Morning Buzz: Friday 9.20.13

Curated news, notes and observations most weekdays from LA Observed.

The Department of Water and Power has "directed an estimated $40 million in ratepayer money to two nonprofit groups charged with improving relations with the utility's largest employee union, but the agency claims to have scant information on how the public funds have been spent." LAT

Under a new FPPC rule, California political campaigns will have to report when they pay people to post praise or criticism of candidates and ballot measures on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other websites. LAT

Mayor Garcetti will take constituent questions at 10 a.m. at a curbside table set up at 1842 E. 1st St. in Boyle Heights.

The City Council put a measure on the June ballot to create an expensive new city health department, despite warnings from the county that it's not needed. DN

Awww: @JerryBrownGov called to say good-bye & good luck. Says he can away w/ more stuff now that I'll be gone. He was kidding, I think 😳

— Nannette Miranda (@NannetteNewz) September 18, 2013

Let’s not "sugar-coat what happened to Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg of AllThingsD yesterday – they got kicked to the curb by Dow Jones," says Sharon Waxman. "After 11 years of building a must-read news site and the most news-worthy tech conference in the country, they were basically told: Thanks a bunch, and don’t let the door hit you on your way out." The Wrap

Fox News’s Gretchen Carlson said on Thursday that her former gig as a co-host of "Fox & Friends" had a dress code that forbade the women from wearing pants. Politico

Regarding the excessive (and to some, offensive) Grand Theft Auto ads on the LA Times website, the LAT readers' representative Deirdre Edgar told a reader who complained that "there's a discussion taking place about online ad standards."

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Anthony Forlano has been involved in an extraordinary seven shootings, three of them with unarmed suspects, in his 18-year career, says the LA Times.

Move toward LAPD body cameras gets a boost. DN

Authorities conducted an unannounced check of commercial vans, buses and cars Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport, an operation that resulted in 42 citations. Daily Breeze

California seeing less Japanese tsunami debris than anticipated. Mercury News

Mapping LA's most dangerous intersections, both the reality based on accident stats and on what drivers and bike riders think. KPCC

Sandra Romero on becoming the tamale mama of MacArthur Park. Zocalo

Behind the scenes at the LA Opera. KCRW/WWLA

Geoff Wardle, executive director of Art Center’s new graduate program in transportation design, on the future of mobility and car ownership. Westways

I scored 352 points in the @slate news quiz! Can you beat me? http://t.co/OlxymibVap

— Michael Hiltzik (@hiltzikm) September 20, 2013