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No hug for Villaraigosa's school plan, social engineering at Hollywood and Vine, ten percent raise for cops, Fred Muir on the stand and journalists plan to meet tonight in Spanish. And of course, the daily twist in the Ferrari Enzo story. Whole lot more when you turn the page.
♦ Hertzberg disagrees: Former candidate for mayor—and chair of the Villaraigosa transition team—Bob Hertzberg uses a Times op-ed piece to offer an alternative to the mayor's takeover plan for L.A. Unified. Hertzberg says the district should be broken up, or as a fallback be shrunk to fit just Los Angeles.
Villaraigosa's current proposal to manage the giant school district through a 27-member Council of Mayors would be untenable for the 26 other cities of the district....If the superintendent of the new school district gets conflicting instructions from Villaraigosa and, say, the mayor of Cudahy, which mayor will the superintendent take instruction from, and what does that mean for Cudahy's students and teachers?....The best solution is for Villaraigosa to drop the Council of Mayors concept and instead propose making the boundaries of the new school district contiguous with the boundaries of the city of Los Angeles. The mayor's proposal for student uniforms, longer school hours and smaller schools would then apply only to the children of the city he governs, not to another official's constituents.
♦ Pellicano drips: The L.A. Times catches up on Ross Johnson's scoop from yesterday on Anthony Pellicano's attorney accusing the government of misbehavior. Also in the story: Five alleged victims of Pellicano's spying filed claims against the City of Los Angeles, a precursor to lawsuits. And: Director John McTiernan was sued for failing to disclose that he was a target of the Pellicano grand jury to the makers of the film Crash Bandits.
♦ Hollywood and Vine: The City Council approved the project to seize property from business owners at the famous corner—and waive the traditional height limit—so that Legacy Partners can build condos, apartments and a W hotel. "This will do more than reshape our skyline, it will reshape our society. This vision is something that is not only good for Hollywood, we hope it will continue to be transplanted throughout Los Angeles," says Council President Eric Garcetti. NBC-4
♦ Rise of the gasoline-price websites: The L.A. Times focuses on GasBuddy.com but somehow never mentions its local site, LosAngelesGasPrices.com. [Oops, it's there--in the seventh graf!] Also featured: GasPriceWatch.com, FuelMeUp.com and GasTips.com.
♦ Buying labor peace: LAPD officers would receive a 10% raise over three years under a deal that is close to being worked out with the mayor and City Council, Patrick McGreevy says in the Times.
♦ Dowie-Stodder trial: Former Times reporter and editor Fred Muir, now the head of Burson-Marsteller in Los Angeles, testified that he resigned as a VP at Fleishman-Hillard over being told to falsify billings to the city Department of Water and Power. He said the order came from John Stodder. He also acknowledged being a source for a Times story on Fleishman. Times, Daily News, Copley
♦ May 1 boycott: Mayor Villaraigosa, Cardinal Mahony and Supt. Romer signed a letter urging parents not to let their children stay out of school during Monday's boycott called by immigration activists.
♦ Oh come on!: There's been a second arrest growing out of the Ferrari Enzo crash in Malibu, of a "prominent European high-tech executive" who lives in Bel-Air and who, like Stefan Eriksson, had a badge from the "anti-terrorism unit" of the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority. Cops allege that Carl Freer used the badge to buy a gun without the required background check. Sitrick and Co., his mouthpiece, says no he didn't.
♦ Playoff teams: Lakers even their series at 1-1, the Clippers and Ducks play tonight.
♦ Counter-programming: The Society of Professional Journalists L.A. chapter will hold its first-ever panel session in Spanish, on the subject of Mexico's presidential election, at El Paseo on Olvera Street. Also this evening, the L.A. Press Club holds a panel on taking the leap from journalist to author.
♦ Sam Donaldson says: Speaking at the Society of Professional Journalists dinner Tuesday night, ABC's Sam Donaldson said that the best White House press secretaries he has covered were Jody Powell, Marlin Fitzwater and Mike McCurry. Worst? Nixon's Ron Ziegler.