: “The impact of the medical marijuana business in California extends beyond its borders. You can’t distinguish marijuana that’s moved in interstate commerce from that which has not. And so therefore it’s within the federal government’s power. The federal law prevails or trumps the state law.”

  Eastman spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk.” Although the new president said on the campaign trail that he supports the idea of regulated medical marijuana, federal policy has not changed in the two-and-a-half weeks since Barack Obama took office.

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  • February 5, 2009 3:01 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Health

• Judge rules Defense of Marriage Act illegally denies benefits

  A judge has ruled that the gay spouse of a federal employee does have the right to receive federal benefits – and that the federal Defense of Marriage act unconstitutionally denies the same-sex spouse the right to those benefits.

  Judge Stephen Reinhardt was ruling on a discrimination claim filed by an attorney with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Robert Iafolla wrote about the case for the L.A. Daily Journal and spoke with the attorney who filed the claim.

  Robert Iafolla: “He told me that he went into this just trying to get benefits for his spouse, you know, just like any of his other coworkers, and the fact that Reinhardt went this extra step and ruled on the constitutionality of DOMA. He was very pleased.”

  DOMA is the Defense of Marriage Act. Another judge issued a similar ruling in another case involving a Ninth Circuit employee, but he didn’t go as far as Reinhardt in declaring the law unconstitutional. Both judges issued their decisions as part of internal hearings within the Ninth Circuit, so it’s unclear what precedent – if any – these rulings will set.

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  • February 5, 2009 2:16 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Activists demand US Border Patrol records of immigration raids

  Immigration activists gathered outside the U.S. Border Patrol headquarters in Riverside this morning. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says they’re upset about claims by agents who say they’ve been given an arrest quota.

  Steven Cuevas: Under this alleged quota system, agents supposedly are pressured to arrest at least 150 undocumented immigrants a month or risk losing days off, and other punishment. The Border Patrol says it has no arrest quota.

  But Emilio Amaya with the San Bernardino Community Service Center says agents have stepped up raids of Inland day labor sites in the last month. He says he’s hearing stories about harassment and racial profiling.

  Emilio Amaya: We have complaints from legal residents and U.S. citizens who were stopped and questioned just because of their ethnicity. We understand they have a job to do, but we also, the fact that someone is Latino does not mean they are violating the law. So it increases racial profiling in our communities.

  Cuevas: The Border Patrol says it will investigate the allegations. Day laborer groups submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for arrest and detention records. On Saturday, they’ll lead a “Stop the Raids” march from the steps of Riverside City Hall to the city’s U.S. Border Patrol station.

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  • February 5, 2009 2:09 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Employee Free Choice Act supporters march from downtown LA to Westwood

  Hundreds of union workers are marching from downtown Los Angeles to Westwood in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. The proposed federal legislation would make it easier for workers to organize.

  Forty-one-year-old Sal Zamora said he’s participating because after he spent 16 years in prison, the Iron Workers Union helped him become a contributing member of society.

  Sal Zamora: “And a lot of my brothers in the union have been able to start a new life. Our business agents will do anything to help someone that wants a better life.”

  Workers from about 40 different unions are participating in the march.

  Organizers say California U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer supports their cause – but they’re not so sure about her fellow Democrat Dianne Feinstein. The marchers paused this afternoon to call Feinstein’s office to urge her support.

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  • February 5, 2009 2:06 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Union members march in support of Employee Free Choice Act

  Hundreds of union members and their supporters are marching across Los Angeles today. They want Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. The federal legislation would make it easier for workers to join unions.

  One marcher, nurse Deirdre Kirkwood, worked in the neo-natal intensive care unit for 7 years at a hospital in Riverside. She says the hospital fired her about a year ago when she began trying to organize a union for registered nurses.

  Deirdre Kirkwood: “They gave me no reason other than that I was an at-will employee. I had no contract, therefore, they could fire me, legally. It’s against federal law to fire someone for forming a union. But there’s not really much justice attached and that’s one reason why we need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.”

  Now Kirkwood works for another hospital that has a union contract. The march began near downtown Los Angeles and ends this afternoon at the Federal Building in West Los Angeles.

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  • February 5, 2009 2:04 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Schools hold teach-ins on global warming

  College campuses throughout the country and the Southland are conducting teach-ins about global warming today. KPCC’s Molly Peterson has the story.

  Molly Peterson: Loyola Marymount, UCLA, and UC Irvine are taking part. One focus of the annual event is how to make campuses more sustainable. TreePeople’s Andy Lipkis is leading a discussion about that topic at Cal State Northridge.

  This year, teach-in organizers are pegging the event to the first 100 days of the new presidential administration to try to build support for specific policy recommendations – cutting carbon by 40 percent within 11 years, creating millions of “green” jobs, promoting carbon-neutral power, and developing renewable technology.

  High schools will take up projects on global warming too. A Web site for the teach-in recommends to all campus organizers that they invite policymakers, scientists, and scholars to discuss the consequences and prevention of climate change with students.

