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Bratton may want his old NYPD job back, Meg Whitman is following the Sarah Palin act, and more evidence of political sleaze in the city's pension systen. Plus: how many unclaimed bodies do you think L.A. County has on file? Today's Buzz after the jump (and I fixed Koretz to Krekorian.)
- After taming crime in Los Angeles, William Bratton won over the skeptics who doubted his success in New York. But all he really wants is his old NYPD job back. New York magazine
- It's not just Sarah Palin: Meg Whitman "has quietly laid plans to add 'author' to her resume" with "The Power of Many," set for release in January -- just as the 2010 California governor's race heats up. Carla Marinucci
- Gavin Newsom told the Wall Street Journal he is committed to his political life and not weighing a return to the winery. WSJ
- Robert Aguallo, the former top executive of one of Los Angeles' public employee pension systems, rented an apartment from a company that at the same time was securing millions of dollars in public funds from his agency. LAT
- A highly unpopular fare increase proposal and a host of other Metrolink management challenges are intensifying questions about the future leadership role of CEO David R. Solow. LAT
- A sure sign the CD2 runoff election is getting near: Krekorian, a Democrat, accuses Essel of being too close to Democrats, and Essel files a police report alleging theft of an innocuous letter and raising the specter of, yes, Watergate. [Fixed: Krekorian not Koretz. Brain spasm on my part.]
- Attorney Angela Reddock withdrew her appointment to the Fire and Police Pensions system board after Councilman Bernard Parks raised questions about her refusing to disclose her law clients. LAT
- A local fight is underway in Westwood over the formation of a Westwood Neighborhood Council, says Ken Draper. CityWatch
- The success of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. hospital rides on a new board yet to be appointed. LAT, NYT
- Mayor Villaraigosa named Chicago housing official Douglas Guthrie to become the new general manager of the city’s Housing Department. LAT
- Governing magazine was sold to e.Republic, a Northern California media company whose top executives are active Scientologists and that publishes Government Technology and other magazines. Twelve of 27 staffers were asked to stay on. NYT
- The Ft. Hood massacre was not the first violent tragedy that conservatives have blamed on political correctness. But it might be the first one in which they actually have a point, says Gregory Rodriguez. LAT Op-Ed
- Devin Petelski, the 25-year-old Brentwood woman killed in a traffic collision involving a Los Angeles Police Department cruiser last month, was laid to rest during a small private ceremony as questions remained about the Venice crash. LA Daily
- The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office database of unclaimed bodies is up to 4,827. DN
- Dana Goodyear observes Lady Gaga, Frank Gehry and the MOCA benefit in a Talk of the Town piece in this week's New Yorker. Plus "Midnight in Dostoevsky," new fiction by Don DeLillo.
- Ann Louise Bardach's "Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana, and Washington" was a web pick of the week at Publishers Weekly.
- "It’s been nearly 20 years since my fateful meeting with Yehudi Menuhin in the Pasadena Hilton Hotel," writes Lionel Rolfe. Pasadena Weekly
- I'm that told that when Kings' new Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille went to the City Council Friday to be honored, he adopted the dog of the week brought in by Councilman Herb Wesson.
- The Galaxy lost the MLS Cup final to Real Salt Lake in a shootout. DN