KPCC: Stories by Steve Julian

Judge rules against Getty over 13th century Armenian Bible

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:02:25 -0700

A woman walks through the courtyard at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Credit: Freier Denker/Wikimedia Commons

A judge said Thursday he will not dismiss the lawsuit the Armenian Church filed against the the J. Paul Getty Museum. The church is demanding the Los Angeles museum return pages ripped from a sacred handwritten Armenian Bible dating back to 1256.

Superior Court Judge Abraham Khan denied Getty's motion to dismiss the claim and ordered four months of mediation in an attempt to resolve the dispute between the museum and the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, which filed suit in June 2010 on behalf its Lebanon-based mother church.

The church says it had the Bible authenticated in the late 1940s, but it was returned without several painted parchment pages. Those pages once formed the beginning leafs of a larger work called the Zeyt'un Gospels. This, they say, makes the Getty guilty of harboring stolen materials. In the lawsuit the church asked the Getty to return the pages to the Armenian museum in Yerevan so they can be reunited with the rest of the Bible.

Getty officials countered the suit and say the more than half-dozen pages were legally acquired in 1994 for $950,000 from an anonymous private collector.

The Los Angeles Times reports museum attorneys argued Thursday that the lawsuit filing deadline expired decades ago. Still, the judge said he was unclear on the statute of limitations issue, and ordered mediation and another hearing on March 2 if the case isn't settled.

Under California law, lawsuits to recover allegedly stolen artworks from a museum or art dealer must be filed no later than six years after the owner learns of their whereabouts.

"We are confident that we hold legal title," the Getty Museum said in a statement after the ruling.

Church attorney Lee Boyd said afterward that the museum failed to investigate the ownership history of the pages when it bought them from Armenian-American heirs of a man the church says stole the pages in 1916. The Zeyt'un Gospels had briefly fallen into his hands when Turks expelled the Armenian community from Cilicia, then a region of the Ottoman Empire and now part of Turkey.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Frank McCourt agrees to sell Dodgers

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:41:23 -0700

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt speaks during a Dodger Stadium news conference on April 8, 2011. Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Embattled Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball reached a settlement late Tuesday for the Dodgers to be sold at auction. The sale is expected to include the team, Dodger Stadium, the surrounding parking lots and media rights. It could all go for a billion dollars or more; McCourt paid $421 million seven years ago.

This ends a term that saw the Dodgers return to the playoffs, but mired in legal troubles capped by filing for bankruptcy protection.

A joint statement said there will be a "court-supervised process" to sell the team and its media rights to maximize value for the Dodgers and McCourt. The Blackstone Group LP will manage the sale.

The announcement comes as the Dodgers and MLB were headed toward a showdown in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware at the end of the month as mediation between both sides was ongoing.

Tommy Lasorda managed the Dodgers for two decades. More recently he’s advised the team’s owner. KPCC’s Larry Mantle asked Lasorda about whether he had mixed feelings about the sale — and about McCourt.

“Yeah, well he treated me great, but I’m glad that it’s over with," Lasorda said. "And whoever becomes the owner, I sure hope it’s someone local that is familiar with the city and the people and everything.”

ESPN's Molly Knight told KPCC that sportswriters were surprised by the agreement. "He's never given up and he's never gone the rational route." Knight called the deal "quite shocking" and that sportswriters had expected to be heading back to Delaware for more hearings.

McCourt and baseball Commissioner Bud Selig have traded barbs since MLB took control of day-to-day operation of the team in April over concerns about the team's finances and the way it was being run. McCourt apparently realized a sale of the team he vowed never to give up was in his best interest and that of the fans.

McCourt had run out of time, Knight said. "He's been sort of stalling for months now."

McCourt's been "in checkmate" since Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig took over the team, Knight said. After the settlement with his wife last week, McCourt did the math and realized there was no way out, according to Knight.

"There comes a point in time when you say, 'It's time,'" said a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because details of the negotiations had not been made public. "He came to that realization at the end of today."

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court will have to approve the auction, but the judge in the case shouldn't be a problem in the sale, Knight said, because judges don't like to step in and set precedent in sticky cases like this.

Many Dodger fans have been anxious for McCourt to sell the team and have even suggested some replacements to lead the L.A. franchise.

Potential buyers include Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, who has previously attempted to buy the Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs. "Cuban would be a good owner for Major League Baseball, I firmly believe," Knight said. Traditionally, MLB ownership has functioned like a club, and it generally takes several attempts before someone new can become an owner, according to Knight.

The website MarkCubanSaveTheDodgers.com, created by West Covina website designer Roger Arrieta, was started a in an attempt to persuade McCourt to sell the team to Cuban.

The group plans a "victory rally" at 6 p.m. Wednesday in front of Dodger Stadium's gates.

The L.A. Times reported that Cuban offered to buy the Dodgers several months ago, but balked at entering negotiations when McCourt said the price would be in the range of $1 billion to $1.2 billion.

Steve Sugerman, a spokesman for Frank McCourt, told The Times Frank McCourt "doesn't know Mark Cuban. He hasn't spoken with Mark Cuban. He hasn't had anyone speak with Mark Cuban on his behalf."

The favorite to become the new owner is Dennis Gilbert, Knight said. "He's well liked in baseball circles." Gilbert is a former agent who worked with the White Sox and lives in the L.A. area. He has season tickets to the Dodgers and is sitting behind home plate at almost every game. Gilbert's put an investment group together to purchase the team.

Other prospective Dodgers owners include Ron Burkle, co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL team, and former Dodger Steve Garvey, who has an interest in the team but not necessarily the money to purchase it, sportswriter Bill Shaikin from the Los Angeles Times said on the Madeleine Brand Show Wednesday.

Knight said that Selig will likely help the group he favors to achieve the top bid. Whoever the new owner is, Knight said that it's good news for Dodgers fans, as there are many interested buyers, all of whom have more money than McCourt.

