Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Curated news, notes and observations most weekdays from LA Observed.
The Rim fire near and in Yosemite grew overnight to 179,481 acres, the seventh-largest fire by acreage in California since 1932. Thirty-one residences and 80 outbuildings have been destroyed, with another 4,500 residences threatened. Cal-Fire
The city of Berkeley's Tuolumne Camp, open since 1922, has burned down. San Francisco's Camp Mather has been spared. SF Chronicle
Foster families ‘desperately’ needed as DCFS faces fines. DN
Variety revisited Mayor Eric Garcetti's promise to do something about runaway film and TV production. Variety
As the City Council prepares to vote on an ordinance that would lift a ban on murals, the vandalism of a mural near the south end of Echo Park demonstrates the many challenges facing this form of public art. The Eastsider LA
Councilman José Huizar will announce this morning the members of a task force to re-envision downtown's Pershing Square.
Canadian Super Scoopers arrive early in L.A. County to take on fire season. DN
Patrick Range McDonald writes about the arrest for drunk driving that helped spur his 2001 decision to get sober and come out of the closet. LA Weekly
Theater critic Don Shirley complains that the LA Times ignored several local productions of "Macbeth" and "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," then covered a workshop of the latter because it was directed by "movie star" Tim Robbins. LA Stage Times
Former LA Times basketball columnist Mark Heisler offers some insight into the environment around the missing columnist T.J. Simers, who hasn't written since June 2 — he presumes they are working on some kind of settlement. "The Los Angeles sports scene has been a lot quieter since June 2, and a lot less fun. Here’s a thought that will surprise a lot of the Times’ remaining readers, we miss T.J. Simers." Truthdig
The younger, more OMG! side of the media observing web went crazy yesterday repeating that the New York Times had printed the f-word for the first time. Ever! Actually, the NYT has written "fuck" and its variations many times before. Romenesko
Two men who drew guns and opened fire at each other during a dispute at a Chino campground were both off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies. LAT
A judge refused to dismiss four felony charges against UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran over a 2008 laboratory fire that killed a research assistant who was wearing the wrong clothes. LAT
President Gerald Ford's testimony about the 1975 attempt on his life outside the Sacramento Capitol by Charles Manson follower Squeaky Fromme has been released. LAT
For only the second time on the Pacific coast, a giant Delta IV Heavy rocket is scheduled to launch Wednesday at 10:42 a.m. from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The rocket will carry a secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office as mission NROL-65. Beaches in the Lompoc ares will close as a precaution. LAT, United Launch Alliance, Spaceflight 101
D.J. Waldie observes the city again as the non-driver he has been since 1966. KCET
Both Magic Johnson and Phil Jackson tweeted hopes that Lamar Odom is doing OK. Tabloids have been saying the ex-Laker and ex-Clipper has been on a drug binge. Twitter
The Dodgers beat the Cubs and Yasiel Puig hit his 13th home run. ESPN LA
From Variety's columnist:
Jon Stewart Returns to The Daily Show on September 3>Damn Americans taking jobs from foreigners.
— Brian Lowry (@blowryontv) August 27, 2013
