Laura Chick

The fates were kind to The Times in 2008. OK, not the financial fates, what with our parent company's bankruptcy filing and all. But five of the 31 wishes we made last year at this time came true; that may not seem like an impressive record, but in the...

The City Council doesn't lack for a sense of humor. Take last Friday, for example, when it scuttled an attempt to let voters clarify whether the city controller has the power to audit programs run by other elected officials. To get the joke, you'll...

Earl Ofari Hutchinson argued in favor of the notion of a 40-hour moratorium on murder in his Blowback, "Saving lives isn’t silliness." He and other activists who promoted it seem indignant that their concept, approved by the Los Angeles County Board...

A new campaign mailer from City Councilman Jack Weiss, a city attorney candidate, sparked unusually heated criticism from several of his council colleagues Tuesday with the election just three weeks away. The brochure sent to voters early this month...

Darn those gophers. They are the reason, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, that his irrigation system gushed instead of dripped and made his water usage soar far above comparable homeowners' in his former Mount Washington neighborhood. The little...

Los Angeles' approach to potential lawsuits is "reactionary and knee-jerk," often wasting taxpayer money in costly settlements and court judgments that could have been avoided, City Controller Laura Chick said Monday. Chick said the city paid $35 million...

Averting a trial that could have revealed embarrassing details about hazing within the Los Angeles Fire Department, the City Council voted Friday to pay nearly $1.5 million to a black firefighter who was served a meal laced with dog food by his...

LA.'s own "soft revolution" is, for the present, colored bright orange -- the color of Home Depot's nearly ubiquitous logo. By a 12-1 majority, the City Council last week took the highly unusual step of denying the desire of the home-improvement...

Los Angeles City Conptroller Laura Chick today said she has been interviewed by the FBI and federal prosecutors regarding an investigation of City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo. Chick said she was interviewed two weeks ago about her attempt to conduct a...

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa secured a second four-year term in Tuesday's election. But one of his closest allies, Councilman Jack Weiss, was headed for a May 19 runoff in the contest for city attorney. With about half of the...

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa offered a bleak financial forecast for city government over the next two years on Saturday, warning that deep cuts to services and other belt-tightening measures would be unavoidable because of the worsening economic...

Public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard overcharged the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power by $4.2 million through "unsubstantiated, unsupported and questionable" billings, the city controller charged in an audit released today. Controller Laura...