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Cold rain expected, an audit of Animal Services, Frisbee rules go back for rewrite, redistricting gets testy, Villaraigosa on chairing the Democratic convention, and a disabled placard stunt with Steve Lopez and Dennis Zine.
A cold low-pressure system will move through today, with strong winds and some rain expected this afternoon through Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Controller Wendy Greuel will release an audit of the city’s Animal Services Department at 9 a.m. "Findings reveal the Department is plagued by lax controls and lack of continuity in management which created an environment with the potential to jeopardize animal safety," her office says.
Plus: The city has sent home six animal shelter commanders pending a police probe into shelter vending machine contracts, the Daily News has learned. DN
The Board of Supervisors ordered county staff to rewrite a recent ordinance to clarify that Frisbee and ball throwing "by small groups and individuals are allowed at all times on the county beach," with a few exceptions. The lede by the Times' Ari Bloomekatz: "
L.A. County supervisors learned Tuesday what happens when you try to fix a problem that doesn't really exist." LAT
The state's Legislative Counsel Bureau questioned the legality of LAPD Chief Charlie Beck's proposed changes to the policy of impounding cars of unlicensed drivers for 30 days. The Police Commission is calling a two-week timeout to consider the opinion, but the policy is also getting a lot of pushback from the police union. LAT
Surprise: the City Council's redistricting process "has become an increasingly messy and acrimonious bit of political theater as lawmakers and community groups jockey for favored positions." LAT
After losing his race for the City Council, Assemblyman Warren Furutani is taking a break from politics and won't run for reelection. PolitiCal
Superior Court Judge Lynn Dianne Olson, elected six years ago despite being rated unqualified after she challenged a highly-rated judge with a difficult-to-pronounce and "more ethnic" name, has drawn a challenger in her first time back on the ballot. And Times editorial writer Robert Greene enjoys the irony. Opinion LA
Averting what some feared would be a Valentine's Day massacre, the Los Angeles Unified board decided Tuesday to delay making crippling cuts to adult education and arts and preschool programs in the hope of finding money to fund them. DN
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Vice President Joe Biden and Gov. Jerry Brown will take part in a luncheon with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and his delegation on Friday at the JW Marriott at LA Live.
Villaraigosa talks in a YouTube video about chairing the Democratic Convention this summer in Charlotte.
The Jewish Journal will host a Feb. 21 debate between Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman at Temple Judea in Tarzana. Editor Rob Eshman and LA Observed columnist Bill Boyarsky will be moderators.
Councilman Dennis Zine and columnist Steve Lopez took part in a City Hall stunt to ticket drivers who abuse disabled placards (and feed Lopez a column.) LAT
KCET announced a new weekly show, "Open Call," with "a wide variety of productions from intriguing profiles of artists and their organizations to full-length performances in music, dance, visual arts and the spoken word filmed live in theaters and cultural venues around the region," to debut March 1 and air Thursdays at 9 p.m. Executive producer is Bohdan Zachary and on-air host is mezzo-soprano opera singer Suzanna Guzmàn.
KPCC's John Rabe sings in this clip from his '90s punk band Belt: Audio
Karin Tanabe, a former Politico reporter, has landed a book deal that Publishers Marketplace describes as "20-something journalist leaves a cushy NYC magazine job for DC's hottest (and most cut-throat) political rag, where she uncovers a juicy scandal involving a senator that could make or break her career." BuzzFeed/Poynter
Sheriff's sergeant Mark Moffit, a 23-year veteran, has accused another sergeant of pointing a gun at his head and other harassment. The second sergeant may be a member of the Vikings or the Regulators, one of the gang-like cliques of deputies and top officials within the department. LAT, Witness LA
Also: Another jailer has been arrested and linked to cocaine smuggling to inmates. LAT
James Mee, the Malibu sheriff's deputy who arrested Mel Gibson for drunk driving in 2006, settled his lawsuit against the department for making his life miserable since the arrest. Gibson had ties to higher-ups in the department. LAT
The Urban League of Los Angeles released a statement on the death of Whitney Houston, saying in part that she "was a part of our lives from the time she began modeling. Even as a teenager she was a pioneer particularly for young African American women who had not seen someone who looked like them on the cover of Seventeen magazine nor within the pages of major fashion magazines. And that was before the public unveiling of 'the Voice' – a gift beyond measure."