  Link: National Teach-In

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  • February 5, 2009 10:02 AM
  • Categories: Education, Environment

• UC will vote on plan to lower percentage of students admitted

  The governing body of the University of California is set to vote Thursday on a plan that would drastically change freshman admissions at the nine campuses. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez says that under the proposal, UC would guarantee admission to the top ten percent of California’s high school students, not the top 12-and-a-half percent, as it stands now.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: The plan would also broaden the number of students whose applications UC admissions officers would consider. The university would review applications from high school juniors with a B average who’ve finished 11 of UC’s 15 required classes for admission.

  The plan, supported by UC President Mark Yudof, would also guarantee spots for top performers at all high schools, from exclusive private ones to low-performing public schools. University officials say the changes would increase ethnic diversity at the 220,000-student system. Faculty in UC’s Academic Senate proposed the changes.

  Almost 13 years ago, UC stopped considering race in student admissions after a voter-approved proposition banned the practice. In the years since, black and Latino student enrollment dropped throughout the system.

  If the regents approve, the admissions changes would take effect in three years.

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  • February 4, 2009 6:45 PM
  • Categories: Education

• California's Healthy Families program welcomes new funding for children's insurance

  California’s Healthy Families program is in the clear for the next four-and-a-half years. President Barack Obama has signed bipartisan legislation that stabilizes federal funding for that program and for similar, low-cost health insurance plans for children across the country.

  About 70,000 uninsured kids and teenagers in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties stand to benefit from the new law. Richard Brown, who teaches public health at UCLA, says it’ll allow families who earn a little above the federal poverty level to qualify for health, dental, and vision care coverage.

  Richard Brown: “The poverty level for a family of four is around $19,000 a year, today. So, this would enable us to raise it to three times that level. When you think about the cost of housing in California, the cost of transportation, that is not a lot of money to, then, go out and buy health insurance.”

  Brown co-wrote a new study (released Wednesday) on uninsured children and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. It dissected areas of the Inland Empire by senate, assembly, and congressional districts, and estimated the numbers of uninsured children based on income in those areas.

  LINK: UCLA Study

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  • February 4, 2009 6:02 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• Los Angeles demolishes house that headquartered Drew Street Gang

  Los Angeles City officials today demolished a house in Northeast L.A. that served for two decades as a hub of the Drew Street Gang, one of the most violent gangs in the Southland. Jackson Musker has the story.

  Jackson Musker: The so-called “Satellite House” in Glassell Park was an unassuming old one-story stucco, with rusted railings enclosing the yard. But behind its walls, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo says, Drew Street Gang lords dealt drugs and orchestrated murders.

  City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo: By the end of the day the satellite house, which for years was the symbol of the Avenues Gang here on Drew Street, will be reduced to a pile of rubble…

  [Sound of house demolition]

  Musker: For twenty years, a gang haven. After twenty minutes, a heap of sticks and twisted iron. Police Chief Bill Bratton says he has a new home in mind for Drew Street Gang members who face federal prison terms.

  Chief Bill Bratton: And they’re not going to see the light of day, at least this beautiful light. They may see it in Iowa somewhere, looking over a prison wall, or in Alaska, so they better bring their long johns.

  Musker: The chief says the LAPD will maintain pressure on the Drew Street Gang.

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  • February 4, 2009 5:37 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Riverside County sues state over deferred payments

  Riverside County is suing the State of California. It wants lawmakers in Sacramento to pony up millions of dollars in delayed funding for social services. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has details.

  Steven Cuevas: The state held up scheduled payments to the 58 counties when February began. The move temporarily saves the state billions in cash as it fumbles with a $40 billion budget gap. Riverside County lost about $35 million a month for student aid, welfare, and other social services. The only way those programs will get funded now is if the county puts up the dough. Not likely.

  Supervisor John Tavaglione: That will eat up our reserves (snaps fingers) like that!

  Cuevas: Supervisor John Tavaglione says Riverside County has its own $90 million budget crisis to deal with. It could lay off nearly 300 workers by summertime. Tavaglione say the county’s lawsuit is meant to spur state lawmakers into solving the budget stalemate.

  Tavaglione: We needed to tell them to start working together, stop playing partisan games. If they intend to defer payments, fine. We will cut back on those programs and we are not going to backfill on those programs based on their inability to pass a budget, and their inability to make cuts where necessary and their inability put money away for a rainy day because they’re in a habit and that’s why they’re in the mess they are in.

  Cuevas: Riverside County’s lawsuit might not be the last volley fired across the state government’s bow. L.A. County is threatening to withhold property tax revenue it’s collected… calling the move its own “Boston Tea Party.”

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  • February 4, 2009 5:32 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Southland high schoolers attend Grammy Foundation career day

  Like just about every other business, the music industry is facing hard times. That didn’t keep a thousand hopeful Southland high school students from a Grammy Foundation program about careers in music. KPCC’s Brian Watt has the story.

  Brian Watt: The Grammy Foundation’s sponsored a Career Day for 21 years. Top musicians, songwriters, and producers offer their takes on the possibilities and pitfalls of the recording business. Bassist Marcus Miller started the jazz workshop with a couple of questions.

