Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz: Wednesday 4.4.12

More Assessor shenanigans, pepper spray at Santa Monica College, USC to get Coliseum, City Hall wants to charge you for paper bags, list of Peabody Award winners and big remodeling at the Huntington. Plus more.

Top of the news

An aide to Assessor John Noguez wrote a memo last year in which he sharply criticized two colleagues, and recommended one be demoted, for going against the wishes of Ramin Salari, the tax agent at the heart of an ongoing D.A. probe of the Assessor's Office. LA Weekly

Santa Monica College police used pepper spray on students trying to disrupt a board of trustees meeting on the college president's plan for a two-tier fees system. No students were arrested but some were treated for the pepper spray injuries. Santa Monica Patch

Politics and politicos

The Coliseum Commission is poised to turn over the stadium's control to USC under a long-term lease. LAT

City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana recommended the City Council levy a ten-cent fee on paper grocery bags rather than take the highly unusual step of banning paper as well as plastic. LAT, editorial

The Board of Supervisors asked for an audit of the sheriff's Aero Bureau and its Boating and Waterways Division. DN, Witness LA

Rep. Brad Sherman's campaign is flacking an internal poll it says shows the boss leading Rep. Howard Berman 40 percent to 17 percent in a survey that includes all candidates, and 52-25 in a head to head. Hotline On Call

Rep. Kevin McCarthy's plan to groom more and better Republican candidates in California. Politico


Media and media people

The PBS American Masters special on Ray and Charles Eames won a Peabody Award. Other winners include CNN, Al Jazeera, TED, ABC's report on abuse of Peace Corps workers, "Portlandia," "Tremé", "The Colbert Report" and others. Winners

KFI is taking some diversity steps, adding weekend shows by KTLK hosts Morris O'Kelley and David Cruz. All-Access.com

Reason magazine editor Matt Welch vented about his former employer, the LA Times, in a tweet exchange with Times' TV writer Joe Flint and later clarified some points. The Wrap, @Mleewelch

David Cohn is taking his leave from Spot.US, the news site he founded and turned over to American Public Media. DigiDave

The percentage of minorities working in U.S. newsrooms continues to decline. Poynter

Author and screenwriter David Freed will be on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" today discussing his recent LA Times op-ed about sending his son off to war.

More

An uncle paid the $300,000 in restitution owned by Jeffrey Stenroos, the former LAUSD cop who faked his own shooting. DN

Superior Court Commissioner Alan H. Friedenthal was publicly admonished by the state Commission on Judicial Performance for "discourteous, undignified, gratuitous and denigrating remarks" while hearing family law cases. LAT

A draft EIR is out detailing extensive renovation plans at the Huntington Gardens. San Marino Patch

Mariscos Jalisco and Guisados tied for best local taco in a contest by L.A. Taco blog.

Jamaa Fanaka, a filmmaker who was still enrolled at UCLA when he made the 1979 film "Penitentiary" and two other features, died in his apartment in South Los Angeles. He was 69. LAT


More by Kevin Roderick:
'In on merit' at USC
Read the memo: LA Times hires again
Read the memo: LA Times losing big on search traffic
Google taking over LA's deadest shopping mall
Gustavo Arellano, many others join LA Times staff
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Morning Buzz: Wednesday 4.16.14