Perks of office: Lawmakers head for Hawaiian Islands

California legislators will begin arriving on Maui tomorrow for the lawmakers’ annual fall conference retreat in the Hawaiian Islands – a trip paid for by big businesses and unions. It’s a tradition that worries good government advocates. While in Hawaii, legislators are supposed to participate in panels involving healthcare, energy, economic development and public safety. But in between panel discussions lawmakers can play golf, snorkle and relax on the beach…The Republican Party is struggling mightily to adjust changing demographics in California. A new USC Dornsife-L.A. Times poll finds that just 14 percent of minority voters here are registered Republicans, compared to 54 percent who are registered Democrats. The GOP’s problems in the Golden State will probably get worse. Among all voters over 50, 35 percent call themselves Republicans. For voters under 50, it’s just 23 percent…U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti are among the officials expected to attend a public ceremony at the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena to honor slain Transportation Security Agency officer Gerardo Hernandez. Hernandez was killed a week and a half ago when a gunman allegedly targeting TSA agents opened fire in Terminal 3 at LAX . The 23-year-old suspect remains hospitalized in critical condition….

The L.A. Region of the Red Cross is planning two events tomorrow to raise funds for victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Only money will be accepted – no in-kind donations. The Red Cross will be collecting cash, checks, and credit card donations at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and at the Honda Center in Anaheim from 4:30 in the morning until 6:30 tomorrow night. The Red Cross will also team up with CBS 2 on a 12-hour telethon…

The L.A. School Board today will have to decide on sharply different plans for the

future of the district’s iPad program. One proposal calls for a virtual halt to the rollout, while another would it speed it up dramatically. Superintendent John Deasy favors a middle approach, with a few dozen new schools being added to the 47 schools that already have the devices…

And finally, a plan to kick-start

the development of Orange County’s

long-stalled “Great Park” goes before the Irvine City Council today. If it’s approved, the plan would give a developer the ok the build more than 4,600 houses on part of the former El Toro Marine Air Corps Station. In exchange, the developer would build about 700 acres of parkland, including a golf course.