Cities approve 'Stadium to the Sea' route for L.A. Marathon

Santa Monica joins L.A., Beverly Hills and West Hollywood in signing off on the new route, which will begin at Dodger Stadium and end at the ocean.

Finally, the L.A. Marathon will make it to the Pacific.The new "Stadium to the Sea" route has received the imprimatur of the cities along the course, ensuring that runners next March 21 will have the point-to-point route they and organizers have favored.
On Tuesday, the Santa Monica City Council approved the plan to end the race at the ocean. Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood had already signed off on the dramatically altered route, which will begin at Dodger Stadium and pass through some of the region's best-known locations. Although the final 26.2-mile route has not been set, it is expected to wind through West Hollywood and along the Sunset Strip, proceed to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and, ultimately, pass through the Westside along San Vicente Boulevard to the ocean. In past years, runners have loped along a loop route through parts of the city not known for their stunning scenery.A bonus for elite runners is that the course trends downhill, which suggests that some record times might be in the offing. So that runners aren't marooned at the beach, shuttles or buses will be available to return participants to the stadium.
"We now have the tools to create a world-class marathon of which we all can be proud," said Russ Pillar, president of the Los Angeles Marathon.The Los Angeles City Council voted last year to move the marathon to Memorial Day, a Monday, after a number of churches along the race route complained that street closures and crowds on the traditional Sunday in March kept parishioners away. Marathon officials granted concessions to win religious leaders' support for a Sunday race. They will move the start time to 6:55 a.m. from 7:20 a.m. The route change will also ensure that runners don't pass by many churches.Officials in neighboring cities were practically giddy about the alterations. Santa Monica Mayor Ken Genser applauded the vision of the McCourt Group, which owns the marathon and the Dodgers, "to make this race a celebration of the entire Los Angeles region."And Beverly Hills Mayor Nancy Krasne said her city was "excited to host athletes and fans . . . and watch 20,000 participants run down Rodeo Drive." Even if they won't have time to stop and shop.

Los Angeles boy's beating death came after two exams, records show

Months before the body of a beaten 6-year-old boy was found on the floor of his home last week, strong evidence existed to suggest that he was the victim of sustained abuse at the hands of the man now accused of killing him, according to documents obtained by The Times.Authorities on Wednesday issued a murder warrant for Marcas Fisher, who police believe beat his ex-girlfriend's son, Dae'von Bailey, to death a week ago. Police cordoned off a South Los Angeles neighborhood Wednesday morning in what ended up being a fruitless search for Fisher. Detectives believe he is in hiding with aid from friends or family.

Los Angeles Police Department officials said Wednesday that social workers had approved an agreement between Fisher and the boy's mother that placed Dae'von in the man's home. Fisher had been convicted of rape as a teenager and had a criminal record as an adult.The appropriateness of that placement is one of several questions being raised by police and county officials about how social workers handled the case.On April 27, the county Department of Children and Family Services was informed that Fisher had shoved Dae'von into a bathroom sink, injuring the boy's nose and causing him to miss a week of school.
When a social worker arrived at the house two weeks later, Dae'von said Fisher had "socked him in the nose" but Fisher insisted that the boy's injury was from an "accident," according to documents obtained by The Times. Dae'von was treated for a contusion at a private medical office, the records show. But social workers ultimately allowed Dae'von to remain with Fisher.Then on June 3, the county received another allegation, that Fisher had punched Dae'von in the stomach. When social workers arrived, Dae'von said Fisher hit him in either the stomach or chest, according to the documents. One of his siblings confirmed the story -- but later recanted. Fisher denied hitting the boy.Again, Fisher took Dae'von to a doctor, and the medical provider who examined him later reported "there were no signs of physical abuse and stated that Dae'von had given more than one version of the incident. . . . She had no concerns for Dae'von," according to the documents. The county concluded that the boy's abuse allegations were "unfounded" and took no action.Less than a month later, the boy's body was found in a house on 87th Place. County records show that Dae'von's body was found with "multiple bruises, to his face, arm, chest, back, wrist and elbow . . . [and] multiple circular contusions to both feet."Social workers were not the only ones who knew about the earlier allegations of abuse. In an interview with The Times, LAPD Det. Frank Ramirez said that in April and June, the child had told adults at his school that he had been abused. Officials at the school informed the county, he said."The boy did what he should do," Ramirez said. "He reported it to the school, and the school did what they should do. They reported it to DCFS. And unfortunately he's dead."County officials want to know whether social workers did an adequate investigation of the alleged abuse, talking to people besides Fisher and the boy. They have also asked whether the doctors examined him properly.

