Overbilling of DWP Called Intentional
The former head of Fleishman-Hillard’s L.A. office was told in a 2003 meeting that Department of Water and Power bills were being inflated but did not stop it, a former colleague testified Tuesday. In the third day of the conspiracy and wire fraud trial of former executives Doug Dowie and John Stodder, Monique Moret testified under immunity that she attended a meeting at which Stodder substantiated claims that hours were being added to DWP billings for work that was not done, the Daily News of Los Angeles reported. Moret, a vice president who reported to Stodder, said that at his instruction she also added unworked hours worth thousands of dollars for over a year beginning in December 2002. Moret said Dowie was informed about the issue.
Cera Filing On Track Despite Amgen Move
Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said on Wednesday that a patent dispute with rival Amgen Inc. would not prevent it from soon filing for U.S. approval for its experimental anemia drug Cera, Reuters reported. Biotech firm Amgen said on Tuesday it was asking the U.S. government to ban imports of Cera, saying it infringed a patent for Amgen’s own anemia treatment, Epogen. Roche said on Wednesday the firm would continue with its plans to request regulatory approval for Cera, a version of the protein EPO or erythropoietin which increases the production of red-blood cells. Roche said it remains confident that Cera does not infringe Amgen’s patents for erythropoietin.
Villaraigosa to Seek Hike in Trash Fee
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, caught between a tight budget and a promise to expand the city’s police force, will recommend hiking trash collection fees and using the money to pay for more officers. The mayor is preparing to unveil the proposal today. The city would, for the first time, charge to haul trash from residences , tacking the charge on to existing equipment fees, the Los Angeles Times reported. Currently, L.A. residents pay $11 a month for their trash containers as well as vehicle purchasing and maintenance costs. But the city subsidizes the overall cost of hauling garbage away to the tune of $200 million to $230 million a year. Officials would not discuss the precise amount of the hike that Villaraigosa will recommend to the City Council.
L.A. Unified Lacks Cash to Go Quake-Proof
The Los Angeles Unified School District has retrofitted just nine of the 145 school buildings that safety experts determined are at risk of collapse during a major earthquake, the Los Angeles Times reported. The buildings include classrooms, auditoriums and administrative offices on more than 60 campuses across the city, including Taft, Grant, Cleveland, Kennedy and Jefferson high schools as well as numerous elementary and middle schools. L.A. Unified’s record underscores the struggles of school districts across California to fix buildings that are vulnerable to quakes, a job that could cost as much as $5 billion statewide. Although voters have approved many bond measures to pay for school construction, much of that money has gone to build new campuses.
Theater Union Pickets Inglewood Forum
Stage employee union members picketed Tuesday outside the Forum in Inglewood in an escalating contract dispute, a union official said. Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 33 began working this past weekend under a contract agreement reached last week with SMG, which manages the Forum, the Daily Breeze reported. But after working under the contract through Sunday, SMG sent a letter terminating the agreement. The contract with SMG expired 2 & #733; years ago.
