Ray Wood

The former treasurer of three Los Angeles County cities said Monday that he made an "honest mistake" when he placed--and lost--millions of city dollars in speculative investments. "I gained nothing but a lot of headaches," said Ray Wood. "I have been in this field for 30 years and have had nothing like this happen before."

Of more than 100 houses that Ray Kappe designed over his long and distinguished career, the one he designed for himself and his family in Los Angeles' Rustic Canyon is the most important. "Maybe the greatest house in Southern California," Stephen Kanner, the former president of American Institute of Architects' Los Angeles chapter, said in a 2008 interview. Indeed, that year, when the Home section polled architects, historians, academics and critics on Southern California's best houses of all time, the 1967 Kappe residence ranked No. 8, just behind Chemosphere by John Lautner and the Gamble House by Charles and Henry Greene.

Three Los Angeles County cities--San Marino, Lawndale and Palmdale--could lose nearly $8 million because of speculative investments made by their treasurer, city officials said Friday. Officials in all three cities said they will ask the county district attorney to investigate whether the investments were legal. The treasurer, Ray Wood, could not be reached for comment. Officials said they had no knowledge that he personally profited from the investments.

The Angels have slipped into another mini-funk, suffering their second consecutive hand-wringing loss when they were pelted by the pesky Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 12-8, in Tropicana Field on Friday night, a game in which the Angels were bombed for nine fourth-inning runs yet still had a chance to win.

Of more than 100 houses that Ray Kappe designed over his long and distinguished career, the one he designed for himself and his family in Los Angeles' Rustic Canyon is the most important. "Maybe the greatest house in Southern California," Stephen Kanner, the former president of American Institute of Architects' Los Angeles chapter, said in a 2008 interview. Indeed, that year, when the Home section polled architects, historians, academics and critics on Southern California's best houses of all time, the 1967 Kappe residence ranked No. 8, just behind Chemosphere by John Lautner and the Gamble House by Charles and Henry Greene.

The Angels have slipped into another mini-funk, suffering their second consecutive hand-wringing loss when they were pelted by the pesky Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 12-8, in Tropicana Field on Friday night, a game in which the Angels were bombed for nine fourth-inning runs yet still had a chance to win.

Gordon Binder, a San Marino resident who is controller for a scientific firm in Thousand Oaks, has been named city treasurer. He succeeds Ray Wood, who was fired in October after losing $2 million in city reserve funds after allegedly making investments that violated city policies. Mayor Rosemary Simmons said Binder was chosen for the part-time position on the recommendation of several San Marino civic leaders.

Lawndale City Council members, still reeling from the discovery last month that the city lost more than $1.6 million in a speculative securities deal, have tightened controls over the treasurer's office and adopted a formal investment policy. Several city officials predicted that a planned $3.3-million Civic Center expansion project will be put on hold until the city's financial condition is clearer.

In the aftermath of a $1.68-million loss in a speculative investment made by Lawndale Treasurer Ray Wood, the City Council on Thursday asked the city attorney to prepare a resolution that would require a $500,000 bond for the city treasurer. Lawndale had no bond on Wood, who was fired Oct. 1. Even if it had, the city would have had to show that the treasurer "abused the duties of his office"--something "beyond simple negligence"--in order to collect, City Atty. David J.

The Lawndale City Council has approved setting a $500,000 bond for the city treasurer and $50,000 bonds for the city manager, assistant city manager, accounting manager and city clerk. The issue of bonding the city treasurer arose after the council discovered last fall that the city had lost $1.68 million in a speculative securities investment made by then-City Treasurer Ray Wood, who was fired Oct. 1.

The former treasurer of three Los Angeles County cities said Monday that he made an "honest mistake" when he placed--and lost--millions of city dollars in speculative investments. "I gained nothing but a lot of headaches," said Ray Wood. "I have been in this field for 30 years and have had nothing like this happen before."

Three Los Angeles County cities--San Marino, Lawndale and Palmdale--could lose nearly $8 million because of speculative investments made by their treasurer, city officials said Friday. Officials in all three cities said they will ask the county district attorney to investigate whether the investments were legal. The treasurer, Ray Wood, could not be reached for comment. Officials said they had no knowledge that he personally profited from the investments.

City Manager John Nowak testified Monday before the Securities and Exchange Commission in Los Angeles in the investigation of the loss of $8.4 million by several Southern California cities and agencies that engaged in speculative securities investments. Nowak said he was the only San Marino official who was called to testify and is not allowed to comment on the private hearing.