Politics, Government and Business in Southern California's Inland Empire
BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com
Published: 24 January 2012 09:02 PM
The last time a Los Angeles councilman proposed taking a serious look at what it would take to transfer control of Ontario International Airport back to the city of Ontario, the Inland city didn’t have a serious proposal.
Now it does.
Liset Márquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 01/19/2012 09:15:13 AM PST
ONTARIO – The battle has begun in earnest.
Officials on both sides of the LA/Ontario International Airport dispute this week lashed out at each other for information they say is misleading and a misrepresentation.
BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com
Published: 17 January 2012 09:27 PM
The Los Angeles agency that owns and operates Ontario International Airport fired back Tuesday evening at leaders of the city of Ontario for offering to buy the airport back, “at a foreclosure price,” according to a statement from Los Angeles World Airports.
BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com
Published: 21 November 2011 09:44 PM
Two Inland congressmen, fed up with the increasingly empty terminals at Ontario International Airport, on Monday asked U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for help.
BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com
Published: 25 October 2011 03:54 PM
Traffic at Ontario International Airport dropped 5.15 percent in September compared to a year ago, according to statistics from Los Angeles World Airports. The airport had a total of 360,307 passengers use the airport last month.
By Kate Linthicum and Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times
September 28, 2011
Tim Leiweke, the chairman and chief executive of Anschutz Entertainment Group, stood in front of the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center on Tuesday and told a roaring crowd: “Tear it down!”
The city’s Fire and Police Pensions board has been advised that retiree healthcare benefits are guaranteed, prompting one employee group to ask that a cap on benefits be blocked from going into effect.
By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times
September 28, 2011
The cornerstone of L.A. City Hall’s recent plan to fix its finances and rein in soaring retirement costs has been thrown into jeopardy.
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
September 7, 2011 | 4:29 pm
The state Assembly on Wednesday approved legislation to smooth the way for construction of a $1.2-billion football stadium in downtown Los Angeles after Democratic leaders promised it would provide thousands of jobs for an economically distressed city and would set new standards for reducing traffic and air pollution.
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 09/06/2011 03:45:17 PM PDT
ONTARIO – City officials have once again discussed the possibility of suing Los Angeles World Airports over control of LA/Ontario International Airport.
By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times
August 27, 2011
The office that advises the California Legislature voiced doubts Friday about the level of economic benefit that would come from an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles, saying studies commissioned by the project’s developer “likely overstated” the financial boost it would deliver.
By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times
August 18, 2011
Los Angeles, which recently saw its $7-billion investment portfolio downgraded by Standard & Poor’s, has decided to no longer hire the rating company to rate the soundness of the city’s investments.
By Art Marroquin Staff Writer
Created: 06/30/2011 08:25:49 PM PDT
For decades, Los Angeles World Airports had managed a relatively happy family, leading four airports under a single banner.
But that relationship has fractured in recent years amid allegations that LA/Ontario International Airport and two smaller siblings are neglected while all the attention is lavished on the agency’s breadwinner, Los Angeles International Airport.
By Liset Márquez and Art Marroquin, Staff Writers
Created: 06/30/2011 08:22:12 PM PDT
ONTARIO – City officials are not fretting that their self-imposed deadline to regain control of LA/Ontario International Airport has passed without success.
The Dodgers announce they have filed for bankruptcy protection for the financial good of the team. If the court approves interim financing, owner Frank McCourt could meet Thursday’s payroll and remain in control of the Dodgers through bankruptcy proceedings.
By Bill Shaikin
June 27, 2011, 7:24 a.m.
The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection Monday in a move that owner Frank McCourt said would stabilize the financial future of the team. The move also could extend the battle for ownership of the Dodgers well beyond this season.
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
June 24, 2011 | 9:13 pm
Despite the city’s ongoing fiscal woes, Los Angeles police officers will receive a considerable pay raise in the coming years, according to a tentative contract agreement reached Friday.
LAWA will pay $1.66M to Aero Ontario cargo
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 06/20/2011 08:39:06 PM PDT
A proposed settlement has been reached in a $5 million dispute over a planned cargo facility development at L.A./Ontario International Airport.
Local agencies vie for a piece of the MWD action
Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/18/2011 10:12:16 PM PDT
When it rains, it pours.
Now that California’s drought is officially over, local cities are scrambling to find money to buy part of 225,000 acre-feet of water unexpectedly up for sale by the Metropolitan Water District.
