Villaraigosa Reviews First 100 Days
Nearing his 100th day in office, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa declared Thursday that he plans to step up efforts to reform L.A. schools, with the goal of having full responsibility for education in the city by the end of his first term. In an interview that drew TV crews and reporters, Villaraigosa also offered a self-assessment in which he said he believes he has helped bring about positive change in the city. The mayor listed a number of early accomplishments such as removing lobbyists from city commissions, appointing an ethics czar in his office, pushing environmental programs, banning rush-hour construction and promoting economic development. He also spent time discussing education reform and the need for the mayor to have full control over the LAUSD, the Daily News of Los Angeles reported.
Co-Chiefs of Paramount’s Specialty Films Unit Fired in Studio Shake-Up
Continuing to make good on his pledge to remake Paramount Pictures, Chairman Brad Grey on Thursday fired the co-heads of the studio’s specialty films division, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to sources, Grey called Paramount Classics co-Presidents Ruth Vitale and David Dinerstein into his office one after the other to deliver the news. The duo was hired eight years ago by the studio’s former chief, Sherry Lansing, and her boss, Jonathan Dolgen. The move has been expected since last year, when Tom Freston, co-president of Paramount parent Viacom Inc., dismissed the studio’s specialty division as “an also-ran.” Freston has made clear that he wants Paramount Classics to be more competitive and lucrative.
Filings Show L.A. Link in KPMG Case
Federal prosecutors have identified a former partner in KPMG’s Woodland Hills office as having participated in an alleged conspiracy to devise phony tax shelters used by prominent figures, including the founders of Guess Inc. and Global Crossing Ltd. founder Gary Winnick. A federal grand jury’s recent indictment of eight former KPMG executives in connection with illegal tax shelters listed seven unnamed individuals as un-indicted co-conspirators. One of the unnamed individuals helped devise a scheme to keep tax shelters under the IRS’ radar, according to the Aug. 29 indictment, the Los Angeles Times reported. Memos previously released by Senate investigators identified the author as Gregg W. Ritchie, a former tax partner in KPMG’s Woodland Hills office.
Ponte Vista Housing Plans Find Few Fans at Hearing
A plan to build 2,300 homes on surplus Navy property in San Pedro found little support Thursday as city planners listened to concerns about density and traffic. The proposed Ponte Vista development would include 575 homes, or 25 percent of the total, set aside for buyers 55 and older. All of the condominiums and town homes would be within four- to six-story buildings, with 40 percent of the 62-acre site left as open space for residents in the gated community, the Daily Breeze reported. While some speakers said the project would be an improvement over the dilapidated Navy housing now there, many complained that the number of proposed homes was too high and that traffic in the area was already very congested. Councilwoman Janice Hahn has said the density of the project is too high and needs to be down-sized.
Charity Denies Knowing It Hired Con Man
A local chapter of the American Red Cross, already embarrassed by the hiring of a notorious con man as an executive fundraiser, is now fighting accusations that senior managers tried to cover up their knowledge of the man’s background. The Pasadena Red Cross in August hired Fred Brito, who had had just been fired from a fundraising job at UCLA when officials there discovered he used fake credentials, to manage fundraising for 30 cities in the San Gabriel Valley. He remained on the Red Cross staff for a month after the Los Angeles Times ran a story on his exploits. He was fired only after an official conducting a Web search came across the piece. A background check before Brito was hired found that he used numerous aliases and had a conviction for grand theft.
Writers Guild Units Drop Suits
The eastern and western divisions of the Writers Guild of America declared a truce in their war over financial issues Thursday, announcing that they were temporarily withdrawing lawsuits against each other. In a suit filed in April, the WGA, West, said union rules required arbitration over its claim that it was subsidizing its sister union by more than $1 million in dues and non-reimbursed services. The WGA, East, called the financial demands a shakedown. In a suit in New York, it alleged that arbitration was not required. Citing a “new spirit of cooperation,” the newly elected union presidents expressed optimism that the unions would be able to settle the legal dispute in negotiations set to begin Oct. 22 in San Francisco, the Los Angeles Times reported.
