More planning commission patronage

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed Fabian Nuñez aide Ricardo Lara to the city planning commission, which is mostly interesting because he recently dropped out of the Assembly race against the mayor's cousin, John Perez. Last time it was Cindy Montañez getting a commission seat, when she helped out Villaraigosa by ending her City Council bid so that Richard Alarcon would have a clear shot. Incidentally, the planning commission is officially an unpaid position. But, well, perhaps there are other modes of compensation that make it desirable. Lara, when confirmed, will replace Sabrina Kay. LAT

Business leaders admit some frustration with mayor

They expected more to happen, but wonder to Duke Helfand if Villaraigosa is distracted. LAT

Arnold drops Eastwood, Shriver from panel

Clint Eastwood and Santa Monica councilman Bobby Shriver had opposed the San Onofre Beach toll road that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger backed. Now they won't get third terms on the state parks commission, where Shriver is chairman. LAT, DN wires

Forget Pellicano, this is case to watch

Sharon Waxman suggests paying attention to the documents being unearthed in the lawsuit against SAG by former actor and LAPD officer Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell on "Leave it to Beaver".) WaxWord

Open letter to Sam Zell

From new L.A. blogger The Fake Angeleno, whose intro line is "I was born, raised and educated in the Midwest. For the past seven years, I've lived in New York City. Now, I've moved to Los Angeles. Pray for me."

Museums hit by subprime mess

Institutions such as LACMA, the Natural History Museum and the Colburn School have had their interest payments on construction bonds soar due to the credit crunch. LAT

LAPD gains a 'Topanga' station

That's the name of the new patrol area at the west end of the Valley, named by a contest. DN

Gov. Bill Richardson to endorse Obama

But if you watched that video from UCLA last week you probably saw it coming. Top of the Ticket

Union war on Fresh & Easy

Just the facts, as seen by the United Food and Commercial Workers.

National Magazine Award nominees

The full list, with a bit of detail and links to many of the stories. Huffington Post

Pinch hitting for Patt Morrison

Times consumer columnist David Lazarus sits in on KPCC today from 1 pm to 3 pm.

Dodger Thoughts blogger signs free agent

The Jon Weisman's have a new baby boy. DT