Archive by Month
September 30, 2007
Transportation planners get mounds of daily data from all the sensors installed beneath Los Angeles streets, but they throw it all away after a few... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
With another of its occasional Sunday packages railing about city salaries, the Daily News posts online a database listing the name and salary of all... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Former mayor Richard Riordan endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president, despite feeling "Giuliani is too liberal for the solid, right-wing Republicans in California, that part... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 29, 2007
KCAL9 and CBS2 anchor Dave Clark starts November 1 as anchor of the top-rated morning news at Channel 2 in San Francisco. His email to... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The band will headline a benefit concert at the Gibson Amphitheatre on Oct. 14 to raise money for rebuilding the Garfield High School auditorium that... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 28, 2007
Mayor Villaraigosa has dumped Department of Transportation chief Gloria Jeff and replaced her with longtime City Hall hand Rita Robinson. Jeff lasted a year and... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Sorry, big deadline looming. No time for more this morning. Mayor Villaraigosa tells interviewer Michael Eisner that he had a conversation with Sen. Hillary Clinton... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 27, 2007
Emily Banneker at Blogging.la is bummed that L.A. Freeway Kids, the 1984 Olympics-era mural that adorned a south wall of the Hollywood Freeway (or Santa... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
In his talk today at Town Hall Los Angeles, Times publisher David Hiller said he may launch a free tabloid patterned after the Tribune's Redeye... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Timothy M. Phelps, the Washington bureau chief at Newsday, moves down the hall to the Times bureau as the Washington investigative editor. Memo from LAT... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Author Denise Hamilton and Eating L.A. blogger Pat Saperstein did a fun road trip recently, visiting many of the local dining spots patronized by Hamilton's... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Phil Wallace mourns the demise of the morning sports talk show with NBC4's Fred Roggin, the Times' T.J. Simers and Simers' daughter Tracy. Dan Patrick,... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The family of Lana Clarkson said through its attorney that "we support the decision of the district attorney in this case and we will be... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Spector reaction abounds, plus Dominick Dunne, Zev Yaroslavsky and a BIG gift to Claremont McKenna College — and Fishbowl LA as tool again.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 26, 2007
While I've been dilly-dallying on other projects and trying to get over a nasty cough, LA Observed contributors have been busy. Not Mark Lacter, though... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Readers of LA Observed are not just intelligent, discerning and sexy, they are also helpful (and well traveled, apparently.) David Hackett caught my mention last... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Phil Spector's homicide trial ended this afternoon in a mistrial, with the DA's office vowing to try again. The final count was reportedly 10-2 in... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
A 1,000-page manuscript, The Development of Los Angeles City Government -- An Institutional History 1850-2000, will be delivered to the City Council this morning. The... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
We've got Biggie Smalls, Antonio Villaraigosa, Frank McCourt, Derek Fisher and a bunch of other news topics. Click to head on in.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 25, 2007
Blogger and former Daily Journal reporter Daniel Evans and his wife walked down to the corner store in Burbank tonight and spotted two TV news... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The latest media to discover the luxury denim industry in downtown L.A. is the New York Times, which focuses Wednesday on Bread Denim and draws... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Writer Frank Coffey's spoof site eTrueSports.com is now in video on YouTube.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Wendy McCaw finally took the witness stand to defend her reign of error over the Santa Barbara News Press. She contended that two veteran reporters... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The Advocate, feeling pretty good after celebrating its 40th anniversary, is proud that news features editor Sean Kennedy scored an interview with Sen. Hillary Clinton... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The Tribune Company has come up with a new tactic to cut costs and annoy the hell out of its employees — again. It seems... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Tom Tugend in the Jewish Journal has more details on the incident where city building inspectors ordered an Orthodox shul to halt its services on... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
As the NYT's Sharon Waxman forecast in August, officials in Italy are dropping their civil case against former Getty antiquities curator Marion True. It's tied... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Don Barrett at LARadio.com has uncovered several file folders with contracts, memos and other documents that show how KRLA deejay Bob Eubanks came to present... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
KPCC put its weekly Hollywood journalist roundtable segment Call Sheet on hiatus several months ago — not, I hope, because I guested on it a... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Our erstwhile video contributor has a couple of gigs taking away his time and his physical presence from L.A. One pursuit, as executive director of... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
A director gets jail, Dodgers beat writers finally tell what they know, two more Marina eateries fail and it's awards day: Emmys, Ovations, genius grants... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 24, 2007
