First thing Wednesday, 1.25.06

♦ Richard Meruelo gave $1 million to the Center for Law in the Public Interest, which then weighed in on his behalf, but the school board still rejected his Glassell Park project. He may yet make a killing if the board aqcuires the land for a school. [Daily News corrects on Jan. 31: No he didn't.]

♦ AOL has leased 331. N. Maple Drive in Beverly Hills for studios and offices. Built for the David Geffen Foundation, the five-year-old building used to house DreamWorks Records.

♦ L.A. history and the Three Stooges together: what could be better than that?

♦ GLAAD released its nominees for gay-friendly films of the year. Yeah Brokeback Mountain is on the list.

♦ Variety killed DVD Exclusive and laid off the free magazine's two top editors, Scott Hettrick and Carl DiOrio, says the Hollywood Reporter.

♦ For those keeping track, Council President Eric Garcetti has put the new committee meeting times on Friday's agenda. (item 24)

♦ Michael Higby at Mayor Sam's Sister City dug up San Fernando High School yearbook photos of Councilman Tony Cardenas and of himself.

♦ Breaking up must be hard to do: the first columnist listed on this main commentary page at LATimes.com is Robert Scheer. He was dumped by the paper in November.

♦ Truthdig.com senior editor Barry Golson has sold a new book, Retirement Without Borders, to Scribner. Publishers Lunch says it's about the "burgeoning phenomenon of boomers seeking out alternative retirement destinations outside of the United States."

♦ L.A. Noir is a new blog about "the darker side of the City of the Angels: books, novels and real life."

♦ Blogging.la has announced some new posters.

♦ The blogger at SteveAudio had a fire in his backyard the other night, called the LAFD and wrote a post about libertarianism.

♦ Betty Berzon, a psychotherapist and author who helped start the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center in 1971, died of cancer at age 78.