Sheriff Lee Baca's exit from race shifts challengers' campaigns

Before Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca announced his surprise resignation this week, those campaigning to replace him mostly argued that the 15-year incumbent needed to go so leadership could be returned to the beleaguered department.

When former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka announced his candidacy atop a helicopter landing pad, he said county residents were "long overdue for a new direction from their sheriff." The prior day, former Cmdr. Bob Olmsted announced his bid, saying he was "running for sheriff to restore integrity."

Now the man who was their foil will be gone in three weeks, inexorably changing the campaign for both challengers, according to political analysts.

"They're going to have to talk about themselves and why they're the most qualified, and that makes it a totally different campaign all the way around," said Allan Hoffenblum, a former GOP strategist and publisher of the nonpartisan California Target Book, which handicaps legislative races. "There's no one to contrast with."

In one practical manner, Baca's decision helps them — despite the myriad scandals that unfolded under his watch, he would have been a formidable candidate. Baca had high name recognition in a county of 10 million people, a strong fundraising ability and deep ties to Los Angeles' diverse communities. Taking him on was never going to be easy.

But his departure is prompting many who once decided against running to reconsider. Already, Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers has announced that he is joining the race; among those weighing a bid are Assistant Sheriff James Hellmold, Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell and Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Terry Hara.

Given the ongoing federal investigation of the sheriff's county jail management, which has resulted in the recent arrests of 18 current and former department members, voters may look elsewhere for a fresh start, as city leaders did when they appointed William J. Bratton from New York to take over the Los Angeles Police Department.

"I think it increases the likelihood that voters might start looking for someone outside of the department who is not tainted by any of the department's problems," Hoffenblum said. "It's going to be wide open."

Tanaka said Baca's retirement does not affect his campaign, which is focused on telling voters about his crime-reducing efforts during 33 years in law enforcement, as well as the fiscal responsibility he showed when managing the Sheriff's Department's budget and serving as Gardena's mayor.

He added that outsiders from other agencies have never dealt with a system as multifaceted as the county's Sheriff's Department, which is the largest in the world.

"The Sheriff's Department is a very complex operation, and I think experience is going to make a big difference when voters take a look" at the race, Tanaka said.

John Shallman, Olmsted's campaign consultant, said the former commander offers a mix of insider knowledge with an outsider's perspective. The consultant said Olmsted had a track record of ferreting out misconduct that occurred under Baca's watch, and going to the FBI when he believed that Baca and Tanaka ignored his warnings of problems in the jails.

"He's the guy who's been on the front lines of this battle, standing up every single day, talking about reforming this department," Shallman said. "Everyone else is going to be a Johnny-come-lately."

Shallman added that Olmsted ran because of his "political courage," while new candidates would be "political opportunists," driven by the conditions of the field rather than the department's needs.

"Now people are going to come out and say they're getting in for all the right reasons. I think voters are not looking for another politician to be in that office. I think quite the opposite," he said.

On Wednesday, Olmsted's campaign argued that Baca's retirement was the direct result of Olmsted going to the FBI with his concerns about misconduct in the jails, and the candidate called for a series of debates in the race.

"Voters deserve a thoughtful, in-depth, and spirited campaign where they'll have a real opportunity to learn about the candidates' backgrounds and their visions for the office of sheriff," Olmsted wrote in a letter to media outlets asking them to host debates.

One thing everyone can agree on is that the race will be unlike any sheriff's contest in more than half a century.

Traditionally, retiring sheriffs all but anointed their successors, with the exception of Baca's run in 1998. That year he was challenging his former mentor and boss, Sheriff Sherman Block, who appeared to be headed toward reelection until he died days before the voting.

"It's astonishing — we're looking at the first true, open and competitive race for sheriff in generations," said Raphael J. Sonenshein, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles. "It should certainly be an opportunity for voters to look at the widest range of candidates — it's like a big job interview."

seema.mehta@latimes.com

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Clippers' J.J. Redick might be back Friday

They re-signed point guard Maalik Wayns on Wednesday, but perhaps the best news was hearing Coach Doc Rivers say that guard J.J. Redick, who has been out since Nov. 29 because of a broken right wrist and torn ligaments on the side of the wrist, "has a very good chance of playing Friday" against the Lakers.

"If he's ready, we'll probably start him," Rivers said. "If he's ready for those type of minutes. I don't think he would be. But I don't know."