By Art Marroquin Staff Writer
Posted: 06/17/2011 09:58:17 PM PDT
The Los Angeles City Council this week opposed state legislation that calls for establishing an Inland Empire-based authority to take control of LA/Ontario International Airport from the city of Los Angeles.
By Dan Weikel, Los Angeles Times
June 16, 2011
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday decided to oppose state legislation that would shift control of L.A./Ontario International Airport from the city of L.A. to an authority made up of Inland Empire officials.
Dutton
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/31/2011 06:27:29 PM PDT
ONTARIO – A bill by Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga that would create a regional airport authority to oversee operations of LA/Ontario International Airport has been sent to the Assembly.
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/16/2011 09:21:29 PM PDT
Despite efforts by Los Angeles World Airports officials to squash discussions over the transfer of L.A./Ontario International Airport, Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner refuses to back down.
Agency says city has to pay
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 04/10/2011 08:08:51 PM PDT
ONTARIO – Control of L.A./Ontario International Airport could be the city’s for the right price, according to the head of the organization that runs it now.
10:40 PM PDT on Tuesday, April 5, 2011
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
The Press-Enterprise
The city of Ontario offered no details on how it would solve two of Ontario International Airport’s biggest problems — rising costs to carriers and plummeting passenger traffic — according to its proposal to control the airport, obtained this week by The Press-Enterprise through the California Public Records Act.
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
April 1, 2011 | 2:33 pm
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has agreed to pay nearly $42,000 in fines to resolve state and city investigations into his practice of accepting tickets to sports events, concerts and pricey entertainment activities without reporting them as gifts, officials said Friday.
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 03/22/2011 04:05:51 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES – Despite her doubts about a timely transfer of LA/Ontario International Airport, Gina Marie Lindsey is optimistic about its future growth in passengers.
Speaking to the Board of Airport Commissioners on Monday, Lindsey, LAWA’s executive director, predicted a better year for the struggling airport, which hasn’t seen traffic levels so low since the 1980s.
LAWA leader: Switching airport could take years
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 03/21/2011 06:37:47 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey expressed doubt Monday that there could be a timely transfer of control of LA/Ontario International airport.
Liset Márquez, Staff Writer
Created: 03/09/2011 08:44:46 PM PST
A presentation recently released by Los Angeles World Airports is critical of the city of Ontario’s proposal to run LA/Ontario International Airport.
A PowerPoint presentation was released to the media for a Board of Airport Commissioners meeting on Monday, although discussion on the issue was postponed until March 21, LAWA officials said.
By Ed Mendel
March 7, 2011
Los Angeles leads off Tuesday with a modest ballot measure aimed at curbing pension costs, which are threatening to take a big bite out of the budgets of California’s three major coastal cities.
10 firms express interest in airport
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 03/05/2011 02:52:00 PM PST
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles World Airports officials will explore the idea of selling LA/Ontario International Airport.
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 03/01/2011 08:33:04 PM PST
LOS ANGELES – Several national and international firms have expressed interest in managing L.A./Ontario International Airport.
Officials at Los Angeles World Airports, which operates ONT, received 10 inquiries since the submission process opened Jan. 4 for “expressions of interest.”
By PE Business
on February 17, 2011 10:27 AM
State Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, has introduced legislation that would transfer control of Ontario International Airport to a regional airport authority.
By Jason Song Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 11, 2011, 6:35 p.m.
Los Angeles school officials unveiled a plan Friday to send preliminary layoff notices to more than 5,000 teachers and other staff members to help close a projected budget gap. This is the first time that the nation’s second-largest district will protect some campuses that previously had been hit hard by layoffs.
By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times
February 9, 2011
The head of the entertainment conglomerate seeking to build a National Football League stadium in downtown Los Angeles shot back at skeptics Tuesday and reiterated his pledge that “not a penny” of taxpayer money would be spent on the mega-project.
Thomas Himes, Staff Writer
Created: 02/05/2011 07:10:46 AM PST
Anschutz Entertainment Group President and CEO Tim Leiweke confidently proclaims he is the man who can bring the National Football League back to Los Angeles by building a state-of-the-art, multi-use stadium downtown, near Staples Center.
But despite Leiweke’s bravado, building a 64,000- to 72,000-seat stadium won’t come cheap. Leiweke knows that. And that may explain why the stadium’s reported price has more than doubled since November.
