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9:03 PM PST, November 10, 2009
Michael Jackson's funeral cost more than $1 million, court documents show
The cost of Michael Jackson's private funeral topped $1 million, with more than half that amount going to buy a crypt in a celebrity-studded Glendale mausoleum and $35,000 spent on clothes for the singer, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday.
November 11, 2009
Top L.A. County judge warns of consequences of budget constraints
Los Angeles County Superior Court Presiding Judge Charles "Tim" McCoy is warning of dire things to come should the state's budget crunch continue to take a toll on the nation's largest trial court system.
November 11, 2009
CSU applications up 53% from last year
More students are applying to California State University campuses so far this year, even as university officials are preparing to slash enrollment and tighten admission standards in response to the most severe budget crisis in the system's history.
November 9, 2009
Metrolink officials consider rate hike to counter revenue shortfall
Faced with falling ridership, deepening budget woes and increased expenses for safety reforms, officials at Southern California's commuter rail service are considering raising fares for the second time in less than six months.
November 6, 2009
New York's Bloomberg spent big, for small return
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg may have narrowly won a third term this week but he also earned -- or, rather, very handsomely paid for -- a less-welcome distinction: becoming the latest in a long line of politicians to prove that money can't buy everything.
November 5, 2009
Warner Bros.' earnings produce upbeat mood at parent company
When it comes to talking smack about the movie business, just leave Warner Bros. out of it.
November 4, 2009
Meg Whitman's campaign spending is causing a stir
The radio ads have aired daily across the state since she declared her bid for governor in September.
November 2, 2009
O.C. shouldn't accept Irvine Co. land now, environmentalists say
The Irvine Co.'s plans to donate 20,000 acres of open space to the people of Orange County -- increasing parkland by more than half of its current size -- has encountered a seemingly unlikely opponent: environmentalists.
November 2, 2009
Slim pickings for racehorse owners
The price tag on racehorses -- starting at a few thousand and rising steeply from there -- is only a beginning. These finely tuned animals need to be housed, fed, trained and, much like children, kept in new shoes.
October 30, 2009
EU split over climate change goal
The European Union fought Thursday to live up to its self-proclaimed leadership on combating climate change, with the 27 EU leaders at odds over how much to offer poorer nations to join the global battle.
11:35 PM PDT, October 27, 2009
Ex-Assembly Speaker Nuñez did not misuse campaign funds, board rules
Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez broke no state laws when he spent tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funds on luxury travel around the world, gifts at high-end boutiques and meals at exclusive restaurants, the state's ethics watchdog has ruled.
October 23, 2009
Trutanich defends bid to recover city money for Michael Jackson memorial
Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich on Thursday defended his efforts to recoup city dollars spent on the Michael Jackson memorial, but denied asking the top executive of the company that owns Staples Center to pay $6 million during a meeting in July.
October 22, 2009
AEG president says Trutanich tried to 'bully' company on Jackson costs
Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich tried to pressure the owner of Staples Center to pay $6 million for city services provided during the Michael Jackson memorial, saying he would "go after you guys" if the money was not paid, the company's top executive alleged Wednesday.
October 22, 2009
Senate blocks Medicare payment bill
With budget anxieties pervading the congressional healthcare debate, the Senate on Wednesday sidetracked popular legislation that would have increased Medicare payments to doctors by nearly $250 billion over the next decade.
October 21, 2009
COMPANY TOWN
Universal Orlando revises deal with Spielberg so it can focus on debt restructuring
In a move that spares Universal Orlando theme parks from a potential financial jam next year, Steven Spielberg has agreed to delay by seven years his option to demand a payout worth hundreds of millions of dollars under the terms of his long-standing consulting agreement.
October 15, 2009
THE BIG PICTURE / PATRICK GOLDSTEIN
'The Final Destination' enters a new dimension
If there were ever a movie that shouldn't end up making as much as $190 million around the world, it is "The Final Destination," a homely horror thriller that is the fourth and least-loved film in New Line's low-budget "Final Destination" horror franchise.
