Judging by my email, a lot of people heard KCRW's fundraising pitch last week that included the news that Warren Olney, host of "To the Point" and "Which Way, L.A.?," had suffered a possible concussion in a bicycle accident. For those who have been asking, he's still laid up and is replaced by Sara Terry on tonight's WWLA, airing at 7:30 p.m. This is the last night of the pledge drive.

Noted: Friendly Fire blogger Jonathan Dobrer found the Olney-themed pitching a bit much.

conrad_murray_court010810.jpgWe all knew that Dr. Conrad Murray would be charged today in Michael Jackson's death. The suspense was whether he would be arrested first by the LAPD or allowed to surrender. Well, he came in under his own power and was only taken into custody after being arraigned and pleading not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Bail was set at $75,000, much higher than usual for the charge, but less than the $300,000 sought by prosecutors. Members of Jackson's family were in court to observe. LAT, AP at CBS 2

Raw materials: The Smoking Gun posted excerpts of the Jackson autopsy report, also released today.

Photo: CBS 2

broad-map-nyt.jpgIt's community leadership day on LA Observed, I guess. New York Times bureau chief Jennifer Steinhauer profiles Eli Broad as the "iron checkbook" whose grip on Los Angeles and its arts scene "has never been tighter." Included in the package is an snazzy interactive attempt to map and display Broad's influence on the cityscape, plus photos by Monica Almeida. Story excerpt:


Every American city has its power brokers, but only Los Angeles has an Eli Broad.

Mr. Broad dominates the arts here with a force that has no parallel in any major city. Los Angeles would literally not look the same had Mr. Broad not chosen it as his home 40 years ago, and his business-focused method of managing his giving has earned him a reputation as both a genius and a despot....

A billionaire philanthropist whose beneficence comes with not just strings but with ropes that could moor an ocean liner, he is known to pull his support, resign from a board or, in some cases, decline to fulfill his financial promises when a project comes together in a way he does not like.

“For me there has been no downside,” said Roland G. Fryer Jr., an economics professor at Harvard who has collaborated with Mr. Broad on education projects and whom Mr. Broad, in typical fashion, hunted down one Christmas Eve in Austria, where he was on vacation, to discuss their work. “But I think if you’re not on your game, Eli will crush you.”

The story also surfaces the perennial topic among do-gooders and leaders here: why aren't there more Eli Broads active in L.A.? "His remarkable influence...says much about Los Angeles and its still-adolescent philanthropic culture, diffuse power base and lack of civic investment among many of its richest residents. 'Eli is not the problem,' said Ann Philbin, the director of the Hammer Museum..'The problem is that we don’t have enough Elis in Los Angeles to balance out his generosity and the power of his influence.'"

cityThinkLA-logo.jpgLos Angeles magazine, in the midst of its 50th anniversary year, is about to officially take the wraps off an ambitious project to generate more conversation about the city's future. CityThink will be housed on the magazine's website and be supported by a new Los Angeles Magazine Foundation, which has seed money from the California Community Foundation. The effort will seek to engage readers and regional leaders and kicks off Tuesday with a piece (under the banner of City Thinkers) by historian William Deverell of USC and the Huntington. Deverell was a co-author of the recent Visiting Blogger post here at LA Observed about the end of the aerospace century, which was illustrated by that charming photograph of Amelia Earhart plopped on a hangar floor at Lockheed.

Lord_110_Arroyo.jpgGatherings of local philanthropists and other community leaders to talk over civic issues are planned. Elements also include Think Tank, a forum for readers to propose their good ideas; the One-Ten Project, an opera based on the Pasadena Freeway's history commissioned by L.A. Opera with Laura Karpman composing and author M.G. Lord and dramaturg Shannon Halwes writing the libretto; the Get L.A. film competition announced last week; and related articles to run in the print magazine. (This drawing by Lord is inspired by the opera.)

Editor Mary Melton explains after the jump:

karaoke-violence-nyt.jpgThe most-emailed story on the New York Times website right now is, with good reason, a piece from the Philippines on the number of bar fights and killings attributed to karaoke renditions of the Frank Sinatra classic "My Way." The theories are, well, complicated.

The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country’s culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song?

Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks. And the country’s many Sinatra lovers, like Mr. Gregorio here in this city in the southernmost Philippines, are practicing self-censorship out of perceived self-preservation...

[skip]

Filipinos, who pride themselves on their singing, may have a lower tolerance for bad singers....Indeed, most of the “My Way” killings have reportedly occurred after the singer sang out of tune, causing other patrons to laugh or jeer....

Butch Albarracin, the owner of Center for Pop, a Manila-based singing school that has propelled the careers of many famous singers, was partial to what he called the “existential explanation.”

“ ‘I did it my way’ — it’s so arrogant,” Mr. Albarracin said. “The lyrics evoke feelings of pride and arrogance in the singer, as if you’re somebody when you’re really nobody. It covers up your failures. That’s why it leads to fights.”

Hmm, let's see if any TV crews head to the South Bay tonight for a live stand-up.

