Panel Discussion

The term “panel discussion” ranks somewhere between “fixing a flat tire” and “IRS audit” on the Fun List. You have to figure that most people dragooned into attending these events are usually on the clock in some fashion. But a panel discussion with former Lakers star Earvin “Magic” Johnson? That's something else entirely. This week, Loyola Marymount University played host to one of the Urban Economic Forums being staged around the country by the White House Business Council.

Bill Clinton has some advice for Europe's leaders: Focus on stimulus, not cost cutting. The former president told a capacity crowd inside the Beverly Hilton's grand ballroom that the continent cannot rely on austerity measures to bail itself out of the debt crisis. Instead, it needs to focus on multiyear plans to boost its nations' economies. "The prescription of austerity has continued to be pushed in the face of all the evidence that it won't work," Clinton said at the Milken Institute's 2012 Global Conference.

Entertainment editors and journalists from the Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, Premiere, US, Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Live! magazine will speak Monday at "Trends in Entertainment Reporting," a panel discussion at the Beverly Hills Country Club. Participants in the 7 p.m. session include Times Deputy Calendar Editor Sherry Stern, freelance writer Richard Natale, Entertainment Weekly L.A.

The term “panel discussion” ranks somewhere between “fixing a flat tire” and “IRS audit” on the Fun List. You have to figure that most people dragooned into attending these events are usually on the clock in some fashion. But a panel discussion with former Lakers star Earvin “Magic” Johnson? That's something else entirely. This week, Loyola Marymount University played host to one of the Urban Economic Forums being staged around the country by the White House Business Council.

A panel discussion in conjunction with Scripps College's "52nd Ceramic Annual" exhibition will be held tonight at 8 at the Humanities Auditorium on the college campus in Claremont. Participants are author Elaine Levin, curator Martha Drexler Lynn, and artists Ken Price and Adrian Saxe. Information: (909) 607-3397.

The Writers Guild of America, west will sponsor a female screenwriters' panel at 5 p.m. Saturday at the L.A. County Museum of Art. Scheduled panelists--who will discuss the opportunities and constraints that female writers face in Hollywood today--include Naomi Foner ("Running on Empty"), Nancy Meyers ("Private Benjamin"), Anna Hamilton Phelan ("Gorillas in the Mist"), Robin Swicord ("Little Women") and Anna Thomas ("El Norte").

How best to care for the elderly is the focus of a panel discussion to be held Thursday at the Encino Community Center. Author Rena Dictor LeBlanc will talk about finding the best care for seniors, and lawyer Don Lake will discuss elder abuse and nursing home neglect at the event, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. LeBlanc is the author of "A Guide to Finding the Best Long-Term Care--How You Can Make the Right Choices for the Elderly, Ill and Disabled."

The community will get a chance to meet with local leaders and discuss "Education and Politics" at a Wednesday forum. The Huntington Beach branch of the American Assn. of University Women is sponsoring a panel of about nine city and school district leaders, which will be followed by small group discussions. Local and countywide perspectives will be offered on issues like boundary changes, facilities, taxes, phonics and special education. The forum starts at 7 p.m.

Community values will be the subject of a panel discussion sponsored by the local Community Coordinating Council and the nonprofit organization Bridge Focus on Wednesday at Verdugo Hills High School. The event, titled "The Faces and Voices of Sunland-Tujunga," will feature six panelists, including two students, all of whom live or work in Sunland-Tujunga.

Gardening in Southern California will be the subject of a panel discussion at the Los Angeles Times' Festival of Books next weekend at UCLA. Times Garden Editor Robert Smaus, author of "52 Weeks in the California Garden," will moderate the panel at 4 p.m. next Sunday. Panelists will be authors Clair G.

Filmed during Jimi Hendrix's final tour less than three weeks before his death, the concert documentary "Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight" captures the rock guitarist's singular style and musicianship. Janie Hendrix, his sister, will introduce the screening, and a panel discussion with Bob Santelli, Billy Cox, Murray Lerner and John McDermott will follow. Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Thu. $10. (213) 765-6800. http://www.grammymuseum.org

White House Chief of Staff William Daley has told President Obama he will stay until after the 2012 reelection campaign but then wants to go home to Chicago, a senior administration official said Tuesday. Daley, formerly an executive at JPMorgan Chase, became Obama's top aide in January. He is the brother and son of former Chicago mayors. Daley's plans were first reported Monday by Mary Ann Ahern of WMAQ-Channel 5 in Chicago. The chief of staff said: "I made a commitment to the president through his reelection, which I'm confident he will do, and then my wife and I will be back in Chicago.

In an effort to rein in what many in Hollywood felt was excessive Oscar campaigning last winter, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Wednesday issued new rules governing how studios and filmmakers can tout their movies to voters this season. The guidelines seek to curtail some of the lavish parties thrown by studios and encourage the actual viewing of films in theaters. The changes could give a boost to smaller outfits that don't have as much money to spend on campaigns.

Words & Ideas Compiled by Grace Krilanovich. SUNDAY Larry Niven : The Nebula and Hugo Award-winning science fiction author will read and sign his new novel, "The Moon Maze. " Mysterious Galaxy, 2810 Artesia Blvd., Redondo Beach. 2 p.m. Free. (310) 542-6000. Susan Patron : The author of "The Higher Power of Lucky" will read and sign her new novel for middle readers, "Lucky for Good. " Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Ave., L.A. 5 p.m. Free. (323)

The plane carrying Los Angeles' much-awaited guests was a few minutes late touching down Friday at Los Angeles International Airport. But that was OK: It gave TV reporters a few more minutes to speculate about what Catherine would be wearing and offered the throngs of people, red-faced and sweating in the midsummer sun, a little extra time to get in place in hopes they could catch a glimpse of the future king of England and his consort — or...

Words & Ideas Compiled by Grace Krilanovich. TUESDAY Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon : The comedian-actors ("Reno 911!") will present and sign their new book, "Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too!" Book Soup, 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 7 p.m. Free. (310) 659-3110. New Short Fiction Series: Writings on Independence : Lorraine Michaels, Sally Shore and Robert Standley will read stories by Ron Burch, Andrew Roe and A.R. Taylor.

A group of card casino opponents led by Bellflower City Council members Ruth Gilson and John Ansdell will meet Sunday in an informal panel discussion. It will be the first in a series leading up to an Aug. 10 ballot on the card club issue, organizers said. Gilson and Ansdell are working to get voters to turn down the proposal to build a 10-acre, $40-million casino, put forth by a group of local businessmen and former politicians under the name Cougar Club Limited.

Bernard Kinsey, co-chairman of RLA, and Mark Whitlock, executive director of L.A. Renaissance, will be among the panelists discussing economic development in South-Central Los Angeles tonight on a cable-TV program. The panel, which also includes business leaders and economic development specialists, will be carried live from 8 to 10 p.m. on Continental Cablevision's South-Central system. Other cable companies in the city of Los Angeles will show it on tape on July 20, Aug. 3 and Aug. 17.