Which Way, L.A.?

Mexico, Backyard of the United States?

Mexico-s ambassador to the United Nations has been sacked after a comment called -outrageous- by US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Earlier this year, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser also led Security Council opposition to the Iraq war. Was he an -undiplomatic diplomat,- or was he fired for standing on principle and speaking the truth? Does the US regard Mexico as its -backyard?- Is President Vicente Fox trying to improve his standing with President Bush? We hear contrasting views from the Editorial page editor of La Jornada, one of Mexico's leading daily newspapers and a former deputy foreign minister who now chairs the Mexican Council for International Affairs. Making News: Governor Schwarzenegger Presents His Budget Cuts Governor Schwarzenegger today made his first proposals for cutting the state budget, $3.8 billion toward making up for a $17 billion budget gap between now and 2005. Evan Halper, who is following the story in Sacramento for the LA Times, has more on the proposal that will reduce funding of programs for the poor, developmentally disabled, and higher education. Reporter's Notebook: Legislators Move toward Repeal of Driver's License Law It-s not often that the author of a new state law gets behind a move to repeal it, but that-s what-s happened in the case of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. Yesterday, in Sacramento, Democrats joined Republicans on a Senate committee that voted to overturn the measure, with the support of Democratic Senator Gil Cedillo, who spent years working to get it enacted.