Morning Buzz: Monday 3.26.07

Further talks could avert campus strikes. AP, LAT Also: Albertsons workers move closer to strike. LAT

On the anniversary of last year's big turnout downtown, only about 5,000 immigrants and supporters heard speeches from Mayor Villaraigosa and others. LAT, DN

Orlov/DN: Presidential endorsements, Antonio in D.C.
No Hymon today.

This issue will come to a head someday soon. DTN

Buildings at 249, 250 and 256 S. Main St. will be taken by eminent domain for police facilities close to the new headquarters going up inthe Civic Center. DTN

The billionaires say that Tribune gave preference to Sam Zell's offer to buy the company and did not providfe them the same level of financial information. LAT

David Carr writes in the New York Times that "Reporting on the contretemps at The Los Angeles Times last week brings to mind a scene in which you come upon a sinking vessel and see people scrambling everywhere. And then you realize they are not looking for buckets, but guns....Editors took aim at other editors, writers sprayed shots at their own newspaper, and the publisher drew a bead on his own foot." Andres Martinez offers some unsupported spin that blogs (I guess meaning LA Observed) were used by the newsroom to undermine Hiller in some grand political battle at the paper, but it's hooey as far as I can tell. Noted: Allan Mayer, one of the Hollywood publicists embroiled in last week's Times debacle, mentioned the episode in his eulogy at Cathy Seipp's funeral.

Jon Friedman at Market Watch just discovers that ex-mayor Richard Riordan hates the Times. In the column Riordan calls the LAT a "very 70s paper" and laments the loss of Andres Martinez: "He was the best thing that happened to it in a long time." As for his own now-forgotten exploration of starting a rival newspaper, Riordan admits "The smartest thing I ever did was not following through. I was in over my head."

A New York Times obituary today quotes Kate Coe of Fishbowl LA and mentions and links to lukeford.net. Seipp's daughter Maia Lazar posts about Friday's funeral and about identifying her mother's remains.

East of the 5 by Glendale/Burbank reporter Eugene Tong and Jason Kandel, who covers the same area for Valleynews.com, will focus on the southeastern corner of the San Fernando Valley and a little beyond.

April 8 will be the final printed issue, says a Times source.

Edward Wyatt writes that "Two decades after Los Angeles emerged as the nation’s second art capital, the city is reaping the benefits of a migration of artists, galleries, dealers and curators. In recent years more than two artists have moved to this city for every one that moved away, a net rate of gain that is higher than in any metropolitan area in the country...Yet the city is still struggling to attract cultural tourists....'Why is that?; asked the philanthropist Eli Broad, the city’s most visible and generous champion of the arts. 'Perception. We have not promoted cultural travel.'" NYT

Controversial Girls Gone Wild creators plans to get into apparel and restaurants, says a front-pager in the L.A. Business Journal. LABJ

Dave Shulman's take at Column Dave in the LA Weekly.

Views from Mt. Washington can resemble Tuscany, says a real estate piece on NELA. NYT