By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE (NY Times)

When the Tuskegee Airmen, the all-black force of elite pilots, emerged from combat in World War II, they faced as much discrimination as they had before the war. It was not until six decades later that their valor was recognized and they received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can give.

Now, the roughly 330 pilots and members of the ground crew who are left from about 16,000 who served are receiving another honor that has surpassed their dreams: They are being invited to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama as the country’s first black president.

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Supervisors in Santa Barbara County vote to approve the L.A. developer’s proposal to refurbish the 15-acre seaside hotel into a luxury resort.

By Catherine Saillant (LA Times)

It was a project that nearly slipped out of developer Rick Caruso’s grasp. But after many delays, Los Angeles’ builder of uber-malls this week won approval for his first foray into resort development.

Caruso’s plan to transform the aging Miramar Hotel from a Montecito eyesore into a 192-room luxury seaside hotel won the backing of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.

The go-ahead came after months of contentious hearings and nearly two years after Caruso bought the 15-acre coastal property east of Santa Barbara. The process included multiple hearings at which opponents attacked the project before the Montecito Planning Commission.

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pictured above: An EDAR belonging to Christopher Raynor sits near Pacific Coast Highway and Temescal Canyon Road. “This is one of the greatest damn gifts you could ever give to anybody,” Raynor says. (Ken Hively, Los Angeles Times)

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Electronic Arts, the world’s largest game publisher, expecting disappointing holiday sales, says it will cancel some projects as well as reduce its workforce by more than the 6% announced in October.

By Alex Pham (LA Times)

Once considered impervious to a stormy economy, the video game sector is starting to show signs of strain.

Electronic Arts Inc., which produces such franchises as the Sims and Madden NFL, said Tuesday that it probably would miss sales and profit targets for its fiscal year because of disappointing holiday sales in North America and Europe.

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It may be hard to believe that professional sports in America are now feeling the recession. The Yankees are still willing to shell out $160 million dollars to pitcher CC Sabathia. And you’d think TV ad budgets for sports will stay steady. Presumably, more fans will tune in for a distraction from all of the negative financial news. People are still paying for diversions and treating one’s family with tickets to the game is a lot cheaper than hopping on a plane.

Yet even the mighty NFL today announced 150 job cuts. Apparently football’s finance’s are still strong but uncertainty over 2009 is prompting the league to play it conservative. 

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[courtesy of Jimmy Jones]

New report finds that the groups are doing better on meeting application requirements for UC and CSU but still trail whites and Asians.

By Larry Gordon (LA Times)

Despite recent improvements, Latino and black students continue to lag behind whites and Asians in becoming academically eligible to enter California’s two public university systems, according to a state report released Tuesday.

The study by the California Postsecondary Education Commission also showed that female high school seniors still do significantly better than males in taking required classes and earning grades and test scores that could gain them admission to the University of California and California State University systems. 

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No successor is named, but Ramon Cortines is expected to lead the school district, at least for the interim.

By Jason Song and Howard Blume  (LA Times)

The Los Angeles Board of Education voted Tuesday to pay at least $517,500 to buy out Supt. David L. Brewer midway through his four-year contract to run the nation’s second-largest school system.

No successor was named, but board members and other civic leaders have said they expect that the No. 2 administrator, Ramon C. Cortines, will be offered the job at least on an interim basis.

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