Limits on Stem Cell Agency Proposed

So far, the effort to move fast to get the $3-billion stem cell bond money to researchers has generated more controversy than speed. The latest problem for the new California Institute for Regenerative Medicine came Wednesday when a bipartisan group of legislators proposed a package of restrictions on the stem cell agency, the Los Angeles Times reported. One would be a bill designed to delay for three years any plan to have women donate eggs directly for purposes of research. The other major element would be a constitutional amendment requiring the stem cell agency to live within specified rules on conflicts of interest and open meetings. If approved by two-thirds of both houses of the Legislature, the amendment could be put before voters as early as November.

Suit Says Countrywide Hid Loan Fees, Costs


Countrywide Financial Corp. was sued by two California homeowners who claimed that the company hid home equity loan fees and costs, Bloomberg News reported. The suit, filed Monday in Redwood City, Calif., argues that Countrywide violated state and federal laws that require lenders to disclose accurate estimates of all costs at the time borrowers apply for a loan. The lawsuit might be extended to cover as many as 500,000 loans nationally, including 100,000 in California.

Port Panel to Consider Increased Park Space for San Pedro Waterfront


A motion to increase park space and limit commercial development along San Pedro’s waterfront will go before a port advisory panel in April, the Daily Breeze reported. Members of the Port Community Advisory Committee debated the motion late Tuesday, responding to neighborhood council actions that have been critical of the redevelopment plan. While numerous public workshops were held in 2004 to gather input on the plan, some residents said they were surprised by details calling for hotels, condominiums and other development when a project description was released late last year.

State to Join Ballot Probe


The California Secretary of State’s Office announced Wednesday that it will investigate why City Clerk Frank Martinez changed the software on the voting system used in Los Angeles’ mayoral primary without state approval one of several steps he took that slowed the count and raised questions about the integrity of the process, the Daily News of Los Angeles reported. Martinez said he ordered a change in computer code in the scanner that “reads” InkaVote ballots to reduce uncertainty in what was anticipated to be an extremely close race. And on election night, he ordered workers to hand-sort the ballots and re-ink thousands of votes that might be too faint to scan.

Northrop Cost Overruns on Navy Ships Increasing


Northrop Grumman Corp. cost overruns on the first two vessels in the U.S. Navy’s new class of amphibious warfare ships, already $1 billion, could increase by $300 million more, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said. That would bring the cost of these first two of a planned nine vessels to about $3 billion, or 76 percent more than their budgeted cost of $1.7 billion, the GAO said in an 85-page report. The U.S. taxpayer pays all of Northrop’s cost overruns on the program, reported Bloomberg News.

Supermarkets’ Credit Ratings on the Line


Kroger Co., Albertson’s Inc. and Safeway Inc., the three biggest U.S. grocery chains, may have their credit ratings cut by Standard & Poor’s as competing retailers take sales, the ratings service said Wednesday. The companies’ credit ratings are under review for a possible downgrade to the lowest investment grade, according to a statement issued by S & P.; The ratings of all three are two steps above junk, or non-investment grade, Bloomberg News reported. S & P; will likely decide if it will downgrade the stocks within 90 days.

Inamed Faces SEC Probe Over Disclosures


Inamed Corp. said Wednesday that U.S. regulators had started a formal investigation into its disclosures about one style of its silicone gel-filled breast implant products, Reuters reported. The Santa Barbara-based company said in its annual report that it received notification of the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation on Feb. 24 and that it intended to cooperate fully. Inamed develops and manufactures a line of healthcare products, including breast implants, dermal fillers to correct wrinkles and an intragastric balloon system to treat obesity.

Shell Oil’s Bakersfield Refinery, Once Set to Close, Changes Hands


Shell Oil Co. has quietly handed its Bakersfield refinery, once slated for closure, to new owner Flying J Inc., a Utah truck stop operator, the Los Angeles Times reported. Flying J paid a reported $130 million for the refinery and plans to spend at least that much on an expansion that would sharply increase the plant’s gasoline and diesel output. In its current configuration, the facility makes 2 percent of California’s gasoline and 6 percent of its diesel. Shell Oil had planned to close the facility in October. In January, Shell said it would sell the plant to Flying J. The deal’s final hurdle was cleared last week, when the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District granted Flying J a one-year extension to comply with an emissions rule affecting a few of the refinery’s heaters.

CBS Producing Martha’s Movie


Martha Stewart could be coming to primetime much sooner than expected, courtesy of a CBS biopic being fast-tracked for a possible May sweeps broadcast, Variety reported. CBS has been talking to Cybil Shepherd about playing the domestic diva for what would be an encore performance: In 2003, she campily played Stewart in “Martha Inc.” The new effort is expected to have a more serious tone than the 2003 TV movie.

El Segundo Rejects Agatha Christie, Jack London


Agatha Christie and Jack London books are found on the shelves of the El Segundo Public Library, but the City Council has deemed the two authors too “un-American” to attach their names to new meeting rooms at the library, the Daily Breeze reported. Council members Tuesday rejected the recommendations by library staff members and supporters, sending them back to the drawing board to widen the list of authors. Councilman John Gaines made the first objection, asking why Christie, a British citizen, and London, a onetime socialist, were selected. “I’ve read a lot of (Christie’s) books,” he said. “I’m a murder-mystery man, but can’t we pick an American?”