Mayor Villaraigosa has appointed architect Alejandro Ortiz to complete the board of the Community Redevelopment Agency. He replaces the commission appointment of architect Mark Rios, who withdrew in October. Release with bio follows:

MAYOR COMPLETES HIS APPOINTMENTS TO
THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY'S BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

LOS ANGELES - Committing to revitalize Los Angeles' neighborhoods,
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced prominent Los Angeles architect
Alejandro Ortiz as his final appointment to the Community Redevelopment
Agency's (CRA) Board of Commissioners.

"Great cities grow and prosper together," said Mayor Villaraigosa.
"But for far too long, neighborhoods in need all across Los Angeles
have been left behind. Alejandro Ortiz and his fellow CRA Commissioners
bring the breadth and depth of experience needed to aggressively move
important projects forward to revitalize our neighborhoods and bring
back economic development, jobs and housing,"

Mayor Villaraigosa's prior appointments to the CRA Board of
Commissioners include Bruce Ackerman of West Hills, William Jackson of
West Los Angeles, Joan Ling of Westchester, John Perez of Los Feliz,
Brenda Shockley of Olympic Park. The Mayor also re-nominated Madeline
Janis-Aparicio who lives in downtown Los Angeles.

The CRA was established by resolution of the Los Angeles City Council
in 1948 pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law. Redevelopment
areas are established to maintain and increase the supply of housing for
low-and moderate-income households, renovate or replace deteriorated and
dilapidated structures, foster job creation and establish a climate that
will attract private investment.

The CRA today operates 32 redevelopment project areas, covering more
than 21,000 acres, or approximately 7% of the City's land area. The
oldest redevelopment project is Bunker Hill, adopted in 1959; the newest
are Westlake and the Adelante-Eastside, adopted in 1999.

The Board of Commissioners oversees all CRA/LA projects and policies,
directs its annual budget and appoints an Administrator/CEO to direct
the staff of the CRA/LA. The Board of seven Commissioners is nominated
by the Mayor of Los Angeles and confirmed by the City Council.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE APPOINTEE FOLLOWS:

Alejandro Ortiz

Alejandro Ortiz has lived in Los Angeles since 1989, where he attended
the UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning. There he
met Frank Israel for whom he worked throughout his time at UCLA. In his
last year at UCLA, Alejandro had the opportunity to work with Frank
Gehry on the design of a building in Prague and the Los Angeles Disney
Hall.

At UCLA, Alejandro received a Masters in Architecture and upon
graduation he began practicing as an independent designer. In the year
2000, he became a licensed architect and continues to practice
successfully as Principal of Alejandro Ortiz Architects, Inc. Completed
projects include single-family residences both new and additions as well
as tenant improvements for a variety of commercial clients such as
restaurants, offices and studios.

Through the years Alejandro's work has been published in many
magazines and has received wide recognition. He has been a guest studio
critic at several local universities and was included in the
AIA-sponsored NewBlood 101 show recognizing him as one of the most
promising members of the new generation of Southern California
Architects. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from UC-Berkeley
in 1985.