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ACORN activists at the side of L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (at lectern) yesterday * * * * * The vote fraud factory known as ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is apparently supporting Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s crazy push for $5 billion in so-called affordable housing. (See above photo from yesterday which shows the mayor surrounded by ACORN activists wearing red shirts bearing the ACORN logo.) As the nation stares into the economic abyss precisely because of housing-related tomfoolery, Villaraigosa’s plan calls for $1 billion in government to be spent as part of the $5 billion...

LOS ANGELES MIGHT BE in the middle of a housing crisis, suffering the nation’s highest fuel costs and plummeting in its ranking as a center of global commerce. But there’s a place in L.A. immune from turmoil, where incomes have swollen by double digits, homeownership has skyrocketed and the grass is green. It’s a land of untapped wealth. At least, those were the conclusions of the D.C.-based nonprofit Social Compact, whose report, “Los Angeles DrillDown,” studied nine heavily minority neighborhoods, several of which are economically downtrodden: Boyle Heights, Central City East, Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills, Hyde Park, Jefferson Park, Leimert Park, Vernon...

Los Angeles Unified School District officials are considering asking voters to approve a $7 billion bond measure in November, more than twice as big as previously discussed and nearly half of it set aside for unspecified future projects. LAUSD's board is set to vote Thursday on whether to support the bond measure, which allocates more than $3.2 billion for future "repair and safety," "modernization, repair and technology," "green technology" and to "attract, retain and graduate more students," according to a draft summary of the bond funding distribution. Meanwhile, district and charter officials are wrangling over exactly how much charter schools...

n 2005, I asked Angelenos to join me in re-imagining their city as a dynamic world capital defined by its flexibility and mobility, not by traffic and smog. I challenged them to imagine communities connected not by bigger, wider highways but by a real network of public transit options -- rapid buses, trains and subway lines -- connecting every neighborhood in our county's 88 cities. I asked them to imagine cleaner and greener neighborhoods where we each pitch in to combat global warming and create a more sustainable city. Today, when I take the helm as chairman of the Metropolitan...

Two years ago, newly elected Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vowed to put 1,000 more cops on the city's dangerous streets and proposed to raise trash collection fees to provide the money. "Every new dollar residents pay for trash pickup," the mayor promised in a city news release, "will be used to put more officers on the streets." Residential trash collection was boosted from $11 a month to $26. The new fees generated $137 million, but the city hired only about 400 more cops, according to a recent report from City Controller Laura Chick, and they cost about $42 million....

Antonio Villaraigosa tells attendees that the Democratic candidate is the best hope for implementing humane immigration reform. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, speaking Saturday to the nation's largest Latino civil rights organization, urged its members to campaign hard for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, saying the presumptive nominee was their best hope for reforming federal immigration policies. He said 12 million illegal immigrants can be brought "out of the shadows and into the light, and onto the tax rolls by electing Barack Obama."

Former South Bay lawmaker considers run at governorship SACRAMENTO - Former South Bay Republican congressman Tom Campbell - a fiscal conservative, social moderate and respected academic who twice before unsuccessfully sought statewide office, is eyeing a possible run in 2010 to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Campbell, 55, filed papers last week to form an "exploratory committee" for governor, which allows him to begin raising money for a potential bid. He joins two other GOP moderates from Silicon Valley - state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former eBay chief Meg Whitman - among Republicans who have expressed interest in running. On...

Villaraigosa has an impressive list of Hollywood supporters: Casey Wasserman (grandson of the legendary Lew Wasserman); Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger; HBO Films President Colin Callender; media mogul Haim Saban; Laker great Magic Johnson; 20th Century Fox Co-Chairman Jim Gianopulos; director-producer Jerry Zucker; syndicated television mogul Michael King; writer-TV producers Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason;superagent Patrick Whitesell; DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg; William Morris head Jim Wiatt; News Corp. President Peter Chernin. So far no other major candidate has declared, but there other people thinking about running -- namely billionaire mall magnate Rick Caruso. When reached by cellphone this...

In officiating at the June 17 “marriage” of the same lesbian couple he had joined in dubious wedlock four years ago, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom beat Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to the punch. But Villaraigosa, like Newsom a potential contender for the Democratic nomination for governor, was not to be bested. On June 23, Villaraigosa united Hollywood producer Bruce Cohen with his five-year-long male companion, art consultant Gabriel Catone. And, the previous week, the Los Angeles mayor voiced his warm support for legalized same-sex marriage. "The California electorate is coming into a new age realizing that [gay] marriage...

