Mayor Villaraigosa's press conference du jour was to announce the members of his newly created panel on homeland security. Councilman Jack Weiss co-chairs with Deputy Mayor for Homeland Security and Public Safety Maurice Suh. Others include former Viacom chairman Jonathan Dolgen, KNBC president Paula Madison, former DA Ira Reiner, departing UCLA chancellor Albert Carnesale and Charter Communications vice chairman Marc Nathanson—plus LAPD Chief Bratton, Sheriff Baca and other officials. Full press release when you turn the page:

* Added: (6:05 pm) Former mayor Richard Riordan; Matt Betenhausen, Director, California Office of Homeland Security; and Amy Zegart, Riordan Center for Homeland Security, UCLA, were amended into the mayor's press release this evening.

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA ANNOUNCES HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISORS

LOS ANGELES - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles City Council Public Safety Committee Chairman Jack Weiss, Police Chief William Bratton and Fire Chief William Bamattre announced the Mayor's Homeland Security Advisors today. A group of diverse leaders experienced in their respective fields. Their work will fundamentally improve the City of Los Angeles' counter-terrorism intelligence coordination and disaster preparedness training and response capabilities.

"I wake up every day knowing that the people of our city could be impacted by an earthquake, wildfire or terrorist event," said Mayor Villaraigosa. "Our city will be well-served and I will sleep better knowing that we are drawing on the best and brightest talent in our city to assist us in developing strategies and advocating for homeland security funding to keep our residents safe."

Los Angeles City Councilmember Jack Weiss, who will co-chair the Advisory team together with Deputy Mayor for Homeland Security and Public Safety, Maurice Suh, welcomed the opportunity to tap into team members' wealth of knowledge and experience. "With some of the city's best and brightest civic leaders, this group brings knowledge and resources to the table that will help improve local capabilities," said Councilmember Jack Weiss. "I look forward to working with this outstanding group to identify and address issues in local threat preparedness and emergency response."

The Advisors will be organized into working groups and tasked with the following missions:

* Counter-terrorism measures: Research innovative methods employed by cities worldwide to prevent and respond to a terrorist event

* Private sector outreach and involvement: Partner with businesses, trade groups and associations, faith-based organizations and charitable organizations to plan and deliver shelter, disaster relief supplies and aid in evacuation efforts in the event of a disaster

* Governmental outreach and involvement: Strengthen ties with other municipalities, states and the federal government to ensure that Los Angeles's counter-terrorism and emergency preparedness plans are coordinated with other governmental entities

* Evacuation planning: Strengthen evacuation planning in the event of mass disaster

* Emergency preparedness: Ensure Los Angeles first responders have access to cutting edge technology in prevention, response and recovery

The team, which may be slightly expanded to include additional members in the near future, consists of the following individuals:

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa,
Chair

Councilmember Jack Weiss,
Co-Chair

Deputy Mayor Maurice Suh,
Co-Chair

Albert Carnesale,
Chancellor, UCLA

Dr. Detlof Von Winterfeldt,
Director, USC Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE)

Richard Andrews,
Senior Director, National Center for Crisis and Continuity Coordination (NC4)

Ellen Gordon,
Associate Director, Executive Education Program, Center for Homeland Defense & Security, Naval Postgraduate School

R.P. Eddy,
Senior Fellow for Counter-terrorism, Manhattan Institute

Peter J. Gravett,
Major General (retired), U.S. Army

Ira Reiner,
Reiley and Reiner

Sheriff Lee Baca,
Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department

Chief William Bratton,
Los Angeles Police Department

Chief William Bamattre, Los Angeles Fire Department

Commander Mark Leap,
Los Angeles Police Department

Deputy Chief Andrew Fox,
Los Angeles Fire Department

Lydia Kennard,
Executive Director, Los Angeles World Airports

Geraldine Knatz, Executive Director, The Port of Los Angeles

Paula Madison,
President and General Manager, KNBC

Jonathan Dolgen,
Former Chairman, Viacom Entertainment Group

Rabbi Abraham Cooper,
Assoc. Dean, Simon Wiesenthal Center

Bishop Charles Blake,
West Angeles Church of God in Christ

Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik,
Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Kerry Carmody,
Administrator, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center

Dr. Thomas Valente,
Director, University of Southern California, Public Health Program

Carol Meyer,
Director, Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency

Captain Peter Neffenger,
Captain of the Port (LA/Long Beach), US Coast Guard

Larry Fetters,
Transportation Security Administration, Federal Security Director at LAX

Ron Iden,
Senior Vice President, Disney

Marc Nathanson,
Vice Chairman and Director, Charter Communications, Inc.

Kirk Hyde,
Board of Directors, American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles

Dan Grunfeld,
President and CEO, Public Counsel

Barbara Harris,
President, Building Owners and Managers Association

Lee Zeidman,
Senior Vice President, General Manager, Staples Center

Michael Pfeiffer,
Executive Director, Hotel Association of Los Angeles

Jose Villareal,
Partner, Akin Gump, LLC

George Slaats,
Deputy Chief of Police, Union Pacific Railroad Company

Paul Lennon,
Managing Director, Systems, Safety and Security, Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)

Steve Zipperstein,
Vice President, Legal and External Affairs, Verizon Wireless

Kelly Shivertaker,
Manager, Emergency Planning and Preparedness, Southern California Edison

Bret Lane,
Vice President, Environmental, Safety and Facilities, Southern California Gas Company

Jim McDaniel,
Chief Operating Officer, Water System, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power