LA Observed archive
for September 2014

If you don't find what you want here, check another month or search below.

Kent Shocknek retires right into a new role (video)

shocknek-six-oclock.jpg LA's longtime news anchor signed off KCAL last Friday (watch the video inside) and has the starring role in a new short film (watch it too.)

A view from the road

biarritz-festival-hall.jpg I'm still traveling but came across some stories with Los Angeles angles worth mentioning — plus the unexpected sounds of a Mexican band deep in the French Basque country.

Derek Jeter walks off in final at-bat at Yankee Stadium (video)

jeter-at-ss.jpg A blown save let Derek Jeter come up in the bottom of the ninth inning with the winning run on base. One pitch later, the Yankees have the win and the Jeter legend adds a final paragraph.
michael-scott-moore-captive.jpg Moore, the author of two books set in surfing culture, was taken captive while working on a book about Somali pirates. He had moved to Berlin from the South Bay before going to Africa.

A couple of links from a couple of places

Dodgers clinch(!), Aaron Kushner talks to USA Today, the biggest Craftsman in LA is for sale, and it's adios to Red Medicine.

Baquet recrafts the New York Times masthead

Thumbnail image for nyt-newsroom.jpg New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet has announced his first big remake of the organizational ranks of the paper, choosing to replace his old job of managing editor with four deputy executive editors and the new position of creative director. Reads the memo.

More shrinkage at OC Reg as layoffs go national

oc-weekly-kushner-cover.jpg In a farewell email, the OC Reg's bureau chief in Washington says the parent company is closing its DC outpost.

A bit of news from a few places

Imported wind power, the Port of LA Fire, an Airbnb tax conundrum, and LA gets bicycle libraries -- a few links and updates to help pass the time until Kevin returns.

List of layoffs at OC Register grows *

The list of layoffs at the OC Register, which began yesterday in the wake of the closing of the print edition of the LA Register, continues to grow, according to OC Weekly editor Gustavo Arellano.

Register couldn't pay its bill to LA Times, report says*

Thumbnail image for aaron-kushner-usc.jpg OC Weekly editor Gustavo Arellano says the final blow to the Los Angeles Register came when the company could no longer pay the LA Times to distribute the paper. Layoffs at the Register are beginning today.

Kushner pulls the plug on LA Register 'effective immediately' *

oc-weekly-kushner-cover.jpg An 11 p.m. email broke the news to Register staffers. The Los Angeles website will continue, as will Freedom's weekly papers here, but the surviving Register will focus on Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The Atlantic will re-absorb The Wire

the-wire-grab.jpg After five years as a semi-independent website and a year under the name The Wire, the site is going back under the banner of The Atlantic.

Paul Tanaka is running for sheriff after all

paul-tanaka-vidgrab.jpg No campaign manager, advertising, debates or web page. But there is now a Tanaka campaign video on YouTube.

Pre-vacation news and notes: Monday 9.22.14

egg-pan-rabe.jpg I'm getting ready to head out for a couple of weeks of lighter than usual posting. But first: some news notes and items to get off the desk.

LA is a city of 'dickheads,' says Brit observer

farmersdaughter-motel.jpg The British novelist and journalist Will Self dropped in to our fair city this summer and collected a fresh set of outsider observations about LA — and you know how we all love reading those.

What's up with the anchor chairs on KCAL 9 news?

kcal-chairs-3.jpg We mean the actual chairs. In the screen grabs from Friday night's news, watch just the height of the seat backs behind Leyna Nguyen and Sylvia Lopez.

LA Weekly says 'rumors' are LA Register may close*

la-register-ad-grab.jpg Passing along without comment or anything to add: "We now understand that many [staff reporters] were expecting L.A. Register to go belly up by today's end."

Friday news and notes: 9.19.14

valley-relics-banner-grab.jpg Valley days in the media. Why City Hall may like even-year elections. Mismanaging the VA in West LA. Black elders denounce Daniele Watts. Plus more.

Video: Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton lip synch with Jimmy Fallon

shelton-stefani-fallon.jpg Assuming you like Stefani, Shelton or Fallon. You don't even have to like all three.

Former KFWB, now The Beast, unveils new sports lineup*

the-beast-980.jpg Fred Roggin, Jim Rome, Marques Johnson and Jeanne Zelasko are on the schedule. Also: The LA Times wants to know which of its sports scribes have radio and TV gigs.