Larry Harnisch at The Daily Mirror blog dug this photo out of the Times news archives and asks, what are these guys doing? The... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
If Mirthala Salinas stays with Telemundo Channel 52 it will be as the station's general assignment news chaser in the Inland Empire, not as the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Proposals to fix neighborhood councils, Mayor Villaraigosa's few thousand trees initiative, Seymour Hersh on blogs and much, much more for a catch-up Monday morning.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 21, 2007
Mayor Villaraigosa signs off on a deal brokered by Council President Eric Garcetti. It's less, obviously, than the $2.7 million Pierce and the City Council... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Reporters assigned to the Phil Spector trial have to do something while they're waiting on the jury. Steven Mikulan covers the scene in the LA... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Geffen and Spielberg, Lincoln Place, Mary Mapes on Dan Rather and a whole bunch of other topics covered today. Click to go on in.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 20, 2007
At a Radio and Television News Association panel of news directors last night at UCLA, Bob Long of NBC 4 got most of the laughs... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Steve Oney profiles Adam Carolla in the October issue, in which editor Kit Rachlis calls Carolla "the most provocative talk-radio host in Los Angeles, the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The only thing lamer than the new LATimes.com feature where reporter William Lobdell writes about pretending to do stuff that other people do for real... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Marc Cooper is joining the Huffington Post as special correpondent and will direct coverage of the 2008 political campaigns for OfftheBus.net, a co-venture of the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Veronique de Turenne didn't take the official snail mail seriously until it talked about "warrant for your arrest" and "$950 fine." But all's well that... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Well, in a manner of speaking. Richard Montoya of Culture Clash has been named an Annenberg Film Fellow at the Sundance Institute to work on... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Busy morning elsewhere. Light posting day.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
TMZ.com ran a video clip of Superior Court Judge Lance Ito pronouncing O.J. Simpson "guilty as sin" of the Las Vegas charges — except it... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 19, 2007
The Times lost its School Me blog and column when Bob Sipchen quit to edit the Sierra Club magazine in San Francisco and co-blogger Janine... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Just for fun I checked Google News to see how many news websites used "the Juice is loose" in their reports on O.J. Simpson making... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
He claims the network ruined his career. (You want to laugh, right?) Mark Lacter strikes the right tone: As defendants, the suit names CBS and... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
I was misinformed: Yale Galanter, O.J. Simpson's attorney, is not the former husband of City Councilwoman Jan Perry. That would be Douglas F. Galanter. I... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Bill Plaschke's column today urges the Dodgers to quit haranguing KFWB host Bob Harvey over his post-game show. Here was the post I put up... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Where Bill Clinton and Antonio Villaraigosa were when the lights went out in Brentwood last night, plus Southwest goes kid unfriendly, a new Times feature... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 18, 2007
A Craigslist job posting advertises for an experienced director of audience development for an unnamed downtown Los Angeles website. The employer is described only as... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
In response to today's Breeze article on new computerized traffic signals across the South Bay, an LA Observed reader wrote to the Breeze reporter, Gene... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Jill Ishkanian is the ex-senior reporter in Los Angeles who quit US Weekly to form Sunset Photo and News and was accused last year of... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Split is 7-5 (but we don't know which way) and the foreman tells the judge he doesn't think they can reach a verdict on Phil... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Some 100 journalists and others who attended last week's Mothers Against Drunk Driving national awards luncheon in St. Louis came down with food poisoning. MADD's... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Oh my God. Spotted in Valencia (also seen over the weekend in malls all over the Valley.) Photo: Daily News / David Crane... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Costly news for Wesley Snipes, a big reward in that infant murder, covering the Emmys like someone cares and more charges against Leland Wong —... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 17, 2007
New programming as The CineFamily launches Oct. 25 at the Fairfax Avenue theater, which gets a bigger screen, new projection and sound systems and leather... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
I got a note last night saying that Bob Harvey, who hosts the post-game Dodgers talk show on KFWB, angrily told yesterday of being berated... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The newly reinstated dean-to-be of the future UC Irvine law school will be next year's commencement speaker at the rival Chapman University law school. The... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Daily News television blogger David Kronke had a bad run-in with some nuts (he's allergic) at this weekend's pre-Emmy tea thrown by BAFTA and the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Columnists and other material that was behind the pay wall will be free as of Tuesday night. The New York Times is even opening up... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Liberal legal scholar and pundit Erwin Chemerinsky will become dean of the new UC Irvine law school after all. Chancellor Michael V. Drake spent the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Where else do you get Tom LaBonge, O.J. Simpson and Sally Field in the same blog post?... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Another big exit from the Los Angeles Times, and another hit to the paper's national profile. Washington columnist Brownstein is joining Atlantic Media, publisher of... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 16, 2007
