William Fujioka

When William Fujioka arrived on the scene at High Desert Hospital a year ago, he went to work applying emergency management triage to a badly injured county facility. The only public hospital in the Antelope Valley was in disarray, according to a Los Angeles County Department of Health Services audit. Medicine had been wrongly prescribed to a patient. Workers mishandled radioactive materials and improperly spent dead patients' money. Employee confidence and morale had hit rock bottom.

Two Los Angeles County supervisors, frustrated by what they see as a lack of progress in finding a plan to improve the county's troubled jail system, convinced their colleagues on Tuesday to approve hiring an outside consultant to help speed up the pace. The consultants would provide basic information, including a description of existing facilities, a profile of inmates and construction options, that could be compared to plans already submitted by county Chief Executive William T Fujioka.

Just seven months after appointing him, Mayor Richard Riordan fired City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka on Friday, bringing to three the number of general managers who have been asked to leave in recent weeks. However, Fujioka has indicated that he will fight his dismissal by appealing it to the City Council. He said that under the City Charter he is required to work for the council and the mayor's office, and that he believes his termination is a violation of the charter.

Four years ago, Los Angeles County supervisors embarked on an ambitious effort to streamline management of the nation's largest local government, choosing an experienced public sector executive, William T Fujioka, to become the region's most powerful behind-the-scenes bureaucrat. Now, that bold experiment in improving government accountability has devolved into an ugly retreat and recriminations, with a majority of the county's elected supervisors in effect kneecapping their top manager and stripping him of major responsibilities.

Following years of rosy economic forecasts, Los Angeles County supervisors were warned Tuesday that the cooling housing market could cut into property tax revenue, which funds local services including public safety, health services and foster care. Expressing concern, board members requested that the county chief executive update them in January on the fiscal outlook for the county's $22.4-billion budget.

William T. Fujioka, a career civil servant known as an ace problem solver, was appointed to Los Angeles' top administrative post Monday by Mayor Richard Riordan. Fujioka, now head of the city Personnel Department, is a former county official who has been credited by many with helping to keep the troubled High Desert Hospital from being shut down. He is expected to be confirmed as city administrative officer by the council in July.

For a time, the Fujiokas of Los Angeles lived a life of almost unimaginable abundance for a Japanese immigrant family in the early 20th century. There were white mink stoles and a Steinway grand piano, beachfront property and vacations to Catalina, even enough money to sponsor an Indianapolis 500 racer. Then came Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and suddenly, the family lost nearly everything. They lost their freedom when patriarch Fred Jiro Fujioka was hauled away by the FBI and other family members were sent to a desolate Wyoming internment camp.

Los Angeles government has few more cringe-inducing spectacles than the regular flaying of department heads by the county's Board of Supervisors. Countless such face-offs have occurred over the years, and inevitably, whatever the failings of the administrators in question, you end up feeling sorry for them. When I heard about the confrontation that's building between the supes and some of their top deputies, I assumed it would end up with just another public whipping. But on closer inspection, the current conflict seems a bit more complex.

Saying they lack confidence in the Sheriff's Department's ability to clean up its jails, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to hire a special monitor to oversee reforms intended to keep deputies from controlling inmates through excessive force. "I do not believe that [reform] will be effectively accomplished if the department alone is left to make implementation happen," said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who led the move for an independent observer. The board also called for monthly progress reports on the reforms sought by a blue-ribbon panel that it appointed last year.

Two Los Angeles County supervisors, frustrated by what they see as a lack of progress in finding a plan to improve the county's troubled jail system, convinced their colleagues on Tuesday to approve hiring an outside consultant to help speed up the pace. The consultants would provide basic information, including a description of existing facilities, a profile of inmates and construction options, that could be compared to plans already submitted by county Chief Executive William T Fujioka.

Los Angeles County supervisors took the unusual step Tuesday of curtailing the power of their chief executive, William T Fujioka, who has struggled to overcome breakdowns in child protective services that contributed to tragic instances of harm and even death for youths. Supervisors Michael D. Antonovich, Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky voted to place the Department of Children and Family Services, as well as the troubled Probation Department, under direct oversight of the county board.

Los Angeles government has few more cringe-inducing spectacles than the regular flaying of department heads by the county's Board of Supervisors. Countless such face-offs have occurred over the years, and inevitably, whatever the failings of the administrators in question, you end up feeling sorry for them. When I heard about the confrontation that's building between the supes and some of their top deputies, I assumed it would end up with just another public whipping. But on closer inspection, the current conflict seems a bit more complex.

Los Angeles County officials pushed back Tuesday against Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget, saying they want to meet with the local delegation to Sacramento to call attention to the pain that the cuts will cause close to home. William T Fujioka, the county's chief executive, said local leaders are concerned about whether state officials "truly understand the impact" of the proposed cuts to welfare, healthcare, prisons and other services. "All I see in this proposed budget are numbers," he said.

For a time, the Fujiokas of Los Angeles lived a life of almost unimaginable abundance for a Japanese immigrant family in the early 20th century. There were white mink stoles and a Steinway grand piano, beachfront property and vacations to Catalina, even enough money to sponsor an Indianapolis 500 racer. Then came Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and suddenly, the family lost nearly everything. They lost their freedom when patriarch Fred Jiro Fujioka was hauled away by the FBI and other family members were sent to a desolate Wyoming internment camp.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on Monday threatened to close the Men's Central Jail and perhaps a second detention facility when he and other county department heads are forced to cut their budgets. Baca said closing the downtown Los Angeles jail, which would greatly reduce the capacity of the county jail system and lead to more early releases of inmates, might be necessary to bridge what he estimates will be a $72-million gap in his budget.

Following years of rosy economic forecasts, Los Angeles County supervisors were warned Tuesday that the cooling housing market could cut into property tax revenue, which funds local services including public safety, health services and foster care. Expressing concern, board members requested that the county chief executive update them in January on the fiscal outlook for the county's $22.4-billion budget.

Los Angeles County officials pushed back Tuesday against Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget, saying they want to meet with the local delegation to Sacramento to call attention to the pain that the cuts will cause close to home. William T Fujioka, the county's chief executive, said local leaders are concerned about whether state officials "truly understand the impact" of the proposed cuts to welfare, healthcare, prisons and other services. "All I see in this proposed budget are numbers," he said.

Los Angeles County supervisors took the unusual step Tuesday of curtailing the power of their chief executive, William T Fujioka, who has struggled to overcome breakdowns in child protective services that contributed to tragic instances of harm and even death for youths. Supervisors Michael D. Antonovich, Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky voted to place the Department of Children and Family Services, as well as the troubled Probation Department, under direct oversight of the county board.

Just seven months after appointing him, Mayor Richard Riordan fired City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka on Friday, bringing to three the number of general managers who have been asked to leave in recent weeks. However, Fujioka has indicated that he will fight his dismissal by appealing it to the City Council. He said that under the City Charter he is required to work for the council and the mayor's office, and that he believes his termination is a violation of the charter.

William T. Fujioka, a career civil servant known as an ace problem solver, was appointed to Los Angeles' top administrative post Monday by Mayor Richard Riordan. Fujioka, now head of the city Personnel Department, is a former county official who has been credited by many with helping to keep the troubled High Desert Hospital from being shut down. He is expected to be confirmed as city administrative officer by the council in July.