Kevin Modesti, Staff Writer
Created: 02/01/2011 06:42:50 PM PST
Farmers Insurance may have tipped the scales in favor of a football stadium in downtown Los Angeles, dashing hopes of bringing a professional team to the edge of the Inland Valley.
Farmers Insurance has agreed to pay $700 million to attach its name to the proposed downtown stadium.
City wants local control of airport
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 01/10/2011 08:33:17 PM PST
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles World Airports officials have begun the process of looking for private interests to possibly contract out the operation of LA/Ontario International Airport.
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/09/2011 09:46:42 PM PST
ONTARIO – Los Angeles World Airports officials said they are not concerned about the city’s threat to sue as an option in their fight for L.A./Ontario International Airport.
Liset Márquez, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/22/2010 03:32:39 PM PST
ONTARIO – The city appears ready to roll up its sleeves and do battle with Los Angeles over control of LA/Ontario International Airport.
The Ontario City Council this week gave City Manager Chris Hughes the option to sue Los Angeles for violation of its joint powers agreement over the airport.
The ruling finds the law’s provision outlawing all dispensaries except those that registered under the moratorium unconstitutional. It leaves the city with little power to control pot shops. City officials vow to quickly address the concerns.
By John Hoeffel, Los Angeles Times
December 11, 2010
A judge handed Los Angeles a setback in its faltering drive to limit the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, granting a preliminary injunction on Friday that bars the city from enforcing key provisions in its controversial six-month-old ordinance.
By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times
November 7, 2010
Teachers unions have a well-deserved reputation for exercising political clout. With a nearly unparalleled ability to raise cash and organize their ranks, they have elected school boards, influenced legislation and helped set the public school agenda in major American cities for decades.
Now, that clout is in question.
Villaraigosa
Officials will be required to list receipt of free tickets to concerts and sporting events they attend as part of their duties. The rules come amid outcry over Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s use of gift tickets.
By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times
September 18, 2010
Reporting from Sacramento —
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other officials will have to disclose on the Internet their receipt of free tickets to concerts and sporting events that they attend as part of their ceremonial duties.
Villaraigosa
Southern California — this just in
September 14, 2010 | 12:57 pm
The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission voted Tuesday to propose that high-level officials be barred from receiving free entry to concerts, sports events and other cultural activities if the donor of the ticket has business pending before the city.
On a 4-1 vote, the panel said such a ban should apply even in cases in which an elected official, city commissioner or high-level manager is performing a ceremonial duty, such as handing over a city proclamation.
Maxine Waters
By Susan Crabtree – 09/03/10 04:56 PM ET
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has established a legal defense fund to pay for any expenses associated with her full-throttled battle against ethics charges that she used her position to help a bank in which her husband owned stock.
Waters filed paperwork with the ethics committee to form the fund in late August. Her office did not comment about whether she had already held fundraisers to help fill the fund’s coffers or has events planned.
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
September 3, 2010 | 5:31 pm
A medical marijuana dispensary that Los Angeles was seeking to shut down under its three-month-old ordinance has won a court order allowing it to stay open, the first ruling from a local judge to favor one of the hundreds of stores affected by the new law.
On Thursday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mohr granted a temporary restraining order to allow DTPG to stay in business pending another hearing.
11:02 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 1, 2010
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL and DUG BEGLEY
The Press-Enterprise
PDF: SCAG letter to LAWA
Inland officials are not the only ones clamoring for Los Angeles to cede control of Ontario International Airport. The Southern California Association of Governments, spanning all of Southern California outside San Diego, is poised today to approve a letter urging Los Angeles to give up oversight of the airport.
By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times
August 19, 2010
The head of the American Federation of Teachers said Wednesday that she believed parents have a right to know how well their children’s teachers are rated on employee evaluations, but strongly disagreed with The Times’ decision to publish data showing how individual teachers may have influenced the standardized test scores of students.
Two months after launching a probe of the mayor’s acceptance of free tickets, one of the panel’s members warns that the commission might actually be about to weaken, rather than strengthen, gift laws for elected officials.
By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times
August 11, 2010
The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission failed Tuesday to approve a plan to tighten rules regulating free tickets received by elected officials, with one member warning that the panel is on the verge of weakening, not strengthening, its own gift laws.
