Friday short stack 2.3.12

A second teacher was removed from Miramonte Elementary School this week and is the subject of a criminal investigation, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. LAT, AP
A longtime orchestra teacher at Hamilton High School’s music magnet program has been accused of sexually molesting at least four students in the mid-1990s through 2010 and is being sued by one former student, according to court documents and a police report. KPCC
The Los Angeles Times explains it decision to publish an open-casket photo of Etta James. Reader's Representative
The City Ethics Commission began talking publicly Thursday about doubling the campaign contribution limits for donors in city elections, the first increase in 27 years. LAT, DN
Now that he has a million dollars in the campaign bank, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich is close to saying whether he will run for DA. DN
Called "an extremely unusual use of taxpayer money," the promoters of California's high-speed train quietly hired a lobbyist to influence the same Legislature that appointed them to build the project. San Jose Mercury
Santa Monica city officials are trying to decide whether to raise $423,000 to fix up a sculpture by the late cartoonist Paul Conrad, or spend $20,000 to remove it. LAT
How Michael Miller, a British ex-pat who was the Reuters West Coast bureau chief, fell in thrall with Los Angeles. KCET Departures
Former Tribune innovation guru Lee Abrams is back with an LA-based joint venture called Think TeleVisual Network, promoted as a way to “elevate the television news playbook into the digital age." Radio-info.com
The Bay Citizen news startup is in such disarray that its domain name expired and the site is off the air. There's talk of a merger with the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley and the possibility of former SF Chronicle editor Phil Bronstein becoming CEO. Jim Romenesko