Los Angeles County Supervisors

After pressure from news organizations, the Board of Supervisors agreed Wednesday to make public compensation figures for aides to individual supervisors. These amounts are paid at each supervisors descretion within limits of their office budgets and within the county salary ordinance. Supervisors themselves are paid $84,765 a year.

During a closed-door session with Los Angeles County supervisors last fall, California Gov. Jerry Brown made a comment acknowledging that there would be questions about whether the group was violating the law. According to a transcript obtained by The Times, the governor said at one point during the meeting, "Let's get our Brown Act cover story. " He was referring to the state's open-meetings law, the Ralph M. Brown Act. Moments later, then-County Counsel Andrea Sheridan Ordin noted that reporters who questioned the legality of the meeting - which indeed was later ruled illegal - were waiting outside.

Establishing fees for using county nature parks and trails is to be considered by Los Angeles County supervisors as early as today as part of an effort to keep the areas open in the face of budget reductions. The proposal, made by County Chief Administrative Officer Richard Dixon, calls for users of the 330-mile trail system to carry an annual pass, costing $23. At the 19 nature parks, spread throughout the county, visitors would be charged a $3 daily parking fee.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky shot a torpedo at NBCUniversal's $3-billion "Evolution Plan," saying he opposes the company's proposal to build housing on part of its famous back lot in Universal City. The supervisor asked Universal Studios President Ron Meyer in a letter to abandon plans to develop nearly 3,000 condominiums and apartments at the east end of the studio's property. Yaroslavsky's district includes Universal City. The addition of such housing would have "considerable downside to Universal and to our local economy," Yaroslavsky said in the letter, dated Tuesday.

Los Angeles County supervisors tentatively approved a tougher alcohol sales ordinance this week, a decade after it was first proposed by an Antelope Valley resident. The ordinance revisions must return to the board for a second vote, which planning officials said probably will not occur for a month.

Los Angeles County supervisors have delayed making a decision on taking over ownership of several state beaches from San Pedro to Point Dume. County and state officials have haggled for several years over funding. Although the state owns the beaches, the county has paid for lifeguard service and maintenance. The county must decide by April 1 whether it will continue to provide lifeguards at state beaches.

Two Los Angeles County supervisors say they will reject a 5% pay raise they were automatically granted and will instead use the money to bolster the county's cash-strapped coffers. Supervisors Gloria Molina and Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said it would be unseemly for an elected county official to accept the raise, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.

In a move intended to pressure University of California leaders, Los Angeles County supervisors unanimously approved a plan Tuesday to ask the university's regents to commit to partnering with the county to reopen the long-troubled Martin Luther King Jr. hospital by 2012. The vote authorizes the county's chief executive, William T Fujioka, to move beyond closed-door negotiations and take the county's proposal to the UC Board of Regents meeting next month. The Willowbrook facility, formerly known as King-Drew Medical Center and King-Harbor Hospital, closed to inpatient services two years ago and since has operated as an outpatient clinic.

Despite pleas from Supervisor Gloria Molina not to rush into a deal that will tie the county's hands beyond the middle of the next century, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a precedent-setting extension on a major Marina del Rey lease. The board's 4-1 vote, which came after more than three hours of heated discussion, gives Jona Goldrich control of 18 acres of county-owned waterfront property until the year 2062.

Los Angeles County supervisors this week threw their weight behind a proposal by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) to create a Victims Response Center in the San Fernando Valley for victims of child abuse, rape or domestic violence. The center would coordinate the response of medical officials, police and service providers after such crimes.

Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to ask a council of state judges to amend rules that allow drivers with outstanding moving violation fines to pay only half of what they owe. Starting next year, most motorists who have not paid fines that were due on or before Jan. 1, 2009, will be allowed to pay only half the amount if they do so within six months. But drivers who have started to pay will not be eligible for any relief. "It seems to be grossly unfair," said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who wrote the motion calling for the changes.

