Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz: Friday 5.3.13

springs-fire-noaa.jpgThe Springs Fire near Camarillo has burned 10,000 acres since it broke out Thursday and this morning was deemed to be 10 percent contained, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. Ventura County Star | Cropped photo via NOAA

Times reporter Catherine Saillant has to juggle watching her home with reporting on the fire. LA Now

The LAFD lifted red flag parking restrictions in the city as of 8 a.m.


Politics and Campaign 2013

Peter Sanders, the former Wall Street Journal reporter who was spokesman and Deputy Mayor for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa since 2011, left the office last week. "Looking forward to new adventures," he says. Senior press secretary Vicki Curry will be chief spokesperson through the final two months.

Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti blamed each other for the high salaries at the DWP that they have known about for years before either became a mayoral candidate. LAT

The union representing workers at the Department of Water and Power filed a lawsuit against the agency this week, seeking to block the release of employee salary information sought by the Times. DN

The Daily News and sister papers re-endorsed Greuel for mayor: "The Los Angeles News Group editorial board repeats what it said before the primary: Wendy Greuel has the experience, know-how and personal qualities to be a fine mayor." DN editorial

The Daily News also endorsed Mike Feuer for city attorney, and really seems not to like incumbent Carmen Trutanich: "[They] represent quite a clash of personalities. Then again, Trutanich could have a clash of personalities with practically anyone." DN editorial

The Los Cerritos Community Newspaper publisher who has been targeting Greuel throughout the mayoral race called for an investigation into emails showing her staff's involvement in her campaign. The publisher previously endorsed Kevin James. DN

Jackie Goldberg, the former City council member in CD 13, makes no endorsement in the runoff for her old district: "Both John Choi and Mitch O’Farrell have things to recommend them; and both have shortcomings," she says in an email. She also doesn't choose between Ana Cubas and Curren Price in CD 9, and her comments on CD 1 are interesting:

Having reviewed the funding for each remaining candidate, I have to admit to some misgivings about my friend and former colleague, Gil Cedillo. He has taken “free” billboards from the company that wants electric billboards in residential neighborhoods, and that worries me. He also has taken massive funding from the L.A. Chamber of Commerce PAC, which includes about $25,000 from Walmart Corporation. If I were voting in CD 1, I would most likely vote for Jose Gardea because he does not seem to have suspicious money on his side of the ledger. But, officially, as of today, I have not made an endorsement in this race.

Google seems a bit flummoxed by the CD 13 situation too. The Eastsider LA

Obama-Zocalo-Public-Square.jpgPresident Obama is on a visit to Mexico City and yesterday passed through the real Zocalo (but the Washington Post labeled it as Zocalo Public Square.) Photo is by Hector Guerrero of AFP/Getty Images.

Councilman Bill Rosendahl said that his cancer is in remission. DN

Urban Outfitters is moving into the Rialto Theatre building on Broadway and Swedish fashion brand Acne will open a 5,000 square-foot flagship store and coffee shop in the Eastern Columbia Building, Councilman Jose Huizar said.

A federal court judge on Thursday dismissed the DWP's lawsuit against the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District over that agency's requirement that Los Angeles clean up the mess it created at Owens Lake. LAT, AP


Media and books

Howard Kurtz, the CNN host and former Washington Post media writer, has left the Daily Beast after making (then correcting) a pretty big gaffe in his coverage of Jason Collins. Kurtz says the parting was long in the works. Politico, Romenesko

Winners of the National Magazine Awards. AdAge

Another first-person story by a Los Angeles Times reporter: Hector Becerra did a shift as a strawberry picker in Santa Maria for today's Column One. LAT

Allen Barra tries to argue that the Dodgers' Glenn Burke was the first "openly gay man in a major pro sport" three decades before Jason Collins came out this week, but it's not the same thing. The Atlantic

KTLA's Lynette Romero tweets: "Home w/laryngitis...Reporter's nightmare."


More news, notes and observations

Kobe Bryant is in a federal court battle in New Jersey to try to keep his mother from auctioning off mementos from his high school days in Pennsylvania and his early years with the Los Angeles Lakers. AP

Jonny Hwang, 32-year-old entrepreneur and founder of the 626 Night Market, on next steps and Chinese restaurants. KCET

Susan Westerberg Prager, the former dean of UCLA School of Law, has been named dean and CEO of Southwestern Law School. Release

Jews in the Los Angeles Mosaic, a history of Jewish LA told through family and individual narratives including those of Sandy Koufax, Max Factor, Herb Alpert and Billy Wilder and iconic institutions such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, City of Hope, and the Breed Street Shul, opens May 10 at the Autry.

American Airlines is looking at increasing its number of daily flights between LAX and New York and will switch to the smaller Airbus 321. Daily Breeze

Zipcar, which is owned by Avis, expanded into airports including LAX. USA Today

The Los Angeles Zoo announced the April 22 birth of a new female giraffe.

The Kings and Ducks both lost their Stanley Cup playoffs games. The Kings are down 0-2, the Ducks tied 1-1. The Clippers face elimination from the NBA playoffs tonight in Memphis.


More by Kevin Roderick:
'In on merit' at USC
Read the memo: LA Times hires again
Read the memo: LA Times losing big on search traffic
Google taking over LA's deadest shopping mall
Gustavo Arellano, many others join LA Times staff
Recent Morning Buzz stories on LA Observed:
Thursday news and notes
A little bit of mid-week reading
A few links from a few different places
Let's talk about anything but the weather
A few links from here and there
A couple of links from a couple of places
A bit of news from a few places
Morning Buzz: Wednesday 4.16.14