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Seeing old friends in federal court...fining Pierce O'Donnell and Martin Ludlow...Giving Steve Cooley a pass...Arnold and Sirhan...Tear-downs in Century City...and Larry King gets no respect again. Those items and quite a bit more after the jump, plus the front pages of eleven newspapers and Slate's take on the morning papers.
Late posts from yesterday:
Chris Arellano quits school board race
Iconic Capitol Records tower for sale
Strife behind the scenes at South L.A.'s community garden
Clearing the air on Antonio's night at the Arclight
Photo: www.sopranos.com
♦ Catching up: Attorney Stephen Yagman sure knows how to throw a courtroom party. In a federal civil suit over the LAPD's controversial Special Investigation Section, Yagman has called to the stand ex-mayor Jim Hahn (last Friday), Chief Bratton (this Thursday), Supervisors Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky, Controller Laura Chick, Assemblyman Mark Ridley-Thomas, and former City Council members Ruth Galanter, Mike Hernandez, Nate Holden, Richard Alatorre, Hal Bernson, Mike Feuer, Rudy Svornich Jr., Rita Walters and Michael Woo—among others. Some call the trial a circus. City Attorney's Office lawyers say Yagman is showboating by calling officials who served as long ago as 1979. But for many officials waiting in the witness room, it's something of a reunion, although reactions have varied from irritation to bemusement.... For many of the witnesses, the trial that began Thursday has turned into a reluctant homecoming of sorts: a chance to catch up on careers, families and hobbies. Alatorre and Yaroslavsky spent time in a witness room, comparing notes on University of California, Los Angeles, athletics. State Sen. Richard Alarcon, who served on the council in 1993-98, had to fly in from Sacramento. "It's one responsibility of the position," he said of his cameo, lasting just a few minutes.
♦ Maybe we moved on: Viewership of "The Sopranos" only fell 21% from the last time the HBO series launched a new season.
♦ Getting tough: City Ethics Commission: $147,000 fine for Hahn backer Pierce O'Donnell, $105,271 for ex-councilman Martin Ludlow, and a call for public financing of campaigns.
♦ Lifers: Looks as if District Attorney Steve Cooley and the county Assessor, like Sheriff Baca before them, won't be subject to term limits. Their argument: they are subject to state law, not the whims of county voters.
♦ Another lifer: Sirhan B. Sirhan comes up for parole again this week, with a new twist: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the final word on Sirhan's case, is married to the niece of Robert F. Kennedy. Interesting legal angle, but it doesn't matter: Sirhan isn't going anywhere.
♦ Changing city: Westfield wants to tear down two office buildings in Century City and build a 42-story condo tower, plus more stores for its shopping center.
♦ Ganging up on Larry: Joe Flint in the Wall Street Journal: "It has become increasingly clear that Larry King's best days at CNN are behind him...."
The veteran host seems more interested in celebrities and crime, diminishing not only his own reputation and influence, but that of CNN as well...And it shows in the ratings. The veteran host has seen his audience decline substantially in recent years as viewers gravitate toward more aggressive programs such as Fox News's "Hannity & Colmes." Fewer than one million people tune in each weeknight, on average, for "Larry King Live," according to Nielsen Media Research, down from 1.5 million three years ago. That's far behind "Hannity & Colmes," which leads cable news networks in the 9-10 p.m. hour with almost 1.6 million viewers.
♦ Secrets of old L.A.: Remains unearthed by digging for the East Side Gold Line extension are almost certainly those of 19th century Chinese workers.
♦ On newspapers and blogs: Jay Rosen of NYU and Press Think, and a new era begins at The Guardian.
♦ Back together?: If nothing else, Hillary Swank and Chad Lowe are still playing chess together and swapping neck rubs.
♦ Getting to LAX: Non-stop Flyaway bus service begins today between Union Station and Los Angeles International.
♦ You don't say: Adolf Hitler had a role in Ask the Dust originally bombing after its 1939 publication.
♦ Yeehaw: L.A. bloggers Jason Toney and Tony Pierce did the panel thing at SXSW Interactive in Austin.
♦ Obligatory hockey item: Helene Elliott in the Times signals the start of the death watch for Kings coach Andy Murray and, possibly, general manager Dave Taylor. Good guys, but neither seems able to rise above the team's ingrained mediocrity after six and nine seasons, respectively.
♦ Last word: Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert to Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Lakewood), whose district includes Rose Hills: "Why do people go to the 39th District to die?" From Steve Harvey's Only in L.A. column.