James Acevedo

When Tony Cardenas made the rounds at Los Angeles City Hall last month to promote his candidacy for City Council, he was guided by an intense man with a walrus-style mustache who knows well how to navigate the halls of power. He was James Acevedo--San Fernando Valley political operative, lobbyist, government contractor, developer, power broker. Acevedo, 49, finds himself at the center of an expanding Latino political coalition that reaches into City Hall and Sacramento.

Companies linked to Los Angeles Harbor Commissioner James Acevedo owe $267,000 in delinquent property taxes and penalties on half a dozen apartment buildings and vacant lots, according to records and interviews. Acevedo is a partner in the for-profit Foothill Family Housing and president of Neighborhood Empowerment and Economic Development Inc., known as NEED, a nonprofit group that has received more than $10 million in city loans in the last decade.

Companies linked to Los Angeles Harbor Commissioner James Acevedo owe $267,000 in delinquent property taxes and penalties on half a dozen apartment buildings and vacant lots, according to records and interviews. Acevedo is a partner in the for-profit Foothill Family Housing and president of Neighborhood Empowerment and Economic Development Inc., known as NEED, a nonprofit group that has received more than $10 million in city loans in the last decade.

Three Los Angeles City Council members called Wednesday for an inquiry into how two partnerships involving Harbor Commissioner James Acevedo defaulted on $4.1 million in city loans and whether political appointees should be prohibited from receiving city funds. In a letter to City Controller Laura Chick, council members Jack Weiss and Wendy Greuel asked for an inquiry into Acevedo's projects, which missed the March 20 deadline for repaying loans on housing projects that were never built.

Three Los Angeles City Council members called Wednesday for an inquiry into how two partnerships involving Harbor Commissioner James Acevedo defaulted on $4.1 million in city loans and whether political appointees should be prohibited from receiving city funds. In a letter to City Controller Laura Chick, council members Jack Weiss and Wendy Greuel asked for an inquiry into Acevedo's projects, which missed the March 20 deadline for repaying loans on housing projects that were never built.

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved Mayor James K. Hahn's five nominees for the Harbor Commission and two nominees for the Board of Water and Power. After a short round of questioning, Thomas Warren, Elwood Lui, James Acevedo, Nicholas G. Tonsich and Camilla Kocol were placed on the commission that supervises operations of the Port of Los Angeles. Mary E.

The city's Community Redevelopment Agency board has agreed to buy a Winnetka property from a partnership that includes a nonprofit corporation whose president is Harbor Commissioner James Acevedo. The panel voted Thursday to purchase nearly 1 acre for up to $1.9 million to build affordable housing. The partnership shelved a similar development for the site. Acevedo's corporation, Neighborhood Empowerment and Economic Development Inc.

As part of their investigation into contracting in Los Angeles city government, federal prosecutors are looking at the relationship between Los Angeles Port officials and a Shanghai-based marketing consultant. In a subpoena served last month, the U.S. attorney demanded all employment documents, expense records, travel and entertainment accounts, and correspondence between port officials and William Wong, director of the firm Jade Peak International.

Continuing its prosecution against political money laundering in City Hall campaigns, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission on Tuesday levied $147,000 in fines against 13 participants in two separate schemes. The fines bring to $736,615 the total penalties approved by the panel in recent months against 112 people, including associates of Westside developer Mark Alan Abrams. The associates admitted Abrams reimbursed them for contributions to the 2001 mayoral campaign of James K. Hahn.

Citing the company's poor record in adhering to operating restrictions placed on its businesses, the city's Board of Zoning Appeals on Tuesday overturned a decision that would have allowed Public Storage Inc. to rent moving trucks from a proposed storage facility on the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Vanalden Avenue.

When Tony Cardenas made the rounds at Los Angeles City Hall last month to promote his candidacy for City Council, he was guided by an intense man with a walrus-style mustache who knows well how to navigate the halls of power. He was James Acevedo--San Fernando Valley political operative, lobbyist, government contractor, developer, power broker. Acevedo, 49, finds himself at the center of an expanding Latino political coalition that reaches into City Hall and Sacramento.

A group of Van Nuys residents and merchants Tuesday blocked plans by AirTouch Cellular to install a 45-foot-high transmission pole in their neighborhood. With two members of the Los Angeles Board of Zoning Appeals absent, they convinced a third member that a cellular phone antenna at Fulton Avenue and Victory Boulevard would be inconsistent with surrounding homes. Board members Chris Kezios and Allen Gilbert voted to permit installation of the pole, and member James Acevedo dissented.

On Friday, Mayor James K. Hahn announced his nominees to three critical city commissions. The City Council must confirm his appointments in the next 45 days before the nominees can take their posts. Airport Commission * Eileen Nebel Levine, a health educator and former associate dean of students for UCLA's Student Health Service. * Cheryl Peterson, a member of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and a current airport commissioner who was appointed by former Mayor Richard Riordan in September.