Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Curated news, notes and observations most weekdays from LA Observed.
Former San Diego mayor Bob Filner has been charged with felony false imprisonment by violence, fraud, menace and deceit and two misdemeanor counts of battery. The charges involve three unnamed women victims. A hearing is set for this morning. U-T
Gene Maddaus on why Speaker John Pérez's love life is fair game for reporters. LA Weekly
Councilmen Tom LaBonge and Mitchell Englander called for follow-ups at City Hall to the Times story on the earthquake risk of older concrete buildings. LAT
Councilman Jose Huizar wants to "incentivize high-rise building" downtown and put a moratorium on low-rise construction in key areas that would inhibit more intense development. Downtown News, Curbed LA
The controversial, proposed merger between the city's departments of Planning and Building & Safety will not occur on Jan. 1 as originally proposed, a city consultant told a key City Council committee recently, and may not occur at all if alternative methods are adopted to streamline the city's construction bureaucracies. Land Use LA.com
Lyft, UberX and Sidecar remain illegal at LAX. So why do they still operate there? LA Airspace
According to a newly disclosed AOL memo, Arianna Huffington received about $21 million in the sale of the Huffington Post to AOL. About $3.4 million came in options that would vest about 20 months after the deal closed. Her employment agreement called for Huffington to receive another $3 million in equity grants. The Smoking Gun
There's a new newspaper out there as of today: The International New York Times is the new name of the former International Herald Tribune. Poynter
KCET will air the Writers Bloc interview with Linda Ronstadt from last month tonight at 9 p.m. Patt Morrison does the interviewing.
UCLA and Zócalo Public Square announced a two-year partnership called Thinking L.A. that through events and journalism "will explore the global, national, and local issues that affect life in Los Angeles, use first-person stories to analyze larger regional trends, and grapple with the innovations and ideas that have the potential to change our city."
Laid-off Studio City Patch editor Mike Szymanski says goodbye in a long post that makes it clear he doesn't want to go: "I put more into this job than to any other I’ve ever had, and it’s because I really, really cared." Patch
In the first half of 2013, 100 percent of the L.A. Sheriff's Department's canine dog bites involved African American or Latino suspects. LA Weekly
18-Foot Oarfish Found on Catalina Amazes Scientists, Campers. KTLA
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta's fragile ecology. Capitol Public Radio
The San Francisco Exodus: Something has gone terribly wrong in this most progressive of American cities. Atlantic Cities
The cost of a planned pedestrian bridge over Lankershim Boulevard in Universal City has risen by more than a third, to over $27 million. DN
Bill Plaschke writes that "trainers and equipment folks from the Trojans, the Clippers and the Kings showed up at Dodger Stadium to lend a hand" to Dodgers staff fashioning protective wear for Hanley Ramirez, who played last night in pain from a fractured rib. LAT
"I Love Lucy" premiered 62 years ago today. The winner and still champion. http://t.co/4yAQNpgun1
— Robert Lloyd (@LATimesTVLloyd) October 15, 2013
