Petitions

A coalition of entertainment industry workers is asking the U.S. government to put the brakes on Hollywood production in Canada. The Screen Actors Guild of America, Teamsters and several unions representing Hollywood's technical workers Tuesday filed a petition with the U.S. trade representative alleging that Canadian film and TV subsidies have led to U.S. job losses. The complaint alleges that Canadian government subsidies that target U.S.

Chinese customs officials have confiscated petitions signed by more than 24,000 people in Hong Kong and 34 countries urging release of Chinese political prisoners, a group of Hong Kong activists said here Wednesday. The petitions were circulated by various organizations as part of an international campaign for the release of eight well-known pro-democracy activists, most of them imprisoned for nearly a decade, and other less famous prisoners.

Petitions to recall Councilman Jack Weiss circulated in the 5th District over the weekend, according to recall spokesman Elijah May. Recall backers have accused Weiss of being too pro-development. Under city rules, the recall effort has 120 days -- until Oct. 18 -- to gather 22,743 signatures of registered voters needed to force a recall election. The 5th District includes Century City, Cheviot Hills, Westwood, the Fairfax District and Sherman Oaks, among other communities.

Sponsors of an initiative that would expand rent control in Santa Monica were dealt a major blow Thursday when the city attorney ruled that petitions being circulated to qualify the measure for the November ballot are illegal. City Atty. Robert M. Myers also ruled that petitions being circulated for another measure, which seeks to limit campaign contributions, are similarly invalid.

Organizers of an effort to recall two members of the governing board of the Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center in Lancaster on Tuesday filed voter petitions with the Los Angeles County registrar of voters office. The office now has 30 days to check the validity of the petitions filed by recall supporters against hospital board members Steve Fox and Anne Brouillette, who were elected by Antelope Valley voters last November.

Completed petitions seeking the recall of two City Council members are scheduled to be filed today. Regan Smith, a leader of the recall movement, said Wednesday that each petition contains more than 6,100 voter signatures--about 1,500 more than needed to trigger an election. Smith said she and other recall workers would present petitions seeking the removal of Mayor Cecilia L. Age and Councilwoman Gail H. Kerry to the city clerk's office.

A state Court of Appeal panel in San Diego will decide whether petitions for a ballot initiative aimed at scuttling Orange County's plans for an airport at the closed El Toro Marine base were proper. Judges on the appellate court in Santa Ana recused themselves from the case without comment. Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray earlier this month invalidated petitions for the measure calling for a park rather than an airport at El Toro.

A petition to recall a Bassett Unified School Board member that contains thousands of signatures has been reported stolen after a break-in at the La Puente campaign headquarters of the recall group, authorities said Thursday. Curt Hettinger, who is coordinating the recall drive against board member Brenda Johnson, told sheriff's deputies about the purported theft at the strip mall office of the group known as Bassett Parents for Our Children.

In response to petitions signed by 3,000 teachers across California, the state Board of Education on Thursday added three members to a panel rewriting guidelines for math instruction to provide balance between so-called "reformers" and those who favor a more traditional approach.