Water Districts Suits

Mesa Consolidated Water District directors may decide today to revive a lawsuit to block a merger between Irvine Ranch Water District and Santa Ana Heights Mutual Water Co. The action comes a week after the Local Agency Formation Commission amended Irvine Ranch's jurisdiction to include Santa Ana Heights. The decision gave Irvine Ranch the final approval it needed to take over the tiny district that served Santa Ana Heights for 75 years.

Water providers in South Lake Tahoe have negotiated a $12-million settlement from Exxon Corp. in a suit saying oil refineries, fuel distributors and service stations polluted Tahoe's ground water with the gasoline additive MTBE.

Federal authorities are suing a San Gabriel Valley water district, alleging that it has illegally diluted the voting strength of Latinos by configuring its boundaries to favor other sectors of the community, officials said Monday. Though Latinos make up nearly half of the 791,000 voters in the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, no Latino candidate has been elected to the five-member board in the district's 40-year history, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Federal authorities are suing a San Gabriel Valley water district, alleging that it has illegally diluted the voting strength of Latinos by configuring its boundaries to favor other sectors of the community, officials said Monday. Though Latinos make up nearly half of the 791,000 voters in the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, no Latino candidate has been elected to the five-member board in the district's 40-year history, the U.S. Justice Department said.

A dispute over who should pay the cost of moving water lines in the path of the San Joaquin Hills toll road has gone to court. Alleging that the Moulton Niguel Water District is responsible for all relocation costs of the lines along the tollway in Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo, the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court last week.

The general manager of the Santa Margarita Water District terminated a multimillion-dollar construction contract that had been awarded through competitive bidding and recommended it be given to a rival firm later shown to have overcharged the district more than $1 million. The action by General Manager Walter W.

Lawyers for Lincoln Avenue Water Co. are fighting a shareholder group's legal challenge to water board election guidelines by questioning how many share owners it represents. Lincoln's attorney last week asked Judge Thomas Stover to require Concerned Shareholders of Lincoln Avenue Water to provide information on how many shareholders the group represents. "They don't even have a substantial minority of shareholders supporting them," board member Bob Gomperz said.

Palmdale Water District directors have decided to withdraw from a lawsuit against Los Angeles County over an agreement to supply water to the 7,200-home Ritter Ranch development in west Palmdale. Although the suit will not be dropped as a result of PWD pulling out, it does remove the only public agency from the list of plaintiffs. The remaining plaintiffs are the Leona Valley and Antelope Acres town councils.

The Lincoln Avenue Water Co. voted last week to hold its board election in August after a Superior Court Judge lifted a court order preventing an election. "We're looking forward to getting out of the legal arena and back into the water supply business," water board member Bob Gomperz said of the company's victory against Concerned Shareholders of Lincoln Avenue Water. The company supplies water to Altadena residents. Gomperz said the board voted to hold the election Aug 3.

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District filed lawsuits Thursday against several employees for what it calls "unfounded accusations" of harassment against the district, officials with the district announced.

Mesa Consolidated Water District directors may decide today to revive a lawsuit to block a merger between Irvine Ranch Water District and Santa Ana Heights Mutual Water Co. The action comes a week after the Local Agency Formation Commission amended Irvine Ranch's jurisdiction to include Santa Ana Heights. The decision gave Irvine Ranch the final approval it needed to take over the tiny district that served Santa Ana Heights for 75 years.

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District filed lawsuits Thursday against several employees for what it calls "unfounded accusations" of harassment against the district, officials with the district announced.

A dispute over who should pay the cost of moving water lines in the path of the San Joaquin Hills toll road has gone to court. Alleging that the Moulton Niguel Water District is responsible for all relocation costs of the lines along the tollway in Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo, the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court last week.

The Lincoln Avenue Water Co. voted last week to hold its board election in August after a Superior Court Judge lifted a court order preventing an election. "We're looking forward to getting out of the legal arena and back into the water supply business," water board member Bob Gomperz said of the company's victory against Concerned Shareholders of Lincoln Avenue Water. The company supplies water to Altadena residents. Gomperz said the board voted to hold the election Aug 3.

Lawyers for Lincoln Avenue Water Co. are fighting a shareholder group's legal challenge to water board election guidelines by questioning how many share owners it represents. Lincoln's attorney last week asked Judge Thomas Stover to require Concerned Shareholders of Lincoln Avenue Water to provide information on how many shareholders the group represents. "They don't even have a substantial minority of shareholders supporting them," board member Bob Gomperz said.

Palmdale Water District directors have decided to withdraw from a lawsuit against Los Angeles County over an agreement to supply water to the 7,200-home Ritter Ranch development in west Palmdale. Although the suit will not be dropped as a result of PWD pulling out, it does remove the only public agency from the list of plaintiffs. The remaining plaintiffs are the Leona Valley and Antelope Acres town councils.

Water providers in South Lake Tahoe have negotiated a $12-million settlement from Exxon Corp. in a suit saying oil refineries, fuel distributors and service stations polluted Tahoe's ground water with the gasoline additive MTBE.

The Three Valleys Municipal Water District has joined three cities and two redevelopment agencies in a lawsuit against two investment firms and six securities brokers involved in making investments on behalf of the public entities that lost a total of $7.9 million. The suit, filed last week in U. S. District Court, alleges that brokers for E. F. Hutton & Co.

The general manager of the Santa Margarita Water District terminated a multimillion-dollar construction contract that had been awarded through competitive bidding and recommended it be given to a rival firm later shown to have overcharged the district more than $1 million. The action by General Manager Walter W.

The Three Valleys Municipal Water District has joined three cities and two redevelopment agencies in a lawsuit against two investment firms and six securities brokers involved in making investments on behalf of the public entities that lost a total of $7.9 million. The suit, filed last week in U. S. District Court, alleges that brokers for E. F. Hutton & Co.