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Holiday Buzz: MLK Day
Government, schools, most banks and the U.S. Postal Service are closed for the Martin Luther King holiday. News, of course, continues. A scaled back but still pretty rich Morning Buzz follows after the jump. Recommended: Helen Storey's Sunday piece about her house burning down, and Alice Coltrane's life in the Valley as the Swami Turiyasangitananda. Coltrane, left, the widow of John Coltrane, died Friday.
Politics
Arnold in '08?
The Times editorialized in favor of a constitutional amendment to remove the requirement that presidents be born in America, questions the price point of $40 for those all-the junkfood-you-can-eat seats in the Dodger Stadium rightfield pavilion, and proclaims that Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez has come of age.
Politics for $200, Alex
Josh Kamensky, the communications director for Council President Eric Garcetti, appears as a contestant on "Jeopardy" this week, Rick Orlov says. DN
Media
More signs of little interest in Tribune
Jim Rainey's LAT piece on the rapidly deflating Tribune auction says that Eli Broad and Ron Burkle might make an offer but might not, the Chandlers might reluctantly put in a bid and that the most consistent interest has been shown by the private equity firms Madison Dearborn Partners, Apollo Management and Providence Equity Partners of Rhode Island. The Chandlers are still contemplating a joint bid with Broad and Burkle, Rainey says. But the bottom line follows the thinking of Friday's post from analyst Lauren Rich Fine: it's not really an auction if no one is bidding. LAT
When your house burns down
Journo Helen Storey goes first-person in West magazine with her family's experience.
We walk into the lobby of Raffles L'Ermitage hotel and people stare. A few of them head for the door. We approach the front desk, and the receptionist greets us with a hesitant smile as she reaches for the button to summon security. Crazy people with dogs have gotten in. My husband pulls a credit card from his sodden wallet. Her smile softens. The people whose house burned down, she says.
[snip]
We took nothing because we had no idea just how quickly fire can travel. Or how time, in contrast, moves so slowly when you are waiting for the fire department to arrive. Most of all, we learned that it is not what you take with you that matters in the end. What matters is how you react to all you have lost....
I am not so calm anymore. Where are they? What is taking so long? I see black smoke starting to seep into the house, through the same window I had looked out moments ago. I think of how bad everything will smell, and I run back in to close it. But as I approach, I feel the heat rising from the floor, see the flames creeping in, and turn back. I am on my knees and screaming now.
Good piece.
More banana pie for the chief
NYT bureau chief Jennifer Steinhauer advised the easterners this weekend what she has learned about eating in Los Angeles.
Those who are hungry can expect a certain number of givens in L.A. There will be good sushi, often inexpensive; hamburgers are sometimes served with Thousand Island dressing; and high-end restaurants that marinate in a brine of hype and buzz inevitably disappoint. But nothing prepared me for the ubiquity of banana-cream pie on the menus of upscale restaurants, diners and neighborhood bakeries alike.
Dead site
The old L.A. Alternative website has gone into expired status at Network Solutions.
Noted
Alice Coltrane, musician and swami
Alice Coltrane, a composer and jazz pianist who was married to the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane, died Friday at age 69 in West Hills. Interesting life path, from Jon Thurber's obit in Sunday's Times:
Though known to many for her contributions to jazz and early New Age music, Coltrane, a convert to Hinduism, was also a significant spiritual leader and founded the Vedantic Center, a spiritual commune now located in Agoura Hills. A guru of growing repute, she also served as the swami of the San Fernando Valley's first Hindu temple, in Chatsworth.
Today's New York Times obit says that Coltrane was called Swami Turiyasangitananda.
Today
MLK Parade
It begins at 10:30 am heading west on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from Western Avenue, then south on Crenshaw Boulevard, ending at Leimert Park. Channel 4 will broadcast the parade live from 11 am to 1 pm.
2:27 AM Monday, January 15 2007 • Link
More by tag: Los Angeles | Morning Buzz | Obituaries
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© 2003-2008 • About LA Observed • Contact the editor
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