Two months after the agency’s enforcement team opened an investigation into Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s practice of accepting free tickets to major sports and cultural events, commissioners found themselves at odds over a proposal to bar high-level officials from receiving any gift from companies with business pending before them.
California Watch
A Project of the Center for Investigative Reporting
Money and Politics
California WatchBlog
August 9, 2010 | Chase Davis
New amendments up for debate by the Fair Political Practices Commission this week could soon prove fitting bookends to a recent flap involving Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has accepted upward of $50,000 in free tickets to concerts and sporting events since 2005 without disclosing them as gifts on his conflict of interest reports.
By Sam Quinones, Los Angeles Times
August 7, 2010
In response to the pay scandal roiling nearby Bell, Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel unveiled a public database that she said made Los Angeles “the largest City in America to post a comprehensive list of city employee salaries.”
Although it is unusual for a public agency to reveal all employee incomes in database form — even though the information is public under California’s open records law — at least two private entities had previously posted similar city salary information. And both included each employee’s name, which Greuel’s list does not.
LOS ANGELES, California, April 1, 2009 (ENS) – An demonstration project by the City of Los Angeles that turns biosolids into clean energy has been named as a semi-finalist for the 2009 Award for Innovations in American Government. The award is presented annually by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
The Terminal Island Renewable Energy, or TIRE, project is the nation’s first aimed at producing green energy from a renewable bio-resource. The resource is biosolids – the organic materials remaining after treatment of domestic sewage at a wastewater treatment facility.
Alarcon
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
August 4, 2010 | 3:28 pm
A grand jury has handed down a 24-count felony indictment against Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife, Flora Montes de Oca, accusing them of perjury and voter fraud stemming from their assertion in that they lived in a home in Panorama City.
In an indictment unsealed Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Grand Jury said Alarcon and his wife falsely claimed that they lived in a house within Alarcon’s 7th Council District in the San Fernando Valley.
City administrative officer reports that benefits for retired police, firefighters, DWP workers and other city employees could grow by $800 million in the next five years.
By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times
August 3, 2010|7:35 p.m.
The cost of retirement benefits for Los Angeles city employees will grow by $800 million over the next five years, dramatically eroding the amount of money available for public services to taxpayers, according to a report issued Tuesday.
In a bleak assessment delivered to members of the City Council, City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said pensions and health benefits for current and future retirees would jump from $1.4 billion next year to at least $2.2 billion in 2015.
Art Marroquin, Staff Writer
Created: 08/02/2010 09:11:31 PM PDT
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa does not want to sell control of L.A./Ontario International Airport back to the city of Ontario, despite projections that passenger traffic won’t rebound to pre-recession levels until 2040, officials said Monday.
In the meantime, an outside consultant said officials with Los Angeles World Airports should consider a series of money-saving options, including consolidating airline operations into a single terminal at L.A./Ontario International.
THE WEEK
Those are the two things Californians give their elected officials.
By Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times
July 18, 2010
Even a cursory look at events last week was enough to show the concept of “public service” being turned on its ear.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission took up the issue of elected officials getting freebie tickets, in the wake of investigations into Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s acceptance of tickets to dozens of sought-after events, sometimes from companies doing business with his administration.
By Joel Fox
Editor of Fox & Hounds and President of the Small Business Action Committee
Wed, July 7th, 2010
Despite Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s success in negotiating some concessions from state unions on the pension front, heated action in the battle for pension reform is happening in California’s cities.
Yesterday, initiative petition signatures were filed in San Francisco to require thousands of city employees to contribute 9% of their salaries towards their pensions and health care plans. Currently, many (but not all) contribute nothing. The initiative would also boost public safety workers contributions to 10% of salaries. Police and firefighters just saw their contributions increased to 9% by voters in the June election.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
June 29, 2010 | 2:43 pm
The Fair Political Practices Commission has begun an investigation to determine whether Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has accepted thousands of dollars in free tickets to sporting events, awards shows and concerts, was engaging in his “ceremonial role or duty” when he accepted those gifts, officials said Tuesday.
Villaraigosa
Can the mayor drive a hard bargain with entities like AEG, the Dodgers and the motion picture academy if he has also been the recipient of tickets?
By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times
June 29, 2010
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has argued for weeks that his acceptance of free tickets to concerts, awards shows and athletic events is not subject to state gift disclosure law because his attendance is part of his official duties.
Yet beyond the thorny legal issues, Villaraigosa faces a political question: Can he drive a hard bargain with entities that do millions of dollars in business with the city if they are also giving him access to pricey entertainment?
