BRIEFLY : TOWING FRANCHISE BIDDING OPENED UP.Ending decades of monopoly over who responds to police calls to tow cars, the Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. voted Wednesday to open the Official Police Garage franchises up to competitive bidding Competitive biddingA securities offering process in which securities firms submit competing bids to the issuer for the securities the issuer wishes to sell. competitive bidding 1. . The action follows a lawsuit by some towing companies that have complained the city has allowed a handful of businesses to keep the franchises for decades without being subject to competition. The council action sets the stage for four of the franchises to accept bids each year until all 18 are opened up. The first four franchises sent out by the council Wednesday for bidding are in the West Los Angeles
?13- Daily News State lottery A game of chance operated by a state government. Generally a lottery offers a person the chance to win a prize in exchange for something of lesser value. Most lotteries offer a large cash prize, and the chance to win the cash prize is typically available for one dollar. feud erupts in lawsuit SACRAMENTO - The controller sued the lottery Wednesday in an unusually strong display of state government infighting in·fight·ing n. 1. Contentious rivalry or disagreement among members of a group or organization: infighting on the President's staff. 2. Fighting or boxing at close range. that the lottery called silly, political and an unnecessary burden on taxpayers. In the first of two dueling Capitol news conferences, Controller Kathleen Connell Kathleen Connell was the California State Controller from 1995 until 2003. She is currently President of the Connell Group, an investment advisory firm located in Washington, D.C. Dr. accused the lottery of using a security clearance issue regarding her auditors ``to block full and independent scrutiny of its operation.'' Lottery interim director Marianne Gilliard denied the accusation, saying her operation has ``absolutely nothing to hide.'' Connell's suit showed it's ``more important to her to grab headlines than grab a hold of the truth,'' said Gilliard, who was appointed in June by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson For others named Pete Wilson, see . Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American Republican politician from California. Wilson served as the thirty-sixth Governor of California (1991–1999), the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that . Connell is a potential Democratic candidate for governor in 1998. Gilliard, a former Sacramento County deputy district attorney, called the suit ``extremely silly'' and ``rather pathetic.'' She said it was a ``very, very sad'' abuse of lawsuits that would cost taxpayers. The cross-fire is the latest development in a feud between the state controller's office and the lottery. The friction has roots in a requirement in the 1984 lottery-authorizing initiative that the gambling operation be audited periodically by the Controller's Office. In April, Connell criticized the lottery for spending more proportionately than 10 other states to run its games, while not getting as much for what it pays. In August, the state auditor said the Controller's Office had charged the lottery $29 million during the past decade, mostly for audits of limited value. ?13-Associated Press |
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