Irvine City Council overhauls oversight, spending on Great Park

Capping a raucous eight-hour-plus meeting, the Irvine City Council early Wednesday voted to overhaul the oversight and spending on the beleaguered Orange County Great Park while authorizing an audit of the more than $220 million that so far has been spent on the ambitious project.

A newly elected City Council majority voted 3 to 2 to terminate contracts with two firms that had been paid a combined $1.1 million a year for consulting, lobbying, marketing and public relations. One of those firms — Forde & Mollrich public relations — has been paid $12.4 million since county voters approved the Great Park plan in 2002.

"We need to stop talking about building a Great Park and actually start building a Great Park," council member Jeff Lalloway said.

The council, by the same split vote, also changed the composition of the Great Park's board of directors, shedding four non-elected members and handing control to Irvine's five council members.

The actions mark a significant turning point in the decade-long effort to turn the former El Toro Marine base into a 1,447-acre municipal park with man-made canyons, rivers, forests and gardens that planners hoped would rival New York's Central Park.

The city hoped to finish and maintain the park for years to come with $1.4 billion in state redevelopment funds. But that money vanished last year as part of the cutbacks to deal with California's massive budget deficit.

"We've gone through $220 million, but where has it gone?" council member Christina Shea said of the project's initial funding from developers in exchange for the right to build around the site. "The fact of the matter is the money is almost gone. It can't be business as usual."

The council majority said the changes will bring accountability and efficiencies to a project that critics say has been larded with wasteful spending and no-bid contracts. For all that has been spent, only about 200 acres of the park has been developed and half of that is leased to farmers.

But council members Larry Agran and Beth Krom, who have steered the course of the project since its inception, voted against reconfiguring the Great Park's board of directors and canceling the contracts with the two firms.

Krom has called the move a "witch hunt" against her and Agran. Feuding between liberal and conservative factions on the council has long shaped Irvine politics.

"This is a power play," she said. "There's a new sheriff in town."

The council meeting stretched long into the night, with the final vote coming Wednesday at 1:34 a.m. Tensions were high in the packed chambers with cheering, clapping and heckling coming from the crowd.

At one point council member Lalloway lamented that he "couldn't hear himself think."

During public comments, newly elected Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer chastised the council for "fighting like schoolchildren." Earlier this week he said that if the Irvine's new council majority can't make progress on the Great Park, he would seek a ballot initiative to have the county take over.

And Spitzer angrily told Agran that his stewardship of the project had been a failure.

"You know what?" he said. "It's their vision now. You're in the minority."

mike.anton@latimes.com

rhea.mahbubani@latimes.com

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A Tale of 2 Strategies: The Twitter Genius of Chuck Grassley and Cory Booker

If you’re on Twitter and not following Sen. Chuck Grassley, you’re not using Twitter correctly.

The Iowa Republican is known for his colorful and personal Twitter feed. Take a gander: He personally tweets about everything from the History Channel to “Obamacare” to an incident in which he hit a deer with his car  (“assume dead”). Grassley’s tweets take us along for a ride, one that’s often riddled with spelling errors (which he has said is due to his distaste for typing and the iPhone’s auto-correct function).

Pres/Cong need 2work on Wash spending prob. No time 2waste b/4 Mar. Pres promised tax hike is done. Now he needs 2keep promise 4 less spend

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) January 4, 2013

Rained inIowa this weekend. Still 8 inches shortIowa still still listed dangerous drought pray For rain

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 17, 2012

Fred and I hit a deer on hiway 136 south of Dyersville. After I pulled fender rubbing on tire we continued to farm. Assume deer dead

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) October 26, 2012

Contrast Grassley’s tweets to another lawmaker known for his active and personal feed: Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker. On Twitter, he’s part mayor, part celebrity. Booker tweets about city services and was widely praised for how he utilized the platform in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy to connect directly with residents. But then he’ll retweet someone who says she’s going to get a Cory Booker quote tattoo or someone who has a “political crush” on him. Sometimes, Booker tweets like a Kardashian.

Think so, call 9737334311. My people will tell u RT @hennybottle: Is the number to get downed wires removed same for all of essex county?

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 8, 2013

“Hey, Never Met U, Your tweet’s Crazy, I’ll DM My Number, So Call Me Maybe?” MT @ann_ralston: I have a non-sexual, political crush on you!

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 8, 2013

Wow. An honor I never quite imagined RT @rachelanncohen: deliberating between several Cory Booker quotes for my next tattoo.

