Morning Buzz: Monday 3.19.07

What might seem like a tale of urban renaissance is actually at the center of a fierce battle brewing in downtown L.A. that pits the shiny new downtown against the gritty version that has long existed in the heart of the city," says Cara Mia DiMassa in the Times. At stake is the future of the city's industrial base. LAT

Worse than previously reported, Bob Sipchen says in his School Me column. But at least UTLA president A. J. Duffy has started talking to him. LAT

Hymon/LAT: San Pedro, parking meters.
Orlov/DN: Can't find on DN site.

Editorial calls warnings by planning experts not beholden to the developers who run City Hall politics "nonsense." LAT

Listed contributors to The Education Revolution are DN Editor Ron Kaye, editorial writer Mariel Garza and schools reporter Naush Boghossian.

Times columnist Ron Brownstein shifted from presidential campaign coverage because he is married to Eileen McMenamin, chief spokeswoman for Sen. John McCain. Brownstein's ex, Nina Easton of Fortune's Washington bureau chief and Fox News, is married to McCain media strategist Russ Schriefer. Matthew Cooper of Portfolio is married to Clinton ad strategist Mandy Grunwald. NBC's Campbell Brown is married to former Bush aide Dan Senor. LAT

Hayden Black's spoof of TV news has generated more than 2 million downloads, gotten a look from studios and earned praise from Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walter S. Mossberg. Times Also, Steven Bochco turns to the web. Daily News

In a New York Times story on the National Labor Relations Board filing charges against Wendy McCaw's Santa Barbara News-Press, her attorney Barry Cappello reveals his worldview of the fight. One wonders if it differs from McCaw, who actually, you know, owns a newspaper. "Mr. Cappello said newspapers are anachronisms, and journalists have failed to realize this. 'The meteor has hit. We’re watching the end of the industry,' he said. 'Journalists think they can write what they want when they want. I don’t know if that can survive in this age.'"

The New York Times covers the Beverly Hills soiree at Wilt Chamberlain's former home, for guests such as Ricky Jay, Susan Orlean, Bruce Wagner and Merrill Markoe.

The Silver Streak buses will run between Montclair and downtown L.A. Times

It was more like a reunion at the Chicken Boy statue's home behind Amy Inouye's Highland Park studio. LAT

The downtown blog View from a Loft goes to bat for cultural landmark designation for the Felix Chevrolet neon sign and showroom.

Hipster Cedd Moses has taken possession and plans to close the downtown landmark for several months for a thorough kitchen makeover. "What will not change is the architecture, history and character of Cole's," he says. Downtown News

DeJesus was co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She died March 12 of renal failure. LAT