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* stephen hawking's univers
* tiger woods * jim fur
Barack Obama, China, Hu Jintao,
Melinda Hackett, manhattan
Moshe Katsav, bbc news
new zealand miners, louise heal
Vikram Pandit, bbc news, ft
Wilma Mankiller,
9/11, september 11, emily strato
Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman, bbc
afghanistan, bbc news, the econo
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, bbc news
Ai Weiwei, bbc news
aids virus, aids, * hiv
Airbus A330, suzanne gould, bbc
airline security, bbc news
airport security, bbc news, biod
al-qaeda, natalie duval, yemen,
al-qaeda, new york city, suzanne
algeria, bbc news
amanda knox, bbc news, italy mur
american airlines, natalie de va
ancient rome, bbc news
arab spring, bbc news
arizona immigration law, bbc new
arms control, bbc news
arms flow to terrorists, bbc new
Arnold Schwarzenegger, bbc news
aung song suu kyi, myanmar, bbc
australia floods, bbc news
australia, cookbooks
australian shipwreck, bbc news
baltimore shooting, bbc news
ban aid, bob geldof, bbc world s
bangladesh clashes, bbc news
bat global markets, bbc news
bbc 2, biodun iginla
bbc news
bbc news, biodun iginla, david c
bbc news, biodun iginla, south k
bbc news, biodun iginla, the eco
bbc news, google
bbc strike, biodun iginla
bbc world service, biodun iginla
bcva, bbc news
belarus, bbc news, maria ogryzlo
Ben Bernanke, federal reserve
Benazir Bhutto, sunita kureishi,
benin, tokun lawal, bbc
Benjamin Netanyahu, bbc news
berlusconi, bbc news, italy
bill clinton ,emanuel, bbc news
bill clinton, Earth day, biodun
black friday, bbc news
black-listed nations, bbc news
blackwater, Gary Jackson, suzann
blogging in china, bbc news
bradley manning, bbc news
brazil floods, bbc news
brazil, biodun iginla, bbc news,
british elections, bbc news, bio
broadband, bbc news, the economi
Bruce Beresford-Redman. Monica
BSkyB bid, bbc news
budget deficit, bbc news,
bulgaria, natalie de vallieres,
business travel, bbc news
camilla parker-bowles, bbc news
canada, bbc news, biodun iginla
carleton college, bbc news, biod
casey anthony, bbc news
catholic church sex scandal, suz
cdc, e coli, suzanne gould, bbc
charlie rangel, bbc news
chicago mayorial race, bbc news,
chile miners, bbc news
chile prison fire, bbc news
chile, enrique krause, bbc news,
china, judith stein, bbc news, u
china, xian wan, bbc news, biodu
chinese dipolomat, houston polic
chinese media, bbc news
chirac, france, bbc news
cholera in haiti, biodun iginla
christina green, bbc news
Christine Lagarde, bbc news
Christine O'Donnell, tea party
chronical of higher education, b
citibank, bbc news
climate change, un, bbc news, bi
coal mines, west virginia, bbc n
common dreams
common dreams, bbc news, biodun
commonwealth games, bbc news
condi rice, obama
condoms, suzanne gould
congo, bbc news
congress, taxes, bbc news
contagion, islam, bbc news
continental airlines, bbc news
Continental Express flight, suza
corrupt nations, bbc news
Countrywide Financial Corporatio
cross-dressing, bbc news, emily
ctheory, bbc news, annalee newit
cuba, enrique krause, bbc news,
Cuba, Raúl Castro, Michael Voss
dealbook, bbc news, nytimes
digital life, bbc news
dorit cypis, bbc news, community
dow jones, judith stein, bbc new
egypt, nasra ismail, bbc news, M
elizabeth edwards, bbc news
elizabeth smart, bbc news
embassy bombs in rome, bbc news
emily's list, bbc news
entertainment, movies, biodun ig
equador, biodun iginla, bbc news
eu summit, bbc news, russia
eu, arab democracy, bbc news
europe travel delays, bbc news
europe travel, biodun iginla, bb
europe travel, france24, bbc new
eurozone crisis, bbc news
eurozone, ireland, bbc news
fair, media, bbc news
fake deaths, bbc news
FASHION - PARIS - PHOTOGRAPHY
fbi, bbc news
fcc, neutral internel, liz rose,
Federal Reserve, interest rates,
federal workers pay freeze, bbc
fedex, racism, bbc news
feedblitz, bbc news, biodun igin
ferraro, bbc news
fifa, soccer, bbc news
financial times, bbc news
firedoglake, jane hamsher, biodu
flashing, sex crimes, bbc news
