• The MTA removed Measure R materials from its website after complaints the agency illegally supported the sales tax measure. LAT, DN
• San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom dumped his Lincoln Town Car for a $50,000 Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid that gets 21 miles per gallon instead of the boat's 15. SF Chronicle
• Before she was hired for the McCain ticket, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a letter to veto a fee on cargo containers going through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. LAT
• Merchants in Van Nuys claim that city workers' cars that are exempt from parking tickets are clogging up the meters in front of their stores. DN
• Los Angeles building inspectors are using a loophole to not enforce a new state law against toxic lead paint in homes and at construction sites, say activists in the L.A. Daily Journal. (no link)
• Rapper Kanye West and his road manager were arrested at LAX on suspicion of felony vandalism after they confronted two pursuing paparazzi and allegedly smashed the men's cameras at Terminal 4. LAT
• O.J. Simpson's jury in Las Vegas has all white members. AP
• The Wilshire Theatre is reopening after extensive restoration. Army Archerd
• Absinthe, or the watered-down U.S. version, is hot among L.A.'s hipsters. LAT
• Artist Tina Allen, who specialized in sculpture of major African American figures in public spaces, died in Northridge of heart attack complications at 58. LAT

Also: A big test of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s commitment to liberal causes will be how hard he pushes for his plan to require developers to make room in their high-end projects for low and moderate income residents. Bill Boyarsky blog