Financier, Producer in Deal With Columbia
Los Angeles financier Tom Gores and veteran producer Frank Mancuso Jr. reached a film acquisition and distribution agreement with Columbia Pictures. Gores and Mancuso will work through production firm 360 Pictures. The first film will be the basketball drama “Crossover.” Under the deal, Columbia parent Sony Pictures will get North American home entertainment and theatrical rights to 360 Pictures projects it acquires, the Los Angeles Times reported. Mancuso produced such films as “Ronin” and “Species.” Gores runs buyout firm Platinum Equity.
L.A.-Area Rents High, and Climbing Higher
L.A.-area rents, already among the nation’s highest, jumped by 7 percent in 2005, and a similar bump this year is expected to push the average monthly rent to more than $1,500, according to a University of Southern California forecast released today. The run-up in rent is fueled by high demand for apartments and few vacancies. About 97 percent of the region’s apartments are currently occupied, and an increasing number of apartments are being converted to condominiums, the Daily News of Los Angeles reported. The average rent for L.A. County is $1,416 7 percent more than in 2004. San Francisco is the only California city with higher rents.
Audit of DWP Endorses Rate Hikes
An audit of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power recommended that the agency be allowed to raise water rates by 7.4percent over the next two years to cover escalating costs and said additional increases totaling nearly 10 percent may be justified during the following three years. The financial analysis released Wednesday was conducted at the request of the City Council, which had balked at raising rates 3.8 percent last year because members did not believe the need had been proved, the Los Angeles Times reported. Auditors have identified $140 million in potential savings, including $20 million in the water system, which would eliminate the need for a 3.9 percent rate increase proposed by the auditors to be approved for July.
Official Seeks Report on Hotel Workers’ Benefits
Councilwoman Janice Hahn asked for a report Wednesday on how the city can help improve employee benefits at hotels in the Century Boulevard corridor near Los Angeles International Airport. Hahn, the chairwoman of the city’s Tourism Committee, asked lawyers to look at hotel workers’ wages, tips and health benefits. Nearly 100 hotel workers attended Wednesday’s committee meeting, which was scheduled to discuss a proposed convention center on the corridor. The committee will discuss the report April 26, the Los Angeles Times reported.
City Will Pay $1.1 Million in B.I.G. Suit
The City Council agreed Wednesday to pay $1.1 million to the family of slain rap star Notorious B.I.G. after the LAPD failed to turn over information that may have implicated two disgraced officers in the unsolved murder. A wrongful-death suit filed by relatives of the rapper, whose birth name was Christopher Wallace, contends his killing was ordered by Death Row Records mogul Marion “Suge” Knight and carried out by two rogue LAPD officers outside the Petersen Automotive Museum on March 9, 1997. U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ordered the city to pay after finding that an LAPD detective withheld documents that could support the family’s allegations, the Daily News of Los Angeles reported.
El Segundo Developers Want Hotel at Plaza Site
Just months into construction of a 425,000-square-foot shopping center in south El Segundo, developers of the plan have set their sights on building a hotel in the project’s second phase. Plaza El Segundo backers are considering a full-service hotel for the 110-acre site, the Daily Breeze reported. While still in very early stages, developers envision the hotel would be situated along east-west artery Rosecrans Avenue. But backers still face a series of hurdles, including the need for city approval, land acquisition and infrastructure improvements. A hotel is seen as an attractive development for a city, especially one like El Segundo which has an 8 percent bed tax and many high-profile corporations within its borders.
Push for Extra C-17s Resumes
Under questioning by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Air Force’s top leaders Wednesday repeated their concerns that the extensive use of C-17s may require the purchase of seven more of the long-range transports than the 180 planned, Copley News Service reported. At stake for Southern California is Boeing’s C-17 production line in Long Beach that employs 6,000 workers. Without additional purchases, the factory would shut down by 2008. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, said the purchase of seven extra C-17s was at the top of their list of unfunded requirements, which is considered an appeal for extra money from Congress.
Planners Approve Mall Project
The Planning Commission approved the controversial Piazza Las Tunas mall project in Temple City on a 3-1 vote this week. The proposal now will go before the City Council, but no hearing date has been set. The proposal awaits tentative and final tract maps, and it could take four to six weeks to complete them, the Pasadena Star-News reported. Residents have expressed concerns that the project is too big and loomed over nearby homes. The $30 million-$35 million project on 3.7 acres includes 124,000 square feet of commercial space, 58 one-bedroom condominiums and 792 parking spaces.