"It's a good day, frankly," Knight said.

Another investment group includes Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser. That group says they have financing, but members of the group didn't want to come forward publicly to seem like they were trying to grab the team out from under McCourt when the team wasn't on the market yet, Knight said. Some members of this group are friends with Frank and Jamie McCourt. Knight said she isn't sure they'll be chosen, but they have put together some capital.

A new owner would be the third since Peter O'Malley sold the team to News Corp. in 1998. The Dodgers had remained in the O'Malley family since Walter O'Malley moved the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958.

McCourt filed for bankruptcy protection in June after the league rejected a 17-year TV contract with Fox, reported to be worth up to $3 billion, that he needed to keep the team afloat. Selig noted that almost half of an immediate $385 million payment would have been diverted from the Dodgers to McCourt.

The franchise's demise grew out of Frank McCourt's protracted divorce with Jamie McCourt and the couple's dispute over the ownership of the team. The divorce, which played out in public in court, highlighted decadent spending on mansions and beach homes and using the team like it was their personal credit card. They took out more than $100 million in loans from Dodgers-related businesses for their own use, according to divorce documents.

In bankruptcy filings, attorneys for MLB said McCourt "looted" more than $180 million in revenues from the club for personal use and other business unrelated to the team.

"The Dodgers are in bankruptcy because Mr. McCourt has taken almost $190 million out of the club and has completely alienated the Dodgers' fan base," the baseball attorneys wrote.

Economics professor Andrew Zimbalist, author of "Circling the Bases," told KPCC's Larry Mantle on "AirTalk" that the McCourts had questionable behavior from the beginning.

"Giving [spiritualists] enormous sums of money to give the Dodgers good blessings, they have their sons on the payroll even though one is at Stanford and another is a full-time employee at Goldman Sachs," Zimbalist said. "The team has a lot of momentum. It's not like it took a rocket scientist to get them into the post-season a few times. I'm not sure that [the McCourts] were doing any brilliant maneuvers to make the team successful in its early years."

As the former couple continued to fight over ownership of the team, the Dodgers' home opener against the rival San Francisco Giants kicked off a year of even worse publicity. A Giants fan, Bryan Stow, was nearly beaten to death in the parking lot. Stow's family has sued the Dodgers and his attorney said medical bills could reach $50 million.

In the outpouring of public sympathy, attention focused on cutbacks in security at Dodger stadium and fans turned their animosity toward Frank McCourt. Scores of police were dispatched to patrol the stadium after the attack.

Dodgers attorneys claimed Selig deliberately starved the club of cash and destroyed its reputation in a bid to seize control of the team and force its sale.

"As the commissioner knows and as our legal documents have clearly shown, he approved and praised the structure of the team about which he belatedly complains," the team said in a statement.

Zimbalist said that MLB will be extremely careful with selecting a new owner to take over the Dodgers franchise.

"Owners play a very important symbolic role in representing and promoting their franchise, and if people dislike the owner they don’t want to give him money," Zimbalist said. "One way or another, the Dodgers will have the resources to put a championship club on the field, and that’s what will bring the fans back."

The team was asking Judge Kevin Gross in Delaware to approve an auction of the team's television rights as the best path to exit bankruptcy. But the league wanted to file a reorganization that called for the team to be sold.

Last month, Jamie McCourt cut a deal with her ex-husband to settle their dispute over ownership of the team they bought in 2004 for about $430 million.

The terms of the agreement weren't disclosed publicly, but a person familiar with it who requested anonymity because it's not meant to be public told The Associated Press that Jamie McCourt would receive about $130 million. She also would support the media rights deal worth up to $3 billion.

That removed her from the number of opponents Frank McCourt was facing in bankruptcy court because Jamie McCourt had initially lined up behind MLB and Fox in asking the bankruptcy court to reject Frank McCourt's bid to auction Dodgers television rights.

All the bad publicity appeared to drive fans away. There was a 21 percent drop in home attendance from last season and it was the first time in a non-strike year since 1992 that the Dodgers drew fewer than 3 million people.

But the Dodgers franchise will be quick to bounce back, Shaikin said.

"The Dodgers have had one of the most loyal fan bases in all of professional sports for many, many years," he told KPCC's Madeleine Brand.

The dedicated fans along with new leadership and a few promising player acquisitions could quickly set the team back on course. Just the fact that McCourt is leaving will draw many Dodger fans back to the stadium, Shaikin said.

KPCC's Madeleine Brand contributed to this story
This story has been updated.

UC Irvine professor donates $10M to school

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:16:02 -0700

Francisco Ayala, a UC Irvine professor and one of the world's top molecular biologists, has donated $10 million to the school. Credit: University of California, Irvine

A wealthy UC Irvine professor who made his fortune in winemaking, has donated $10 million to the school, the largest donation ever by a member of school faculty.

Seventy-seven-year-old Francisco Ayala, who is one of the world's top molecular biologists and is also an ordained priest. He owns more than 2,000 acres of vineyards in northern San Joaquin and Sacramento counties. He's producing well-regarded crops of Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and other varietals.

"I've finished planting the last part of my last vineyard about three or four years ago, which means by now I have every vineyard in full production," Ayala said.

The Los Angeles Times says the bounty of those fields has allowed Ayala to donate $10 million — $1 million a year for the next decade — to UC Irvine's School of Biological Sciences.

Ayala has been at the school for over two decades, and said he chose to donate because he appreciates all the support and encouragement the school has given him over the years.

"The university has given me wonderful opportunities to do research and to teach," Ayala said.

Now, because of the increasing cost of a public education, Ayala said his donation was needed even more. The money will go towards a variety of items, including the creation of fellowships and professor chairs.

McCourts reach settlement: She gets $130 million, he gets Dodgers

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:17:16 -0700

Frank and Jamie McCourt may have reached a divorce settlement. Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Frank and Jamie McCourt may have reached a settlement after almost two years of highly publicized divorce proceedings.

