Today the Los Angeles Dodgers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with owner Frank McCourt claiming that the cause was Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's unwillingness to approve the proposed television deal with Fox, according to the L.A. Times.
Dodgers File for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
It's Curtains for the Pasadena Playhouse Tonight
Tonight is closing night for "Camelot" and the theatre in which it's been running. The Pasadena Playhouse is closing its doors following tonight's performance, thanks to about $3 million in debt, reports KTLA.
City National Bank Moves Headquarters to Downtown LA
As new residents flock to downtown, so do businesses. Last week, City National Corp. announced that it will move its corporate headquarters and subsidiary, City National Bank, from Beverly Hills to downtown Los Angeles. "The move is symbolic in nature -- few if any personnel will make a move -- but is important in terms of Downtown's place in the financial world," according to blogdowntown. "While Downtown Los Angeles was historically home to a number of prominent banks, decades of mergers and acquisitions have left the Central City almost void of the financial headquarters." Although some banks like U.S. Bank have naming rights to building tops, they do not have headquarters in downtown or even California. Only a handful of banks make Central City their home.
Will the Getty Come A-Tumblin' Down?
The Getty has a nearly-three-decades-long reputation of being an unabashedly wealthy organization with lofty cultural ideals. Launched in 1982, the Trust was put in place to assure late tycoon J. Paul Getty's vision of bringing art to the people and spreading knowledge. Despite some growing pains (and what billionaire family doesn't have a little scandal now and then?) the Getty, predominantly associated with their two local museums, has remained a stalwart figure in the local and international art scene. But the Getty isn't impervious to the fickle fate of finances, and last December, the Trust revealed that their endowment monies had shrunk by 25%.
LACMA Proposes to Merge with MOCA
LACMA officially announced today that they would like to merge with MOCA, who is having considerable money problems right now. "Under the terms of the proposed merger," reports Culture Monster, "MOCA's collection and programs would be exhibited at MOCA's Geffen Contemporary Space in Little Tokyo, the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA and at LACMA's Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion, under construction on the LACMA campus. Additional programs are planned for MOCA's Grand Avenue site." If the merger goes through, money from LA County would not support MOCA like it does with LACMA. The institutions would be operated by the same people and share the same infrastructure, but both would keep the "independence and integrity" of their missions.
Starbucks Headed into a Very Tough Year
As you head out to get that cup of joe this morning, think about this:
MOCA Mobilizes, Announces Their Call to Action
LA's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) may be a casualty of the country's financial dire straits. In order to avoid this unfortunate fate, they are putting out the word that now is the time for action, not avoidance.
LAPD Could Lose 500 Narcotic & Anti-Gang Cops, Part 2
In January, the Los Angeles Police Commission agreed with an LAPD federal consent decree that said officers in specialized units dealing with narcotics and gangs must "disclose all of their sole and jointly owned assets, liabilities and income every two years. Refusal to disclose such information would bar officers from working in those units."
Budget Balancing Blues
Members of a Los Angeles City Council committee took 50 hours to deliberate, but finally put their stamp of approval on a $7 billion budget for the city.

