Rabbi recants about Hahn

Rabbi Steve Weil, who harshly criticized Mayor Jim Hahn's campaign last month, now says he believes that zealous Jewish community volunters, not Hahn campaign staffers, are responsible for forged signatures on endorsement forms. In a story on the Jewish Journal website (but too late for today's print edition), Weil says:

"After having researched this and having seen the [endorsement] forms, in my mind it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that the mayor's campaign did absolutely nothing wrong and is beyond reproach...

"There were a number of zealous, well-meaning Jewish volunteers, having nothing to do with the campaign, who overstepped their bounds."

The Journal also reports that Hahn has been personally calling Jewish leaders to answer questions about the fake signatures. In the print edition of the Journal, a story says the number of confirmed forgeries has reached eight, with speculation about it possibly reaching thirty.

Also in the Journal: Opinion pieces on the race by Bill Boyarsky and Jill Stewart, and a letter regarding last week's much-talked-about story on the Hahn family gossip from Alan Mittelstaedt, news editor of the LA Weekly.