Morning Buzz: Thursday 4.23.09

• A commuter bus caught fire on the Ventura Freeway this morning, causing 30 passengers to be treated for smoke inhalation. AP
• The Republican leader in the Assembly also handed out pay raises, then rescinded them after the backlash hit. LAT, Bee
• Supervisor Gloria Molina will propose at today's MTA board meeting that the Eastside extension of the Gold Line be officially named la Linea de Oro, Edward R. Roybal. LAT
• Gil Cedillo countered ex-friend Antonio Villaraigosa's endorsement of Judy Chu with the backing of Gloria Molina. Sausage Factory, SGV Tribune
• City Attorney candidates Jack Weiss and Carmen Trutanich clashed at an hour-long debate sponsored by the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters. LAT
• Mayor Villaraigosa supports a plan to conduct a mail-in vote on raising the parcel fee for stormwater cleanup, thus getting around the 2/3 rule for approving new taxes. LAT
• The City Council delayed action on the naming of the new LAPD headquarters, sending the issue to committee. LAT, DN, Which Way LA?
• Here's how the new DWP water restrictions will work for customers. LAT
• The second half of Capitol Weekly's top 100 California political power brokers includes Joe Edmiston of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Mrs. Jerry Brown and Jon Fleischman of the Flash Report. CW
• Nikki Finke analyzes the departure of Peter Kaplan, her former boss, as editor of the New York Observer and includes this: "Kaplan has talked to me repeatedly about wanting NYO to buy my website since I began DHD 3 years ago." Deadline Hollywood Daily
• In a comment under the Finke post, former Hollywood Reporter editor Anita Busch swipes at Sharon Waxman of The Wrap and says of Finke: "I know people either love or hate Nikki, but she knows this business and is breaking news, and no one can dispute that." DHD
• The L.A. Times' Mexico Under Siege series won a top award from the Overseas Press Club: "high-risk news gathering with solid reporting...helped set the stage for the debate today in the highest U.S. governmental and political circles about how to respond to a Mexico under siege." Release
• Former Daily News reporter James Nash quipped on Facebook that he's "really hoping to win the 2010 Pulitzer for Best Investigative Tweet."

LA Biz Observed headlines