Shutdown

WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders reached a tentative budget deal with the White House on Tuesday that would avert a politically risky government shutdown right before the election. The six-month stopgap measure would keep the government running at current levels through March - dashing, for now, the hopes of conservative Republicans who want to make steeper cuts, including eliminating money for President Obama's healthcare law. Although the deal would end the threat of a stalemate that could be politically damaging for both parties, it does not address the looming "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and mandatory spending cuts that are scheduled to take effect after Jan. 1. Votes on the tentative deal are set for September, before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, clearing the postelection lame-duck session for the tax-and-spending debate.

If Gov. Pete Wilson has, indeed, made the observation attributed to him in your May 20 editorial--the bar is bloated and poorly managed--then not only is he correct but he is also demonstrating leadership, understanding and guts not displayed by previous governors. The best evidence of the bar's bloat and mismanagement is your observation that "the state bar is on the verge of collapse." Many lawyers feel that, for the good of the legal system and the many, true professionals who devote their lives to it, a collapse of the existing bar will be an improvement.

With a government shutdown deadline just days away, House Speaker John A. Boehner faces a fateful choice over whether to abandon conservative Republicans to reach a final deal on 2011 spending. If he puts the priority on GOP unity, he could force a shutdown that many strategists believe could be costly to his party. But if he goes for a deal with Democrats, the decision has the potential to splinter the new Republican majority in the House. Either way, the choice could define his leadership.

As a Republican-led marathon to slash spending extended late into Friday night, federal officials began developing plans to furlough workers, and prospects grew for a government shutdown in as little as two weeks. GOP leaders in the House considered dozens of amendments to a proposal that would cut more than $60 billion from federal spending over the next seven months. Amendments approved Friday would dismantle the landmark healthcare law and halt funding for Planned Parenthood, the family-planning organization.

If you're freaked out about the planned mid-July closure of the 405 freeway , relax. That's the word from Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, which suggests skipping the traffic meltdown and instead chilling out in an ocean-view room starting at $405 a night. OK, it's not cheap, but it's less than the usual room rate and it comes with free parking too. The deal: Whether or not you believe the doomsday traffic predictions for the July 16-17 freeway construction shutdown, there's something tempting about sitting it out at this 300-room resort within walking distance of the ocean, the Santa Monica Pier and the Third Street Promenade.

Stable markets, subdued trading volume and concerns that the U.S. markets are too complex caused net income at NYSE Euronext, owner of the world's largest stock exchange, to tumble 42% in the third quarter. The New York-based corporation, which owns the New York Stock Exchange along with several exchanges in Europe, said it is trying to slash $250 million in expenses over the next few years. The effort, called Project 14, resulted in NYSE Euronext reassessing some of its investments and cutting some staff during the quarter, trimming $82 million in costs.

Avoid driving, take public transit and allow extra time if you need to get in or out of Los Angeles International Airport during the 53-hour shutdown of the 405 Freeway next month. That's the advice from LAX, which has launched a 405 Freeway Alert  Web page that outlines transit options for mid-July, when one of  the busiest freeways in Southern California will close for bridge demolition as part of a larger project. The airport is south of the closure area, but traffic is expected to be heavy on east-west freeways such as the 10 and 105, as well as on surface streets, the airport's website says.

The Times Jan. 5 reporting on "disruption of lives" in the San Fernando Valley as a result of a partial shutdown of some government operations reflects the same disingenuous rhetoric that the White House has been guilty of. Your article speaks for itself. Your writers reference crippling effects of the budget stalemate rippling across the Valley, but then offer no example that any rational reader would consider "crippling" or affecting the lives of the average person. You mention, oh my oh my, that FEMA is forced to postpone funding decisions on earthquake damage claims already two years old. You mention that agencies are concerned that vital service might be eliminated, not that they have been eliminated.

Warning that it sees no end to the computer industry slump, Hewlett-Packard on Thursday announced periodic, wide-ranging shutdowns affecting 45,000 employees through October and said extended "holidays" might be ordered for the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. The Palo Alto-based computer maker said that it will close all facilities except sales offices for one or two days a month and that employees won't be paid for those days.

Peach Bottom nuclear plant was restarted Thursday after a two-year shutdown ordered by regulators after they found operators sleeping on the job. The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted final approval for a restart of Unit 2 Wednesday night and the chain reaction began about 5:40 a.m., said Bill Jones, a spokesman for plant operator and part-owner Philadelphia Electric Co.