Funds Raising

Patrons of Meet Each Need with Dignity (MEND), a nonprofit service agency in Pacoima, are conducting a recycling drive to raise funds to complete an expansion of the agency's center on Van Nuys Boulevard. MEND, which provides more than 10,000 low-income people each month with food, clothing, medical care, job training and other services, must raise $350,000 to complete the first phase of the construction project, which began in March, said Executive Director Marianne Haver Hill.

The mayoral candidates met Thursday night in their first debate in the runoff election. Despite Eric Garcetti's and Wendy Greuel's acrimony in recent days, the two Democrats largely struck a sunny tone in the hourlong face-off televised by KABC-TV. To boost their bids, Garcetti cited his work on district revitalization and balancing the city's budget, while Greuel highlighted her resume, including her work at her family's business, at DreamWorks and as an elected official. Thursday also brought the first financial disclosure requirement in the runoff.

Dear Amy: My co-worker's wife has Stage 4 cancer, and he has put out the word that he needs money for the mounting medical bills. He also said he was on the verge of losing his home. We were told that a bank account had been set up and that people could contribute. Here in the office, we all thought that was a great idea, and we pooled our money to deposit a large sum into the account. Lately, every time we talk to him, he talks about how he just bought new furniture and new carpet and is now taking the family to Disneyland with the funds.

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti has edged ahead of opponent Wendy Greuel in fund-raising for the May 21 runoff contest, raising $1.27 million during the 4 1/2 weeks that followed the March 5 primary election. The haul means that Garcetti has more than $2 million on hand for his campaign, according to reports filed Thursday. Greuel took in $1.12 million during the same fund-raising period, which ended Saturday, and has nearly $1.5 million available for the campaign. Greuel called the pace of her fund-raising "explosive" and portrayed it as a sign that voters are frustrated with the status quo. Her campaign strategist, John Shallman, struck a similar theme, describing Greuel's take as evidence that residents want someone to "break the gridlock at City Hall.

Orville Amburgey, who is seeking reelection to the City Council, leads fund raising among five candidates seeking two seats in Tuesday's election. According to records filed with the city clerk's office, Amburgey has raised $46,527 so far, about $10,000 more than incumbent Mayor Peter F. Buffa. Buffa, who got a late start in campaigning this year, has raised $35,659. About half of that has been raised since Oct. 1.

Re "GOP Chief Spoke at Asian Fund-Raisers," Nov. 21: The Republican National Committee's argument that their overseas fund-raising doesn't compare with an effort to "raise funds from foreign interests overseas by people who have direct influence over the American foreign policy" is ingenious: Questionable fund-raising by the party out of power is less reprehensible because they have less opportunity for corruption. DAVID ELLIOTT

George Skelton says we should celebrate that Prop. 208 has prevented politicians from fund-raising for five months (Capitol Journal, May 28), so why do I feel like crying? As he points out, politicians will now start raising money from fat cats again. Instead of $500 contributions, the limits will be $1,000! In fact, Skelton forgot to mention the loophole that he has reported on previously which allows the super-rich to channel $5,000 contributions through the political parties to candidates.

In his column ("Tony and Dora," Metro, Nov. 21), Al Martinez shared his disdain of holiday fund-raising with his readers. Unfortunately, he didn't mention the good that charitable contributors provide to Los Angeles' needy. At the Los Angeles Mission, which is supported entirely by private donations, annual contributions enable us to provide: - 187,000 meals a year. - 34,000 nights of shelter a year. - 48,000 articles of clothing. - A resident rehabilitation program for 40 men, offering counseling, job training and education, and staffed by six chaplains.

WASHINGTON - The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are in an unusual position in today's era of Washington austerity: They could soon receive more federal money. A bill sent to the Senate by a committee chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) seeks to address a long-standing California gripe: Its ports receive pennies back for every dollar raised by a tax on cargo. The measure would nearly double, to about $1.6 billion a year, funding for harbor maintenance nationwide, give priority to the busiest ports and expand the use of the money to include work that the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are eager to undertake.

LONDON - In 2011, the London riots created chaos across the capital as disgruntled youth burned down buildings, looted shops and rampaged in the streets. A recent exhibition in Tottenham, the epicenter of the riots, looked at the reasons why. However, it was not the government that raised funds to set up the exhibit but a couple of dozen ordinary people whose lives had been caught up in the mayhem. "After the Riots - Happiness in Tottenham" is one of more than a hundred projects hosted on an innovative crowd-funding website that is starting to make waves across the United Kingdom.

Many colleges seek donations for new construction or scholarships. Pasadena City College, however, has an additional goal that was unthinkable before California's budget crisis forced community colleges to slash course offerings. The school is seeking donations from alumni and others to restore some of the 570 classes it planned to cut this academic year. The campaign, launched in April, has received about $89,400 in donations, and the school is also devoting $106,000 from savings resulting from some cost cuts, officials said.

The numbers are in -- and Mitt Romney won, but not by a landslide. When it came to fund-raising in February, the former Massachusetts governor stayed ahead of his GOP presidential rivals. Romney raised $11.5 million and spent $12.4 million, dramatically slowing down his burn rate from January, when his campaign spent three times more than it raised. Heading into March, he had $7.3 million in the bank. Rick Santorum got $8.9 million in contributions and spent $7.8 million, ending the month with $2.6 million on hand, along with $922,000 in debt.

Investors may not be willing to back the state's bullet train project until after it begins operating, the California High-Speed Rail Authority said in a letter to key legislators, an acknowledgment that again raises serious questions about how the $43-billion construction cost will be paid over the next decade. The letter gives a preview of the authority's upcoming business plan, a critical document that is supposed to address long-standing concerns that it lacks a credible blueprint for building and operating the system.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney raised more than $14 million for his presidential bid this summer, his campaign announced Friday morning. Romney led the Republican money race earlier this year when he brought in $18 million in the previous fundraising quarter. This time, however, he fell short of Gov. Rick Perry's reported $17-million haul. Romney also has slightly less cash in the bank -- $14.65 million compared to the Texas governor's $15 million on hand. "We are proud of the $32 million we have raised for the campaign so far," said national finance chairman Spencer Zwick in a statement.

The threat of a government shutdown intensified as the GOP-led House failed to muster a majority to approve legislation to fund the government after Republicans insisted that federal disaster aid be paid for with spending cuts elsewhere. In a surprise defeat, the legislation was narrowly rejected Wednesday after a tense afternoon of vote counting. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) had hoped to avoid another budget battle after the summer's debt ceiling fight and an earlier threat of government shutdown left voters sour on both Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

While Congress likely will be grappling with his jobs package, President Obama plans to make a western swing late next month, one that will include fund-raisers in Hollywood and La Jolla. The fund-raisers will be held Sept. 26 and will come as part of a three-day trip that is scheduled to bring Obama to Seattle the day before and Denver on the 27th. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Obama will court entertainment industry insiders at events at the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard and then later at the Fig & Olive restaurant on Melrose Place.