Police abuse, jail crowding, reproductive rights, school desegregation, gay rights, crosses on L.A. County's seal--name a civil liberties fight, large or small, and Ripston has fought it. Of late, she has found herself defending plans to honor Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Also recently, she was named by her old friend Villaraigosa to L.A.'s commission on homelessness.
Fraser Ross
Founder, Kitson boutique; 42, Hollywood Hills
Love him or hate him, Ross controls the celebrity fashion machine that has made women everywhere covet initialed handbags, truckers caps and crystal-studded Ugg boots. By courting Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and other "It" girls and feeding information about their shopping habits to US Weekly and People, he has created dozens of fashion trendlets since he opened the Robertson Boulevard store in 2002. When stars come in, he makes sure the paparazzi are there. (He even has an investment in Sunset Photo and News.) Ross also has a kids' store, an Internet business, a soon-to-open men's store and a coming shoe line.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday August 17, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 90 words Type of Material: Correction
Southland's most powerful: The listing of Southern California's 100 most powerful people in Sunday's West magazine incorrectly stated that real estate heir Stephen L. Bing had been "socked by actress-model Elizabeth Hurley with a successful paternity suit." It was Bing who initiated legal proceedings to establish his paternity and successfully confirmed his legal right to provide financial support for his son, despite Hurley's opposition. The article also gave the incorrect city of residence for Richard "Wooly" Woolcott, CEO and president of Volcom. He lives in Laguna Beach, not Laguna Hills.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday August 27, 2006 Home Edition West Magazine Part I Page 5 Lat Magazine Desk 2 inches; 89 words Type of Material: Correction
The Power Issue: The listing of Southern California's 100 most powerful people (Aug. 13) incorrectly stated that real estate heir Stephen L. Bing had been "socked by actress-model Elizabeth Hurley with a successful paternity suit." It was Bing who initiated legal proceedings to establish his paternity and successfully confirmed his legal right to provide financial support for his son, despite Hurley's opposition. In addition, the listing gave the incorrect city of residence for Richard "Wooly" Woolcott, CEO and president of Volcom. He lives in Laguna Beach, not Laguna Hills.
Edward Ruscha
Artist; 69, Venice
With surprisingly resonant images of otherwise banal subjects such as Standard gas stations, a Norms restaurant, the Hollywood sign, parking lots and the Sunset Strip, Ruscha has personified "L.A. artist" since the mid-1950s. Perennially popular, he has gained increasing respect in the last decade, and in 2005 represented the United States at the Venice Biennale. This year, the L.A. County Museum of Art purchased 156 works from Ruscha in an effort to acquire a complete set of his prints, while the Museum of Contemporary Art elected him to its board of trustees.
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Composer; conductor and music director, L.A. Philharmonic; 48, Los Angeles
The dashing Finn was a rising star when he arrived here 14 years ago. Since then, he has matured into one of the world's most impressive conductors and composers, while turning the L.A. Phil into the hippest, hottest cultural ticket in town. Thanks to the orchestra's with-it image, the classical music audiences in Disney Hall are now urban, edgy, diverse--nothing like the dowdy crowds of yore.
Steven B. Sample
President, USC; 65, San Marino
Once USC was branded the University of Spoiled Children. No longer. Under Sample's leadership, USC has become a magnet for foreign students, with Nobel laureates on the faculty, average SAT scores that rival UCLA's and influential institutions such as the Annenberg School for Communication and the Marshall School of Business. Sample is also a force on L.A. civic issues, reaching out to help develop the low-income neighborhoods around the campus.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
California governor; actor;
59, Brentwood
It's good to be the Governator. Good for Southern Kollyfornia too. Though Schwarzenegger is, of course, in charge of the entire state, his ties here create a special ripple effect. His bond initiative to buttress the state's infrastructure would, if it passes, have a disproportionate local impact. Many of his closest advisors hail from the Southland. And Schwarzenegger's election has dramatically raised the profile of his Republican backers in Orange County's New Majority.
Henry Segerstrom
Developer; 83, Newport Beach
The patriarch of one of Orange County's leading farm families, Segerstrom famously turned a tract of bean fields into South Coast Plaza. The rest, as they say, is history. Segerstrom has also been the major force behind the O.C. Performing Arts Center, which will expand into a new hall in September--named, naturally, for the man and his family.
Muzammil Siddiqi
Religious director, Islamic Society
of Orange County; 62, Fountain Valley
Siddiqi, whose mosque is among the largest in North America, is the religious leader of thousands of Southern California Muslims at a time when xenophobia is running high. After Sept. 11, the White House invited him to preside over interfaith services at the National Cathedral. Since then, he has been a leader in driving home the point that Muslims in the U.S. are peace-loving.
Nancy Silverton
Chef; restaurateur; 52, Hancock Park
A big percentage of the current generation of L.A.'s chefs came from Silverton's kitchen at Campanile (which she founded with her ex-husband Mark Peel, who now pilots the place solo). With her weekly sandwich nights there, antipasto nights at La Terza and mozzarella nights at Jar, she's changed the way Angelenos eat. She was the first baker to give all of L.A. access to artisan bread (at her La Brea Bakery, sold in 2001 for $56 million). And the restaurant she's about to open with Mario Batali, Mozza, is the most highly anticipated in years.
Emily Simonitsch
Senior VP, House of Blues Concerts; 53, Glendale
