Which Way, L.A.?

Budget Buddies Try to Bypass Politics to Solve Crisis

Governor Davis met last night with leaders of both parties in the Assembly and Senate. The consensus afterward was that there was no progress toward resolving California-s $38 billion financial crisis. At risk are services provided by the state and hundreds of other agencies. The budget process in Sacramento has hardened into partisan gridlock with Democrats refusing to cut any more spending and Republicans holding the line against raising taxes. Now, with a budget deficit that gets bigger every day, a bi-partisan group of moderates is trying to stake out some neutral territory. We hear from Republic Keith Richman of Northridge and Democrat Joe Canciamilla of Pittsburg, east of the San Francisco Bay, two assemblymen struggling to find a way out of the budget deadlock. Making News: Iranian TV in LA Encourages Protesters in Tehran For the first time in more than six months, protesters clashed with riot police in Tehran, the capital of Iran. They had encouragement from American-based satellite TV stations, including National Iranian Television in Woodland Hills. Zia Ataby, president of NITV, says that in addition to reporting news of the Middle East, his station gives Iranians an alternative to the state-run media. Reporter-s Notebook: US Seniors Cross Mexican Border for Prescription Drugs President Bush may have other ideas, but for the moment, Medicare does not cover prescription medications. So, with the price of drugs on the increase, hundreds of thousands of US citizens are going to Mexico. Tour groups even tout several border cities as the place to buy purchase prescription medications. Alan Bernstein of the Houston Chronicle reports on some south-of-the-border drug trafficking of a different kind.