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I took most of the July 4 holiday week off from news, as you may have noticed. Here are some noteworthy items that accumulated and some fresh news and notes.
Revised numbers from the World Bank show that Brazil’s economic output slightly overcame California’s GDP in 2014 — we're no longer #7 in the world. Sacto Business Journal
The DA won't file felony charges against Sean Combs for whatever happened with that coach at UCLA that led to his arrest by campus police. The case will be referred to the city attorney for possible misdemeanor prosecution. LAT, CBS LA, ABC 7
Kings player Slava Yoynov pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor to end his prosecution on charges of beating his wife. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, probation and community service. His future with the Kings and in the NHL remains unclear. AP, NBC 4, LAT
City Council President Herb Wesson has spent the last 10 days sounding a lot like a mayor. What all this means for the actual mayor, Eric Garcetti, is not entirely clear. LAT/Zahniser
County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said last week he hasn’t ruled out a bid for mayor in 2017, raising the possibility of a major challenge to the incumbent, Eric Garcetti. Ridley-Thomas endorsed Wendy Greuel in the race for mayor two years ago. LAT
Garcetti's stance on homeless crackdown draws critics from both sides. LAT
Civil rights protesters plan to stage a protest demonstration outside Garcetti’s residence today to demand that he veto revisions to the city’s municipal codes that make it easier to seize and destroy homeless people’s belongings. City News Service
Marqueece Harris-Dawson took office as the councilman for the 8th district. LAT
More than 130 residents have signed a petition seeking to remove Lisa Sarkin from the Studio City Neighborhood Council, with opponents questioning her support of a development near the Sportsmen’s Lodge. DN
Lake Mead has fallen to its lowest level since the giant lake was first filled, but the receding waters are exposing some curiosities. LAT
UC San Diego has sued USC and a nationally recognized Alzheimer's disease researcher, alleging that they illegally conspired to take federal funding, data and employees from a UC San Diego study center on the illness. LAT
How KPCC worked to grow its Latino audience: Total audience has grown 27 percent, and Latino listenership has nearly doubled since 2009. Current.org
Steve Lopez's running series of columns on the Los Feliz nuns who want to sell their former Los Feliz convent to someone other than Katy Perry (the archdiocese's preferred buyer) has given rise to some fun turning of phrase. Here's Steve:
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez is sparring with elderly Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary over the pending sale of the nuns' former convent in Los Feliz to international superstar singer Katy Perry.I swear on a Bible.
A headline in the New York Times: 2 Nuns, a Developer and Katy Perry Walk Into a Real Estate Deal
Two San Francisco news crews had their gear stolen and a photographer was assaulted by a robber who struck during a morning live shot at Pier 14. NBC Bay Area
Michael Wolff's new book, “Television Is the New Television: The Unexpected Triumph of Old Media in the Digital Age,” is "mostly a thoughtful essay on the state of the cultural and financial wars besieging a media industry in the midst of profound change." NYT
Radio legend Art Laboe profiled in the Virginia Quarterly Review: "When you call up and dedicate a song, you’re letting the world know you love somebody.”
LA Times pop music and video games writer Todd Martens writes first person about hanging out alone at Disneyland and other Disney parks around the world.
Daniela Gerson, editor of the Alhambra Source, on why she thinks the area doesn't have a higher profile. LAT
Following the lead of Gawker employees, Salon newsroom employees are making a move to unionize. Poynter, HuffPost
Long Beach dedicated a park named for the late singer Jenni Rivera, who grew up there. NBC 4, ABC 7
The last four years have been the driest four-year stretch on record in downtown Los Angeles. LAT
A UC Riverside student discovered a new species of local firefly in Topanga. KPCC
Sonny Madird, who created Lowrider magazine in the 1970s, died at age 70. NYT
Free agent LaMarcus Aldridge spurned two approaches by the Lakers to sign with the San Antonio Spurs. The Clippers lost their center, DeAndre Jordan, to the Dallas Mavericks.
