LA Observed

Year-end Pulitzer-qualifying closure: the L.A. Times looks at how Bell came to hire Robert Rizzo then decline into the national model of corruption it is today: "They needed someone fast, and Rizzo, then 39, came cheap. His starting salary was $78,000, which was $7,000 less than his predecessor had made."
Disneyland was so crowded today the park began turning away new arrivals at 10 a.m.
With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger packing up to leave office, the LAT's George Skelton declares "it was a mistake to recall Gray Davis."
LAUSD Supt. Ramon Cortines "has devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work and managed it with harnessed, constructive rage," says Jim Newton.
NBC's "School Pride" didn't treat its LAUSD schools so great.
Jason Cole, a national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports, takes a detailed look at the rival stadium proposals of Ed Roski and Tim Leiweke and the league's "amusement" at the latter's unilateral declaration of a 90-day deadline.
A messy 20-year struggle to bring a shopping center to the corner of Slauson and Central avenues "has exposed charges of political influence and favoritism in the redevelopment process run by the city's Community Redevelopment Agency," says the South L.A. Report.
"All the President’s Men," "Saturday Night Fever" and George Lucas' student film "THX 1138 4 EB" were among 25 movies added to the National Film Registry as “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”
Lindsay Lohan being taken into custody in July was the year's most clicked-on story at the Daily News website, while the killing of four men in a Valley restaurant came in second.
Singer Teena Marie's roots in the Oakwood section of Venice.
Was it the Christmas Day weather? Viewership of the televised Yule Log was up in Los Angeles this year.
Gary Scott wonders about LA Weekly's odd obsession with AOL Patch, whose new hires tend to be more accomplished than some Weekly scribes.
PBS plans to go heavily Gustavo Dudamel on Wednesday night, with a Tavis Smiley special on the L.A. Philharmonic conductor followed by a "Great Performances" concert.
Video: Kwanzaa celebration in Leimert Park.