Resignations

PHOENIX — Andre Ethier said Tuesday he does not plan to impose a deadline on negotiations on the contract extension that could keep him out of free agency. Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti has said he would like to re-sign Ethier and has discussed the idea with Dodgers President Stan Kasten , who took office three weeks ago. Ethier said Tuesday he and his agent have not received a formal contract proposal from the Dodgers. Ethier also said he did not anticipate a point where free agency could be so close that he would put any contract talks on hold before he could test the market.

The Los Angeles Unified School District on Wednesday announced the settlement of a sexual harassment allegation against retired Supt. Ramon C. Cortines by a senior employee in the facilities division. The district will pay $200,000 plus lifetime health benefits, valued at $250,000 to $300,000 to Scot Graham, the director of leasing and asset management. In return, Graham will resign from his $150,000-a-year job. In a statement, Cortines, 79, denied any harassment, but acknowledged what he called "adult behavior on one occasion," adding that "as the district's former top staff member, I regret allowing myself to engage in such spontaneous, consensual behavior.

In a move that has shaken the Municipal Art Gallery in Barnsdall Park, Edward Leffingwell, director of the gallery and the city's visual arts program for the last four years, appears to have been forced out of his job. He wasn't fired. His position was eliminated as part of a city budgetary squeeze, and he was transferred to a job that he does not want. "As far as I'm concerned, as of today, he is working as the director of public art," Adolfo V.

PHOENIX — Andre Ethier said Tuesday he does not plan to impose a deadline on negotiations on the contract extension that could keep him out of free agency. Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti has said he would like to re-sign Ethier and has discussed the idea with Dodgers President Stan Kasten , who took office three weeks ago. Ethier said Tuesday he and his agent have not received a formal contract proposal from the Dodgers. Ethier also said he did not anticipate a point where free agency could be so close that he would put any contract talks on hold before he could test the market.

The Rev. Robert A. Schuller, ousted in October as the preacher of the long-running Christian television program "Hour of Power," has resigned as senior pastor at the Crystal Cathedral and plans to open his own ministry. Church founder Robert H. Schuller removed his son as the sole preacher on the 39-year-old television show after the younger Schuller, three years into the job, refused to rotate his role with other pastors, the church said.

Mayor Richard Riordan received the resignation of Airport Commission President Daniel Garcia on Thursday, but he still declined to press embattled City Councilman Richard Alatorre to step down from the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. According to sources close to the mayor and councilman, however, Alatorre has discussed with Riordan the possibility of leaving the agency, which he serves at the mayor's pleasure.

A crew of about 20 investment bankers in the Los Angeles office of Credit Suisse First Boston are leaving to join their former leader at UBS Warburg, sources said. The bankers, including two top-ranking managing directors, are following Ken Moelis, one of Southern California's top investment bankers, who last month said he will depart Credit Suisse for UBS.

A political insider tapped by Barack Obama to vet potential running mates resigned Wednesday, saying he wanted to prevent a controversy over his personal finances from hurting the Democratic presidential candidate's campaign. The unpaid advisor, Jim Johnson, was chosen by Obama last month to serve on a three-member team screening prospective nominees for vice president.

James D. Gunderson, the target of a State Bar investigation for allegedly making himself the beneficiary of millions of dollars in bequests from the estates of his elderly Leisure World clients, has surrendered his license to practice law, authorities said Monday. State Bar prosecutors said Gunderson agreed to resign after they told him that they were prepared to file conflict-of-interest charges against him that could have led to his disbarment.

In a surprise announcement, Mayor Maureen O'Connor said Monday night she will not seek reelection when her term expires in 1992. O'Connor, who at age 25 in the mid-'70s was the youngest council member ever elected in the city and who later became its first woman mayor, said she will not seek another term and instead will devote her time to pushing for a series of fundamental campaign and ethical reforms at City Hall.

WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission who was championed by watchdogs for his cautious approach to nuclear power but criticized by Republicans in Congress for an overly hard-charging style has announced he will step down. Gregory Jaczko, who led the commission's efforts to protect Americans in Japan during the nuclear crisis at Fukushima and played a key role in fighting the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain as a former top aide to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

"I'm very excited," newly elected L.A. County Assessor John Noguez said almost two years ago after outspending his rival by more than $600,000 in a runoff campaign. "I believe the constituents believe that I will continue the legacy of continued excellence. " So much for continuing the legacy of continued excellence, or whatever Noguez was talking about. Now he's the target of a criminal corruption probe having to do with alleged tax breaks for his campaign contributors, and he's in a tight race with L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca to grab the trophy for worst county department head in recent memory.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley on Wednesday called for the resignation of Assessor John Noguez, whose office has been the target of a corruption probe. Cooley made the comments to reporters for several news organizations, a day after he announced that he planned to bring the case to a grand jury. "I don't think he should be there," Cooley told KNBC-TV Channel 4. "In my view, he should resign in the light of everything that's come out publicly. " Officials at the district attorney's office confirmed that Cooley would like Noguez to step down.

Yahoo Inc.Chief Executive Scott Thompson resigned from the digital media company Sunday after a dissident shareholder called attention to his apparent misrepresentation of his college credentials. Ross Levinsohn, formerly Yahoo's executive vice president of the Americas region, was named interim chief executive, the company said in a statement. The board of directors also named Alfred Amoroso its new chairman. Amoroso, who is chief executive of Santa Clara software company Rovi Corp., replaces Yahoo board member Roy Bostock, the founder and chairman of Sealedge Investments.

Weeks after news about Wal Mart Stores Inc.'s alleged bribery and coverup in Mexico surfaced, rank-and-file workers at the world's largest retailer have taken their calls for change to the Internet. Venanzi Luna, a department manager at a Wal-Mart store in Pico Rivera, has created an online petition for fellow employees and customers at Change.org, a website that seeks to promote social change. The petition urges Wal-Mart to undertake "a thorough and independent investigation" into allegations of widespread bribery by company officials to gain approval for new stores in Mexico.

Metrolink Chief Executive John Fenton, who worked to improve the service and safety of the struggling commuter line following the deadly Chatsworth crash, announced his resignation Monday to head a Florida-based railroad company. Fenton's departure after not quite 25 months on the job leaves Metrolink with a leadership vacuum at a time when the operation is trying to bolster ridership, reduce costs and install cutting-edge safety measures, such as positive train control, a sophisticated collision-avoidance system.

Seven top officials in Cuba's Interior Ministry have resigned or been fired, the government announced Friday, one day after the execution of four military officers, thus providing the latest twist in the nation's highly publicized drug-smuggling and corruption scandal.

Hollywood producer Rob Reiner resigned Wednesday as chairman of a state commission he founded seven years ago to aid children, amid accusations that the commission used tax money to boost his new political campaign. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named Hector Ramirez to the unpaid post heading the First 5 California Children and Families Commission.

The top administrator in Huntington Park stepped down this week after city officials learned his employment appeared to violate state retirement rules. Interim City Manager Raul Romero was notified by CalPERS last Thursday that he had exceeded the number of hours retired employees may work while still collecting pension benefits. He resigned Monday. Romero said he had retired from the City of Commerce in 2002 and continued working through his consulting company, R&R Municipal Solutions, over the last decade.

WASHINGTON -- Alfredo Armendariz, a regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, has resigned in the wake of criticism for comments made in Texas two years ago comparing the methods of the EPA to those of Romans using crucifixions to conquer foreign lands. “I have accepted Dr. Armendariz's resignation and respect the fact that he came to this difficult decision because he did not want to distract from our agency's critical work,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in an internal memo Monday, obtained by the Washington Post.