Accountability

ATHENS -- Lawmakers in Cyprus on Tuesday voted against a bailout plan that officials had hoped would stave off a chaotic government default and keep the island republic part of Europe's single-currency system. In a resounding rejection, not a single one of Cyprus' 56 lawmakers supported the proposal to impose levies as much as nearly 10% on bank deposits in exchange for $13 billion in aid from Europe and the International Monetary Fund to prop up the island's faltering banks.

For more than a quarter of a century, the advertising agency Rubin Postaer & Associates of Santa Monica controlled the business of American Honda Motor Co. On Monday, Honda shifted gears by announcing that it was splitting its huge advertising account among three agencies, ending one of the most closely watched reviews in the advertising industry. RPA, which opened in 1986 to handle the Honda account, survived a brush with potential ruin by retaining responsibility to create advertisements for the nation's fifth-largest auto company.

SACRAMENTO -- California lawmakers, faced with a series of revelations about improper or dubious accounting, on Wednesday approved another audit of state funds. The latest audit was requested after the discovery of $3.6 million that the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection was stashing outside of the state general fund. The money, generated by legal settlements, had been held for seven years at the California District Attorneys Assn., a nonprofit.   Accounting problems have also been revealed at the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick once famously proclaimed about social media: "I don't Twitter, I don't MyFace, I don't Yearbook, I don't do any of those things. " Well, times have changed ... sort of. The three-time Super Bowl winner made an appearance on Twitter, using the account of his girlfriend, Boston TV personality Linda Holliday, to answer some questions from fans Tuesday night. Although known to be grumpy with the media, Belichick seemed to have a good time with the fans, who didn't exactly try to grill the coach with any hard-hitting questions (even though it was the evening following the first day of free agency)

Santiago Perez and his neighbors went straight to Councilman Eric Garcetti when they heard that a developer planned to build a 62-unit housing and retail development on their quiet street in Echo Park. Worried that the four-story complex would tower over homes and bring excess traffic, the group emerged from their meeting at Los Angeles City Hall feeling relieved. "He told us that, yes, he's with us and he will do everything possible to reject the plan," Perez said. But months later in front of the citywide Planning Commission, a Garcetti representative offered the lawmaker's tacit support for the project, saying it was "designed well" and would bring needed jobs and housing to the area.

Dodgers 2, Chicago White Sox 2 AT THE PLATE: Luis Cruz hit the Dodgers' first home run of the spring, taking Jhan Marinez deep in the sixth inning. Cruz said one reason he isn't nervous this spring is because of the words of encouragement he has received from team Chairman Mark Walter. "He hugs me as if he's my uncle," Cruz said. Hanley Ramirez drove in the Dodgers' first run of the exhibition season when he singled up the middle in the third inning to score Tim Federowicz. But Ramirez strayed too far from first base on the play and was thrown out. ON THE MOUND: Nonroster reliever Peter Moylan had a rough day, coughing up a 1-0 lead he inherited from Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Moylan served up a triple to Alex Rios and a two-run home run to Adam Dunn.

California lawmakers on Tuesday peppered state officials with questions over the latest audit of the troubled parks department. For some, the most troubling issue was the department's inability to say how much each individual park costs, because officials track expenses by district involving multiple properties. One lawmaker referred to that as “one of the most mind-boggling parts of the report.” Anthony Jackson, the acting parks director, said his staff was working on getting a park-by-park analysis of costs.

SACRAMENTO - Officials at the California attorney general's office have reversed course and begun a deeper examination of the accounting scandal at the state parks department that could result in criminal charges. The renewed probe was disclosed Wednesday during a legislative hearing on state parks. Previously, the attorney general's office had concurred with a decision by the Sacramento County district attorney not to pursue a criminal case, much to the chagrin of some lawmakers. During the hearing, state Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa)

Jeep fell victim to a Twitter account hijacking Tuesday, joining Burger King, whose profile was taken over Monday and made to look like McDonald's. [Updated 2:55 p.m. Feb. 19: MTV was also believed to have been hijacked, but the TV network has said on its Twitter account as well as BET's that the hack was fake. ] The Twitter page for Jeep was changed to look like that of Cadillac's after Jeep's profile picture was replaced by the logo of its competitor. "We got sold to @Cadillac because we caught our employees doing these in the bathroom =[. " said a tweet sent from the hijacked Jeep account that included a picture of pain medicine.

SACRAMENTO - The surge of revenue that showed up unexpectedly in state coffers last month may well be offset by a revenue dip in coming months, according to Gov. Jerry Brown's administration. The surprise money has been the source of much speculation in the Capitol. Unanticipated tax receipts filled state coffers with more than $5 billion beyond initial projections for January - more tax dollars than are allocated to the entire state university system in a year. The revenue bump was historic.