LAUSD chief Ramon Cortines said he was taking "appropriate personnel action" against the principal and athletic director of Birmingham High School for letting Sacha Baron Cohen (as gay character "Bruno") take still photos with the football team, even though parents consented and the school made $500. "I don't believe that there is a place on any high school in America, including Los Angeles, for photos such as these," Cortines said in a news release. The photos ran in GQ and may be tasteless, but otherwise aren't so bad. As you may have guessed, there's some intense school politics involved: Birmingham's principal wants to break away as a charter school and the Board of Education vote is tomorrow. LAT, DN

Yesterday on LA Observed:
Bruno and the Birmingham High kids