  Marcus Miller: Did I hear that everyone here is a jazz musician? Y’all don’t mind not eating every once in a while, right? (laughter)

  Watt: In other words, the odds are long for making it as a performer. But Miller pointed to other lucrative jobs in the industry. For example, he said the engineer he likes to work with most can also play.

  Miller: He knows where you’re going. He knows when to move you louder, he knows when to move you softer. He knows when to add some bass to your sound because he’s a musician himself.

  Watt: Miller’s words struck a chord with aspiring bassist John Ardon, a 12th grader at Antelope Valley’s Little Rock High School.

  John Ardon: Being able to know that you could do something else, you know, and something else that… there’s more possibility, and still be intertwined with music, which you love the most, that’s what I really like about that.

  Watt: Ardon calls Marcus Miller his inspiration. Now that they’ve met, he said he’ll just practice longer and harder.

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  • February 4, 2009 5:27 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Education

• ICE spokeswoman defends arrests of those without criminal records

  In the last five years, federal immigration agents have conducted many surprise searches of homes. Their stated intent was to capture illegal immigrants with criminal records. But newly released information suggests that most of the 96,000 people arrested in those raids didn’t have criminal records.

  Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that didn’t invalidate the work of the agency’s National Fugitive Operations Program.

  Virginia Kice: “These teams prioritize case involving individuals who’ve demonstrated a threat to national security or public safety. But we have a clear mandate to pursue all immigration fugitives, even those who have no documented criminal history in the United States.”

  Kice spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” Information about arrest and detention patterns, obtained from internal immigration agency records, was released today in a report by the non-profit Migration Policy Institute.

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  • February 4, 2009 4:14 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• ICE spokeswoman defends federal policy

  Published reports indicate that the initial targets of federal immigration home searches - people with criminal backgrounds - constitute a small proportion of those detained and deported.

  In five years, close to three-quarters of the people the raids captured across the country did not have criminal records. Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the practice.

  Virginia Kice: “These are people who’ve had their day in court, who’ve had an opportunity to go before an immigration judge, who’ve been ordered deported, and who’ve failed to comply with those orders. These are the people that these teams are targeting.”

  Kice spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” Federal immigration agency records indicate that administrators broadened the intent of the searches without consulting Congress. A law professor and his students obtained the records through Freedom of Information Act requests and leaked it to the New York Times.

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  • February 4, 2009 4:11 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• Grammy Foundation hosts career day for high school students

  More than a thousand Los Angeles-area high school students got an opportunity today to learn about careers in music. Ahead of Sunday’s big recording industry awards show, the Grammy Foundation rounded up successful musicians, songwriters, and producers for its 21st annual Career Day at the University of Southern California.

  During a panel discussion, 22-year-old singer-songwriter Jesse McCartney told the students that he began to taste success at age 16. But he resisted the pressure to drop out of high school.

  Jesse McCartney: “That guy who would have dropped out at 15 to 16, his partner that was in that music class that finished high school, he’s the one that’s gonna be more musically inclined graduating. He’s the one that’s gonna get the deal. And even though he waited a little longer, he’s definitely gonna come out on top.”

  After the panel, students attended workshops on topics including music publishing, production, and engineering.

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  • February 4, 2009 4:09 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy, Education

• Federal agents seize marijuana hidden in concrete donkeys

  Federal agents last night seized a different kind of drug mule in the Southland. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall has the details on the one-and-a-half million dollar marijuana bust.

  Cheryl Devall: It’s not the first use most of us would imagine for concrete garden donkeys. But that’s where federal Customs and Border Protection officers found 1,800 pounds of pot - stashed inside a shipment of 200 decorative donkeys.

  They filled a 40-foot shipping container that landed at the Port of Los Angeles, bound for a fictitious company in Fontana. Federal agents rounded up 15 suspects. Authorities are holding one of them on an outstanding criminal warrant and the rest on immigration violations.

  With the help of L.A. and Fontana police, a multi-agency federal task force traced the mules - the concrete ones - after a series of traffic stops and searches in Sun Valley and Fontana.

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  • February 4, 2009 2:32 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• San Bernardino proposes sweeping public safety layoffs

  A couple of years ago, San Bernardino launched an aggressive anti-crime crusade. The city hired more cops and invested in the latest crime fighting gear. But KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says, with its budget in tatters, San Bernardino is now drawing up plans to fire dozens of police officers and firefighters.

  Steven Guevas: Mayor Pat Morris was swept into office a few years ago on a pledge to put more cops on the streets of San Bernardino. Now he may have to oversee the firing of 29 officers to help fill a $9 million city budget deficit. Police helicopter patrols could be grounded. It’s not clear who might get the ax but it’s likely some of those positions are already vacant.

  Nearly 200 other city workers could lose their jobs, including 10 firefighters. City workers are also being asked to take a 10 percent pay cut. That means some city offices could also be closed on Fridays.

  The San Bernardino city council has yet to sign off on the proposed budget cuts. But it did tell department heads to begin preparing layoff notices. Layoffs could be approved at the council’s next meeting later this month.

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  • February 4, 2009 2:30 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• LA agrees to pay $13 million to demonstrators beaten by police

  The Los Angeles City Council today agreed to pay almost $13 million to people beaten by police in MacArthur Park during an immigrant rights rally two years ago. It’s one of the largest payouts ever involving LAPD misconduct. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports.

