Gene Maddaus

Standard & Poor's downgrades L.A.'s credit rating

Gene Maddaus
More bad news on the city budget, as City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana told the council today that Standard & Poor's has downgraded the city's credit rating.The move follows a warning last week from Moody's Investors Service, which noted that the city is in danger of draining its reserves by......
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Centrist Dems stand up for Abel Maldonado

Gene Maddaus
In a case of Sacramento centrists hanging together, Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, and Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, have penned an editorial calling for the confirmation of Sen. Abel Maldonado as lieutenant governor.Maldonado is perhaps the strongest Republican in this year's race for lieutenant governor. That's assuming he can get......
Mayor V.

Villaraigosa Cites Girlfriend's Expertise on Pay Cuts

Gene Maddaus
At a press conference this morning to announce new stimulus spending, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa renewed his call for the City Council to act quickly to address next year's $485 million deficit.Villaraigosa, who has called for 1,000 layoffs, suggested that outcome could be avoided if unions agree to take a pay......
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Supreme Court Opens Floodgates on L.A. City Election Spending

Gene Maddaus
Developers, billboard companies, and public employee unions will all get to have a more direct role in Los Angeles elections, thanks to last month's Supreme Court ruling that struck down limits on independent campaign activity.The L.A. Ethics Commission announced today that due to the ruling in the Citizens United case,......
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Manhattan Beach Cops Probed For Alleged DUI Cover-Up

Gene Maddaus
Four Manhattan Beach police officers have been placed on leave as investigators probe an alleged cover-up of an alcohol-related crash.The officers failed to take a report after learning that the car involved in the crash was registered to a fellow Manhattan Beach cop, the Daily Breeze reports.In a statement, Chief......
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David Beckham's Soccer Academy Goes Belly-Up

Gene Maddaus
Nick Green, the LANG newspapers' soccer columnist, reports today on the closure of the David Beckham Academy, which for the last five years has offered soccer lessons to kids at AEG's Home Depot Center in Carson.Seems the culprit is the weak economy, as fewer and fewer parents have $500 to......
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FBI Confirms Fugitive In Caltech Eco-Terror Case Has Died

Gene Maddaus
The FBI has confirmed that Tyler Johnson, a fugitive whom prosecutors considered a co-conspirator in the 2003 fire-bombing of an SUV dealership in West Covina, has died.According to an obituary posted on the website of the Staffan-Mitchell Funeral Home in Stockbridge, Mich., Johnson died in an avalanche during a solo......
District Attorney Steve Cooley.

In A.G.'s race, two big names weigh in late [Update: Speier out]

Gene Maddaus
Candidates for statewide office turned in their semi-annual fundraising numbers Monday. But perhaps the two biggest names in the attorney general's race didn't have to file because they weren't running at all last year.Steve Cooley, the Republican district attorney of L.A. County, jumped into the race only a few weeks......
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How To Follow In The Cardinal Mahony Succession Drama

Gene Maddaus
Rocco Palmo, who writes about Catholic issues at Whispers in the Loggia, has been hearing the rumors about Cardinal Roger Mahony taking on an understudy who would succeed him when he retires next year. In a thorough consideration of the topic, he argues that the dominant storyline of the transition......