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JonBenet Ramsey suspect in L.A.
John Mark Karr flew back to the U.S. from Thailand in Business Class, escorted but not handcuffed, and enjoyed champagne, fried king prawns and roast duck. On arrival he was flown by helicopter to the Twin Towers jail downtown. AP, LAT
Magic Mountain officially for sale
Six Flags hopes to sell six parks as a package, but may not sell at all.
Are you really surprised?
Not very many people wanted to see Snakes on a Plane, and even fewer will want to now that it officially disappointed at the weekend box office.
AFTER THE JUMP: The mayor's union trouble, why fear of Reconquista is stupid, some media notes and much more, including a look around the rest of LA Observed. Click to go inside.
Politics
Mayor's labor troubles
Villaraigosa rescheduled a lobbying trip to be in Los Angeles Tuesday and Wednesday when City Hall's Engineers and Architects Assn. threatens to strike. Jim Newton writes in the LAT that "as odd as it may seem for Los Angeles' labor Democrat mayor to be facing off against his union allies, the conflict offers vivid evidence of the changed expectations for America's progressive city leaders — and the expected walkout could actually end up benefiting the mayor against whom it is directed."
Office-holder accounts
The Daily News toted up how much each member of the City Council has raised from campaign contributors for their so-called office-holder accounts. The winner: Tony Cardenas. Good thing contributors aren't looking for influence—oh wait:
When Westside Councilman Bill Rosendahl took office, he soon found contributors to his opponent's campaign wanted to make amends and write a check to his officeholder account. "When you're in office, all you have to do is grunt, and they're all there for you, but I'm not into that mind-set," Rosendahl said.
Fearing Reconquista is loco
Mariel Garza makes fun (and rightly so, I say) of gringos who are actually concerned there is a movement by Mexicans in the U.S. to reconquer California and the Southwest. Basically 95% of the evidence argues against such a thing, but the meme persists — mostly among the ilk that tends to fear there is always a them imperiling an us (and those who profit from stoking the fears.)
The plan is called La Reconquista, and what it means is that we are dead set on turning California and its neighboring states into Mexifornia. Or is it Aztlan? I can't remember; I'm going to have to consult the memo sent out by Mayor Reconquista, Antonio Vivalaraza....
Why would we do this? That's a valid question, particularly for those of us who have never lived in Mexico — or who have fled Mexico — and like our stable economic system the way it is, thank you very much.
The answer, of course, is that we aren't. It's the most ridiculous, specious and, frankly, dismaying aspect of the national immigration debate.
Agreed. Garza and the Daily News copy desk should dust off their almanac, though. The Mexican-American War that switched California into the U.S. column was in the 1840s, not the '80s.
LAT investigation: Juvie still bad
Though he's now based in Washington, Noam Levey lands a piece off the county beat reporting that "despite at least 16 studies, investigations or audits since 1998 — exposing serious deficiencies with schooling, mental health services and basic safety — the county's elected leaders have done little to meaningfully improve California's largest juvenile detention system."
In the City Hall columns
Rick Orlov whispers about the whispers of a coup to unseat Eric Garcetti as City Council president, but says it will probably blow over during the three-week recess. With no meetings until after Labor Day, Steve Hymon of the Times also will take a breather — though first he catches Jan Perry on poop cleanup duty and learns that Garcetti designed a magnifying glass to give out to visiting dignitaries.
Media
Ron Kaye gushes on ValleyNews.com
"I've been a newspaperman for more than 40 years, and this is the most important and exciting thing I've been involved with," the Daily News editor says in a note to readers. "The Internet has revolutionized how we get our information, and valleynews.com brings that revolution home to you."
We are counting on people respecting one another and avoiding hate speech and unseemly language or content. Our staff will remove such material, and it's easy for users to report items that offend.
But beyond that, valleynews.com represents free speech as it was envisioned when the United States was founded and the First Amendment written.
I hope you will exercise your right to speak freely and to work with us to enrich our community life. So join the staff of valleynews.com, register and start posting today.
Previous coverage on LA Observed.
Double duty
LAT op-ed columnist Meghan Daum (she has the Saturday slot) reviewed The Brambles, the novel by Eliza Minot, for the Sunday New York Times.
Noted
They will always have Paris
When Paris Hilton invaded our local Westside Best Buy, T.J. Sullivan was there to observe and photograph the madness. Think line outside and around the building.
Yeah clap-clap-clap
Nice burst of spontaneous applause for Quinceañera after the early evening showing yesterday at the Santa Monica Laemmle.
Coincidence?
Three of the weddings reports in Sunday's New York Times mention Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, the L.A. law firm — two fathers and a bride. If they are keeping score (and I suspect someone is), O’Melveny & Myers was only mentioned once.
Paying tribute
¡Azúcar! The Life and Music of Celia Cruz opened last week at the California African American Museum in Exposition Park.
Around LA Observed
Weekend News & Chatter
New on the blogs
Native Intelligence: Dispatch from Prague
LA Biz Observed: Lacter on the weekend papers
We Get Email: The Times should have spiked the Joe Francis magazine piece, and mourning KZLA
LA Biz Observed: Lacter on the weekend papers
We Get Email: The Times should have spiked the Joe Francis magazine piece, and mourning KZLA
News of Our Contributors
Veronique de Turenne reviewed Merrill Markoe's Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel in Sunday's Los Angeles Times Book Review.