Rivers also said that free-agent forward Hedo Turkoglu will work out for the Clippers on Thursday at the team's practice facility.

The Clippers watched Turkoglu, who was waived by the Magic last week, work out in Orlando over the weekend.

Turkoglu also had been told to stay away from the Magic this season. He played for Orlando in only 11 games last season because of injuries and a 20-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

The Clippers are hoping that the 6-10 Turkoglu still has the ballhandling skills to play small forward.

"Well, we're looking at him," Rivers said. "We're going to bring him in and work him out pretty soon. That's all I can say."

The Clippers have a maximum roster of 15 players and would have to waive a player if they signed Turkoglu.

Clippers sign Wayns

With Chris Paul out up to six weeks because of a separated right shoulder, the Clippers signed Wayns, two days after waiving him.

Wayns had been active for three games before he was released, but the second-year guard from Villanova hasn't played this season.

The Clippers signed former Laker Darius Morris to a 10-day contract Monday night, and Morris and Wayns will be the backups behind starter Darren Collison.

"I just think that while Chris is out, it's good to have literally three guards that can play that position," Rivers said. "And that's what we have."

Rivers also said that rookie Reggie Bullock, out because of a sprained left ankle, probably won't be ready until next week, perhaps when the Clippers host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner

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Anaheim voters to decide if council elections should be by district

For nearly two years, fierce debate over whether Anaheim should change its election system from at-large to districts has roiled the resort city, leading to raucous meetings and angry protests outside City Hall.

On Tuesday, the city announced that it would put the issue to a vote in November.

"This is about something very simple, letting the people vote," said Mayor Tom Tait, who supports creating council districts.

Anaheim is the largest city in California that still retains at-large voting to select local representatives, a system that some contend has left Latinos politically powerless in a city where they now make up a majority. The city is divided along ethnic and economic lines, and the political power base in town has often been firmly planted in the upscale hills on the city's east side.

A majority of the council had previously opposed putting the issue on the ballot but relented to settle a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2012 on behalf of three residents who accused the city of violating the California Voting Rights Act.

Though Latinos make up about 53% of the city's population, they account for less than half of eligible voters. Few Latinos have ever been elected to the City Council.

Anaheim is just one of several cities across California that in recent years have faced voting rights lawsuits urging district elections. In 2012, Compton settled a similar suit by putting the issue on the ballot. The measure was approved by voters. More recently, a judge found Palmdale in violation of the state's Voting Rights Act and ordered the city to hold a new by-district City Council election.

In Anaheim, each side is now gearing up to take its case to the voters.

On Wednesday morning, a coalition of local organizers, union members, Latino groups and others who have advocated for districts stood in front of City Hall. They held placards that read "Yes on districts in Anaheim" and shouted "It's time, Anaheim."

"I'm confident that the people, when they're given a choice between districts and at-large, will choose districts," Tait told the crowd.

According to the settlement, City Council members will be allowed to write a ballot argument in support of the districting measure but cannot write the argument opposing it. Tait said he was prepared to write the supporting statement.

Mayor Pro Tem Kris Murray, who voted last year against putting a council district measure on the ballot, said she decided to support the settlement so that the city would stop incurring legal costs and because it allowed the issue to go to a vote, as opposed to having court-imposed districts. The suit has cost the city about $1.2 million so far. As part of the settlement, the city will have to pay the plaintiffs' court costs.

Murray said she "will be vocally opposed to a ballot measure that seeks to implement single-member districts."

"I just believe that the single-member districts divide the city and divide how we're governed," she said.

If the measure is approved, the settlement calls for an advisory committee of three retired judges to help draw district lines. It also says that the city would begin using districts in the 2016 municipal election.

In addition, the November ballot will also include a proposal to increase the size of the City Council from four to six members. That measure was approved for the ballot by the council last year and had been scheduled for a vote in June. The mayor will continue to be elected at-large.

The settlement also requires that a measure to add another election model known as residency-based districts to the city charter be deleted from the ballot. In a residency-based model, council members must live within designated districts but are elected at-large. Nearby Santa Ana has a similar system. In a district-based system, voters in each district elect their own representative.

The residency-based model was approved by the council last year and was expected to be placed on the ballot so that it could become part of the city charter. If the district measure fails, residency-based districts can be put in place.

Proponents of districts said they're planning to go door to door, handing out fliers and trying to persuade residents one by one to support the measure. Based on prior election turnout, they will need to win over about 40,000 voters for the measure to pass, said Leigh Shelton, a spokeswoman for the Unite Here Local 11 union, which backs districts.

