Morning Buzz: Wednesday 2.18.09

• Senate Republicans dumped their leader overnight because he dared to support the Democrats' plan for ending the embarrassment in Sacramento. LAT, Bee, AP
  Plus: Gov. Schwarzenegger returns to Los Angeles. Bee
• California's dream is turning into a nightmare, says Matthew Garrahan in the Financial Times.
• A six-year-old girl was wounded by gunshots fired into a home on 47th Street in South Los Angeles. LAT
• There's a strong rumor that KLSX 97.1 is about to flip back to music, leaving talkers Adam Carolla, Tom Leykis and Heidi, Frosty and Frank out of jobs. SoCalMedia Scoop, L.A. Radio
• The LAT posted a partial transcript of the editorial board's discussion with opponents of Measure B. Cold Copy
• Steve Lopez visits with Jane Usher and lets her vent about local politics. LAT
• An L.A. judge says he agrees there was misconduct by the original judge in the Roman Polanski case, but thinks Polanski will have to return in order to settle the case. AP
• Property tax revenues in Los Angeles County are expected to decline for the first time since the mid-1990s. DN
• LAPD captain James Craig, a 28-year veteran, has been named police chief in Portland, Maine. Asked why in the local paper, he replied in part, "The traffic is madness out here, especially on the west side." Portland Press Herald
• Sara Libby, Opinions page editor at the Los Angeles Daily Journal, defies the critics and explains how she enjoys "the deeply personal nature of many people's revelations" in the Facebook 25 Random Things chain letters. Christian Science Monitor Op-Ed
• A new design for a replacement for the 6th Street Viaduct over the L.A. River from Downtown to the Eastside leaves a lot of people cold. LAT
• Diane Keaton sold her memoir to Random House at auction, for publication in 2012, says Publishers Lunch.
• The Wrap.com will celebrate its launch with cocktails and a panel discussion titled "Hollywood 2.0: Transformation as an Opportunity" at 6 p.m. at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills.
• Black Clock, the literary journal from CalArts, will celebrate its five-year anniversary and noir-themed tenth issue with a reading and reception at REDCAT on Sunday, March 8.
• Wayne Thomas, the longtime KHJ-TV staff announcer who did the "red light, green light" call for Engineer Bill in the 1950s and 60s, died at age 77. LAT

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