Original, intact model of Garden of Allah located in the Valley*

garden-of-allah-model.jpg Alison Martino's Vintage LA community on Facebook has turned up another gem. It has been seen before, but check out the video.

Wednesday news and notes: 9.17.14

soon-shiong-forbes.jpg Cover story on Patrick Soon-Shiong. Kuehl and Shriver debate. Gov. Brown's unusual campaign. Another sheriff deputy convicted of hiding jail inmate from the feds. Mapping the LA sewer system. You didn't win a genius grant again this year. And more.

La Opinión converts to tabloid, redesigns site

la-opinion-cover-91614.jpg The Spanish language daily newspaper rolled out an all-new look this week. There's now a section of English language news on the website.

Tuesday morning news and notes: 9.16.14

Thumbnail image for pete-peterson-mug.jpg LAT goes Republican for secretary of state. Three-foot buffer for bikes takes effect today. Dean Baquet after four months at top of NYT. Clear Channel renames itself. And more.

90 degrees in Palm Springs at 1 a.m.

palm-springs-weather-shot.jpg The high on Tuesday is only expected to be 102 -- 12 degrees more than right now. Could be worse, I guess.

Angels clinch first visit to playoffs since 2009

angels-grab-91514.jpg The Dodgers will probably make it too, but reporters noticed a confrontation in the dugout between Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig that nobody would talk about after Monday's game.

John Perez won't join the race against Councilman Huizar

Thumbnail image for JohnPerezPodium.jpg But neither will Perez commit to an endorsement either way. Coverage is starting to crank up for the showdown in the Eastside and Downtown district.

Wright agrees to resign, sets off rush for his chair

Thumbnail image for rod-wright-file.jpg Roderick Wright says he'll leave the state Senate on Sept. 22. Two incumbent assemblymen announced they would run to fill his seat.

Cedd Moses will take over Union Station's vacant Harvey House diner

fred-harvey-franklin-ave.jpg Look for a brew pub kind of experience in about a year. The deal is for 20 years.

Final 6 Dodger games will air on free TV

dodger-channel-billboard-th.jpg Time Warner Cable will allow KDOC 56 to broadcast the last games of the season, starting with the Giants series next week.

How hot is it? Bear in the pool hot (video)

bear-in-pool-monrovia.jpg Fifteen minutes in a Sierra Madre swimming pool then back to the forest. Watch the video.

Media news and notes: Monday 9.15.14

Daum1-articleInline.jpg Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism proposes new $10,000 fee on students. Robert Lopez says LAT tried to keep him. Allie Mac Kay out at KTLA Morning News. LAT hires for Wall Street beat. Plus Hilda Solis and more.

'Django Unchained' actress cuffed by LAPD after refusing to show ID*

daniele-watts-detained.jpg Daniele Watts, who is black, and her white husband posted on Facebook they were rousted for being affectionate on Ventura Boulevard and deemed to be a suspected prostitute and john.

Rod Wright sentenced to 90 days in residency case

rod-wright-file.jpg That's another Democrat going down for cheating on the residency laws. I wonder if that's going to keep happening.

Will the Daily News et al be sold?

daily-news-box-200.jpg This morning's memo from Digital First Media CEO John Paton doesn't confirm or deny. Let the speculation continue.

Morning news and notes: Friday 9.12.14

ucla-flood-grab-nbc4.jpg Support for death penalty wanes in California. Voters can't identify Neel Kashkari. Six-state boondoggle falling short. Garcetti has a new business tax idea. DWP pays out on UCLA flood damage. Plus more.

Session with Gary Leonard now on video

gary-lapl.jpg My Central Library conversation with Gary Leonard last month has been put online by Photo Friends, the supporting organization for the Los Angeles Public Library photo collection.

Morning news and notes: Thursday 9.11.14

new-lapd-car.jpg Narco money laundering in LA. Alarcon sentencing update. Stopping work in Bel-Air. Zocalo hiring. Update on Hall of Justice. Plus cops, courts, media and more.

KCET to share channel going forward with KLCS

Thumbnail image for kcet-rehearsal-control.jpg The two stations will continue to operate separately but they will "share a single, over-the-air broadcast television channel," while auctioning off unneeded bandwidth and splitting the proceeds.