Villaraigosa
By David Zahniser and Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times
June 26, 2010
Lawyers for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa named the Los Angeles Dodgers as the most frequent donor of his free tickets, but they struggled to identify many of the other entities that have let him appear at athletic and cultural events without paying, according to documents released Friday.
The 422 pages of records were assembled as part of Villaraigosa’s effort to show that he was performing official and ceremonial duties while going to concerts, sports events and award shows over the last five years. The mayor says that distinction relieved him from having to report the tickets as gifts under state law.
Maybe it’s not corrupt, but at the very least, Villaraigosa’s use of free tickets is bad judgment.
June 25, 2010|Steve Lopez
Once upon a time in Los Angeles, we had an aggressively dull mayor who guarded his privacy, seldom emerged from his City Hall bunker, and took his sister with him when he went out on the town. Jim Hahn was so shy a guy, I set up a service to recruit potential dates for him.
In a big shakeup, the city made the switch to Antonio Villaraigosa, who seemed determined to prove that he didn’t need my help.
Villaraigosa
The L.A. mayor’s practice of attending dozens of concerts, sports events and award shows without paying is under investigation by the city Ethics Commission and the D.A. He has argued that he attended the events free to perform official duties.
By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times
June 25, 2010
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday he would release records Friday spelling out the official duties he performed at dozens of concerts, sports events and award shows that he attended free of charge.
The mayor’s practice of going to those events without paying is the subject of an investigation by the city’s Ethics Commission and an inquiry by Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley’s Public Integrity Division. Villaraigosa has argued repeatedly that tickets to such events do not need to be disclosed as gifts under state law because he was performing official or ceremonial duties.
Jim Christie
SAN FRANCISCO
Thu May 27, 2010 4:51pm EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Two years after Vallejo, California, filed for bankruptcy protection, officials in nearby Antioch are also tossing around the ‘B’ word.
Antioch’s leaders earlier this month said bankruptcy could be an option for the cash-strapped city of roughly 100,000 on the eastern fringe of the San Francisco Bay area.
Villaraigosa
By Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times
May 29, 2010
Since taking office in 2005, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has sat courtside next to movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg at three Lakers games at Staples Center. He has cheered alongside Tommy Lasorda and Dodgers owner Frank McCourt in the owner’s box at Dodger Stadium. Rarely has he missed an awards show: the Academy Awards, the Grammys, the Emmys and the BET Awards —anywhere there was a red carpet in Los Angeles, odds were Villaraigosa was photographed standing on it.
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/18/2010 05:54:17 PM PDT
ONTARIO – Councilman Alan Wapner wants this city to drive toward its destiny.
But that is hard to do when the keys to the city’s biggest economic engine – LA/Ontario International Airport – are in the hands of someone else.
City revenues are up more than expected, so L.A. ‘might not be out of cash after all,’ the mayor says. His plan for two furlough days a week was expected to spark a protracted fight.
By Maeve Reston
April 9, 2010
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has backed away from his call to shut down some city departments two days a week, using positive news about the city’s budget crisis to downplay a threat that had become increasingly difficult to sustain.
“To all of our surprise, we’ve gotten an increase in revenues of $30 million more from property tax than we expected,” Villaraigosa said Thursday, two days after announcing the move might be necessary as soon as Monday to prevent the city from running out of money.
Villaraigosa, battling with the City Council over a growing fiscal crisis, seeks to slash city services starting Monday.
By Phil Willon, Maeve Reston and David Zahniser
April 7, 2010
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called for shutting down non-essential agencies two days a week Tuesday as he and City Council members remained locked in a standoff over the intertwined issues of electricity rates and the city’s worsening budget shortfall.
Villaraigosa’s action topped another day of threats and name-calling at City Hall.
City Controller Wendy Greuel declares an ‘urgent financial crisis’ and says the only way to continue paying bills in the short term is to begin draining the city’s already limited emergency reserve.
By Phil Willon and Maeve Reston
April 6, 2010
The city’s top financial official issued a grim assessment of the escalating budget crisis Monday, warning that Los Angeles could be unable to pay its bills in just over four weeks.
City Controller Wendy Greuel declared an “urgent financial crisis” and said the only way to continue paying bills in the short term was to begin to drain the city’s already limited emergency reserve.
