Which Way, L.A.?

Developing Downtown; Federated to Buy May

Segment #1: Developing Downtown New York based Related Companies won the bid to transform LA's civic and cultural center from dull and run down into what's called an "urban mixed-use neighborhood." After six months of public comment, Related says it has been encouraged at "every step to be bold, urban and dense." That's what developer Bill Wittee told Katheryn Maese, city editor of the Downtown News. Segment #2: Federated to Buy May Meantime, another development may have a much bigger, much sooner affect on the lives of Southern California consumers. That's the announcement that Federated Department Stores will buy out competitor May Department Stores. Jack Kyser, Vice President and Chief Economist of the LA Economic Development Corporation, says there will be some pain in the $11 billion merger. Making News: Schwarzenegger Promises Special Election if Lawmakers Don't Act Enact my proposals for government reform by March, or I'll go to the ballot box was the ultimatum to state lawmakers in Governor Schwarzenegger's State of the State speech last month. To nobody's real surprise, the Legislature hasn't done it. Gary Delsohn, who's watching the process from the Capitol Bureau of the Sacramento Bee, details the initiatives the Governor has threatened to take before voters. Reporter's Notebook: General Motors Retires EV1 Battery Powered Cars General Motors' electric vehicle was a hot little sports number that was advertised as the car of the future, but after spending a billion dollars on development, GM said there just wasn't a market. With only 800 EV1's leased over four years, GM recalled all the cars and now plans to crush them. Electric vehicle advocate Paul Scott has the latest on the two-week vigil that's still going on at the back lot of GM's Training Center in Burbank.