LOS ANGELES (By Meg James and Duke Helfand, LATimes) October 2, 2007 — Villaraigosa's girlfriend, who was suspended by KVEA-TV for two months after her relationship with him became public knowledge, refuses to accept a transfer to the station's Riverside bureau. Los Angeles television newscaster Mirthala Salinas, whose affair with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa prompted her transfer to Riverside, failed to show up for her first day of work today after a two-month suspension. A few hours later, Salinas' employer, the Spanish-language Telemundo network, announced that she would not be returning.

Salinas and Telemundo executives were negotiating an end to her employment as a network spokesman, Alfredo Richard, said: "She will not be coming back."

Telemundo officials had suspended Salinas for covering Villaraigosa while the two were romantically involved. When the relationship became public, the mayor's wife, Corina, filed for divorce and media experts across the nation accused Salinas of having a conflict of interest.

Station executives had expected Salinas to report for duty at the KVEA-TV Channel 52 Inland Empire bureau this morning. KVEA had dispatched its communications director to the Riverside office to handle an expected onslaught of news crews covering her return.

Several crews did appear — including those from sister station KNBC-TV Channel 4 and KVEA. They waited outside the bureau to capture footage of Salinas but left empty-handed.

Salinas was unhappy over her reassignment to Riverside and that is why she did not show for work, according to a source familiar with the situation who would only speak anonymously. But KVEA felt that the Riverside alternative was the best way out of an awkward ethics situation for the station, whose credibility was damaged by the romantic relationship.

Station executives felt that the appearance of a conflict would continue if they allowed Salinas to work as a general assignment reporter in Los Angeles, where Villaraigosa is a visible public figure — and a favorite of Spanish-language news outlets.

Salinas did not return phone calls for comment. Villaraigosa declined to comment on her departure from Telemundo. "I don't have any knowledge about that," he said in an interview. "I just couldn't tell you anything. I wouldn't have any information."

The 35-year-old newscaster has worked at KVEA for 10 years. Her contract with Telemundo expires in December.

KVEA is one of the most-watched Spanish-language TV stations in Los Angeles. In June, Salinas sat at the anchor desk for its 6 p.m. newscast and announced that Villaraigosa was separating from his wife of 20 years. Salinas did not divulge to viewers that she was romantically involved with the mayor at the time.

Telemundo president Don Browne singled out that episode as a "flagrant violation" of the network's ethics guidelines. Salinas and the station's news director were suspended in August for two months without pay. KVEA's general manager lost his job and is expected to be moved to another position in the company.

The ethics lapse prompted a flurry of criticism by media watchdogs and within the newsrooms of KVEA and KNBC. Both units are part of NBC Universal, the entertainment company owned by General Electric Co.

Telemundo executives had hoped that reassigning Salinas to Riverside would help the station restore credibility. By working in Riverside, her superiors figured, Salinas would be out of the loop on stories in Los Angeles that involved the mayor. In addition, her bosses felt that the move would shield Salinas from lingering animosity from colleagues at KVEA and KNBC. Both news operations are based in the same Burbank building.