  Frank Stoltze: On May Day of 2007, riot officers from the LAPD elite Metropolitan Division swarmed MacArthur Park after a few demonstrators threw rocks and bottles at police. Video of the incident shows officers firing rubber bullets into a peaceful crowd and striking passive protesters with their batons. More than 200 people filed claims alleging that police injured them.

  Afterward, Police Chief Bill Bratton apologized for what his officers did. He called it his worst day in law enforcement, and ordered new crowd control training for all officers. An LAPD board recommended disciplinary action for 11 cops. Critics said that number was too low.

  The City Council’s $12.85 million settlement with demonstrators is subject to approval from the mayor and a judge. It does not resolve a lawsuit by journalists who police also hit that day.

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  • February 4, 2009 2:01 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• Some industries thrive, even during recession

  The unemployment rate reached almost 10 percent in Los Angeles County at the end of the last year. But some industries - health care and private education among them – seem to thrive, even in a recession. Economist Jack Kyser of the L.A. County Economic Development Corporation says specialized training offers the key to those jobs.

  Jack Kyser: “You can’t even go to be a barista at Starbucks because they’re cutting stores right and left. So it’s, the issue of training is very, very important. A lot of times people, when the economy slows down, would look at temporary help, but firms are laying off their temporary workers.”

  Kyser says voter-approved state bond money - and, possibly, a federal economic stimulus package - may offer a jumpstart to the engineering sector later this year. The sectors that aren’t doing well include construction, manufacturing, and retailing.

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  • February 4, 2009 12:49 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• State schools superintendent convenes Save Our Schools town hall

  At a Pasadena town hall meeting today, state superintendent of schools Jack O’Connell said proposed budget cuts are pushing schools into crisis mode. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: It was billed as a Save Our Schools town hall. The message wasn’t new to the audience. Most in attendance were education advocates and school district superintendents who’ve presided over budget cuts in recent years. O’Connell said Sacramento cuts under consideration this year and next will jeopardize the schools’ mission.

  Jack O’Connell: It is bad, I’m using the term ‘precarious,’ and we’re really at that juncture where we’re teetering, and if we make some bad decisions in Sacramento and locally, we will not continue to see academic achievement and improvement we’ve seen in the last six years.

  Guzman-Lopez: Proposed cuts would force many school districts to cut instructional days and lay off teachers. Crisis or not, school leaders said, Sacramento needs to come up with more money.

  O’Connell told the audience that one way to avert a crisis is to lower the voter threshold to pass municipal parcel taxes – and to pass a statewide school improvement bond so districts can upgrade facilities in an environmentally-friendly way.

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  • February 4, 2009 12:35 PM
  • Categories: Education

• LA County considers legal action against state over payments

  Los Angeles County is considering how it can prevent the state from withholding money for health and human services programs. State controller John Chiang is deferring payments to L.A. and other counties for at least a month because of the state budget crisis.

  Riverside County supervisors voted yesterday to take legal action that could force the state to keep making payments to the county. L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky says his county is exploring a similar option.

  Zev Yaroslavsky: “We have directed our county counsel, our county attorneys to develop a strategy, a legal strategy by which we could go into court and seek to compel the state to meet its obligations to us.

  “And we will work with other counties and other local governments up and down the state. That’s one of the things we do, and we will pool our resources because we’ll all in the same boat.”

  For now, the county plans to compensate for the money the state’s withholding by dipping into its reserves. But yesterday, L.A. County supervisors explored another option – they threatened to withhold tax revenue that the county owes the state. Yaroslavksy says he doubts that will happen because he doesn’t think it would be legal.

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  • February 4, 2009 12:14 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Disney earnings fall 32% during 4th quarter

  Earnings fell at The Walt Disney Company during the last quarter of 2008. The company reported a 32 percent decline amid a downturn that Chief Executive Robert Iger said is likely to be “the weakest economy in our lifetime.” KPCC’s Steve Julian has more.

  Steve Julian: According to one analyst, it was the first time Iger said publicly that consumers shifting from television and DVDs to digital formats was beginning to affect Disney’s businesses. The shift already has plagued the newspaper and recorded music industries.

  Studio revenue dropped 26 percent, outpacing declines in other businesses. The movies WALL-E and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian didn’t perform as well as last year’s Pirates of the Caribbean and Ratatouille.

  Revenue fell 4 percent at resorts and theme parks as attendance dropped. It went up slightly at ESPN and the Disney Channel. Overall, company revenues fell 8 percent to $9.6 billion.

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  • February 4, 2009 9:53 AM
  • Categories: Arts, Business/Economy

• California education chief worries about effect of budget cuts

  California’s education chief says the public schools are in a “precarious” situation. In his annual “State of Education” address, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said schools face up to $10 billion in cuts this school year because of the state’s massive deficit. O’Connell worries that the resulting layoffs and larger class sizes cuts could hurt some students more than others.

  Superintendent Jack O’Connell: “It’s the students of color, students who are poor, students who are learning English, or coping with learning disabilities, who need the most assistance. And equal cuts across the school, or across a school district, will be inequitably felt by them.”