There's talk of UC Irvine's chastened chancellor re-offering the law school deanship to Erwin Chemerinsky. Orange County conservative Hugh Hewitt says the offer should... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 14, 2007
Marc Duvoisin, the LAT's assistant managing editor for writing and projects, gets a boost to deputy managing editor for all projects at the paper. Memo... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Friends are being told that LA Weekly staff writer Judith Lewis gave notice today and will leave by the end of the year, after finishing... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The dead blue whale drifting off the Santa Babara coast drew so many onlookers yesterday that U.S. 101 was blocked for a time. It rolled... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Missed these in yesterday's flood of email — new appointees by Mayor Villaraigosa to the Cultural Heritage Commission and other city boards. Details after the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Stewart has covered the sports side of TV and radio in Los Angeles since 1973, first for the Herald Examiner and lately in the Times.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Turns out Supervisor Mike Antonovich has a hand in the Erwin Chemerinsky debacle, more signs that water rationing is coming, and O.J. is questioned in... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 13, 2007
When Jill Stewart was forced on the LA Weekly as deputy editor by headquarters in Phoenix, there was much speculation on how her politically charged... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
A three-judge panel of the state's Second District Court of Appeal sided with local groups and the city of Santa Monica and ordered that construction... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
UCLA law professor Stephen Bainbridge blogs about applying to remodel his Los Angeles home and being informed by the bureaucracy that, on paper, his house... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Some pretty amazing numbers on non-English speaking, more parsing of yesterday's Erwin Chemerinsky story, some City Hall moves and more.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
David Lauter, a veteran of Metro and the foreign desk, gets the job as editor over all news coverage within the state of California. Different... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 12, 2007
Bill Boyarsky went back to the ethics commission yesterday for the first time since his fellow commissioners didn't elect him president. In fact, nobody seconded... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Constitutional law scholar and media quotemeister Erwin Chemerinsky was all set to be named dean of the new UC Irvine law school — he even... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Radar Magazine's October issue offers a hundred of the most overhyped people, places and things — and L.A.'s own* David and Victoria Beckham make the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Last week the political anony-blog Claremont Insider posted the pay and benefits totals for a whole bunch of Claremont city employees, based on year-end pay... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Steve Barr gets Locke High, a late-night bill for Anschutz and more gang woes for the Valley. Plus a little imitation-cum-flattery from the New York... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Ratings for last year's Oscars with Jon Stewart hosting were abysmal, but the New York Times' Michael Cieply reports that he's the choice again. An... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
PeopleJam, a self-help website due to launch this month by Hollywood execs Robert Tercek and Matt Edelman, has already been dinged for the lame name... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
If you didn't get enough of corporate exec-turned-dumpster diver Madeline Nelson in the lede of yesterday's L.A. Times front page story, you can always see... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Andrea Grossman's independent literary series Writers Bloc has become part of the Town Hall Los Angeles organization. Grossman will continue to select the programs, but... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 11, 2007
Memo to the staff from Editor Ron Kaye: Everyone: I'm very pleased to announce that Judi Erickson has been named City Editor. She succeeds Barbara... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Another outrage on Skid Row, NBC's plans to exploit its Spector juror, today's 9-11 commemorations and the new book on important Angeleno Franklin Murphy —... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 10, 2007
The city of Beverly Hills wants to poke around in the visitor logs of LAist because of comments to a post last week that detailed... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
From the September issue of Los Angeles magazine: In Josh Kun's "The Ballad of Music Man Murray," which appeared in the July issue, it was... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Downtown's usually dark neon signs atop the old Rosslyn Hotel towers were relit last night for a film shoot. Eric Lynxwiler and friends rushed out... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The Oscar-winning actress and former Mrs. Ronald Reagan (when he was a SAG Democrat) never let her true age be pinned down. Katie Harris reports... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The Phil Spector Show moves into its third act, in and out at City Hall, TMZ-TV goes live and the latest on paralyzed LAPD officer... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Talk about culture shock. The LA Weekly is leaving its longtime physical and spiritual home on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood for a... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Remember when former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan was so perturbed at the L.A. Times that he dallied with starting his own rival paper? He... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Recent chatter in the L.A. Times newsroom had co-managing editor Leo Wolinsky in trouble with the forces of Tribune over his overtures to suitors Eli... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
