LA Observed archive
for January 2008

If you don't find what you want here, check another month or search below.

Cornering celebs at the debate

Sometime LA Observed contributor Jacob Soboroff got Mayor Villaraigosa, Stevie Wonder and Diane Keaton on video talking to him about the media's role in increasing or decreasing voter participation. Soboroff...

More random debate notes

Wolf Blitzer just took the stage and did the obvious sound check for the Kodak: "And the Oscar goes to...." Big laugh. 4:51 Blitzer tells the audience there are...

Mosh pit at Hollywood and Highland

One of the benefits of scoring an assigned seat next to IN Los Angeles magazine's Karen Ocamb: free photos....

Random debate scenes *

Invited debate attendees (and those who bought tickets on the free market) are filing in to the Kodak Theatre through boisterous crowds of supporters with Obama and Clinton signs...

Mark Schwed, TV critic was 52

Schwed spent 11 years as a writer and columnist at TV Guide, based in Hollywood, as well as working on-air on E! and the TV Guide Channel. Before that he...

Hollywood Boulevard scene

From the roof of Hollywood and Highland a few minutes ago, compliments of Karen Ocamb at IN Los Angeles....

Antonio got $10,000 from Obama's slumlord

The Daily News' Beth Barrett has posted a story saying that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has taken $10,500 in campaign funds from indicted Chicago entrepreneur Antoin Rezko and his relatives or...

Debate day in Hollywood

The last surviving Republicans battered each other and invoked Reagan — without evoking him — last night in Simi Valley. Now it's Clinton and Obama's turn to whack away at...

Public editor lectures 'Pasadena Now'

"Rewriting someone else's stories is one thing. Simply stealing them word for word is another," writes Lawrence Wilson, public editor of the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group. His point is...

Morning Buzz: Thursday 1.31.08

Answer: 12 Question: How many LAPD motorcycle officers does it take to escort an ambulance carrying Britney Spears to UCLA Medical Center? She was collected at home in Studio City...

Arnold will go for McCain

Two weeks after making a pledge of neutrality in the Republican race, Gov. Schwarzenegger is expected to endorse John McCain tomorrow. LAT, William Bradley...

Yes, another post about opossum poetry

Who knew? I'm told, by Los Angeles poet Richard Beban, that this morning's verse about opossums was no lone wolf. He says there is something of a cult of local...

Film critic Jack Mathews leaves the theater

Former L.A. Times movie critic Jack Mathews says he'll retire from the New York Daily News at the end of February. He and his wife are moving to the Oregon...

Sale of KTLA site final

Channel 5 will remain at the Sunset Boulevard location indefinitely. The sale to Hudson Capital has been pending since last year and went through at $125 million. The familiar landmark...

Deputy says Monrovia in a 'race war'

In the midst of a spree of retaliatory shootings that has left two three dead and two other victims injured, the gang situation in the San Gabriel Valley community of...

Love — and change — in the air at JANM

Irene Hirano will step down next year as president of the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. But that's not her big news. She also become engaged to Sen....

Editor goes non-profit

Janet Clayton stepped down last year as the L.A. Times editor in charge of Metro and California coverage, which followed a long stint as editor of the editorial pages. Today...

A poem about an opossum

In The Oldest Living Thing in L.A., Larry Levis observes an opossum trying to cross Wilshire and Santa Monica. Sample: A few steps forward, then back away from the breath...

Morning Buzz: Wednesday 1.30.08

Rash of street warfare in South L.A. kills three, wounds 13 Shooting of a Grape Street Crips leader at a party leads to retaliatory acts involving that gang, the East...

Who sits where at Hollywood debate

Several dozen of the 500 news media and bloggers credentialed for Thursday night's CNN-Politico-L.A. Times Democratic debate did a walk-through this afternoon at the Kodak Theatre. David Bohrman, CNN's Washington...

An idea whose time has come?

You might remember last summer when Times editors spiked a Patrick Goldstein column that recommended the LAT give away music to boost interest in the paper. (The Calendar section ran...

Rusty Hammer, business leader was 54

Russell “Rusty” Hammer, the former president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, died Monday evening after a long battle with a rare form of leukemia. Hammer came south...

Clash between USC students and cops

Celeste Fremon asks if the LAPD went too far in breaking up a USC block party over the weekend. There were thrown bottles, a tactical alert and Tasering: Did the...