Gay Pride Parade to Bring Out Hundreds of Thousands June 7, 2008, 12:42 PM PDT WEST HOLLYWOOD -- More than 400,000 people are expected to line Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood Sunday for the 38th annual LA Pride Parade, which celebrates the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Crescent Heights Boulevard and head west to Robertson Boulevard. It will feature more than 125 entries, including floats, bands, marching community advocacy groups and convertibles with honored guests, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Radio talk show host Stephanie Miller will serve as grand marshal....

The mayor's proposals also include seizing cars used in gang activity and helping landlords evict people who illegally possess guns and ammunition. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Thursday unveiled plans to target gangs and guns -- including confiscating cars used in gang-related crimes -- with a series of new city ordinances. The mayor proposed giving landlords the power to evict tenants convicted of using and possessing illegal weapons and ammunition. And he promised to push other new laws to regulate the purchase of ammunition and storage of weapons. The proposed ordinances include banning .50-caliber, military-style ammunition; licensing ammunition vendors;...

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hailed the California Supreme Court decision today, saying he would officiate over as many same-sex weddings as possible. The mayor stood by leaders of the gay and lesbian community today, calling the high-court's decision a victory for California.

MIDI - DRINK, DRINK, DRINK

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Department of Water and Power are expected to announce on May 15 a revised water use and management plan for this city that includes using recycled wastewater to recharge drinking water aquifers, according to a May 15 Los Angeles Times article. The new plan allocates about $1 billion for the proposed reclamation system, also known as “toilet-to-tap” or “sewer-to-spigot.” The city would recycle about 4.9 billion gallons of treated wastewater to drinking standards by 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported on May 15. Villaraigosa, who less than a decade ago opposed such...

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is off his rocker. This weekend residents of Los Angeles waited with bated breath to hear the State of the City Speech from the mayor. Most Angelenos looked forward to seeing the Mayor once again since it had been while: in the wake of a sex scandal he had all but permanently relocated to the Hillary Clinton campaign bus for the last year and a half. Most residents already knew the State of the City: the City of Angels had become a much harder, more violent place what with the recent murder of Jamiel Shaw...

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans to eliminate one of the city's most established anti-gang programs, shifting the money into 12 "Gang Reduction Zones" that would target sections of the city where children are at greatest risk, a high-level aide said today. Deputy Mayor Jeff Carr said the L.A. Bridges program -- L.A. Bridges I, which works to keep kids from joining gangs, and L.A. Bridges II, which tries to get youths out of gangs -- would be phased out by Dec. 31. The mayor's strategy will be mapped in detail late this afternoon, when he gives his annual state...

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says he feels the pain of employers pinched by the federal government's intensified efforts to control illegal immigration. But until Congress enacts broad immigration reforms, businesses shouldn't expect any changes in enforcement. In an interview with The Associated Press, Chertoff said this week the rising complaints from businesses offer some evidence the Bush administration's approach is working. "This is harsh but accurate proof positive that for the first time in decades, we've succeeded in changing the dynamic and (are) actually beginning to reduce illegal immigration," Chertoff said. "Unfortunately, unless you counterbalance that with a robust...

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles must eliminate 767 city jobs by June 30 to reduce a projected multimillion-dollar budget deficit, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Friday. Unless something is done, the city is expected to spend $406 million more than it takes in during fiscal year 2008-09, which starts July 1, due to a downturn in sales tax receipts, taxes from the sale of residential and commercial properties, and state reimbursements. When the mayor presents his budget on April 21, city officials will have identified 767 positions that can be eliminated, which will eventually start the city's complicated system of laying...

<p>LOS ANGELES—Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is asking federal officials to rethink their policy on workplace immigration crackdowns that involve established businesses and to focus on employers that mistreat workers instead.</p> <p>The mayor said in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that work-site raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement could have "severe and long-lasting effects" on the local economy, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.</p>

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is asking federal officials to rethink their policy on workplace immigration crackdowns that involve established businesses and to focus on employers that mistreat workers instead. The mayor said in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that work-site raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement could have "severe and long-lasting effects" on the local economy, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. ICE made more than 4,900 work-site arrests nationwide in fiscal 2007, a 45-fold increase over the number in 2001, authorities said. More than 130 undocumented workers were arrested at a San Fernando Valley manufacturing company in...

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is asking federal officials to rethink their policy on workplace immigration crackdowns that involve established businesses and to focus on employers that mistreat workers instead. Villaraigosa accused federal officials of targeting "established, responsible employers" in industries that rely on "workforces that include undocumented immigrants." "In these industries, including most areas of manufacturing, even the most scrupulous and responsible employers have no choice but to rely on workers whose documentation, while facially valid, may raise questions about their lawful presence," he wrote in the March 27 letter.

