Review & preview.

MAY 24 - 30

Global Mess: After two Asian groups dropped out of the bidding, Global Crossing Ltd., now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, will propose a restructuring plan. The plan would raise cash through the sale of the telecom company's assets, including its teleconferencing business and its United Kingdom-based national network. As of last week, the plan had yet to be filed in bankruptcy court.

* Global Crossing

Dead in the Water: Efforts to put secession of the Harbor area of Los Angeles on the Nov. 5 ballot were sunk by the Local Agency Formation Commission, in a unanimous vote. The commission said it would study financial problems in the secession backers' plan to determine whether a measure can be placed on before voters in 2004. The Harbor area includes San Pedro and Wilmington and contains 141,000 residents.

Drug Case: State regulators have proposed an $89 million fine against Los Angeles-based Total Remedy & Pre scription Center II for selling medications to consumers without requiring a doctor's authorization. Co-owner Barry Irvin said the prescriptions were legitimate. The company has 30 days to appeal the sanctions by the state Board of Pharmacy.

More Routes: JetBlue Airways will expand its service out of Long Beach Airport by adding flights to Oakland, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. The upstart carrier, which had success with its low-cost flights to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, is looking to grab the unused flight slots in Long Beach and prevent rival airlines from moving into that space. Both American and Alaska Airlines were given temporary slots that will be taken away when JetBlue expands unless noise restrictions are lifted.

Chief Candidate: Ousted L.A. Police Chief Bernard Parks says he will begin raising money to run in the race for the 8th Council District seat held by Mark Ridley-Thomas, who will leave the council because of term limits. Ridley-Thomas is running for an Assembly seat and if he wins, he will leave the council in January; otherwise, he will vacate his seat in June 2003.

Demand Down: Hilton Hotels Corp., one of the post-Sept. 11 economy's relative success stories, lowered its second quarter forecast of revenue per available room by 5 percent. Hilton said room rates didn't improve as much as expected during the quarter. Hilton's stock peaked at $17.09 on April 24, but since then has fallen by about 19 percent, to a recent price of $13.81.

Changing of Guard: NBC's Tom Brokaw will leave his anchor chair after the 2004 elections. He will be replaced by newsreader Brian Williams, who had been the widely rumored heir apparent. Williams, own nightly news show, now running on both the CNBC and MSNBC cable channels, will switch solely to CNBC this summer.

Car Talk: J.D. Power & Associates tapped Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Corp. as tops among 2002 models. Toyota had 107 defects per 100 vehicles and Honda had 113, according to the Agoura Hills-based consulting firm. General Motors finished third among major automakers with 130 defects.

JUNE 3 - 9

Last Chance?: The 56th annual San Fernando Valley Fair runs June 6-9 at the Hansen Dam Sports Center. Featuring concerts, rides, a petting zoo and livestock auction. If secession is approved, this year's fair will be the last one held in the City of Los Angeles. Information: [phone].

Hooray for Hollywood?: The Local Agency Formation Commission meets on Wednesday (5th) to consider placing a measure for Hollywood to secede from the City of Los Angeles on the Nov. 5 ballot, alongside a measure for Valley secession. LAFCO's Executive Director Larry Calemine has recommended the Hollywood secession measure be put to voters and the 9-member commission is likely to go along with that recommendation. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the County Board of Supervisors hearing room in the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration building, 500 West Temple St.

May Flowers: May unemployment figures are due out Friday (7th). The rate is expected to inch up over April's 6 percent. At the same time, May's hourly earnings data is also due out Friday, and it is expected to show a bump of .3 percent over April. Other indicators this week: Consumer Credit numbers, which are expected to climb in May to more than $6 billion, a steep increase over April's $4.6 billion level.

Leather Throng: Billed as a "Spectacular Three Day Adult Marketplace & Entertainment Extravaganza," Erotica L.A. (7-10th) at the L.A. Convention Center is the trade show for one of the area's most lucrative industries. Erotica L.A., now in its fifth year, typically attracts more than 20,000 attendees, along with video distributors and vendors of novelty items and sexy apparel.

Help Award: Producer Brian Grazer, chairman of Imagine Entertainment, will receive the 2002 Help Humanitarian Award during a noon luncheon on Thursday (6th) at the Beverly Hilton. The award is being given by the Help Group, a Los Angeles-based non-profit dedicated to serving children with autism and Aspergers Syndrome.

Earnings Reports: Pomona-based auto parts distributor Keystone Automotive Industries and Alpha Technologies Group, the Los Angeles-based maker of thermal management products and aluminum extrusions, are among the local companies scheduled to report earnings. Keystone is expected to report profits of 25 cents a share for the most recent fourth quarter vs. 15 cents for the like year-earlier period. Alpha is projected by analysts to lose 2 cents a share in its fiscal second quarter, vs. 7 cent gain a year earlier.