LA Observed: Friday desk-clearing

Friday desk-clearing

Kevin Roderick • Bio • Email

Well I lied; my desk is anything but clear. Here are some final news notes from the day though. Have a good weekend:

• The Times replies to this morning's post that web software does block access to certain offensive websites for the whole company, not just the newsroom, and that Playboy.com is allowed—but Peacefire.org is indeed blocked as a security measure. Meanwhile, I'm told that LA Observed is off limits at the paper's Olympic printing plant. Must be all the sex.

LAT photo • Big day at OC Weekly: Gustavo Arellano's "Ask a Mexican" feature and Rebecca Schoenkopf's "Commie Girl" won Best Column in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies awards handed out today. The LA Weekly's Nikki Finke won for Media Reporting/Criticism. Full list of finalists at the link.

• Roy Sekoff, founding editor of The Huffington Post, filled in for otherwise-disposed lefties Arianna Huffington and Robert Scheer on this afternoon's "Left, Right & Center." Also, KCRW plans to add a new special edition of "To the Point with Warren Olney" on Fridays at 7 pm, starting next week. That will move the re-broadcast of LR&C to Sundays at 11 am, followed by "The Business with Claude Brodesser" at 11:30. Out is the weekly re-broadcast of "This American Life."

• Santa Monica has agreed to buy the Sears auto store at Colorado and 4th streets with an eye toward bringing the Exposition light rail line there.

• The Congress of Neighborhoods is Saturday at the Convention Center. CityWatch and Mayor Sam are all over it.

8:33 PM Fri | Eli Broad offers $30 million to save MOCA

4:10 PM Fri | Villaraigosa wants 'emergency' cuts

3:57 PM Fri | Crest Theatre put up for sale

3:38 PM Fri | Reading 'The Maltese Falcon'

12:58 PM Fri | NYT's White House team

Go to LA Observed

Two words: Retail liquidators

4:49 PM Fri | Forget plastics, the real action these days is arranging going-out-of-business sales.

Rags to riches to rags

4:10 PM Fri | Louis Verdad was one of L.A.'s hottest designers, but he had little idea of how to run a business.

Go to LA BIZ

Going through 'The Changes'

TJ Sullivan | Without referencing its recent layoff, the Ventura County Star's editor says the suburban LA paper is now "more streamlined and, in many ways, much more efficient."

Lost thunder: BLM preparing to execute 30,000 wild horses

Deanne Stillman | We stripped the Indians of their ponies, and now we're doing it to ourselves.

LA's fire-orange sun

TJ Sullivan | When the sun looks like that, there's a big fire somewhere regardless of whether we see or smell smoke.

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