Haim Saban

Do Endorsements for John Choi and Mitch O'Farrell Reveal Answers for Tri-Hipster Area Voters?

Is L.A. City Council District 13 candidate John Choi a pawn of downtown City Hall interests? Does rival Mitch O'Farrell really have the support of CD 13's community activists? Will residents be screwed no matter who gets elected? All important questions as the contentious CD 13 race heads into the ... More >>

Los Angeles City Council District 13 Primary Results: Mitch O'Farrell and John Choi Head to May Runoff

In the Los Angeles City Council District 13 race, frontrunners Mitch O'Farrell and John Choi will face each other in a May 21 runoff for one of California's most prized political seats. Past CD 13 council members have made strong runs for mayor and have served in the state legislature. With 100 per ... More >>

Los Angeles City Council District 13 Primary: Absentee Ballot Results Show Hollywood Activist Sam Kbushyan Leading Frontrunners

In the Los Angeles City Council District 13 race, frontrunners Mitch O'Farrell, Matt Szabo, Alex De Ocampo, and John Choi are facing each other in a competitive race for one of California's most prized political seats. Past CD 13 council members have made strong runs for mayor and have served in the ... More >>

Los Angeles City Council District 13 Primary Results: Dark horse Sam Kbushyan Hangs Tough with Frontrunners John Choi and Mitch O'Farrell

In the Los Angeles City Council District 13 race, dark horse candidate Sam Kbushyan, who was ignored by nearly all media, is keeping pace with frontrunners Mitch O'Farrell and John Choi in a competitive race for one of California's most prized political seats. Past CD 13 council members have made st ... More >>

L.A. City Council District 13 March Election

Hollywood and Tri-Hipster Area Produces Power Players

Eat, Drink and Be Free

Howard Berman's Last Stand

Ticketgate: Fabian Nuñez, Schwarzenegger BFF, Pays It Forward, Helps L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa With His Ethics Fines

Nuñez, far left, and Villaraigosa: Fast friends​So L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa went to a few gratis NBA games and awards shows, courtesy of some bedfellow developers -- stinky and elitist, but we've seen worse. The aftermath of Ticketgate, however, has far out-stunk the crime itself. Vil ... More >>

Know Your Rich People, Los Angeles: A List of SoCal's 20 Billionaires

Richboy Slim, worth $74 billion.​Forbes' annual list of "The World's Billionaires" was released this week, and (gasp) a Mexican, Carlos Slim Helu, took the top spot for the second time in a row. The U.S. grip on the billionaire game, and California's too, has been slipping even as the ultra-r ... More >>

Billionaire Haim Saban Gets Image Remake in Fawning Jewish Journal Cover Story, No Mention of Prop. 27 Debacle

Billionaire and Prop. 27 supporter Haim Saban​L.A. billionaire Haim Saban, who supported the controversial effort to sink a California citizens commission that will draw the boundaries for congressional and state legislature districts, gets help in remaking his image from a fawning Jewish Jou ... More >>

Proposition 27: Billionaire Haim Saban Gets Burned by Howard Berman, Ballot Measure Loss and Republicans

Billionaire and Prop. 27 supporter Haim Saban​When Proposition 27 went down in flames on Tuesday night, so did L.A. billionaire Haim Saban's reputation as a politically astute businessman. Not only did the shady ballot measure the billionaire supported not pass, but Congressman Howard Berma ... More >>

California Proposition 20 Wins, Proposition 27 Loses: Politicians Will No Longer Draw up Their Own Districts

Billionaire and Prop. 27 supporter Haim Saban​Update, 11:50 p.m.: With 39 percent of California precincts reporting, Prop. 27 is heading for a huge loss -- 60 percent of voters oppose the ballot measure and 40 percent support it. California voters approved Proposition 20 and shot down Propos ... More >>

Merlin Froyd Is The Poor Guy Taking On Gerrymandering Congressman Howard Berman In The Fixed California 28th District Election

By Hillel Aron No chance for Merlin Froyd or any other challenger from any party in the fixed Congressional races​When California Congressman Howard Berman was first elected to congress, Merlin Froyd wasn't even born. That's the poor guy the Republican Party found to run against Berman. He's ... More >>

California's Proposition 20 and Proposition 27: Gerrymandering And Election-Fixing And Why You Should Give A Rip

By Hillel Aron California's "Ribbon of Shame" Congressional District 23 stretches more than 200 miles from outside Camarillo to the Monterey Co. border, narrows to 100 yards and is said to "disappear at high tide​Update: Before Nov. 2, read about shadowy Michael Berman, a map-making guru who ... More >>

Prop. 27 Gerrymander Supporters Duck and Cover

Howard Berman camp issues denial; consultant Michael Berman won't talk

Propositions 20 And 27: California Newspapers Unanimously Back 20 (Except One) And Unanimously Pillory The Egregious 27

