*Moving toward budget deal

The mayor said this morning that he would ask the DWP board for some but probably not all of the $73 million that the utility is supposed to transfer to the city's general fund. Appearing on KPCC's "Airtalk," Villaraigosa said he was looking at around $20 million. As usual, he was vague on the particulars (why not $40 million or $50 million?). Earlier in the segment, Council President Eric Garcetti said that he had been talking to the mayor and thought a compromise could be worked out. Meanwhile, there's not been much additional chatter about the two-day-a-week furlough idea that Villaraigosa floated yesterday - and certainly no specifics. That he even offered up such a crazy suggestion tells you a lot about the lengths this guy will go in having his way.

Also this morning, the council's chief legislative analyst, Gerry Miller, said the mayor cannot unilaterally invoke a furlough plan. That would require the council adopting an emergency resolution authorizing such a plan.

*Why the magical $20 million? Well, DWP interim General Manager S. David Freeman said last month that if the rate hikes were approved, his agency would kick in the $73 million it owed the city, plus another $20 million, the LAT reported. Oh, and back in February, Freeman told the Times that it was "completely committed" to providing the money and saw no connection between the transfer and the proposed rate hike.

Edited post