Ethics a hot story now*

Mayor Hahn's appearance at the City Ethics Commission yesterday to argue for his package of reforms drew four television cameras and merited stories today in the Times, Daily News and the Daily Breeze. Hahn said, "I think there is a mandate for all of us to take aggressive action now. The pay-to-play issue will remain unless we enact comprehensive reforms." Commissioners were skeptical of his plan's details and put off action for further discussion.

* And: An LAT editorial links the pay-to-play conversation to Fleishman-Hillard's $3 million-a year DWP contract and observes: "No one seems able to explain just what the pricey, outside firm offers that the DWP's in-house PR staff can't, or even why a public monopoly requires so much image-spiffing."