Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz: Monday 5.6.13

Politics and Campaign 2013

Today is the deadline to register to vote for the May 21 citywide election in Los Angeles. City Clerk

Metro's installation of turnstiles at LA's subway stations gets the attention of New York Times bureau chief Adam Nagourney: "The whole process has been ensnared in years of delay, reflecting the complex web of underground trains, light-rail trains and buses that form the public transit system here. Its opponents continue to question whether the supposed recovery of lost revenue would cover the $46 million installation cost, plus $103,000 a month in maintenance." NYT

The LA Times analyzed the city's data on street inspections and found "wide disparities in road quality among the city's 114 neighborhoods." LAT with map

The sale of Santa Monica's Fairmont Miramar hotel "illustrates how businesses can easily — and legally — avoid property tax hikes" under Proposition 13, costing the state tens of millions of dollars in revenue each year. LAT

The city pension problem facing Garcetti and Greuel. KPCC/Frank Stoltze

The Downtown News endorsed Eric Garcetti for mayor. DTN

Last night's LA Observed post on the mayoral race: Campaign Weekend - 15 days and counting.

Mayor Villaraigosa, LAPD Chief Beck and selected City Council members will announce the results of Saturday's gun buyback, at 1 p.m. in the LAPD Compstat Room.

Rick Caruso: Is L.A.'s Future More Secure With 10,000 Cops? Huffington Post

Caruso was honored by the Los Angeles Police Foundation Thursday night on the Paramount Studios backlot.


Media and books

Thumbnail image for melton-mav.jpgMary Melton, the editor of Los Angeles Magazine, assumes the title of Vice President/Editorial Director of Emmis Publishing. She remains editor of Los Angeles. This was all announced back in February 2012, but will be announced via release again today timed to the April 1 retirement of Emmis VP Deborah Paul.

Google is set to unveil paid subscriptions for special YouTube channels as soon as this week. Financial Times

Media observer Howard Kurtz continued explaining and apologizing for his Jason Collins gaffes, both the factual one and the tonal one, this time on CNN's "Reliable Sources." Romenesko, Poynter

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Saturday said it would now provide members with DVD versions of nominees in the best foreign film and best documentary short categories, while allowing all voters to cast a final ballot in those races. NYT, LAT

"I'm starting to feel a little bad for the [LA] Times" for its geography gaffes about Ontario, both the one here and the one in Canada, says columnist David Allen. Daily Bulletin

BuzzFeed is planning to hire a foreign editor and begin more overseas coverage. NYT

Jeremy Hobson signed off Friday as host of "Marketplace Morning Report," to become host of "Here and Now" in Boston. David Brancaccio, the former host of big "Marketplace," takes the morning seat sitting in New York.

The Orange County Register will stop running the adult ads it tucks in the back of the Sports section. OC Weekly

Sandra Tsing Loh, the Pasadena writer and radio commentator, is quoted in a story about parents these days having too much information about their teenagers' lives on social media. NYT


More news, notes and observations

Magic Johnson was the latest prominent Angeleno to be swatted with a prank call to the LAPD. TMZ

An outage of Customs and Border Protection computers at LAX lasting almost six hours on Friday caused a backup in the handling of arriving passengers. AP

Multiple USC students were detained after approximately 70+ Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to a noise complaint at a student party early Saturday morning on 23rd and Hoover streets, according to several student accounts. Daily Trojan

6 things that will change the Downtown Arts District's future. LA Weekly

Los Angeles wants to turn its concrete 'river' into a real river. Atlantic Cities

A small brush scorched less than an acre in Topanga Canyon Sunday but brought out a strong firefighter response. CNS

In California's San Joaquin Valley, writes Verlyn Klinkenborg, "every human imperfection linked with the word 'farming' has been erased. The rows are machined. The earth is molded. The angles are more rigid, and more accurate, than the platted but unbuilt streets out where easy credit dried up during the housing crisis. This is no longer soil. It is infrastructure, like the vast concrete sluice of the California Aqueduct, like the convoluted arrays of piping that spring up everywhere at the corners of fields." NYT Opinion

Look inside a "world famous Oki Dog." 99 Cent Chef

Not familiar with the world of exhibition poultry? You’ve got a lot to learn. KCRW

Paul Olden, the public address announcer at Yankee Stadium who succeeded legend Bob Sheppard, grew up in Los Angeles. NYT

The Dodgers were swept by the Giants in San Francisco — two of the three losses by walk-off home runs — and also had to put Hanley Ramirez back on the disabled list with a hamstring injury. Shortstop will now be manned by Dee Gordon, last year's rookie flop.

The Kings won the third game of their Stanley Cup playoff series 1-0, and now trail the Blues two games to one. The Ducks lead their series with Detroit two games to one.

The LA-based Baseball Reliquary elected Manny Mota, Lefty O'Doul and Eddie Feigner to its Shrine of the Eternals.


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
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Morning Buzz: Wednesday 4.16.14