The Los Angeles Times reports Monday that Jamie McCourt would get about $130 million and give up any claim to the Dodgers, giving complete control of the team to Frank.

The deal also removes Jamie McCourt as an obstacle to Frank McCourt's bid to keep ownership of the Dodgers by selling TV rights.

The newspaper report is based on unidentified sources familiar with the agreement. According to the Times, the sources spoke on a condition of anonymity because terms of the settlement have not been finalized.

Jamie McCourt spokesman Matthew Hiltzik and Frank McCourt spokesman Steve Sugerman did not immediately respond to Associated Press requests for comment early Monday.

Last week, MLB attorneys stopped trying to disqualify lawyers representing the Dodgers in the team's bankruptcy case; a decision prompted by a court-appointed mediator. But The Times says the deal appears to set up a showdown for the Dodgers between Frank McCourt and Commissioner Bud Selig, who wants the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to order the Dodgers sold.

"The irony is the McCourts did a great job, until the past couple years, of running the team," L.A. Times sportswriter Bill Shaikin said on the Madeleine Brand Show Monday.

Under bankruptcy law, McCourt is still in control of the Dodgers, and after a loan from Major League Baseball he has enough money to finance to team.

A hearing set to begin in Delaware on Halloween will determine whether McCourt gets to keep the Dodgers or if they will be sold to the highest bidder. If McCourt is forced to sell, he stands to lose nearly all of his remaining revenue, Shaikin said on the Madeleine Brand Show.

Taking into consideration McCourt's amount of debt, tax liability and the MLB loan, he'd have to sell the team for almost a billion dollars to make enough money to recoup any sort of profits, Shaikin said.

Although there are many people who may consider purchasing the Dodgers, Shaikin said, the selling price will be mitigated by the amount of stadium renovations that will have to be done under new ownership. McCourt has long deferred necessary maintenance and improvements of Dodger Stadium, and these costs will have to be accounted for when the team is sold.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

200 musicians to accompany 'Fellowship of the Ring' showing in Anaheim

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 09:56:37 -0700

More than 200 musicians pick up their instruments Saturday night to accompany The Lord of the Rings film “The Fellowship of the Ring.” The score, composed by Howard Shore, won both the Grammy and Academy awards. The film will be projected onto a 60-foot screen at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Musicologist Doug Adams was given exclusive access to Howard Shore, his scores, and the film’s original artwork for his book “The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films.”

"I came on in ’01 when they were still working on the first film. It hadn’t been released yet. By the end I was able to attend recording sessions and it became more collaborative as the process went on because you learned to trust each other. It was fun to see it pick up steam," he said.

Tonight’s concert at the Honda Center in Anaheim is part of a 9-city West Coast tour. The Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Chorale and Phoenix Boys Choir accompany soprano Kaitlyn Lusk.

Listen to the rest of the interview with Doug Adams above.

2-week AxS arts festival launches in Pasadena

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:16:48 -0700

Grisha Coleman's dance performance installation echo::system ActionStation#2 THE DESERT

A two-week arts festival just got underway in Pasadena. The AxS Festival combines exhibitions, performances, public art and conversations. Most events are free to the public. The nonprofit Pasadena Arts Council oversees the Festival.

“We talk so often about the connections between art and science in Pasadena," said Pasadena Arts Council executive director Terry LeMoncheck. "We have such great research institutes in Caltech, JPL, the Planetary Society and Carnegie Observatories. And it’s been our observation that the more artists and scientists talk with each other, the more their vocabularies are enhanced.”

When they work with each other, she adds, artists and scientists enhance their ability to tackle the problems of tomorrow that we’re creating today. This year’s festival theme is "Fire and Water."

“And the thing that makes this year’s festival particularly exciting is that we have significant money from the Irvine Foundation, the Parsons Foundation and the NEA [National Endowment for the Arts] to commission new works just for the festival," LeMoncheck said.

One of the new commissioned works is "Rain After Ash," written and directed by Corey Madden, the founding artistic director of L'Atelier Arts. “This is the result of a two-year obsession of mine. I woke up in the middle of the night and turned on the computer, started surfing and found on the early edition of the New York Times a story called 'Missing Poet.'”

The poet was Craig Arnold, who disappeared while hiking along a volcano’s rim in Japan, following in the footsteps of the 17th century haiku poet Matsuo Basho. Madden read Arnold’s blog and his poem, 'Hymn to Persephone."

“I found it connected back to my writing," Madden said, "a poem I’d written about the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and the way Persephone, the little girl who’s abducted by Hades and kept by him in the underworld, plays in that story.”

One idea led to another, one mythological figure led to another and Madden constructed the story “Rain After Ash.”

“I had had a friend several years before whose son had disappeared and wasn’t found until two years later, murdered," Madden said. "It occurred to me to tell the story about Demeter and her daughter Persephone from the point of view of a Pasadena mother who loses a 16-year-old daughter and to tell Craig’s story at the same time.”

"Rain After Ash" is performed in and around the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena. It’s one of 16 AxS Festival events at various locations throughout Pasadena, including Art Center College of Design, Pasadena City College and the Gamble House and the Huntington Library in San Marino.

SoCal grocery workers vote on new union contract

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:05:26 -0700

Angela Baker works at VONS in Camarillo. Credit: Brian Watt/KPCC

More than 60,000 grocery workers in Southern California vote Friday and Saturday on a new union contract with the three major chains. Their union recommends they ratify the contract, and they expect it to be overwhelmingly approved.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the three chains — Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons — endorse the contract. Union leaders say it addresses concerns about funding the employees’ health plan; the chains agree the contract would allow them to remain competitive.

Workers had been on the job most of the year without a deal in place. A ratification vote on this package would keep workers from a strike.T he union says the deal keeps worker co-pays and premiums low, and secures enough money from the employers to keep the health care trust fund solvent.