Both issues have come up before as the county has struggled to address a pattern in which children have been killed after their cases already had come to the attention of county child welfare officials.The use of private doctors to evaluate potential abuse has been the subject of debate, with critics saying doctors in private practice are not always trained to detect abuse.In the wake of Dae'von's death, Supervisor Gloria Molina has proposed a pilot program in parts of the San Gabriel Valley and the Eastside in which all children who come to the county's attention as possible child-abuse victims would be examined at a county facility by forensic pediatricians and other experts trained to spot abuse. Dr. Astrid Heger, executive director of the L.A. County-USC Violence Intervention Program, said Dae'von was exactly the kind of child who needed to be examined by experts at these county-run centers. There are currently six such "hubs," but children who come to the county's attention, like Dae'von, are not always referred to them."These kids are trying to figure out how to survive," Heger said. "It takes an enormous amount of courage for a child to say, 'He hit me.' It's like he's looking at you and me and saying, 'Rescue me.' And what happened? We didn't. And that's the tragedy."Molina has also recommended adding a new layer of oversight to the county's process for investigating allegations of child abuse. Under the proposal, a supervising social worker and an assistant regional administrator would review each case even when a social worker had determined the allegations to be "unfounded.""Who stepped forward to save this child?" asked Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who has called on the county board to appoint an independent investigator to thoroughly review Dae'von's case and look for breakdowns in the process.Family Services officials declined to answer specific questions, citing confidentiality rules and the fact that the investigation into the boy's death was continuing. But in a statement, Director Trish Ploehn said: "The entire department is grieving over the loss of this precious little boy. I have ordered a full investigation into this child's tragic death. We are in the process of identifying any and all individuals and agencies that may have had contact with this family. Any DCFS procedural or performance violations identified will be fully and swiftly addressed."Much remains unknown about the county's interactions with Dae'von and his family, including why the boy was not living with his mother, Tylette Davis, 28. In an interview with The Times last week, Davis said the boy was living with Fisher while she dealt "with some issues." It's unclear whether social workers knew of Fisher's criminal record when Dae'von went to live with him. Typically, criminal background checks are done on people who social workers believe neglected or abused a child.At the time of Dae'von's death, none of Davis' six children were living with her. Three were staying with her mother, two with Fisher and one with a cousin. All were taken into protective custody after Dae'von's death.On Wednesday, Davis said she had not known about the allegations of abuse in April and June. "If I had known, I would have taken the kids from him," she said. "My boy never told me anything like that."LAPD Cmdr. Patrick Gannon said detectives still have much ground to cover in the investigation, but one fact remains painfully clear."This child was beaten to death," he said. "There's no telling how long he suffered before dying."

San Diego high-rise condo market goes from frenzy to fizzle

San Diego high-rise condo market goes from frenzy to fizzle
Thousands were built downtown in recent years, but many are unsold or in foreclosure and prices have plummeted. The upside is that those priced out of the area can afford them - if they can get loans.

Drive through California's sprawling inland suburbs and you'll spot the familiar mileposts of a real estate bust: foreclosure signs, brown lawns and abandoned subdivisions.To see the damage in downtown San Diego, walk a few blocks. Then look straight up.

