Parking fines increased in L.A.

Come July the average parking fine will be $35. DN

City sued over Las Lomas

Legal action over the giant development proposed for Newhall Pass was fully expected. LAT, DN

Lou Moret's South Gate issues

The L.A. political insider, recently appointed to the board that oversees the states public employees retirement system, has been sued by the city of South Gate for "allegedly conspiring to fix a $48-million garbage contract. And he was described by federal prosecutors as the 'political mentor' of the city's disgraced political boss, Albert Robles." LAT

Hear daily Obama and McCain briefings

The Huffington Post's Off the Bus team is now recording and uploading the daily media conference calls 60-90 minutes after the spinning ends. OTB

NYT's Halbfinger to leave Hollywood beat

He's headed back to Metro to cover politics, says Nikki Finke, who has a take on Halbfinger's performance on the Hollywood beat and his relations with colleague Michael Cieply and the culture editor in New York. Deadline Hollywood Daily

Kozinski case on KCRW

LA Biz Observed flagged it yesterday, but here's the direct link to last night's discussion on Warren Olney's "Which Way, L.A.?" between LAT reporter Scott Glover, blogger Patrick Frey who has been critical of the coverage, and UCLA law professor (and blogger) Eugene Volokh. Also, Frey posts an exchange with Kozinski critic Cyrus Sanai over at Patterico.

Jared Paul Stern's suit dismissed

The former New York Post gossip writer who sued Ron Burkle, Michael Sitrick, the Clintons and others was rejected by a judge who basically called his suit stupid. NYT

Author Neal Pollack on L.A. water

His Op-Ed piece says "I've seen 'Chinatown' and read 'Cadillac Desert,' so I know that Los Angeles shouldn't even be here. But we are here, all 9-million-plus of us, nearly all of whom need to wake up and realize that if we don't stop wasting water, this city is going to wither and die. There. I said it, and I don't care if I sound like an old crank at a neighborhood council meeting." LAT

Gossip column gets spun

Women's Wear Daily's Memo Padreports that Mary Kaye Schilling is the new culture editor of New York magazine and makes it sound like she fled the sinking L.A. Times for the job. If Memo Pad had been paying attention back in March, they might have framed it differently.

'This Side of Paradise' reviewed

Christopher Knight says of the Huntington's new exhibition, "Los Angeles and photography matured together. "This Side of Paradise: Body and Landscape in L.A. Photographs" perceptively mines that strange and specific relationship." LAT

A tribute to her journalist dad

Jewish Journal managing editor Susan Freudenheim writes about her father Milt Freudenheim, whose byline appeared in the New York Times for 29 years until he retired recently at age 81.

There's never been a Sunday when he wouldn't take a call from "the paper." There's never been a morning when he didn't rush out to read "the paper." There's never been a day when I didn't know that his love was divided between his family -- including first my sweet and undemanding late mother, and now my similarly driven and much beloved journalist stepmother, art critic Grace Glueck -- and "the paper."

The nobility of Dad's calling was never in question when my three siblings and I were growing up.

Debra Winger in town

The actress touts her book "Undiscovered" on KPCC with Patt Morrison at 2:40 pm and at the Central Library's Aloud series at 7 pm.

Press Club adds Regardie to board

Downtown News editor Jon Regardie was voted onto the board of the Los Angeles Press Club, filling a vacancy left by the departure from L.A. of Josh Kleinbaum.