fox, cable, new york, bbc
france, labor, biodun iginla
france24, bbc news, biodun iginl
french hostages, bbc news
french muslims, natalie de valli
FT briefing, bbc news, biodun ig
g20, obama, bbc news
gabrielle giffords, bbc news
gambia, iran, bbcnews
gay-lesbian issues, emily strato
george bush, blair, bbc news
germans held in Nigeria, tokun l
germany, natalie de vallieres, b
global economy, bbc news
goldman sachs, judith stein, bbc
google news, bbc news, biodun ig
google, gianni maestro, bbc news
google, groupon, bbc news
gop, bbc news
Gov. Jan Brewer, bbc news, immig
greece bailout, bbc news, biodun
guantanamo, bbc news
gulf oil spill, suzanne gould, b
Hackers, MasterCard, Security, W
haiti aid, enrique krause, bbc n
haiti, michelle obama, bbc news
heart disease, bbc news
Heather Locklear, suzanne gould,
Henry Kissinger, emily straton,
Henry Okah, nigeria, tokun lawal
hillary clinton, bbc news
hillary clinton, cuba, enrique k
hugo chavez, bbc news
hungary, maria ogryzlo
hurricane katrina, bbc news
Ibrahim Babangida, nigeria, toku
india, susan kumar
indonesia, bbc news, obama admin
inside edition, bbc news, biodun
insider weekly, bbc news
insider-trading, bbc news
International Space Station , na
iran, latin america, bbc news
iran, lebanon, Ahmadinejad ,
iran, nuclear weapons, bbc news
iran, wikileaks, bbc news
iraq, al-qaeda, sunita kureishi,
iraq, nasras ismail, bbc news, b
ireland, bbc news, eu
islam, bbc news, biodun iginla
israeli-palestinian conflict, na
italy, eurozone crisis
ivory coast, bbc news
James MacArthur, hawaii five-O
Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, biodun igi
jane hansher, biodun iginla
japan, bbc news, the economist
jerry brown, bbc news
Jerry Brown, suzanne gould, bbc
jill clayburgh, bbc news
Jody Weis, chicago police, bbc n
John Paul Stevens, scotus,
juan williams, npr, biodun iginl
judith stein, bbc news
Justice John Paul Stevens, patri
K.P. Bath, bbc news, suzanne gou
keith olbermann, msnbc, bbc news
kelly clarkson, indonesia, smoki
kenya, bbc news, police
Khodorkovsky, bbc news
Kyrgyz, maria ogryzlo, bbc news,
le monde, bbc nerws
le monde, bbc news, biodun iginl
lebanon, nasra ismail, biodun ig
Lech Kaczynski
libya, gaddafi, bbc news,
london ftse, bbc news
los alamos fire, bbc news
los angeles, bbc news, suzanne g
los angeles, suzanne gould, bbc
LulzSec, tech news, bbc news
madoff, bbc news, suicide
marijuana, weed, bbc news, suzan
Martin Dempsey, bbc news
maryland, bbc news
media, FAIR, bbc news
media, free press, fcc, net neut
media, media matters for america
media, mediabistro, bbc news
melissa gruz, bbc news, obama ad
mexican drug cartels, enrique kr
mexican gas explosion, bbc news
mexican's execution, bbc news
Michael Skakel, emily straton, b
Michelle Obama, bbc news
michigan militia, suzanne gould,
middle-class jobs, bbc news
midwest snowstorm, bbc news
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, bbc news
minnesota public radio
moveon, bbc news, biodun iginla
msnbc, david shuster, bbc news
mumbai attacks, bbc news
myanmar, burma, bbc news
nancy pelosi, us congress, bbc n
nasra ismail, israeli-palestinia
Natalia Lavrova, olympic games,
Nathaniel Fons, child abandonmen
nato, afghanistan, bbc news
nato, pakistan, sunita kureishi,
nelson mandela, bbc news
nestor kirchner, bbc news
net neutrality, bbc news
new life-forms, bbc news
new year, 2011, bbc news
new york city, homelessness, chi
new york snowstorm, bbc news
new zealand miners, bbc news
News Corporation, bbc news
news of the world, bbc news
nick clegg, uk politics, tories
nicolas sarkozy, islam, natalie
nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, toku
nobel peace prize
nobel peace prize, bbc news, bio
noreiga, panama, biodun iginla,
north korea, bbc news, nuclear p
npr, bbc news, gop
npr, media, bbc news
ntenyahu, obama, bbc news
nuclear proliferation, melissa g
Nuri al-Maliki, iraq, biodun igi
nytimes dealbook, bbc news
obama, bill clinton, bbc news
obama, biodun iginla, bbc news
oil spills, bbc news, the econom
olbermann, msnbc, bbc news
