Labor Leader Backs Hilton Employees
The head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor on Thursday voiced support for Glendale Hilton employees who claim they have been intimidated during a union organizing drive, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint last week alleging that Glendale Hilton managers threatened and interrogated hotel workers and kept them under surveillance during a drive started last fall by Local 11 of Unite HERE, which is campaigning to organize hotel industry workers nationwide.
A hearing on several charges of unfair labor practices is scheduled for June 5.
He’s the Energizer Mayor
Always on the run, Antonio Villaraigosa has brought new vigor to City Hall, making up in verve what he might lack in policy details, the Los Angeles Times reports. As a candidate in 2005, Villaraigosa promised to bring new punch to the mayor’s office. Ten months into the job, skeptics may ridicule his plans to take over the public schools or condemn his trash-fee hike to pay for more police. But even they concede the obvious: Villaraigosa has delivered on his promise to energize City Hall.
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Terminal Renovation Airport’s Main Focus
Addressing some public skepticism about proposed terminal improvements at Long Beach Airport, city staffers Thursday said their primary goal is to solve operational problems at the facility with parking, crowded space and aging amenities, the Long Beach Press Telegram reports. During the first part of a public hearing scheduled to conclude May 11 before the Long Beach Planning Commission, the city outlined its proposed airport improvements and argued that an Environmental Impact Report on the plans has studied and answered concerns in connection with the project.
Lieu’s ‘TomKat’ Bill Will Regulate Ultrasound Sales
With microphones and cameras poised, reporters staked out Ted Lieu in a back hallway Thursday, anxious to nab an interview before he could reach his desk on the Assembly floor. Downstairs in his office, the Torrance Democrat’s Capitol staff continued to field media calls from Tampa Bay to Los Angeles. A freshman, Lieu is learning a valuable lesson, Copley News Service reports in The Daily Breeze. Connect a celebrity to your bill, for whatever reason or cause, and welcome a media stampede. In this case, the magnet is superstar couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes — dubbed “TomKat” by the Hollywood press. The legislation would regulate the sale of ultrasound machines that capture sonogram images used by doctors to monitor developing fetuses,
Santa Anita on the Fast Track
Santa Anita Park shot out of the gate during its 2005-06 season, posting its biggest season-to-season gain in on-track attendance since the end of World War II, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports. Average on-track daily attendance for the past racing season – which ran Dec. 26, 2005 through April 23 – was 9,341. That’s a 15-percent increase over the previous season’s average of 8,113. This year’s average was also the highest since account-deposit wagering was instituted in 2002. “We significantly increased our marketing and advertising budget, and we also went against some soft days the previous racing season because of bad weather,” said Allen Gutterman, vice president of marketing for the 300-acre facility.