There you'll see hundreds of unsold luxury condominiums stacked in vacant high-rises. Some units downtown are now selling for less than half what earlier buyers had paid during the market peak.These see-through buildings, with names evoking European sophistication like Aria and Vantage Pointe, are the opulent spatter from the bursting of one of California's flashiest housing bubbles.From 2001 through 2008, more than 8,000 condominium units were built in downtown San Diego. That's double the number of downtown units constructed over the same period in Los Angeles, a city three times its size. So while sales of urban high-rise units are convulsing elsewhere, nowhere is the collapse more dramatic than in downtown San Diego.
Flush with easy credit, developers and home buyers were eager to invest in "America's finest city," the nickname used by officials to tout San Diego's bay-side location and perfect climate.At the height of the frenzy, hopeful purchasers queued up outside sales offices to plunk down deposits. There were occasional arguments over who was first in line. No one wanted to miss out with condo values riding an elevator to the sky. Near the peak, in May 2004, median resale prices of downtown condos hit $647,500, a 56% increase in just three years, according to San Diego research firm MDA DataQuick. One savvy flipper made a $91,000 profit in less than two months in 2005 by reselling a 560-square-foot studio for $340,000. "There was a little bit of a mass hysteria mentality. . . . People thought they would be priced out of the market," said Bradford Willis, 47, who signed a contract in 2004 to purchase a $341,000, one-bedroom condo in a planned luxury development. Willis said he bought on speculation because there was little existing inventory on the market at the time, much of it priced above $500,000.Irrational exuberance has long since given way to buyer's remorse. Median resale prices for downtown units stood at $370,000 in June. That pricey 560-square-foot studio? It was foreclosed and resold this year for $162,000, down more than half from its 2005 sale price.Downtown San Diego, a 2.2-square-mile area, is now awash in condos. About 400 new and occupied ones are listed for sale, and more than 450 are in some stage of foreclosure and will eventually be put on the market. An additional 1,000 units that were under construction when the market soured are slated to be completed this year, adding to the glut and putting further downward pressure on prices. So far this year, 159 new homes have been sold downtown, according to DataQuick. At that pace, it would take several years to sell all the units recently completed or being finished this year. Developers are holding units off the market.Some companies have simply walked away. Los Angeles housing developer KB Home abandoned plans for a 184-unit luxury project in 2007, before construction began. The new owners of that downtown parcel are now building 226 units for low-income families."It was like the Gold Rush down there, and this is the fallout," said Peter Navarro, a UC Irvine professor of economics and public policy who in 1992 ran unsuccessfully for mayor of San Diego. The same factors that led to overbuilding everywhere, such as loose credit and false expectations of ever-rising prices, were at work in San Diego, Navarro said.Still, there were some unique forces pumping air into the bubble.Canadian developers with little experience in Southern California, starting with Nat Bosa, a prominent Vancouver, Canada, condo builder, led the condo charge downtown, overestimating its potential, experts said. Buyers likewise bet too heavily on the urban revival triggered by the 2004 completion of the Petco Park baseball stadium, home to the San Diego Padres. City policies encouraged multi-unit housing development in the lightly populated downtown area, where large projects could be built with little community resistance. Builders loved high-rise towers because they could sell more units on the same space. But that almost exclusive focus on upscale high-rises was a mistake, said Howard Blackson, who heads a San Diego urban design firm. Towers aren't as attractive to families as other types of housing, such as row houses or smaller, walk-up buildings, Blackson said. Nor were they affordable for many. With some three-bedroom units priced at more than $1 million, the pool of purchasers was limited.

Makeover advised for gang member kicked by El Monte officer

Law Offices of Nick Pacheco
Richard Rodriguez, who was kicked in the head by an El Monte police officer, will cover his tattoos and grow hair to look like the Photoshop image at right.
The attorney of Richard Rodriguez, who has filed a $5-million legal claim against the city, wants his client to grow hair and wear a suit to cover his tattoos at trial.

The attorney for a gang member kicked in the head by an El Monte police officer at the end of a televised car chase thinks his client has a great case. On Thursday, Nick Pacheco filed a $5-million legal claim against the city on behalf of the 23-year-old. But just in case, the attorney said his heavily tattooed client will be getting an extreme makeover in time for a trial, complete with a thick Tom Selleck mustache -- think "Magnum P.I." -- to cover the name of his street gang, which is inked on his upper lip. Richard Rodriguez will also grow hair to cover the tattoos on his shaved head. And he'll wear a nice, conservative suit.
To make his point, Pacheco used Photoshop to show the difference. In the booking photo, Rodriguez's head is shaved, and the name of his gang hangs over his lip. Tattoos climb his neck. In the "after" rendition, he's wearing a black suit with a metallic gray tie, neatly combed hair and a lush mustache. "People get past looks when you put on a suit and your hair is grown," Pacheco said.
Pacheco, a former L.A. councilman, said his client suffers from headaches and blurred vision, among other symptoms. Dieter Dammeier, attorney for the El Monte Police Officers Assn., said the officer acted within his training by using a "distraction blow" on Rodriguez.

Eddie Cibrian's wife leaves him after more LeAnn Rimes rendevous

Eddie Cibrian's wife leaves him after more LeAnn Rimes rendevous

Eddie Cibrian's steadfast and loyal wife Brandi Glanville -- who accused singer LeAnn Rimes of stalking her husband -- has finally left him.
She tells Us Weekly: "Eddie and I have decided to take some time apart. I want to do what is best for our children. Eddie and LeAnn deserve each other."
The couple have two sons, ages 6 and 2.
The straw that broke her back was when Cibrian and Rimes were caught together (again) in the early afternoon of July 17 outside the Malibu home of Jeff Berger, a longtime friend of Rimes and her husband, Dean Sheremet.
What? Of her husband? OK, this is just too sick.
But there's more...
And then there was that news of Cibrian also having an affair with 24-year-old model Scheana Marie Jancan that also came to light around the same time.
Sources tell Us that Berger has been letting Rimes and Cibrian use his home for about a month.
Personally, we don't know how Brandi made it past that finger-sucking restaurant video of her husband and Rimes. That's hard to explain.
"Oh, I got ketchup on my finger and we ran out of napkins..."
Do you blame Brandi for calling it quits? Why did Eddie and LeAnn think they could get away with this?
Or is Eddie's wife deluded?

