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Goodwin Liu, Villaraigosa's new USC connection, Andrea Alarcon profiled, big changes at KOST-FM, Artest on 'Dance With the Stars' and more.
UC Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu won't have any trouble being confirmed to the state Supreme Court, it seems. Mercury, LAT
The state Legislature on Monday passed a bill requiring advance notice to prosecutors and crime victims before a governor commutes prison sentences — a change sought after ex-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger granted an eleventh-hour reduction for the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez. Union-Tribune, PolitiCal
Mayor Villaraigosa "is getting better about not taking criticism so personally. He's calmer, more self-deprecating, more reflective than when he first ran for this office," says Jim Newton in the second part of his op-ed column on the mayor. Also this: Villaraigosa's youngest daughter is now attending USC. LAT
Board of Public Works president Andrea Alarcon "has stepped firmly out of her father's shadow" with her handling of the bus bench controversy and the showdown with the Sunset Junction Street Fair, says David Zahniser: "In doing so, she has emerged, somewhat unexpectedly, as the public face of a newer, more budget-conscious City Hall." LAT
Former district attorney Gil Garcetti joined an effort to end California's death penalty Monday, backing an initiative proposed for the November 2012 ballot that would replace capital punishment with life prison terms. AP, Bee
AEG's stadium project should go through a full environmental review and not get special relief. La Opinión editorial
Bell's residents already pay one of the highest property tax rates in Los Angeles County, and the bill is about to go up for a park that will never be built. LAT
The Police Protective League's Eagle and Badge Foundation dinner tonight at L.A. Live will honor Medal of Valor Winners, Villaraigosa, other local officials plus Channel 2's Jim Hill.
Rough & Tumble went down yesterday and explains the outage was due to Tropical Storm Irene damage at its server host in Trumbull, CT. "The storm damage in the area was widespread and severe. Homes were destroyed, several people died," Jack Kavanaugh writes. "The service provided by this company over the past five years has been excellent. We’ve decided to stand by these folks as they work to get beyond this." R&T
Big changes at KOST-FM, where longtime host Bryan Simmons was let go and Kari Steele will return. Gary Lycan/Register
Downtown's Metropolis Books posted confirmation of the news we reported last week: the store is making a video of its final month.
Jim VandeHei, co-founder and executive editor of Politico, says political news outlet's revenues are now split about evenly between print and digital, compared to about 80 percent print-related when it launched. The Wrap
Christopher Hawthorne, the L.A. Times architecture critic, tweeted: "MOCA press releases now routinely include the phrase 'For Red Carpet Inquiries, please contact...'"
The Department of Veterans Affairs is booting a bus company, a car rental firm and a commercial laundry from its sprawling west Los Angeles campus as it tries to counter accusations that it puts commercial interests ahead of housing homeless vets. AP, L.A. Now
Laker Ron Artest and TV talker Nancy Grace are in the new cast of Dance With the Stars. ABC
The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society is moving from its old building on Burbank Blvd. in North Hollywood to a new building at 6012 Tyrone Ave in Van Nuys. Site