  Any deal lawmakers work out to balance the state’s $40 billion deficit is likely to include cuts to education.

  The governor says he wants to give schools more spending flexibility. But the state’s biggest teachers union maintains that would leave schools with smaller instructional staffs.

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  • February 3, 2009 6:22 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Education

• Standard and Poor's lowers California's credit rating

  The back-and-forth over the budget in Sacramento has led Standard and Poor’s to cut California’s credit rating to a less-than-satisfactory “A.” That places the Golden State in a tie with Louisiana for the worst credit risk in the country. Christopher Thornberg with Beacon Economics suggests that the picture can only brighten from here.

  Christopher Thornberg: “When you sit down and look at the numbers, you know, we’ve already cleared up some of the mess – maybe we have a $10 billion gap right now, maybe a $12 billion gap left – this is less than 1 percent of our state economy.

  “This is not a big number. The problem here is not that we can’t fix it, the problem is that we’re not fixing it. And of course the closer and closer that we get to running out of cash, the riskier and riskier our bonds are.”

  Thornberg spoke with KPCC’s “Patt Morrison.” In its report, Standard and Poor’s said that despite California’s strong economic fundamentals, the prospects for an imminent recovery look unlikely.

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  • February 3, 2009 5:23 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Politics/Public Affairs

• Disney profits down 32% in first quarter

  Mickey Mouse is reporting mini-profits. The Walt Disney Company says net income down sharply in the first quarter of its fiscal year. KPCC’s Nick Roman has the details.

  Nick Roman: Disney president Robert Iger described the first three months of his company’s fiscal year as “challenging.” “Staggering” might be a better word for what hit the Burbank-based entertainment giant in October, November, and December.

  Disney profits were down 32 percent from the same period a year earlier. Then again, at least they were profits. Plenty of companies can’t say that. What Disney’s feeling isn’t much different from what everyone’s feeling.

  Ad sales for Disney’s TV networks were down because times are tough for its usual ad buyers. DVD sales and toy sales were weak. Theme park attendance dropped – not as much as it could have, thanks to Disney discounts.

  But Robert Iger says you can’t blame all of Disney’s struggles on the bad economy. He says competition for consumers’ attention and money is fierce - and even if they can’t afford much right now, those consumers can still afford to be choosy.

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  • February 3, 2009 5:02 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Denny's patrons wait 2 hours for free Denny's Grand Slam breakfasts

  At Denny’s restaurants throughout the country today, there was proof that Super Bowl commercials work - especially when they advertise free food. During Sunday’s big game the restaurant chain advertised a free Grand Slam breakfast - pancakes, eggs, and meat – between 6 o’clock this morning and 2 in the afternoon.

  People lined up and waited for as long as two hours to chow down. The owner of one downtown Los Angeles location - he’d only identify himself as “Joey” – handed out rain checks to people who were still waiting when the promotion ended.

  Joey: “It’s like the sign of the times. We have a couple of restaurants, and even before 6 a.m., I mean, line already started out the door. I just hope that this, this will help our business, to get more customers, to get new customers.”

  Joey said that the economy is taking its toll on the restaurant industry, and that sales on most days lately have been a little slow.

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  • February 3, 2009 5:00 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• Million dollar home sales down

  Manhattan Beach sold more expensive houses than anyplace in California last year. That news comes with a recessionary add-on: California real estate agents sold fewer million-dollar-plus homes during the same spell than at any time in the last five years. More on the story from KPCC’s Cheryl Devall.

  Cheryl Devall: Even at the top of the housing heap, sales took a tumble. Realty tracking firm DataQuick reports that 42 percent fewer houses priced at a million dollars or more sold in California last year than in the year before.

  One reason, DataQuick’s president said – wealthy potential buyers are holding onto their cash, and even they can’t get the go-ahead for jumbo mortgage loans. He added that a lot of sales in what realtors call “the upper half” of the market have been on hold for months waiting for financing.

  That’s why only 296 of Manhattan Beach’s most expensive residences sold last year, down more than 100 from the previous year. Last year’s priciest home sale in the state was a 6-bedroom, 10-bathroom Bel Air property that went for $38 million.

  Throughout California, home sales are up by 2.5 percent over this time last year - largely because foreclosed houses are going for a steal.

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  • February 3, 2009 4:58 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• East LA Chicano art gallery avoids eviction

  Leaders of L.A.’s most prominent Chicano art gallery said today they’ve avoided eviction, at least for now. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Activists involved in the Chicano civil rights movement founded Self Help Graphics and Art almost 40 years ago. Some of their militancy resurfaced last year after the group’s administrators found out a developer had bought the East L.A. building where they’d staged performing and visual arts events for 35 years. Chicano art wasn’t in the new owner’s long-term plans for the site.

  The group’s leaders say they’ve negotiated a lease agreement with Piedmont Investment Company that allows them to pay rent – and stay put – for at least a year. The new owner will make long-needed repairs to the 82-year-old building. The organization has launched a $1 million campaign for donations.

