Monday Buzz, 6.5.06

Where we scan the news and a few blogs so you don't have to, add a shot of our own sources and brew up a daily serving of Morning Buzz.

And if you need to catch up on your news, some LA Observed posts from the past week:

Downtown mural of Ed Ruscha destroyed
Thirty-eight courses at Urasawa: $1,200
Hilton out, Ritz-Carlton and Marriott Marquis in at L.A. Live
Doug Dowie defiant about conviction
Robert Towne on Los Angeles
Daily News reporters and columnist take to the bus
Blogging Laurel Canyon with Lloyd Thaxton
More photos posted at You-are-here.com
No vote on 'Miracle Mile of the Valley'
Blogger versus skimboards
Love that byline: Gidget Fuentes

Plus a whole week's worth of Morning Buzz, and the latest on Media People and Television.

♦ Front pages and news links

♦ Officer shot: LAPD officer Kristina Ripatti was wounded Saturday night in South Los Angeles by a gunman who was then shot by her partner. The assailant died at the scene. Ripatti was in serious but stable condition. Times, Daily News

♦ Launches today: The Hollywood Reporter, ESQ, billed as "the first comprehensive resource for entertainment and media law news, analysis, deals and filings." The website and daily e-news service go today, with the first weekly digital issue due out Tuesday. Editor is Matthew Belloni, formerly of Alschuler, Grossman, Stein & Kahan, and the managing editor is David Lott, previously the Internet editor for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Reporter Leslie Simmons is leaving the Daily Journal for THR, Esq.

♦ Soulvine: Rick Orlov calls attention to columnist Betty Pleasant's election endorsement criteria in her column in the Wave: "Our opinions are based on various factors. Including the fact that the Soulvine has a long memory, is vindictive, and strongly believes the best way to punish an offensive politician is to vote against him."

♦ Code Seven: Long Beach cops are now more likely to enjoy a latte than a doughnut.

♦ Reggie is missing: Now they're concerned in Harbor City that the fugitive alligator Reggie has not reappeared as expected with the warm weather.

"That lake is pretty polluted," said San Pedro longshoreman John Winkler Jr. "That could have killed him. I'm hoping he didn't die, but we should have seen him by now." An open trap baited with chicken remains undisturbed since it was left near the shore of Machado Lake in April. Park workers say they're spot-checking daily for the 6-foot reptile. There have been some rumors, but no confirmed sightings.

♦ Da bears: California's estimated black bear population has grown since 1985 from 5,000 to about 35,000, so it stands to reason the suburbs will be seeing a lot more of them. "Seeing bears is relatively new in Southern California. Over the next couple of decades it will become more frequent," state biologist Doug Updike told the Daily News.

♦ Latino TV wars: Azteca America is moving its headquarters to Los Angeles this summer to do battle with Univision, the L.A. Business Journal says in a free front-page article.

♦ Coming home: "Good Morning America" executive producer Ben Sherwood is leaving the ABC breakfastcast to return to Los Angeles "for family reasons."

♦ New blog: Entertainment lawyer Paul Karl Lukacs says he is taking a year off to travel the world and blog about that and politics: "I am the 87-millionth person to have this idea. To further the cliche, I have purchased a backpack and filled it with Heart of Darkness, Burmese Days and several Graham Greene novels. Still working on the Tilley hat." He also just decided to drop his anonymity at Knife Tricks.

♦ TV Times zinger: Reader Todd Everett reacts to the Los Angeles Times shrinking the content of the Sunday TV Times: "Didn't think they could do it, but The Times is now even less useful than before!"