Eight years ago, a four-month strike and lockout cost the chains $2 billion and opened the door for many independent grocers, some of whom remain in business today.

Jackie Gitmed, a cashier at a Ralphs in Encino, says the benefits were worth fighting for.

"Things have started to change a little bit and we’re just fighting to stay in the middle class. You know a lot of people don’t think that we have a good job that we’re just a bunch of losers that work in a grocery store. We’re able to raise our families, have health care. There were a lot of things we had that we couldn’t get anywhere else," Gitmed said.

Gitmed has worked 35 years for Ralphs, so a union compromise in the contract talks affects her wallet: In the second year of the contract, all employees — not just those hired since 2003 — will begin paying health insurance premiums.

Correction: A sentence about the ratification vote was clarified to make clear that a strike would be avoided if the contract is ratified.

Schwarzenegger announces bio book deal

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:12:10 -0700

File photo of former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger taken on September 17, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

A memoir of former California governor and Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger will be published next fall by Simon and Schuster. Simon and Schuster has already picked a title: “Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story.”

Schwarzenegger's colorful life has included stints as a bodybuilder, a politician and an actor. Most recently he's returned to acting, reviving his movie career with “Cry Macho,” a film that comes with an initial payment of $10 million and more upon completion.

The publishing house has teamed Schwarzenegger with writer Peter Petre, who’s worked on bestsellers by former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and others.

The former governor’s marriage fell apart this year after it became known he had fathered a child with a former housekeeper about 10 years ago. Simon and Schuster hasn’t said how much the memoir will divulge about the end of Schwarzenegger's marriage.

Unusual Suspects youth theater company writes, performs 'La Flor Mojica'

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 06:33:12 -0700

Sally Fairman and Paola Lopez pose for a photo. Credit: Steve Julian/KPCC

From the embers of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, a theater company emerged. That troupe, the Unusual Suspects, employs improvisation techniques, onstage performance and audience interaction to help young people develop self confidence and the skills they’ll need to stay in school.

"Our founder, Laura Leigh Hughes, an actress, during the civil unrest, caught an ash in her hand and said, ‘If not me, then who?’" said the company's executive director, Sally Fairman.

In its early days the program worked with kids in foster homes. Now the program targets schools in which students face better-than-average odds of ending up in gangs, addiction or behind bars.

"They're writing about alcoholic fathers, they're writing about their siblings getting killed, they're writing about what happens in their lives, and amazingly, they bring a lot of humor to this work as well," said Fairman. "It’s a roller coaster theater ride."

When students stay after school to develop stories, write scripts, learn their lines and eventually perform, they offer adults a cultural barometer. "It’s transformative," Fairman said, "and it shows people that we’re all part of the same fabric."

Paola Lopez, a member of the troupe, is a 16-year-old senior at Fremont High School and said she can attest to that. "Last year in October my father passed away. And then my friend passed away in February, so soon after. It was like a lot of emotional stress and I can say depression. I didn't know where to turn to."

She met a teaching artist from Unusual Suspects, learned about the after-school program, and checked it out.

"I actually felt my voice was being heard my first day there," Lopez said, "and while I was there I forgot about all the things I was going through, and they helped me to leave that stress out of the place, out of that space, and just think about the energy of the ensemble, the team, and I love it."

Lopez joined a group of students writing a play called "La Flor Mojica," or "The Magical Flower."

"It's about a young girl, 17 years old, in search of a magical flower that will grant her two wishes," Lopez said, "one to bring her mother home from the mental hospital and one to get her back with her ex-boyfriend. But the thing getting in the way is her father who's an alcoholic who's trying to keep her in the mental hospital, and there's all these challenges going on."

These challenges often mirror what each student writer and actor faces in their own lives and neighborhoods.

"What I want people to take from that is that the power is always in you and you can always do something," Lopez said. "You just need to try hard. It's not what someone else tells you. You have to believe in yourself. You just have to keep on striving, keep on pushing forward, and things will turn out well."

The Unusual Suspects won the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award three years ago. Fairman said she believes that when adults like her listen deeply to students, they realize they’re not alone, and that they’re more likely to stay in school and make wiser decisions.

Lopez said she agrees, "And the beauty of it is that they don't tell us what to write. We come up with it on our own."

The students perform "La Flor Mojica" at 2 p.m. Thursday at Fremont High School. The performance is free and open to the public.

Flu season is upon us; KPCC's Steve Julian gets his own shot

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:23:00 -0700

Steve Julian after receiving a flu shot. Credit: Bianca Ramirez

CVS pharmacist Jill Kolin says flu season is upon us. Kolin spoke with KPCC's Steve Julian Wednesday and gave him his own flu shot.

The virus is already in full swing, she said. "I recommend getting it as soon as the flu vaccine is available."

The vaccine can take nearly two weeks to be effective, said Kolin. Most injectable flu vaccines are made from a version of the virus that's already been killed, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Introducing the killed virus into the humane immune system prompts the body to build antibodies to fight off the live version of the virus.

Kolin said the two week lag from when a person gets the shot to when they are immune means the sooner a vaccine is delivered, the better.

Kolin says not to worry about actually contracting the virus from the vaccine. Side effects are possible, she said, but usually amount to achey muscles — nothing in comparison to the actual flu.

The vaccine is recommended for anyone over the age of six months, especially those over 65 years old. The CDC also advises that pregnant woman, people with chronic medical conditions and health workers be vaccinated. The CDC cautions that people allergic to eggs or who have had other serious illnesses consult their doctors before receiving the vaccine.

Already contracting the virus doesn't make a person immune, said Kolin. "You can contract different strains of it. This vaccine definitely has three strains in it that it will protect you against." Many insurance providers now cover the flu vaccine at no additional charge, said Kolin, meaning now is as good of a time to get immunized as any.

