Alan Mittelstaedt, CityBeat's news editor and number two, was let go on Friday by Acting Editor Rebecca Schoenkopf. Something about the money being used for columns and freelancers. That's one less reason for me to check CityBeat every week. In addition to his editing chores, Mittelstaedt wrote the L.A. Sniper column and thus was keeping CityBeat in the game in terms of covering local politics and big L.A. conundrums like transit, density and the environment. (Last week he knocked on the door of DWP chief David Nahai in Benedict Canyon and asked to see his water bill.) Mittelstaedt brought L.A. Sniper over from the LA Weekly last July, after editing local news coverage during a high point for that paper. He got caught in the New Times directive that his job go to Jill Stewart.

Previously:
Citybeat, the unofficial view
Schoenkopf rises fast at CityBeat
Two columnists quit CityBeat
Scene at the Weekly
Weekly news editor responds