Information Technology Agency

A City Council committee recommended Tuesday that the city's Information Technology Agency institute new rules for employee travel, after a report showed that employees were taking more trips than authorized. "City directives concerning travel were routinely disregarded," Councilman Jack Weiss said. The agency now must keep track of trips and limit paid city travel to that required for staff training and maintenance.

Google Inc. has missed the deadline on its high-profile contract to take over Los Angeles' e-mail system, leaving nearly 20,000 city employees on an aging system that the city is paying the Internet search giant $7.25 million to replace. The delay marks a significant setback for Google's push to enter the lucrative business of shifting companies and governments to computer systems that reside online. The contract with the city is considered a marquee deal and is being closely watched by other governments looking to move to "cloud computing."

Google Inc. has missed the deadline on its high-profile contract to take over Los Angeles' e-mail system, leaving nearly 20,000 city employees on an aging system that the city is paying the Internet search giant $7.25 million to replace. The delay marks a significant setback for Google's push to enter the lucrative business of shifting companies and governments to computer systems that reside online. The contract with the city is considered a marquee deal and is being closely watched by other governments looking to move to "cloud computing."

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council have a double task ahead of them. They must confront a serious cash-flow problem and take decisive, sober action to ensure that the city will have the money to pay its bills over the next 18 months. At the same time, they must identify the city's mission for the coming decade and redesign its government into a lean, efficient operation dedicated to that mission and nothing else. Time is short. Lower revenue projections mean City Hall may have to dip $50-million deeper into its emergency funds to get through the fiscal year that ends June 30, leaving the city with insufficient funds to meet new contingencies or to assure lenders that it will meet its obligations.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council have a double task ahead of them. They must confront a serious cash-flow problem and take decisive, sober action to ensure that the city will have the money to pay its bills over the next 18 months. At the same time, they must identify the city's mission for the coming decade and redesign its government into a lean, efficient operation dedicated to that mission and nothing else. Time is short. Lower revenue projections mean City Hall may have to dip $50-million deeper into its emergency funds to get through the fiscal year that ends June 30, leaving the city with insufficient funds to meet new contingencies or to assure lenders that it will meet its obligations.

The notion that government needs to be more entrepreneurial is a popular one in this age of triumphant high-tech capitalism, but the proponents of this idea may not have figured on a little-known agency in the city of Los Angeles bureaucracy taking them quite so seriously.

The battle over the future of the Internet came home this week to Los Angeles, the city where it all began. It was "29 years ago almost to the day," noted Alan Arkatov, president of the city's Information Technology Agency, that the first letter, a single L, was typed at UCLA and received at Stanford over a computer network that grew to become the worldwide Internet.

With the renewal of cable television franchises in Los Angeles more than a year overdue, the City Council has taken steps to increase its power over the lucrative contracts and reduce the authority of the commission appointed to oversee the process. As a result, the former president of the citizens panel has resigned, charging that the council actions will "emasculate" the Information Technology Commission and politicize the contract process.

The Los Angeles City Council approved a measure Tuesday that would give it more power over reviewing and negotiating lucrative cable television franchises, angering members of the city commission that evaluates the applications. Members of the Information Technology Commission said the change would politicize the process. They urged Mayor James K. Hahn to veto what they called an attack on his and city commissions' power.

City agencies are still struggling to upgrade computers to handle the year 2000 problem, with many departments giving themselves a C or D in grading their preparations, a city report said Wednesday. The city Information Technology Agency gives the city's overall preparations a B, but said some departments are lagging in efforts to make sure computers can properly read dates and function on Jan. 1, 2000.

The Los Angeles City Council approved a measure Tuesday that would give it more power over reviewing and negotiating lucrative cable television franchises, angering members of the city commission that evaluates the applications. Members of the Information Technology Commission said the change would politicize the process. They urged Mayor James K. Hahn to veto what they called an attack on his and city commissions' power.

A City Council committee recommended Tuesday that the city's Information Technology Agency institute new rules for employee travel, after a report showed that employees were taking more trips than authorized. "City directives concerning travel were routinely disregarded," Councilman Jack Weiss said. The agency now must keep track of trips and limit paid city travel to that required for staff training and maintenance.

With the renewal of cable television franchises in Los Angeles more than a year overdue, the City Council has taken steps to increase its power over the lucrative contracts and reduce the authority of the commission appointed to oversee the process. As a result, the former president of the citizens panel has resigned, charging that the council actions will "emasculate" the Information Technology Commission and politicize the contract process.

The battle over the future of the Internet came home this week to Los Angeles, the city where it all began. It was "29 years ago almost to the day," noted Alan Arkatov, president of the city's Information Technology Agency, that the first letter, a single L, was typed at UCLA and received at Stanford over a computer network that grew to become the worldwide Internet.

The notion that government needs to be more entrepreneurial is a popular one in this age of triumphant high-tech capitalism, but the proponents of this idea may not have figured on a little-known agency in the city of Los Angeles bureaucracy taking them quite so seriously.

An agreement approved unanimously by the City Council will give refunds to each subscriber of TCI Cablevision of the east San Fernando Valley. The city's Information Technology Agency negotiated an agreement with the cable firm that will provide customers with refunds of $5.38 apiece while setting the basic service rate at $9.97.

Still stinging from the embarrassment of paying $800,000 in late fees on phone bills, the Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to approve $6.3 million and a package of reforms to make sure bills are paid on time for the rest of the year. "It's inexcusable," Councilman Joel Wachs said of the late fees. "Nobody was on top of this."