By Hillel Aron The California Legislature's crack gerrymandering team​The editorial boards of California newspapers agree: Proposition 27, which would overturn a voter-approved 2008 reform that prevents Sacramento legislators from gerrymandering voting districts to keep their jobs, is an ugly ... More >>

California Propositions 20 and 27: Charles T. Munger Jr., The Billionaire's Son, Takes On The Gerrymander Goons In The State Legislature

By Hillel Aron Via the Bay CitizenThe legislature wants to yank Munger's bow-tie​Propositions 20 and 27 in California, come down to a battle between two eccentric billionaires. Well, one billionaire, Haim Saban, and one bow-tie-wearing physicist son-of-a-billionaire, Charles T. Munger, Jr. Mu ... More >>

California Propositions 20 and 27: A Peek At The Gerrymandering Soul Of Congressman Howard Berman's Filthy Rich Handmaiden, Haim Saban

By Hillel Aron Mastering the Politburo​Haim Saban is different than you and me: he's the 287th richest man in the world, worth $3.3 billion. The Egyptian Jew, who looks an Ian McShane/Silvio Berlusconi cross, created The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. And he's the biggest giver to Proposition ... More >>

'Gerrymandering' Documentary Is Going To Inflict Damage On Proposition 27. Too Bad For Fat Cats Who Want To Fix California Elections

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger​"Gerrymandering" looks into the sleazy politicians' game of drawing crazy-shaped "voting districts" that chop up cities and cross over mountains, all with the aim of separating Republican voters from Democratic voters to fix an election victory for one par ... More >>

What Recession? SoCal's Richest People Measure Their Money In Billions

​Even though the recession allegedly ended in June, 2009, times are still tough. Soup is a staple. Souplantation a luxury. Soup kitchens -- a necessity. But the big wheels keep on turnin'. And the ballers, they keep on ballin'. Southern California's wealthiest people aren't at the tippy top of ... More >>

Fear Of A Latino District Appears To Fuel Haim Saban's Support Of Prop. 27, The Nov. Initiative That Would Reverse Redistricting Reform

​Los Angeles business journalist Mark Lacter takes a look at little-known Prop. 27, which would reverse reforms that took responsibility for redistricting away from state legislators and put it in the hands of a citizens' commission. Lacter notes that one of the reasons billionaire Angeleno ... More >>

50 'Wealthiest Angelenos' Worth $93 Billion

Patrick Soon-Shiong.​The Los Angeles Business Journal's annual list of 50 "Wealthiest Angelenos" hits the streets this week and, despite the economic doldrums hitting the Angel City elite, their net worth is up 14 percent to $93 billion. That's more than the worth of billionaires in some Weste ... More >>

L.A. Billionaire Haim Saban Warned Magazine Over Juicy Profile

Haim Saban.​Despite reported warnings from the mogul's lawyers, a profile of Los Angeles billionaire Haim Saban in the New Yorker magazine doesn't seem to pull any punches, including its description of how the businessman had his friend, President Bill Clinton, make a call to clear the way for ... More >>

Pew poll says Americans hate government. Exhibit One: Howard Berman, gerrymander king

The respected Pew Research Center several hours ago revealed that Americans from all walks of life are beset with distrust for government at all levels, plummeting from 73 percent who said they trusted government in the Eisenhower era, to only 22 percent who say so today.Howard Berman ​This week's ... More >>

List of 100 Most Powerful People in California: How an obscure scientist beat Haim Saban

The great scribes at Capitol Weekly who report on the deeply unpopular California State Legislature and only slightly less disliked Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger have issued the first 50 names in their widely read Capitol Weekly Top 100 List of influential Californians. It may shock and delight and ... More >>

L.A. Billionaires Still Throw Millions at Bill Clinton

Former president Bill Clinton hasn't lost the golden touch when it comes to raising big money in Los Angeles.Former U.S. President Bill Clinton​In 2009, The William J. Clinton Foundation, the former president's non-profit group that fights everything from global climate change to HIV/AIDS, raked i ... More >>

Marlon Jackson's Nigerian Shrine to Jackson 5 and/or Slavery. Um, what?

Continuing with the Jackson 5 family news: The Jacksons are a family that keeps on giving, at least for those in the tabloid and psychology professions, what with Michael Jackson's upcoming Neverland auction, and the recent news that older brother Marlon is working on a deal to erect a history of s ... More >>

Arab Adventures in Hollywood

Hip young actors are refusing roles as terrorists and creating their own material

Fabian, maybe it's the friends you keep

If you followed the election fine print - those ballot measures having nothing to do with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain or Mitt Romney, you might be wondering what killed Proposition 93, the plan to alter California Term Limits for the first time since voters overwhelmingly passed the l ... More >>

Baquet's Billionaire Boys' Club

Is Dean of Arc playing a dangerous game with the Times’ integrity?

Hope and Fear

A week in the mayor’s race, with just two more to go

Spiked in Hollywood

Dave Robb walks away — again