Encino Balboa Golf Course

One of two golf companies in competition for a controversial contract to run concessions at the Encino-Balboa Golf Course has withdrawn, just as the Los Angeles City Council was preparing to intervene in the contract fracas for the second time. While continuing to assert it was the best-qualified bidder, the company, American Golf Corp., cited "substantial controversy regarding the selection process" in a letter to the city Recreation and Parks Department announcing its withdrawal.

A weekly look at golf courses open to the public in Southern California. BALBOA GOLF COURSE Address: 16821 Burbank Blvd. Encino. Phone: (818) 995-1170 Green fees: $17.50-$23. Tee times: Seven days in advance (City Department of Recreation and Parks card required). The facility: Balboa and its sister course, Encino, are Los Angeles city-operated courses. Balboa is the easier of the two layouts, about 550 yards shorter than Encino, a par 72. There is also a driving range.

After a lengthy debate, the City Council on Friday voted to scrap a contract for concessions at the Encino-Balboa Golf Course and reopen the bidding process. The city Board of Recreation and Parks had chosen American Golf Corp. earlier for the contract. But because American Golf's bid had ranked behind that of another company on a list of contract contenders, its selection provoked an outcry. Some critics contended the board had shown favoritism, an allegation board members denied.

One of two golf companies in competition for a controversial contract to run concessions at the Encino-Balboa Golf Course has withdrawn, just as the Los Angeles City Council was preparing to intervene in the contract fracas for the second time. While continuing to assert it was the best-qualified bidder, the company, American Golf Corp., cited "substantial controversy regarding the selection process" in a letter to the city Recreation and Parks Department announcing its withdrawal.

After a tense meeting, a City Council panel recommended Thursday that a contract for concessions at the Encino-Balboa Golf Course be scrapped and the bidding process reopened. The recommendation followed an uproar over the contract-award process, during which the Board of Recreation and Parks chose American Golf Corp. over another firm, Family Golf Centers. Family Golf's bid for the coveted contract had been given a higher rating than American Golf by city staff following an economic analysis.

A weekly look at golf courses open to the public in Southern California. BALBOA GOLF COURSE Address: 16821 Burbank Blvd. Encino. Phone: (818) 995-1170 Green fees: $17.50-$23. Tee times: Seven days in advance (City Department of Recreation and Parks card required). The facility: Balboa and its sister course, Encino, are Los Angeles city-operated courses. Balboa is the easier of the two layouts, about 550 yards shorter than Encino, a par 72. There is also a driving range.

As they have been known to do in these days of reform and revolution, members of the Los Angeles City Council last week left their cloisters in City Hall and trekked out to Encino for a meeting. Even if one-third of the council couldn't make the trip, it's at least nice to see the others understand that night meetings away from downtown are part of the key to holding Los Angeles together.

An update on the wildlife area expansion project will be discussed at the Sepulveda Basin Users Committee meeting Thursday in Encino. "We're in the midst of putting in additional trails and building several bridges over Haskell Creek, observation areas for wildlife habitats, an outdoor teaching facility and a restroom building," said James Ward, a Los Angeles Recreation and Parks supervisor.

Valley residents got a firsthand view of the workings of City Hall on Wednesday night when the City Council held a special meeting at the Encino Community Center in an effort to make government more accessible. More than 150 people turned out to hear their neighbors testify on secession, management at the Encino/Balboa Golf Course and the irritation at being awoken before dawn by helicopters from Van Nuys Airport.

A Sylmar man and his prostitute lover could face the death penalty after a jury convicted them Thursday of bludgeoning the man's wife to death to acquire her assets. Dennis Dawley, formerly a starter at the Encino-Balboa golf course, was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation of murder.

After a lengthy debate, the City Council on Friday voted to scrap a contract for concessions at the Encino-Balboa Golf Course and reopen the bidding process. The city Board of Recreation and Parks had chosen American Golf Corp. earlier for the contract. But because American Golf's bid had ranked behind that of another company on a list of contract contenders, its selection provoked an outcry. Some critics contended the board had shown favoritism, an allegation board members denied.

After a tense meeting, a City Council panel recommended Thursday that a contract for concessions at the Encino-Balboa Golf Course be scrapped and the bidding process reopened. The recommendation followed an uproar over the contract-award process, during which the Board of Recreation and Parks chose American Golf Corp. over another firm, Family Golf Centers. Family Golf's bid for the coveted contract had been given a higher rating than American Golf by city staff following an economic analysis.

"I must ask," writes Suzanne B. Carpenter of Balboa Island, "what has come of your new interest with the game of golf? Granted your approach is a bit bizarre. I doubt that the great golfers of the world planned their games around a 'Good Eats' place that is close to the links." Carpenter refers to my recent account of having breakfast at a diner called EAT beside the first green of the Los Feliz Golf Course, a pretty little three-par course on Los Feliz Boulevard in Glendale.

Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Ben Crenshaw are still looking for a No. 1, Minnesota Fats is holding steady at No. 12 and Mickey Mantle is No. 18. That's the latest in the wide world of sports--video, that is. Billboard magazine has been keeping track of the recreational sports video hits--and misses--since last January.