Government Agencies

Businesses and government agencies in or near the city of San Fernando are being sought to host student interns from San Fernando High School. The program, organized by the San Fernando Chamber of Commerce and the high school's business academy, is designed to give high school seniors experience at a business that matches their career interests. Students participating in the two-week program earn school credit but not compensation, said Arlene Rosenblatt, an instructor at the business academy.

If you have a gripe about a business, your usual first step would be to talk directly to a representative of the company. But if that fails to resolve the issue, you can ramp it up by filing an official complaint with the appropriate government agency. Here's where to go for some common consumer issues: •Contractors. The California Contractors State License Board handles complaints related to such things as poor construction work, failure to finish a job, unpaid subcontractors, building code violations and deceptive advertising.

California public agencies borrowed more money this year to cover employee pensions than they have in a decade, underscoring the struggle of governments to keep pace with the spiraling costs of retirement plans. Borrowing topped $2 billion this year and is expected to continue next year as cities and counties look for ways to cover employee retirement costs without cutting into basic services. Interest on long-term pension bonds will only compound the debt over time.

A Beverly Hills financial firm and its founder pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges that they defrauded government agencies by steering investment contracts to firms that paid them kickbacks. David Rubin, 50, and his company, CDR Financial Products Inc., were accused of running sham auctions for government agencies looking to invest money raised through municipal bond offerings. The contracts were awarded to favored firms that secretly paid kickbacks to CDR, not always the firm offering the highest returns, the government alleged.

A Securities and Exchange Commission member is expected today to call for government entities to adopt strict risk-management policies and advise Orange County's bondholders to be more "militant," according to an advance copy of his remarks. Commissioner Richard Roberts is to speak at a meeting of county bondholders sponsored by the Bond Investors Assn., a group formed to represent municipal bondholders.

Whether bracing for a crippling computer meltdown or planning to usher out the century with a fittingly epic shindig, San Fernando Valley-area government agencies, hospitals, businesses and party planners are consumed in preparations six months before the year 2000. Although many experts now believe the much-hyped Y2K computer glitch will cause little commotion locally on or about Jan.

With anthrax exposures and infections mounting, the powers of public health face a new and daunting test--and the weaknesses of the system have come under a glaring light. The system's defects, brought on by years of budget cuts, are on display: Labs are easily overwhelmed, and strapped health departments are hurriedly diverting resources from chronic diseases and more routine infections.

A Beverly Hills financial firm and its founder pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges that they defrauded government agencies by steering investment contracts to firms that paid them kickbacks. David Rubin, 50, and his company, CDR Financial Products Inc., were accused of running sham auctions for government agencies looking to invest money raised through municipal bond offerings. The contracts were awarded to favored firms that secretly paid kickbacks to CDR, not always the firm offering the highest returns, the government alleged.

Las Vegas has made a fortune off its sly slogan, the one suggesting what happens in Vegas stays in the famously -- hmmm, how to put it? -- open-minded city. But getting people to Vegas hasn't been so easy of late, what with the lousy economy. And it didn't help when President Obama took a shot at the desert playground, making an offhand banker-bashing remark that seemed to tie Las Vegas to corporate excess.

Shuffling between black and white squad cars, David Rodriguez swept up leaves and trash in the parking lot of the Hollenbeck police station in Boyle Heights on a recent Friday morning. Heavily tattooed and wearing the baggy clothes often associated with street gangs, Rodriguez, 30, said he never thought he would work at a police station, let alone be "treated right" by members of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki on Saturday accepted the resignation of Iraq's top corruption fighter, whom some observers labeled a casualty of political infighting in a country where graft is rampant. Raheem Uqaili, the chairman of the independent watchdog Integrity Commission, had drawn admirers and detractors alike for taking on cases targeting key figures in the Defense Ministry and other government agencies. A statement by Maliki's office said that "based on the wishes of the chairman of the Integrity Commission," the prime minister had accepted the request to step down.

