Washed It!

U.S. and British officials are investigating whether a British aid worker kidnapped by Taliban militants in Afghanistan may have been inadvertently killed by American troops as they attempted to rescue her last week.

British officials initially announced that Linda Norgrove, 36, had been killed by her Islamist captors Friday during a rescue attempt carried out by U.S. special forces. Norgrove was kidnapped along with three Afghan colleagues two weeks ago in eastern Kunar province while visiting a development project there. Militants had earlier freed Norgrove’s Afghan co-workers.

On Monday, the U.S. military said in a prepared statement that a review of surveillance footage and interviews with members of the rescue team “do not conclusively determine the cause of her death.” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, ordered an investigation into Norgrove’s death, the statement said.

In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron said at a news conference that Petraeus had told him Norgrove may have been killed by a grenade thrown by a member of the U.S. rescue team. Cameron said his foreign secretary, William Hague, had given the go-ahead to launch the rescue effort after deciding that Norgrove was at grave risk. Cameron said Hague’s decision had his support.

“We were clear that Linda’s life was in grave danger and the operation offered the best chance of saving her life,” Cameron told reporters. “I will obviously go over in my mind 100 times whether it was the right decision, but I profoundly believe it was.”

A former United Nations worker, Norgrove was working on a $150-million project for the U.S. aid group Development Alternatives Inc., aimed at strengthening local economies in Afghanistan.

The decision to forge ahead with a rescue mission was made after North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies received a tip about Norgrove’s whereabouts. Six militants holding Norgrove were also killed in the rescue bid.

alex.rodriguez@latimes.com

U.S. troops may have killed kidnapped British aid worker during failed rescue attempt

So long, “Sesame Street.” And probably “NewsHour,” “Antiques Roadshow,” “Nova,” “Masterpiece” and ” Frontline” too, at least for many Los Angeles TV viewers.

After months of fractious negotiations, KCET, the flagship public broadcasting station in the Los Angeles market for 40 years, abruptly announced Friday that it would exit the PBS network effective Jan. 1. The move, which caught PBS officials in Washington by surprise, marks the first time a major-market station has left the network and will make KCET the largest independent public TV station in the nation.

“This is not a decision we made lightly,” Al Jerome, the station’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.

“We have been in discussions with PBS for over three years about the need to address challenges that are unique to our market as well as our station.”

In a follow-up interview, Jerome said the station would assemble its own programming, a plan that would take roughly two years to implement fully. KCET is expected to keep airing locally produced public-affairs shows such as “SoCal Connected.” Last month it announced a new Sunday-night movie show hosted by KTLA entertainment reporter Sam Rubin. Jerome said the station was also exploring news, documentaries and other programming from providers in Japan, Canada and other countries as well as the Hollywood community.

But Jerome acknowledged that some longtime viewers face the immediate prospect of losing favorite, nationally recognized shows. “There are going to be some disruptions,” he said. According to Jerome, KCET would remain a nonprofit enterprise mostly reliant on funds from viewers and corporate donors; the station’s FCC license does not permit it to become a commercial, for-profit outlet supported entirely by the traditional 30-second spot.

Station officials have complained they could not afford to pay member dues that rocketed 40% after KCET in 2005 won a landmark series of grants from oil giant BP and other sources totaling $50 million for two series aimed at preschoolers. Those grants came with the stipulation the money could not be used for paying dues to PBS. But PBS has defended the dues structure as necessary to maintaining quality programming and argued KCET was asking for special treatment.

Talks aimed at ending the impasse have gone nowhere. The door is still open for KCET to remain tied to PBS through a proposed consortium with Southern California secondary public stations: Orange County’s KOCE as well as KVCR in San Bernardino and KLCS, which is licensed to the Los Angeles Unified School District. The group would share certain programming, fundraising and marketing functions to save money and operate more efficiently. But Jerome said KCET would still remain independent under that scenario. It’s also possible that the station and PBS could reach an 11th-hour settlement, but those hopes seem to be growing dimmer with each passing day.

Friday’s move left PBS officials scrambling. In a sign of how badly relations have frayed with the dissident station, a network spokeswoman was not aware that KCET was about to send out a news release announcing the split until a reporter called to ask about it.

“PBS was notified today of KCET’s intention to withdraw its membership,” PBS said in a statement. “At issue were KCET’s repeated requests that it be allowed to operate as a PBS member station without abiding by PBS policies and paying the corresponding dues.

“PBS’ goal is to have a financially stable service in the Los Angeles market,” the network added. “PBS fully supports the idea of a Southern California consortium of stations and continues discussion with KOCE, KVCR and KLCS, PBS’ additional stations serving the Los Angeles market.”

Their divorce could wind up being painful for both KCET and PBS — not to mention local viewers.

The station faces the challenge of trying to raise funds without invoking name brands such as “Sesame Street” and “Antiques Roadshow.” Such famous PBS series are frequently cited as reasons to donate during ubiquitous on-air pledge drives. Without such brands, KCET may find it much harder to persuade viewers to open their wallets, especially during a time of economic uncertainty and reduced corporate giving.

However, KCET’s prospects for viability could greatly improve if KCET secures funding from the federal government. In a statement released Friday by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which receives Congressional funding and distributes it to public media, KCET will still be eligible for federal monies as long as it is — as it plans to be — an FCC-licensed educational television station, providing noncommercial and general interest programming.

In the meantime, the loss of its largest West Coast station casts a dark cloud over the future of PBS, at a time when many TV analysts are already questioning the relevance of a federally mandated broadcasting entity that dates from the 1960s.

