Obama Coming to Santa Monica Friday

By City News Service

President Barack Obama is scheduled to spend 3 1/2 hours in the Los Angeles area Friday to speak at a luncheon fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in Santa Monica.

Obama is scheduled to arrive aboard Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport late Friday morning and depart in the afternoon for Rancho Mirage, where he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, discussing North Korea's nuclear program and Chinese cyberattacks on U.S. corporate and national security targets.

Tickets for the event at the home of Peter Chernin begin at $10,000, according to an invitation posted on the website PoliticalPartyTime.org, which tracks political fundraisers.

The price is $16,200 for the luncheon and the opportunity to have a photo taken with Obama and $32,400 -- the maximum allowable contribution to a national party committee in a calendar year -- to be a luncheon co-chair, which also allows the donor to attend what is described as a "special discussion'' in addition to the luncheon and photo reception.

Chernin is chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group, which manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media, entertainment and technology sectors. The trip will be Obama's 14th to the Los Angeles area since taking office and first in his second term.

He has spoken at political fundraisers during 12 of those visits, all but the first and final one before the November election, when he appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.'' This will be the 10th trip solely for fundraising. The fundraiser will be Obama's third in two days.

He is scheduled to speak Thursday night at fundraisers benefiting the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee in Palo Alto and Portola Valley.