A 19-year-old reputed gang member charged in the March 2 shooting death of standout Los Angeles High School football player Jamiel Shaw Jr. pleaded not guilty today to murder. Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Henry J. Hall ordered Pedro Espinoza -- who was arrested March 7 and charged March 11, just before Shaw's funeral -- to remain jailed without bail.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was the guest of honor Friday at a Los Angeles mosque. But it was the spirit of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. that held the crowd. "King was a leader who gave his life working for justice," said Muzammil H. Siddiqi, religious director of the Islamic Society of Orange County, in his sermon during Jumah, the weekly prayer service. "He stood for freedom, justice and equality among all. These are principles that we have to talk about as often as possible." Villaraigosa and his daughter Natalia attended the services on the 40th anniversary of the assassination...

The alleged gang member accused of killing Los Angeles high school football star Jamiel Shaw is in the country illegally and had been released from jail without anyone questioning his citizenship the day before Shaw's shooting, according to a report by MyFOXLA.com. Meanwhile, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Saturday afternoon was scheduled to join with Shaw's family to dedicate a memorial honoring the 17-year-old at the spot where he was killed. Police say Pedro Espinoza, the 19-year-old suspect arrested in Shaw's death, has been in a street gang since he was 12. Until this month, he had been in jail on...

Los Angeles (AP) -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is making plans to lay off city workers to help close a looming budget gap. The mayor's office said Wednesday that the layoffs are expected to come after July 1. The mayor's office did not say how many of the city's approximately 40,000 workers would be cut loose to help close a spending hole as big as $500 million.

LOS ANGELES - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday signed one of the nation's toughest laws on pet sterilization, requiring most dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered by the time they are 4 months old. The ordinance is aimed at reducing and eventually eliminating the thousands of euthanizations conducted in Los Angeles' animal shelters every year. "We will, sooner rather than later, become a no-kill city and this is the greatest step in that direction," Councilman Tony Cardenas said as he held a kitten at a City Hall news conference. The ordinance does exempt some animals, including those that...

The Talk Shows Sunday, February 17th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence; Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle; Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.FACE THE NATION (CBS): David Axelrod, strategist for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign; Howard Wolfson, communications director for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign; Richmond Mayor and former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder; Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; former presidential candidate...

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday he had a productive meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon that focused on economic development on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border. Villaraigosa said the hour-long meeting produced an agreement to bring more Mexican goods into the Port of Los Angeles. In most cases, Mexican products are brought into the United States by truck or train. The men also discussed developing geothermal energy in Baja California, but Villaraigosa labeled those talks as preliminary. Villaraigosa said the issue of illegal immigration was not a major element of the discussions. "There is a need to build bridges,...

LOS ANGELES - More people live in Los Angeles County than in the state of Michigan. That's just one of many startling challenges California poses for presidential candidates. More than half the state's primary ballots may be cast before polls open Tuesday. New rules for choosing presidential nominating delegates encourage Republicans to turn up in heavily Democratic districts. Independents can vote for Democrats but not Republicans. Home to nearly one in eight Americans, California is a giant, diverse political landscape, enormously expensive for candidates yet offering the campaign's largest batch of delegates. For years, candidates for presidential nominations mostly ignored...

The campaign for a $243-million telephone users tax on the Feb. 5 ballot has amassed nearly $2.6 million, almost three-fourths of it from labor unions... Unions provided nearly $1.9 million to the Proposition S campaign, which is seeking to preserve a tax on cellular and land line calls that has been challenged repeatedly in court. The size of the donations appalled foes of the tax, who said that city employee unions were rewarding politicians for giving them raises -- and ensuring that more will be granted in the future. "This is the economics of special interests," said Walter Moore, who...

California's population continued to grow modestly in the last fiscal year despite a significant exodus of residents to other states, according to a state report released Wednesday. The annual study by the Department of Finance showed that 89,000 more people moved out of California than moved here from elsewhere in the United States. California's population did grow in fiscal 2007 -- but the growth rested on births and the arrival of more than 200,000 immigrants from other countries. The shift dovetails with the state's weakening economy and is most likely related, said Howard Roth, chief economist for the Department of...

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa slipped quietly out of the city last week to campaign in Iowa for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a rare public foray into presidential politics since his marital meltdown dominated front pages last summer. Clinton made a splash in May when she snagged the Democratic mayor's endorsement, and even former President Bill Clinton was called in to help lock up Villaraigosa's support. The New York senator said at the time that Villaraigosa, one of the nation's most prominent Hispanic politicians, would be "reaching out to a broad range of voters across the country." In other states prominent supporters...