Ada Tamayo, a local activist, said she knows getting those votes won't be easy.

"There are a lot of people in Anaheim who still don't know about districts," she said in Spanish. "Hopefully we'll be able to encourage them."

paloma.esquivel@latimes.com

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Sheriff Baca's resignation leaves much up in the air for department

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca's surprise retirement announcement Tuesday upended the election campaign to lead the nation's largest sheriff's department and added new complexities to reform efforts after a series of scandals and an ongoing federal criminal probe. With Baca out of the race, the field of candidates is expected to widen in what will be the first sheriff's election without an incumbent in more than 50 years.

Immediately after Baca's announcement, one of his assistant sheriffs, Todd Rogers, declared his candidacy.

"My calling card will be 'Back to basics,'" said Rogers, a councilman in Lakewood, who added that Baca had been poorly served by previous top managers. "There has been catastrophic failure of leadership in the Sheriff's Department."

Another assistant sheriff, James Hellmold, said he was also considering a run but has not made a decision.

PHOTOS: Sheriff agrees to changes at jails

"I am a crime fighter," he said. "I am not a politician."

Baca described both men as highly qualified to succeed him but stopped short of offering a formal endorsement.

Former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka and former Cmdr. Bob Olmsted had been considered the main challengers in the race. Retired Sheriff's Lt. Patrick Gomez and Los Angeles Police Det. Lou Vince are also running.

"You'll see a number of candidates come out now because the sheriff's not running," said Supervisor Don Knabe. "It changes the dynamics."

Sheriff hopefuls would have to move quickly. The deadline to enter the race is in March, and serious contenders will need to raise enough money to reach voters in a county of 10 million residents before the June primary.

One key question is whether the race will generate a strong candidate from outside the Sheriff's Department who cannot be tied to any of the agency's various problems.

Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell would fit that mold. McDonnell, who served as second in command to L.A. Police Chief William J. Bratton before moving to Long Beach, was one of seven members of a county commission that investigated allegations of excessive force against county inmates and faulted Baca's management of the jails. He weighed a run last year but decided against challenging Baca, citing the difficulty in raising money to unseat an incumbent.

"I have been strongly encouraged to the enter the race, and I am willing to give it a fresh look," McDonnell said Tuesday.

LAPD Deputy Chief Terry Hara, 56, said he too is weighing a bid.

Baca's exit also raises concerns about the fate of department reforms. He had expressed a commitment to cooperate with a new inspector general appointed by the Board of Supervisors to oversee his agency and this week endorsed a plan to set up a permanent civilian oversight commission.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who has opposed such a commission, said Tuesday that he thinks the department needs some sort of federal oversight to address "chronic structural problems."

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said he and his colleagues would move swiftly to select an interim department head who would be committed to increasing transparency and accountability until voters choose Baca's successor. Baca plans to step down at the end of the month, well before the June primary.

"The first order of business is to make sure that reform is institutionalized," Ridley-Thomas said.

At a press conference announcing his retirement, Baca insisted his jails were safe and that his reforms aimed at reducing force against inmates were in place. He recommended that the Board of Supervisors pick his head of jails, Assistant Sheriff Terri McDonald, to temporarily run the department until a permanent successor is elected.

McDonald, previously a top official for the state's prison system, joined the Sheriff's Department last year after the blue-ribbon county commission recommended hiring an outside custody expert to run the county's jails.

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Wednesday's TV Highlights: 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' on NBC

A serial rapist (Pablo Schreiber) confronts Benson in court on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." (Michael Parmelee / NBC / December 13, 2013)

By Ed Stockly

January 7, 2014, 8:00 p.m.

Customized TV Listings are available here: www.latimes.com/tvtimes

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Jan. 5 - 11, 2014 in PDF format

This week's TV Movies  

---

SERIES

Revolution Miles (Billy Burke) leads Rachel and Monroe (Elizabeth Mitchell, David Lyons) on an expedition south of the border. Giancarlo Esposito, Kim Raver and Stephen Collins also star in this new episode. 8 p.m. NBC

Arrow Oliver and Felicity (Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards) decide to join Diggle (David Ramsey) on his rescue mission to Russia, but things get complicated when Isabel (Summer Glau) insists on coming along. 8 p.m. KTLA

