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All I wanted to know after the MTA board awarded huge rail car contract to a Japanese firm is who was lobbying — and Gene Maddaus of the LA Weekly had the goods. Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez was a late add to the Kinkisharyo team. Speaker John Perez and labor chief Maria Elena Durazo were pushing Siemens. Spanish-based CAF had Harvey Englander. Because Mayor Villaraigosa had received contributions from Nunez, he was able to recuse and not have to vote against Durazo and cousin Perez, says Maddaus. LA Weekly
More than half of Los Angeles residents say they agree in some ways with the Occupy movement and its values, a survey by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University found. Survey
When you think about the Occupy LA Movement and its values, do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree that your values are the same as its values?How George Clooney and Jeffrey Katzenberg came to be hosting a big fundraiser later this month that might be "this presidential election’s biggest one-night fundraiser." Hollywood Reporter
20.24 % Strongly agree
33.11 % Somewhat agree
10.75 % Somewhat disagree
13.93 % Strongly disagree
21.96 % Don’t know/Refused
Police made 13 arrests during May Day protests, 10 at LAX and three in Downtown. The LAPD briefly called a citywide tactical alert last night. LAT
The public officials who run the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum have agreed to give up decades' worth of free Trojan football tickets they negotiated for themselves in a proposed lease that would surrender control of the stadium to USC. LAT
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will join Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, for a tour of the Breed Street Shul in Boyle Heights at 1:30 p.m.
Steve Lopez has lunch with longshot mayoral candidate Kevin James. LAT
Some shop owners in Studio City are not happy about temporary no-parking signs put up by the DWP three weeks ago. DN
ESPN has dumped a writer who may or may not really be named "Sarah Phillips" after an investigation into online scams aimed at a Los Angeles man. Phillips claimed a UCLA connection. Deadspin
PBS announced it will air "Latino Americans," a six-hour documentary series, in fall 2013.
The series is produced by WETA in Washington, Bosch and Company, Inc. and Latino Public Broadcasting. The producer is Adriana Bosch.
California Watch formally unveiled its news structure incorporating the Bay Citizen. New hires include Amy Pyle, the former Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times staffer, as a senior editor who will lead the government oversight reporting team.
The number of baby boomers dying from a "silent epidemic" of hepatitis C infections is increasing so rapidly that federal officials are planning a new nationwide push for widespread testing. LAT
The Los Angeles Film Festival announced its film lineup for June 14-24. LAFF
Jason James Murphy, a Hollywood childrens' casting director charged with failing to comply with sex offender registry laws, testified Tuesday that his use of a professional alias was not an attempt to hide his criminal past. LAT
The Santa Monica Track Club, which has helped train the winners of 29 Olympic medals, and 38 world records, is about to go broke. Surf Santa Monica
Another new food establishment, New York chain Two Boots Pizza, will open tonight in the Broadway theater district at 826 S. Broadway.
Acapulco, the Mexican restaurant chain, closed its Westwood Village location after 33 years. Daily Bruin
West LA Takeaway is a new mobile takeout-ordering app for consumers living on the west side of Los Angeles created by Justin Kahn, co-founder of Wire Image. Beta site
Old Jews Telling Jokes returns after a year off, with jokes recorded in Boca Raton. OJTJ
The Santa Monica College Black Collegians Program will attempt to make the Guinness Book of World Records with the largest Soul Train Line, Thursday May 3 at 11:30 a.m.
Bay Area transit planner Nathan Landau will lead a transit tour of Downtown and discuss his new book, "Car-Free Los Angeles and Southern California," Sunday at 3 p.m. at The Last Bookstore.
The Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, in collaboration with CCNMA, will host an event on May 17 to examine immigration under the Obama administration. Details and RSVP