I'm jet-lagged and hacking loud enough to frighten the neighbors, but they tell me it's my turn to blog. Huge kudos and thanks to Veronique... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 08, 2007
Undercover Black Man gives free reign to his enthusiasm for Larry David on the eve of Curb's new season -- today's post also offers some... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 07, 2007
We now return you to your previously scheduled level of high-quality journalism. You know - actual reporting with depth, research, nuance, and fully dressed people.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Just to prove my point this has been a weird week... Paris Hilton sues Hallmark over a "That's hot!" card. The Smoking Gun. Bisexual dating... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Remember Francisco Linares, the South Bay homeowner sentenced to six months in jail for building a fence without a permit? No orange jumpsuit for him... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The WSJ anoints Carpinteria as the new jet set getaway. (This after the NYT did the same for Oxnard earlier this summer.) Oops - 104,000... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Robot farmers, Arnie versus the GOP, nuns get the boot, Phil and Kobe agree, and a baseball card sells for $2.8 million. Bring weekend fun... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 06, 2007
Janet Clayton says goodbye, and that "a cigar is just a cigar." To my dear friends and colleagues in Metro and around the paper: Jim... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
She writes a memo welcoming four new staffers (see below) to the LAT, then writes another memo, with her resignation. Mark Lacter at LA Biz... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Four new multi-lingual reporters hired, according to a memo from AME Janet Clayton: Ari Bloomekatz, already on board, is a Spanish-speaking UCLA grad and intern-turned-staffer.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Less than a day after Mary Chagnon's fatal heart attack at age 90, her Hollywood landlord, eager to re-rent the apartment, stripped it of everything... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Police surveillance, valiant dogs, no more Mt. Whitney outhouses, and a view of KPFK that includes the word "hazmat". A deeply peculiar mix of stories... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Luciano Pavarotti has died. Violinist.com, which includes a link to the tenor's last public performance, writes: Luciano Pavarotti has gone to the great stage in... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 05, 2007
Amy Saralegui, who served as advertising director of Emmis Communications' Texas Monthly will replace Alan Klein as publisher of the company's Los Angeles Magazine. According... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Mark Lacter's got Vanity Fair's Power List, and reaction to Apple's decision to drop prices for the iPhone. LA Biz Observed. Eric Savitz, who was... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Patt Morrison's eponymous daily KPCC talk show, which shines a light on culture and politics, goes to two hours beginning Monday. More time means lots... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Wonder what's in store at Disney Hall when Esa-Pekka leaves the building? Check out this video of Gustavo Dudamel, or as expat (and perpetually homesick)... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
A KTLA anchor jumps ship, sheriff's deputies in the hot seat, Barbie's behind (not my words) and a "nasty, naughty boy." (Again, not my words.)... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 04, 2007
Some tidbits, because it's just too hot to write actual paragraphs. LAT's Douglas Frantz now at Conde Nast Portfolio, according to Romenesko. Car hits driver... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
That streak of light in your rear view mirror this morning? Mark Lacter at work. On KPCC this morning, then in LA Biz Observed with... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Robert Greene blogs on the LAT site about why our city's birthday gets lost in the shuffle, and what it was like to take that... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Need an excuse to extend the holiday eating binge a few more hours? Our city turns 226 today. Cake for everybody! LA City Nerd has... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Heat, fire, a blog fight, and a van that drives itself. A modest start to the short week. Ease your sunburned hand on over to... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 03, 2007
Every writer should know about the web site, landandfarm.com. There is no better way to procrastinate motivate yourself. Here's Paradise Ranch, a 119-acre property once... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 02, 2007
How can you not click through to a post with a line like this: If a couple of college goofballs decide to produce a gangsta-rap... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
An earthquake (4.7 today in OC) and a potato salad recipe at the ever-eclectic LAist. Another public SoCal beach you won't see this weekend.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 01, 2007
No banker's hours here at LAO. (Though we do go weekend casual.) Jenny Burman celebrates the reopening of an Echo Park cafe. David Davis puts... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Injunction against sonar testing near Channel Islands suspended. A federal appeals court allowed the Navy on Friday to resume using underwater sonar blasts in anti-submarine... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
News about a big reader and The Big Read $MTEntryExcerpt$>