Mike Roe

Businessman Meyer Luskin has donated $100 million to the University of California-Los Angeles, the second largest gift in UCLA history. UCLA says the donation will be split equally between the UCLA School of Public Affairs and a planned residential conference center.

Jazz and blues singer Barbara Morrison has worked in the music business for more than 35 years. She’s performed and recorded with legends like Ray Charles, James Moody and Etta James. Now she’s opening the new non-profit Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center in Leimert Park to help revitalize the once-vibrant hub of African American culture and arts.

The Los Angeles City Council, heading into the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, voted to cut $18 million. That's a dent in the $63 million deficit for this year, but there's still a ways to go, as well as a projected $360 million deficit for the coming fiscal year. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke with KPCC's Larry Mantle Tuesday about the budget, layoffs and more, providing a state of the city for 2011.

In his first week as Los Angeles County's new public defender, Ronald L. Brown said he would avoid wrongful convictions of people who are misidentified as culprits in crimes.

Later this morning, Jerry Brown becomes governor of California – again. Brown faces a $28 billion budget problem. John Myers of KPCC's sister station KQED in San Francisco provides his insight on what Brown's governorship holds.

The Los Angeles police union is asking the city to stop hiring new officers and to fill in gaps by paying existing officers for overtime, according to the Los Angeles Times. Police Chief Charlie Beck and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa say that's a bad idea.

After refusing to concede last night, Carly Fiorina conceded today in her bid for Barbara Boxer's U.S. Senate seat. Boxer declared victory on election night, despite Fiorina's initial refusal to concede.

Fresh off his big win last night, Governor-Elect Jerry Brown promised Wednesday morning to immediately get to work on solving California's budget problems.

Tonight is the last gubernatorial debate between Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman. Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw is the moderator of tonight's debate and spoke with KPCC's Patt Morrison.

A voicemail recorded a private conversation with one of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown's aides calling his Republican opponent Meg Whitman a "whore."

Former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina faced off with U.S. senator Barbara Boxer in a debate hosted at KPCC's Mohn Broadcast Center.

Bell's mayor, three council members, former city manager and three other former officials were arrested Tuesday on corruption charges related to their exorbitant salaries. All spent the night in jail. An audit shows the city of Bell mismanaged more than $50 million in bond money and suggests that its disgraced ex-city manager and other employees used city funds to line their pockets.