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Thursday, March 12, 2009

Hotsheet for Thursday


Watch it go. Mayor Villaraigosa’s favorite land developer, Meruelo Maddux (Nasdaq: MMPI), from nearly eleven dollars to eleven cents in 26 months. The Downtown News reports the company has “stopped making interest and principal payments on loans totaling $266 million,” and faces Chapter 11 if it can’t raise cash to service its debt.

On the ground, beyond the Bloomberg headlines, a certain Zen has set in at Westfield Century City. Like the calm before a storm. Ten-dollar Coral Tree paninis are no match for Subway’s $5 footlongs. Macy’s feels like a museum, frozen in time. Outside, a handful of shoppers scuttle from store to store, clutching unmarked bags, acutely aware. As I pass the future site of the aptly named True Religion—purveyor of $300 blue jeans—I can’t help but smirk. Inside, the muffled bang of a hammer, like forehead against the wall. Ten days ago, Santee Alley was jam-packed, and I spotted True Religion knock-offs for twenty bucks.

Last night, Michael Higby micro-blogged a flurry of updates from the Midtown North Hollywood Neighborhood Council meeting. Among the highlights: Wendy Greuel remains enthusiastic about CFLs, tree plantings, and woodchips, according to her emissary—oh, and the big news: you CD2 commoners will be granted the privilege of choosing her replacement. So will it be Tamar Galatzan or Cindy Montañez? I call this game Tony Tetris, where political offices blast open and Villaraigosa allies slide in. CD5 found a neighborhoodie … will CD2 follow suit?

In other CD2 news, Abby Diamond blogs that the Los Angeles Mission College is researching the possibility of opening a satellite campus on the former Kmart site, recently surrendered by Home Depot.

And finally, Civic Center Park is moving forward without all the bells and whistles (we’ll thank ourselves a generation from now); SEIU boss, James Bryant, is back under the LA Times microscope; and President Obama supports merit pay for teachers. Often, people just need to hear someone they trust say what they already know to be right. Who knows? Change we can believe in may yet come to LA Unified.

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11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said:

KARMA!!!

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-meruelo12-2009mar12,0,5603835.story

Big L.A. landlord Meruelo Maddux may file for bankruptcy
The company reports steep losses in the fourth quarter and says it is unable to meet its debt payments.

March 12, 2009 9:55 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Doesn't matter. AV will still be our mayor and will just find another developer to give the goods to.

If you don't want AV as your mayor, then you should have brought people to the polls with you on election day.

All you fools did was type how frustrated you are, on some blog started by a woman named Higby.

March 12, 2009 10:11 AM  

Blogger Zuma Dogg said:

this Meruelo Maddux story is the BIG one, kiddies. Expect to see some CMs caught up in this one, perhaps? the story hasn't started yet. i blogged about it on my blog a little.

March 12, 2009 1:07 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Who cares? Villaraigosa got his second term, and that means he got what he wanted.

If you knew that it was a big deal, zd, why didn't you make it thoroughly known BEFORE election day?

March 12, 2009 1:44 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

The NY Times has a front-page story about how Maxine Waters used her name and position on the HOuse Finance Comm. to ask the feds to give special bailout funds to One United Bank, a small black-owned bank in "precarious financial condition" owned by a close friend. And never disclosed that her husband had been on the Board until last year.

This brazenness is unprecedented, according to one fed official who declined to give a name pending investigation. Maxine Waters' friend/ bank owner is playing the race card, claiming "this is where the race issue comes in." Right.

NOWHERE is this story in the LA Times. Let's see, who is Maxine Waters "in bed with" politically, that the Times is championing? Crooks of a feather, maybe?

March 12, 2009 2:31 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

The L A Times finally posted the Maxine Waters story at 1:01 today, after numerous other media noted its absence from the local paper after hitting the front page of the NYT and after the Wall Street Journal had been covering it for weeks.

March 12, 2009 2:42 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

8 Million was the default fee in 2008

Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2008, 9:26 AM

We all know that Maddux made a lot of money on Taylor Yard and had to be given 'insider" information on this property. Now I find something interesting about Maddux Notice of trustee sale 2244 N. San Fernando Rd, 90065; 775 sq ft. land value $1,086,300 Owner Meruelo Maddix Properties Ponte Vista LL, 761 Terminal St. 90021, Trustee Attorney Trustee Services, 1620 Union Stree, San Diego 92101, Lender RPM Investments Inc XXX? NOD Info 04/07/2008 08-0561736Default amount $8,000,000 TRUSTEE SALE INFO08-1351289 8/27/2008 11:30A350 w. MISSION BLVD,POMONA LOAN INFORMATIONRPM Investments Inc $8,000,000.00 LTV 125%

Who bought it?

March 12, 2009 3:33 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

You people are so funny. Antonio ain't going nowhere, and you are not going to get him recalled. People wouldn't VOTE, so why do you think people will RECALL?

U r such a bunch o' dummies.

Yea, yea Jackass Weiss in da housssseee! People tried to recall me, but it didn't work! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
u suck u suck u suck u suck u suck

March 12, 2009 3:42 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Cindy, Cindy, Cindy, Cindy.

No Tamar, no Tamar, no Tamar.

Come on Cindy, you can do it. If we get stuck with an appointment (no offense Cindy, but we were hoping for a vote of our own), Tamar is the worst one we could get.

March 12, 2009 11:28 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

3:42pm You're in la la land. Why do you post here if you think we're all insane? You say people won't vote but by our calculations almost 100,000 people voted AGAINST Villaraigosa and out of that 40% was for Walter in the Valley. Villaraigosa only got 127,000 55% and the nation's media all made fun of that. HELLLOOOO wake up groupie. New York Times is now getting many of the readers who jumped board from LA Slimes. They are now going to do many local stories of LA. Zuma is right wait til you see who got campaign donations from Meruelo which was Villaraigosa biggest campaign donation guy. I want the story of the Florida money too.

March 13, 2009 7:22 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

WE LOS ANGELENOS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO FIGHT DEVELOPERS AS LONG AS LEADERS LIKE TONY V. RUN THINGS. EVER HERE OF RECALL!! NO ONE SHOULD BE APPOINTED TO GREUEL'S SEAT WITHOUT VOTER APPROVEL (VOTE) THIS IS WHY THIS CITY STAYS CORRUPT!!! PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T VOTE ARE AS GUILTY AS THE ONES WHO VOTED TO KEEP IT AS IT IS. WE'LL ALL SUFFER FOR IT!!!

March 13, 2009 1:41 PM  

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