Last year at this time, Democratic Party loyalists saw Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as the early favorite to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not any more. The collapse of Villaraigosa's effort to gain substantial control of Los Angeles public schools, followed by revelations of an extramarital affair, have opened the door to others -- most notably Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. Beyond those setbacks and self-inflicted wounds, Villaraigosa faces timing problems that could severely complicate any attempt to become California's first Latino governor in more than a century. Because the 2010 governor's race follows closely behind the 2009 mayoral election, Villaraigosa...

Designer Anand Jon faces new rape charges LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California officials unsealed new rape charges against celebrity fashion designer Anand Jon on Thursday, bringing the number of women he is accused of raping or sexually assaulting to 20. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California officials unsealed new rape charges against celebrity fashion designer Anand Jon on Thursday, bringing the number of women he is accused of raping or sexually assaulting to 20. Jon, 33, who once appeared on television show "America's Next Top Model," is accused of luring women back to Los Angeles to work as models and then...

Worried that an upcoming court ruling could wreak havoc on the city budget, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recommended Monday that the City Council declare the city will face an "emergency" if a court rules against the city and invalidates a $270-million telephone users utility tax. The declaration would pave the way for the mayor and the council to put a replacement tax on the ballot as soon as Feb. 5 and -- perhaps more significantly -- lower the threshold needed to win passage of such a measure from two-thirds to a simple majority, lawyers for the city said. Villaraigosa...

War has changed through history: · At one point, soldiers in brightly-colored uniforms conveniently lined up in rows on battlefields like two opposing football teams, facing one another. · World War II brought the bombing of cities. · 9/11 showed nation-states aren't the only groups that can wage war. One reason nations lose wars is that they prepare for the last war, not the next war. When the German tanks rolled into Poland in 1939, the Polish army bravely tried to defend their territory -- on horseback. The United States is perfectly prepared to fight the last war: if any...

MIAMI -- For the first time in a U.S. presidential campaign, candidates vying for the Democratic nomination will take part in a debate Sunday that will be broadcast across the U.S. in Spanish. The event, held at the University of Miami and broadcast by the Univision Network, marks the Democratic candidates' recognition of the growing political muscle that the country's more than 44 million Hispanics could wield in the 2008 election. Seven of the eight Democratic candidates will be taking part in the debate — including front-runners Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and...

SEAN HANNITY: Homeless advocate Ted Hayes was assaulted Tuesday for spreading his message that illegal immigrants are damaging this country and specifically attacking African-Americans. An immigration group started false rumors about Hayes being connected to the Ku Klux Klan, which resulted in a black militant assaulting Hayes and spitting at him during a press conference.... Ted, we haven't always agreed. But I want to bring specifically into this you're against illegal immigration and you've taken a stand. Somebody just attacked you for your views. TED HAYES, IMMIGRATION OPPONENT: Actually, yes sir. Actually, the guy just spit in my face. That's...

A few months ago, the smart money was that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa would be the likely Democratic candidate for governor in 2010 and probably would become the first Latino governor in more than a century. That, however, was before he admitted to having an affair with a local television anchorwoman -- an admission that may lead to a very messy divorce case. Infidelity per se may no longer be a barrier to higher office, but the situation has generated some sharp criticism of Villaraigosa's judgment -- enough that his gubernatorial ascension is no longer the semi-sure thing it...

The Los Angeles City Council today approved sweeping changes in zoning rules allowing for larger and more dense developments in downtown Los Angeles, the city's biggest embrace yet of urban-style planning principles. The ordinance encourages developers to build high-rises without leaving space between the buildings, allows them to reduce the size of lobbies and other communal areas, lets them build closer to sidewalks and makes it legal to build extremely small units. Developers who reserve 15% of their units for low-income residents are now exempt from open-space requirements and can make their buildings 35% larger than current zoning codes allow....

Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, already under fire for his illicit affair with Telemundo network newscaster Mirthala Salinas, faces new criticism over his bodyguard’s rough treatment of “Azetca America Channel 54” television reporter Alicia Unger. The manhandling incident occurred as Villaraigosa was attempting to evade questions from the media. Villaraigosa asserted that the reporter was pushed aside “for her own protection.” “Look, I’ve already gotten myself in trouble by being too friendly with Ms. Salinas,” Villaraigosa explained. “I don’t want that to happen again. So, my security detail has strict instructions to fend off all females.” The Mayor’s security detail...

