The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 1

2003:11:17:23:43:14 On The Internet: WWW LATIMES COM OPYRIGHT AGES Designated Areas Higher By Kurt Streeter, Sharon Bernstein and Caitlin Liu Times Staff Writers The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its mechanics union agreed Monday to settle their remaining contract differences through mediation, ending a 35-day transit strike that has left an estimated 400,000 daily passengers without bus or train service. Afew limited bus routes began running Monday night, and partial rail service on the Red Line subway and light-rail Blue Line was expected to resume this morning. Officials said full countywide service would probably not be restored until Friday. Negotiators reached a tentative settlement shortly before midnight Sunday after what both sides characterized as several grueling bargaining sessions since Friday. The agreement was quickly and unanimously approved Monday by the MTA board.

It must still be ratified by the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1277, which has scheduled avote for Wednesday. But union President Neil Silver, who is recommending the deal to his members, urged them to go back to work immediately as a show of good faith. The key sticking point during more than a year of negotiations, the provision of health benefits for active and retired mechanics, remains to be settled. It will be presented now to a panel of three mediators one picked by each side, the other chosen jointly who will draft a compromise proposal that can be rejected by either side. That process could take months, officials said, but both See Transit, Page A22 Mediation Plan Ends MTA Strike Service will gradually resume after the two sides agree to let a panel draft a compromise.

Mortal Wounds: One in a series of occasional stories about murder in Los Angeles. By Jill Leovy Times Staff Writer Four days after his cousin was gunned down a few blocks away, a14-year-old youth sat alone in a dark house, thinking. He had spent sleepless nights since a man had walked up to his cousin, Anthony Brown, 16, at 8th and Vernon avenues, and fired repeatedly into his chest at close range. Anthony, a tall, skinny, popular boy who loved practical jokes, stumbled a few feet, then fell, bleeding to death on the pavement. Now, his cousin wondered, would the killer ever pay? Would someone take revenge? The question hovers around many killings in South Los Angeles, where one homicide often means another in a ruthless pattern of payback.

As old as humanity, as modern as drive-by shootings, revenge propels the cycle of violent deaths on L.A. streets. Retaliation shootings are so common that some police view them as inevitable. get one shooting, and you can count on it: It will prompt one said LAPD Officer Kyle Remolino. shooting, then another.

Back and Anthony close friends were not in gangs, nor were he and his cousin. But in the week after death, this 14- year-old talked about why he was certain there would be retaliation. Even though Anthony had resisted the pressure to join gangs, he knew gang members; nearly impossible to grow up in the neighborhood without knowing them, his cousin said. COLUMN ONE Where Eye for an Eye Is Justice 8 Revenge shootings are common, even expected, on the streets of South L.A. Police race to find suspects before the gang on the turf does.

See Revenge, Page A16 By Peter Nicholas and Joe Mathews Times Staff Writers SACRAMENTO Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger took the oath as 38th governor on Monday, vowing to upend the political culture and humble the special interests through decisive action that would amount to the of The audience of 7,500 invited guests, including thousands standing and watching on big- screen televisions, interrupted Schwarzenegger for applause 24 times during the course of his 12- minute inaugural speech, with the loudest ovation coming when he renewed his promise to roll back the car tax. Shortly after the 45-minute ceremony on the west steps of the Capitol, the new governor delivered on that promise, issuing Executive Order 1, which repealed the $4-billion increase that had been approved by the man he replaced Gray Davis. It was the first of a series of rapid-fire actions meant to draw aclear contrast with a Davis administration renowned for its caution. Schwarzenegger issued proclamations to convene a trio of special sessions of the Legislature aimed at overturning a new law that allows illegal immigrants to licenses, cutting compensation costs and capping state spending. In the sessions, which will begin hopes that lawmakers will place two measures on the March ballot a constitutional amendment that would cap state spending and a bond issue to pay off the deficit accumulated during the last years of the Davis administration.

Schwarzenegger also issued an order suspending 85 packages of regulations still pending from the Davis administration, and called for a review of handling of all regulations. Schwarz- enegger said while signing the repeal of the car tax hike in the Ronald Reagan Conference Room. joking. Very important to know, a friend of mine asked me before I left Los Angeles; he said, you going to miss the action in the Isaid, I am going to have enough action up in Well this is action, not just dialogue, this is Schwarzenegger took the oath of office at 11:20 a.m., his left hand on a Bible published in 1911 and held by his wife, Maria Shriver. Inaugural officials had incorrectly described the Bible as an 1811 edition that belonged to family.

It Schwarzenegger Sworn In, Rescinds Car Tax Increase Gary Friedman Los Angeles Times READY FOR ACTION: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, stand beneath the seal of California at the conclusion of swearing-in ceremonies at the Capitol in Sacramento. After the ceremonies, the new governor moves quickly to tackle state problems, including calling for special legislative sessions. RELATED STORIES Media: Press corps of 700 from 14 nations covers the event. A19 Analysis: Schwarzenegger must get a grip on budget gap.