“PBS certainly does not play the essential role it once did in the nation’s media landscape,” Jeffrey McCall, a media professor at DePauw University wrote in an e-mail. “For years, PBS provided things that couldn’t be had from the traditional networks. Public affairs, educational programs, dance, fitness, crafts, kids shows, documentaries and all that were found on your local PBS affiliate and perhaps no place else.

“Now, with cable outlets, not to mention the Internet, the public doesn’t rely on PBS for such fare,” McCall added. “Those multichannel entities are rooted in corporate vision, but they only need a niche audience to make a go of it these days. Not to mention that PBS has taken on some of the corporate vision itself, with lengthy, enhanced underwriting announcements, corporate partnerships, etc.”

Now that KCET has taken the plunge as an independent station — PBS will have to write a new chapter for its network in Southern California.

Local attorney Gordon Bava, chairman of KCET’s board of directors, said in a statement: “While separating from the PBS mother ship is daunting, the potential of providing a media platform for the creative, scientific, and cultural communities of Southern California to create informative and entertaining non-commercial programming with a fresh perspective is very exciting.”

scott.collins@latimes.com
Los Angeles affiliate KCET is leaving the PBS network

Construction on the long-stalled Grand Avenue hotel, condo and shopping complex may be delayed at least another two years because developers have been unable to secure financing.

The $3-billion Frank Gehry-designed Grand Avenue complex was supposed to be the centerpiece of an elaborate effort to rebuild the blocks stretching from the Walt Disney Concert Hall to City Hall. But while backers of downtown development cheer Eli Broad’s recent decision to build his new art museum on Grand Avenue and a new 16-acre park nearby, the latest delay is a reminder that the fate of the broader reimagining of the Civic Center area is still uncertain.

The project developer, Related Cos., said this week that it plans to request a two-year extension of its current February 2011 deadline to begin construction.

If the new deal is approved by city and county officials, groundbreaking would not have to start until 2013 — six years after work was first slated to begin. Bill Witte, the president of the developer’s California division, said Related may request yet another extension if the economy hasn’t improved by 2013.

“There is no chance of financing a significant project in the near term,” Witte said. “In fact, I’m not sure there’s much of a chance of financing even an insignificant project in the near term.”

Proposed in the early 2000s during the zenith of downtown’s building boom, the project’s plans call for a boutique hotel, thousands of luxury condos and acres of retail space for upscale restaurants, shops and art galleries. A 40- to 50-story Gehry-designed glass tower was to mark the spot as a cultural hub for tourists, shoppers and a new breed of wealthy downtown denizens.

Now it’s likely that Broad’s museum and the planned park — which was conceived as part of the overall development — will open before construction on Gehry’s tower begins.

The project remains popular with downtown boosters, but some concede that the plans may need to be tweaked to take into account the economic downturn.

Eric Richardson, the publisher of blogdowntown.com, praised the Grand Avenue project for “the attention that the idea brought to downtown revitalization.” But he said some residents feel that what the area really needs is more grocery stores, pharmacies and other basic amenities.

“We’ve been very slow to pull in the retail that kind of completes the picture of life downtown,” he said. “Some people are asking, ‘Does downtown really need a mega project at this point?’”

Grand Avenue, which was approved by city and county officials in February 2007, is one of the last of several proposed “mega projects” in downtown that are still alive since the real estate market crashed in 2008.

Paul Novak, the land planning deputy for L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, a longtime critic of the project, said he doesn’t think there is an appetite downtown for Grand Avenue’s upscale offerings.

“OK, you’ve got very high-end condos and a high-end hotel,” Novak said. “But the condo market is in the dumps downtown, and downtown already has a five-star hotel.”

Officials with Related said they have already secured millions of dollars in equity but have had trouble securing loans to pay the $1.1 billion required to build the first phases of the project.

During the last renegotiation of the construction deadline, Related agreed to pay a penalty of $3 million a year to push construction back. Under the new extension, which Related may ask for in the coming weeks, it must pay the joint city-county authority that controls the land an additional $1 million in penalties. The penalties would be paid once construction begins.

Witte and others say they hope the Broad museum and the new Civic Park will raise the profile of Bunker Hill and make it easier to secure loans for Grand Avenue.

Witte said Related is considering altering its plans for the project, but he would not say what changes are being considered.

Steve Needleman, who owns the Orpheum Theatre and lofts on Broadway, said Grand Avenue’s developer should consider making changes “like building office space or more modestly priced apartments.”

“I think the Grand Avenue project, by the time it gets built, will change again,” Needleman said. “You’re having to reevaluate what makes sense.”

Carol Schatz, the executive director of the downtown-based Central City Assn., also acknowledged that aspects of the development may have to be reconsidered.

“The Grand Avenue project made a great deal of sense at the time that it was approved,” Schatz said. “But things are different now.”

kate.linthicum@latimes.com
Grand Avenue project faces 2-year delay over funding

Some architects reach the point where even a minor or obscure example of their work becomes significant. That may be the case with architect John Lautner, whose underdog individualism has propelled his reputation skyward.

Supporters hope Lautner’s prestige can help save one of his earliest commissions, a 1951 house north of Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills known as Shusett House. The current owner, Enrique Mannheim, wants to knock it down and build a new place to live. The demolition could come in the next few days.

Mannheim says he’s tried to make the place work for his family, but after 23 years, he’s reached the end of his patience with the structure – as well as with Lautner fans.