Thursday, 3.23.06

Morning BuzzTaking another look at an old murder of a local politician. Is it the Aqua Line, the Cardinal Line or the tan line? Adios to the chief of neighborhood empowerment. Killing the morning show on Indie 103.1, dumping old ladies on Skid Row, and a new attorney in the Pellicano case. All this and more, just turn the page.

♦ Second look: After reporting by Chip Jacobs in the Pasadena Weekly raised questions, sheriff's detectives agreed to reexamine the investigation into the unsolved 1991 murder of former Alhambra mayor Stephen Ballreich.
♦ Naming rail lines: Who knew it could be this complicated.
♦ Greg Nelson out: The only GM ever to lead second GM of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment is retiring at age 59. Nelson, chief deputy to former councilman Joel Wachs, got the DONE job under Mayor Jim Hahn and made some enemies while helping to create 87 neighborhood councils. He says he was not pressured to leave by Mayor Villaraigosa's appointees to the department's commission. [Who can forget Ros Stewart? Well, me for one. She now works for Councilwoman Wendy Greuel] LAT, Daily News
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa offered praise for Nelson's work and said he will launch a nationwide search for a successor. "What Greg Nelson did was take a vision and see it implemented," Villaraigosa said. "What I want to do is make sure that this is more than an experiment and that neighborhood councils become an institutional voice at City Hall."
♦ Anti-gang injunctions: When he was City Attorney, Jim Hahn pioneered the use of court injunctions to stop gang members from congregating. Now his sister, Councilwoman Janice Hahn, plus the current City Attorney, Rocky Delgadillo, and LAPD chief Bratton want to fix flaws in the injunctions. Times, LA Weekly
♦ Indie consternation: Fans of Dicky Barrett's "Mighty Morning Show" on Indie radio 103.1 FM are in dismay on two websites over the show' apparent cancellation and removal from the station's website.
♦ Another Skid Row outrage: Video cameras caught a taxi dumping a disoriented, 63-year-old Kaiser patient on San Pedro Street. Someone from the Union Rescue Mission took her inside.
♦ Burkle is in: Supermarket magnate Ron Burkel's Yucaipa Cos. does plan to bid for the San Jose Mercury and other new McClatchy newspapers. Former Daily News publisher Robert Hall is advising him.
♦ Going to the source: Journalist Ross Johnson interviews Pellicano case FBI agent Stanley Ornellas about his PI's license. Also, the Daily Journal reports that indicted attorney Terry N. Christensen has added Chicago's former U.S. Attorney Dan K. Webb to his defense team.
♦ Good question: Ken Masse, the retired captain who is running against Sheriff Lee Baca, has been asking for a couple of months why it took Baca so long to send reinforcements into Compton.
♦ Paul Frank talks: The designer speaks with the OC Weekly's Theo Douglas about his troubles with the company he started.
♦ Lunch with Sarah: The LA Weekly's Dani Katz looks just like Sarah Silverman. She says.
♦ NCAA basketball: UCLA plays the Gonzaga Bulldogs hoping to make it into the Elite Eight.
♦ Getting well: In the six hours after Fishbowl LA's Mike posted that entries would be lighter for the rest of the week due to illness and pending nuptials, he and his partner coughed up nine items. In the best of them, Claude Brodesser calls his former colleague Mike Fleming "Daily Variety's most plugged in movie reporter."
♦ Paying gigs: Wit of the Staircase blogger Theresa Duncan shares her sensually literate perfume fetish with Slate.


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