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Why the Los Angeles Times may be getting some new window blinds, blog reaction to the death of Otis Chandler, Channel 5's anchors accept a free night at a swanky hotel, more bad Pellicano news for divorce attorney to the stars Dennis Wasser—plus a new turn or two in the Malibu Ferrari crash, and the Times does some catching up: on Octavia Butler and Eddie Nalbandian, KCET's decision not to air an Armenian genocide documentary and the Kings' Olympics injuries. Turn the page for those and much more.
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♦ The new LAPD headquarters that will block some Civic Center views—as well as provide police a view directly into the windows of the Los Angeles Times—has risen in price to $340 million, the Daily News says.
♦ Read-worthy blog reactions to the death of Otis Chandler by Michael Hiltzik from within the newsroom, John Stodder, Mack Reed and Ethan Lindsey.
♦ Channel 5's Morning News anchors got comped rooms at Pasadena's Ritz-Carlton Huntington as part of the show's coverage of the hotel's renovation, according to Channel Island, the semi-snarky, boldface-happy new Times blog by Scott Collins: "The Islander was under the impression that Tribune's ethics code specifically prohibits this kind of tit-for-tat journalism. But obviously, we were mistaken!"
♦ The Daily Journal's John Hanusz reports that the feds are "considering charges" against Hollywood divorce lawyer Dennis M. Wasser for aiding and abetting Anthony Pellicano's wiretapping in the Kirk Kerkorian case. Meanwhile, Mike Walker of the National Enquirer is now podcasting and has a piece up on Pellicano.
♦ The Los Angeles Times catches up on KCET's decision not to air a controversial PBS documentary on the Armenian genocide or a scheduled follow-up discussion with Turkish representatives. The New York Times reported it last week.
♦ With six CHP officers killed on the road in five months, the agency plans to urgently seek advice from experts: the officers who actually make the traffic stops.
♦ The Times runs obits today on both Octavia Butler and Eddie Nalbandian. Knew it was just a matter of time. The Pasadena Weekly also has reposted a piece it ran in December on Butler.
♦ The case of the Malibu Ferrari crash gets stranger. There may be a gun involved, the car may have been illegal, and the top of the Times story makes it sound like authorities now believe there really was a second person in the car when it crashed. But there's no support for that claim in the rest of the story, just the skepticism from last week.
♦ Last week's LA Weekly story by Josh Kun on Tijuana mayor Jorge Hank Rhon was picked up by the Mexican newspaper Reforma and is expected to be in Proceso, the national news magazine, this weekend.
♦ Fox 11 anchor Christine Devine picks up the Anna Quindlen Award for Excellence in Journalism in Behalf of Children and Families today in Washington.
♦ BoifromTroy reviews a novel that sounds like his ideal work of fantasy: Pacifica is by a West Hollywood author, Richard Deason, and set in "a libertarian oasis in the South Pacific where markets are free and gays can marry."
♦ Mark Sarvas interviews David Kipen at the LitBlog Co-op.
♦ The Times finally gets wise to what hockey fans have been hearing for a week: the struggling Kings' two best scorers were hurt playing in the Olympics, further jeopardizing the team's playoff hopes.