Oks

Lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to a plan to cut the state's giant prisons budget, passing a hard-fought measure that would reduce the inmate population by thousands but stop far short of solving the overcrowding crisis. It would also leave California's budget with $200 million in red ink. Administration officials said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger intends to sign the measure nonetheless. But as the lawmaking calendar drew to a close, the only other major legislation heading toward the governor appeared to be destined for a veto.

The Los Angeles City Council approved a long-awaited federal financing agreement that will help ensure a vital transportation corridor doesn't become a drain on the finances of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The vote — 13 to 0 in favor, with two council members absent — allows the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority to accept $83.7 million from the Federal Rail Administration to help fund operations of the Alameda Corridor, a 20-mile freight rail expressway linking the ports to transcontinental rail lines.

Australia gave the green light today to Chevron Corp.'s plans for a major natural gas production and liquefication project off the country's northwest coast. The development of the Greater Gorgon fields is expected to provide huge quantities of liquefied gas for export to China and other Asian nations. Australia's environmental minister, Peter Garrett, told reporters in Canberra that the project received environmental approval subject to 28 new conditions, Bloomberg News reported.

Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation to approve a ban on plastic bags at supermarket checkout lines, handing a hard-fought victory to environmentalists and promising to change the way Angelenos do their grocery shopping. The City Council voted 13 to 1 to phase out plastic bags over the next 16 months at an estimated 7,500 stores, meaning shoppers will need to bring reusable bags or purchase paper bags for 10 cents each. The ban came after years of campaigning by clean-water advocates who said it would reduce the amount of trash in landfills, the region's waterways and the ocean.

First comes the faraway rumble, then the roar and before long the whole house is rattling. But for dozens of people who live near the Long Beach Airport, the ear-numbing flyovers that have become a daily reality are about to get a little less agonizing. The City Council adopted a plan late Tuesday to soundproof houses most affected by aircraft noise. An increase in flights -- particularly louder military planes -- in recent years prompted airport officials to offer soundproofing for neighboring homes.

Oakland's City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that could make it the first city in the state to permit industrial marijuana production, a path-breaking decision that could spur the commercialization of a crop largely grown in hidden gardens. The plan would authorize four potentially enormous pot factories, but makes no provision for the hundreds of growers who now supply Oakland's four dispensaries, which sold $28 million in marijuana last year. The council, however, promised it would develop a plan for these growers before permits are awarded next year for the four large-scale marijuana operations.

In a move that stoked optimism for global climate negotiations but raised tempers on Capitol Hill, Democrats on a key Senate committee swept aside a Republican boycott Thursday to pass a far-reaching plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The 13-1 vote came after the Democrats, led by Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), invoked a procedural rule to take a vote even though no Republicans were at the meeting. Republican senators have stayed away from the panel's hearings on the bill all week, saying a more detailed government analysis of the measure's costs was needed before any vote took place.

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to approve a 12-story condominium building near the Beverly Center that had drawn fire for months from neighborhood activists and a nearby hotel. The unanimous vote will allow MCLV Properties LLC to demolish 84 apartments at the corner of 3rd Street and Wetherly Drive in the Beverly Grove neighborhood and build a 95-unit residential building. Opponents had included the Burton Way Foundation, a nonprofit group focused on the neighborhood near Beverly Center, and Burton Way Hotels, the owners of the nearby Four Seasons Hotel.

McKesson Corp., the biggest U.S. drug distributor, must face a class-action lawsuit over claims that it wrongfully inflated the wholesale price of prescription medicines, causing millions of consumers to pay too much. U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston certified the class action Wednesday, court records show. The class was certified under federal racketeering statutes, meaning that whatever damages may eventually be awarded would be tripled, lawyers said. San Francisco-based McKesson didn't immediately comment.