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 8, 2013

I love you too! RT @alwoldegorgeous: I can actually say I am in love with @kimkardashian#girlcrush

— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) December 12, 2012

Obviously, Booker is savvier with Twitter than Grassley, and he’s utilized the platform effectively, as he vies for statewide office. Booker’s a PR genius with social media. Grassley’s himself–typos, rants, and all. So while Booker probably doesn’t need to take Twitter lessons from the six-term senator, there’s something decidedly old school and earnest that’s kind of appealing about Grassley’s feed, something that would be nice to see in Booker’s feed, too.

Welcome to Twitter Pope Benedict. U will find it useful and interesting

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 3, 2012

CORRECTION: Grassley has served in the Senate for six terms.  An earlier version of the story incorrectly listed his tenure.

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Warner wins legal victory for control of Superman

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Just in time for the summer release of a hoped-for blockbuster movie "Man of Steel," Warner Bros. won a second significant legal victory Thursday giving it complete commercial control of the lucrative Superman franchise.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals unanimously ruled that the heirs of Superman's co-creator Jerome Siegel must abide by a 2001 letter written by the family's attorney accepting Warner Bros.' offer for their 50 percent share of Superman. Though the five-page letter was never formalized into a contract, the appeals court said it was still binding.

"Statements from the attorneys for both parties establish that the parties had undertaken years of negotiations, that they had resolved the last outstanding point in the deal during a conversation on Oct. 15, 2001, and that the letter accurately reflected the material terms they had orally agreed to on that day," Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote for the panel.

The ruling Thursday undoes a 2008 trial court decision ordering Warner Bros. to share an undetermined amount of money earned since 1999 with the heirs, and to give the family control of key components of the Superman story, including his costume. If that decision were to stand, the studio would have had to negotiate a new costly royalty agreement with the family.

"The court's decision paves the way for the Siegel finally to receive the compensation they negotiated for and which DC has been prepared to pay for over a decade," Warner Bros. said in a prepared statement, referring to its DC Comics division. "We are extremely pleased that Superman's adventures can continue to be enjoyed across all media platforms worldwide for generations to come."

The family's attorney, Marc Toberoff, didn't respond to a request for comment.

Toberoff said earlier that he would appeal another significant Warner Bros. victory won in October involving the family of Superman's other creator, Joseph Shuster, and their bid for half the commercial rights. Toberoff also represents the Shuster heirs, who lost their bid to retain a 50 percent share of Superman.

A federal judge in Los Angeles had ruled that Shuster's sister and brother relinquished any chance to reclaim Superman copyrights in exchange for annual pension payments from DC Comics. U.S. District Judge Otis Wright noted in that case that the families of both creators have been paid in excess of $4 million since 1978, plus undefined bonuses and medical benefits.

In April, the $412 check that DC Comics wrote in 1938 to acquire Superman and other creative works by Shuster and Siegel sold for $160,000 in an online auction.

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Children’s Flu Medicine in Short Supply

As influenza cases surge around the country, health officials say they are trying to stem a shortage of treatments for children.

Pharmacies around the country have reported dwindling supplies of liquid Tamiflu, a prescription flu medicine that can ease symptoms if taken within 48 hours of their onset. The drug is available in capsules for adults and a liquid suspension for children and infants.

“There are intermittent shortages of the liquid version (but not the capsule version) due to the supplier’s challenges to meet the current demand,” Carolyn Castel, a spokeswomen for CVS Caremark, said in an e-mail.

Pharmacies around the country are experiencing shortages of the liquid suspension “due to recent increased demand,” Sarah Clark-Lynn, a spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration, said on Thursday.

Ms. Clark-Lynn said the F.D.A. was working with the company that markets Tamiflu, Genentech, to increase supplies. The agency is also letting pharmacists know that in emergencies they can compound the adult Tamiflu capsules to make liquid versions for children.

A similar shortage of Tamiflu has hit Canada, which has also been gripped by widespread flu outbreaks, prompting the government there to tap into a national stockpile of the drug.

“That really unexpected increase in demand — far above other influenza seasons — has really depleted the usual stocks which in any other season would have been more than sufficient,” Dr. Barbara Raymond, director of pandemic preparedness for the Public Health Agency of Canada, told The Ottawa Citizen.

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Wal-Mart emails show CEO knew of Mexico bribes, lawmakers say

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Chief Executive Michael Duke found out in 2005 that the retailer's Mexico unit was handing out bribes to local officials, according to emails obtained by lawmakers.

The lawmakers say the emails contradict earlier claims by Wal-Mart senior executives that they weren't aware of bribes being made by the company.

Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) and Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), who are investigating bribery allegations at Wal-Mart's Mexico division, on Thursday released emails that indicate Duke and other senior executives were informed multiple times starting in 2005 about bribes being made in the country. U.S. law forbids American companies from bribing foreign officials.

The lawmakers shared the emails, which they say they received from a confidential source, with Wal-Mart on Wednesday and sent a letter to Duke asking for a meeting to discuss them.

"It would be a serious matter if the CEO of one of our nation's largest companies failed to address allegations of a bribery scheme," according to the letter written by Waxman and Cummings to Duke.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said Thursday that the congressmen's letter "leaves the wrong impression that our public statements are contradicted by the information they released today."

Allegations first surfaced in April that Wal-Mart failed to notify law enforcement that executives had authorized millions of dollars in bribes in Mexico to speed up getting building permits and gain other favors. Wal-Mart has been working with government officials in the U.S. and Mexico on that investigation.

The company has been conducting an internal investigation into the matter. And in November, the retailer said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was looking into potential U.S. bribery law violations in Brazil, China and India.

Wal-Mart said in a statement Thursday that it had been providing information to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the documents that were released by lawmakers Thursday. The world's largest retailer also said it was exploring other ways to make additional information available.

"We are committed to having a strong and effective global anti-corruption program everywhere we operate and taking appropriate action for any instance of noncompliance," Buchanan said.

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Experts debate North Korea's missile goals and capability

WASHINGTON — When North Korea launched a small satellite into orbit last month for the first time, U.S. officials called it a cover for a more ominous goal: a ballistic missile that could carry a nuclear weapon as far as the continental United States.

But North Korea is a long way from building a workable intercontinental missile and, at the current pace of testing, it could take many years before they are close, missile technology experts say.

"They could put up something that would look like a credible missile but ... it's not really much of a threat," said Boston-based physicist David Wright, who follows the North Korean program for the nonpartisan Union of Concerned Scientists. "They have no idea whether it's going to blow up on the launch pad or dump one of their precious nuclear weapons into the Pacific Ocean."

This week, Bill Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico, is visiting Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, with Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, on what they are calling a private humanitarian trip. Richardson said Wednesday that he was pressing the government to stop all missile launches and nuclear tests and to allow more cellphones and an open Internet for its citizens.

Some experts outside the U.S. government contend that North Korea's failure-prone missile program is essentially a bluff aimed at spurring concessions from the international community.

U.S. intelligence officials disagree. They say North Korea is intent on developing a capability to threaten the West with nuclear weapons. In 2011, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates said North Korea would have a missile that could strike the continental United States by 2016, although some U.S. officials believe that timetable has now slipped.

The North Koreans "haven't tested a lot, which slows development," said a U.S. official familiar with the latest intelligence. "But they're still moving forward."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed the Dec. 12 satellite launch in a televised New Year's Day speech, calling on the nation to rebuild its ailing economy "in the same spirit and mettle as were displayed in conquering space."

But progress has been halting. In recent years, North Korea has attempted one or two rocket tests annually, most of which failed. In April, a rocket carrying a satellite exploded 90 seconds after takeoff.

Building a dependable intercontinental ballistic missile would require "flight tests every other month, over several years," said Markus Schiller, who wrote a paper about the missile program in October for Rand Corp., a Santa Monica-based think tank. "First-generation long-range missiles require dozens of flight tests until they are reliable and accurate enough for deployment."

Schiller said in his Rand paper that the main purpose of the North's rocket launches is to deter the United States and South Korea, and "to gain strategic leverage in foreign politics."

The three-stage Unha rocket that put a small satellite into orbit last month "was developed as a satellite launcher and not as a weapon," Schiller said in a telephone interview from Germany. "The technology was only suited for satellite launch."

The rocket's third stage took a dog leg turn to avoid flying over Taiwan and the Philippines, said Brian Weeden, a former U.S. Air Force space expert now with the Secure World Foundation, a Washington think tank.

"That is definitely something more associated with a space launch than with a ballistic missile launch," he said. "It's not what you would expect to see with a missile test."

Any successful rocket launch could theoretically help North Korea improve its missile technology, Weeden said. But launching a satellite is easier than perfecting a missile that can carry a weapons payload into space and then deliver it to a specific target without burning up in the atmosphere.

Other analysts believe North Korea made a major technological advance with the satellite launch. Bruce Klingner, a former CIA analyst now at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank, called it "a huge step forward in their capabilities."

