Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz: Monday 3.12.12

Doonesbury's abortion strips, Romney's California challenge, McCourt and the LA Marathon, and more for a Monday.

Top of the news

The Los Angeles Times has moved this week's Doonesbury strips from the comics page to the op-ed page because of a story line "lampooning a Texas law requiring women to undergo an ultrasound before receiving an abortion." The Times explains in a story — and isn't alone. LAT, Romenesko

Politics and politicos

Realistically, "to clinch his party’s nomination...[Mitt] Romney needs virtually to sweep California’s Congressional Districts" in the June 5 primary, says Sherry Bebitch Jeffe. Prop Zero

The recent PPIC poll reports a "welter of data demonstrating the Gordian challenge any Republican faces in a California statewide election." Calbuzz

Reps. Brad Sherman and Howard Berman worked the Valley's Little Leagues this weekend. PolitiCal

Frank McCourt has no plans to sell the Los Angeles Marathon, plus more politics notes. Rick Orlov's Tipoff/DN

Mayoral candidate Austin Beutner inadvertently exposed the Los Angeles Fire Department's publishing of misleading performance data, and got a friendly column from Steve Lopez. LAT

DA candidate Carmen Trutanich had a tense interview with anchor Jeff Michaels on Fox 11.


Media and media people

What Los Angeles Times reporter Daborah Vankin learned during her nights on the streets with the Levitated Mass boulder. LAT

Longtime NPR voice Alex Chadwick is back on the air as host of the new radio series "Burn: An Energy Journal." Current.org

Patt Morrison and USC professor Marty Kaplan will talk about the plague of bogus "breaking news!" alerts on TV and cable news, at 1:30 p.m. on KPCC.

David Davis has a story in the New York Times on Herb Carnegie, a black hockey player in Canada who missed his chance to be the Jackie Robinson of the NHL. NYT

The inner zen of baseball pitcher Barry Zito by Steven Travers. Gentry Magazines

More

The departure of American Airlines has left Bob Hope (Burbank) Airport hurting financially. LAT

The farm that dates back to Pierce College's 1947 founding as the Clarence W. Pierce School of Agriculture may be on its last legs due to finances. LAT

Harry Wendelstedt, the retired baseball umpire with a place in Dodgers lore for extending Don Drsydale's scoreless inning streak with ab obscure call in 1968, died in Florida at age 73. NYT

Planning ahead

Local authors including Janet Fitch, Denise Hamilton, David Kipen, M.G. Lord, Tom Lutz, Patt Morrison, Gary Phillips, Nina Revoyr and David Ulin will read Raymond Chandler's "The Lady in the Lake" on Friday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club, part of the Santa Monica Citywide Reads program.


More by Kevin Roderick:
'In on merit' at USC
Read the memo: LA Times hires again
Read the memo: LA Times losing big on search traffic
Google taking over LA's deadest shopping mall
Gustavo Arellano, many others join LA Times staff
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A little bit of mid-week reading
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Morning Buzz: Wednesday 4.16.14