Morning Buzz: Monday 4.13.09

• Controller Laura Chick reflects on her City Hall years for Rick Orlov as she prepares to go work for the governor. DN
• The City Council could appoint an interim successor to Chick, but Controller-elect Wendy Greuel is not eligible. Orlov's Tipoff
• Amazon blames a technical glitch for the bookseller dropping the sales rankings for many gay-themed works while leaving the rankings on others. Jacket Copy
• A New York Times story focuses on traffic safety around L.A. schools, saying "the number of serious traffic incidents involving schoolchildren across the 900 Los Angeles public schools has significantly increased, particularly around middle schools, which are not staffed by crossing guards." NYT
• Disbarred lawyer Richard I. Fine says he is being held in jail indefinitely because he fought to cut judges' pay, but the judge says it's for contempt of court for refusing to disclose his assets. DN
• Another 15% budget cut is headed at the Daily News, likely via pay cuts. Gary Scott
• Los Angeles is quickly and quietly developing as a new-age car capital. LABJ
• Barbara and David Mikkelson, the L.A. couple behind Snopes.com, get some ink from Readers Digest and some debunking by FactCheck.org.
• Anthony Lane says of "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" that "the most stirring release of the year thus far is a documentary." New Yorker
• Tech blogger and web surfer David Sarno moves to the Times' Business staff to cover the tech and Internet scene for the paper. Memo
• The Downtown News is now posting stories on the web as they happen, rather than waiting for once a week publication. Blogdowntown
• Author and New York Magazine columnist Kurt Andersen is a visiting professor for a few months at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, living with his wife in a rented Rudolph Schindler house in Studio City and tweeting about it. LAT
• Mark Murphy of REDCAT and David Sefton of UCLA Live are in conversation with journalist/author Barbara Isenberg at ALOUD on Thursday evening. Info
• I'll be at opening day at Dodger Stadium all afternoon. The Dodgers come home a ho-hum 4-3 after the first week to face the Giants and Randy Johnson. City News Service has an advancer, including that Vin Scully will throw out the first pitch. CNS

LA Biz Observed headlines | LAO weekend items