Anaheim to Bid for ’08 Political Conventions

Anaheim has been invited to bid for the 2008 Republican and Democratic national conventions, a key step in the city’s first-ever attempt to be host to one of the events. Anaheim is competing with 30 cities vying for the GOP convention and 10 cities hoping to play host to the Democrats. City officials began their lobbying effort at the 2004 national conventions, the Los Angeles Times reported. Anaheim’s selection Monday as one of 11 cities invited to bid for the party’s convention showed Democrats weren’t bothered by the county’s conservative bent. The Republican National Committee announced last week that Anaheim was among five California cities invited to bid for the 2008 convention.

Cost of LAPD Headquarters Jumping


The price tag for the new LAPD headquarters downtown has spiked $37 million to $340 million due to higher material and land costs, according to a report going to a City Council committee today. Officials blamed skyrocketing concrete and steel prices and a competitive builders’ market for pushing up the cost of the facility, which is slated to be built on the site of the former Caltrans building at Second and Spring streets. The original $303 million project budget increased by more than $47 million, but some of those costs will be absorbed by reducing the parking from 1,200 to 1,150 spaces and cutting costs, the Daily News of Los Angeles reported. The 500,000-square-foot building will replace Parker Center.

Supervisors to Consider Lobby Limits


The county Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider new regulations today that would prevent elected officials and other key county employees from using their jobs to obtain employment with companies or organizations that come to them seeking county contracts. Elected officials also would be prevented from lobbying the county for a year after leaving their posts. The proposal by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky came after a Copley News Service article in September revealed that the District Attorney’s Office was investigating a county employee for allegedly helping a developer snare lucrative county contracts in exchange for the promise of a job with the firm.

iPod Residual Battle Heats Up


Hollywood’s actors, writers and directors have been told they’ll receive a far smaller slice of revenues from iPod downloads than they were hoping for. Leaders of the , West and East, SAG and issued statements Monday blasting the decision by ABC to cover downloads at the lower home video residuals rate rather than at the pay TV rate, which is four times higher. Writers Guild of America West president Patric M. Verrone called the decision “a violation of our contract and an insult to our hard-working members,” Variety reported. Though ABC’s decision had been anticipated by the unions, it will undoubtedly amp up the town’s labor tensions several notches.

Disney Restructures TV Deal With BSkyB


Walt Disney Co. reached an agreement to increase the amount of programming it supplies to Britain’s BSkyB pay-TV service, adding a new channel featuring animated films and another with historic sporting events. Financial terms and the duration of the contract were not disclosed, Reuters reported. A British newspaper put the value of the deal at $226 million a year. The transaction gives BSkyB, which is facing tough competition, additional fare with which to lure new customers. It also enables Disney to distribute more of its TV shows and movies via more media platforms.

Pasadena Plans to Help District Save $665,000


The city pledged Monday night to embark on a series of cost-saving measures to assist the ailing Pasadena Unified School District. City staffers projected that the district, which faces a $6.5 million budget gap, could save up to $665,000 as a result of the city’s actions. But the lion’s share of that a $500,000 investment in a park at Willard Elementary School in East Pasadena is dependent on a self-storage development that is currently banned under the city’s code. The project would allow a private developer to build storage facilities on land owned by Southern California Edison in exchange for creating park space under Edison transmission lines. The $500,000 would come from the developer, not the city, the Pasadena Star-News reported.