The California Economy

Mayor Villaraigosa Likes His Thai Massage

Soo Youn — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:16:24 +0000

Ever wonder what the mayor of Los Angeles does on Sunday afternoons? Well, yesterday he was getting a massage at Thai Sabai in Hollywood. We were told he was there with a date, we assume gal pal Lu Parker, TV journo and LA Times blogger.

LAPD burst into the massage parlor yesterday afternoon, announcing that the mayor had an appointment at 4 p.m. and asked the surprised workers if they had a back entrance. Well, the Thai masseuses really didn’t quite understand what was going on, we’re told, so the back entrance was probably unnecessary. (I mean, when LAPD comes into a massage parlor asking about a back entrance, the conversation could really go several different ways, no?) The mayor and his date came in and went in for their massage. Sorry no pics or tweets, but when you go to Thai Sabai, they give you an outfit to wear during your massage and it being Thai, it’s practically a mini-workout with stretches, etc. Would love to see that on a blog.

Maybe Parker will tweet about it. After all, it was only Friday that she updated us with:

@LuParker:

Great workout today at the gym. It’s amazing what our bodies are capable of if we challenge ourselves. 12:05 AM Nov 11th from web

Clinton and Bush Cancel LA and NY Joint Appearances

Soo Youn — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:56:59 +0000

Now it’s official, spokesmen for both former presidents confirm they are pulling out of the moderated panel in LA as well. They did one together in Toronto. The speaking fees have been reported as $100, 000 to $150,000 each.

Update 3: Motivation Squared? Bush + Clinton in LA? Not So Much NY…

Soo Youn — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:47:39 +0000

For those of you who missed George W. Bush on his motivational speaking tours, fear not. You can hear him speak in LA in Feb. But that’s not all - you can see and hear him appear with Clinton - Bill Clinton - that is, at the Gibson Amphitheatre, in Universal City on Mon. Feb. 22. The event is the 2010 Public Lecture of the American Jewish University, and I’m waiting for the press people to email back about how this came about. Thanks to the man who answered the phone at the box office, who said the event would be a moderated Q &A with the president of the university, Dr. Robert Wexler, and the conversation will range in topic from the current administration, to the economy and the legacy of the two POTUSes sharing the stage.

Tickets go on sale Thursday, Nov. 5 at 9 a.m. PST. and are expected to sell out v. quickly, I’m told. You think?

Update: If you miss these two former presidents in LA, you can catch them in New York at Radio City Music Hall, as part of the series, “Minds That Move The World” on Feb. 25. These tickets go on sale on Sunday. Like most hyped things in LA, this temporary coupling is now officially bi-coastal. The moderator for the NY event will be announced in the coming weeks, according to the press release. For extra time with these world-moving minds, and $1,250 VIP tickets, you get purported face time with the former presidents, the moderator, a photo-op and hors d’oevres. Oh, and cocktails.

I don’t profess to know how these appearances were conceived. I remember being told about the Laura Bush motivational speaking tour with Terry Bradshaw, Colin Powell and Rudy Giuliani last month - the link being that they are all Simon & Schuster authors, and then George W. Bush came on board, to much, um, publicity. But the last time I remember seeing any President Bush in an ad with Bill Clinton was after Hurricane Katrina. [I'm sure about to be corrected] Readers? Anybody know the origins to this? Email me at: soo@thefastertimes.com

Update: The New York Post is now reporting the Radio City event is canceled, because of overzealous promoting. No word yet on what this means for the LA appearance.

LA Mayor: Tweetie, Yes, Sometimes It’s Me

Soo Youn — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:06:39 +0000

Remember how I was wondering about the mayor’s tweets the other day? And how despite everyone telling me I was foolish, I still think (and care) that he sometimes does put his own 140 character thoughts out there? I got confirmation today that he does! From the man himself, in person (no tweet-a-tweet or twet-a-twet). I mean, I’m not Ryan Seacrest. See below.

Where: The Michael Jackson “This Is It” movie premiere at the Nokia Theater / L. A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. Specifically the red carpet.

