Weekly archive
October 22 - October 28, 2006
Friday, Oct. 27
If I had the power, I would fly Martin Schall to Los Angeles and present him a key to the city. Herr Schall, as LA Observed long-timers know, is the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Like most everyone else who has toured the newly expanded Griffith Observatory, Orange County Register science editor Gary Robbins was impressed by the aesthetics. "You'll want to hug the army... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Lots of political items after the jump: Admiral Brewer meets (some of) the press and goes after teachers, Mayor Villaraigosa's salary shoots past the governor and VP, Barack Obama day... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Reading between the lines, I'd guess that New York Times bureau chief Jennifer Steinhauer's most painful culture shock about moving to Los Angeles this year has been parking tickets. Her... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Occidental College professor Peter Dreier, a leader of L.A.'s progressive political sphere, calls David Zahniser's story on the Miguel Contreras death cover-up "irresponsible, gutter, tabloid journalism, with no redeeming value"... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Thursday, Oct. 26
This was the day that fans of the ABC soap "General Hospital" have looked forward to for a long time: the return of the female half of Luke and Laura.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Franklin Avenue's Mike and Maria turn up on HGTV's "What is My House Worth?" LAist wants Lakers and Clippers bloggers. Dawn at Griffith Observatory. Crazy Wendy at the Santa... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
By popular demand, KCRW is moving the replay of Left, Right & Center back to Friday evenings at 7 pm. The politics talk show starring Matt Miller, Robert Scheer, Arianna... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The number of college graduates who read the L.A. Times is closer to the 42% that Times columnist Tim Rutten claimed in his churlish snappish response, not the 19% that... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Times editor Dean Baquet spoke to the gathered Associated Press managing editors in his hometown of New Orleans today and urged newspaper editors not to passively accept whatever cuts the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The timing of Mayor Villaraigosa's October trip to Asia caused some tongues to wag that he was dodging the unpleasant chore of campaigning for Phil Angelides. Maybe so, since it's... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo has made a bunch of senior personnel moves, including appointment of his first "special counsel to the City Council." That sensitive hand-holding job goes to Senior... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
In most election years, the Los Angeles Times Poll would be out in the field this week with a final look at the governor's race and the other statewide offices... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
LA Weekly news editor Alan Mittelstaedt was mentioned only obliquely in departed columnist Harold Meyerson's email blast last night. Mittelstaedt writes the new L.A. Sniper column, which Meyerson called a... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The biggest story of the morning actually broke last night: David Zahniser's scoop on where Miguel Contreras really died, and perhaps with who, followed by ex-editor Harold Meyerson's disgust at... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Wednesday, Oct. 25
I didn't set out to post two Harold Meyerson items in a row, or three LA Weekly items. News is unpredictable, though, and they are all related. Meyerson, the newly... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Harold Meyerson sets up his final Powerlines column in the LA Weekly as a look "back and forward about the city I’ve reported on and marveled at and hectored and... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Another David Zahniser headline grabber in tomorrow's LA Weekly: When labor leader Miguel Contreras collapsed of a heart attack last year, he wasn't in his car as the quasi-official line... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Look who's sleeping at David Geffen's house. Nikki Finke has her take on why it might mean something for the LAT. Former USC quarterback Matt Leinart had his baby.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Beyond today's early News & Chatter on MTA bus service and peeking inside the mayor's private office, there's good stuff to be found across the vast LA Observed network: South... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter ruled today that a ten-year-old legal agreement with the Bus Riders Union that prodded the MTA to spend $1.3 billion to improve service for the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Mayor Villaraigosa met the school board's admiral today, and both came out saying the right things. "We have the same vision….This is going to be a great partnership," LAUSD superintendent-to-be... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Sure it's not the Westside stench, or even the Long Beach reek, but sensitive noses have again come through. An American Airlines 757 headed for Miami returned to LAX about... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
