Fire union's scare tactics

Mayor Villaraigosa has a 1 p.m. media op to hit the firefighters union for its latest contract negotiating ploy: a mailer that uses photos from last year's Chatsworth Metrolink crash. "An offensive, tasteless and misleading attack mailer," the mayor's office says. City Councilman Greig Smith calls the mailer "a shameful campaign that exploits one of the worst tragedies that our community has ever experienced." The firefighters union is also putting eye-grabbing signs outside of fire stations where some crews are taking forced time off as part of the city's budget crunch. "I have personally asked the Union boss, Pat McOsker to present any solutions they might have to help resolve the budget problems while preserving public safety services," says Smith. "To date, he has offered none."