Grocers Plan to Sue City
The California Grocers Assn. announced Wednesday that it intended to sue the city of Los Angeles over a law that makes it harder to immediately fire grocery store employees swept up in a takeover, the Los Angeles Times reported. The City Council voted 11 to 2 in December to approve the “worker retention” ordinance just before Supervalu Inc. agreed to buy more than 1,000 Albertsons Inc. stores a month later. The measure sought to limit a new company’s ability to replace a previous owner’s employees for at least three months. The suit , expected to be filed Thursday , would argue that the ordinance is preempted by federal labor relations laws, conflicts with state health and safety laws and improperly dictates rules of employment.
–
Read the full story
. (registration required)
State Official Assails Insurers
A top state regulator Wednesday faulted insurance companies for going “too far” in questioning medical evaluations by doctors and slowing treatment for severely injured workers, the Sacramento Bee reports. “Many insurers have gone too far with (reviews),” said Carrie Nevans, acting administrative director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation. Nevans said new penalties are in the works to levy $5,000 fines against carriers who unduly reject treatment to injured workers. Critics, though, put the blame on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration for failing to act sooner on broadening medical treatment guidelines for insurers and doctors and for not cracking down on carriers breaking the law.
–
Read the full story
. (registration required)
L.A. City Council to Address Condo Problem
The City Council will hold three hearings throughout Los Angeles this month to address concerns that thousands of rent-controlled and affordable apartments are being demolished or converted to pricey condominiums, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. Tenants, landlords and developers will be able to air their concerns about the loss of rent-controlled apartments and potential rules that could make it harder to convert apartments into condos. With the median price of a single-family house at $600,000, more homebuyers are looking at condos as alternatives, and landlords are converting apartments to condos in response. Renters have been evicted from more than 9,240 rent-controlled units over the past five years.
Will San Pedro Waterfront be New Art Hot Spot?
Could San Pedro’s fledgling waterfront become the setting for a $5 million arts festival with a global reach? Some folks from New York think so, the Daily Breeze reports. Supporters looking to establish an international arts and cultural festival on the waterfront were on hand Wednesday to urge harbor commissioners to consider providing seed money for an initial event that could become a staple every two years. It would be similar to the Biennial festivals already held in Venice, Italy; Kassel, Germany; New York City; Pittsburgh; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The events typically draw hundreds of thousands of art lovers from all over the world. Discussion about the Biennial began about a year ago when the Port of Los Angeles began putting feelers out about events that could be held on its revitalized waterfront, Resnicow said.
