Wednesday, August 27, 2008

LA City News Scan - 08.27.08 - 7 AM Update

via News by editor@dailynews.com (Steve Lawrence, The Associated Press) on 8/26/08
SACRAMENTO - Backing off his pledge to sign no bills before lawmakers adopt a state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday approved legislation designed to strengthen wording of the high-speed rail bond measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.

LIVE STREAMING VIDEO OF TONIGHT'S Democratic National Convention at LA Daily Blog.com

If you are not in front of a TV, you can see if Bill Clinton pays tribute to himself, or Barack Obama tonight, LIVE from the DNC convention, along with the entire event at LA Daily Blog.com.

Text of Hillary Clinton's speech

Here is the prepared text of the speech delivered by Sen. Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday:

via News by editor@dailynews.com (Troy Anderson, Staff Writer) on 8/27/08
In yet another stinging audit of Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services, a new investigation has found that hundreds of social workers in the past two years racked up $1.1 million in vehicle-damage claims that included a host of questionable payouts, officials said Tuesday.

The deadline is looming for a plan that would allow the shared use of carpool lanes.

A new report says L.A. County has the highest poverty rates in the state and nation.

via LA Observed by Kevin on 8/26/08
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been making the rounds and got some face time on MSNBC this afternoon — outside of prime time —...

via L.A. Times - Business on 8/27/08
The supermarket chain is capping the value of doubled coupons at $1. Coupons worth $1 or more will be redeemed only at face value.

A strategic change in the marketing and pricing policy at Ralphs Grocery Co. in June may have dealt a blow to avid coupon clippers, shoppers said Tuesday.

California lawmakers must approve a plan on the shared use of carpool lanes on the 110 and 10 freeways soon or risk losing federal funds for the project.

State lawmakers are moving to allow lone motorists to use carpool lanes on congested stretches of the 110 and 10 freeways -- for a fee.

via L.A. Times - Politics on 8/27/08
Some speculated that the mayor's limited role at the convention was retribution for his support for Clinton during the primaries.

Far from center stage, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spent the first day of the Democratic National Convention straining to speak over clattering dishes as he addressed a breakfast meeting Monday of the Florida delegation.

via News by editor@dailynews.com (Daily News) on 8/26/08
Los Angeles Unified School District students' college application scores continue to lag behind national and state averages, according to results released today.

Other Southern California counties also show slight declines. The effects of the sharp economic downturn and rising unemployment since last year are unclear.

Poverty across Southern California declined significantly during the first seven years of the decade, a period marked by a booming economy, gentrifying neighborhoods and soaring housing prices, according to census data released Tuesday.

March Election Already Dramatic Thanks to Hacker

Paul Koretz websiteThe city's primary nominating election is hardly on the radar of voters because it's on March 3rd, months after what the nation is focusing on right now--the Presidential election. But earlier this month, in the only City Council race that's going to be a fight, a hacker attacked 5th District hopeful Paul Koretz's website (do you live in CD5? Check this map to see).

It finally relaunched on Monday, three weeks after the site was crashed. Koretz speculated to the Sacramento Bee that speculated that while it was probably not directly related to one of his opponents, it was "probably some candidate's friend [acting on his own] who happened to be tech-conversant." In the meantime, Koretz is talking to the FBI.

In fairness to his other opponents, here are their names and links to their websites (if one exists): Adeena Bleich, Ron Galperin, Robyn Ritter Simon, Robert Schwartz, David T. Vahedi and Steven Webb.

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