A20 Money: The governor has raised $1 million since election. A20 See Inauguration, Page A18 By David Lamb and Stephen Braun Times Staff Writers VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. A jury on Monday convicted John Allen Muhammad of murder in the serial sniper slayings that targeted innocent victims and spread panic last year across the Washington, D.C., area. The jury of seven women and five men immediately turned to fate, deciding whether he should be put to death. Deliberating less than seven hours after an exhaustive five- week trial, the jurors found Muhammad guilty on two counts that could carry the death penalty in Virginia.

One was for committing multiple murders over a three- year period, and the second was for killing Dean H. Maryland civil an act of terrorism. Though Muhammad was specifically found guilty of murder, he was also convicted under a special Virginia statute that allowed prosecutors to bring in evidence of other killings to qualify the crime for the death penalty. Muhammad, 42, was linked to 11 sniper slayings and five other shootings, includingthe Oct. 9, See Sniper, Page A11 Muhammad Convicted in Sniper Slayings By Bob Baker Times Staff Writer Like many recovering addicts fresh from rehab, he was bursting with new personal insights.

His vaunted confrontational vocabulary had taken on an unexpected dimension references and the occasional reminder that you cannot feel responsible for other happiness. Only this time the recovering addict was a rich and famous 52-year-old man sitting inside a Manhattan radio studio, speaking to millions of people. Rush Limbaugh, who has become a cultural and political force as most popular radio host, returned to the air Monday after five weeks in an unnamed Arizona rehabilitation facility where he was treated reportedly for addiction to the painkiller Oxy- Contin. His departure had been forced by a National Enquirer in which a former housekeeper claimed Limbaugh bought and hoarded tens of thousands of pills. Lim- Limbaugh Returns to Air After Stay in Drug Rehab Associated Press ON THE JOB: Rush Limbaugh dates his addiction to 1995 or See Limbaugh, Page A23 By Evan Halper and Sue Fox Times Staff Writers SACRAMENTO The $4- billion tax cut ordered by Gov.

Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday brought relief to California car owners, but left open how state lawmakers might now help local agencies pay for police, fire and other services. Asked where the Legislature would find money to reimburse cities and counties as Schwarz- enegger has promised, Senate President Pro Tem John L. Burton (D-San Francisco) said, getting it from me. have the Burton said. a problem between him and local Local governments have relied on the vehicle license fee to help pay for police, fire and other services.

But many residents objected over the summer when former Gov. Gray Davis hiked the fee by Without the increase, Davis had said, the state would not have enough money to keep making the payments. On Monday, Schwarzenegger made good on his campaign pledge to roll back the so-called car tax, lowering by $158 the amount paid by typical California motorists based on the value of their cars. The tax cut takes effect immediately, but because of administrative and legal issues, it could be 90 days before drivers see lower rates in their registration and renewal bills. executive order also directed that refunds go to the 3.1 million drivers who have already paid the higher rates which have been in effect for only a month and that the state continue paying local governments the monthly allotments they were getting from the tax.

To do either, however, Immediate Anxiety, Delayed Gratification From Rollback See Fee, Page A21 By Jenifer Warren Times Staff Writer SACRAMENTO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger starred Monday in a glitzy and historic inauguration that was part political debut, part Hollywood premiere. Although only 7,500 handpicked guests and several hundred journalists from around the world had passes to witness the event up close, hundreds of other Californians massed on the western flank, some crushing up against achain-link security fence, some gathering half a football field away to watch the ceremony on a giant screen. By the start of the program, the crowd on the sidewalks was five deep. Fathers hoisted children on their shoulders.

Some onlookers climbed trees. Others griped about being stuck in the cheap seats, far from the action. Samantha Guzman, 43, hopped a bus downtown to catch the show. I can just hear his voice from here, be Guzman said, hovering outside the security barrier. already saw him drive by in his limousine.

He rolled down the window, waved and gave me that gorgeous At least she could hear the music, an eclectic program that mixed mariachis with Japanese See Scene, Page A19 Robert Durell Los Angeles Times ATIME FOR GOOD CHEER: With former Gov. Pete Wilson behind him, Gray Davis applauds Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after he was sworn in as the 38th leader of California. Politics Aside, Sacramento Gets Into a Party Mood Mystery at Yellowstone Scientists are studying a huge and potentially explosive underwater dome. A10 AARP Backs GOP Plan The seniors group adds its support to the Medicare prescription measure.

A14 Cutting the Music Record executives hope fewer tracks per album will improve their value in minds. C1 Weather Warmer with clear skies tonight. L.A. Downtown: B14 News Summary A2 INSIDE 7 6 859 44 00050.