In a town that thrives on scandal, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hasn't disappointed. But he struggled Friday to turn a page after facing weeks of questions about his shattered marriage and the girlfriend who covered him as a TV newscaster. "It's time to move on and move on we will," Villaraigosa told reporters who peppered him with questions about the affair and his dented reputation. A day earlier his girlfriend, Telemundo anchor Mirthala Salinas, was slapped with a two-month unpaid suspension for having a relationship with someone she reported on - the mayor. In June, she announced on air the mayor...

Los Angeles (AP) -- In a town that thrives on scandal, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hasn't disappointed with the revelation he had an extramarital affair with a television reporter. The question now is whether voters will make him pay for it. The first-term Democrat has been struggling to make a show of normalcy at City Hall as his troubled personal life played out on front pages and TV newscasts. On Friday, he again struggled to turn a new page as he faced questions about the girlfriend who covered him as a TV newscaster. "It's time to move on and move on...

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today sought to put the scandal surrounding his personal life behind him, one day after the Telemundo network suspended his girlfriend, newscaster Mirthala Salinas, for covering the mayor while they were romantically involved. But a Villaraigosa news conference at the Port of Los Angeles ended chaotically, with a port police sergeant shoving a television reporter against a cargo container as she attempted to pursue the mayor. Only minutes earlier, Villaraigosa had voiced hope that the conclusion of Telemundo's review of Salinas' conduct would allow him to move forward. Yet even as the mayor expressed those sentiments, he...

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa agreed Thursday to pay a $5,200 fine for violating multiple campaign finance laws stemming from his 2003 race for the City Council. --snip-- In all, Villaraigosa violated 30 aspects of city campaign finance laws, according to a proposed agreement that he signed Thursday. --snip-- Villaraigosa's campaign lawyer, Stephen Kaufman, downplayed the significance of the violations, calling them common mistakes that other campaigns have made. "These are administrative errors, but nonetheless they should not have happened," Kaufman said. "The mayor has taken steps to make sure this does not happen again." --snip-- Villaraigosa could have faced...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Spanish-language newscaster who had an affair with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has received a two-month suspension for violating conflict-of-interest policies, her network said Thursday. Mirthala Salinas was having the relationship with Villaraigosa when she announced the news of his separation from his wife of 20 years on local Telemundo station KVEA, Channel 52. Salinas was suspended without pay. The findings of Telemundo's three-week investigation were reported on its national newscast Thursday. "Her reading of copy during newscasts ... regarding the Mayors separation from his wife was a flagrant violation of these guidelines," Telemundo network president Don...

LOS ANGELES An ethics investigation has been completed and a decision is expected soon concerning a Spanish-language journalist who had an affair with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a person familiar with the probe said Thursday. Mirthala Salinas was having the relationship with Villaraigosa when she announced the news of his separation from his wife of 20 years on local Telemundo station KVEA, Channel 52. Executives at the Telemundo network and parent company NBC Universal were reviewing the findings of the three-week investigation, and a decision on the fate of Salinas and perhaps other station personnel was expected to be announced next...

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa continued to be dogged by questions Monday over his relationship with a Telemundo reporter as he voiced confidence in her ethical standards. During a news conference at which he unveiled the third area of the city to be served by the TIGER teams to improve traffic, the mayor again was asked about Mirthala Salinas, their relationship and whether Telemundo would be taking any permanent action against her. Salinas has been on leave since her relationship with the mayor was disclosed. Telemundo officials said they were investigating all the circumstances around the relationship and whether she...

ERSNews has been investigating the alleged relationship of Mayor Villaraigosa and a female member of his LAPD security detail. The officer, who ERS/The Enterprise Report can reveal exclusively is 14-year LAPD veteran Anita Moreno, works on the Mayor's protective security detail provided by the LAPD. Officer Moreno has previously worked for the LAPD’s Pacific Division and also for the training division of the LAPD over her long law enforcement career. According to multiple sources, the mayor has had a relationship with officer Moreno of some kind. The exact nature of that relationship is still unknown. ERS sought comment from the...

LOS ANGELES Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says he didn't use a penny of taxpayer money to finance his romance with a TV newscaster, but authorities have said nothing about the whereabouts of his police bodyguards during the time he spent with his girlfriend. Since the mayor confirmed his relationship with Telemundo's Mirthala Salinas on July 3, his office acknowledged he traveled to Arizona in January to attend her mother's funeral and news reports have placed him at various times at Salinas' home in the San Fernando Valley. Those accounts have not been disputed by the mayor's office. Villaraigosa's chief spokesman, Sean...