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit The stress of facing her attacker (Pablo Schreiber) in the courtroom sets back Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) recovery from the ordeal. Dann Florek, Ice-T and Danny Pino also star in this new episode. 9 p.m. NBC

Nova The season premiere celebrates NASA's Kepler telescope discovery of thousands of exo-planets orbiting other stars, including some that may be able to harbor life. 9 p.m. KOCE

Psych In the season premiere, Shawn and Gus (James Roday, Dulé Hill) are in London, where they have another encounter with a notorious art thief (Cary Elwes). Corbin Bernsen, Maggie Lawson and Timothy Omundson also star. 9 p.m. USA

Chicago PD Jason Beghe and Jon Seda lead the cast of his new police drama from the producers of "Chicago Fire." 10 p.m. NBC

Chasing Shackleton In this new three-part series, adventurer Tim Jarvis reenacts Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Trans-Antarctic Expedition. 10 p.m. KOCE

American Horror Story: Coven Stevie Nicks guest stars. 10 p.m. FX

SPECIALS

The 40th Annual People's Choice Awards Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs ("2 Broke Girls") host this year's telecast. Sara Bareilles, OneRepublic and Brad Paisley are scheduled to perform. 9 p.m. CBS

TALK SHOWS

CBS This Morning William H. Macy; Dwain Schenck; Joe Scarborough. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS

Today Mariska Hargitay; Dick Wolf; Will Forte. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC

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Team Canada's Sochi roster features 11 returning gold medalists

From mighty Canada with its 11 returning gold medalists to humble hopefuls Latvia and Norway, the remaining entrants in the Sochi Olympic hockey tournament announced their rosters Tuesday, triggering vigorous debate in hockey rinks around the world.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty's second straight selection for Canada was automatic, but forward Jeff Carter was a mild surprise. The Kings will have six Olympians, with host Russia choosing defenseman Slava Voynov, and the previous picks of center Anze Kopitar for Slovenia and goaltender Jonathan Quick and forward Dustin Brown by Team USA.

"Any time you get to represent Canada and put on that jersey, it's the biggest honor ever, really," Doughty said. "I'm so excited to be finally named."

The Ducks have seven Olympians, including center Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry returning from Canada's 2010 championship team. Finland chose 43-year-old winger Teemu Selanne, who will tie an Olympic hockey record with his sixth appearance, and also chose Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen. "We play for him," Vatanen said of Selanne. "It might be his last Olympics. You never know."

Selanne called his selection "a big honor, again," but teammate Saku Koivu declined the honor to rest and train for what he hopes will be a long playoff run by the Ducks.

"Physically, I won't be where I want to be to compete against the best players in the world," Koivu said, calling it the toughest decision of his career. "It was a dream, but the older you get, you have to stay honest with yourself."

Also on Tuesday, Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg was chosen to play for Sweden. Defenseman Cam Fowler was previously named to Team USA and goaltender Jonas Hiller was named to Team Switzerland.

The St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings and defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks each had 10 players selected.

Russia, under pressure to win at home, named 15 NHL players, including goalies Sergei Bobrovsky of Columbus and Semyon Varlamov of Colorado. The remaining 10 come from the Kontinental Hockey League. The NHL contingent includes goalscoring leader Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and dazzling Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings, as well as 18-year-old standout forward Valeri Nichushkin of Dallas. Winger Ilya Kovalchuk, who left the New Jersey Devils after last season to play for SKA St. Petersburg, also made the team.

"I'm very proud for myself and very proud for my family. It's huge," Ovechkin told reporters in Washington.

Who was left off Canada's roster caused as much of a stir as who was on it.

San Jose center Joe Thornton, the NHL's assist leader, didn't make it. Nor did Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux or defending NHL scoring champion Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning. That last omission was tricky, because Team Canada's executive director, Steve Yzerman, is also the Lightning's general manager and had to deliver the bad news to St. Louis.

Canada went for a mobile defense, unlike previous Olympics. Doughty will be joined by Montreal's P.K. Subban, Chicago's Duncan Keith, St. Louis' Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo, steady Dan Hamhuis of Vancouver, Marc-Edouard Vlasic of San Jose and Nashville stalwart Shea Weber.

Up front, Dallas' Jamie Benn won a spot for his recent production and New York Rangers winger Rick Nash won a spot despite his scoring woes. Canada's centers are its strength: Boston's Patrice Bergeron, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Getzlaf, the New York Islanders' John Tavares, Chicago's Jonathan Toews and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos.

