COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

County Film Director Fired: Stephanie Hershey Liner, director of the Los Angeles County Film Office, was abruptly fired after she sent the city of Los Angeles a report on the pros and cons of merging her department with its city counterpart. Liner said her opinions were requested by Keith Comrie, the city’s chief administrative officer. She had been in the position since October, working to persuade the film and television industries to remain in the area. Liner said she was suspended Monday night and told there would be an investigation into her actions, then told the next day she was out of a job. Bill Kreger, a veteran county executive with no film industry experience, was named interim replacement. Gary Conley, president of the Economic Development Corp., the private, nonprofit agency that runs the county film office, refused to comment on Liner’s dismissal, but a city-county film office merger could deprive the EDC of revenue.