Jane Usher takes another swipe at Villaraigosa

This time it's by email. Jane Usher, the former Villaraigosa commissioner who's now in the inner circle of advisers to City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, sent the email to neighborhood council leaders attacking the mayor over proposed cuts in the budget for Trutanich's office, Rick Orlov reports. "This mayor lacks fiscal foresight. He has other agendas. He simply refuses to spend your money intelligently, to protect us," Usher writes, urging activists to pressure the City Council to sweeten Trutanich's budget during the upcoming negotiations. Usher and Chief Assistant City Attorney Bill Carter say she sent the email, subject line "Mayor Declares War on City Attorney," on her own, but Carter says the boss agrees with it. Usher made news in 2008 when, as president of the planning commission, she wrote a letter inviting lawsuits against the city over development practices, and several months later resigned in a letter to Villaraigosa that critiqued his performance on land-use and quality of life issues.