Several months ago I went to the emergency room for a respiratory problem. I was treated and released the same night. I was a self-pay patient. I requested the detailed billing to compare with my medical record and found several errors, including duplicated charges and overcharged items. When I discussed this with the billing department they refused to admit it. What is my next step in this situation? It's critical that you put your dispute with the hospital in writing, clarifying that your itemized bill contains items or services that have been billed in error, says Pat Palmer, founder of Medical Billing Advocates of America, a consumer advocacy group in Roanoke, Va. List each item you're disputing and request that the inaccurate charges be removed or that a written response with documentation to support the charges be sent to you. If you've hit a brick wall with the billing department, escalate your complaint, says Martin Rosen, an executive vice president of Health Advocate, a patient advocacy organization based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. Address your letter to either the chief financial officer or chief executive officer of the hospital, or both, and indicate that you've tried and failed to settle the matter with the billing department.

When it opens its doors next week, the federal government's new agency to protect consumers from financial fraud won't be quite the aggressive watchdog promised a year ago. Because of political squabbling, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau formally will launch without an appointed director. And the lack of leadership has real consequences. The agency won't have power, for instance, to crack down on mortgage brokers, some of which helped lead the nation into the housing debacle four years ago. It also won't have authority over other largely unregulated sectors of the financial services industry, such as payday lenders and remittance companies such as Western Union, that it was created to police.

Walter Tamosaitis, once a top engineer in the nation's nuclear weapons cleanup program, has been relegated to a basement storage room equipped with cardboard-box and plywood furniture with nothing to do for the last year. Tamosaitis' bosses sent him there when he persisted in raising concerns about risks at the Energy Department's project to deal with millions of gallons of radioactive waste near Hanford, Wash., including the potential for hydrogen gas explosions. "Walt is killing us," said Frank Russo, Bechtel Corp.'s top manager at the project, in an email to Tamosaitis' boss urging that the engineer be brought under control.

A 19-year-old man was arrested in Britain on suspicion of taking part in Web attacks against businesses and government agencies, authorities said Tuesday. The man, who was not immediately identified by police, was arrested on suspicion of computer misuse and fraud in Wickford, in southeastern England, by British police in cooperation with the FBI, authorities said. A police statement indicated that the suspect was being questioned at a central London police station. The accusations against him include attempting to keep computer users from accessing information or services.

Spanish police on Friday arrested three alleged members of the hacker and activist group Anonymous on suspicion of taking part in online attacks against Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Network, as well as banks, businesses and government websites. Police said the three "hacktivists," whose identities have not been released, were involved in the April hacking of the PlayStation Network, an online video gaming and entertainment service that Sony suspended for more than a month after the attack.

This part happens all the time: A construction crew putting up an office building in the heart of congested Tysons Corner in McLean, Va., hit a fiber-optic cable no one knew was there. This part doesn't: Within moments, three black SUVs drove up, half a dozen men in suits jumped out, and one said, "You just hit our line." Whose line, you may ask? The guys in suits didn't say, recalled Aaron Georgelas, whose company, the Georgelas Group, was developing the Greensboro Corporate Center.

The global cost of solving the year 2000 computer problem has been estimated as high as $1 trillion, including litigation over possible problems. The U.S. government has been the biggest spender, pouring $8.3 billion into repairing the problem. But many companies and government agencies have spent relatively little fixing the glitch, in part because of their newer equipment or less-complicated systems. * Sources: SEC filings, government agencies and company reports

Google Inc.'s big push to supply email services to governments around the country is running into headwinds both from federal agencies and its marquee client, Los Angeles City Hall. More than a year after the city awarded Google a $7.2-million contract to provide email for its 30,000 employees, Google has been unable to meet crucial security requirements, preventing nearly half of city personnel from moving to the new system, according to city officials. The city's controller has launched an inquiry, and City Council members have held closed-door meetings to confer with attorneys, raising the possibility of legal action.

The families of eight mentally disabled adults on Tuesday sued an El Monte day care center and government agencies for allegedly failing to properly investigate their complaints about verbal, physical and sexual abuse at the facility. The families said they had complained to managers at the center, formerly known as Healthy Start, and government authorities that their adult children were delivered home late ? sometimes with bruises, scratches and skin rashes ? and that they had turned sullen, fearful and withdrawn.