Rick Orlov, Staff Writer
Created: 03/29/2010 08:16:05 PM PDT
Claremont resident and Los Angeles City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana announced this weekend that he has enrolled in an alcohol treatment center and is temporarily stepping down from his post.
“I do not know how long this stage of my journey will be,” Santana said in a statement. “I apologize to my family, friends, the mayor, the City Council, CAO staff and the entire city family for my irresponsible behavior.
10:00 PM PST on Monday, March 8, 2010
By JANET ZIMMERMAN
The Press-Enterprise
Open-space preservationists are staging celebrations in Oak Glen and Yucca Valley this week to mark assurances by the city of Los Angeles that it is withdrawing its application to construct electrical transmission lines across desert and scenic hilltops.
The Wildlands Conservancy, based in the San Bernardino County community of Oak Glen, is holding a 10 a.m. event Wednesday — complete with an apple pie giveaway. At noon, a similar party is planned at the community center in Yucca Valley, said Dana Rochat, the conservancy’s projects coordinator.
To help address the city’s budget crisis — and after the threat of a credit downgrade — the council tells agencies to act by July 1. The move is on top of 1,000 cuts already in the works.
By Phil Willon and Maeve Reston
February 19, 2010
Under the threat of a credit rating downgrade, the Los Angeles City Council on Thursday instructed agency heads to eliminate 3,000 additional city jobs before July 1 “by any means necessary, including layoffs.”
The reduction — aimed in part at wresting further concessions from the city’s labor unions — would be on top of 1,000 job cuts already in the works.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com The Sacramento Bee
Published: Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
California, with its complex mélange of cultural, demographic and economic forces, may be, some observers contend, just a concentrated microcosm of the United States, telling the rest of the nation what it can expect as the 21st century unwinds.
If that’s true, Los Angeles is a microcosm of California. That makes the city’s budget crisis not only a reflection of the state’s own chronic fiscal woes, but also a case study of the countervailing political forces.
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 02/08/2010 11:35:52 AM PST
ONTARIO – Ontario City Councilman Alan Wapner has expressed alarm over the possibility of a private operator running LA/Ontario International Airport.
The Los Angeles City Council recently issued a letter giving its city staff the option of bringing in a private operator to manage LA/ONT.
The letter was given to the Los Angeles city administrative officer to be used as a guide to help reduce the city’s budget deficit.
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
February 8, 2010 | 8:08 pm
Representatives from two credit rating agencies expressed concern Monday about Los Angeles’ precarious financial position and the City Council’s indecision on budget cuts last week.
In a memo to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Council members, City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said Fitch Ratings told one of his aides they were monitoring a number of factors that could lead them to downgrade the city’s credit rating. They included the erosion of the city’s reserves, the city’s structural deficit and the failure of city officials to reduce the size of the city’s workforce.
THE WEEK
As campaign spots touch upon the bizarre, average people’s real concerns fade into the background.
By Cathleen Decker
February 7, 2010
Last week brought confirmation of a parallel universe. Or two.
In one, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced that to deal with this year’s $212-million deficit, he was ordering the elimination of 1,000 Los Angeles city jobs, although some workers may be shifted into vacancies not financed by the hemorrhaging general fund.
That universe of hurt was not the one inhabited by some of those seeking the state’s highest elected offices this year. Theirs appeared to be centered far, far away, where the hot topic of the week wasn’t jobs. It was sheep.
Bernard Parks has asked the city’s top budget analyst to outline a layoff plan that includes public safety agencies, which have been largely shielded from earlier budget cuts.
By Maeve Reston and Phil Willon
February 2, 2010
As the Los Angeles City Council weighed options to address a $208-million shortfall, Councilman Bernard C. Parks on Monday ordered the city’s top budget analyst to prepare a plan that could include layoffs of police officers and firefighters.
Last week, City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana outlined plans for the elimination of as many as 1,500 city positions, but none of those cuts were from the Police Department or the mayor’s and council members’ offices.
Los Angeles owns Ontario facility and needs money, but would anyone pay the price?
10:11 PM PST on Saturday, January 30, 2010
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
The Press-Enterprise
Faced with a $200 million shortfall in its current fiscal year, the city of Los Angeles has considered putting a price tag on Ontario International Airport which it’s owned since 1967.
But will anyone buy?
Aviation experts say no. City officials say they’re simply researching options available to them which include an FAA program started in 1996 allowing five public airports at a time to be leased to interested management firms.
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