The selection of Crosby's left wing, Chris Kunitz, drew some fire but Kunitz brings production and physicality. Carter's quick shot and ability to bring much-needed speed on the wing worked in his favor.

"Everyone knows what Canadians expect. Anything but gold is unacceptable," Perry said. "That's the way we look at it."

Canada's biggest challenges loom from the U.S., always-skillful Sweden — led by five-time Olympian Daniel Alfredsson — and Finland, with remarkable goaltending depth in Dallas' Kari Lehtonen, San Jose's Antti Niemi, and Boston's Tuukka Rask.

"We are not the favorites, but the gap between the best team and the sixth team is not very big," said Selanne, who made his Finnish Olympic debut in 1992 and has won a silver medal and two bronze medals. "Anybody can beat anybody."

Times staff writers Lisa Dillman and Lance Pugmire contributed to this report.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

Twitter: @helenenothelen

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Motion filed for approval of NFL concussion settlement

Lawyers for thousands of former NFL players suing the league over concussions have filed a motion in federal court for preliminary approval of a proposed $765-million settlement with the league.

The terms of the settlement were reached in August, although the plaintiffs have yet to vote on the deal. It would cover more than 18,000 retired players, whether they had sued the league or not.

Details of the proposal became public Monday, and according to multiple reports call for payouts of as much as $5 million for players suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease; as much as $4 million to the families of brain-damaged athletes who committed suicide; up to $3 million for cases of dementia; and various lesser amounts for lesser ailments. Players with milder forms of dementia may receive treatment but not payouts.

The proposal now must be approved by U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody of Philadelphia, who is expected to hold a fairness hearing in the coming months.

Current and future NFL players are excluded from the agreement, which was filed Monday in federal court. Retired players who agree to the settlement surrender their right to sue the league.

The law firm representing the players issued a news release Monday to tout the plan.

"This is an extraordinary settlement for retired NFL players and their families — from those who suffer with severe neuro-cognitive illnesses today, to those who are currently healthy but fear they may develop symptoms decades into the future," Christopher Seeger of Seeger Weiss and Sol Weiss of Anapol Schwartz, the co-lead counsels for the retired NFL plaintiffs, said in a statement.

But some of the plaintiffs are deeply skeptical about whether the money will be sufficient to cover their needs. The proposed deal calls for the league to spend $675 million for compensatory claims during a 20-year period for players with neurological symptoms, $75 million for baseline testing for asymptomatic men, and $10 million for research and education. The league would pay an additional $112 million to the players' lawyers for fees and expenses, bringing the total to close to $900 million.

Critics of the proposal say that is a meager amount for a league that generates nearly $10 billion in annual revenue.

"Here's what they want to do: They want to fund a bunch of studies, and then the guys who are living will get nothing, our families will get no relief at all," Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLamielleure said, noting $675 million spread over two decades would represent roughly $1 million per team per year. "That's what everybody's expecting. Same old story: Delay, deny and hope we'll die."

The more than 4,500 plaintiffs will have the ability to opt out of the deal, but there's no guarantee they could build enough of a consensus to change the settlement or have the resources to effectively sue the league on their own. Players who do not vote for or against the settlement will be considered to have voted in favor of it.

Former NFL running back Kevin Turner, a class representative who suffers from ALS, said in a written statement: "The compensation provided in this settlement will lift a heavy burden off of the men who are suffering. It will give them and their families the security and care to have the best quality of life they are able to have. This settlement is another important step for ensuring generations of football players do not suffer the way that many in my generation have."

Another class representative, Shawn Wooden, a former NFL safety, said in a written statement the settlement "represents peace of mind to me, and to the thousands of other retired players who do not have serious symptoms but worry about what the future may hold."

Not every plaintiff agrees, however.

"The numbers don't jibe," DeLamielleure said. "That's why everyone's going, 'What's going on?' They've never jibed from day one. Some guy called me and said, 'That means you can get $175,000.' I said, 'I don't want $175,000. I want healthcare, health insurance. That's all we've asked for.'"

But he conceded: "Who are you going to fight? City Hall? You're one guy out here by yourself."

sam.farmer@latimes.com

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The South comes west for day of college football bliss at BCS finale

A mere three hours separate Auburn from Florida State. But where the Auburn folks come in with their iPhones and expensive sweaters, the Florida State fans show up all chicken-fried — big hair, big personalities. You know you're a Florida State fan, the saying goes, if your wife ever got her hairdo caught in a ceiling fan.

