News

News and notes: Tuesday 2.10.15

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

News

SpaceX will try again to launch an unmanned Falcon 9 rocket with an observatory on board at 6:05 p.m. Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. AP

A San Francisco water manager faces suspension after being seen urinating in a Sierra Nevada reservoir. KPIX


Politics and government

At $184,610 per year, Los Angeles City Council members "are drastically overpaid….And what does Los Angeles have to show for its gold-plated City Council?" LA Times editorial

Far fewer Los Angeles County children died because adults had neglected or abused them in 2014. LAT

The DWP routinely overcharges its customers based on "estimating" software that not even the utility understands, according to an NBC 4 I-team investigation. NBC 4

A recent audit of voter registration records in Los Angeles County found a few dozen voters with duplicate registration records, but did not find any cases where people had actually voted twice in the same election. LAT

In the 4th City Council district race, a lot of the money raised is from outside the district. LAT

Sen. Dianne Feinstein re-introduced legislation Monday that would expand California desert protections by establishing two new national monuments in the Mojave, additional wilderness areas and permanent off-highway vehicle areas. OC Register

The Metropolitan Water District, the agency that supplies the bulk of the water for Southern California, is considering water rationing by summer unless statewide drought conditions radically improve, the agency announced Monday. DN

Los Angeles is set to introduce a mass alert system Tuesday that will broadcast to Facebook, Twitter and Nixle when a fatal hit-and-run has occurred. LAT

Changing the way we vote isn't getting more people to vote. Cook Political Report

Patt Morrison on Rick Orlov: "In a place full of chatterers, Rick Orlov was a listener." KPCC Off-Ramp

Guest commentary by Gustavo Arellano: "How undocumented immigrants who can't vote can change the 2016 elections." The Guardian


Media

USC Annenberg’s 2015 Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting went to the Miami Herald for its examination of six years of child deaths in Florida – a project that immediately resulted in the most sweeping overhaul of child welfare laws in the state’s history. USC Annenberg

Voice of San Diego marked its tenth anniversary with the launch of a redesigned website and a new editorial structure. Last year the nonprofit site had revenue of $1.68 million. Nieman Lab

FM station 92.3 rolled over to hip-hop on Feb. 6 as The Real 92.3, "the new home of Hip-Hop and R&B for Los Angeles.” Revolt.tv

The lineup for Paleyfest is out. Events start March 6 at the Dolby Theatre. Info

The LA Times is running a series billed as an inside look at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. LAT

What ever happened to Brooks Melchior of Sports by Brooks? Busted Coverage


Place

hollyhock-house-blouin.jpgFrank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House returns to its roots. ArtInfo

An oral history of Laurel Canyon as 60s and 70s music mecca. Vanity Fair

The five worst Westside intersections for traffic. Los Angeles Magazine

State's 5 worst bottlenecks are in L.A., Orange counties. LAT

Twelve streets that make us love driving in Los Angeles. LA Weekly

Inside the elite Marlborough School’s "shocking teacher-student scandal." VF


Tweets of the day


More by Kevin Roderick:
'In on merit' at USC
Read the memo: LA Times hires again
Read the memo: LA Times losing big on search traffic
Google taking over LA's deadest shopping mall
Gustavo Arellano, many others join LA Times staff
Recent News stories on LA Observed:
Suspect with guns did not threaten LA Pride parade, police now say
Monday news and notes: Politics, media and more
News and notes: Politics, media and place
Monday notes: Politics, media and place
News and notes for a Tuesday
End of the week desk clearing
News and notes: 2015 into 2016
LA Unified closes all schools due to threat