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Lighter than usual today, but hey, it's the first Friday of summer. Click on the Buzz to see what's up.
Romer: Mayor "sold out" to the unions
Supt. Roy Romer fired both barrels at Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the Daily News, saying his school compromise gives unprecedented power to UTLA.
"This turns over massive tools of change to the union...This is a very serious mistake and one the mayor and unions bought off on because they're trying to serve each other's interests."
Thomas Saenz, counsel to the mayor, takes a different view:
"Yes, this was a negotiation between the mayor and the teachers union, and yes, as in most negotiations, each side gave up things that they wanted, but there was no giving of additional power to the teachers union...People are missing the forest for the trees: Who's in charge is the mayor. There's one person in charge of the system, and that's the mayor."
Also: the so-called Presidents' Joint Commission on Los Angeles Unified School District Governance—the presidents being the former heads of the City Council and school board—called for the public vote that Villaraigosa has hoped to avoid.
More day-after coverage
With 24 hours to digest the news, the tone of coverage on Mayor Villaraigosa's school deal begins to shift.
L.A. Times: Some teachers like, some see chaos; How UTLA came out a winner.
LAT School Me blog: Downgrades it's Predict-o-Meter ten points after sobering up from the initial excitement, cites the deal's "fuzzy, though clearly unattractive features."
Daily News: Lawmakers still undecided if not skeptical.
Dan Weintraub: Should not be passed without thorough public airing and debate
Joe Scott: Mayor "badly miscalculated."
Animal activist jailed
Animal Defense League co-founder Pamelyn Ferdin was taken into custody to begin serving a 90-day sentence for "focused picketing" at the home of a city Animal Services employee. Her husband, Jerry Vlasak, received thirty days of home monitoring.
Port threat
The cruise industry wants better facilities at San Pedro or may move out.
Scientists excited by terns at Long Beach
An colony of several thousand elegant terns has adopted two rock barges anchored in Long Beach harbor. Biologists are fascinated, says the Press Telegram.
The unusual colony is creating quite a stir among local biologists, who say the subspecies rarely breeds north of San Diego and has never been seen nesting on a barge.
This is currently the northernmost (breeding) colony known in the world, with more than 95 percent of the population breeding further south off the Mexican coast, said retired Cal State Long Beach biology professor Charles Collins, who has studied terns for years.
That's two
Steve Lopez writes a second column pegged to the prospects of a Times sale, this time involving a stunt set up by Richard Riordan at the Pantry.
Strange but true
Would you believe there's another new Hollywood gossip website, this one by Janet Charlton.
More Unterman
The LAT comes back with its own story about Chandler family adviser Thomas Unterman, a day after the New York Times and Chicago Tribune.
Porn deal
The Times Business section covers the sale of porn star Jenna Jameson's business to Playboy. (It's also big news at Xbiz.com.) But can the reporter even see ClubJenna.com on her newsroom computer?
2016 Olympics
Mayor Villaraigosa pitches to the U.S. Olympic Committee in La Jolla, then comes back to open the L.A. Philharmonic season at the Hollywood Bowl. So avoid Highland between about 7 and 8 pm.
36 Hours in Hollywood
The New York Times Escapes section comes to town again.
Long Canadian nightmare is over
There is no longer a National Hockey League team named for a Disney movie, but now simply the Anaheim Ducks.
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