News and media shorts

Mark Ridley-Thomas will resign his Senate seat on Sunday, in time to allow for a March 3 special election. Sausage Factory
Russ Parsons returns as food editor at the L.A. Times after a hiatus of several years. LAT
Former Daily News reporter Rachel Uranga is the latest ex-journalist to land in the communications department at the ACLU of Southern California, joining her former Copley bureau chief Gordon Smith.
Another mainstream media blog goes on hiatus: the Daily News' Mean Streets crime blog.
L.A. Film Festival director Rich Raddon resigns over his support for Proposition 8. Defamer, LAist, Anne Thompson, Fishbowl LA
The Sentinel held a town hall forum on blacks and Proposition 8. KPCC
The USC marching band serenaded outgoing county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. LAT
Sean Penn interviews Cuban leader Raul Castro about Barack Obama and other topics. The Nation
TMZ the TV show was renewed for two years. Variety
The Waldorf hotel measure leads by a nose in Beverly Hills as vote counting continues. Curbed LA
Edward Goldman discusses MOCA's leadership vacuum on today's "Art Talk." KCRW