When: At the tail end as everyone was wrapping up, and the random assortment of 90210 actors, people of dubious fame or connection, had passed through, suddenly, the skies parted and Will Smith did a lap for us. No interviews. Then the “Wizard of Oz” winds continued (seriously, a leaf fell against my face - and it hurt) and blew in none other than….

Who: LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa himself, walking down the remains of the outdoor red runway. Fresh from the presser where he announced the three candidates to replace outgoing LAPD Chief Bill Bratton…

Why: “Because of the premiere,” says His Honor. “And also because of L.A. Live, which I’ve long said is central to the revitalization of the city….” Sure! Villaraigosa proceeded to tell me he met MJ once a long time ago and had been to many of his concerts. Uh huh….but what I really want to know, since he was all gleeful and in love and whatnot at the U2 concert the other night would this MJ movie be better? “That U2 concert is as good as it gets!”

But what I wanted to know, even more than that, was, “Mayor, is it really you tweeting? Like from the concert? That’s you, right? Not staff?” He either didn’t hear me or pretended not to hear me. That’s cool. But then, as if Christmas had come early, in the dead time before his KTLA live interview, I asked a second and third time. “So about the tweets…At the games and concerts, that’s you right? ‘I LOVE LA’ with four exclamation points? Come on, that’s you, right?”

He finally looked at me and smiled, “‘I LOVE LA!!!’ is me.”

Yay!

P.S. I wondered what the mayor would think of the movie…and then he tweeted the following:

villaraigosa

Go Lakers! Who else feels a repeat coming on?about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Wait! Did he go to the Lakers game? Did he walk the red carpet for an event he didn’t even go to?

And then, he twitted again:

villaraigosa

@RyanSeacrest it’s in the bag! I love LA!about 1 hour ago from TwitterBerry

Restauranteur with Entertainment Industry Ties Held in Death of Unborn Child - Police

Soo Youn — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:13:28 +0000

The scion of a prominent Chicago family who runs hyped restaurants in Los Angeles, Miami and New York was arrested over the weekend for slaying an unborn child, who police say was his. Joshua Woodward, 37, was charged early Sunday after flying back to LA on Saturday, sources with knowledge of the situation said. Here’s the language from the Los Angeles Police Department press release:

“On October 19, 2009, the Los Angeles Police Department completed an Injury Report to capture the suspicious circumstances of a miscarriage. The miscarriage occurred in approximately the thirteenth week of gestation. Joshua Woodward is believed to have been the biological father of the baby.

Wilshire Area Homicide investigators established probable cause to arrest Woodward in connection with the death of the unborn baby. At about 3:15 a.m. this morning, Woodward was arrested in the 3600 Block of West 3rd Street without incident. Woodward was booked at the Wilshire Jail for Penal Code Section 187 – Murder, where he is currently held in lieu of $2 million bail.”

Charges will be present to the District Attorney’s office on Tuesday. Woodward is a partner or owner of the company that owns the Table 8 restaurants which includes the burger joint 8 oz. on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, Table 8 at the Cooper Square Hotel in New York, and Table 8 in South Beach. According to Woodward’s imdb.com profile, his company also owns Rokbar with partners Tommy Lee and musician Dave Navarro and L Scorpion Hollywood with actress Kristen Bell.

Updated: LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: True Tweets?

Soo Youn — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:28:56 +0000

Lately I’ve been in conversations about whether LA’s Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ever authors his own tweets. I say sometimes. For example would his staff be writing this? (For those who don’t know, Lu = Lu Parker, his latest local TV reporter the mayor is dating.)

villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa | Los Angeles, CA

I’m at the U2/Black Eye Peas concert with Lu and the world is watching. I love L.A. :) 42 minutes ago V

Update: Here’s another one.

villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa | Los Angeles, CA

U2: A message of Peace tonight from L.A. to the world. I LOVE L.A.!!! about 1 hour ago

Los Angeles Times: Axe Drops Again

Soo Youn — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:09:56 +0000

After weeks of speculation, it looks like the layoffs at the Los Angeles Times have begun again. The newsroom was bracing for 35 to 40 job losses last Thursday or Friday, but it looks like they held off till today. Kevin Roderick at laobserved.com reports Tina Daunt, who writes the Cause Celebre column is out. This follows yesterday’s news that the New York Times will cut 100 newsroom jobs by the end of the year.

