L.A. layoff update

The full City Council will consider a cost-cutting plan that would eliminate at least 1,000 positions, but the measure could not muster majority support late last night from the budget and finance committee. Councilmembers Jose Huizar, Bill Rosendahl and Paul Koretz wouldn't sign off on the layoff proposal, reports the LAT. Councilman Bernard Parks and Greig Smith supported the plan.

"I'm seeing an erosion of being willing to do the hard things that we have to do in the next few months," Smith said. "We've talked about it a lot, and now we're presented with those opportunities to do those hard things and people are saying, 'I don't want to do this; I don't want to do that.'" "It's the reality, folks, that's where we are right now," Smith said. "If you want to start picking and choosing every single department that comes here and complains, then we're going to come out of this right where we were expecting to be on July 1st: We're going to be out of money, out of cash, and bankrupt."