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Rep. Tom Lantos dies
The Northern California congressman, who was 80, said recently he wouldn;t run again due to cancer of the esophagus. He passed away at Bethesda Naval Medical Center. He chaired the foreign affairs committee and was creator of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. AP
LAUSD payroll nightmare 'comedy of errors'
The Times' Joel Rubin looked into the fiasco in which many teachers were not paid — and others overpaid &mdash and concludes, "Dysfunctional management and internal power struggles allowed the project to go forward with no one fully in charge and hampered the district's ability to mount an effective response when serious problems arose. Years of shoddy record-keeping and strangely complex union contracts made answering basic questions -- including how much people should be paid and what jobs they worked -- almost impossible." LAT
Taking sides in the UTLA election
Celeste Fremon calls challenger Linda Guthrie much more willing than incumbent A.J. Duffy to embrace new ventures like charter schools. Witness LA
Verizon fixes voice mail, will give rebates
Residential customers will get $5 — businesses $15 — in compensation for the equipment snafu last week that lost some voice mails. LAT
Xenu wouldn't like this
Anonymous protesters targeted the Church of Scientology in Hollywood (and elsewhere) Sunday, providing rich fodder for bloggers. LAist, Metroblogging, Web Scout
Leiweke rues football decision, says McCourt could lure NFL
In a conversation with TJ Simers, AEG boss Tim Leiweke says he regrets not pushing harder to overcome political opposition to an NFL stadium downtown next to his Staples Center. "It's easier for me to get an arena built in Shanghai than it is to get a football stadium done in L.A....I regret now I didn't fight a little harder. That was the right vision." LAT
In defense of expensive reporters
"With a few exceptions, the best journalists work for daily newspapers and the best daily newspaper journalists work for the big daily newspapers. When good journalists go away, coverage of an area’s institutions and businesses suffers," writes Tim Gallagher, former publisher and editor of the Ventura County Star. L.A. Business Journal
More trouble with the double bubble
Some L.A. County poll workers weren't told in training about the need for independents to fill in a "Democratic" bubble on their ballots in order to vote for a presidential candidate. LAT
It wasn't until midafternoon on election day that he and his fellow poll workers learned of the extra bubble, but by then it was too late. Many nonpartisan voters had already cast their ballots, including Nola himself.
Korean community upset over Cho killing
"We haven't seen this expression of shock, disbelief and sadness in the community before," says a Korean-American leader. Artist Michael Cho was shot by La Habra police on New Year's Eve. LAT
Villaraigosa operative goes to Clinton
Michael Trujillo helped generate community support for Mayor Villaraigosa's school reform plans — he's a big believer in confetti machines — and now will be detached to the Hillary Clinton campaign, starting in Texas. Also, Speaker Fabian Núñez says tersely he's not interested in running for mayor. Rick Orlov
John Rabe in 2-D
The KPCC host is depicted and named in a Sunday Opinion cartoon about the Doo-Dah Parade by Mimi Pond, an Off-Ramp regular. No apparently linkable.
Ron Leavitt, co-creator of 'Married With Children' was 60
His death Sunday of lung cancer Sunday at home in Sherman Oaks was announced by "fiance, model and actress" Jessica Hahn. He also produced or wrote episodes of "The Jeffersons," "Busting Loose," "Happy Days," "Laverne & Shirley" and "The Bad News Bears." AP