Morning Buzz: Tuesday 1.29.08

McCain and Clinton enjoy big California leads The Times Poll finds 39% of likely Republican voters favor John McCain in next week's primary compared to 26% for Mitt Romney, while...

Business unveils another lobbying arm

Former Daily News publisher Tracy Rafter is chief executive of the new Los Angeles County Business Federation scheduled to be formally announced today with 44 member organizations representing more than...

Spring cleaning comes early to LAO

I'll be freshening up the site's look all week, eventually rolling out new logos and content. The ShareThis widget, new on some pages, is a one-click place to email posts...

Pellicano trial set for Feb. 27

U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer denied today's latest moves to delay the trial for celebrity private investigator Anthony Pellicano and his co-defendants. It looks more than ever like the trial...

Morning Buzz: Monday 1.28.08

Striking writers turn to book projects Literary departments at major talent agencies are being inundated with proposals and story ideas for novels from out-of-work screenwriters. LAT Culture clash on Broadway...

Obama o-rama

The candidates will all be here this week, at least for Wednesday's Republican debate at the Reagan library in Simi Valley and the Democrats' face-off on Thursday evening at the...

Steve Grayson, photographer

Alumni of the old Herald-Examiner received word this weekend that photographer Steve Grayson passed away. I have no details, but someone who knew him circled Grayson in the front of...

Found O'Shea *

Outgoing L.A. Times editor Jim O'Shea won't be on "News Conference" here Sunday morning, as we noted, but he is scheduled to turn up on CNN's "Reliable Sources" with Howard...

L.A. River, before and after

Jay Babcock at Nature Trumps: An L.A. River Blog posts this scene from November, looking upstream from the footbridge toward Los Feliz Boulevard and the burned Griffith Park hills. Click...

Breeze carrier crushed to death

Manuel Bogran of Inglewood died when he was pinned between his car and a parked car while delivering the Daily Breeze near Hawthorne this morning. Bogran had just turned 21...

O'Shea weekend on L.A. airwaves *

While the battered denizens at the L.A. Times wait to hear whether their next editor will be a patsy for the publisher or an actual respected newsroom leader with independence...

Robert Downey will be in the building

Filming of the movie "The Soloist," based on Steve Lopez's series of LAT columns and book on Downtown homeless musician Nathaniel Ayers, will move into the Times city room on...

Closures in Griffith Park, 'debris flows'

Mayor Villaraigosa announced some road closures in the park as the rains continue. "The park has experienced some minor to moderate debris flows and flooding on several of its main...

Durazo promoted already

How happy was the Barack Obama camp to get Maria Elena Durazo on board a couple of weeks back? Pretty happy, apparently. Today the executive secretary of the L.A. County...

Morning Buzz: Friday 1.25.08

Unions give most of the money to Prop. S The measure to continue the city of Los Angeles telephone utility tax has collected $1.9 million of its $2.6 million from...

Langer's cult of pastrami grows

Councilman Ed Reyes stopped in at 7th and Alvarado before noon to dedicate the intersection as Langer's Square. No dummy, he loaded up on the good stuff before making the...

Movie Issue returns at Los Angeles

Los Angeles does its annual movie issue for February, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julie Christie on the cover and a lineup inside that includes LA Observed's Mark Lacter challenging...

Afternoon shorts

Because it feels like a briefs kind of day. Departing eBay chief Meg Whitman is talking to Republicans about her running for Governor in 2010. LAT Small pet turtles are...

LACMA, other museums raided by feds *

Search warrants were served on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Pasadena's Pacific Asia Museum, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and the Mingei International Museum in San Diego...

Times reviews Mary McNamara's novel

Author Samantha Dunn writes in today's Calendar section, "We should thank our lucky stars Mary McNamara's debut novel, 'Oscar Season,' arrives when it does, because if the writers strike goes...

City Hall blast from the past

A tribute to retired City Hall powerhouse Ron Deaton last evening brought out "a who's who in the city of Los Angeles," in the words of City Council member Wendy...

Morning Buzz: Thursday 1.24.08

Snow and record rain Snow closed I-5 and the California 58 dodge around the Grapevine, while four inches of rain fell at Santa Barbara in 24 hours. Streets through Sepulveda...

