TIPOFF RACIAL ISSUES DRAW ATTENTION, CREATE CALLS FOR ACTION.

Byline: RICK ORLOV

Race always has been the 800-pound gorilla in the corner of Los Angeles' living room -- but a series of recent events threatens to drag it right out into the open.

First, there's the case of Jamiel Shaw Jr., a 17-year-old star athlete gunned down by a gang member while he was on his way home.

Suspect Pedro Espinoza has been arrested by Culver City police and is in the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

But the anger and anguish of Shaw's parents, Jamiel Sr. and Anita, brought the City Council to a rare moment of rapt attention last week as the couple testified about their son and pleaded for something to be done.

The plea drew a promise from two council members -- Bill Rosendahl and Dennis Zine -- to look at a proposed "Jamiel's Law" that would deport illegal immigrants who are gang members.

The target specifically is Special Order 40, the much maligned -- and likely equally misunderstood -- regulation of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Chief William Bratton defends the order -- put in place in 1979 by then-Chief Daryl F. Gates -- which states that police officers cannot stop people only to inquire about their immigration status.

The rule does, however, require officers to check the immigration status of those arrested and to turn the information over to the Immigration and Custom Enforcement Agency.

But critics say it has turned Los Angeles into a sanctuary city.

Any expectations for quick action, however, should be tempered. Consideration of Jamiel's Law is going to the council's Public Safety Committee -- which goes on a monthlong hiatus after today because two of its members are involved in city budget hearings.

Still, some council members seeking to change the order say they might try to bring the issue before the full council rather than wait.

Another equally disturbing situation developed last week between Daphna Ziman, wife of philanthropist Richard Ziman, and Eric Lee, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Council.

Daphna Ziman sent an e-mail saying Lee had made anti-Semitic remarks at a dinner at which she was being feted for her work with the African-American community. The remarks were reported by the Jewish Journal.

Lee denied making any anti-Semitic remarks and apologized if his speech was misunderstood.

"Let me state that at no time did I intend to offend, insult, indict or condemn any person or group of persons during any portion of my presentation," Lee said.

"I have an existing and ongoing collaborative relationship with the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League in which we are committed to the cause of justice for our communities."

Councilman Richard Alarcon is concerned about the impression being conveyed by the commission overseeing the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the 89 neighborhood councils in Los Angeles.

The seven-member panel has had to cancel three of its recent meetings because of its inability to get a quorum of four members.

"It sends a horrible message to neighborhood councils when the commission that represents them can't get enough people to attend a meeting," Alarcon said.

"The neighborhood council system is still in its developing stages and we have to make sure the commission is there to make their case. The importance of participatory democracy is to have people participate."

Commission chairwoman Linda Lucks agreed but said the cancellations have come because of an unfortunate combination of circumstances.

The panel has had a vacancy -- which is now filled -- and two commissioners had personal issues to deal with.

"It was just bad timing and unfortunate because we all take our job seriously," Lucks said.

If you thought it was easy being Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, think again.

There's juggling mayoral duties such as giving his State of the City address today and putting the finishing touches on his budget for release next week.

But that's not all.

He also is going to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce trip "Access D.C." to meet with the local congressional delegation.

And that's still not all.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is calling and wants Villaraigosa to campaign

for her in North Carolina and Indiana for those states' upcoming presidential primaries.

Even though there are no large Latino populations in either state, Villaraigosa still is able to generate attention, aides say.

As he prepares to tackle the toughest budget of his administration, Villaraigosa is losing his latest budget director but is putting her in an equally important job.

Sally Choi will be leaving the Mayor's Office after this year's budget is adopted to take over as general manager of the city's employee-retirement system, known as LACERS. The multibillion-dollar fund is a major cost driver of the city budget.

Choi has worked for Villaraigosa since he took office and has been his budget director for two years, taking over for Karen Sisson when she was named city administrative officer.

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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