No school should be summed up by its football fans. USC, by all estimates, is a pretty sophisticated place, though you'd never conclude that from walking through campus on game day.

Jim Morrison and Faye Dunaway attended Florida State, for instance, so there's a disconnect right there.

That said, if a Cessna landed on an FSU fan's head 20 minutes before game time, would he even know it, or just start making buzzy airplane noises with his lips?

Look, God bless 'em all. When you spend $1,000 over face value for your ticket, you can do whatever you damn well please. Besides, we can be a little buzzy out here ourselves.

Monday, the South rose again, as it continuously does in college football. The golf course bordering the Rose Bowl was the initial battlefield. One tailgating army on one side, the opposing troops on the other.

A drainage canal — and maybe a lifestyle — separated them but they were all united by their true passion, college football at the highest level.

First-class fans too. Not much jawing. World domination is a wonderful thing, but both sets of fans claimed to be truly happy just to make it here. Said a few nice things about L.A. too.

Our strip clubs, of course, could be better (I apologized and promised to look into it). But the locals are friendly, the fans insisted. And the climate? Not so bad.

"It's 30 degrees in Auburn right now," one fan blurted.

"Not nobody wants to be anywhere else right now," another Tigers fan assured him.

By the way, are you as confused by these War Eagle chants as I am? Auburn is the Tigers, right? Yet up and down Colorado Boulevard for two days, the Auburn faithful have been yelling "WAR EAGLE!" over and over.

Patsy Lagen explains it, in a Rose Bowl parking lot, while her husband, Bob, basks in the sunshine nearby.

According to Patsy, in 1892 a Civil War vet unleashed his pet war eagle at an Auburn-Georgia game, and it proceeded to fly 'round and 'round the stadium during an Auburn rally.

Ever since, they've been doing this whirligig motion and yelling "WAR EAGLE!"

Even if it's not true, you want it to be.

Sunblock, beer, random acts of blindness, that was the Rose Bowl tailgate scene before Monday's BCS finale. No sign of a polar vortex here. Lambeau what?

As usual, the corporate tents were the worst places to be, all that free liquor and false friendship.

Better to be in the parking lots, with Bob and Patsy, or Emerson Lee and his buddy Brandon Montalto, who flew in from Destin, Fla., to root on their beloved Seminoles.

"Save the vodka!" Montalto says as they stash their cooler before entering the stadium.

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Yellen wins confirmation as Fed chief

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Janet L. Yellen as the next chief of the Federal Reserve in a historic vote that put a woman in charge of the central bank for the first time but with the weakest show of support in the Fed's 100-year history.

Earning just 68% of the vote, Yellen will take over a once low-profile institution that has become a polarizing force in Washington's ongoing political warfare, even as it has evolved into the world's most important and influential central bank.

With frigid weather nationwide preventing some lawmakers from returning to Washington, the Senate voted 56-26 Monday to approve the former UC Berkeley economist to succeed Ben S. Bernanke on Feb. 1. In all, 45 Democrats and 11 Republicans voted for her confirmation, and 26 GOP lawmakers voted against.

President Obama swept aside the Republican dissent and pointed to the bipartisan support received by Yellen, whom he nominated in September after an unusually public campaign by her supporters that highlighted the Fed's increased profile.

"The American people will have a fierce champion who understands that the ultimate goal of economic and financial policymaking is to improve the lives, jobs and standard of living of American workers and their families," Obama said.

Before the financial crisis sent the recession deeper in late 2008 and left the Fed to devise extraordinary measures to try to spark a faster recovery, the confirmation process usually produced little or no opposition.

For many GOP senators, their "no" votes were as much against the aggressive policies and direction of the central bank to boost the economy than against the 67-year-old Yellen, said Chris Krueger, a senior policy analyst at financial services firm Guggenheim Partners in Washington.

"Being anti-Fed in a lot of congressional districts is just good politics, " Krueger said.

The Fed played a key role in helping bail out the financial industry, starting in 2008, to try to stabilize the economy. Then it pushed its benchmark interest rate to near zero, where it has stayed for more than five years, making it cheap to borrow but hurting savers and those on fixed incomes.

The Fed also has launched three rounds of bond-buying that have more than quadrupled the central bank's assets to about $4 trillion while flooding the economy with more money that some analysts fear could lead to runaway inflation, though overall prices so far have remained stable.

