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Jeffrey Katzenberg's political work for Obama is profiled by the Guardian's new man in LA, Rory Carroll. Guardian
The 61-year-old studio mogul has delivered millions of dollars and much celebrity power for the president's bid for a second term, conjuring energy from what had been a deflated constituency. If Obama wins it will to some extent be thanks to his Hollywood genie....Katzenberg has spent more than $3m (£1.85m) of his own fortune on the contest, making him Obama's top donor, followed by Irwin Jacobs, the founder of semiconductor maker Qualcomm, Fred Eychaner, a newspaper publisher, and Jon Stryker, heir to the equipment manufacturer Stryker Corp.
Times columnist George Skelton gives his thoughts on Props. 33, 35, 37 and 40. LAT
Columnist Jim Newton argues the Expo Line extension opponents should give it up: "Sometimes neighborhoods must accept inconveniences that serve a larger good. This is one of those times." LAT Op-ed
How Brad Sherman made enemies of political cartoonists. DN op-ed
There will be an election night viewing party in the new Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles, "complete with music, street art, food trucks and a beer garden in what it is calling 'Park Your Politics.'" Tipoff/Daily News
The beverage industry versus the city of El Monte's proposed soda tax. LAT
The New York Times has suspended its website paywall during the storm emergency. The site now offers free unlimited access. Poynter
Note from Jack Kavanaugh at Sacramento politics site Rough & Tumble: "Hurricane Sandy is visiting Connecticut which is the home of the Rough & Tumble server. If there is an interruption, it should hopefully be temporary."
Longtime LA radio news reporter and producer Mark Austin Thomas, who now lives in Brooklyn's Park Slope, was on KPCC this morning talking about his storm preparations.
BuzzFeed's new Los Angeles bureau is hiring what they call culture bloggers. Among the requirements: "A genuine, wide-eyed love of pop culture in all its forms," "proven ability to get viral traffic" and "a positive, curious, playful disposition (no haters)." BuzzFeed
Q&A with Suzanne Rico, the former CBS2 anchor whose blog about life after television we have followed here at LAO. She writes a piece in Los Angeles Magazine this month. LA Mag
La Opinión senior political reporter Pilar Marrero was interviewed on The Tavis Smiley Show about her book, "Killing the American Dream.”
Random House and Penguin will combine into one larger book publisher. NYT
The LA Weekly is holding a "tournament" to crown what it calls the best Los Angeles novel ever. Currently facing off: Michael Connelly's "Black Echo" versus Raymond Chandler and "The Big Sleep." LAW
Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter and KCRW, Gary Lycan of the Orange County Register and Gendy Alimurung of the LA Weekly are among the finalists for Journalists of the Year in the LA Press Club's National Entertainment Journalist awards. List
IndieWire's Anne Thompson on Twitter: "I am a lucky girl. Opened box from Universal with set of 15 Hitchcock classics."
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle became president of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America. I'll assume she's the first woman to lead the group.
Revealing a secret annex of the once-grand Alexandria Hotel downtown. Downtown News, LAT
Interesting anecdote on new Laker Dwight Howard, who lived in a Beverly Hills hotel for four months when he first moved to Los Angeles and walked regularly on Roberston Boulevard. NYT
During one of his daily walks, he said, he was approached by a married woman with her two young sons in tow who invited him to their Beverly Hills condominium for a home-cooked Persian meal.
The N.B.A. star being singled out for an ordinary night at a family’s dining room table turned on its ear the Hollywood story of the unknown being discovered at an eatery and then groomed to become a star.
“I never expected to go to a stranger’s house and have dinner with their family,” Howard said. “I’ve never done it before, but it was actually one of the best times of my life.”
Wildlife biologist Jeff Sikich tracks the Santa Monica Mountains cougars for the National Park Service. LAT
How to tear down a 15-story hotel, in this case the former Wilshire Grand. DT News
Lisa Napoli of KCRW checks out the trove of maps recently donated to the Central Library. Which Way, LA?
Twitter sarcasm: "BREAKING: APPLE MAPS SAYS HURRICANE SANDY TO HIT CALIFORNIA BY MIDNIGHT"
