Michelle Park Steel

The routine reappointment of a Tarzana Republican to the Los Angeles Harbor Commission next week may become the next round of an increasingly contentious boxing match between Mayor Richard Riordan and the City Council. Carol L. Rowen, a former state Senate candidate who was active in the failed campaign to recall former state Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), is likely to be grilled on her views of affirmative action before getting the council's nod, insiders said Wednesday.

The former Los Angeles airport commissioner who quit her job two months ago when her views on affirmative action came under fire was appointed by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to the county's Commission for Children and Families. Michelle E. Park-Steel of Tarzana was nominated for the post by Supervisor Mike Antonovich and approved by the board on a 4-0 vote without discussion. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was absent.

The former Los Angeles airport commissioner, who quit her job two months ago when her views on affirmative action came under fire, was appointed by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to the county's Commission for Children and Families. Michelle E. Park-Steel of Tarzana was nominated by Supervisor Mike Antonovich and approved by the board on a 4-0 vote without discussion. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was absent.

The former Los Angeles airport commissioner, who quit her job two months ago when her views on affirmative action came under fire, was appointed by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to the county's Commission for Children and Families. Michelle E. Park-Steel of Tarzana was nominated by Supervisor Mike Antonovich and approved by the board on a 4-0 vote without discussion. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was absent.

Seeking to defuse a racially charged situation and placate an angry phalanx of Los Angeles City Council members, Mayor Richard Riordan on Thursday secured the resignation of one of his controversial commissioners--the spokesman for a ballot proposal that attacks traditional affirmative action programs.

With a parting volley at her opponents on the Los Angeles City Council, embattled Airport Commissioner Michelle Park-Steel on Tuesday became the second Riordan Administration appointee in less than a week to quit in the face of the gathering storm over affirmative action. Park-Steel's resignation, which she announced by reading a pointed statement in the mayor's conference room, is likely to escalate, not end, the City Council's confrontations with Mayor Richard Riordan over the divisive issue.

A quiet-spoken woman who has often lived in the shadow of others, Michelle Park-Steel now finds herself at the center of a firestorm. Park-Steel--appointed by Mayor Richard Riordan to the city's Airport Commission--faces a City Council majority that wants the mayor to fire her--either because of uncertainties about her views on affirmative action or because some council members believe she lied to them.

The former Los Angeles airport commissioner who quit her job two months ago when her views on affirmative action came under fire was appointed by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to the county's Commission for Children and Families. Michelle E. Park-Steel of Tarzana was nominated for the post by Supervisor Mike Antonovich and approved by the board on a 4-0 vote without discussion. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was absent.

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday confirmed a controversial appointee of Mayor Richard Riordan after a bitter debate that challenged the nominee's affirmative action views and raised questions about the mayor's own position on the issue.

A city panel this week adopted several measures intended to curb helicopter noise generated out of Van Nuys Airport, including a request that the federal government set a minimum altitude of 1,000 feet for choppers flying over the Los Angeles area. The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners in a meeting late Tuesday voted to ask the Federal Aviation Administration to set the altitude minimum and to take other steps to reduce helicopter noise in the Los Angeles area.

The routine reappointment of a Tarzana Republican to the Los Angeles Harbor Commission next week may become the next round of an increasingly contentious boxing match between Mayor Richard Riordan and the City Council. Carol L. Rowen, a former state Senate candidate who was active in the failed campaign to recall former state Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), is likely to be grilled on her views of affirmative action before getting the council's nod, insiders said Wednesday.

With a parting volley at her opponents on the Los Angeles City Council, embattled Airport Commissioner Michelle Park-Steel on Tuesday became the second Riordan Administration appointee in less than a week to quit in the face of the gathering storm over affirmative action. Park-Steel's resignation, which she announced by reading a pointed statement in the mayor's conference room, is likely to escalate, not end, the City Council's confrontations with Mayor Richard Riordan over the divisive issue.

A quiet-spoken woman who has often lived in the shadow of others, Michelle Park-Steel now finds herself at the center of a firestorm. Park-Steel--appointed by Mayor Richard Riordan to the city's Airport Commission--faces a City Council majority that wants the mayor to fire her--either because of uncertainties about her views on affirmative action or because some council members believe she lied to them.

Seeking to defuse a racially charged situation and placate an angry phalanx of Los Angeles City Council members, Mayor Richard Riordan on Thursday secured the resignation of one of his controversial commissioners--the spokesman for a ballot proposal that attacks traditional affirmative action programs.

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday confirmed a controversial appointee of Mayor Richard Riordan after a bitter debate that challenged the nominee's affirmative action views and raised questions about the mayor's own position on the issue.

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan on Friday announced his choices to serve on three of the city's most influential policy-setting commissions, including a shift of trusted confidant and trouble-shooter Dan Garcia from the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency to the Airport Commission.

In the midst of mounting allegations of discrimination and sexism in the Los Angeles City Fire Department, Mayor Richard Riordan has nominated an African American businessman to a vacant seat on the Fire Commission. The mayor's office said Wednesday that his choice of Kenneth T. Lombard, who now sits on the Metropolitan Water District board, was based on Lombard's qualifications for the post and was not made in response to calls for a black on the commission that oversees the Fire Department.