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Conan debuts tonight, Olbermann to return Tuesday, Whitman's spending put in perspective, Qantas passengers stranded at LAX and much more for a Monday.
- Keith Olbermann returns to his chair at MSNBC on Tuesday, amid chatter about what the lines should be for someone in his role. Romenesko, MSNBC
Plus: TBS has high hopes for tonight's Conan O'Brien debut. NYT - Meg Whitman campaign consultant Mike Murphy defended her spending and strategy on "Meet the Press" and complained about union spending while citing California becoming a bluer state. LAT, LA Weekly
- How much did Whitman spend? More than the entire field of 15 other candidates for statewide office combined, Democrats as well as Republicans. California Watch
- Urging Whitman to take on Sen. Dianne Feinstein in two years. Calbuzz
- Some 500 Australia-bound Qantas passengers are stranded at LAX due to the grounding of the airliners' A-380 Airbus fleet. CBS LA
- Orlov's Monday Tipoffs :Mayor Villaraigosa missing on DWP reform, Cleveland worse than L.A. for political ads, did Steve Cooley take Los Angeles for granted? DN
- Villaraigosa report card: some improvement but a long way to go, says DN editorial.
- Controller Wendy Greuel in an interview with Patt Morrison: "I've always said the dream job is being mayor of the city of Los Angeles, and of course [I am] looking at that, but I think it is important to focus on the job you're elected to do." LAT Op-Ed
- The City Attorney's Neighborhood Prosecutor Program has fallen victim to the budget knife. DN
- Rudy Martinez' challenge to Councilman Jose Huizar is the only 2011 council race that could be truly competitive, says Downtown News Editor Jon Regardie. DTN
- UTLA has set aside a war chest and retained consultants to run Louise Pugliese, Gabriel Buelna, Jesus Escondon and Marguerite Lamotte against incumbents on the school board, says education blogger Anthony Krinski.
- Metrolink changes up its train schedules as of today, affecting nearly all lines. Metrolink
- Attorney Gloria Allred, now the subject of "Saturday Night Live" skits, is profiled in the L.A. Times.
- Sheriff's department personnel moved the skeleton of Mitrice Richardson before the coroner could reach the scene, despite warnings from a top coroner's official. LAT
- Whither the future of Marina del Rey, now about 50 years old. LAT
- AOL Patch says it has hired 600 journalists so far during 2010. Beet.TV
- The Huffington Post has launched a new section on divorce, with Nora Ephron a high-profile contributor. NYT
- Five potential Republican candidates for president -- Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, John Bolton, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum -- were guests on Fox News Channel shows at least 269 times in the first nine months of 2010, says Media Matters.
- Kent Mackenzie’s film “The Exiles" is David Brody's DVD of the week in The New Yorker.
- L.A. author Alan Abrahamson has written the new book, "Zero Regrets: Be Greater than Yesterday," with Olympic champion Apolo Ohno.
- On KCRW's "The Business" at 2:30 p.m., Kim Masters and John Horn talk about the R rating for "The King’s Speech” and Hasbro’s influence over Universal’s “Battleship.”