This looks south down Avenue of the Stars from Santa Monica Boulevard, toward Pico Boulevard. The Century Plaza Hotel stood mostly by itself then.

Minor Huizar accident, First Lady in town, LANG papers endorse Romney, how LA entices businesses, LAT staffers' concern about Murdoch and the Malibu Lagoon fight in Smithsonian.

Gunman in Downey shooting of five family members still at large, Prop. 30 support falls under 50% in poll, City Council votes to ban commercial pets, donations sought for Endeavour and a big bobcat in Simi Valley.

If you remember Pauley Pavilion as dark and dated, look again. UCLA's renovated arena reopens in November, newly encased in glass and bathed in light. LA Observed photos.

With Campanile winding down to next week's end of its almost-25 year run on La Brea, Emily Green writes at the LA Weekly's food blog that the restaurant launched by Nancy Silverton and Mark Peel "has stood as proof that Los Angeles has a native-born food culture on par with anyone's. It introduced us to the glories of trattoria cooking and reintroduced us to American classics."

Gov. Brown begins final Prop. 30 push, Bobby Brown arrested on DUI in Tarzana, Beck's overtures to Latinos, Santana's list of proposed City Hall cuts, surfer killed by shark on Central Coast and more.

Average weekday ridership on Metro's rail lines in September soared to 357,096, up nearly 12 percent over the same time last year and 16 percent over 2010. Higher gas prices, plus the opening of the Expo Line and the extending of the Orange Line busway to Chatsworth were all factors.

Newhall Pass crashes, City Hall job cuts, "BS" poll in mayor's race, Tony Scvott did not have cancer, an LAT reporter checks out of Kabul, Zocalo relaunches and the Mt Washington cabin with all the maps is for sale.

A cheerleading note went out to Los Angeles Times employees yesterday from the paper's president, Kathy Thomson, announcing a new branding campaign ("How California Thinks") and a web page called Trending Now to lure readers to spend more time on the website. Plus assorted other digital items.

According to a report at CBS Sports.com, NFL owners have expressed new doubts about the AEG-City Hall plan to build a stadium at LA Live and revived their lust for the parking lots and abundant space around Dodger Stadium. Also: no team before 2014 at the earliest.

Photos from upstairs at The Last Bookstore, on 5th Street in Downtown.

Increasingly, and perhaps inevitably, his subjects are the vagaries and cruelties of becoming elderly. This might be the least recommended direction to go in these days when media editors count web hits above all else, but I think it's his best material. No one else in LA reports this personally on the aging thing.

A judge on Monday set Assessor John Noguez's bail at $1.16 million, the amount the prosecutors allege he cost taxpayers by lowering property tax assessments for the clients of a consultant accused of bribing Noguez.

The White House Press Office advises that President Obama will land at LAX aboard Air Force One on Wednesday evening, go tape "The Tonight Show" and depart again from LAX two hours later. Should be minimal traffic impact.

An Italian court on Monday found six scientists and an official guilty of manslaughter for failing to properly warn residents about the risk of an impending earthquake that killed more than 300 people in 2009. "It's a sad day for science," said seismologist Susan Hough of USGS in Pasadena.

Writer Jeff Gordinier used to summer around Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, and spent some time there this summer for a New York Times Travel piece that ran this weekend.

Lance Armstrong stripped, presidential race close, Times endorses Obama, Daily News endorses Alan Jackson, Nerws Corp denies talks about LA Times and more media and politics notes.

The Brewery Arts Complex in Lincoln Heights held its twice-annual open house and art walk this weekend. Good crowds both days. Here are a few pics.

For his new book documenting the rock and roll billboards of the Sunset Strip, Robert Landau wondered what happened to Paul's head from Abbey Road. Now we know, 43 years later. Pics and video inside.

A new Los Angeles bureau, meaning mostly Hollywood apparently, will be run by Richard Rushfield and include chief correspondent Kate Aurthur. Both are veterans of Hollywood coverage and of the LA Times, among other places.