LA Observed contributor Deanne Stillman's latest book is a page turner. Desert Reckoning: A Town Sheriff, a Mojave Hermit, and the Biggest Manhunt in Modern California History takes off from the 2003 killing of Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Stephen Sorensen, by a hermit named Donald Kueck, to peel back some of the mystery and secrets about life in the Mojave Desert north of us. She reads this afternoon at Skylight Books.

Michael Steven Poret has an investment brokerage office on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and a home in the posh hills of Encino. Still, police have now arrested him twice as the suspect in a siege of broken windows on Ventura Boulevard and in Beverly Hills.

Willis Edwards, part of the Robert F. Kennedy for president campaign in Los Angeles in 1968 and later a key member of the Tom Bradley adminsitration at City Hall, died today of cancer. He was the longtime president of the Beverly Hills/Hollywood Branch of the NAACP.

Tribune's plan, endorsed by several of the company's largest creditors, would transfer ownership of Tribune Company — owner of the Los Angeles Times, KTLA and numerous other media outets around the U.S. — to a group of hedge funds and banks based in LA and New York.

San Fernando city council member Maribel de la Torre was booked Friday on misdemeanor charges of vandalism and battery in connection with her stormy visit on June 28 to the home of her ex-lover and fellow city council member, Mario Hernandez. De Le Torre was released without bail, but she was fingerprinted.

The personal fall of ex-New York baseball star (and SoCal financial whiz) Lenny Dykstra continues. The former outfielder for the Mets and Phillies, already in state custody on earlier convictions, pleaded guilty today to bankruptcy fraud and other federal charges for selling items "pilfered from his mansions in Ventura County," the feds said.

Richard D. Zanuck, the son of 20th Century Fox legend Daryl F. Zanuck who grew up to produce "Jaws" and other major Hollywood films, died of a heart attack Friday in Los Angeles. He was 77.

You may have noticed that Sheriff Lee Baca is under intense scrutiny for his management of the Los Angeles County jail system. Nonetheless, Gov. Jerry Bown just announced he is appointing Baca to the Board of State and Community Corrections.

The Los Angeles Daily Journal had two staff photographers, Todd Rogers and Robert Levins. They have been cut loose in favor of freelancers and pictures taken by reporters for the legal paper. New cameras are on order, editor David Houston says in his note to the staff this morning.

Griffin has a torn medial meniscus in his left knee and will have arthroscopic surgery, probably early next week, the Clippers announced. He should be ready for training camp in the fall.

The artist, on the Museum of Contemporary Art board board for 12 years, is the fifth member to leave since February, says Mike Boehm in the LA Times. Baldessari said his reasons include the recent ouster of chief curator Paul Schimmel and news that the museum will hold an exhibition on disco music's influence.

Last night's downtown Art Walk included an Occupy LA protest and a skirmish line with police on Spring Street.

The Stanley Cup is making the rounds of LA Kings homes in Canada and on the East Coast this week, but a wonderful new gallery of photos from last week's visit to Slovenia and the home village of Anze Kopitar has been posted on the Los Angeles Times website. Must see: Kopitar with the Cup at the grave of his grandmother.

KCET's longtime home near Sunset Junction, turned over to the Church of Scientology in April, will become the home of a religious broadcasting center to promote Scientology teachings over TV, radio and the Internet. No timetable was given.

The red-handed bribery in support of a marijuana store is bad enough. But it's the other corruption, including vote tampering, that's really chilling.

The top watchdog at the Los Angeles Fire Department complained Wednesday that fire officials aren't providing him access to the information he needs. Plus a great white shark in Manhattan Beach, Expedia quits Arcadia and more.

Last night on Facebook, Mayor Villaraigosa's deputy chief of staff updated his profile photo and included a sly comment: "Hmmm...I feel like this pic makes me look like I'm running for office. Perhaps I should change it ... ;)" Today he let it be known that he has submitted his resignation to the mayor and will join the crowded race for the open City Council seat in the 13th district.

Research readers will now have to pay to park at the Getty, and automated machines are replacing the money takers out at the Sepulveda gate. Still $15 a car to get in, or $10 after 5 p.m.

NPR national correspondent Ina Jaffe is taking on the newly created aging beat, starting today. "In this new role, Ina will cover all aspects of aging: from finances and work life, to health care, relationships and the broader demographic realities facing the country," says an NPR spokesman.

"Global L.A." debuts July 24 at 8 p.m. on KCET and will be "examining the region’s ties to a number of destinations and cultures around the world," the station says. Zay Harding will host.

