Vacancy

Southern California's long-languishing office market finally managed to utter a convincing peep in the second quarter as stubbornly high vacancy rates dropped a smidgen. It doesn't signal that landlords' troubles are nearly over. Most markets - with a few notable exceptions - are considered quite soft, which means tenants are in a superior bargaining position. Still, overall vacancy in Los Angeles County slipped to 18.6% from 19.1% in last year's second quarter, according to real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.

" Grammel schmalz ," says our waiter, setting down a small bowl of pristine whipped white pork fat sprinkled with bits of pork crackling. I lift up the napkin wrapped around the bread and pull out a glossy brown braided pretzel. Breaking off a piece, I spread the bread with the lard. I take a bite and the warm, comforting taste of pure pig fat floods my mouth. This is, it turns out, the first of many pleasures at BierBeisl, a modern Austrian restaurant in Beverly Hills, Southern California's first, from Patina alum Bernhard Mairinger, who grew up near Salzburg.

President Obama's decision to defy Senate Republicans and appoint four top agency officials on his own authority sets the stage for a contentious constitutional battle over the powers of the presidency and the role of Congress. To Republicans, Obama's action amounted to "an extraordinary and entirely unprecedented power grab," according to House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, who said the move would have "a devastating effect on the checks and balances" in the Constitution. To Democrats, who have the majority in the Senate, the blame rested on an obstructionist GOP minority, which has been stalling appointments, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

President Obama kicked off the election year aggressively, picking a fight with congressional Republicans by sidestepping the Senate to fill the top job at the government's newly created consumer protection bureau. He also filled three vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board, which referees labor-management controversies — a priority of his allies in labor unions. The appointments Wednesday, which had been stalled in the Senate, came as Obama moved to make confronting Congress a central part of his strategy for reelection.

UCLA masquerades by day as a dream job in a dreamy location minutes from the beach and Rodeo Drive. The campus is sun-splashed and gorgeous and surrounded by swimming pools and movie stars. Jackie Robinson, Bob Waterfield and Troy Aikman graced these university grounds, so how come no outsider wants to coach the descendants? The search for Rick Neuheisel's successor drags on, like Igor and his chain, with prospective candidates drying up or seeking employment elsewhere. Checked off the list so far are Boise State's Chris Petersen (no surprise)

For the second time this month, voters in the city of Vernon approved a set of reforms, including one that requires officials to fill vacancies on the City Council through a special election rather than by appointment. Elections for council seats are rare in the industrial city, which has 112 residents. A total of 50 ballots were cast in the election on Tuesday. Voters also approved a measure to prohibit council members from raising their compensation beyond cost-of-living adjustments.

San Francisco State President Robert Corrigan decided this summer that at 76, he could not outlast a battered state economy that has forced deep cuts in programs and faculty at his and other Cal State campuses. In August, he announced that he would step down at the end of the academic year to return to research and writing, leaving worries about the budget to his successor. Corrigan is not alone. Long-serving presidents of four other Cal State campuses — Northridge, Fullerton, San Bernardino and the California Maritime Academy — also are retiring this year or next.

It was another stale quarter for most Southern California office landlords as rents and occupancy remained stalled at low levels, except in neighborhoods favored by technology and digital media companies. The soft market was a boon for tenants willing to sign leases. But few companies are finding the need to expand their quarters with the economy tepid and hiring at a standstill. Business bosses "have gone on a personnel diet," said Jim Kruse of CBRE Group Inc., the real estate brokerage formerly known as CB Richard Ellis.

Compared with most of the region's white-collar office market, the less corporate environs of Santa Monica and Venice are looking sharp. Technology and entertainment companies that long ago mastered the knack of making money without dressing up are now paying top dollar to rent space in some of Southern California's most desirable neighborhoods. The office vacancy rate in downtown Santa Monica is a mere 4%, a fraction of the county average, said real estate broker Craig Kish of Jones Lang LaSalle.

President Obama has a lot on his plate right now. Here's one more thing. A vacancy will soon open on the five-member Consumer Product Safety Commission, which oversees the safety of more than 15,000 types of products, from highchairs to power tools. If left unfilled, the commission could be deadlocked on important policy decisions as the remaining two Democratic and two Republican members vote along ideological lines, as has happened numerous times in the past. "We've dealt with a deadlocked commission before," said Lisa Gilbert, deputy director of Congress Watch, a division of the advocacy group Public Citizen.