KPCC adds a pair of editors, reorganizes news desks a bit

Thumbnail image for scpr-sign-kpcc.jpg Chris Knap, the longtime Orange County Register investigations editor, moves to the radio-web newsroom in Pasadena. There's also a new education editor and a new regional desk. Memos inside.

Media news and notes: Tuesday 9.9.14 (*updated)

ray-rice-tmz.jpg Tim Molloy leaves as TV editor at The Wrap to join PBS "Frontline." Plus: TMZ scores with Ray Rice video clip. ESPN Films and Nate Silver. New seasons at KCET. New editor for Los Angeles Magazine's driving blog. And more.

Hang in there, the Apple hype is almost over (this time)

apple-com-grab-9914.jpg Walt Mossberg, the former Wall Street Journal tech columnist now writing for the start-up Re/Code, sort of parodies the hype and sort of joins in outside the Apple store in downtown Palo Alto.

Gerald Wilson, multi-faceted jazz great was 96

gerald-wilson-album.jpg Wilson, the jazz musician and arranger whose career spanned from 1930s swing to the present, died at home in Los Angeles today at age 96. He had come down with pneumonia two weeks ago.

Jill Painter pens farewell column for Daily News

jill-painter-twitter.jpg The ranks of veteran newspaper writers just keep shrinking. This is the second we've posted about today.

Hector Tobar leaving LA Times for Univ. of Oregon*

hector-tobar-fb.jpg Tobar, a former foreign correspondent, has most recently been a staff writer in books. His book on the buried Chilean miners comes out next month.

Jane Pisano to retire from Natural History Museum of LA

NHMLA_IMG_4868_edit.jpg As president, Pisano oversaw the transformation of NHMLA. She will stay on until a replacement is named.

Monday news and notes: 9.8.14

news-conf-grab-rubeng.jpg Boxer looks unlikely to run. Mystery respiratory virus. Metrolink ridership keeps dropping. James Corden gets "Late Late Show." New James Ellroy books, Bob Welch's death not heart attack, and more.

LA Times website currently leading with no-news quake

nyt-grab-9814.jpg If you want breaking news in the LA area at night, you might be better off not going to the LA Times website. They prefer quakebot copy to real news.

Voice of OC stands behind reporting dinged by DA flack

Susan-Kang-Schroeder-ocw.jpg Susan Kang Schroeder/s unusual news release accused the website of "years of inaccurate and unethical web 'reporting.'" The site stands by the quote that set her off.

Erick Alcaraz, off-duty LAPD officer was 24

alcaraz-lapd.jpg Alcaraz was killed on his motorcycle in a traffic collision in Torrance. He was due to start work in West LA division on Sunday.

Hurricane Norbert weakens, won't send us much weather

hurr-norbert-track.jpg The former hurricane Norbert heading into Baja California is now a tropical storm with winds down around 50 miles an hour. Expect big swells to continue on our beaches.

Bowen reveals severe depression, has moved to a trailer park

debra-bowen-google.jpg "It has been 30 years since I have had a depression that has weighed this heavily on me, so I am in new territory," the California secretary of state told the LA Times. There also have been tax liens due to missed tax payments.

Gloria Molina to seek Huizar's seat on the City Council

GloriaMolinaPhoto.jpg Termed out supervisor tells the LA Times that she has moved into the district and hired a campaign manager. "I am concerned that there is only one woman on the City Council."

Heyday Books celebrates its own four decades in California

Malcom-margolin.jpg To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Heyday just published a collection of oral histories: "The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin: The Damn Good Times of a Fiercely Independent Publisher."

Mapping the dogs of LA: Chihuahuas named Bella still rule

dogsofla_top10-kcrw.jpg KCRW gathered up as much available public data as they could get on the breeds and names of dogs in Los Angeles County -- it's surprisingly difficult to get -- and produced an interesting list of the most popular dogs.

LA Times to air documentaries exclusively on DirecTV

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for latimes-sign-sideview.jpg The first video under a new Los Angeles Times Originals banner debuts Sept. 13. Noted: Ex-publisher Eddy Hartenstein founded DirecTV.

