Jack Klunder, the president of the Los Angeles News Group and publisher of most if not all of the chain's newspapers, is not a voter in the city of Los Angeles. But he has given $750 to mayoral candidate Kevin James, in three separate contributions since 2011, and also reportedly provided him with tickets to Lakers, Dodgers and Kings games.

Teddy Davis, a top press spokesman for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa since 2011, was announced today as the director of strategic communications for Maryland governor Martin O'Malley. Expect to see a series of these exits in the coming months.

Finke says the axe is coming for Variety, the newsonomics of selling the LA Times, the Times finally names its foreign editor, new numbers in the mayoral race, Kevin James softens his conservative tone and a new tenant for Junior's Deli. Plus more.

Pity the poor tourists of the future. One of the most minor-league things about Los Angeles is that today's politicians too easily give in to the urge to name things — buildings, freeway legs, intersections — for people. Alive or dead, famous or not.

The reason that the office of city controller is viewed as a fiscal watchdog and audit factory is due largely to Laura Chick, who came before Wendy Greuel. Chick's endorsement helps City Hall newcomer Ron Galperin.

Canadian astronaut on the International Space Station makes his second appearance of the week on LA Observed. Wait until you see his shot of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate inside.

Sorry, these things happen. Posting will continue to be sporadic this week.

The Westfield mall at Century City is dropping out of the ranks of Los Angeles malls that let you park free for at least a couple of hours. Starting Feb. 1, it's going to cost a dollar an hour — up to three hours. After that, it's a dollar for every fifteen minutes.

Haas was a reporter and columnist at the Orange County Register for more than 20 years, a publicist for the Irvine Company, a book reviewer for Orange Coast magazine and a nationally syndicated columnist on aging and women's issues — and more.

We know about the deal we make with earthquakes, but the biggest catastrophes through time in California have actually been storms. There's only been one on the epic scale since statehood, but a story in the new Scientific American says the next time will be worse for us.

In the rest of the United States, the best selling new vehicle is the Ford F-series pickup truck. In California the Prius has surpassed the Honda Civic to be number one.

Amy Wallace, an editor at Los Angeles magazine, is going to get ready for her birthday party by living a life that many fantasize about: working out every day just like it was a job. She wants to walk into the party "a taut, 140-pound warrior-goddess."

In a piece for Zocalo called "I Blocked Off Wilshire and Angelenos Loved It," Aaron Paley talks about when he and his wife saw the beneficial effects of Bogota's street-closing ciclovía and how the Los Angeles version came to happen here.

Some 500 members of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines from Camp Pendleton took part in live weapons training this week at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center near Twentynine Palms.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilman Eric Garcetti and labor leader Maria Elena Durazo were among the select partiers. Inauguration celebrants danced past 3 a.m. to "Love Train" and "We Are Family."

No charges expected out of Cardinal Mahony files, county assessor may get out of jail on rules change, candidate Kevin James doesn't mind being confused with the actor, why the media no longer fear Scientology, the Dodgers make up with Sandy Koufax, and THR grabs a deputy editor from Newsweek.

Diversity makes the news, Times video of the candidates, a media coverage roundup and more — including a wonderful Steve Lopez line summarizing Antonio Villaraigosa.

The owners of the Sacramento Kings, the Maloof family, made official what has been talked about and feared by many around the state capital. They are selling the team to a group headed by Seattle investor Chris Hansen, who hopes to move the team by next season and call it the Sonics.

Documents ordered released from the sexual abuse files of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles are starting to get out. The lede of the LA Times story goes right to Cardinal Mahony's involvement.

Commander Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut in Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station, has been tweeting eye-catching photos of points all across the planet.

At the end of the Los Angeles Times story about two young street muggers being hanged in public in Tehran on Sunday, there's a surprise.

Channel 4 won two Golden Mike awards last night for best TV newscast, and AM radio stations KNX and KFI won for the best radio newscasts. KPCC-FM won the most awards overall, ten Golden Mikes in a variety of categories. Steve Edwards, the longtime host of "Good Day LA" on Fox 11, picked up the lifetime achievement award from the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California.