Slow posting day

I'm on assignment most of the day today....

Morning Buzz: Wednesday 1.23.08

29 LAPD officers may face May Day melee charges LAPD officials will submit a report naming 29 officers responsible for 72 different allegations to the District Attorney's Office and the...

Ledger details change a bit

In the story the New York Times will run in the paper tomorrow, Heath Ledger was found naked on the floor (not on the bed) and there were no illegal...

New publisher at Daily Breeze — again

Liz Gaier lasted thirteen months at the newspaper in Torrance. So much for the South Bay roots that were touted when she arrived in December 2006. The Los Angeles Newspaper...

Writers and producers resume talking

The two sides agree to talk about talking, but not to talk publicly: The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have issued...

Heath Ledger found dead in New York *

The 28-year-old actor may have overdosed in his Mary-Kate Olsen's a SoHo apartment. He reportedly was discovered by a masseuse arriving for an appointment this afternoon. The body was face...

Jump ball: Kareem vs. Magic on Obama

Two legendary ex-Lakers are jostling for position over presidential endorsements. Nico Pitney at the Huffington Post: Unbeknownst to him, basketball legend-turned-author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was pulled into the 2008 campaign fray...

Free to read LA Observed again

As several KTLA staffers have emailed to remind me, the station had been blocking employees' access to LA Observed. Even while cooperating from time to time at the news level....

LAT sort-of explains its endorsement plans

You may remember awhile back (June 2006, actually) that the L.A. Times editorial page said it would resume making presidential candidate endorsements. Those plans survive the change in editors, publishers...

City Council fails to meet quorum

Council President Eric Garcetti cancelled this morning's meeting after using the internal City Hall squawk box to beseech members to show up. When a quroum of ten didn't appear, he...

Zell: No censoring of the Web

Tribune chairman Sam Zell decrees that his properties will no longer filter the Internet content that employees can view. Via email to staffers: From: Talk to Sam Sent: Tuesday, January...

Morning Buzz: Tuesday 1.22.08

It's Oscar nominations morning Witching hour is 5:30 am Hollywood time. Find out if you were nominated at the official site. For post-game analysis, take your pick of these or...

Frances Lewine, journalist and mentor was 86

Fran Lewine covered the White House for Associated Press from Eisenhower to Carter. After a stop as deputy director of public affairs at Transportation under Carter, she went to CNN...

O'Shea knew for two weeks he was gone

Now we know how Jim O'Shea could find time to write a 1,700-word farewell speech. He got the message at lunch at Traxx in Union Station that the gulf between...

Ron Deaton exit interview

"I still have no memory of the trip to Costa Rica or anything that happened," Ron Deaton, once the most powerful figure in City Hall, tells Rick Orlov in the...

How is the L.A. Times like 'The Wire'?

That seems to be a popular theme, pegged to the coincidence that yesterday's news about yet another high-level exit from the Times broke on the same day that HBO's popular...

Meanwhile at the Register

I'm trying to keep a holiday schedule today to work on some website improvements, but there's also newspaper news from the Register in Orange County. It's killing the stand-alone Business...

Zell OK with change at LAT

New Tribune chairman Sam Zell emailed the Times staff: From: Talk to Sam Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 10:04 AM Subject: Jim O'Shea's departure Everyone, With all of the media...

O'Shea's remarks to newsroom

Departing L.A. Times editor Jim O'Shea addressed the newsroom this morning and reiterated that he was pushed out and did not quit. He also criticized Tribune's priorities, and said that...

Times M.E. says disputed cuts not that bad

The budget squeeze that apparently prompted the departure of L.A. Times editor Jim O'Shea wouldn't result in newsroom layoffs or seriously impair coverage, according to Managing Editor John Arthur, the...

Some backstory on O'Shea dismissal *

Times publisher David Hiller tells his newspaper's reporter that he did not fire his editor — "Jim and I decided we no longer saw things the same way about how...

Times editor O'Shea fired *

* Freshened and slightly edited post It's amazing to me that the journalists left at the L.A. Times can put out a paper and a website every day, with all...

Bidding on seats at the debates

Although the Los Angeles Times is listed as one of the sponsors (along with CNN and Politico) of the presidential campaign debates behind held here Jan. 30 and 31, the...