Jeffrey Lewis, a nonproliferation expert at the nonpartisan Monterey Institute of International Studies, worries that North Korea is making just enough progress to be dangerous.

"The North Koreans might just be willing to deal with less reliable systems," he said. "They might just be happy with 50% reliability. My starting assumption is that they are serious, that this is something that they intend to build. I presume that they are competent enough that this is not an impossible missile."

ken.dilanian@latimes.com

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Go Ahead, Keep Being Mean to Celebrities on Twitter

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:  

RELATED: The Honey Boo Boo Nature Special; Everyone’s Favorite Sleepwalking Mom

We usually don’t condone being an impolite jerk to anyone, especially on social media. But we kind of make an exception because, well, if everyone was nice to everyone all of a sudden, we’d run out of fun Jimmy Kimmel segments where celebrities read their tweets:

RELATED: Ai Weiwei’s ‘Gangnam Style’ Isn’t Bad

RELATED: So Which Boyfriend Is Taylor Swift Singing About Now?

Oh man, this giant squid is like the most famous sea creature celebrity of the moment. And yes, it’s way freakier in motion:

RELATED: Katie Holmes Goes Bust on Broadway

RELATED: Justin Bieber is Coming to Town

So fine, this is sort of bending the rules per se because this isn’t really a video-video. It’s the Game of Thrones introduction with beatboxing by the Stark children. 

And finally, here is one minute of a man singing all the songs involving the word “baby.” And in case you were wondering, yes, Justin Bieber is officially in the Baby Pantheon of Music. 

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Adele to make post-baby debut at Golden Globes

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Adele is coming to the Golden Globes.

The executive producer of the show says the 24-year-old Grammy-winning pop star is set to make her first post-baby appearance at Sunday's ceremony, where she is nominated for original song for the James Bond theme "Skyfall."

Adele welcomed her first child, with boyfriend Simon Konecki, in October. The singer has kept a low profile since announcing her pregnancy in June after sweeping the Grammy Awards last February with six wins.

Her single, "Skyfall," will compete at the Golden Globes with Taylor Swift's song from "The Hunger Games," Jon Bon Jovi's number from "Stand Up Guys," Keith Urban's track from "Act of Valor," and "Suddenly" from "Les Miserables."

The Globes will be presented Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

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Pap Test May Prove Useful at Detecting More Types of Cancer, Study Suggests

The Pap test, which has prevented countless deaths from cervical cancer, may eventually help to detect cancers of the uterus and ovaries as well, a new study suggests.

For the first time, researchers have found genetic material from uterine or ovarian cancers in Pap smears, meaning that it may become possible to detect three diseases with just one routine test.

But the research is early, years away from being used in medical practice, and there are caveats. The women studied were already known to have cancer, and while the Pap test found 100 percent of the uterine cancers, it detected only 41 percent of the ovarian cancers. And the approach has not yet been tried in women who appear healthy, to determine whether it can find early signs of uterine or ovarian cancer.

On the other hand, even a 41 percent detection rate would be better than the status quo in ovarian cancer, particularly if the detection extends to early stages. The disease is usually advanced by the time it is found, and survival rates are poor. About 22,280 new cases were expected in the United States in 2012, and 15,500 deaths. Improved tests are urgently needed.

Uterine cancer has a better prognosis, but still kills around 8,000 women a year in the United States.

These innovative applications of the Pap test are part of a new era in which advances in genetics are being applied to the detection of a wide variety of cancers or precancerous conditions. Scientists are learning to find minute bits of mutant DNA in tissue samples or bodily fluids that may signal the presence of hidden or incipient cancers.

Ideally, the new techniques would find the abnormalities early enough to cure the disease or even prevent it entirely. But it is too soon to tell.

“Is this the harbinger of things to come? I would answer yes,” said Dr. Bert Vogelstein, director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics at Johns Hopkins University, and a senior author of a report on the Pap test study published on Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. He said the genomes of more than 50 types of tumors had been sequenced, and researchers were trying to take advantage of the information.

Similar studies are under way or are being considered to look for mutant DNA in blood, stool, urine and sputum, both to detect cancer and also to monitor the response to treatment in people known to have the disease.

But researchers warn that such tests, used for screening, can be a double-edged sword if they give false positive results that send patients down a rabbit hole of invasive tests and needless treatments. Even a test that finds only real cancers may be unable to tell aggressive, dangerous ones apart from indolent ones that might never do any harm, leaving patients to decide whether to watch and wait or to go through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation with all the associated risks and side effects.

