News

Midweek news and notes: 2.4.15

Selected items from the media, our in box and other LA Observed sources. Posted occasionally.

Editor's note: My server host has been undergoing denial of service attacks. The impact for LA Observed has been intermittent and slow connecting. The host promises a permanent solution is close.


Top stories

Daily News columnist Dennis McCarthy remembers his friend Rick Orlov. DN

He was best man at my wedding and my No. 1 alibi whenever I needed one. Ricky Orlov, my pal.

A public memorial service for Rick Orlov will take place at Los Angeles City Hall on Monday, Feb. 9, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The memorial will be hosted by the Daily News. DN

A memorial gathering for Al Martinez is scheduled for Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Santa Monica's Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Avenue, in the Writers Bootcamp building.


Politics and government

Rep. Janice Hahn says she is weighing a run for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Her father Kenneth Hahn served four decades on the board. LAT

District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced today her intention to run for a second term.

Kamala Harris' head start in Senate race may deter potential rivals. LAT

Poll trying to boost Antonio Villaraigosa's chances for the Senate actually shows he has a hard road ahead. LA Weekly, KQED, Political Blotter

Villaraigosa trails Harris in social media activity and followers. LAT

Could California’s open 2016 U.S. Senate race turn into a a tussle between two powerhouse Democratic ethnic voting blocs — Latinos and African Americans? SF Chronicle

Gloria Molina said Tuesday she would give up part of her salary if elected to a seat on the City Council. LAT

The City Council voted Tuesday to lower the city's business tax on gross receipts a little starting in 2016. LAT

Millions of taxpayer dollars that were supposed to be used to repair sidewalks haven’t been spent, frustrated city leaders said Tuesday. DN

LA World Airports executive director Gina Marie Lindsey announced Tuesday that she will retire effective this spring. LAT

Former rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight was hospitalized for a medical emergency after pleading not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges.

Los Angeles County beach lifeguards had their busiest year ever in 2014. DN


Media and books

KCRW has promoted Sonya Geis, longtime overseer of Warren Olney's shows and producers, to Managing Editor for News and Talk. Evan George will become Managing Producer for "Which Way, LA?" and "To The Point."

girl-on-the-train-cover.jpg"The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins is the week's top hardcover fiction bestseller in independent Southern California bookstores. "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by
Marie Kondo is the nonfiction bestseller, just ahead of Jill Leovy's "Ghettoside." Bookweb.org

The Des Moines Register admits in a memo designed to brief reporters on how to do the job that the paper has a target age demographic now: 25-45. Romenesko

Wall Street Journal Sunday, a section that runs in newspapers around the country, has been discontinued. Editor David Crook, formerly of the LA Times, is out of a job. Romenesko

Respected Chicago journalist Andrew Patner, "a cultural icon," died at age 55 of a bacterial infection. Sun-Times

Former LA Times senior editor John Montorio is in charge of helping the Huffington Post get more happy, uplifting stories that entice Facebook users. Gawker


Place

8 ways Los Angeles is becoming less suburban. KCRW Design & Architecture

Street-tough racers fight for supremacy in LA's underground cycling world. LA Weekly

Ruminations on LA by Gabriel Kahane. CAP UCLA blog


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