⇒ Truthdig.com's Blair Golson contends that Times editor Dean Baquet would not meet with representatives of the United Farm Workers union to hear their challenges to the paper's recent investigative series until Rep. Howard Berman and L.A. lawyer-power broker Mickey Kantor intervened. The meeting was held January 31 and led to no movement on the LAT's part: "We had a long, healthy conversation. We made it clear that we thought the UFW series was fine journalism. Their arguments did not change our view about our reporting." The union response cited was linked here at LA Observed on Jan. 30.

⇒ Will Campbell catches a nice pic of the smoke cloud that has tinted the sky all afternoon over much of the L.A. basin. The fire in Orange County's Cleveland National Forest still burns out of control

⇒ Channel 4 sportscaster Fred Roggin is blogging the scene in Turin in advance of the Olympics that his network will be broadcasting.

⇒ Sheriff Baca has a problem with his jails. Of course that's not news to him, but now a lot of other people know it.

⇒ Notebook: Los Angeles is the local blog for AOL Cityguide. The blog suddenly went quiet on October 31, then just as suddenly revved up again on January 26—but only to post about the Oscars. So it really isn't about Los Angeles at all.

⇒ Lee Watters at LAVoice.org is mad that Channel 7 cut away from a good episode of "Grey's Anatomy" to air a police chase. The site also posts an anonymous screed against an unnamed Hollywood strip club from a former dancer. (Someone else emails that he saw all of "Grey's Anatomy"...)