David Willman of the L.A. Times Washington bureau is no longer on the buyout list, he confirms. (I previously termed it that he "withdrew," but that's saying more than I know.) Willman won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for an exposé of seven unsafe prescription drugs that had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

* Bureau's future still up in air: I've been told that the LAT Washington folks were informed late Friday that they have to lose 6 to 8 people, and that anyone who wants to transfer back to Los Angeles (or Orange County) can. Apparently, some people have been urged to consider the transfer. But negotiations on exactly who will leave and the future structure of the bureau are continuing, and it looks as if the Times bureau will remain mostly independent of — but cooperate more with — the Tribune Company bureau it shares quarters with. When Sam Zell was there a few weeks back, he called for the Times' part to be cut way back and indicated he wanted to see a single operation.

Updated at 12:15 pm