Here are some of the most talked-about LA Observed items from the past week...

1. LA Weekly on the death of Miguel Contreras and LA Observed's scoops on the reaction by (and to) former Weekly editor Harold Meyerson.
2. Kurt Andersen tells the L.A. Times that nobody likes them in New York, then concedes a point.
3. New York Times reporter and the parking tickets, maybe hers and maybe not.
4. The L.A. Times cancels its pre-election voter poll: costs too much.
5. Mark Lacter stays on the latest Tribune sale twists.
6. Could Starbucks be any more lost?
7. This blogger prefers "Junkyard Wars" to "Survivor," race war or not.
8. Look who gives USC a $35 million gift.
9. A look inside the mayor's private office at City Hall, and Antonio's challenge to the architects of L.A.
10. Behold The Sports Examiner, the new guy in town.
11. Morning at Echo Park Lake is for the joggers and bird watchers.
12. John Force, blue-collar hero of the SoCal drag strips.

Plus: Media people items on El Cucuy, Ross Becker, Otis Chandler and the Economist's man in L.A., plus the latest on Antonio Villaraigosa and a week's helping of Morning Buzz.