“Will they start recovering mutations that are not cancer-related?” asked Dr. Christopher P. Crum, a professor at Harvard Medical School who was not involved in the research.

But he also called the study a “great proof of principle,” and said, “Any whisper of hope to women who suffer from endometrial or ovarian cancer would be most welcome.”

DNA testing is already performed on samples from Pap tests, to look for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer. Dr. Vogelstein and his team decided to try DNA testing for cancer. They theorized that cells or DNA shed from cancers of the ovaries and the uterine lining, or endometrium, might reach the cervix and turn up in Pap smears.

The team picked common mutations found in these cancers, and looked for them in tumor samples from 24 women with endometrial cancer and 22 with ovarian cancer. All the cancers had one or more of the common mutations.

Then, the researchers performed Pap tests on the same women, and looked for the same DNA mutations in the Pap specimens. They found the mutations in 100 percent of the women with endometrial cancer, but in only 9 of the 22 with ovarian cancer. The test identified two of the four ovarian cancers that had been diagnosed at an early stage.

Finally, the team developed a test that would look simultaneously for cancer-associated mutations in 12 different genes in Pap samples. Used in a control sample of 14 healthy women, the test found no mutations — meaning no false-positive results.

Dr. Luis A. Diaz, the other senior author of the report and an associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins, called the research a step toward a screening test that at first blush appears very effective at detecting endometrial cancer, though obviously less so at finding ovarian cancer.

“Probably one of the most exciting features of this approach,” Dr. Diaz said, “is that we wanted a test that would seamlessly integrate with routine medical practice that could be utilized with the same test that women get every day all over the world, the Pap smear.”

But, he added: “We can’t say it’s ready for prime time. Like all good science, it needs to be validated.”

He and other members of the team said it might be possible to improve the detection rate for ovarian cancer by looking for more mutations and by changing the technique of performing Pap tests to increase the likelihood of capturing cells from the ovary. The change might involve timing the test to a certain point in a woman’s monthly cycle, using a longer brush to collect cells from deeper within the cervix or prescribing a drug that would raise the odds of cells being shed from the ovary.

The technique also needs to be tested in much larger groups of women, including healthy ones, to find out whether it works, particularly at finding cancers early enough to improve survival. And studies must also find out whether it generates false positive results, or identifies cancers that might not actually need to be treated.

Michael H. Melner, a program director in molecular genetics and biochemistry for the American Cancer Society, called the research “very promising,” in part because it is based on finding mutations.

“It tells you not just that cancer is there, but which mutation is there,” Dr. Melner said. “As we learn more and more about which mutations are associated with more or less severe forms of cancer, it’s more information, and possibly more diagnostic.”

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Hedge fund takes 8.2% stake in Herbalife

Hedge fund Third Point took an 8.2% stake in Herbalife Ltd., becoming the latest firm to bet against hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has accused the direct seller of nutritional products of being a pyramid scheme.

Third Point, which had about $10 billion under management and is run by financier Daniel Loeb, has purchased 8.9 million Herbalife shares, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Herbalife is fighting allegations made by Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, that it uses inflated pricing, misleading sales information and a complicated incentive structure to hide a pyramid scheme. Herbalife is preparing to lay out its rebuttal at an investor conference in New York on Thursday.

Quiz: How well do you remember 2012?

Additionally, Herbalife might be facing an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the Wall Street Journal. The inquiry, run out the SEC's New York office, will likely look into the company's sales practices.

Loeb's investment "sounds incredibly wise to us," Tim Ramey, an analyst with D.A. Davidson & Co., said while traveling in New York, where he plans to attend the Herbalife meeting. "The Ackman case doesn't have any merit. It attempts to prove the company's a pyramid scheme when the prima facie evidence is that it's not."

Ramey recommends buying the stock.

Herbalife closed up $1.60, or 4.2%, at $39.95 after earlier surging as much as 9.3%.

Barb Henderson, an Herbalife spokeswoman, declined to comment on the Third Point investment. Loeb didn't immediately respond to an email seeking details.

Ackman, who has sold short about 20 million Herbalife shares, said in a statement Wednesday that his goal was "to shine a spotlight on the company so that the world better understands the facts about Herbalife."

"The outcome of this investment is not about Pershing Square or anyone else who is long or short the stock," Ackman, Pershing Square's chief executive, said in the emailed statement. "To the extent another investor, long or short, brings additional sunlight to the situation, we welcome them."

Short selling refers to the practice of borrowing shares and selling them, with the goal of profiting by repurchasing them later at a lower price.

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