Grand Park incurs some damage from Made in America

grand-park-splash-pad.jpg Some 10,000 square feet of landscaping needs to be replaced and repairs are already underway on the popular splash pad fountain.

Friday news and notes: 9.5.14

BabyBuddha-lrh.jpg Shootings and fear across South LA. Brown and Kashkari debate. Rancor in OC. Blue whale numbers are back. A new gig for Jon Christensen. Plus Scientology's baby Buddha looks like L. Ron Hubbard and more.

City Hall East named for James Hahn

garcetti-hahns-meg.jpg The Hahnies came out for a reunion and Mayor Garcetti had nice things to say about the mayor who brought Bratton to the LAPD and defeated Valley secession.

'La Bamba' ties together the world (video)

la-bamba-video-grab.jpg David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, La Marisoul and artists in Mexico, Argentina, Mali and Congo strum and sing through "La Bamba."

Joan Rivers, comedy legend dies at age 81

joan-rivers-e.jpg Statement from Melissa Rivers says "It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers….My mother’s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh."

Cal State LA hires another ex-LA Timesman

peter-hong-release.jpg The Eastside campus has been hiring to raise its public affairs profile under a new president. Peter Hong is senior deputy for Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

New views of the Academy museum in Miracle Mile

academy6AFTER-curbed.jpg The draft EIR is out and shows that Renzo Piano's giant ball remains in the plan and that a big Oscar statue may take over the old May Co.'s iconic sculpture at Wilshire and Fairfax.

Jewish Journal writer remembers friend Steven Sotloff

sotloff-berrin.jpg Danille Berrin went to temple with Sotloff in Miami and had corresponded with him about stories after they later reconnected.

Tuesday morning news and notes: 9.2.14

dunkindonuts-lar.jpg Upset over stolen nude photos of celebs. Labor and the Board of Supervisors. Fallows and high speed rail. Bloomberg Politics hires Weigel and Bezos names a publisher. Dunkin' Donuts comes to Santa Monica. And much more.

LA's crappy streets, sidewalks and water mains in the NYT*

prosser-root-jg.jpg Now everyone knows that a generation of Los Angeles officials has fumbled the infrastructure ball and that Garcetti and the City Council don't yet have a workable answer.

A.J. Langguth, author and USC journalism professor was 81

ajlangguth-usc.jpg The emeritus professor at Annenberg was a prolific author and had been a correspondent for the New York Times and Look, and a writer for the late Valley Times newspaper.

Biography of one 1957 Chevy

57chevybook.jpg There used to be a car club in Los Angeles -- maybe still is -- devoted to 1957 Chevys. The hold of that model and year is now the subject of a book on the backstory of a single car.

Mayor stakes his claim on the minimum wage issue

garcetti-broad-durazo.jpg Minimum wage raises are popular with the people, but Garcetti risks his image as a politico who can work with business and labor. Having Eli Broad at your kick-off event doesn't hurt.

Burbank lion cubs now in the Inland Empire

BurbankLions-leno-scw.jpg The cougar kittens that were extracted from under a car in Burbank in 2011 — saved from curious residents who were poking at them with broomsticks — now live at a sanctuary in Riverside. An update.

LAT's Robert J. Lopez leaves for communications job at Cal State LA

robertjlopez-fb.jpg Robert J. Lopez has been an investigative reporter and on the cops and street action beat for the Los Angeles Times for 22 years. An early convert to digital journalism, he's also a prolific tweeter of breaking news @LAJourno.

Palm weed family downtown

palm-weed-family.jpg Palm tree zoo? It's almost as if the three fan palm young 'uns have come to visit a jailed parent.
Clinton fundraises in LA
kermit-la-brea-closer.jpg Jim Henson Studios on La Brea became a presidential campaign stop on Thursday.
Brown declares disaster area
porter-ranch-sign.jpgThe natural gas leak above Porter Ranch now qualifies for various government actions. Story
Wet coyote
wet-coyote-vdt.jpgSpotted between the storms at Here in Malibu.
Performing arts with cheer
guys-dolls-kevin-parry.jpgDonna Perlmutter closes out 2015 with productions downtown and on the Westside.
Junkyard down
upick-firetruck-560.jpgAfter 53 years, Sun Valley's Aadlen Brothers and U-Pick Parts cleans out. Photos