Despite squirming in his chair, Julian was convinced. He rolled up his sleeve, and tried to laugh off his nerves. "Boy, that needle looks big," he said.

Then he braced himself for the pain before exclaiming in disbelief, "Are you done? That was it?!"

"That was it!" replied Kolin.

Feinstein, others 'wiped out' by campaign treasurer

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:28:28 -0700

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) questions witnesses at a hearing on Capitol Hill on March 30, 2011. Credit: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

A long-time campaign treasurer who managed finances for a multitude of California campaigns was released on bail Friday after being arrested by the FBI earlier this month. Kinde Durkee has been charged with fraud, and many of her clients are speaking out about their own financial losses at her hand.

Durkee, whose firm is in Burbank, is free on bond. She hasn’t entered a plea yet on the charges and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in federal court next month. The allegations of fraud against her involve more than half a million dollars in state assembly campaign funds.

Durkee's role in campaign finance is "a combination of your banker and accountant" and she has specialized specifically in Southern California and L.A. campaigns, Democratic strategist Chris Lehane said on the Madeleine Brand Show Tuesday.

"My sense is that it was a pyramid type of endeavor here," Lehane said.

Feinstein's campaign, which had a cash balance of $5 million on June 30, believes it suffered losses, said campaign adviser Bill Carrick, but determining how much will take time. He said Durkee commingled clients' funds, making it difficult to understand whose money went where.

"This is an extraordinarily complex situation," Carrick said. "Nobody really knows what happened here."

A Southern California congresswoman told supporters "We've been robbed" as she detailed the losses she said her campaign suffered thanks to longtime Democratic campaign accountant Durkee.

U.S. Rep. Susan Davis told her contributors in a letter released Monday that her campaign was looted of over $250,000 and she blamed Durkee, whose clients included U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and dozens of other California politicians.

"As this scandal emerges, she may well become known as the Bernie Madoff of campaign finance treasurers," the San Diego Democrat wrote.

Davis told supporters that reports to the Federal Election Commission accurately reflected her contributions and spending but Durkee falsely reported account balances to the campaign.

Jonathan Allen, a reporter for Politico, said Feinstein had trusted Durkee implicitly with her campaign finances for years.

"[Durkee] had run her campaigns at least dating back to the early 1990s," Allen said.

Durkee had authority over more than 400 bank accounts, including political campaigns, according to the federal complaint filed earlier this month.

The complaint said investigators found substantial sums were routinely placed into her company accounts or channeled to other campaigns, apparently when suspicions were raised about missing money.

"It remains to be seen what the breadth of this is," Allen said. Assuming there is no reasonable explanation for Durkee's actions, Allen said, "it could be the biggest campaign scandal in history."

The affected politicians can't wait for a full investigation or legal settlement to get their money back.

"They face re-election before they'd ever be able to get money out of a civil suit or anything," Allen said. And in a "competitive election where every dollar counts," these losses could substantially affect the outcome of the election.

Davis, a six-term congresswoman in a heavily Democratic district, sought to reassure supporters in her email dated Saturday and released Monday.

"If there is any positive news in all of this, it is that although many of her clients lost virtually everything, we had an account in reserve for our operational expenses that she did not have access to (for our ease, not because we suspected anything)," the congresswoman wrote.

Federal prosecutors say Durkee siphoned off nearly $700,000 from state Assemblyman Jose Solorio's 2010 campaign to pay her credit cards, a mortgage and business bills. A complaint outlines an elaborate shell game in which Durkee furtively shifted money out of Solorio's 2010 campaign to pay for an array of debts, from shopping at Costco to her mother's care at an assisted-living facility.

Lauren Horwood, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento, said more charges are likely.

Durkee's attorney, Daniel Nixon, didn't immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

LA City Council President Garcetti announces run for mayor

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:02:00 -0700

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti delivers a speech during a press conference to launch a new Muslim-Jewish Partnership Program in Los Angeles on March 8, 2007. Credit: Hector Mata/Getty Images

Democratic Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti’s announcement that he’s running for mayor came as no surprise. The fourth generation Angeleno filed candidacy papers Thursday morning.

"It’s a city that right now I think needs a vision that inspires us, but also gets things done," he told KPCC on Thursday.

Garcetti said in a written statement that he'll bring to the job "focused leadership based on experience, practical know-how, and a willingness to embrace innovation."

Garcetti has already played a fictional L.A. mayor on TNT's "The Closer."

Garcetti co-chaired Barack Obama’s California campaign for president; he’s an executive committee member of the Democratic National Committee and received the New Frontier Award, given to one elected official in the country under 40 who best embodies the leadership and idealism of John F. Kennedy.

Garcetti was first elected to the city council in 2001. He represents a district that includes Hollywood, Los Feliz, Echo Park and Glassell Park. He cannot run for his seat again because of term limits.

Garcetti enters a field that includes fellow councilmember Jan Perry, among others. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky is said to still be deciding whether he will run.

Garcetti becomes the environment and progressive candidate in the race, said Jaime Regalado, political analyst and director of the Edmund G. "Pat'' Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles.

At the same time, Regalado said, Garcetti can pull support from labor unions and building trades. "That's important because the`hard hats' of labor have not gotten along very well with environmentalists in the past,'' he said.

Because of Garcetti's history of pushing sustainable development, Regalado said, he might be the kind of candidate who can walk the thin line between the two camps.

Garcetti also speaks the most fluent Spanish of any major candidate in the race, which could be an advantage for him since Latinos account for one-fourth of primary voters and one-third of general election voters.

"At the end of the day, I’m just a guy from Los Angeles who loves this city and wants it to be a great city again,” Garcetti told KPCC's Alex Cohen on Thursday.

Correction: Yaroslavsky has not yet announced that he will run for mayor, as was mistakenly stated in the original story.