Milken SOS: Could Los Angeles Go Bankrupt?

Soo Youn — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:59:48 +0000

Here’s a sobering thought: could the City of Angels go bankrupt? Following up on recent comments by former LA Mayor Richard Riordan that Los Angeles was on the way to bankruptcy unless it got concessions from unions, a morning panel entitled: “Time for Change: How to Reform the State’s Budget Crisis” at the Milken Institute’s 2009 State of the State conference , seemed to agree, “yes.”

“Sadly, I think he’s correct,” said Former Governor Pete Wilson. “In many cases Chapter 9 [Municipality bankruptcy] is available to local governments and many will do so [declare.] Vallejo up north has already done it….and San Diego is working to resist it. Dick Riordan is right. Not just municipalities, school districts, special districts of all kinds.” This dovetails his earlier comments regarding the state budget, which was finally nominally balanced with tremendous cuts in education, “We’re a state. We cannot declare bankruptcy. Local governments can, we cannot.”

California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer said the typical state pension is $1800 per month, and that “current pension benefits are probably unsustainable.”

The panel had started on a positive note, albeit superficially, about how the state had finally closed a $60 billion budget gap. The biggest slashes were in education, with Michael Genest, director of the California Department of Finance saying, “all of these cut are temporary,” but clearly no end date for the cuts were mentioned.

John Chiang, state controller, said that amid a backdrop of 12.2 percent unemployment, state revenue from personal income, sales and corporate taxes had severely dwindled, noting that “California has not been net cash positive since July 12, 2007.”

And those are some highlights from a fairly frank talk. “It’s a train wreck and it’s just getting worse,” Lockyer opened by saying. “For those that think that eliminating spending is the answer, 75 percent of the California budget is transferred to local governments, meaning education, healthcare and prisons.”

Milken SOS: Whither California’s Economies?

Soo Youn — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:14:01 +0000

Today, thefastertimes.com attends the Milken Institute’s 2009 California State of the State conference. We’ll listen as a couple of former governors, the controller, the treasurer, outgoing Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton and of course chairman Michael Milken (yes, that Michael Milken - former “Junk Bond King”-felon-turned-philanthropist) talk about the economy, the budget, real estate, education and other issues that need fixing.

Anna Nicole Smith: Larry Birkhead’s Testimony Begins

Soo Youn — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:37:33 +0000

Today is Day Four of the preliminary hearing to see if there’s enough to bring a criminal case against Howard K. Stern and two of Anna Nicole Smith’s doctors for illegally supplying her with prescription drugs and controlled substances that led to her death in 2007. Before baby daddy Larry Birkhead took the stand today, we heard Anna Nicole Smith’s former body guard Maurice Brighthaupt testify to the depth of the former Playmates’s grief at the death of her son Daniel. At her son’s burial service, Smith was so distraught that “she tried to climb into the casket,” according to Howard K. Stern’s lawyer, Steve Sadow. “I’m the one who stopped her,” said Brighthaupt, who said he was later “lashed out” at by Smith for his actions.

At one point, the bodyguard said about Stern, that Smith, “felt that he [Stern] had killed him [Daniel]…she tried to put blame on people,” Brighthaupt said. “‘You killed him, it’s your fault,” Brighthaupt recalled Smith saying to Stern in her despair. At this, Stern, clearly agitated, looked back at his former private investigator, John Nazarian, who sat amid the media rows, and mouthed, “That’s such a lie.”

Birkhead took the stand at about 10 a.m. wearing a pinstriped dark suit, blueish tie and makeup. When we took the morning break, the prosecutor, Renee Rose, was trying to convince the judge to allow video of Smith and her internist, Sandeep Kapoor at a Gay Pride event…..