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Wikipedia and other sites go dark, Brown coming to town after speech, Alarcons in court, Hahn on Buscaino's election and more, including a book sale by the original MTV veejays.
Wikipedia and several other large websites are dark today to protest the the Stop Online Piracy
Act in Congress. LA Observed, LA Biz Observed
Plus: Why Hollywood is losing the anti-piracy war
The managing editor of BoingBoing.net will be on "Patt Morrison" at 2:40 on KPCC to talk about why his L.A.-based blog has gone dark.
Gov. Jerry Brown will deliver his State of the Speech this morning, then fly to Los Angeles to appear at City Hall. Afterward he will meet with supporters at his old Hollywood haunt, Lucy's El Adobe. Bee, LAT, Sausage Factory
City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife, Flora Montes de Oca Alarcon, were due in Dept. 109 of Los Angeles Superior Court at 8:30 a.m. for a pretrial hearing on their charges of perjury and voter fraud.
In a speech today to the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, Mayor Villaraigosa will say that "If we gave the 112th Congress a mid-term report card, the grade would be clear.
Congress would get an F. I can’t say it more clearly. Congress has flunked. They’ve failed. And we can’t afford this failure."
Mayoral candidate Austin Beutner will deliver "his campaign's first major address on job creation and the future of the Los Angeles economy," his camp says. At Town Hall Los Angeles on Thursday at lunch.
Statement from Rep. Janice Hahn on yesterday's election to succeed here on the City Council:
Both LAPD Officer Joe Buscaino and Assemblyman Warren Furutani have been remarkable public servants, and the residents of the 15th Council District would have been well served if either of these candidates became the next Councilmember from this district.However, today I would like to commend both candidates on running positive campaigns, and I would like to extend my enthusiastic and wholehearted congratulations to City Councilmember-Elect Joe Buscaino.
I am confident that he will be an outstanding representative for San Pedro, Wilmington, Watts, and the Harbor City/Harbor Gateway communities in City Hall. And, I look forward to joining forces him to stimulate our local economies, increase trade at our Port, help local small businesses, invest in our local infrastructure, and create more desperately needed good jobs so that we can grow our middle class.
Ten months after voters created the position, a citizens commission Tuesday picked energy industry consultant Fred Pickel as the Department of Water and Power's first ratepayer advocate. Pending City Council and mayoral approval. Pickeli is also president of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council. DN, City Maven
The burrito-smuggling deputy sheriff's now-documented problems at the training academy were just the tip of the iceberg. Witness LA
University of California president Mark Yudof's plan to ban tobacco at all UC campuses within two years goes too far, the L.A. Times says in an editorial.
Former UC regent Ward Connerly "is facing accusations from a prominent former ally that he has mismanaged — and exploited for his own benefit — donations" to the movement to end affirmative action. NYT, Bee
A survey taken as part of the city of Ontario's plan to win control of the Ontario airport says that most Los Angeles voters favor giving up control. Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, called the poll "misleading and an attempt to deflect the truth," and said the airport is not for sale. LAT
The City Council gave final approval to its ordinance requiring that adult film actors wear condoms. The legal impact is unclear. LAT, DN
A resolution to name City Hall East after former Mayor Jim Hahn was approved by the City Council's Information Technology and General Services Committee. City Maven
Huffington Post editorial director Howard Fineman talks about how AOL Patch sites fit into HuffPo campaign coverage. Capital
The Asociacion de Periodistas Latinos de California, a four-year-old group "made up mostly of laid-off or fired La Opinion reporters and editors," is looking for new blood. Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/KCET
Frank Girardot, an editor and columnist at the San Gabriel Valley Tribuine, has a new book out: "Name Dropper: Investigating The Clark Rockefeller Mystery." Rockefeller Mystery
Original MTV veejays Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn are doing an oral history of MTV for Atria. Publishers Lunch
Two dogs on a hiking trail beneath the Hollywood sign found a bag that contained a human head, believed to belong to a man of Armenian descent. Police are searching the hills for more body parts. LAT
The county's new public library in Topanga will be dedicated on Saturday after a decade in the works. It includes art from local residents. ZevWeb