Jes Aznar for The New York Times

brown-pelicans-breeze.jpgAt least 250 brown pelicans have been treated over the past month at the International Bird Rescue Research Center in San Pedro, according to the center. Other rescue groups in California and Oregon are either full or near capacity. It happened last year too, and was eventually blamed on severe weather. From the Daily Breeze:

Over the past month, Wallerstein has spotted starving pelicans lying on roadways, along the beach and in front of homes. A long pole and net are usually needed to capture pelicans, but the birds have become so weakened that Wallerstein is able to walk up, grab their beaks and place them into cages.

"They're really easy to catch right now, which is not a good thing because it just shows how disoriented and unhealthy they are right now," Wallerstein said.

Researchers are stumped in finding a reason for the mass starvation and deaths among brown pelicans. The birds suffered frostbite and became weakened during last year's migration season, likely caused by storms in Central California.

Photo: Sean Hiller / Daily Breeze

Former inmates at the Daily News' offices in Woodland Hills recognized the dark, old newsroom — cleaned up for Career Builder.com.

View bigger

NBC makes Conan disappear online, feuding over Conrad Murray, the gay judge hearing the Prop. 8 case and plenty of politics notes for a Monday. After the jump, as usual.

Turn to page 2
© 2003-2010   •  About LA Observed  •  Email the editor
Hitler parody: MOCA & Broad

If you can enjoy the Hitler parodies all over YouTube, this one's good: Hitler learning that Jeffrey Deitch beats him out for the top job at MOCA. Kind of a companion to today's profile of Eli Broad, mentioned prominently (as is Lady Gaga.) If you can't laugh at anything Hitler, don't click.
Mark Lacter, LA Biz Observed
KPCC commentaries

NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has settled with two L.A. private equity firms in connection with an ongoing corruption probe.
1:06 PM Mon | Another down day

Sponsors
Jewish Journal logoCalifornia Wellness Foundation
For information on becoming a sponsor, email the editor.
LA Sketchbook

qqxsgToYOta.jpg

Click cartoon to see full-sized. See the LA Sketchbook archive for more Steve Greenberg cartoons.
Native Intelligence
Phil Wallace | He will remain the team's general manager.
Phil Wallace | USC and UCLA may have great recruiting classes, but take that news with a grain of salt.

Go to Native Intelligence
Bill Boyarsky
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s affordable housing plan--a centerpiece of his administration—has been dealt near fatal blows by a court decision, the recession—and by his own planning director.

Go to Bill Boyarsky's blog
Veronique de Turenne
The rains re-shape the beach

Go to Here in Malibu
Jenny Burman
People in Echo Park and surrounding don't seem to have to buy dogs and cats. They just show up, or you steal one.

Go to Chicken Corner
Visitng bloggers
The Wrap gets punk'd |
jay-rosen.jpg
As a longtime fan and sometimes reader of LA Observed, I wanted to put to the users of this site a question about journalistic practice--which to me is a case of shoddy practice--and see what you think. Possibly my judgment is off. Possibly I am making too much of a small thing. We'll see.
Read the post

Recently featured on LAO
Paradise interrupted
paradise-valley-watershed.jpg
Mud and debris flowing out of the mountains left one La Cañada Flintridge neighborhood looking less than idyllic. Weekend photo by Guy McCarthy at Watershed News.
Singing L.A.'s praises
get-la-grab.jpg
To kick off Los Angeles magazine's Get L.A. short film competition, editor Chris Nichols asked 21 "optimists, futurists, and dreamers" to sing — literally. Councilman Tom LaBonge, soprano Dabney Ross Jones and white witch Maja D'Aoust (above) join in. Watch the video
Update on the Soloist

Nathaniel Ayers, the Downtown street musician depicted in "The Soloist," recently worked on a CD with the help of Flea, some L.A. Philharmonic players and, of course, Steve Lopez. Video from this week's SoCal Connected.
 
LA Observed contributor Deanne Stillman also is on the show, in a piece about wild horses.
Actors at work
danniravden1.jpg
Danni Ravden is a server at Swingers who has lived in L.A. for three years, trying to be an actor. The new blog The Working Actor profiles aspiring actors in their day jobs.
 
Previously: When Erika Schickel worked at Swingers
Virgin sand
malibu-sand.jpg
"How I love the tides," Veronique de Turenne observes at Here in Malibu. She also posts her birthday horoscope.
'Untitled #17' by Catherine Opie
catherine-opie-getty-sunset.jpg
Photographer Catherine Opie's images of Los Angeles mini-malls, including this one at Sunset Boulevard and Coronado from 1998, are included in a Getty Museum exhibition that opens Tuesday. More information at Native Intelligence.
Video love for Huell Howser

Current TV's InfoMania show calls Howser the happiest man on TV. Their video report (above) is good reason to revisit Huell tripping on LAO a few months ago and Jacob Soboroff's camera-on-camera encounter back in 2006.
Seeing green in South L.A.

Toni Ann Johnson, a screenwriter, community activist and blogger, uses her blog to document her efforts to bring more green to her neighborhood in South Los Angeles. She talks to Adrienne Crew at Native Intelligence
Lakers at the White House

"I'm especially excited to meet coach Phill Jackson. The Zen Master," President Obama said this afternoon with the Lakers lined up behind him in their nice suits. Here's an AP story on the meeting. Video from ESPN with a short ad at the front end.