Layoffs

Most of the high school band members had never touched an instrument. Most had never marched; most couldn't read music. But in the fall of 2006, Ray Vizcarra resurrected the Fairfax Marching Lions. Wearing red T-shirts, the band belted out the national anthem and school song at the first home football game of the season. The band program at Fairfax High School had been defunct for two decades. But Vizcarra, the new, young band and orchestra director, had gone from classroom to classroom, recruiting students to revive it. In five years, the band won more trophies than Vizcarra can keep track of. Fifteen months after the band's formation, the Marching Lions won their first of two Los Angeles Unified School District band and drill championships.

Amid labor strife, bankruptcy proceedings and layoffs, American Airlines has canceled hundreds of flights through October, causing dozens of delays at Los Angeles International Airport. The airline, whose parent company AMR Corp. filed for bankruptcy last year, said it planned to reduce flight schedules for the rest of September and October 1% to 2%. As of Thursday, the Fort Worth airline had canceled 281 flights this week, mostly in and out of Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport.

As the No. 1 late-night show for most of the past half-century, "The Tonight Show" has been vital to NBC's fortunes. It was the network's most profitable entertainment program during its 1990s peak, kicking an estimated $100 million to the bottom line annually. And today? "Tonight" is in trouble. This month, the show saw wide layoffs for only the second time in its 58-year history, with about 20 people losing their jobs and host Jay Leno taking a pay cut that lopped off more than 10% from his estimated $26-million annual salary.

As the No. 1 late-night show for most of the past half-century, "The Tonight Show" has been vital to NBC's fortunes. It was the network's most profitable entertainment program during its 1990s peak, kicking an estimated $100 million to the bottom line annually. And today? "Tonight" is in trouble. This month, the show saw wide layoffs for only the second time in its 58-year history, with about 20 people losing their jobs and host Jay Leno taking a pay cut that lopped off more than 10% from his estimated $26-million annual salary.

Jay Leno worked in some jabs at his bosses at NBC and its corporate parent Comcast on Monday's "Tonight Show," the first show taped since the late-night program had to lay off roughly two dozen employees and Leno himself took a pay cut. Leno kicked off the program telling the audience, "Welcome to 'The Tonight Show,' or as Comcast calls us, 'The Expendables!'" He continued, "As you may have heard, our parent company has downsized 'The Tonight Show.' And we've been consistently No. 1 in the ratings.

Setting the stage for future legal battles, a state appeals court Friday nullified a settlement that allowed the Los Angeles Unified School District to shield certain schools from teacher layoffs during budget crises. The decision by the California 2nd District Court of Appeal voided a settlement in Reed vs. L.A. Unified that allowed the district to bypass seniority-based layoffs at 45 schools. Those campuses, the district argued, would be heavily affected because many of their faculty members have taught for relatively fewer years and thus accrued little seniority.

Meg Whitman, looking to get struggling Hewlett-Packard Co. back on track, continued to chip away at the technology giant's problems with a new round of financial moves designed to clean up its balance sheet. In a company update Wednesday, HP said it would take an $8-billion accounting charge in its fiscal third quarter related to its 2008 purchase of Electronic Data Systems. HP bought the technology outsourcing firm for $13.2 billion, a price that analysts and investors said at the time was too high.

Faced with a $17.2-million budget shortfall, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster called Wednesday for consolidating departments and outsourcing services, and pledged to push for pension reform against a union he called "intractable. " In releasing the city's proposed budget for the next fiscal year, Foster said that a number of positions would be eliminated through attrition but that Long Beach would still face layoffs given the stagnant economy and considerable pension costs, which officials say account for 20% of the payroll.

San Bernardino must cut government spending by a third, almost assuredly resulting in widespread layoffs or pay reductions for city workers, as it prepares to officially file for bankruptcy protection, city officials said. Interim City Manager Andrea Travis-Miller told the City Council that it must cut $45.8 million from the $166-million budget to ensure the city remains solvent throughout the current fiscal year, which runs through next June. Crafting the austerity plan will be required as part of the Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy process.

COALINGA, Calif. - Downtown is quiet in the baking summer heat, but this rural hamlet's only courthouse is humming with activity. A judge is calling the morning calendar, and the pace is brisk. Chained prison inmates in red and white jumpsuits fidget while awaiting their hearings. California Highway Patrol officers called to testify in traffic cases linger in the back. Prison guards stifle yawns and eye their charges. The small, modest courtroom is nearly full, noisy with the patter of the judge and lawyers dispatching cases amid the constant buzz of a metal detector at the door.