Morning Buzz: Friday 1.18.08

Arnold admits his early positions were bogus He says inexperience and naivete were behind things like calling for mass elimination of state departments. (But it fooled enough voters to get...

Felix brings L.A. together

Here's a nice little story from writer Mark Evanier's blog, called modestly News From Me. Seems he began teaching a humor writing class at USC yesterday, but his car broke...

Hillary's trip to L.A.

Hillary Clinton campaigned today at Citizens of Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Compton and at Cal State Northridge — Andrew from Here in Van Nuys got some pics of everyone...

Susan Estrich's big oops

Big day for email address scavengers, thanks to Susan Estrich. Her own email announcing a move to L.A. law firm Quinn Emanuel went out to a big list of prominent...

Axium's fallout gets juicy

Defamer got a look at allegations against Hollywood payroll firm Axium filed in court documents, and teases "We're talking multiple identities, cash payments to former supermodels for 'consulting' and all...

Trio of beat moves at the Times

New health care and regional air transportation reporters, and a new beat assigning a veteran reporter with a video camera to report on local government. Memo from California editor David...

Up close with Claude Brodesser-Akner

Couple of good profiles in this week's Jewish Journal. One updates Claude Brodesser-Akner, who has turned "The Business" on KCRW into a weekly success (and got out of Fishbowl LA...

AP gets an obit together on Britney

Here's a sure sign that things aren't going well for you. Associated Press began writing Britney Spears' obituary last month, just in case it's needed unexpectedly. The wire service prepares...

You know the war is over when....

Back when there were newspaper wars between the L.A. Times and the Daily News (over the Valley), the Times and Register (over Orange County), and other suburban papers, this never...

Let's not forget Edwards

Democratic hopeful John Edwards is in town today. He'll drop in at SEIU Local 721, the public service workers, after noon and be endorsed by Councilman Richard Alarcon and SEIU...

Tom Petty's Los Angeles

The LA Weekly has a fun story in today's issue listing, and mapping, 38 places that figure in the music and life of L.A. transplant Tom Petty. Daphne Carr writes,...

Morning Buzz: Thursday 1.17.08

Dubious media events most likely to make tonight's local news At 8 am, the media masses are invited to Burbank to observe the casting of actor statuettes for the SAG...

In Vanity Fair this month

Media man-about-town Richard Rushfield is, these days, recognized mostly for his reviews of "American Idol" in the L.A. Times, where he's the website's entertainment editor. In his freelance life, Rushfield...

Co-founder of Wham-O dies

Let's have a round of applause for Richard Knerr, a USC graduate whose Pasadena company of fun brought the world the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop, the Superball, the Slip 'N...

Wendy McCaw, the film

The documentary "Citizen McCaw" bills itself as "the story of an epic struggle for the soul of journalism." It will debut in Santa Barbara on March 7, assuming it isn't...

Sam Zell's rules for Tribune

A new employee handbook from the Zell regime went out to all 20,000 Tribune "owners" today. It tries to distance the new Zellian Tribune from the old group, and begins...

UCLA bars Wooden autographs

Long-retired Bruins legend John Wooden still attends basketball games at Pauley Pavilion — he is 97 years old — and he is hugely popular in the building. But the school...

Debate topic: Zappa and the Philharmonic

Mark Swed's Jan. 7 LAT review of an L.A. Philharmonic performance of pieces with an urban theme said, among other things: In between came Frank Zappa's 'Dupree's Paradise.' Short, diverting...

In case you missed Ashleigh Banfield

The post-9/11 sensation and defrocked global terrorism reporter with the square-rimmed Lafont eyeglasses — dumped by NBC after she bombed as an anchor and criticized Fox News in a speech...

Hot dogs go grass fed and nitrate free

Maybe their dogs aren't up to Cupid's or Pink's, but the LAT Food section makes the hot dogs at the Let's Be Frank cart parked at the Helms Building in...

Obama and Clinton on the newspaper rounds

Barack Obama is stopping in at the Los Angeles Times this afternoon for a meeting with the editorial board. Tonight he has the big fundraiser in Rustic Canyon with the...

Yeah, Ike Turner OD'd

Ike Turner died of a cocaine overdose — rendered on the San Diego medical examiner's report as "cocaine toxicity." Turner was 76 when he succumbed in December in the suburbs...