For years, residents living near Ballona Creek and environmentalists have complained of mysterious sheens of oil and grease in the western Los Angeles County waterway, often blaming industrial dumping, urban runoff or other man-made causes for the pollution. One cause that apparently never crossed their minds: the La Brea Tar Pits. It turns out the tourist attraction and preferred field trip destination of seemingly every grade schooler in the region has sent oily wastewater spilling into the highly polluted creek.

Los Angeles County supervisors expressed grave concerns Tuesday about taking over the troubled city of Vernon, throwing into doubt a state effort to forcibly disincorporate a city for the first time in modern California history. Board members, who were early supporters of disincorporation, said recent revelations in The Times about Vernon's large debts and poor investments have made them wary of taking over some parts of the city's government. Although Vernon has long touted its financial prowess, a Times investigation found that over the last six years, the city has amassed nearly $500 million in debts and lost more than $100 million in net assets in its power business.

In 2008, 10-year-old Seth Ireland of Fresno was beaten by his mother's boyfriend and later died of his injuries. Assembly Democrat Henry T. Perea responded with a demand that the state audit his county's child protective services agency plus three others in California, including the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. There is little point now in arguing whether Perea was merely playing to his Fresno constituents or genuinely seeking constructive change. One way or the other, the audit is on, and if conducted properly it can give the public and county governments valuable information about the performance of four of the state's child welfare agencies.

The current head of Los Angeles County's Department of Public Social Services could be the latest in a long line of leaders to oversee the county's embattled child welfare agency, which has seen three directors depart in nine months. On Friday, Philip Browning was recommended to be the interim director of the Department of Children and Family Services by Supervisors Michael D. Antonovich and Zev Yaroslavsky and will be considered by the full five-member board at its next meeting on Tuesday.  "Philip's leadership and management skills as a current department head qualify him to lead and manage [the Department of Children and Family Services]

The parents of a Compton teen fatally shot by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy are expected to get half a million dollars in a settlement that comes on the heels of a dramatic mistrial earlier this year, according to sources close to the case. In March, a judge abruptly ended the wrongful death case of Avery Cody Jr. after the attorney for the slain 16-year-old's family announced in court that he had a videotape that he said contradicted sworn statements made by the deputy. The video, according to the attorney, showed Deputy Sergio Reyes touching Cody's body after he shot the youth, even though Reyes said in sworn statements that he never touched the body.

Facing record levels of unemployment and looming state welfare cuts, Los Angeles County supervisors Tuesday finalized a plan to begin shifting responsibility for some of the most destitute residents to the federal government. County officials had set aside $7.2 million -- with the expectation of reaping twice that in savings -- to help general relief recipients apply for federal disability assistance or find work. They decided to use the funds to help recipients get into stable housing, locate medical records and obtain the detailed health assessments they need to apply for supplementary security income or veterans benefits.

Los Angeles County supervisors called Tuesday for a meeting of health experts to study ways to stop the erosion in the county's emergency health service system. Citing the continuing closure of hospital trauma care units and the down-licensing of emergency rooms to stand-by status, Supervisor Pete Schabarum asked county health officials to arrange the meeting of specialists to prepare recommendations to stem the trend.

A proposal for greater public oversight of Los Angeles County supervisors' discretionary funds was quietly dropped from a policy document adopted by the board this week that formalized the criteria for some of the millions of taxpayer dollars they spend without a vote or public discussion. A draft policy outlined by County Counsel Andrea Sheridan Ordin in a March 8 letter to the board recommended that grants of more than $1,000 to social programs appear on the Board of Supervisors' public agenda.

At a special hearing Friday to air concerns about Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to shift responsibilities to the counties, Los Angeles County officials told state lawmakers they wanted to help cut California's deficit but had serious questions about the bottom line. If Brown's plan is enacted, county officials estimate they would assume $1.4 billion in additional program responsibilities beginning this year. They said the county ? which currently operates with a $24.2-billion budget ?