Omar Khadr, bbc news
Online Media, bbc news, the econ
pakistan, sunita kureishi, bbc n
paris airport, bbc news
Pedro Espada, suzanne gould, bbc
phone-hack scandal, bbc news
poland, maria ogryzlo, lech Kac
police brutality, john mckenna,
police fatalities, bbc news
Pope Benedict XVI, natalie de va
pope benedict, natalie de vallie
popular culture, us politics
portugal, bbc news
Potash Corporation, bbc news
prince charles, bbc news
prince william, katemiddleton, b
pulitzer prizes, bbc news, biodu
qantas, airline security, bbc ne
racism, religious profiling, isl
randy quaid, asylum, canada
Ratko Mladic, bbc news
Rebekah Brooks, bbc news, the ec
republicans, bbc news
richard holbrooke, bbc news
Rick Santorum , biodun iginla, b
robert gates, lapd, suzanne goul
rod Blagojevich, suzanne gould,
roger clemens, bbc news
russia, imf, bbc news, the econo
russia, maria ogrylo, Lech Kaczy
san francisco crime lab, Deborah
sandra bullock, jess james, holl
SARAH EL DEEB, bbc news, biodun
sarah palin, biodun iginla, bbc
sarkosy, bbc news
saudi arabia, indonesian maid, b
saudi arabia, nasra ismail, bbc
Schwarzenegger, bbc news, biodun
science and technology, bbc news
scott brown, tufts university, e
scotus, gays in the military
scotus, iraq war, bbc news, biod
sec, judith stein, us banks, bbc
Senate Democrats, bbc news, biod
senegal, chad, bbc news
seward deli, biodun iginla
shanghai fire, bbc news
Sidney Thomas, melissa gruz, bbc
silvio berlusconi, bbc news
single currency, bbc news, the e
snowstorm, bbc news
social security, bbc news, biodu
somali pirates, bbc news
somalia, al-shabab, biodun iginl
south korea, north korea, bbc ne
south sudan, bbc news
spain air strikes, bbc news
spain, standard and poor, bbc ne
state of the union, bbc news
steve jobs, bbc news
steven ratner, andrew cuomo, bbc
Strauss-Kahn, bbc news, biodun i
sudan, nasra ismail, bbc news, b
suicide websites, bbc news
supreme court, obama, melissa gr
sweden bomb attack, bbc news
syria, bbc news
taliban, bbc news, biodun iginla
Taoufik Ben Brik, bbc news, biod
tariq aziz, natalie de vallieres
tariq azziz, jalal talbani, bbc
tea party, us politics
tech news, bbc, biodun iginla
technology, internet, economics
thailand, xian wan, bbc news, bi
the economist, biodun iginla, bb
the economsit, bbc news, biodun
the insider, bbc news
tiger woods. augusta
timothy dolan, bbc news
Timothy Geithner, greece, eu, bi
tornadoes, mississippi, suzanne
travel, bbc news
tsa (travel security administrat
tsumami in Indonesia, bbc news,
tunisia, bbc news, biodun iginla
turkey, israel, gaza strip. biod
Turkey, the eu, natalie de valli
twincities daily planet, bbc new
twincities.com, twin cities dail
twitter, media, death threats, b
Tyler Clementi, hate crimes, bio
uk elections, gordon brown, raci
uk phone-hack, Milly Dowler
uk tuition increase, bbc news
un wire, un, bbc news, biodun ig
un, united nations, biodun iginl
unwed mothers, blacks, bbc news
upi, bbc news, iginla
us billionaires, bbc news
us economic downturn, melissa gr
us economy, us senate, us congre
us empire, bbc news, biodun igin
us housing market, bbc news
us jobs, labor, bbc news
us media, bbc news, biodun iginl
us media, media matters for amer
us midterm elections, bbc news
us midterm elections, melissa gr
us military, gay/lesbian issues
us politics, bbc news, the econo
us recession, judith stein, bbc
us stimulus, bbc news
us taxes, bbc news, the economis
us, third-world, bbc news
vatican, natalie de vallieres
venezuela, bbc news
verizon, biodun iginla, bbc news
volcanic ash, iceland, natalie d
volcanis ash, bbc news, biodun i
wal-mat, sexism, bbc news
wall street reform, obama, chris
wall street regulations, banking
warren buffett, us economic down
weather in minneapolis, bbc news
white supremacist, Richard Barre
wikileaks, bbc news, biodun igin
wvirginia coal mine, biodun igin
wvirginia mines, biodun iginal,
xian wan, china , nobel prize
xian wan, japan
yahoo News, biodun iginla, bbc n
yahoo, online media, new media,
yemen, al-qaeda, nasra ismail, b
zimbabwe, mugabe, biodun iginla


