John Sandbrook

A UCLA assistant chancellor has been accused of trying to suppress information for an NCAA inquiry into the recruiting of Bruin basketball star Don MacLean. Jack Hirsch, a former UCLA assistant basketball coach, said he was told it would be in his best interest to stop his attorney, Jerry Roth, from talking with an NCAA investigator.

State authorities are investigating whether the head of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum illegally sought a job with USC even as he was responsible for protecting taxpayers in talks to surrender control of the stadium to the university. The probe is focused on whether Coliseum Interim General Manager John Sandbrook violated conflict of interest laws while negotiating a proposed lease to give USC stewardship of the public venue for at least 42 years, said Gary Winuk, enforcement chief at the Fair Political Practices Commission.

The timing seemed right. The UCLA football program was riding high in the fall of 1965. Behind sophomore quarterback Gary Beban, the Bruins had rallied for a miraculous comeback victory over USC. They were headed to the Rose Bowl, where on Jan. 1, 1966, they would upset top-ranked Michigan State, finally winning in their fourth trip to the New Year's Day showcase. In a time of great expansion on the Westwood campus -- Pauley Pavilion had opened its doors in June 1965 -- plans were in the works to build an on-campus football stadium.

The timing seemed right. The UCLA football program was riding high in the fall of 1965. Behind sophomore quarterback Gary Beban, the Bruins had rallied for a miraculous comeback victory over USC. They were headed to the Rose Bowl, where on Jan. 1, 1966, they would upset top-ranked Michigan State, finally winning in their fourth trip to the New Year's Day showcase. In a time of great expansion on the Westwood campus -- Pauley Pavilion had opened its doors in June 1965 -- plans were in the works to build an on-campus football stadium.

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, teetering on the brink of financial ruin, approved a controversial deal Monday to surrender day-to-day control of the historic venue to USC. The 8-to-1 vote would virtually end public stewardship of the 88-year-old stadium, a jewel of its South Los Angeles neighborhood built to honor World War I veterans and financed with public money. USC has long sought control of the Coliseum, decrying the property's outdated condition as unfit for the school's Trojan football team, which plays there.

State authorities are investigating whether the head of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum illegally sought a job with USC even as he was responsible for protecting taxpayers in talks to surrender control of the stadium to the university. The probe is focused on whether Coliseum Interim General Manager John Sandbrook violated conflict of interest laws while negotiating a proposed lease to give USC stewardship of the public venue for at least 42 years, said Gary Winuk, enforcement chief at the Fair Political Practices Commission.

Two former Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum executives and the head of a prominent rave company have been arrested in connection with a corruption scandal involving millions of dollars in questionable financial transactions at one of the nation's most storied stadiums. Former longtime General Manager Patrick Lynch and former Events Manager Todd DeStefano were taken into custody Thursday morning by Los Angeles County investigators, as was Reza Gerami, chief executive of the rave company Go Ventures.

The public again was excluded Wednesday from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission's monthly deliberations over a proposed lease that would cede control of the taxpayer-owned stadium to USC. Government transparency advocates have contended that the scandal-plagued commission's secret negotiations on the Coliseum pact violate the state's open-meeting law. The panel's attorney has said the commission is entitled to hold the talks behind...

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission is expected to lose $297,000 for the fiscal year that ends in June, the result of canceling the Electric Daisy Carnival rave. The producer of the rave, Insomniac Inc., moved the Electric Daisy Carnival to Las Vegas after reports in The Times that Insomniac was also paying money to an employee at the commission, events manager Todd DeStefano. His job with the commission was to help oversee security and emergency medical services at the Electric Daisy Carnival in 2010; a 15-year-old girl who attended the event died of an Ecstasy overdose.

Walt Disney Co.'s push for a national collegiate football championship game at Anaheim Stadium will be unveiled today, when the 106 Division I-A university presidents and chancellors receive a proposal for the Disney Classic Week. The game, proposed to start in January of 1995, would match the top two teams as voted in the USA Today/CNN coaches' poll after the New Year's Day bowl games. Each participant would be guaranteed $1 million.

A UCLA assistant chancellor has been accused of trying to suppress information for an NCAA inquiry into the recruiting of Bruin basketball star Don MacLean. Jack Hirsch, a former UCLA assistant basketball coach, said he was told it would be in his best interest to stop his attorney, Jerry Roth, from talking with an NCAA investigator.

Two weeks on the warm, sunny beaches of Florida and the Caribbean. A five-day dream cruise. Snorkeling among magnificent coral reefs. Even a day in a peaceful, deserted island paradise with its own lagoon, uninhabited beaches and coconut palms. For 13-year-old John Sandbrook, his two younger brothers and their parents, it is a dream come true, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission tightened oversight of management Wednesday, enacting an emergency measure requiring all new event contracts to be approved by the full nine-member commission. Donovan Main, a commission attorney, said the step was taken after new information came to the attention of the nine-member commission, a joint authority of the state, county and city. Commission President David Israel said they approved the measure "so we have a better sense of what is occurring.