'Irvine 11' stand trial for speech disruption

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:48:01 -0700

Some of the so-called 'Irvine 11' who are accused of disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. at the University of California, at Irvine. Credit: Alex Gallardo/AP

The trial of the so-called "Irvine 11" got underway Wednesday with opening statements from prosecutors and defense attorneys. The Muslim students on trial are accused of shouting down the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, during a speech at the University of California, Irvine.

Vic Jolly of the Orange County Register was in the courtroom and said the defense and prosecution mostly disagreed over whether the students' actions should be classified as a "disruption" or "interruption."

The prosecution continually referred to the students' outburst as a disruption, one that broke the expectations of respect laid out in the speech's preamble. The defense argued the students merely interrupted the speaker with what was a "lawful expression of free speech," Jolly said.

The basic facts of the case were laid out before the jury and an audience of several dozen community members. A group of Muslim students carefully planned a protest and, one by one, stood up and shouted scripted statements at the ambassador at UC Irvine in 2010.

Jurors will be asked to decide whether students' actions that night violated the law in a case where some community members have alleged that the defendants are being singled out because they are Muslim.

The case has also raised questions about prosecutorial discretion as some members of the public — including some who disapproved of the Muslim students' actions — say student protests are nothing new and the case is a waste of taxpayers' money.

The students face misdemeanor charges of conspiring to disrupt a meeting and disrupting a meeting. If convicted, they could face a sentence ranging from probation with community service and fines to up to a year in jail.

In opening statements Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Dan Wagner said emails from the leader of UC Irvine's Muslim Student Union show that students drafted a detailed game plan to disrupt Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren's talk on U.S.-Israel relations.

They followed the plan to the letter by reading scripted statements before being escorted out of the event by authorities, Wagner said.

The students later tried to make it appear as if each student acted on his own, when they had coordinated the demonstration at a publicized event attended by hundreds of students and community members, he said.
"What their intention was, make no mistake, was to shut him down," Wagner told the jury.

But defense attorneys said the students planned their protest within the boundaries of the law and their combined statements lasted no longer than five minutes.

They also noted that Oren was able to finish his speech and argued that delays in the event entitled "U.S. Israel Relations from a Political and Personal Perspective" stemmed from organizers' introductory remarks and a private reception that ran late.

"Each statement is for roughly five seconds. Some of the longest ones go 8 seconds — no more," Dan Mayfield, who represents two of the defendants, said in his opening statement. "The evidence will show the interruption by the defendants — all of them together— lasts roughly a minute."

The students, many who have since graduated from college, claim they had a right to protest. But Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas contends that right ended when it infringed on the wishes of hundreds of members of the public who had come to hear Oren.

Authorities say the students shouted out phrases such as "you are a war criminal" and "propagating murder is not an expression of free speech." The students were cited and released and disciplined at the university, which revoked the Muslim Student Union's charter for a quarter during the academic year and placed it on two years of probation.

Nearly a year later, Rackauckas filed criminal charges against 11 students, which prompted an outcry from the American Civil Liberties Union and a host of Jewish, Muslim and campus groups.

The filing sparked a media frenzy and Superior Court Judge Peter J. Wilson eventually issued a gag order to prevent prosecutors and defense attorneys from arguing the case outside the courtroom.

Since then, the charges against one defendant have been dropped, but 10 students — some who attended UC Irvine and others who attended the nearby University of California, Riverside — still face prosecution.

The case has split residents of affluent Orange County, a traditionally Republican-stronghold that is home to sizable Jewish and Muslim populations. Residents have written vociferous letters to the editor of the local newspaper, the Orange County Register, on both sides of the debate.

Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, told reporters outside the courthouse on Wednesday that he believes the students are being singled out for protesting against the Israeli government's actions in Gaza, noting that President Barack Obama is frequently heckled by protesters who aren't criminally charged.

Moutaz Herzallah, whose son is one of the defendants, said he has never heard of American students being tried over protests.

"I decided to immigrate to this country with my family so we could have peace, freedom of speech, dignity and honor," said Herzallah, a Palestinian who came here from Bahrain several decades ago. "Apparently, the district attorney of Orange County threw the American Constitution in the trash."

That isn't how everyone sees it. Michael Shapiro, a law professor at the University of Southern California, said charging the students with conspiracy isn't necessary to uphold free speech rights in this case since campus authorities already did so by enabling Oren to give his talk and by disciplining students who participated in the outburst.

But the students don't have a constitutional right to shout down a speaker, he said.

"It is just maddening and outrageous that they think they have a free speech right to shut everybody else up," Shapiro said. "That's not the way the First Amendment works."

The trial is expected to run for ten trial days, which means it may take up to a few weeks for the case to be resolved.

This story incorporates information from the Associated Press.

Romney, Perry tied in new poll of California Republicans

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:50:47 -0700

Texas governor Rick Perry speaks during the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference on June 18, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

As GOP presidential hopefuls gear up for Wednesday's Republican debate, a new poll shows Texas Governor Rick Perry tied with Mitt Romney among California Republican voters. The USC Dorslife/Los Angeles Times poll shows each candidate with 22 percent of the vote.

The poll is directed by Dan Schnur, who says that the breakdown in support is more a matter of intensity than demographics.

"The most interesting distinction between Perry and Romney among Republican voters is the level of intensity," Schnur says. "Perry supporters tend to feel much more strongly about their support for their candidate than Romney's do for theirs."

Schnur added that Romney tends to do better among the party's female candidates, while Perry's supporters skew more male. Tea party voters, Schnur says, have shifted their support to Perry.

Meanwhile on Monday, Republican contenders descended on the early-voting state of South Carolina, beginning a busy day of politics that is drawing the top Republicans vying for their party's presidential nomination.

With Labor Day marking the unofficial start to the 2012 campaign, the contenders are set to pitch themselves to tea partyers and the GOP base during an afternoon forum with Senator Jim DeMint in his home state.

The event is designed to probe the candidates on their views of spending, taxes and the Constitution — bedrock principles for the tea party activists whose rising clout is likely to shape the nominating process.

