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Welcome to the new year, which in Sacto means the long farewell of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the sudden arrival of John Perez. Items after the jump
- Now that it's 2010, let the Arnold-as-lame duck stories begin. LAT, Bee
- John Perez is poised to become Assembly speaker "assuming the office with ambitious reform notions –- and few of the institutional political tools needed to achieve them." Calbuzz
- Rafat Ali believes that Politico finished 2009 with more revenue than the Huffington Post and an operating profit of about $1 million. paidContent
- The Daily Beast's growing readership suggests that Tina Brown "has been able to translate her trademark blend of intellectual depth and fascination with the shallows of pop culture to the Internet," says Robin Abcarian. LAT
- Former staffers of the late Editor & Publisher are blogging for now at E&P in Exile.
- The Times has jumped on the flood insurance maps story that KCET's SoCal Connected has been all over.
- A state law that took effect Friday allows cities to charge anywhere from $250 to $1,000 for violating disabled parking laws. SF Chronicle
- The LAPD is beginning to switch over from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to the BMW R1200 RT-Ps. NBC 4
- Bungling the firing of city manager Geoff Dolan cost Manhattan Beach $195,000. Daily Breeze
- Dave Davies, a Philadelphia Daily News reporter who frequently hosts NPR's "Fresh Air," is joining the show's home station WHYY full-time.
- The Wall Street Journal is dropping wine columnists John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter.
- A Monday night vigil will be held for Agustin "Bobby" Salcedo, the El Monte school board member who was murdered in Mexico last week. SGV Tribune, LAT