October 14, 2009
Some furlough days actually cost California money
Staff shortages are forcing tens of thousands of state workers employed at prisons and other around-the-clock institutions to report to work on their furlough days -- and the state is paying them with what amount to IOUs that will be costly to taxpayers, according to a Senate report to be released today.
October 13, 2009
Malibu water treatment bills could increase $1,000 a month
If regional water quality officials approve a proposed ban on septic systems in central Malibu as expected, residential property owners in the affected area would be on the hook for $1,000 a month to pay for a centralized wastewater treatment system, city officials said Monday.
8:54 PM PDT, October 12, 2009
UCLA's Lab School expansion is postponed
In a sign of challenging economic times, UCLA has put on hold indefinitely plans to open a second campus of its experimental laboratory school, a project that had been touted as a major effort to expand its mission to low-income communities beyond Westwood.
October 9, 2009
Some state retirees rake in pensions and paychecks
As California's public retirement funds reel from losses of nearly $100 billion in recent years and lack enough cash to cover their long-term costs, thousands of state employees are collecting government pension checks along with their paychecks.
October 2, 2009
Before the Station fire, a cost-cutting memo
Three weeks before the deadly Station fire erupted, the U.S. Forest Service issued a cost-cutting order to reduce its use of state and local firefighters, documents and interviews show.
September 28, 2009
California recycling measure may mean higher deposits and better returns
Californians could soon be paying new deposits on half-gallon juice jugs, small juice boxes and soy drink containers -- and handing over twice as much as they already pay on some soda and water bottles -- because lawmakers have been raiding the state's recycling fund to help balance the budget.
September 26, 2009
State parks to stay open, but with cuts in hours and maintenance
Backing away from the possible closure of dozens of state parks, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a plan Friday that would keep them all open for now, but warned that most would see reduced hours of operation and maintenance levels.
September 26, 2009
VA to write emergency checks under GI Bill
The Veterans Affairs Department said Friday that it would begin issuing emergency checks of up to $3,000 to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans whose payments under the new GI Bill have been delayed.
September 20, 2009
MONEY TALK
Liz Pulliam Weston: Before a divorce, separate your finances
Dear Liz: My wife and I each had excellent credit when we married 10 years ago. We are now divorcing (amicably). Since we married, we have put everything in her name: two houses in succession, three cars, all car insurance and utilities. We refinanced our house in February with her name first.
August 31, 2009
Ban on interstate business may be relaxed
Which will it be: fewer places to stop on the highway to catch 40 winks, or fast food galore at rest areas? That's the choice facing Congress as it considers whether to relax a decades-old ban on businesses along the nation's interstates.
August 28, 2009
Nonprofit seeks control of Will Rogers State Historic Park
A private, nonprofit group wants to assume management of Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades, saying the California parks department has failed to fittingly honor Rogers' legacy.
July 6, 2009
Jackson's estate could be a thriller of a profit machine
Michael Jackson was one of the most famous people on Earth and also one of the most famously broke. Many who crossed paths with the performer in the final years of his life -- business advisors, lawyers, a Tennessee art dealer and even a Bahraini sheik -- accused him of skipping out on bills. Jackson came within days of losing Neverland Ranch to a foreclosure auction last year, and he died owing more than $400 million to various financial institutions.
June 8, 2009
CAPITOL JOURNAL
George Skelton: Nightmares come true for the neediest
Jean called the other day from her desert condo near Palm Springs. She'd been notified that the state was cutting back again on aid for the disabled and she was worried.
May 27, 2009
Schwarzenegger sends lawmakers $5 billion in proposed cuts
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday sent lawmakers his plan to trim more than $5 billion in spending by dismantling or drastically curtailing state programs that provide Californians with healthcare, higher education, welfare, parks, AIDS treatment and counseling, prisoner rehabilitation and other services.
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
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