  The late Karen Boccalero, a member of the Sisters of Saint Francis who’d studied printmaking, began Self Help Graphics to nurture the arts in East L.A.’s impoverished Mexican-American neighborhoods. Her religious order had allowed Self Help to use the building rent-free. Last year the order told the occupants it could no longer manage the property.

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  • February 3, 2009 4:55 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Society/Culture

• Zagat releases guide on LA Dating scene

  If guides on eateries and watering holes aren’t enough for you, the folks at Zagat have now broken down the Los Angeles dating scene. KPCC’s Brian Watt reports.

  Brian Watt: Zagat’s new “Dating and Dumping Guide” draws on the experiences of more than 13,000 out-and-about Angelenos. It reviews eateries, watering holes, and meat markets for dating - and dumping. That includes - for anyone already not interested in their date – the restaurants with the “hottest servers.”

  But Zagat might help the single Angeleno most with its data on dating. At least three quarters of the daters polled were open to going out with someone of a different race, nationality, income bracket, and age group. But the percentage drops a bit when it comes to political party.

  And here’s some fuel for the debate over whether chivalry is dead. On the first date, just over half of Angelenos say whoever extended the invitation should pay - regardless of gender. In New York, 60 percent say the first date is on the guy. But no matter who pays, only 3 percent in both cities say they’ll consider getting intimate on that first date.

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  • February 3, 2009 1:23 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Society/Culture

• California bonds drop to 'A' rating; worst in the country

  One of the big New York-based bond rating houses has shoved California’s bond rating down a notch. It’s more fallout from the budget chaos in Sacramento. KPCC’s Nick Roman says that means California is tied for the worst bond rating among the 50 states.

  Nick Roman: An A sounds good – but it’s pretty much an F in the world of government-issued general obligation bonds. You want a AA or a AAA rating. That’s what most states have. Not California.

  Standard and Poor’s dropped its rating on $46 billion in California bonds from A+ down to A. The reasons include the state government’s failure to fix its budget - and its “rapidly eroding” cash position.

  The lower rating doesn’t mean California will default on its bonds. The state constitution says debt gets paid no matter what. But when your bond rating goes down, the interest rate on your bonds goes up. It has to so you can get investors to buy your bonds - and give you the money to do the things government does.

  If the state budget gets fixed, California’s bond rating could go back up. But Standard and Poor’s also says that if the budget doesn’t get fixed soon, it will “consider the appropriateness” of an even lower rating.

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  • February 3, 2009 1:15 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy

• LA DWP buys geothermal energy from Mexico

  L.A.’s Department of Water and Power is buying geothermal energy from the national power agency of Mexico.

  Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says the 3-year deal helps move the DWP toward its goal of supplying 20 percent of its power with renewables in two years.

  Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: “Just to make this deal even sweeter, geothermal power doesn’t vary with the wind or the sunlight. It will be steady, stable, and available for use at virtually all times.”

  Geothermal energy from the Mexicali plant accounted for 2 percent of L.A.’s portfolio last month. Officials of the city-owned utility say it’s gotten as much as 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources in recent months.

  Mexico’s agency says it’s able to sell this power because of an energy surplus.

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  • February 3, 2009 1:10 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Governor's Web site features deficit clock

  Like the billboard-sized national deficit clock in New York’s Times Square, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Web site offers a pint-size version that displays some pretty staggering numbers.

  State finance department spokesman H.D. Palmer says the Web site clock calculates California’s mounting debt every day lawmakers fail to agree on a budget.

  H.D. Palmer: And in terms of the lost savings that we’re getting by delaying action on a budget – that’s a calculation that shows just how much, what the cost is of not being able to get a budget agreement taken care of.”

  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sacramento lawmakers have been meeting behind closed doors trying to figure out how to close California’s $42 billion budget gap.

  Budget clock widget
  Office of the Governor

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  • February 3, 2009 1:02 PM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• Daschle withdraws as nominee for HHS secretary

  WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination on Tuesday to be President Barack Obama’s Health and Human Services secretary, dealing potential blows to both speedy health care reform and Obama’s hopes for a smoother start as president.

  “Now we must move forward,” Obama said in a written statement accepting “with sadness and regret” Daschle’s surprise request to be removed from consideration. A day earlier, Obama had said he “absolutely” stood by Daschle in the face of problems over back taxes and potential conflicts of interest.

  Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader and a strong backer of Obama’s presidential bid, said he would have been unable to operate “with the full faith of Congress and the American people.”

  “I am not that leader, and will not be a distraction” to Obama’s agenda, he said.

  Obama had given Daschle two jobs - to be White House health czar on top of the post leading the Health and Human Services Department - and Daschle is relinquishing the czar post too. The developments called into question whether Obama will be able to move as quickly as he has promised on sweeping health care reform - one of the pillars of his first 100 days agenda.

  “It really sets us back a step,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. “Because he was such a talent. I mean he understood Congress, serving in the House and Senate he certainly had the confidence of the president.”

  Daschle’s stunning statement came less than three hours after another Obama nominee also withdrew from consideration, and also over tax problems. Nancy Killefer, nominated by Obama to be the government’s first chief performance officer, said she didn’t want her bungling of payroll taxes on her household help to be a distraction.

