Did Lu Parker go along, as she implied she would in that first public glimpsing of the couple at Chevalier's bookstore a month ago? Mayoral spokesman Matt Szabo isn't saying. Phil Willon at the Times:

The mayor's office released a statement Thursday afternoon saying only that the mayor will be out of the state from July 2 to July 10.

A source familiar with the trip said the mayor will attend a summit in Cape Town and Johannesburg sponsored by the Academy of Achievement. The event will assemble graduate students from around the world who are considered "the greatest thinkers and achievers of the age," according to the group's website.

City Council President Eric Garcetti is also out of the country, says Willon, so newly gaveled President Pro Tem Jan Perry will perform the barely existent duties of acting mayor until Garcetti's return on Tuesday.

Yesterday on LA Observed:
Lu Parker attends Villaraigosa's ceremony