The proposed weight-loss drug Lorcaserin, rebuffed in its bid for Food and Drug Administration approval last October, on Thursday won a recommendation of approval from the agency's advisory committee, a major step toward winning the FDA's go-ahead to enter the U.S. market. If the agency follows the advice of the panel of independent experts--which is common but not routine-- Lorcaserin would become the first new prescription weight-loss drug to go on the U.S. market since Orlistat (now marketed over-the-counter as Alli)

Benihana Inc., the Japanese-style and sushi restaurant chain known for slicing, dicing and frying food in front of diners, has accepted an offer to be sold to a private equity group for $296 million. Angelo, Gordon & Co. plans to pay Benihana shareholders $16.30 a share in cash in a transaction that's been approved by the Miami-based chain's board. Benihana shareholders must also approve the acquisition. The price is a premium of 46% over the average closing price for the 30 days before March 13, when Benihana first said it was exploring strategic alternatives for its business.

The Los Angeles City Council passed a $7.2-billion budget Monday, voting to cut 400 unfilled city staff positions but putting off difficult decisions on layoffs, park funding and Fire Department resources. On a 15-0 vote, council members agreed to wait until January to determine whether layoffs are necessary, and which positions could be eliminated, saying that more study is needed. They took that step despite a warning from the city's top budget official that some of the revenue being used to balance spending isn't a sure thing.

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.

At first, the email rants from readers expressing their distress about Hollywood's increasing reliance on foul language were a mere trickle. Like the way one couple lost faith in one of their favorite actors, Paul Rudd, mortified by his graphic pep talk to his private part in"Wanderlust. " Before those complaints could be chalked up to a prudish few, they grew into a steady stream of frustration, such as the distinct distaste for the dialogue in writer-director-actress Jennifer Westfeldt's indie comedy"Friends With Kids.

How well I remember the day many years ago that I was walking through the quad at Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. FOR THE RECORD: Choate: Michael Kinsley's May 13 column misspelled the name of a Connecticut school. It is Choate, not Choat. Suddenly I heard a voice shouting, "There he is, the bastard!" It was Mitt Romney, who went on: "He's the guy who favors health insurance reform with" - he spat out the words - "an individual mandate. Let's get him, boys.

A truce has been forged in the decades-long fight over the forested land surrounding the world-famous Pebble Beach resort. The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday approved a plan by actor Clint Eastwood, golfer Arnold Palmer, former baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth and other Pebble Beach Co. owners that is billed as the last development ever at the gated complex of golf courses, mansions and hotels on the Monterey Peninsula. The decision largely puts to rest a contentious environmental battle over the company's plans to expand into its prime real estate holdings in the forest above the craggy bluffs and crashing surf.

Which fruits should diabetics avoid? -- Rachael Carson The sugar content of fruit leads some diabetics to assume it is forbidden. Not so, says Dr. Adrienne Youdim, medical director of the Cedars-Sinai Center for Weight Loss. Not fresh fruit, anyway. "In no way should the point be made that fruits are unhealthy and to be avoided by diabetics or anyone," she says. They should be incorporated daily into a diabetic's diet, since they provide a slew of vitamins and minerals.

If Sardar Biglari wants to control Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc., he'll first have to get past the Southern-style restaurant chain's new "poison pill" defense. Board members of the Tennessee-based company approved a shareholder rights plan to try to obstruct investor Biglari's hostile takeover efforts. The strategy would prevent Biglari, who recently raised his stake in Cracker Barrel to more than 16%, from accumulating 20% without offering shareholders a premium. To do so would water down the value of his shares.

The proposed weight-loss drug Lorcaserin, rebuffed in its bid for Food and Drug Administration approval last October, on Thursday won a recommendation of approval from the agency's advisory committee, a major step toward winning the FDA's go-ahead to enter the U.S. market. If the agency follows the advice of the panel of independent experts--which is common but not routine-- Lorcaserin would become the first new prescription weight-loss drug to go on the U.S. market since Orlistat (now marketed over-the-counter as Alli)

Once again addressing the controversial issue of executive pay, a panel of the California State University Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to freeze state-funded pay for new campus presidents but allow individual college foundations to raise funds to boost those salaries. The nonprofit campus foundations would be able to augment taxpayer-funded pay for new executives up to 10% above that of their predecessor. The policy would be reviewed in 2014. Four members of the Special Committee on Presidential Selection and Compensation meeting in Long Beach voted for the change, with one member absent.