Biodun@bbcnews.com
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Calling on the angels
Topic: los angeles, suzanne gould, bbc

Mending Los Angeles

by Suzanne Gould, BBC News and the Economist, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla

America’s second-largest city is in a fiscal hole

Apr 8th 2010 | LOS ANGELES | From The Economist print edition

FOR a while, things seemed to be going so well. Crime has been falling for two decades. Race relations have improved. The weather is as fine as ever and the traffic no worse—in fact, there were even plans for expanding public transport that counted as bold in this culture of sprawl and cars. Eli Broad, the city’s leading philanthropist, considers it “one of the four cultural capitals of the world” (along with New York, London and Paris) and talks boldly of attracting as many “cultural visitors” as the other three to its museums and theatres. Antonio Villaraigosa, the city’s mayor (and the first Hispanic one since the 19th century), tells visitors that this is the only big city in America where “people don’t care who your father is” (Mr Villaraigosa says he has seen his own father, at most, 25 times in his life). LA is, to him, a pure meritocracy and “the capital of the Pacific Rim”.

All of this is true, but hardly helpful now that the city faces a more banal problem: not enough money. Revenues have been falling, and the city is confronting a budget deficit of at least $212m in the current fiscal year, which ends in June, and of $484m in the next fiscal year, according to estimates by Wendy Greuel, the city’s chief accountant. This week, after the city’s power and water utility refused to transfer some money to the city’s general fund, Ms Greuel projected that the fund, the city’s main account, will be overdrawn by May 5th. She would have to tap a reserve to keep paying employees and suppliers.

In part, Los Angeles shares the pain of many large American cities during this recession, which has depressed sales taxes and other local revenues. But Los Angeles has the added problem of being in California, which has been suffering the biggest budget crisis and one of the worst housing busts among the 50 states, and which occasionally raids local funds. And California’s voters have, in ballot measures over the decades, made all money matters more complicated than necessary. The notorious Proposition 13 of 1978 cut and capped property taxes, still the biggest source of city revenue. A lagging indicator of housing prices, they have been roughly flat this year but are expected to fall next year, according to Ms Greuel’s estimates. Proposition 218 of 1996 requires explicit voter approval to raise most other city fees and revenues.

Cutting spending is hardly easier in Los Angeles, which has—like many western cities but unlike the biggest eastern ones—a weak mayor who shares power with a cantankerous city council. Mr Villaraigosa must present a budget proposal to the council this month. He wants to eliminate 4,000 of the city’s 48,500 jobs, cutting pay and getting rid of entire departments, such as personnel. On April 6th he proposed shutting most city agencies for two days a week. He is in for a fight.

Any budget solution, moreover, could jeopardise some of LA’s hard-won successes. The biggest part of the budget, for example, goes to the police, with about 10,000 officers deployed at the moment. “The last place we cut is public safety,” says Mr Villaraigosa. But Charlie Beck, the police chief, is already not paying for overtime and is struggling just to replace the officers who retire each year. He expects the city council to stop him hiring next year. A recent spate of killings, meanwhile, is a reminder that crime could increase again in this city of gangs. “All the remedies have remained untouched till now,” says Mr Beck, referring to his cops on the streets. Los Angeles touches them at its peril.

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Posted by biginla at 6:27 PM BST
Updated: Saturday, 10 April 2010 6:29 PM BST

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