It was no deal for the labor groups who rejected a proposed contract deal with the City of Los Angeles, and as a result, yesterday Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa got down to the business of ordering 42 furlough days for various city employees, according to CBS2. The Mayor issued the order verbally during a press conference at City Hall: “I hearby direct all city general managers to immediately initiate furloughs for those employees and bargaining units who failed to ratify the agreement,” declared Villaraigosa. more ›

Today Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa revealed his budget plan for the City of Los Angeles, and while it did not include layoffs, it did include furloughs. "In an effort to close a $457.5 million deficit, the mayor is calling for 26 furlough days for city workers who will not get cost-of-living raises as part of their contracts, and 36 furloughs days for employees scheduled to get raises," explains the Daily News. more ›

The City of Los Angeles will save a projected $62 million this fiscal year by implementing mandatory employee furlough days, and while these furloughs mean a successful short-term solution to our budget woes, they won't help much in the long run. more ›

Question: If the street sweepers stop sweeping is it appropriate to continue to ticketing cars on street sweeping day? According to The Eastsider, the noisy street sweeper that typically gobbles up litter and debris on the 2600 block of Riverside Terrace near Allesandro Elementary School hasn't been seen or heard from in last six weeks. more ›

Budget woes and book blues aren't just striking Los Angeles County's extensive library system, they're also forcing the library to take a break in a community largely considered one of the more affluent ones in the region: Beverly Hills. more ›

LAUSD teachers will be taking several unpaid furlough days over the next couple of years as part of a plan approved by the Board of Education and United Teachers Los Angeles, according to the Daily Breeze. The five furlough days this year, and seven next year--which includes two days off for students--is expected to be part of cost-saving measures implemented in hopes of eradicating the need to layoff over 2,000 teachers. Yesterday the Board voted to rescind 1,421 pink slips already sent out, and are expected to rescind another 600 later. "The furlough days and shortened school year are expected to save $147 million." more ›

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines, who is paid $250,000 a year (it should be $300,000, but he voluntary staved off $50,000 for budget reasons), is once again leading by example by taking his furlough day next Monday. “How can I ask LAUSD employees to take what amounts to a pay cut if I am not willing to share the sacrifice?" he said. "These are dire times. The savings accrued from furlough days are needed to keep deeper cuts away from students and the classroom." more ›

California prison guards forced to take unpaid leave days came out victorious today as an Alameda Superior Court judge ruled the furloughs illegal, SacBee reports. In their March court filing, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association maintained that it would be impossible for "every employee to utilize the 34 deferred furlough days each will accrue during the time allotted" as prisons are already understaffed, says SacBee. more ›

LAT's Steve Lopez takes a look at just how dire things are at "the once-great Cal State system" of universities in his latest column, chasing the rumor that in order to save money "they might be shutting down phone service at Cal State Long Beach." Yeah, you read that right. Apparently "turning off the phones campuswide was recommended by committee members as a way to avoid further cuts in instruction. The thinking was that professors could use personal cellphones to conduct school business." more ›

Yesterday was yet another Friday on which the state's DMV offices were closed down, thanks to Executive Order S-13-09--a furlough mandate launched in July that sees the department darkened for the first three Fridays of each month. However, do a little figuring with the calendar, and yesterday kicked off a long string of Fridays when the DMV just won't be an option for motorists. "[F]actoring in upcoming holidays on top of those mandated furlough days, Friday marked the start of a 12-week stretch in which DMV offices will be closed for business every Friday," reports the Daily Breeze, which "means that the next Friday employees will be on the job - and that motorists can get their licenses and vehicle registrations renewed - won't come until Jan. 29." more ›

Some L.A. City Councilmembers are considering freezing the police department's budget in light of the economy and a downtrend in the city's crime statistics. Specifically, it would affect the goal of hiring 10,000 officers, a Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa campaign promise that is nearing completion. Proponents of the hiring freeze say it doesn't make sense to hire officers and then furlough them. more ›

People are annoyed with Jury Duty enough. Apparently, the message that the courts were closed for a budget-saving furlough day didn't make it to all the jurors, according to the Daily Breeze: "Some people complained that they were not told that Wednesday was a furlough day. Even those who had been asked to do their civic duty." Add to that those who traveled from afar to the courts. A man who drove out from Arizona was turned away and he was not sure if staying Los Angeles an extra day was a possibility. In fact, the word on the newswires about yesterday's furlough really didn't get out until early Wednesday morning. It almost seems the courts were as caught off guard as the people it serves. Although furlough days are scheduled for every third Wednesday of the month, there is no obvious indication of that on their webpage. Talk about a major fail in basic public information. more ›

Several Los Angeles County Superior Court employees get to take today off without pay as part of a furlough plan that begins this week and is slated to run for the next year as part of a cost-cutting measure, according to abc7.com. The third Wednesday of the month will now find dozens of courtrooms in the system at a standstill, with the hopes of staving off "permanent court closures and layoffs." more ›

The upcoming school year at California's two major public University systems continues to look bleak for students, faculty, and staff alike, as budget shortfalls are forcing school officials to recommend fee increases, furlough days, and enrollment stoppages in order to save costs. more ›

With no state budget solution, Governor Arnold Schwarzegger ordered a third furlough day per month. Today is the one of the three for July, meaning most state offices are closed. more ›

During yesterday's California State University system's special Board of Trustees meeting, Chancellor Charles B. Reed said he will seek approval for "an additional student fee hike of 15% to 20% for this fall, and enrollment reductions of 32,000 students in the year to follow," reports the LA Times. more ›

A pact was reached early this morning between Service Employees International Union Local 1000, which represents over 90,000 workers employed by the State of California, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration that cut the mandatory workday furloughs from two days to one per month, the Sacramento Bee is reporting. "The deal also includes fewer paid holidays, changes to how overtime is calculated, kicks in more for employees' health insurance premiums and limits layoffs." According to SEIU Local 1000 president Yvonne Walker "The talks were grueling." However, both parties wanted to reach an agreement ahead of the vote to approve the state budget, which is due to take place tonight in Sacramento. more ›

Governor Schwarzenegger, in one of his ideas to help fix the state's budget deficit projected to be $42 billion, is ready to eliminate thousands of state jobs and order two-day-a-month unpaid furloughs for other state workers starting in February. more ›