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Columbus Day schedule
No mail or courts, but most schools are in session and L.A. trash will be picked up. MTA service and Metrolink carry on as usual. City, state and federal offices are closed.
SoCal's man in Al Qaeda
Adam Gadahn is moving up in influence, terrorism experts tell the Times. He used to be Adam Pearlman, local metal head, and his father a prominent psychedelic era musician, as CityBeat reported last year. * Noted: The Register ran a three-part series on Gadahn in September.
Unforgettably bad odor downtown
Edward Fuentes at ViewFromaLoft suspects the rendering plants in Vernon or perhaps the Farmer John plant are to blame for what fouls the arts district.
AFTER THE JUMP: President Bush's Bel-Air take, favorite bars of the City Hall crowd, Huell Howser goes downtown, Al Martinez vs. bloggers and much more.
Politics
Orlov column
President Bush raised $1.2 million at last week's traffic snarling Bel-Air fundraiser.
Where City Hall goes to drink
Far Bar at the Far East Cafe, Pete's and 626 Reserve, David Zahniser observes in one of the LA Weekly's Best Of entries.
Media
Huell Howser goes Downtown
His new series on KCET begins tonight with a focus on The French Garden and the Chop Suey Café and Lounge, but not all the episodes will be about restaurants. He tells the Downtown News, "There's not enough information going out about what's really happening Downtown." Hmm. Seems to me that downtown is probably over-covered — especially now that there is an entire KCET program devoted to it and not to any other L.A. districts.
Columnist vs. bloggers
A lamer-than-usual attempt at blog satire by retired Timesman Ken Reich spurred Al Martinez to give his opinion of bloggers in today's Calendar section.
I have learned that, with some notable exceptions, blogs are largely the habitat of unemployed writers, enraged misanthropes, retired teachers, aging journalists and people who normally pass their time doodling or making obscene telephone calls. A blogger occupies a website from which comments emerge in various forms to clutter cyberspace with his or her opinions on politics, war, movies, sex, music, medicine, health, aerobics, food, marriage, animals … and, well, just about everything. No subject is too lofty or too inane for the blogger.
Who's who in ethnic banking
Special report in the L.A. Business Journal.
Zorianna Kit
The former People magazine and KTLA entertainment reporter sat in for Roger Ebert on the weekend's "Ebert and Roeper" show.
Noted
Al Antczak, former editor of the Tidings
He died in San Diego at age 84 after suffering from pneumonia.