Harbor Department

Councilwoman Joy Picus suggested that the city sell Los Angeles Harbor (Metro, April 25) to help with the local budget crisis. A better idea would be to tap into the massive profits which accrue to the Harbor Department. Last year the Harbor Department made more than $80 million after expenses--an amount equal to the current budget deficit. Current law keeps this money in the Harbor Department to be used for harbor purposes only. Besides using the money to send Mayor Tom Bradley to the Far East, the department has been spending millions studying and promoting a 30-year expansion plan known as the 2020 Project.

On Tuesday morning, 80-year-old Bobby Salisbury took the last of his items from his boat moored at Colonial Yacht Anchorage in Wilmington and stuffed them inside his gray Nissan off-road truck. "I'm the happiest guy today," he said sarcastically. For years, Salisbury has lived at the marina. Then last month, the Los Angeles Harbor Department ordered him and more than 90 other tenants to leave by May 1, calling the dock and 138 slips in Berth 204 too dilapidated to be safe.

The Los Angeles Harbor Department, facing the possibility of state legislation that would have it pay for public works outside the port, has agreed in writing to pursue a series of street improvements and other projects in Wilmington. Although the nine-page agreement only formalizes projects already promised or started by the port, Wilmington residents and local officials described it as a breakthrough.

Responding to calls for an economic boycott of Arizona, the top policy analyst for Los Angeles on Tuesday identified a total of $56 million in Arizona-related investments and recommended that the City Council suspend travel to the state, refrain from entering new contracts and review current ones for possible termination. L.A. officials joined with other cities across the country in calling for an economic boycott of Arizona after that state's lawmakers recently passed a tough immigration law that critics say will lead to racial profiling.

A Superior Court jury decided Wednesday that the Long Beach Harbor Department must pay a high-ranking administrator $913,425 in damages for firing him without good cause. The Compton jury found that the Harbor Department breached its employment contract with Leland R. Hill when it eliminated his position in 1991 as director of planning and engineering. Months before, Hill had been a top candidate to become executive director of the Harbor Department. Hill's Lawyer, Charles T.

A Los Angeles city controller's review of the Harbor Department's contracting procedures released Monday showed that several of the department's consulting contracts were improperly awarded, a violation of department procedures. The overview, conducted by Controller Rick Tuttle, found that the department adequately handled most of its personal and professional services contracts.

A proposal to renovate a Wilmington pet food cannery into a restaurant and shopping complex has run into opposition because the Los Angeles Harbor Department wants to demolish it to make way for expansion of a maintenance yard. The plan to remodel the Heinz Petfood Co. cannery, which is scheduled to close Sept. 1, is backed by Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores and a citizens advisory committee that is planning a waterfront development on port property in Wilmington.

GIMME SHELTER: Try as it might, the Los Angeles Harbor Department can't seem to shake its image as an agency more interested in profits than people. Take last week's City Council meeting, when the port was surprisingly dragged into a debate over what to do with the San Pedro animal shelter, an aged facility facing elimination for want of money.

Los Angeles port officials Monday scaled back a 10-nation Asian-Pacific tour after aides to Mayor Tom Bradley damned the trip as "outrageous" and acknowledged that it created the impression that appointees were trying to cash in during the Administration's final weeks. Harbor Department officials said they will reduce the scope of the April trip, scheduling travel to two nations, Australia and Japan, with possible itinerary additions later.

The California Coastal Commission has unanimously approved a controversial plan to expand the Port of Los Angeles by 580 acres in what will be the state's largest coastal development project in two decades. The unanimous decision, which came Wednesday night, eliminates a major hurdle in plans by the Harbor Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the harbor's shipping channels and expand Terminal Island to take on new cargo terminals.

For years, Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard appeared stuck in time. Its marina slips and aging docks long ago fell into disrepair. Fisherman's Wharf is a virtual ghost town of shuttered shops, cracked pavement and peeling paint. Tourists are few. "There hasn't been development in this harbor since I started sailing out of it in 1981," said Kevin Miller, 39. "It's been at least 20 years since anything was built. It's dilapidated, the buildings look dated.... It's sad."

The Ventura County Harbor Department is temporarily in the sportfishing business after assuming control of Cisco's Landing at Channel Islands Harbor. Cisco's, which operated on a month-to-month lease in recent years, vacated the landing late last month. The company, which had received a 30-day notice to begin repairs after almost two years of negotiations, decided against investing the money needed to modernize the 38-year-old harbor's aging docks.

For 23 years, the fight over a breezy hill in San Pedro has pitted preservationists against those who want progress. Knoll Hill, which rises 84 feet above sea level, overlooks Front Street and Harbor Boulevard, and offers sweeping views of the city, the Vincent Thomas Bridge and Los Angeles Harbor. Some San Pedro residents, and the Los Angeles Harbor Department, want to shave down Knoll Hill for a port expansion project. Others want the hill turned into a park.

The county Fire Protection District and Harbor Department have announced joint plans to beef up safety along Channel Islands Harbor. As part of that plan, Harbor Department patrol officers are being trained to operate defibrillators, hand-held paddles that emit electric shocks and are used to revive heart attack victims. Also, the Harbor Patrol has agreed to use its boats to transport firefighters to fires on the water, fire and harbor officials said.

After more than three years of trying to make ends meet, Marina Ice Cream and Candy owner Phil Woolf closed his doors on New Year's Eve. He emptied the ice-cream bins and taped a "For Sale" sign in the window. And now he is packing up his candy jars and espresso makers and preparing to retire. "You have to cut your losses," Woolf said. "There is no future here. But this was the most fun I've ever had and I'm gonna miss it."

A Los Angeles city controller's review of the Harbor Department's contracting procedures released Monday showed that several of the department's consulting contracts were improperly awarded, a violation of department procedures. The overview, conducted by Controller Rick Tuttle, found that the department adequately handled most of its personal and professional services contracts.

City Atty. John R. Calhoun said Tuesday that City Hall is entitled to take $14.5 million from its wealthy Harbor Department to pay for general city services, and that he will issue a formal opinion in two weeks. City and Harbor Department officials have been haggling over how much harbor money can be used to pay for police and fire protection and other municipal services.

As the strike by Los Angeles' port pilots stretched into its 11th week, the City Council on Tuesday moved to block the Harbor Department from hiring any new port pilots until the job action ends. Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr., whose district includes San Pedro, where the port is located, said the department had good intentions when it advertised to fill two vacancies earlier this year. But unions in the harbor area would not look kindly on interviewing pilot applicants, he said.

Why has Los Angeles Harbor, the second busiest port in the U.S., imposed a 0500 to 2000 (5 a.m. to 8 p.m.) workday on ship movements? The city has refused to budge on its original offer to the Los Angeles pilots, while the pilots have reduced their original demands. The strike is now in its ninth week, and shippers are experiencing major delays. The Harbor Department insists that things are running normally. This does not appear to be "collective bargaining." What is the city's Harbor Department trying to prove, at the expense of the port's reputation?