Morning Buzz: Tuesday 5.12.09

• An anonymous, no questions asked gun exchange program by the LAPD netted 40 assault-style weapons and a rifle with a grenade launcher among the 1,700 guns turned in. "We were surprised at the quality of some of the weapons," said deputy chief Charlie Beck. LAT, DN
  Editorial: But do buybacks work?
• Gov. Schwarzenegger says the state budget deficit could reach $21 billion and force "severe" cuts if the budget measures fail on the May 18 ballot. LAT, WSJ, Bee, Register
• Sen. Barbara Boxer announced her support for the budget props, but Sen. Dianne Feinstein hasn't said how she feels about them yet. CalBuzz, Chronicle blog
• Money manager and local political player Julio Ramirez pleaded guilty to a criminal misdemeanor charge and is expected to face civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to sources involved in the growing ethics scandal involving New York political adviser Hank Morris and Wetherly Capital Group. Ramirez is married to longtime L.A. political fundraiser Annette Castro. WSJ, Ron Kaye
• John Schwada's story for Fox 11 on the city attorney race focused on a Jack Weiss fundraiser at the Hancock Park home of a donor who pleaded guilty to felony Medi-Cal fraud charges in the 1990s. Fox 11
• Mayor Villaraigosa said he favors a 10% cut in the annual funding given to each neighborhood council, to $45,000, not the $11,000 some city council members suggested. DN
• City Council President Eric Garcetti left Sunday for a week of Naval Reserve duty. Sausage Factory
• Activist Marcy Winograd said she'll challenge Rep. Jane Harman again in 2010. Breeze
• Double X, an online magazine that launched today, is a spin-off of Slate's XX Factor blog and is aimed at women. Double X, NYT
• The cover story in Haute Living Los Angeles is on 33-year-old club and restaurant mogul Sam Nazarian.
• Installing Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Henry VIII and His Six Wives “portraits" at the county art museum. LACMA Unframed
• A personal tale of a night in L.A. County men's jail. LA Beez
• Gustavo Arellano interviews Times sports columnist Kurt Streeter about Manny Ramirez at 4 p.m. on KPFK.

LA Biz Observed headlines