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Engineers and Architects on strike
Thousands of city workers are out, with picket lines up at City Hall and elsewhere. Mayor Villaraigosa says he plans to cross and has a noon presser scheduled inside the building. Robert Aquino of the union says the strike may last longer than two days and promises widespread disruption, but that might be hard test to meet. Times editorial says crossing the line is "sound politics aligned with sound principle" for the mayor. LAT, DN, EAA
John Mark Karr hearing this morning
JonBenet Ramsey murder confessor is expected to waive extradition to Colorado.
Rocketdyne worse than believed
They apparently burned napalm, dioxin and other nasty stuff in open-air pits at the Santa Susana Field Lab above the west end of the Valley.
LAPD and FBI jump on Valley robberies
AFTER THE JUMP: Is the LAUSD bill unconstitutional? Mayor Villaraigosa and blacks, Tamminen leaves, Allison Margolin hits page one and happy birthday to Ray Bradbury.
Politics
Is LAUSD bill unconstitutional?
The state's Legislative Counsel says it is, and district officials are already talking lawsuit if AB 1381 passes. LAT, DN
Antonio's pitch to black leaders
Starting to work, says the Times. Rep. Maxine Waters is now talking up the LAUSD deal, but Earl Ofari Hutchinson is skeptical.
Terry Tamminen leaves Schwarzenegger
He's now a campaign volunteer and won't return to the Administration. Republicans won't miss him, but environmental activists call it a "worrisome loss."
No Skid Row deal
ACLU and the city will meet again in September.
Media
YouTube advertisers get new channels
For some reason Paris Hilton is featured a lot.
Noted
Allison Margolin in the news
L.A.'s dopest attorney is profiled in Column One by the LAT's California Supreme Court reporter. At this point, I must conclude that Margolin's pot, babe and blog marketing strategy has worked. How many other 28-year-old sole practitioners have you heard about?
Like actress Reese Witherspoon's character in the movie "Legally Blonde" — a rich, ditsy Beverly Hills blond who goes to Harvard Law School — Margolin, 28, is the kind of lawyer who might be easy to dismiss. The graduate of Beverly Hills High talks like a Valley girl, preceding adjectives with "like" and using "whatever" as a period.
Her years at Columbia University and Harvard Law School failed to dim her fascination with movie stars. She is devoted to the tabloids and knows intimate details about the rich and famous.
Her husband said she used to believe whatever her clients told her, accepting preposterous explanations for crimes. There was the woman who didn't mean to stab her boyfriend. She just threw a basket that happened to contain a knife.
And there was the time Margolin burst into tears after a prosecutor told her she had only minutes to decide whether to take a deal that would put a client in prison for 17 years. The prosecutor relented and extended the deadline.
Condo towers planned for Staples Center
Moinian Group says it will build housing and retail on four acres at 11th and Figueroa purchased from Anschutz for $80 million.
Today
Happy Birthday
Ray Bradbury takes ten minutes on his 86th birthday to chat with Patt Morrison on KPCC. He's scheduled for about 2:45 pm on KPCC.
Around LA Observed
Earlier at News & Chatter
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LA Biz Observed: Live Nation in play
SoCal Sports Observed: Luc gets an honor
Here in Malibu: Sunrise over the Pacific
SoCal Sports Observed: Luc gets an honor
Here in Malibu: Sunrise over the Pacific
Our contributors
Denise Hamilton's Native Intelligence sighting of a freeway wheelie at 70 mph is the lead item in Steve Harvey's Only in L.A. column in the Times.
Mark Lacter talks about the L.A. business scene every Tuesday morning on KPCC 89.3 FM, at 6:55 am and 9:55 am.