Increasing criticism of the central bank led Krueger to call the Fed the "monetary version of the Supreme Court," which in recent decades has seen once routine confirmations turn into bruising political battles.

Yellen, the first Democrat to win confirmation since Paul Volcker in 1983, has been a strong supporter and confidante of Bernanke in championing the so-called easy-money policies the Fed has used to fight high unemployment. That has earned both Yellen and Bernanke the wrath of conservative Republicans.

The final vote tally for Yellen, however, has little practical significance on financial markets or the Fed's policymaking and ability to operate independently, economists said.

"It's been known for quite a while that Yellen was going to be the new Fed chair," said Joshua Feinman, chief global economist at Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management in New York. "Her views are very well known. She's been at the center of what the Fed has done now for a number of years, and it would be hard to imagine a more seamless transition going from Bernanke to Yellen."

Democratic leaders noted the historic nature of Yellen's nomination and praised the Brooklyn native for her deep knowledge and experience. Since 2010, she has been the Fed's vice chair and previously was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She also served as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors in the Clinton administration.

"She has proven through her extensive and impressive record in public service and academia that she is most qualified to be the next chair," said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Timothy Johnson (D-S.D.). "Americans should feel reassured that we will have her at the helm of the Fed as our nation continues to recover from the Great Recession."

Even so, most Republicans and Fed critics used the occasion to voice their displeasure at the institution's policies.

The conservative group Heritage Action for America called on senators to oppose her confirmation and said it would include the vote in its annual legislative score card of key congressional decisions.

"Her historically weak support highlights the growing concern over the Federal Reserve's expanded authority and aggressive use of monetary policy," the group said.

Yellen's confirmation margin has no direct effect on her job because the Fed is an independent agency, noted Allan H. Meltzer, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and author of "A History of the Federal Reserve."

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Judge allows access to emails about Arizona immigration law

TUCSON — A federal judge has given opponents of Arizona's sweeping anti-illegal-immigration law access to emails, letters and memos between supporters of SB 1070 and legislators to see whether there are racial overtones in the messages.

In December, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton in Phoenix rejected arguments made by two of the law's supporters, who maintained that communications sent to lawmakers who created and supported SB 1070 were confidential.

Challengers to SB 1070 called Bolton's ruling a victory because their lawsuit was based partly on allegations that legislators meant to discriminate against Latinos and other people of color. If so, the challengers argue, the law could violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

This is just the latest twist in an ongoing dispute on the surviving and most divisive provision of Arizona's immigration enforcement law, considered the toughest state law against illegal immigration in the country. Both inside and outside Arizona, the measure generated scorn as well as praise, with some states using it as a model for their own immigration laws.

Bolton's ruling covers more than just the communications about SB 1070. Challengers also want to see emails, letters and memos related to the creation of earlier immigration measures. She did not set a deadline for turning over the emails.

In late December, the attorneys for two anti-illegal-immigration groups, the Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Immigration Reform Law Institute, filed a motion for the decision's reconsideration, which will probably bring the issue back before the same judge. The judge's order applies to emails from the two groups to legislators, as well as replies.

Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform and chairman of the board at the Immigration Reform Law Institute, criticized the decision, calling it an "invidious fishing expedition."

"It's broad and vastly intrusive and interferes with our 1st Amendment liberties to interact with public officials," Stein said.

Bolton rejected such arguments.

In the Dec. 11 ruling, she said there was nothing in the "law that protects from public view communications with public officials in their official capacity about a matter of public concern. Indeed, Arizona law makes all such communications available to the public under its freedom of information law."

SB 1070, which Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law in 2010, contained several measures intended to give local law enforcement more power to detain people who were in the country illegally.

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key provisions of SB 1070 but allowed the most controversial portion to take effect: Arizona can compel law enforcement officials in most circumstances to check the status of someone they stop for lawful reasons if they suspect the person is in the country illegally.

Immigrant rights activists filed suit and have been battling in court since to have the provision blocked, claiming that the Arizona Legislature intended to discriminate against Latinos and other minorities.

Victor Viramontes, senior legal counsel with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the law's opponents subpoenaed communications that specifically mention certain words, including "day laborer," "alien," "Hispanic," "Mexican" and "wetback."

"We'll be looking for any kind of explicit derogatory depictions of Latinos," Viramontes said. "Anything with racial overtones with regards to Latinos or Mexicans and any kind of communication that suggests the true reason this law was passed, to target and discriminate against Latinos."

cindy.carcamo@latimes.com

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More