NEWS
July 15, 1989 | WILLIAM J. EATON, Times Staff Writer
A former official at the scandal-ridden Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday challenged sworn testimony of former HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr., saying Pierce once ordered her to approve a $16-million grant for an apartment project of dubious merit. Shirley M. Wiseman, who was acting assistant secretary of housing at the time, said she refused to obey Pierce's direct order to fund the controversial Durham, N.C., project because it had "too many problems."
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
August 2, 1989 | ROBERT W. STEWART, Times Staff Writer
A federal housing official involved in the government's controversial sale of the Robinson Ranch in Orange County to a Newport Beach developer who is a major Republican contributor said Tuesday that the transaction was based on sound economics and was not influenced by politics. In an interview, Edwin W. Baker, one of five officials who recommended in 1985 that the federal government sell the 827-acre ranch to the William Lyon Co.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
August 10, 1989 | DAVE LESHER, Times Staff Writer
During the first 100 years or so of Robinson Ranch, from the time Orange County pioneer Louis A. Robinson first settled his family in the land of rugged, scrub-brush canyons and ridge tops with spectacular vistas that stretch to the ocean, little changed until 1981. But in the last decade, the 827 acres tucked in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains have been part of a drama that zeroes in on the perils of development, California style.
NEWS
July 31, 1989 | DAVE LESHER, Times Staff Writer
A key Washington official in the developing HUD scandal gave preferential treatment to a company headed by Newport Beach developer William Lyon, a major Republican contributor, by selling him 827 acres in south Orange County even though his bid was the lowest of four reviewed, according to a HUD internal report. The report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, obtained by the Long Island newspaper Newsday and published Sunday, says Shirley M.
NEWS
July 31, 1989 | DAVE LESHER, Times Staff Writer
A key Washington official in the developing HUD scandal gave preferential treatment to a company headed by Newport Beach developer William Lyon, a major Republican contributor, by selling him 827 acres in south Orange County--even though his bid was considered the lowest of four reviewed, according to a HUD internal report. The report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, obtained by the Long Island newspaper Newsday and published Sunday, says that Shirley M.
NEWS
August 1, 1989 | DAVE LESHER, Times Staff Writer
Two Southern California developers who tried to buy Orange County's Robinson Ranch from HUD in 1985 told federal investigators that they believe that the property was sold to the William Lyon Co. because of Lyon's political influence and friendship with a key HUD official, according to an internal HUD report. The Department of Housing and Urban Development report, triggered by an investigation of the developers' complaints, noted: "Our analysis . . .