Morning Buzz: Thursday 3.22.07

No more real foie gras, no veal from caged calves, eggs from only free-ranging hens and lobsters taken only from special traps — all in the name of ending animal cruelty at the chef's restaurants and food packing company. "The announcement comes after three years of protests by Farm Sanctuary, an animal-rights group that launched wolfgangpuckcruelty.org — a website that was taken down last summer — and organized a leafletting campaign in front of Puck's restaurants," the Times reports.

AT&T donated $500,000 to one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's pet causes six months after he signed a law lifting barriers to the company's bid to sell pay television service in California. Schwarzenegger formed After-School All-Stars to provide tutoring, recreation and other programs to poor children. On the board are Bonnie Reiss, the governor's former senior aide, and Paul Wachter, his financial advisor. Times

The Police Protective League says that while he was head of Internal Affairs, Michael Berkow ordered improper searches of the work spaces of 35 homicide detectives, including those investigating the killing of rapper Biggie Smalls. LAT

Plan to end social promotions is analyzed at Witness L.A.

Richard Perez-Pena was a New York Times stringer here in 1991, grew up in Southern California and currently writes on the Metro staff in New York. He will take over the publishing beat from Kit Seelye "with the mission of covering the revolution sweeping the newspaper and magazine industry," according to the memo at Romenesko.

Embedded at LAtimes.com in a story about a teacher at Stevenson Middle School in East Los Angeles being arrested in connection with the molestation of at least five teenage girls: "An earlier version of this story mistakenly included a photo of former Vice President Al Gore."

Nikki Finke adds her thoughts on the dust-up over Current, Brian Grazer, Andres Martinez and Kelly Mullens.

Three home-invasion robbers overwhelmed a Pacific division officer when he answered the door at home in Gardena, took two of his guns and fled in his Toyota Avalon. Breeze

The University of Judaism in Bel-Air and the Brandeis-Bardin Institute in Simi Valley are merging and will be called the American Jewish University. LAT

Warm weather has them active already. DN