Former L.A. Councilman Louis Nowell  Louis Nowell, on his yacht
in 1980, was monitored by two community activists  a husband
and wife named Jerry and Betty Decter who had spent years
documenting what the couple called Nowells "indiscretions."
(Los Angeles Times)  Louis R. Nowell, a Los Angeles city
councilman who served for 14 years and resigned in the late
1970s, days after coming under fire for taking a trip to Mexico
funded by billboard companies with a vested interest, has died.
He was 94.  Nowell, who also spent more than two decades as a
city firefighter, died July 2 in Camarillo, his family
announced. A cause of death was not given.  When Nowell
delivered his political requiem before the council in 1976, he
announced that he would retire the next year. He said that he
could "stand the heat" of politics but that his wife and family
could not. His voice broke, and he appeared to be near tears.
Two community activists -- husband and wife Jerry and Betty
Decter -- had spent years documenting what the co