First thing Friday, 1.20.06

♦ Rep. David Dreier’s role as a “free safety” on the House Speaker’s team—and some analysis of why conservative House Republicans don’t think of him as leadership material—is the subject of a piece in the Wall Street Journal and free on the website today: “Witty, articulate, friend to the Annenbergs and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Dreier is a Ronald Reagan-style optimist who favors inclusive politics. But after 25 years in Congress, he finds himself isolated by the increasingly raw social warfare within his own party.” Only mention of the gay issue is that Dreier voted against the ban on gay marriage.

♦ A thousand people who work at Washington Mutual’s call center in Chatsworth are losing their jobs. The bank is sending the jobs to Costa Rica and San Antonio.

♦ Mayor Villaraigosa has asked the DWP board to begin evaluating general manager Ron Deaton. Just routine, third-floor sources tell the Times’ Patrick McGreevy, but there is this: “The last time Villaraigosa publicly talked about the performance of a general manager, the mayor ended up firing Animal Services Department administrator Guerdon H. Stuckey.” The Daily News story sounds a bit more like there’s a target on Deaton’s head.

♦ Today at 5 pm is the deadline for Los Angeles Unified students to apply for magnet school slots. Are they as good as their reputation among parents? Some are, some aren’t, the Times says.

♦ The Times is moving Jia-Rui Chong to medical writer on the Science desk from Metro, where she covered the San Gabriel Valley and Asian American issues.

♦ Once again, the LAT is a drag on Tribune’s revenue numbers.

♦ Gov. Schwarzenegger has legally registered his three motorcycles. Too bad he’s not legal to ride them.