O.J. gets in trouble again

Already in jail for having communication with a witness, O.J. Simpson had his bail doubled to $250,000 by an angry Las Vegas judge. Simpson is expected to post the bond....

New deputy mayor

Riordan and Hahn veteran Diego Alvarez was appointed Deputy Mayor for Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations. This makes him Mayor Villaraigosa's chief liaison to federal, state and local governments and agencies....

Morning Buzz: Wednesday 1.16.08

City Council steps in on LAPD financial disclosure The Police Protective League gets through to council members with its protests over the rules for narcotics and gang cops. The Council...

Brad Renfro, troubled actor was 25

The actor Brad Renfro was found dead at home on South Ogden Drive this morning by his girlfriend. Police said there was no suspicion of foul play, but a cause...

Obama going to Van Nuys*

Democratic contender Barack Obama has scheduled a "roundtable on economic opportunity" at a private home in Van Nuys tomorrow afternoon. He's also got a fundraiser Wednesday night at the Pacific...

Sign of the Times

I have to think the Sports staff at the L.A. Times is still rattled by the gaffe and front page skimback on the Roger Clemens investigation. They should be. Now...

Bratton liberally quoted in new Playboy

The February issue of Playboy, on sale starting today, has a long feature by Joe Domanick on LAPD chief William Bratton, or Supercop as the headline calls him. The piece,...

Morning Buzz: Tuesday 1.15.08

Quaids talk about the twins and Cedars-Sinai Actor Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, sat for a 90-minute interview with L.A. Times health specialist Charles Ornstein and said that Cedars-Sinai...

In praise of The Urban Man

In his Monday afternoon commentaries on KCRW, Marc Porter Zasada takes more creative chances and fashions many more gems than a certain other radio talking head I could name. Today,...

Another used book shop goes down

An LA Observed reader who works at Cal State Long Beach stopped by Wilshire Books in Santa Monica and found the store cleared out. "Quietly closed at the end of...

Homeland Security won't forcibly drug any more

Sandra Hernandez, who broke the news last May on the pre-deportation government drugging of two men before boarding at LAX, writes in today's L.A. Daily Journal that Homeland Security has...

California still Clinton country

This evening's CNN-Los Angeles Times-Politico poll shows California support for Sen. Hillary Clinton running strong — she beats Obama 47-31% in the state, with Edwards pulling 10%. Here are some...

Roger Avary statement

To follow up an item from the Morning Buzz, screenwriter and producer Roger Avary released this statement regarding the weekend crash in Ojai that led to Avary's arrest, the injury...

'Tarnished Heisman' website up

The authors of that book claiming a slew of ethical breaches by former USC Trojans star Reggie Bush and his family have posted excerpts and documents on a website: TarnishedHeisman.com....

Finke stands down

Nikki Finke has declared a week-long break in her frenzy of posting about the writers' strike. Says the LA Weekly columnist and Deadline Hollywood Daily blogger: I’m exhausted. I'm not...

Morning Buzz: Monday 1.14.08

OC Sheriff Carona resigns Facing corruption charges and plunging support, Mike Carona posts on the OC Sheriff's Department website that "it has become clear to me that the interests of...

Johnny Podres, Boy of Summer was 75

Johnny Podres was the most valuable player of the 1955 World Series that brought Brooklyn its first championship over the great Yankees teams, then went on to become a dependable...

W goes inside the Death Star

W does its version of A-list Hollywood for February, with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy on the cover (and in an online slide show) and stories inside such as Gabriel...

Carl Karcher, burger man was 90

Carl Karcher essentially grew a single hot dog cart in Los Angeles into the Carl's Jr. fast-food chain. He and his wife Margaret opened Carl's Drive-In Barbecue in Anaheim in...

Friday desk clearing

Dana Goodyear visits Chateau Scientology in a Letter from California in this week's New Yorker. She followed up with a blog post about a Dianetics spoof written in 1950....

Ex-LAT Pulitzer winner reinvents

Nancy Cleeland covered labor for the Times and shared in the Pulitzer for coverage of WalMart's global impact. She writes about her latest life turn today at the Huffington Post....

Loyola Law gets new dean

Loyola Law School Dean David Burcham has been named provost at Loyola Marymount, a new position at the law school's parent institution. The new interim law dean is Victor Gold,...

