WATCH VIDEO
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... home-local

Villaraigosa reveals relationship with TV anchor
The mayor, whose wife filed for divorce last month, confirms that he is involved with Mirthala Salinas, a newscaster on Telemundo.
By Steve Hymon and Duke Helfand, Times Staff Writers
1:42 PM PDT, July 3, 2007


Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa confirmed today that he has been romantically involved for at least a year with a Spanish-language television newscaster who has covered him for her station.

"I have a relationship with Ms. (Mirthala) Salinas," he said at a news conference after a swearing-in ceremony for new school board members at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion downtown. "And I take full responsibility for my actions."

Villaraigosa's admission comes less than a month after he announced his separation from his wife of two decades, Corina Villaraigosa.

At a June 12 news conference announcing the split, the mayor would only say he felt a "personal sense of failure" about the breakup and hoped everyone would respect his family's privacy. The next day, Corina Villaraigosa filed for divorce.

But speculation continued to build about Salinas, whose name and picture appeared on Internet blogs, along with allegations that she was pregnant.

Asked today whether Salinas -- now an evening anchor for Telemundo, Channel 52 -- is pregnant, Villaraigosa said: "I can tell you emphatically that that question is outrageous and the answer is no, she is not pregnant."

On June 8, Salinas opened Telemundo's newscast with a report about Villaraigosa confirming that he and his wife were separating.

"The rumors were true," Salinas said in Spanish. "Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa confirmed today that he is separating from his wife, Corina, after more than 20 years of marriage."

Villaraigosa said he saw no journalistic conflict in Salinas dating him while she was covering him. He said that Salinas, whom he called a "consummate journalistic professional," decided about a year ago that "our friendship had grown to a point where it was necessary to inform her management that she shouldn't cover me. She did that. And they agreed."