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In first class with Will Ferrell, Antonio Jr.'s mural project, the LAT's slimmer editorial page, the last purchase at Village Books, plus politics and media notes.
The City Council is expected Tuesday to approve a preliminary memorandum of understanding with AEG on the downtown NFL stadium, leaving many details still to be negotiated. DN
Also on the agenda: privatizing vs. public ownership of city facilities. DN
The county has seriously botched the contracts for a communications network that would link first responders and now faces a true fiasco, says Jim Newton. LAT op-ed
Those are some screwy new county supervisor district maps proposed by advocates of a second district that would be shaped to boost the election chances for a Latino. LAT
Mayor Villaraigosa took his annual vacation with pals in Iceland before returning to appear at last week's Obama birthday fundraiser here, says Rick Orlov. Tipoff/DN
Was City Attorney Carmen Trutanich's decision to turn $2 million in consumer projection funds over to the county kosher — or a gift to a political ally? LAT
After posting excitedly on Facebook that he was sitting beside Will Ferrell in first class, the county's acting director of public affairs, David Sommers, added a quick followup: "it's the bowtie pasta with porcini sauce for Will Ferrell tonight."
City Councilman Richard Alarcón introduced a motion to rename the newly opened municipal
building in Pacoima as the Frank del Olmo Neighborhood City Hall, in honor of the late Los Angeles Times editor and columnist.
Stop the 710 freeway project in South Pasadena and instead focus on transit and congestion management improvements on existing roads, argues Joel Reynolds of the Natural Resources Defense Council. LAT op-ed
Antonio Villaraigosa Jr. is one of three Mt. Washington twenty-somethings who want to create a memorial mural to honor an artist-friend, Jack Rohman, who was schizophrenic and committed suicide. Patch
Saturday's L.A. Times op-ed page was folded into the editorial page, with no letters to the editor or op-ed articles other than Patt Morrison's column. It's the new downsized way on Saturdays, as the paper explains. Readers' Rep blog
Food writer Jonathan Gold endorses a ban on shark-fin delicacies. LAT op-ed
Wall Street Journal aerospace beat reporter Peter Sanders left the Los Angeles bureau on Friday for a "public service" job he can't yet talk about.
David Kipen bought the last book sold at Village Books in the Pacific Palisades, just as he had purchased the first book sold there 14 years earlier. LA Weekly
Former L.A. Times arts writer and current Deadline Hollywood contributor Diane Haithman is writing a Patch column with her dog Heidi — and they like the new Colfax Avenue bridge in Studio City, along with several local businesses. Studio City Patch
Michael Hiltzik wants to know why the Angels are "trying to nickel-and-dime their stadium ushers, ticket sellers and janitors." LAT
California has been the most fertile ground so far for post-newspaper media innovation, says Conor Friedersdorf, citing Voice of San Diego, California Watch and Spot.us. City Journal
Echo Park Patch editor Anthea Raymond took to social media when the LAPD closed off her street last night: "Does anyone know anything about the ongoing lockdown on Maltman? I'm told it's in my building and involves one of my neighbors." Facebook
The Times makes a rough calculation that the Dodgers attendance drop this season will cost the team $27 million in lost revenue. LAT
Twenty years ago on Aug. 6, Tim Berners-Lee posted on Usenet about the new creation that he declined to patent: "The WorldWideWeb (WWW) project aims to allow links to be made to any information anywhere." Dan Gillmor
Speaking of goats grazing on a Downtown hill, Times editorial writer Carla Hall wonders "why can’t we have roaming petting zoos around the city?" Opinion L.A.
The "obstructionists standing in the way of Constellation, the Expo Line and other long-needed Metro projects...are just pimples on the ass of someone as ugly as Gollum," writes transit proponent Joel Epstein. Urban Times
The lost art of postcard writing. NY Review of Books
Actor Francesco Quinn, the son of the late actor Anthony Quinn, died Sunday apparently of a heart attack suffered while walking home in Malibu with his son. LAT