The week ahead

A look at upcoming events:

Tuesday

Hospital health: A panel of experts addresses “Are L.A.’s Hospitals Safe?” as part of the Zocalo Public Square Lecture Series at 7:30 p.m. at the Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles. Panelists include Dr. David Feinberg, chief executive of the UCLA hospital system.

Thursday

State of Santa Monica: Mayor Herb Katz and other officials discuss “State of the City, Part II: Economic Outlook,” at 11 a.m. at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, 101 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, presented by the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.

Open air music: The first of four weekly concerts begins at 7 p.m. at La Sierra Park, 5215 La Sierra Ave., Riverside, sponsored by the Riverside parks department.

Friday

Railroad show: The three-day 2008 National Train Show opens at noon at the Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave.

Saturday

Urban gardens: “Ecological Urban Gardening,” a Cal Poly Pomona workshop, offers help in designing and maintaining an garden space in the city. 9 a.m., John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, 4105 W. University Drive, Pomona.

Ask a Reporter

What happened in the dispute over whether the Los Angeles Unified School District must provide space to charter schools?

The situation is something like a wary standoff. Charters are independently run public schools started by entrepreneurs and philanthropists, authorized locally or by the state. State law says school districts have an obligation to fairly share campus space with them. Last year, charter operators sued L.A. Unified, saying they didn’t get their due. The suit was settled, but charters say the district still isn’t providing enough space.

The stats: 55 charters (with about 18,000 students) applied for classroom space for the fall. L.A. Unified made 47 offers at the last moment under the law but later withdrew 13, infuriating the charter community. Senior Deputy Supt. Ramon C. Cortines canceled the offers at high schools and at year-round schools, saying the existing educational programs at the host schools had not been sufficiently considered. Charter operators threatened to sue, although that strategy probably would not result in obtaining classrooms for the fall.

Of the 45,000 L.A. Unified students in charters, about 23,000 are in district facilities. The others are schooled in non-district accommodations, such as space rented from a church.

Some charter operators turned down the district’s offers as unsuitable. Charter schools are scheduled to share space on 17 traditional campuses in the fall. With time running short, that number is not expected to increase.

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-- Howard Blume