Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
News, notes and observations from LA Observed and selected media sources. Sometimes daily, often in the morning.
The first six months of 2014 were the hottest ever in California, according to the National Weather Service. The period was nearly 5 degrees warmer than the 20th century average and more than a degree hotter than the record set in 1934. LAT
Former speaker John A. Pérez dropped his recount in the controller race, accepting that fellow Democrat Betty Yee finished second and will run in November. LAT, Bee
Change is coming to the Democratic Party hierarchy in California: "In a state viewed as a hip trendsetter for the rest of the nation, we’ve got this cast of septuagenarians and octogenarians.” Politico
In an otherwise lackluster campaign season, "California’s most interesting political duel may be one for a rare vacancy on the five-member Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors," says Dan Walters. Bee
With all the trappings of a political campaign, the Los Angeles Police Protective League is mounting an effort to get the public to weigh in on its efforts for a pay raise for the Los Angeles Police Department rank and file. Rick Orlov's Tipoff/DN
DWP months late repairing power system defects. DN
Former mayor James Hahn is now presiding in traffic court and recently refused to buy a lame excuse by actor Peter Horton, who missed his trial date. LAT
A hard-hitting new audit says the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has failed to live up to its multimillion dollar contract to police the Metro system, while the transit agency itself has done a poor job of monitoring the sheriff’s performance. Zevweb
Jim Newton: Would a citizens commission work in overseeing L.A.'s sheriff? LAT Op-ed
City Councilman Mike Bonin married Sean Arian over the weekend. KPCC
The New Yorker unveils a newly redesigned website approach. "Beginning this week, absolutely everything new that we publish—the work in the print magazine and the work published online only—will be unlocked. All of it, for everyone," says a note to readers. "Call it a summer-long free-for-all. Non-subscribers will get a chance to explore The New Yorker fully and freely, just as subscribers always have. Then, in the fall, we move to a second phase, implementing an easier-to-use, logical, metered paywall."
In a report issued by CRT Capital Group, analyst Lance Vitanza pegged Tribune Publishing’s equity value at about $635 million, or less than 10% of Tribune Co.’s total valuation. LAT
Friends have a started a fund for the wife and children of Daniel Archuleta, the managing editor of the Santa Monica Daily Press who died suddenly last week at age 38. SMDP, SM Mirror
Century Boulevard near LAX will close for 57 hours, from Friday through the morning of July 28, for bridge demolition. Metro is calling the traffic event the Century Crunch. Daily Breeze
James Garner, the film and TV actor who starred in TV's "The Rockford Files" and " Maverick," died at age 86. LAT
