Business Cities

The effort to keep five HMO corporations in Los Angeles, which prompted Mayor Richard Riordan last week to endorse a $15-million tax break, is part of a potentially corrosive process that many cities have begun abandoning in favor of regional cooperation, experts say.

Sparking new debate over how the city should grow, Los Angeles officials have embraced a plan to ease parking space requirements for apartments, restaurants and stores in selected areas of the city. Council members Tuesday backed an ordinance that would allow real estate developers, landlords and business owners to reduce the number of parking spaces needed for their projects. The action represents an ambitious effort to breathe new life into moribund business districts and spur new housing construction while getting more people out of their cars.

A new study showing Los Angeles to be among the highest tax and business-fee locations in Southern California seems ominous for the city. Indeed, Los Angeles is overweight in the tax and bureaucracy department, and that is prompting businesses to move to lower-cost places elsewhere in the region, such as Burbank or Glendale, or out-of-state locales such as Seattle and Las Vegas. But the Burbanks and Glendales shouldn't rejoice.

LONDON - If you're at all familiar with London - the city of congestion, crowded byways, skinny streets - you may be trying to imagine how in the world the city will cope with moving its Olympics visitors from Point A to Point B. Many of the Olympic events will take place in East London, the suburb of Stratford (not Avon), a once-blighted area about 81/2 miles from Buckingham Palace that has been transformed in the last four years. When the world casts its eyes on London beginning July 27, it will see an Olympic Park that occupies 617 acres with nine major competition venues.

Looking for a place to do business in Southern California? You'll pay through the nose in Los Angeles and Santa Monica but find bargains from Santa Clarita to Diamond Bar, according to an extensive survey to be released Monday. Local jurisdictions vary widely in the costs they impose on their corporate citizens, and some high-cost cities provide lucrative incentives to businesses they want most.

Looking for a place to do business in Southern California? You'll pay through the nose in Los Angeles and Santa Monica but find bargains from Santa Clarita to Diamond Bar, according to an extensive survey to be released Monday. Local jurisdictions vary widely in the costs they impose on their corporate citizens and some high-cost cities provide lucrative incentives to businesses they want most.

In an effort to involve young people in planning for Santa Ana's future, a coalition of city officials, business leaders and community groups have scheduled a youth summit Saturday at Santa Ana College. Twelve- to 25-year-olds will meet with community leaders and city officials to discuss crime, education, development and other issues. Transportation is available to the conference from each intermediate and high school in the Santa Ana Unified School District. The conference will start at 9 a.m.

Tax receipts from bars and restaurants jumped almost 9% in the 10 months after New York City's public smoking ban went into effect, proof that businesses haven't been harmed by the rules, the city says. From April 2003 through January, the city said it collected about $17.4 million in tax receipts from bars and restaurants, compared with $16 million in the same period the year before.

Re "Business ties to City Hall wane," May 12 The article missed the mark. Business is an aggressive advocate at City Hall and actively engaged in city elections. On Jan. 17, Joe Buscaino trounced the candidate backed by the County Federation of Labor in the race for City Council District 15. The L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce's JOBS PAC vigorously backed Buscaino, providing $82,000 to support him. In 2011, in the much closer reelection of Councilman Bernard C. Parks, the JOBS PAC provided critical independent expenditure funding for mailers and phone calls.

A settlement between the city and four businesses that were forced to relocate because of a downtown development project may be near. The two sides have agreed to meet with a mediator Wednesday morning. The City Council has scheduled a special closed session that afternoon to discuss the claim filed by M&M Jewelers, The Cat's Meow, Cafe Capistrano and Cynthia's Bakery and Tea Room.

Re "Business ties to City Hall wane," May 12 The article missed the mark. Business is an aggressive advocate at City Hall and actively engaged in city elections. On Jan. 17, Joe Buscaino trounced the candidate backed by the County Federation of Labor in the race for City Council District 15. The L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce's JOBS PAC vigorously backed Buscaino, providing $82,000 to support him. In 2011, in the much closer reelection of Councilman Bernard C. Parks, the JOBS PAC provided critical independent expenditure funding for mailers and phone calls.

When Austin Beutner entered the mayor's race last year, it looked like the wealthy former investment banker and onetime city jobs czar might give the Los Angeles business community its best chance in years at regaining influence at City Hall. His abrupt exit from the campaign this week after struggles with fundraising and a poor showing in the polls highlights the decline of political power that was once wielded by the city's business elite. That weakening comes as the business sector's traditional rivals - organized labor and environmental activists - are enjoying increasing influence.

The city of Vernon, already under fire for oversized salaries earned by some leaders, has paid millions of dollars in the last decade to private firms connected to relatives of top city officials, according to records reviewed by The Times. In all, Vernon has employed at least a dozen family members of city officials, the documents show, either directly at City Hall or through companies that have done business with city. The most prominent cases involved the families of three former administrators: Bruce Malkenhorst, Eric Fresch and Donal O'Callaghan, who together had seven relatives working for one of the contractors.

A federal grand jury has indicted former Upland Mayor John Pomierski on extortion and bribery charges in an alleged scheme to extort money and campaign contributions from two businesses seeking city permits and other government approvals, officials announced Thursday. Pomierski, 56, using intermediaries, allegedly demanded $70,000 in payments from the owners of an Upland nightclub and a medical marijuana cooperative to help them obtain the required permits starting in 2007, according to the indictment.

In most places, newspaper headlines about a cease-fire between rival political parties tend to be about policy squabbles. In Karachi, such references are more often literal. More than 40 people have died here in the last five days in so-called targeted killings, most of the victims slain because of their political affiliations. Some were executed with shocking brutality -- three of the bodies found Sunday had been decapitated. "Think of Chicago or New York a century ago," said Ikram Sehgal, a political analyst and longtime Karachi resident.

A court commissioner has nixed a Los Angeles law that cracked down on how long taco trucks and other food coaches could stay open up for business. The ordinance, approved by the City Council in 2006, forced operators to stay on the go: Trucks were prohibited from parking in the same spot in a residential neighborhood for more than half an hour or in a commercial area for more than an hour. A similar law adopted by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors was tossed out by a judge last year.

The city of Pasadena has reached settlements with 10 vendors who complained that they lost thousands of dollars after setting up booths in the poorly attended Soccer Carnaval, a monthlong festival organized around the recent World Cup games at the Rose Bowl. Pasadena officials would not release details of the settlements because disclosure could influence negotiations on outstanding claims of about a dozen more vendors, said city spokeswoman Ann Erdman.

When Austin Beutner entered the mayor's race last year, it looked like the wealthy former investment banker and onetime city jobs czar might give the Los Angeles business community its best chance in years at regaining influence at City Hall. His abrupt exit from the campaign this week after struggles with fundraising and a poor showing in the polls highlights the decline of political power that was once wielded by the city's business elite. That weakening comes as the business sector's traditional rivals - organized labor and environmental activists - are enjoying increasing influence.

When Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa arranged a reception celebrating trade with Mexico, two real estate developers stepped in to pay the $25,000 catering bill. One wants city approval for the 5,553-home subdivision known as Las Lomas. When Villaraigosa welcomed then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the mayor's mansion, four companies covered the $60,000 tab. One is building condominiums in Hollywood, and another wants the city's help in revitalizing a historic theater district.

Which city in Los Angeles County is the most "business friendly"? Definitely not Los Angeles. Try Burbank, El Segundo, Lancaster, Long Beach and Santa Clarita. They were selected as finalists in a contest commissioned by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. to determine which city is best at "attracting and retaining businesses which provide quality jobs for their residents."