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Curated news, notes and observations most weekdays from LA Observed.
Sen. Barbara Boxer asked the EPA in a letter to ensure the safety of low-income University Park in South Los Angeles where residents worry that their dizziness, headaches and nosebleeds may be linked to noxious odors from an urban oil field. LAT
Longtime City Hall Robert Katherman has joined the staff of Councilman Curren Price and said his wife is now sole owner of the lobbying firm. LAT
71 LAUSD iPads are already missing from a pilot program last year. LAT
Brookfield's deal to pay about $430 million for four prominent downtown LA buildings, including Gas Co. Tower and Wells Fargo Tower, is being structured to use a Proposition 13 loophole to escape taxes, critics say. LAT
From Jon Fleischman of the Flash Report:
Just got an email from former U.S. @RepRadanovich entitled "Exploring A Run For Governor" #TALLMOUNTAIN
— Jon Fleischman (@FlashReport) September 26, 2013
Tribune confirmed that its newspapers have been told to identify new ways to cut costs "that will likely result in staff reductions at the company's daily newspapers," but denied a Chicago blogger's report that the target is $100 million and that cuts will start by Dec. 1. LAT, Robert Feder
KLAX-FM's El Mandril — Ricardo Sanchez — has the top morning radio show in Los Angeles, in English or Spanish. LAT Column One
LA Times science writer Eryn Brown is moving to the paper's City/County Bureau to cover health care, reporting to bureau chief Rich Connell. Via memo.
Rachel Abrams is leaving as Variety’s financial news editor to cover Wall Street for the New York Times. The Wrap
Harold Bronson's book "The Rhino Records Story" will be published on October 22. "Ten years ago I was hiking with Arianna Huffington, not too long after I left Rhino Entertainment, the well-respected reissue label I founded with Richard Foos that was now part of the Warner Music Group. She wanted to know my next move." HuffPost
Arthur magazine founder Jay Babcock writes about his move to the Mojave Desert with Stephanie Smith: "Somehow, we’ve got a house, two vacation rental homesteader cabins (and another on the way) and a 20-acre fruit orchard to our name." JT Homesteader
Former Congressman Allen West is leaving his job at Pajamas Media after an altercation with a female staffer in which he allegedly called her a “Jewish American princess.” BuzzFeed
Former SF Bay Guardian editor Tim Redmond launched the nonprofit San Francisco Progressive Media Center. SFBG
Nude is a new bilingual surf culture quarterly from Hawaii. "Our goal with nude is to cohesively portray surfing’s beauty, history, and elegance into a publication that will speak to both surfers and non-surfers alike,” say co-founders Matt Luttrell and Chance Carpenter. Info
Sticking together:
.@markzbarabak @robinabcarian @finneganlatimes and I off to Sierras for 1st @LAT backpackapalooza. #undauntedDoubting
— James Rainey (@LATimesrainey) September 26, 2013
San Francisco police arrested a Lodi man in the stabbing death of a Northern California man wearing Dodgers apparel. There was a fight 90 minutes after Wednesday's game and several blocks from the stadium. The father of the dead man has Dodger Stadium ties. The crime occurred in downtown San Francisco and the suspect did not attend the game, so all the media comparisons to the Brian Stow assault in LA are a stretch. LAT, SF Gate
A Los Angeles judge Thursday signed off on a permanent gang injunction aimed at six rival gangs in the Echo Park area creating what authorities call a “safety zone” for the area. KPCC
Tensions mount In Watts after the slaying of former Death Row Records rapper Kevin “Flipside” White. AllHipHop.com
Zagat announced its latest Los Angeles restaurant survey and named Bestia in the downtown Arts District the top newcomer in 2014. Zagat
A Federal Aviation Administration advisory committee recommended Thursday that airline passengers be allowed to use smartphones, tablets, e-readers and other personal electronic devices during takeoffs and landings. AP
A conversation over growth and density in Santa Monica. KCRW
Oct. 2 KCRW event: What happened to the grand vision for Grand Avenue? WWLA
Last night I saw a play about Stockholm Syndrome. At first I hated it, but by the third act I never wanted it to end.
— Shari VanderWerf (@shariv67) September 26, 2013