  Daschle was the third high-profile Obama nominee to bow out. Obama initially had tapped Bill Richardson to be Commerce secretary, but the New Mexico governor withdrew amid a grand jury investigation into a state contract awarded to his political donors.

  Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Daschle’s former Democratic colleagues had rallied to his defense in the wake of questions about his failure to fully pay his taxes from 2005 through 2007. Last month, Daschle paid $128,203 in back taxes and $11,964 in interest.

  “Tom made a mistake, which he has openly acknowledged,” Obama said. “He has not excused it, nor do I. But that mistake and this decision cannot diminish the many contributions Tom has made to this country.”

  “I was a little stunned. I thought he was going to get confirmed,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the panel that would have voted on Daschle’s nomination. “It’s regrettable. He’s a very good man.”

  Daschle also was facing questions about potential conflicts of interests related to the speaking fees he accepted from health care interests. Daschle also provided advice to health insurers and hospitals through his post-Senate work at a law firm.

  It all proved too bitter a pill for senators to swallow, even for a former member of their club. Last week, the Senate confirmed Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary despite his tax problems.

  The controversy also has undercut Obama’s promise to run a more ethical, responsible and special interest-free administration.

  The withdrawal came after Republicans and major newspapers had been questioning Obama’s initial decision to stick with Daschle.

  Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina said Obama was “losing credibility” with his statements in support of Daschle. “Part of leadership is recognizing when there has been a mistake made and responding quickly,” the Republican said.

  In an editorial, The New York Times described Daschle’s ability to move “cozily between government and industry” as a cloud over any role he might play in changing the nation’s health care system.

  The Chicago Tribune opined that “Daschle is dispensable” and suggested that “to proclaim high standards and then suspend them exposes Obama to charges that he is either hypocritical or obtuse.”

  In a letter released Monday, Daschle sought to explain how he overlooked taxes on income for consulting work and the use of a car service. He also deducted more in charitable contributions than he should have. He also met with Senate Finance Committee members behind closed doors.

  “It was completely inadvertent, but that’s no excuse,” he said. “I apologize to President Obama, to my colleagues and to the American people.”

  (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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  • February 3, 2009 10:41 AM
  • Categories: Politics/Public Affairs

• L.A. County sheriff's department agrees to tighten anti-bias policy

  The ACLU says the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has agreed to tighten its anti-bias policy and provide more diversity training to its deputies. ACLU Attorney Catherine Lhamon says the agreement settles a discrimination claim involving a drug raid at L.A. Trade Tech College two years ago.

  Catherine Lhamon: “Some 14 officers from the Sheriff’s Department swarmed the campus at L.A. Trade Tech College and stopped and detained 33 black men and one Latino student. The Latino student was detained because he was videotaping the incident and the officers wanted him to stop doing that. The 33 black students were stopped because the officers were engaged in what they called a drug interdictions. They were trying to find drug dealers on campus.”

  Of the detained students, two were arrested. A sheriff’s spokesman denies any racial profiling was involved, but says the department is always interested in improving its training. An independent sheriff’s monitor agreed there was no racial profiling. He said the deputies had observed the students earlier in what they thought was drug dealing.

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  • February 2, 2009 7:22 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice

• NASA to launch the last civilian-only weather satellite

  A couple hours after midnight tonight, a Delta rocket will lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base north of Santa Barbara. KPCC’s Nick Roman says there’s a story behind the weather satellite on board.

  Nick Roman: The satellite is N-Prime. NASA will launch it. NOAA, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, will manage it. They’re the government’s weather guys.

  N-Prime will join four other satellites that circle the Earth 14 times a day in polar orbit. They track weather conditions and collect data on climate change.

  N-Prime was supposed to go up almost a year ago, but five years ago, Lockheed-Martin technicians dropped it on the floor of their Northern California assembly plant. They had to repair about three-quarters of the satellite’s components… and the accident investigation report was not kind to Lockheed-Martin.

  We’ll know in a few hours if they got the repair job right. N-Prime is the last in a 50-year series of U.S. weather satellites for civilian use. The Pentagon launched and managed its own weather satellites.

  In development now are satellites for civilian and military use. The aim is to save some money. The first launch of one of those weather satellites comes up in four years.

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  • February 2, 2009 7:17 PM
  • Categories: Environment, Science/Technology

• LAPD Chief Bratton endorses Jack Weiss for City Attorney

  Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss won a key endorsement in his campaign for City Attorney today. The current City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo is termed out in July. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports.

  Frank Stoltze: Weiss received the backing of Police Chief Bill Bratton. The chief called Weiss, a former federal prosecutor and chair of the city council’s public safety committee, a “crime fighter” who knows how to take on gangs and guns.

  Not all in law enforcement like Weiss. Sheriff Lee Baca and District Attorney Steve Cooley have endorsed Carmen Trutanich, a former deputy district attorney. In a jab at Weiss, Cooley said the city attorney should be “independent,” not an “overly ambitious partisan politician.”

  Weiss has raised $1.5 million; Trutanich less than half that. Deputy City Attorney Michael Amerian has raised about a quarter million dollars in his bid for the top job. A total of five candidates want the post. If no one wins a majority of votes in the March 3 election, the top two will face off in May.