White House declines to disclose visits by health industry executives

White House declines to disclose visits by health industry executives
Citing an argument used by the Bush administration, the Secret Service rejects a request from a watchdog group to list those who have visited the White House to discuss the healthcare overhaul.

Reporting from Washington -- Invoking an argument used by President George W. Bush, the Obama administration has turned down a request from a watchdog group for a list of health industry executives who have visited the White House to discuss the massive healthcare overhaul.Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sent a letter to the Secret Service asking about visits from 18 executives representing health insurers, drug makers, doctors and other players in the debate. The group wants the material in order to gauge the influence of those executives in crafting a new healthcare policy.

he Secret Service sent a reply stating that documents revealing the frequency of such visits were considered presidential records exempt from public disclosure laws. The agency also said it was advised by the Justice Department that the Secret Service was within its rights to withhold the information because of the "presidential communications privilege."Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics said it would file suit against the Obama administration as early as today. The group already has sued the administration over its failure to release details about visits from coal industry executives.A White House spokesman, Ben LaBolt, said, "We are reviewing our policy on access to visitor logs and related litigation."
As a candidate, President Obama vowed that in devising a healthcare bill he would invite in TV cameras -- specifically C-SPAN -- so that Americans could have a window into negotiations that normally play out behind closed doors. Having promised transparency, the administration should be willing to disclose who it is consulting in shaping healthcare policy, said an attorney for the citizens' group. In its letter requesting the records, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics asked about visits from Billy Tauzin, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans; William Weldon, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson; and J. James Rohack, president of the American Medical Assn., among others."It's extremely disappointing," said Anne Weismann, the group's chief counsel. Obama is relying on a legal argument that "continues one of the bad, anti-transparency, pro-secrecy approaches that the Bush administration had taken. And it seems completely at odds with the president's commitment . . . to bring a new level of transparency to his government." PhRMA, which represents the nation's drug companies, said it had taken part in two meetings with senior White House officials in the Roosevelt Room. Participants, according to Tauzin, included White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, along with the CEOs of some major drug companies. Both meetings were closed to the public.In an interview, Tauzin said most of the "real negotiations" took place with the Senate Finance Committee. At its meetings with the White House, the drug industry reported on progress made with the Senate and got a briefing from Obama officials "about how they saw" healthcare reform unfolding, Tauzin said.

Arnold's budget dealing: a public health issue?

Earlier this year, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hunkered down with legislators in budget negotiations, the result was a delay of regulations to crack down on cancer-causing diesel pollution from construction and farm equipment. It was a provision intensely sought by business interests, but one with little effect on budgetary or fiscal matters.
Now, once again, environmentalists are sounding the alarm that eco-issues are on the table in the budgetary arm wrestling that has paralyzed Sacramento in recent weeks.
Eight major advocacy groups wrote Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders on July 16 asking that they resist efforts to insert into the budget a provision that could enable the building of new power plants in the Los Angeles Basin.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District, a regional agency, is pushing the provision, incorporated in a stalled Senate bill, SB 696. The air district has been prevented by a recent court ruling from giving out emissions credits for power plants until it fully analyzes the environmental impact. Republican and some Democratic legislators, along with the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, want any new budget deal to overturn the court decision.
South Coast officials said they view new power plants as necessary to serve a growing population and prevent blackouts. But as a result of lawsuits brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups, the agency has delayed the permits for power plants, as well as for hundreds of other businesses, until the credits issue is resolved.
According to the July 16 letter from the Sierra Club, the American Lung Assn. and other groups, overturning the court decision in the budget deal would "add 10 tons per day of dirty particulate pollution to the Los Angeles Air Basin. ... Our organizations have argued strenuously against 11th-hour budget proposals to weaken environmental and public health laws that have nothing to do with the state budget."
Two other issues are also reportedly on the table. Bill Magavern, director of the California branch of the Sierra Club, said Schwarzenegger wants to insert a provision in the budget to overturn the State Lands Commission's denial of a plan to expand offshore oil drilling off Santa Barbara.
And, Magavern said, the governor is also seeking to use the budget deal as a vehicle for his earlier proposal to abolish a key scientific review agency, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which evaluates the impacts of chemical contaminants.
Aaron McLear, the governor's press secretary, said: "We don't comment on budget negotiations. Once there is a final agreement, we will share that with the press."