Mayor Hopes His Partnership for Schools Survives his Exit From Office | Contra Costa Times Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s experiment in managing some of the city’s toughest schools ends its first five-year term next year — just as he leaves office under term limits.  Retirement Costs Will Take a Larger Share of LA Budget, Estimates Show | LA Times Pension and healthcare costs for police and firefighters are projected to rise from $506 million of the general fund budget this year to $789 million by 2016. How the Deferred Action Immigration Program Went From Dream to Reality | Huffington Post LA The White House insists that the deferred action directive is part of a long-running effort to operate an effective and efficient deportation apparatus while Congressional gridlock remains. After establishing deportation priorities and giving immigration enforcement field offices greater discretion about which undocumented immigrants to let go, officials discovered that low-risk undocumented immigrants continued to clog the system. This prompted the Obama team to settle on a temporary, administrative solution, said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. LAUSD Truancy-Diversion Program Keeps Violators out of Courts | Daily News Chronically truant students will be referred to city-run youth centers rather than funneled into the criminal justice system under a program debuting Monday in Los Angeles Unified. The truancy-diversion program shifts the focus from punishing troubled students to resolving the problems that result in them frequently skipping school. Construction for Expo Line Stretch to Santa Monica Begins Monday | KPCC One of the first major construction projects for the extension of Expo Line tracks to Santa Monica will begin next week, as construction begins on a replacement for a decades-old railroad overpass. Crews will first tear down an old railroad overpass at National Boulevard in Palms. The old Southern Pacific rail bridge is one of two single-track overpasses that must be torn out and replaced with a modern, double-track bridge. 
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Mayor Hopes His Partnership for Schools Survives his Exit From Office | Contra Costa Times

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s experiment in managing some of the city’s toughest schools ends its first five-year term next year — just as he leaves office under term limits. 

Retirement Costs Will Take a Larger Share of LA Budget, Estimates Show | LA Times

Pension and healthcare costs for police and firefighters are projected to rise from $506 million of the general fund budget this year to $789 million by 2016.

How the Deferred Action Immigration Program Went From Dream to Reality | Huffington Post LA

The White House insists that the deferred action directive is part of a long-running effort to operate an effective and efficient deportation apparatus while Congressional gridlock remains. After establishing deportation priorities and giving immigration enforcement field offices greater discretion about which undocumented immigrants to let go, officials discovered that low-risk undocumented immigrants continued to clog the system. This prompted the Obama team to settle on a temporary, administrative solution, said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

LAUSD Truancy-Diversion Program Keeps Violators out of Courts | Daily News

Chronically truant students will be referred to city-run youth centers rather than funneled into the criminal justice system under a program debuting Monday in Los Angeles Unified. The truancy-diversion program shifts the focus from punishing troubled students to resolving the problems that result in them frequently skipping school.

Construction for Expo Line Stretch to Santa Monica Begins Monday | KPCC

One of the first major construction projects for the extension of Expo Line tracks to Santa Monica will begin next week, as construction begins on a replacement for a decades-old railroad overpass. Crews will first tear down an old railroad overpass at National Boulevard in Palms. The old Southern Pacific rail bridge is one of two single-track overpasses that must be torn out and replaced with a modern, double-track bridge. 

Young Undocumented Immigrants Can Finally Apply for Deferred Action | KPCC Young adult immigrants who arrived in this country illegally as children may finally apply for deportation relief. For people who qualify, it’s a step toward temporary legal residency.  Business Leader Wants Public Pension Decisions in Voters’ Hands | LA Times The top executive at one of Los Angeles’ key business groups called Wednesday for a ballot measure that would yank decisions on the pension benefits of civilian city employees away from the mayor and City Council and turn them over to the voters. LA County to Focus Funds on Chronically Homeless | LA Times Public officials and private donors will spend $105 million on more than a thousand chronic street dwellers. The marshaling of money is the most concrete product yet of an ambitious plan launched two years ago. Proposed Bike Safety Bill Requires Drivers to “Give 3” When Passing Cyclists | Blogdowntown A new bicycle safety bill, which would require drivers to give cyclists at least three feet of space when passing them from behind, is poised for a State Assembly vote in the next few weeks. Senate Bill (SB) 1464 is sponsored by the California Bicycle Coalition (CBC) along with the City of Los Angeles, and works to refine the existing law which requires drivers to pass at an undefined “safe distance.” Bullet Train to Vegas Risky Bet for Taxpayers | Daily News The Reason Foundation, a Libertarian think tank, conducted a “taxpayer risk analysis” of the proposed XpressWest high-speed rail line and concluded its business plan is based on outdated and overly optimistic market and ridership assumptions.
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Young Undocumented Immigrants Can Finally Apply for Deferred Action | KPCC

Young adult immigrants who arrived in this country illegally as children may finally apply for deportation relief. For people who qualify, it’s a step toward temporary legal residency. 

Business Leader Wants Public Pension Decisions in Voters’ Hands | LA Times

The top executive at one of Los Angeles’ key business groups called Wednesday for a ballot measure that would yank decisions on the pension benefits of civilian city employees away from the mayor and City Council and turn them over to the voters.

LA County to Focus Funds on Chronically Homeless | LA Times

Public officials and private donors will spend $105 million on more than a thousand chronic street dwellers. The marshaling of money is the most concrete product yet of an ambitious plan launched two years ago.

Proposed Bike Safety Bill Requires Drivers to “Give 3” When Passing Cyclists | Blogdowntown

A new bicycle safety bill, which would require drivers to give cyclists at least three feet of space when passing them from behind, is poised for a State Assembly vote in the next few weeks. Senate Bill (SB) 1464 is sponsored by the California Bicycle Coalition (CBC) along with the City of Los Angeles, and works to refine the existing law which requires drivers to pass at an undefined “safe distance.”

Bullet Train to Vegas Risky Bet for Taxpayers | Daily News

The Reason Foundation, a Libertarian think tank, conducted a “taxpayer risk analysis” of the proposed XpressWest high-speed rail line and concluded its business plan is based on outdated and overly optimistic market and ridership assumptions.