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They almost had him: City News Service was alerted to a 4:30 pm press conference, but Guerdon Stuckey changed his mind and refused to step down as head of Animal Services. Nor has he been fired, but he's now in seclusion talking lawsuit, the Daily News reports. The Breeze, which broke the story, comes back with a piece on union leader Julie Butcher saying Stuckey should be left alone. Here is my post yesterday; nothing yet in the LAT.
And also...
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♦ Big move in local real estate circles: Arden Realty is expected to be sold and go private in a $5 billion deal. It has been the biggest publicly traded owner of commercial office space in Southern California. C. Frederick Wehba II, vice-chairman of Bentley-Forbes, comments on his blog.
♦ The number of hepatitis A cases at Cafe Pinot is up to six, including a customer, and hundreds of other diners have gotten their shots. Here's the background from our item last week.
♦ At 8 am Mayor Villaraigosa drops in at Mariachi Plaza at First and Boyle streets to mark the start of tunnel boring for the Eastside light rail extension.
♦ Commissioner Ripston wins approval, of course, after a show of opposition.
♦ Harold Meyerson writes that "no two players in [Tom] Bradley’s coalition — a coalition that dominated the city in the 1970s and ’80s — were more different in politics and sensibility than Bill Robertson and Marvin Braude." His tribute didn't make the paper but runs on the LA Weekly website.
♦ CityBeat editor Steve Appleford sends himself to San Francisco for a cover piece on Jerry Brown, the ex-governor who stands between Rocky Delgadillo and state office.
♦ Venice Paper's year-end issue congratulates Councilman Bill Rosendahl on "the unenviable job of representing Venice" and sarcastically gives Councilman Jack Weiss its "man of the people award...for berating Lincoln Place tenants who, facing eviction, seek his help at a public meeting."
♦ Tookie Williams was neither the founder nor co-founder of the Crips, Michael Krikorian reports in the LA Weekly.
♦ They are going to try red light cameras on the Orange Line.
♦ Noir L.A. is the subject on Sunday's Pacific Drift on KPCC. Kim Cooper of the 1947 Project is on along with Alan Silver, author of LA Noir; Rob Thomas, creator of "Veronica Mars"; Paula Woods, author of Strange Bedfellows; and LAPD “cold case” detective Dave Lampkin. The LA Weekly's Kate Sullivan also reviews the year's best local music, and I suspect some will listen just to see if she pushes Tsar again.
♦ Today in L.A.: Journalist and Highway Scribery blogger Stephen Siciliano reads from the novel Vedette to the accompaniment of flamenco guitarist Omar Torrez at 8 pm at 33 1/3 Books & Gallery Collective, 1200 N. Alvarado St.