Michelle Steel

To be sure, there are the high-profile elected officials: A former governor, the retired chairman of Arco and other corporate executives. But they're not the only faces in the crowd of 47 delegates to the Republican National Convention from Los Angeles County. The county contingent--the largest bloc of the largest state delegation--also includes a print shop owner, loyal Republican volunteers and an LAPD captain. There are longtime convention veterans and a host of first-timers.

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 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.

When Sen. Jim Brulte left his post as minority leader of the California Senate last month because of impending term limits, he appeared destined for the political pasture. But don't write his political obituary just yet. Brulte may be easing out of the limelight, but colleagues and political pundits who have watched the Republican's ascension in the Legislature predict he will continue to be a dominating force in California.

PLAIN ENGLISH: Do not expect to see congressional debates translated into Spanish, Mandarin or Tagalog anytime soon. An increasing number of lawmakers want to declare English the country's official language and cut off federal spending for anything that does not promote America's mother tongue. That means no more publication of bilingual government documents or establishment of bilingual hot lines, which are already few.

BREAKFAST Beignets--Farmers Market can be a cool spot for breakfast. If you're not in the mood for Kokomo's thick, double-smoked bacon and scrambled eggs, try my favorite: a New Orleans-style breakfast of the Gumbo Pot's chicory-flavored coffee and an order of beignets, piping-hot puffs of fried dough showered in powdered sugar. It's not the French Quarter's Cafe du Monde, but it'll do, and quite nicely. The Gumbo Pot, Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (213) 933-0358. $1.63 for four.

Memories of hardship and survival are revived as Soo Dong Chong, 83, a Korean immigrant, talks about her past while she completes her citizenship application. She signs the form, reaches for a zippered purse tucked under her sweater and hands over the $95 processing fee. "I should have done this years ago," she says in Korean to Aaron Jin, a 21-year-old immigrant himself and a staffer at the Korean American Coalition, a nonprofit community agency in Los Angeles' Koreatown.

Key to election tables An asterisk (*) denotes an incumbent candidate; a double asterisk (**) denotes an appointed incumbent. Results are not official and could be affected by absentee ballots. District locations are identified by county. In Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties, they are identified by community. Uncontested local offices and write-in candidates are not included in the tables. County-by-county results are available at http://vote.ss.ca.