On a blog at The New Yorker, novelist and Pulitzer judge Michael Cunningham further explains what he's learned about why the Pulitzer board declined to give a prize to any of the three books that the jury recommended.

Philip L. Fradkin, a native New Yorker who I believe became the first environment reporter at the Los Angeles Times, died Saturday of cancer at his home in Point Reyes Station. After the Times he went on to write numerous books about California and the West, focusing on earthquakes, water, history and the natural environment.

Sheriff's badges, ACLU lawsuit against the DA and sheriff, voting on porn condoms, Pomona may vote on a library tax, snake bites up, Reagan and Disney together and more.

The city council of San Bernardino voted today to seek bankruptcy protection after being told the city faces a $45 million deficit and might not be able to make payroll next month.

Mario Hernandez, the elected and married San Fernando city council member who either was the victim of an assault by his estranged girlfriend — or the perpetrator — or both! — resigned from office before tonight's council meeting. While he didn't show his face at the meeting, his ex-girlfriend did.

The Lakers put out a statement after TMZ reported that team owner Jerry Buss was rushed from home to a hospital last night by LAFD ambulance. The TMZ report says that Buss, 78, is suffering from extreme dehydration.

Many of us still remember David Brancaccio as the host of LA-based "Marketplace," and now he will be host of "Marketplace Tech Report." He'll be doing the tech report from New York City.

Ballot prop numbers, Hollywood's new status symbol, E! Entertainment tries to clean up its image, Spin magazine purchased, Paul Conrad's "Chain Reaction" gets status, Anne Rice brings back her erotic S&M trilogy, Ventura Boulevard's slingshot vandal and the wonderful LA photos of C.C. Pierce.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour is expected to arrive in Los Angeles in late September, carried atop a 747 jetliner from Cape Canaveral in Florida. In mid-October it should begin the roll across town to Exposition Park.

Short notice on this one. You can receive two tickets to see Marcus Samuelsson, the much-honored New York chef whose new book is "Yes, Chef," Tuesday night at Begamot Station in Santa Monica. He will be interviewed by David Burtka, the actor who joined E! News as a correspondent in January.

Ordinary skywriting turns into a headline and story about UFOs at Laguna Niguel Patch, with a bunch of related links for past local stories about — UFOs. And the comments go biblical.

The cyclist's lawsuit filed Monday in Austin that sought to block the United States Anti-Doping Agency from punishing Armstrong for doping violations was dismissed within hours by a federal judge. "This court is not inclined to indulge Armstrong’s desire for publicity, self-aggrandizement or vilification of Defendants," the judge wrote.

Basically USC to Chinatown, with feeder legs from MacArthur Park and Boyle Heights.

Michael Cunningham, the novelist who was one of three jurors for this year's Pulitzer Prize in fiction, posts at The New Yorker that he and his fellow jurors were completely taken aback by the Pulitzer board's refusal back in April to award a best book this year. The jurors read more than 300 novels and short stories and submitted three finalists that they really liked, then waited expectantly to find out which would win.

Michael Anastasi, managing editor of the Salt Lake City Tribune, takes over August 13 as Vice President and Executive Editor of the Los Angeles News Group. He spent 11 years as a sports editor for LANG and the Daily News before he went to Utah.

A Sacramento judge rejected activist Molly Munger's argument that Jerry Brown's tax measure should not be listed first on the November ballot. Munger's group, Our Children, Our Future, said it won't appeal. "We're moving on," said spokesman Nathan Ballard.

Michelle Obama coming to Gwen Stefani's house, items on Villaraigosa, Perry and Garcetti, the sorry state of the newspaper business, attacking Erin Andrews, endorsing Stephen Glass, plus Dave Eggers, Garrison Keillor and more.

In a piece being well received at the Los Angeles Review of Books, television critic Phillip Maciak calls Aaron Sorkin "one of the only commercially bankable and socially conscious screenwriters now working; his writing style is fast, fluid, and instantly recognizable..." And yet.

The Jewish Journal, noting that Woody Allen has made movies in London, Paris and now Rome because he gets financial help from those places, is organizing a campaign to collect enough money to convince Allen to shoot in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

Photographer Gregory Bojorquez talks about the months since he was at the scene of that deadly shooting rampage at Sunset and Vine.

Eric Estrin, the emeritus contributor at LA Observed who is editor of Movie Smackdown, sends word from Ventura County that Mysteries to Die For in Thousand Oaks will be closing later this month.

How's this for an acting career? Raise a glass to Ernest Borgnine, who died about 1:30 this afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.