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  • February 2, 2009 5:50 PM
  • Categories: Criminal Justice, Politics/Public Affairs

• "Miracle on the Hudson" pilot gets extension on overdue library book

  Most Americans take their library privileges seriously. A recent Zogby poll found just six out of a hundred people confessed to not returning library books. KPCC’s Special Correspondent Kitty Felde found one library patron who’s more conscientious than most.

  Kitty Felde: Chesley Sullenberger has a problem. He borrowed a book from the Danville Library – and it’s overdue. To complicate matters, the book was an interlibrary loan from Fresno State.

  Sullenberger contacted librarians and asked for an extension on the loan and a waiver on the overdue fine. The reason? The book is in the cargo hold of the US Airways plane that made an emergency landing last month in New York’s Hudson River. Sullenberger is the pilot who made that landing. No one was seriously injured.

  Fresno State library officials were impressed with Sullenberger’s sense of responsibility… and waived all fines and fees, even the one for losing the book. The library’s going one step further: when the replacement book goes up on the shelf, it will have a special template in front, dedicating it to Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

  Oh, by the way. The topic of that book? Professional ethics.

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  • February 2, 2009 5:14 PM
  • Categories: Arts, Transportation

• UC campuses will temporarily pick up tab for Cal Grants

  With the state strapped for cash, it’s delayed tax refunds and other payments for at least a month. That includes state grants to students who need the money for fees, books, and education costs. KPCC’s Susan Valot says the University of California system is offering its students a bit of a reprieve.

  Susan Valot: The University of California says it’ll foot the bill to cover the Cal Grant money students haven’t received – but will eventually get – once the budget mess is squared away in Sacramento. It did the same thing last fall when lawmakers in Sacramento were late with the state budget.

  University students that qualify for Cal Grants get up to $10,000 a year to pay for education expenses.

  Until the checks come in again, those students will get an advance on their Cal Grant payments from the UC. The 10-campus university system says it’ll use money from its short-term financial reserves to foot the bill for now. But the UC also says it expects to be reimbursed once lawmakers pass the state budget.

  LINK: Cal Grants

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  • February 2, 2009 5:06 PM
  • Categories: Business/Economy, Education

• It's official: it's a drought

  Hot, dry weather is likely to stick around Southern California until Thursday. A high wind warning remains in effect for the mountains of L.A. County, as well as the Santa Clarita Valley, until 3 p.m. today. KPCC’s Special Correspondent Kitty Felde asked an expert what happened to the rain.

  Kitty Felde: It doesn’t feel much like winter this year; days in the 80s and scarcely a cloud in the sky. Climatologist Bill Patzert of Jet Propulsion Laboratory says it’s possible we’ll see some moisture by the end of the week, but not much.

  Bill Patzert: Right now we’re really in the hole in terms of our winter rainfall. It’s drought with a capital “D.”
  Felde: How dry is it?
  Patzert: Well, right now last month, usually in January we usually get over three inches of rain. We only had three tenths of an inch.

  Felde: Patzert says that means unless we get some measurable rain in February or March, the snow pack in the mountains will be thin and we’ll face possible water shortages later in the year.

  The high pressure system that’s made it feel like summer here has intensified winter for folks elsewhere, with below freezing temperatures and ice storms in the northeast and midwest.

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  • February 2, 2009 1:49 PM
  • Categories: Environment

• Consumer Safety commission grants businesses an extra year on lead testing compliance

  Federal regulators postponed rules that would have forced companies to check children’s products for harmful chemicals, including lead. KPCC’s Molly Peterson has more.

  Molly Peterson: Starting next week, the makers of kid’s clothes and toys were supposed to guarantee that their products are lead-free. Now the manufacturers have another year.

  The Consumer Products Safety Commission is calling the deferral a clarification. It’s the latest of many. When Congress passed the ban last year, it also passed along to the Commission the lobbying it had been getting from all sides.

  Outcry from thrift stores has prompted regulators to exempt them from testing every article of clothing for lead. Environmentalists successfully pushed to keep the ban and testing in place for children’s cribs, jewelry, and some toys that could break. Small businesses complaining the ban is cumbersome are seeking exemptions from having to comply with it.

  All that’s adding up. Congressional leaders, including Representative Henry Waxman of Los Angeles, are calling for clearer communication so businesses and consumers will know what’s in the ban, what’s out, and what’s still in doubt.

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  • February 2, 2009 1:41 PM
  • Categories: Health, Politics/Public Affairs

• New actors union negotiating team to return to talks with producers

  The Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers are scheduled to meet this week. KPCC’s Brian Watt says it’s a safe bet the tone will be friendlier than the last time they got together.

  Brian Watt: That was a few months ago, when contract talks broke down, and Hollywood started worrying about the possibility of another strike. But last week, it was mutiny at the Screen Actors Guild. Its national board replaced its hardline chief negotiator and executive director, and retooled its negotiating team.

  It also told President Alan Rosenberg he can no longer speak officially on the Guild’s behalf. Rosenberg wrote a song that mocks the softer stance he believes the Guild’s new cast of negotiators will take at the barga