TIPOFF LACK OF SPECIAL ATTENTION TO WAGE MEASURE DRAWS SPECIAL ATTENTION.

Byline: RICK ORLOV

For a man who never misses a photo op, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa picked an odd time to duck the spotlight.

There was plenty of advance notice last Monday so the media could cover the groundbreaking for the overhaul of the Bradley International Terminal at LAX. The mayor picked a photogenic spot overlooking the 405 Freeway when he sought public support for more transportation funding.

He held a news conference to announce a new general manager for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and went to Santee High to announce a school-safety program -- an event marred when a student painted graffiti on a bus.

But when Villaraigosa returned to City Hall that afternoon, there was no fanfare when he signed into law a living-wage ordinance for LAX-area hotels -- one of the more controversial measures of the past six months.

His staff explained the signing was a "routine course of business" that didn't warrant any special notice.

Opponents disagreed and immediately filed suit, prompting a judge to put a hold on the law's implementation.

The living-wage issue also served to focus attention, once again, on the City Attorney's Office.

Supporters of the measure were irate when City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's office was unable to persuade the court to allow the law to go into effect.

Observers said there was barely a hint of a legal defense for the City Council's adoption of the measure and it appeared attorneys were ill-prepared for the legal challenge -- even though the business community had been threatening to sue for weeks.

"The best thing the other side has going for them is they are going against the city attorney," one official complained.

Several council members were said to be again looking at the prospect of hiring private attorneys to represent them in court.

A move by the council to hire its own legal adviser has been slowly making its way through the system and an appointment is expected soon.

While Villaraigosa's appointment of Carol Baker Tharp as new general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment was warmly greeted by neighborhood councils, a warning has been sounded even before she officially takes office.

Ken Draper, editor of CityWatch, the newsletter about all things related to neighborhood councils, cautions that Tharp will have "to hit the pavement running or it could be a short honeymoon."

Tharp will immediately be faced with disputed neighborhood council elections, complaints over project coordinators, conflicting regulations and memos that have resulted in "exasperation, anger, rebellion and a neighborhood council system divided," Draper said.

The issues are so critical, he said, that Tharp might not be afforded the luxury of a listening tour and instead will have to act quickly to stanch the flow of problems.

Councilman Jack Weiss this week is expected to do what he has been threatening for more than a year now: take out papers to run for city attorney in 2009.

Under city rules, this week is the earliest Weiss can move to file for the office, which is being vacated by Delgadillo because of term limits.

Weiss is hoping that by declaring early, he will not only get a head start in fundraising but also scare off others who might be interested in the seat.

Waiting in the wings, however, is former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, who has a sizable amount of support and people urging him to get in the race.

The entry of Weiss will create some interesting City Hall dynamics, particularly in the effort to get the backing of Villaraigosa.

Weiss was among the first, and few, council members to endorse the mayor two years ago, and he has worked hard to remain in the mayor's favor since then.

The fifth-grade class at Lorne Street Elementary School in Northridge got a lesson Friday that it's all about who you know.

The class taught by Katharine Mulder was participating in the 10th annual "Read Across America" program by the National Education Association.

The students were joined by City Controller Laura Chick. Turns out, Mulder is Chick's daughter.

The kids did get lucky: Based on her staff's recommendation, Chick avoided reading excerpts from the Government Auditing Standards Manual and instead read something to them that they would be interested in.

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