TMZ says that a camera crew working for E! Entertainment Television entered an open gate at Brad Pitt's Hollywood Hills compound on Oct. 19 and was caught on videotape. The... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Admiral Villaraigosa and Mayor Brewer — or maybe it's the other way around — finally meet today. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, as we told you yesterday, is also in L.A. for... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Tuesday, Oct. 24
Invited guests streamed up to the Getty last night for the debut of "Where We Live: Photographs of America," a milestone exhibition of contemporary images donated by Village Roadshow Pictures... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
A powdery substance found this evening sent everyone down to the lobby. A Los Angeles Police Department Hazardous Materials team is on the scene along with the health department. *... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
LA Observed likes a good magazine cover. The New Yorker's February 27 "Watch Your Back Mountain" front today won the ASME award for the year's best news cover. The overall... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
John Andrews is leaving as West Coast editor and bureau chief here of The Economist. He's heading home after a career with the magazine that has taken him to posts... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The worst is over on the southbound San Diego Freeway between Sunset Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway. After more than a year of orange cones and restricted flow that... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Dan Baum goes along for the ride with L.A.'s star Spanish-language radio deejay, Renán Almendárez Coello, for last week's New Yorker (with audio at the magazine's website.) Almendárez’s morning show,... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
An LA Observed reader emails that KNX 1070 was off the air for about ten minutes this morning, starting at 7:15. Technical difficulties was the explanation when the station came... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Jerry Blaz says he'll soon close his BOOKie Joint on Reseda Boulevard. His post at ValleyNews.com (via The Valley Observed) talks about the book biz and some of the clientele... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Rafat Ali's Santa Monica-based news operation — a success story among the many local web startups — has completely redesigned and shifted to a new content management system. PaidContent.org originally... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Click below to see what's up here at the start of the day: more shouting over the Measure R mailers, another Daily News blog and a correction o' the day... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Monday, Oct. 23
Mayor Villaraigosa returned to City Hall today almost giddy from his fortnight in Asia. Flanked by twenty fellow travelers, the mayor met the media this morning and talked about the... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
John Shallman, the campaign consultant for Measure R on the Los Angeles ballot, will soon be receiving a letter from City Controller Laura Chick, if he hasn't aready. She opposes... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The Hollywood Reporter has joined the website redesign parade, giving the site a thorough remake. Flackage: New features include site-wide integration of The Reporter’s database, streamlined video, easier navigation and... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Kurt Andersen is a New Yorker, but as the onetime editor-in-chief of a couple of decent magazines (Spy, New York), columnist at others (The New Yorker, Time) and co-founder of... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Ross Becker's "fluid format" half-hour news show "The Local Story" ran most of the summer on KNBC, then dropped back into a new life as a web-only production. Well, after... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
New campaign ads for the billion-dollar housing bond on the Los Angeles ballot debut tomorrow, on cable and broadcast TV. Here's a sneak peek on YouTube. They were shot by... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Is La Opinión spinning its coverage of the scare letter sent to Orange County Latinos by Republican congressional candidate Tan Nguyen? Gustavo Arellano of the OC Weekly raises the question... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
I'm not sure that ambushing your customers with an unfamiliar product and giving the perception of less content — four front page stories instead of the usual six or seven... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
There's a big Monday helping of Buzz after the jump, nicely hidden away where you don't have to see it if you don't want. But there's lots of good stuff,... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The three-year veteran was killed Sunday morning during a routine traffic accident investigation at Riverside Drive and Hyperion Avenue. He was in the street when struck by a car traveling... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Sunday, Oct. 22
Daily News columnist Mariel Garza offers newly chosen L.A. Unified superintendent David L. Brewer some sage tips on how politics works in Los Angeles. Abridged: In L.A., it's all about... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Otis Chandler's classic car collection brought more than $36 million at Saturday's auction. Video screens showed bids in dollars, British pounds, euros, Swiss francs and Japanese yen. The Screen... $MTEntryExcerpt$>