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Wilshire stretch closed by shooting
It's in Beverly Hills between La Cienega and Robertson. Just a little mess for the morning commute.
DWP pipe leaking since Easter
Tujunga residents can't get any action.
Newspapers and the Net
All the web features, blogs and other tactics show a willingness to learn but may just slow their decline, says The Economist.
AFTER THE JUMP: A full, and I do mean full, portion of Morning Buzz with the DA versus Leland Wong, the coming next wave of immigrant marches, Mayor Villaraigosa's power play, Roy Romer says farewell, more Building and Safety disclosures — plus Lindsay Lohan, Liza Richardson, Tom Shales, Gita and the return tonight of "The New Los Angeles." Click for the full Buzz.
Politics
How long has the DA wanted Leland Wong?
Long time, judging by my interview with District Attorney Steve Cooley in late 2004 about the City Hall corruption investigations. At the time there had been no charges lodged against anybody, but Cooley claimed his investigations were helping to clean up the Hahn Administration anyway:
Deep into our conversation, he credits his unfinished probe with changing the culture at City Hall. Without prompting he mentions several of the departed: "Troy Edwards was a campaign fund-raiser who was made, like, the number two mayoral kind of person for the second largest city in the United States of America. What are his credentials to be deputy mayor of anything? Zero. He’s a fund-raiser. I’m not saying that being a fund-raiser is a bad deal, but what expertise does that give him about anything to help run this city? Leland Wong is gone. The guy survived two or three administrations. You have to ask why. What’s so special about Leland Wong? Well, we’re asking a lot of things about Leland Wong."
Thursday stories about Wong's indictment: LA Times news, Wong profile, Cooley analysis. Daily News, Copley
EAA strike aftermath
Times says no major disruptions and proclaims Mayor Villaraigosa's political profile the winner. The mayor says "I believe that the real winners are the taxpayers of the City of Los Angeles." LAT, DN
It's the power, stupid
David Zahniser on the mayor's push for AB 1381, in LA Weekly.
Busy month for immigrant rights movement
Daniel Hernandez reports in the LA Weekly that the summer lull will give way to immigrant marches here Sept. 2, 4 and 9 and a voter registration drive with "El Cucuy" involved.
Standing ovations for Romer
Expo vs Aqua
Councilman Parks and the MTA are still at odds over what to call the rail line past USC.
Building and Safety admits bad files
NBC 4 reported last night that Department of Building and Safety officials conceded that the database on inspections around the city is out of date and flawed. It came up in an environmental court case over Playa Vista.
Media
Blog effects
Steven Lipscomb of the World Poker Tour writes that his blog at the TV Week website has helped him in negotiations on a deal. Television columnists Tom Shales and Marianne Paskowski are now blogging for TV Week.
Dance jock
KCRW's Liza Richardson is appreciated by Dennis Romero in CityBeat. She's working on the NBC show "Friday Night Lights," the mockumentary Surf's Up and is a daily surfer.
Police Beat
Scorecard on missing Bradford women
Even with the media attention, only 23 of the 47 women who sheriff's detectives said were photographed two decades ago by death row inmate William Bradford have been positively identified as alive.
LAFD captain rearrested for murder
David Jaime Del Toro's bail was upped to $5 million after authorities claimed to have info that he was a flight risk.
Noted
Lohan on the lot
Hollywood Thoughts has run into Lindsay Lohan twice around the studio where George Rule is filming and found here scowly and "super-scary-skinny." Crew members say "If we start an hour behind, that's considered on time."
Gita necropsy
The L.A. Zoo's Asian elephant died of cardiac failure associated with blood clots. But pathologists could not say why she collapsed or whether prompt help would have saved her.
Today
'The New Los Angeles' returns
Lyn Goldfarb's documentary screens at the opening night of the 2006 Nosotros American Latino Film Festival at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood. County Fed chief Maria Elena Durazo will participate in a discussion afterward.
Around LA Observed
Earlier at News & Chatter
On the blogs
LA Biz Observed: Thursday morning headlines
SoCal Sports Observed: New college sports website
We Get Email: Letters by and about Allison Margolin
SoCal Sports Observed: New college sports website
We Get Email: Letters by and about Allison Margolin