As Labor Day approaches, bad news for American workers

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:48:22 -0700

Job seekers speak with a construction company recruiter as they and others look for construction work. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The national jobs picture was static in August without a single new job added, something that hasn’t happened since the 1940s. The news comes just in time to throw a pall over the Labor Day holiday weekend.

There was no net growth in jobs in August and the nation's unemployment rate stayed at 9.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning.

"It's not the kind of jobs report you want going into a holiday weekend that's supposed to be celebrating the American worker," KPCC's economy blogger Matt DeBord told Steve Julian. "The American worker got a kind of slap in the face by this jobs report."

The new numbers have economists wondering: Are we in some kind of stagnation, are we in a stasis?

"In Southern California in particular this is a big issue," DeBord said. "Because 9.1 percent unemployment at the national level is far exceeded by 12 percent unemployment in California and 12.4 percent locally here in Southern California."

The news is particularly hard on those who worked in California's once booming construction industry, who were hard hit by the housing bust.

"We have a large number of unemployed people who used to work in the construction trade," said DeBord. "It's actually at a state of crisis for that group. These people may choose to leave the state. These people may choose to move on to other professions if construction doesn't come back, and it doesn't look like it's going to."

The latest sign that the labor market remains weak comes as President Obama prepares to lay out his plan for boosting job growth during an address to Congress next Thursday — and as the Republicans vying to run against him next year offer their alternatives.

NPR's Mark Memmot & KPCC's Eric Zassenhaus contributed to this report

California Dream Act passes state Senate

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:57:01 -0700

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, left, talks with Assembly member Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011. The Senate approved the measure by a 22-11 vote. Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Undocumented college students in California are a step closer to being eligible for state-funded scholarships and financial aid.

It’s called the Dream Act, but differs from a federal plan by the same name, which would create a path to citizenship for those who are brought to the country illegally as children.

The first half of California’s Dream Act has already become law – it allows undocumented students to qualify for private financial aid. The second half of the package would qualify non-citizen students for State University Grants, UC grants, Board of Governors Fee Waivers, and institutional student aid.

Demonstrators for and against the Dream Act and Secure Communities on August 25, 2011

Critics are leery and say it's unfair to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to give aid to non-citizens. Speaking to KPCC's Patt Morrison last month, Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (R-39) pointed to the difficult economic climate as one reason not to pass the bill and said the state should focus on giving funds to legal residents.

"If you're an American citizen or you're in the process of becoming one, we want to reward you," he said. "We want to put you first. We certainly shouldn't be putting people first who've come here the wrong way, no matter how deserving they might be. We can feel for them, but we're not here in this statehouse here to pass laws on the basis of feelings."

Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), who sponsored the bill, said he believes the bill would boost the economy rather than hurt it. "They’re the valedictorians, the student body presidents, they’re the ones who we look to the future for."

The Dream Act is expected to pass the Assembly and then be signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown.

KPCC's Lily Mihalik contributed to this report.

Why Diana Nyad quit midway through swim from Cuba to Florida Keys

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:26:19 -0700

KEY WEST, FL - AUGUST 9: In this handout provided by Florida Keys News Bureau, Diana Nyad reacts as she speaks to reporters and fans after arriving back in Florida, following the 61-year-old marathon swimmer's failed attempt to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys August 9, 2011 in Key West, Florida. Nyad's second attempt in 33 years to swim from Cuba to Florida ended after 29 hours because of wind, currents and health problems. Credit: Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau via Getty Images

Marathon swimmer Diana Nyad tried this week to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys. At 61, she had trained extensively at the Pasadena Aquatic Center and in the Caribbean Ocean, but halfway through the choppy 103-mile swim, she called it quits.

It wasn't the rough seas or the excruciating pain in her shoulder, Nyad says, but the toll of an 11-hour asthma attack that forced her out of the water. "It was so darn frustrating not to be the swimmer that I am."

Nyad had tried the swim once before in 1978, but stopped because rough waves pounded her against her shark cage. So this time she ditched the cage, even though the warm Caribbean waters are infested with sharks.

Nyad is sure that on a different day with no asthma or shoulder pain, she would have finished the swim. But she doesn't doubt that she made the right call. "I'm very much at peace with the fact that I gave everything I could. The effort was, if you will, you know, heroic. But I would not have made it."

She said she’s not sure whether she’ll resume the swim anytime soon.

Audio: Marathon swimmer Diana Nyad spoke to KPCC's Steve Julian.

Disney beats expected earnings through bookkeeping

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 06:55:41 -0700

Disney is introducing "active" mannequins in 32 of its redesigned stores. Credit: Amy Walters/NPR

The Walt Disney Company posted better than expected earnings in its fiscal third quarter. The positive report was the result of a bookkeeping maneuver.

In May, Disney said it would post earnings from ESPN in its fiscal fourth quarter, but decided to post early. That $228 million in fees gave Disney stock a nickel increase in its share price; without it, analysts say earnings would’ve fallen short by a penny. It also points to a loss next quarter.

Net income rose 11 percent overall and revenue grew to $10.7 billion – higher than expectations. Disney parks and resorts revenue jumped 12 percent, though the earthquake and tsunami in Japan hurt its Tokyo theme parks.

Studio earnings dipped a bit, in part because of the high cost of producing the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The combined blockbuster power of "Cars 2," "Thor," and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" could not top last year's "Toy Story 3," "Iron Man 2," "Alice in Wonderland," and "Prince of Persia."

Net income in the three months through July 2 grew to $1.48 billion, or 77 cents per share, up from $1.33 billion, or 67 cents per share, a year ago.

Disney's earnings came after a wild ride on the stock market following Standard & Poor's first-ever downgrade of U.S. debt on Friday. Reacting to the bad news, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 635 points on Monday, its worst point decline since 2008, only to rebound 429 points on Tuesday, the tenth-highest point gain in history.

