Because Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has filed to run for reelection, his office says they can't send the media any more press releases with his name on them. (Cue loud cheering in the press gallery.) Deputy Mayor for Communications Janelle Erickson:

Media,

As you know, Mayor Villaraigosa has filed to run for re-election.

As you may not know, we here in the Communications Office are now subject to the city's campaign law commonly known as the "mass communications black out period."

This means that until Tuesday, March 3, 2009, the Communications Office is restricted in sending out press releases, advisories or any other form of communication that includes the Mayor's name.

To comply with this law but still keep you up to date, we will post the Mayor's public calendar, advisories and press releases on our website, and we will send you emails advising of updates to the site for certain announcements.

Please know that if you call or email the Communications Office and request any information, we are allowed to send it to you without restriction.

Also: Here's the latest status report on which prospective Los Angeles candidates have or have not returned their nominating petitions and/or paid the $300 filing fee. Expect some winnowing when the deadline arrives on Wednesday.