Time travel through L.A. journalism

Sara Catania was a reporter for the Times, Daily News and LA Weekly — and watches The Wire on HBO. The experiences left her with the perspective that "to be...

Morning Buzz: Friday 1.11.08

Truncated Morning Buzz today... Clinton in town Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will be in Commerce to speak at the Electrical Training Institute, a facility affiliated with the International Brotherhood of...

Inside the writers' website

Eric Estrin, a striking WGA member, is a moderator at Writer Action, the message board where Writers Guild members hang out to float conspiracy theories, skewer the producers and rip...

John Ziegler fires at 'John & Ken'

John Ziegler didn't just go away at KFI. He went away mad. Ziegler has put up a website called The Real KFI "dedicated to telling the totally true story of...

Riordan's new vision of Mort's Deli

Nine dollar French toast is a little too upscale for one Palisades blogger's taste. You might know it as the deli that's been featured often on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm--...

Sharon Waxman quits NYT

The New York Times' former Hollywood reporter in the L.A. bureau resigned rather than take an assignment back in New York. She's been writing a book on the global antiquities...

No 'misadventure' in Donda West death

The Los Angeles County coroner still isn't certain why Donda West died on Nov. 10, the day after undergoing cosmetic surgergy, but there was no sign of "surgical or anesthetic...

Morning Buzz: Thursday 1.10.08

Cedars-Sinai cited for endangering children State report looking into the over-medication of Dennis Quaid's infant twins and others found "multiple failures by the facility to adhere to established policies and...

Johnny Grant, 'mayor' of Hollywood was 84

It's the end of an era in Hollywood. Johnny Grant, the last of the "honorary mayors" for whom the ceremonial title still meant something, was found dead tonight in his...

Christine Daniels a bonus for web traffic

The most-viewed story on the Los Angeles Times website in 2007 was nothing the paper's reporters covered or exposed or explained. It was sports columnist Mike Penner's last byline —...

Mystery of the Green Line to not-quite-LAX

Gene Maddaus at the Breeze delves into the decision long ago to spend $700 million building the Green Line light rail for 20 miles from Norwalk to Redondo Beach, then...

How do you follow a post on crotches?

If you are Emerald City, the L.A. Times' environment blog, you follow yesterday's post on your friend's bikini crotch with a post today on the underwear your mother gave you...

First baby surrender of '08

A live baby was dropped off at a fire station in Norwalk this morning, the first under the Safe Surrender policy in Los Angeles County in 2008 and the 63rd...

Follow the money *

The Center for Public Integrity has launched a website to keep track of the millions pouring into the presidential campaigns. Obama, they report, won the New Hampshire money primary. The...

Arthur's Reeves out of jail

Just to follow up up our Sunday report: Dave Reeves, the columnist for Arthur magazine jailed over not reporting a traffic mishap on his bike, has been released. Jenny Burman...

Defensive about Britney *

Three L.A. Times editors go online to defend the paper's use of three reporters to cover Ms. Spears' latest public meltdown. "If we had wanted simply to report the facts...

Morning Buzz: Wednesday 1.9.08

State of Arnold's state Budget cuts to be proposed along with a hike in fees and a constitutional amendment that would impose a spending cap. LAT, DN, Register, Chronicle, Dan...

Not so fast

Clinton defies the polls and the pundits and wins New Hampshire, 39% to Obama's 36%. McCain takes the Republican side, leaving Romney with the silver again. The Huckabee juggernaut stalled...

Leaving City Hall

Safiya Jones, communications director for Councilman Bill Rosendahl, checks out. Her exit email: Dear All, It is with deep respect and gratitude that I say farewell to all of you....

One crotch-ety enviro blog

Emerald City is not one of the top 15 blogs for traffic at LATimes.com, or wasn't in December. But the blog, described as "Siel follows the road to green living...

Bad day at the Register

Another round of layoffs hits in Orange County, on top of the cancelled Christmas party and gutted 401-k contributions. Nick Schou at the OC Weekly and ex-Registerian Mayrav Saar at...

AP's news of Britney

John Rabe of KPCC's "Off-Ramp," inspired by Frank Baker's memo to the Los Angeles bureau, ponders how the AP might incorporate more Britney news on the wire. Guess which dispatch...

