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KCET's financial struggles, Prop. 8 ruling's timing, Tribune troubles redux, Tim Rutten on Anne Rice quitting the Christians, and will Los Angeles County cost the Democrats the election? Plus more, inside.
- KCET is struggling financially and may consider leaving PBS or selling its studio on Sunset Boulevard, James Rainey says. LAT
- Today's court decision on Proposition 8 is expected to be posted between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and be available on the court's website. The case is Perry vs. Schwarzenegger.
- Ken Klee, the court-appointed examiner in the Tribune bankruptcy, has found plenty not to like around Sam Zell's 2007 takeover of the company that owns the Los Angeles Times and KTLA: "By issuing a set of rosy financial projections and misusing the imprimatur of one of the company's white-shoe investment banks, former and current Tribune Co. executives pushed through a deal that left the Chicago-based media conglomerate insolvent." Chicago Tribune
- The City Council was told the the city's pension obligations are about to skyrocket to a third of the general fund, requiring some action to avoid a budget calamity. (The Daily News' story quoted Councilman Bernard Parks without noting that, as city pensions go, he's among the biggest beneficiaries.) LAT, DN
- Los Angeles County may cost the Democrats the November elections because absentee voting is discouraged here, lowering turnout, argues Tony Quinn. Fox & Hounds
- You know all this Bell-inspired talk about posting the salaries of public employees? The county of Los Angeles already does. ZevWeb
- The L.A. Times series on Project 50, which intervenes to help the 50 worst cases on Skid Row, sparked a difference of opinion between Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Zev Yaroslavsky. LAT
- Here are the details of the ethics inquiry into Rep. Maxine Waters. ProPublica
- Fifteen LAPD officers were involved in that officer-involved shooting of a suspect in Pacoima last month. LA Weekly, LAPD
- Mayor Villaraigosa will convene a "bike summit" on August 16 to "provide an opportunity for cyclists to talk directly with the Mayor and representatives of keydepartments and agencies about improving conditions for cycling in Los Angeles."
- Evan George has moved over to associate editor of the Los Angeles Daily Journal.
- Tim Rutten columnizes on author Anne Rice leaving Christianity because, she says, "In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life." LAT Op-Ed
- The editors of Slake chatted with "Off-Ramp" host John Rabe on the back patio of The Verdugo, one of Rabe's hangouts. KPCC
- Stuff White People Like creator Christian Lander has sold "Whiter Shades of Pale:The Stuff White People Like from Coast to Coast," to Random House for publication in Fall 2010. Publishers Lunch
- Nat Hentoff will be on "Airtalk with Larry Mantle" on KPCC at 11:30 a.m. to talk about "At the Jazz Band Ball: Sixty Years on the Jazz Scene," his new book from University of California Press.
- Kari Derderian of LADOT will be the guest speaker at the August 14 meeting of Southern California Transit Advocates, at Angelus Plaza. Info
- Hollywood production designer Robert F. Boyle died at age 100. LAT