Commenting on the turmoil and the possible damage it could have on the consumer psyche, CEO Bob Iger said visitors to its theme parks didn't appear to be changing their upbeat spending habits.

"During the past few days we have not seen any change in the pace of activity at our parks and resorts, advertising or consumer products businesses," Iger said to analysts on a conference call. "With Disney, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel and ABC, we remain well-positioned for whatever economic conditions we face in the future."

Advertising revenue was flat at ESPN as higher ad rates made up for the lack of the FIFA World Cup and Game 7 of the NBA finals this year. Excluding the marquee sporting events from a year ago, ad revenue at ESPN rose 9 percent. That was below the adjusted 23 percent gain in ad revenue at ESPN in the previous quarter, showing the ad market recovery that has boosted media companies was losing steam.

Revenue at cable TV channels including ESPN rose 7 percent to $3.52 billion.

Broadcasting revenue fell 1 percent to $1.43 billion as ad revenue on its ABC network grew, but local ad sales at TV stations fell because of lower political spending.

Combined, Disney's TV businesses saw operating profits grow 11 percent to $2.09 billion, again proving to be the biggest and most reliable source of earnings for the company.

Consumer products revenue grew 13 percent to $685 million. Interactive media revenue grew 27 percent to $251 million but losses increased 32 percent to $86 million, even after its purchase of social game maker, Playdom, last year.

This story incorporates information from the Associated Press.

Jobless rate down to 9.1 percent: What's that mean for SoCal?

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:54:51 -0700

Job seekers line up to enter Choice Career Fair at the Los Angeles Convention Center on December 1, 2010. Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The highly anticipated jobs report came out from the Labor Department this morning, and it’s not so bad. Not great, but not bad. The nation’s jobless figure dropped from 9.2 to 9.1 percent. Jobs created: 117,000. That's 27,000 more than expected.

The official job numbers for the Southland come in two weeks. Some economists say July probably won’t look that much different from May and June in the Southland. That means slow growth on the jobs front, which is not much different than what we’re seeing on the national level.

Nancy Sidhu, the chief economist for the L.A. Economic Development Corporation, says there is no need to panic. "We have to get used to the fact that the economy doesn’t grow in a straight line, it wiggle waggles."

Sidhu adds that if you look over a year, rather than month by month, L.A.'s at 12 percent unemployment. That's down from 12.6 last year. She says it’s like watching grass grow: slow, slow, slow, but it's still growth.

The largest source of employment declines in the Southland are state and local government jobs. The construction industry also hasn't recovered yet, especially residential, single-family home construction. The Inland empire is feeling the pain with 14 percent unemployment.

Some sectors are making progress. The tourism industry is up since it's their high season, summer. International trade has improved as well, with longshore workers getting their full-time hours back and truckers are being put back to work.

The tech sector has improved, especially app development for smartphones and game development in Los Angeles. One man who was laid off from an insurance company says he’s been out of work for two years, but he’s started developing smartphone apps in between looking for jobs.

Sidhu says another area that's improved in Los Angeles is the motion picture industry. She says Hollywood is responsible for creating the most jobs in L.A. County over the last year.

Audio: KPCC business reporter Shereen Marisol Meraji spoke to KPCC's Steve Julian about what the job numbers means for the Southland.

Celebrating Lucille Ball's 100th birthday

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 06:08:26 -0700

View of the "Lucille Ball At 100 & 'I Love Lucy' At 60" opening gala at The Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles, on Aug. 4. The event celebrated Lucille Ball's 100th birthday and the recently released "Best of I love Lucy" DVD collection from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. Credit: AP Images

TV's favorite red-headed housewife will turn 100 on Saturday. Lucille Ball, who died at age 77 in 1989, was best known for her sitcom "I Love Lucy," which premiered in 1951. The Hollywood Museum together with CBS DVD/ Paramount Home Entertainment presented "Lucille Ball at 100 and `I Love Lucy' at 60," a private gala reception and exhibit spotlighting the "Queen of Comedy" in Hollywood on Thursday evening.

In addition to unveiling the Hollywood Museum's new Lucille Ball exhibit, the gala event celebrated the TV legend's life with a Lucy look-alike contest and the release of a new 14-episode DVD set, “The Best of ‘I Love Lucy.'"

The Hollywood Museum's exhibit will be on display from Aug. 3 to Nov. 30. According to a museum press release, the exhibit will showcase awards received by Ball throughout her career, a collection of photography from Ball's personal life, and many original scripts and costumes from "I Love Lucy" as well as Ball's other films and television programs.

Before starring in "I Love Lucy," Ball had already established a career as an entertainer working on several radio programs and appearing in more than 60 films.

Kathleen Brady, author of "Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball," says, though building her television empire in Hollywood was a priority, family was the actress’ number one treasure.

"As soon as Lucy began to make any money in Hollywood after she came out to the West Coast in the 30s, she brought her mother, and her brother, and her grandfather out. So those relationships were so important to her. She was the ideal and perfect daughter. And I think people don't know that."

Ball married Cuban band leader Desi Arnaz in 1940. Together they founded TV production company, Desliu productions which is credited with pioneering the modern television sitcom format. Their television program "I Love Lucy" was top-ranked for four of its six seasons.

Comedian Paula Poundstone said "I Love Lucy" broke barriers and inspired new generations of women to go into comedy as a profession.

"She’s willing to look gross and stupid, and silly. And not that you have to in order to be funny - but there was sort of no boundaries to what she was willing to do," Poundstone said.

"I Love Lucy" ended in 1957 and Ball and Arnaz divorced in 1960. Together they had two children, Desi Jr. and Lucie. Lucie Arnaz was in attendance at Thursday's event.

Audio: Kathleen Brady, author of the book "Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball," spoke to KPCC’s Steve Julian about a part of the actress' life that not everyone knows about.