Hollywood waiting for cue on Obama

Tina Daunt posits in her Cause Celebre column in today's Calendar that Hollywood's Hillary contingent is on the verge of buying tickets on the Barack Obama bus. On desks all...

Britney an official AP priority

Memo on coverage of faded pop tart Britney Spears from Associated Press' Los Angeles assistant bureau chief: From: Baker, Frank S. Sent: Tue 1/8/2008 11:58 AM To: News - Southern...

Broad keeping his art after all *

Eli Broad has changed course and decided not to donate his impressive collection to any museums — including LACMA, which is close to finishing the Broad Contemporary Art Museum on...

Downtown pic o' the day

Spotted in the Daily Breeze, by staff photographer Robert Casillas....

Morning Buzz: Tuesday 1.8.08

Will anyone miss the Golden Globes? Finally, one of the least meritorious award "competitions" in Hollywood is cut back to its essence: a press conference. But there's economic fallout. NYT,...

Lots of complaints about Bhutto cover

The L.A. Times' decision to go ahead and distribute Parade magazine's Benazir Bhutto issue as if she were still alive — with an unfortunate cover line — has drawn more...

One of Spector's victims dies

Dianne Ogden, a longtime music talent coordinator, was one of four women who testified in Phil Spector's murder trial (which ended in a mistrial) that he had threatened her with...

Crossed signals at the opera

Music Center president Stephen Roundtree said today that the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion will close for renovations in 2013, not 2011 as originally announced. Apparently, offices for displaced staff need to...

Trio of new commissioners

Mayor Villaraigosa has appointed new members of the Cultural Heritage comission, Industrial Development Authority and the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission. Release with bios after the jump....

Convict freed on OR kills wife

Curtis Bernard Harris had pleaded no contest to possessing a firearm after kidnapping his estranged wife, but was freed without bail on Dec. 21 pending his formal sentencing to 16...

'House of Tomorrow' for sale again

One of the most unusual, and storied, commercial buildings on Wilshire Boulevard is back on the market. The one-story, ranch-style office complex at the southeast corner of Wilshire and Highland...

No names, please

One entry in the program for the Towne Street Theatre's upcoming Ten-Minute Play Festival in Hollywood caught my eye. In the TST 2nd Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival, audiences will again...

'Top of the Ticket' catches on

The Times seems happy with the traffic performance of its national politics blog, which has been covering the presidential races mostly in posts by Andrew Malcolm and Don Frederick. It...

Morning Buzz: Monday 1.7.08

Examining the Board of Supervisors The five Supes who run Los Angeles County "may offer the best argument for" term limits, LAT opinion chief Jim Newton argues. And Harold Meyerson...

In praise of the Colburn School

In the eyes of the New York Times, the 96 students in the Colburn School conservatory on Bunker Hill "are among the finest young musicians in the world." The story,...

'Arthur' columnist in jail

Arthur magazine's columnist Dave Reeves is serving time in Men's Central Jail over a bike accident, and his friends aren't happy about it. "A series of bizarro events and idiocies...

When cameras empower

Over at Native Intelligence, Judy Graeme's third offering on Los Angeles photographers introduces a group of teenagers (and younger) who use borrowed cameras to shoot images of their gritty home...

Moving on up

Troy Senik, legal editor at the L.A. Daily Journal, is leaving for a speechwriting job at the Bush White House. He formerly scribbled for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Newt Gingrich and...

Theresa Duncan's final blog posts

Another posthumous entry from the late Theresa Duncan appeared on her blog, The Wit of the Staircase, on Dec. 31. An editor's note in October said it was coming, set...

Dave Butler back in editor's chair

David Butler was editor of the Daily News in Woodland Hills until Dean Singleton bought the Detroit News and installed Butler as editor and publisher. That was in 2005. Now...

Suspect dead, officer safe on Sawtelle *

A serial robbery suspect was killed in an early-morning gun battle on Sawtelle Avenue in West Los Angeles. The LAPD officer involved was not hurt. * Not much of a...

Morning Buzz: Friday 1.4.08

Where's Jay Levin? The founder of last year's one-off magazine RealTalkLA resurfaced this week as an editorial consultant at CityBeat, brought in by parent Southland Publishing. RealTalk's website, meanwhile, is...

