Conflict Of Interest

The Colombian government said Saturday that it had fired Mark Penn's public relations firm after Penn, the chief campaign strategist for presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton, apologized for meeting with Colombian officials pushing a trade deal with the U.S.

When Reed Royalty endorsed Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen's reelection campaign last month, he praised her for seeking to reduce pension benefits for sheriff's deputies "that may be unconstitutional." It was a logical comment for Royalty, an advocate of low taxes and limited government who is president of the Orange County Taxpayers Assn.

In brief comments on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, former President Clinton said that his fundraising relationship with a Chinese company involved in Internet censorship did not pose a potential conflict of interest for his wife's presidential campaign. Even though the Chinese Web firm, Alibaba Inc., recently carried a government-issued Internet "wanted notice" urging the arrest of Tibetan protesters, he said that he backed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's tough words on China.

The star-struck gawkers, paparazzi and businessmen walking by a big-budget film set on Broadway in downtown Thursday could be forgiven for thinking that Bill Todd was a real Los Angeles police officer. He did, after all, shut down a lane of traffic to make room for the huge trailers and production rigs -- much to the annoyance of drivers. And then there was the matter of the pistol hanging from his hip and the Los Angeles Police Department badge clipped to the LAPD uniform.

A top executive hired to run day-to-day operations at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has come under fire as the latest example of the revolving door between city government and businesses that seek lucrative public contracts. Before returning to the DWP in December after a six-year absence, Raman Raj, who earns $247,000 annually as the utility's chief operating officer, worked most of last year as a consultant for at least three DWP contractors.

An audit released Thursday found no indication that Los Angeles airports director Gina Marie Lindsey improperly influenced the awarding of two major contracts related to the modernization of LAX. The Los Angeles city controller's office concluded that airport staff followed correct procedures during the selection of DMJM Aviation Inc. of Florida and Denver-based Fentress Architects. The findings were similar to those of the City Council, which reviewed the contracts earlier this month.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd acknowledged Tuesday that he knew in 2003 that Countrywide Financial Corp. placed him in a "VIP section" when the firm reportedly gave him preferential rates on two mortgages. But he denied he knew he was getting any special deal and said he didn't plan to give up the loans. "I'm not clairvoyant," Dodd (D-Conn.) said. "There was no red flag to me that we were getting some special treatment." Revelations that Dodd and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.

BET President of Entertainment Reginald Hudlin plans to unveil what he feels is a slam-dunk hit for the network today at Comic-Con in San Diego: an animated series featuring Marvel Comics' Black Panther. The project about a black superhero marks the cable network's most promising push yet in its struggle to launch an animated series that will appeal to BET's target audience: urban youth.

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission is investigating whether laws were violated by a former city department head who took a job with a Los Angeles-based investment company less than three months after his agency acted to benefit the firm, according to sources familiar with the probe. Although ethics officials declined to confirm or deny the inquiry, several sources say investigators have asked about Robert Aguallo Jr.

A Los Angeles City Council panel Tuesday berated officials with the city's Department of Water and Power over their handling of contracts that have been awarded to companies that recently employed the DWP's No. 2 official, Raman Raj. Council members said the utility should have done more to publicly disclose potential conflicts faced by Raj and show that the issue had been carefully reviewed.