SoCal Connected Continues Expose on Housing Scandal Dec. 9 at 8:30 PM
SOCAL CONNECTED CONTINUES EXPOSÃ? ON HOUSING SCANDAL
"INSIDER" TELLS OF EXCESSIVE SPENDING WITHIN AGENCY
All-New Episode airs December 9 at 8:30 PM
Los Angeles - This week, SoCal Connected continues its exclusive investigation into the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), with additional details of expenditures by individuals at the agency, from $2000 dinners to $100,000 on "employee incentives." This, as officials question whether some government employees had broken the law.
SoCal Connected interviews in silhouette a former agency "insider" who tells correspondent Laurel Erickson that she used to complain about all of the spending on meals but was told not to worry about it because it was not her money.
There have been other fast moving developments on the scandal all week, all of which will be included in SoCal Connected's reporting:
· Former California Inspector General Laura Chick criticized the current City Controller Wendy Grueul on moving so slowly on her audit of HACLA.
· A memo from agency boss Ken Simmons claiming that expensive spending and agency social functions had already stopped.
· Requests for HACLA chief Simmons to testify before a City Council committee.
In addition to its HACLA investigation, this week's edition of SoCal Connected goes off California's coast with a report from correspondent Jennifer London on the increasing number of whales injured by large container ships. Scientists don't understand why whales are moving into shipping lanes to feed, is it possibly the result of global climate change?
SoCal Connected airs Friday, December 9 at 8:30 p.m. with encore airings on Saturdays at 6:00 PM, Sundays at 6:30 PM, and Mondays at 10:30 PM.
The Executive Producer of SoCal Connected is Bret Marcus. Co-Executive Producer is Justine Schmidt. Anchor is Val Zavala.
About SoCal Connected
SoCal Connected, winner of the Peabody and duPont-Columbia awards, 14 Emmy® Awards, 15 Golden Mikes, 18 LA Press Club Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Best News Documentary and Los Angeles Magazine's "Best New Local TV Program" of 2009, airs Fridays (8:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.), with encores Saturdays (6 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.), Sundays (6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.) and Mondays (10:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.) exclusively on KCET. For more information, to view episodes online or to post comments, please visit http://www.socalconnected.org
SoCal Connected is made possible through the generous support of The Ahmanson Foundation, serving the Los Angeles community since 1952; Jim and Anne Rothenberg;
The Maddocks-Brown Foundation; The Elizabeth Hofert-Dailey Trust; The John Randolph Haynes & Dora Haynes Foundation; The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and UCLA.