LAPPL takes to the air

Unhappy with the LAPD's new financial disclosure rules for drug and gang cops, the L.A. Police Protective League has bought radio time on KFWB and KABC for an ad that...

CBS kills 'Public Eye' blog

The internal watchblog that began after Dan Rather's career meltdown has disappeared from the list of CBS News blogs, and Rachel Sklar at the Huffington Post is disappointed. It's a...

Getting out of town

With United Airlines announcing a systemwide fare sale, it seems like a good idea to mention some of the deals available from LAX. You have to purchase by Jan. 10,...

Cheerleader-in-chief back in town

Times publisher David Hiller has let staffers know that he was back home for the holidays but has returned here refreshed and ready to carry out the Sam Zell agenda....

Morning Buzz: Thursday 1.3.08

Leno, Letterman et al are back Watch video of all five late-night hosts returning to the air. HuffPost Whole lot of rain on the way Three storms lined up over...

Bank robbery detritus

Colin Brown headed to lunch at Clifton's Cafeteria today and encountered the remains of a robbery at the Bank of America on Broadway. That's red dye from the exploding pack...

New LAT reporters in Mexico, Israel

Ken Ellingwood moves from Jerusalem to Mexico City, and Ashraf Khalil leaves Metro for the Middle East. Memo from Foreign Editor Marjorie Miller after the jump....

Message from Marc Germain

The ex-talker at KTLK explains what happened and talks up his future in Los Angeles radio. Marc Germain, popular Los Angeles radio talk show host at KFI and KABC, is...

Lantos won't run for reelection

Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos announced today he has cancer of the esophagus and will leave Congress at the end of his term. Lantos, who represents the Bay Area, has been...

Finke's WGA strike work

The New York Observer writes of Nikki Finke, calling her The Media Mensch of the Year: The biggest entertainment story of the year has also turned into the biggest story...

Wishes for the year

Celeste Fremon asked ten Los Angeles figures their wishes for 2008 and blogged their answers. Some media types are included: [Oscar Garza, editor at Tu Ciudad]: I wish that every...

Coast to coast domination

In the Washington Post Style section's annual what's out and what's in list, Hank Stuever deems Miss Manners out and says the hip new advice column is Gustavo Arellano's !Ask...

Morning Buzz: Wednesday 1.2.08

Gavin Newsom gets engaged The San Francisco mayor popped the question over the weekend to actress Jennifer Siebel, and she reportedly accepted. That leaves one eligible big-city mayor in California....

Leovy winding down at 'Homicide Report' *

Jill Leovy hinted in this month's profile of her in Los Angeles that she would stop writing the Times' homicide blog in the new year. It's one of the most-read...

2007: Those wacky Times

It's amazing, really, to look back at all the distraction, disruption and toe-shooting the new Los Angeles Times can pack into a single year. In 2007 alone: The #2 editor...

2007: Antonio and Mirthala

The Internet has spoken — no Los Angeles story came close to surpassing the interest in Antonio Villaraigosa and his affair with Telemundo rising star Mirthala Salinas. First came the...

2007: Passings

Noting the deaths of noteworthy Los Angeles figures and LAO's colleagues and friends in the media is just something we do here. Here are most of the passings that LA...

Germain running out of letters

Marc Germain, the talk radio host formerly known as Mr. KABC and Mr. KFI, has been let go as liberal-talk KTLK's Mr. K. "A total surprise and not my choice...

Answer: Watts Towers *

Question: Where will Mayor Villaraigosa and Chief Bratton drag the media to announce the 2007 crime stats? AKA, a "historic reduction in homicides and violent crime." Presser is Wednesday at...
Clinton fundraises in LA
kermit-la-brea-closer.jpg Jim Henson Studios on La Brea became a presidential campaign stop on Thursday.
Brown declares disaster area
porter-ranch-sign.jpgThe natural gas leak above Porter Ranch now qualifies for various government actions. Story
Wet coyote
wet-coyote-vdt.jpgSpotted between the storms at Here in Malibu.
Performing arts with cheer
guys-dolls-kevin-parry.jpgDonna Perlmutter closes out 2015 with productions downtown and on the Westside.
Junkyard down
upick-firetruck-560.jpgAfter 53 years, Sun Valley's Aadlen Brothers and U-Pick Parts cleans out. Photos