Mayor Hahn is seeking soft landing spots for some of his key aides. He has moved to appoint chief of staff Tim McOsker to the City Employees' Retirement System board for a term ending June 30, 2009, and deputy mayor Doane Liu to the Quality and Productivity Commission for a term ending Sept. 6, 2007. Both appointments have been referred to committees of the City Council.

* Or maybe not: I'm told these are unpaid positions, and the appointments may even be placeholders as a favor to the Villaraigosa transition team. Friday: The Times follows up and says, indeed, the jobs are unpaid and that McOsker and Liu will resign when asked by the Villaraigosa team.