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Rep. Howard Berman has "won the unofficial primary among Hollywood and D.C. elites, they say, but it’s [Rep. Brad] Sherman who has the edge right now among voters who live among the backyard swimming pools and porn sets of the sprawling San Fernando Valley." Politico
California's bullet train track through the Central Valley would cost $6 billion and have to be completed by September 2017, "or else potentially lose some of its federal funding. It would mean spending as much as $3.5 million every calendar day, holidays and weekends included — the fastest rate of transportation construction known in U.S. history, according to industry and academic experts." LAT
Austin Beutner's abrupt exit from the 2013 campaign for mayor "highlights the decline of political power that was once wielded by the city's business elite," says an LA Times story. LAT
City labor unions have decided Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is waging a war against women, alleging most of his proposed layoffs would hit jobs traditionally held by female workers. LAT
Rick Orlov's Monday Tipoff: Gavin Newsom's TV show, Antonovich to become chair of MTA, impact on city of Dodgers' lower parking fee. DN
Jon Fleischman returns to LA's upcoming vote on whether to ban plastic and paper bags at Los Angeles supermarkets and require everyone to buy and carry a lot of reusable bags: "This may seem too stunningly idiotic a maneuver for you to actually believe, but yet it is true." Flash Report
Al Jazeera English reporter Melissa Chan returned to Southern California after becoming the first accredited journalist to be expelled from China in 14 years. LAT
Gregory Rodriguez writes that he's "one of those mythical native Californians you might have read about. I was born near the corner of Sunset and Vermont in Hollywood. My father was born in L.A. and baptized, as was I, at La Placita Church downtown. My mom was born in northern San Diego County and baptized at the San Antonio de Pala mission there. My paternal great-grandfather arrived in the U.S. — Arizona — from Mexico in 1893. My family has been American so long that sometimes I think I should wear one of those buckled Pilgrim hats. And yet, despite my rootedness in Southern California, migration has had an inordinate effect on my life, especially my intellectual and professional life." LAT op-ed
Starting today, Billy Bush’s nationally syndicated radio show can be heard on weekdays on Playlist 92.7 FM from 4-8 p.m. Fishbowl LA
Peter Jones, the writer/director/producer of “Johnny Carson: King of Late Night” premiering tonight on PBS, guests with Larry Mantle on "Airtalk" at 11:40 a.m. on KPCC
Despite doomsday punditry about California, "the demographic picture in California is brighter than it has been in decades," says USC demographer Dowell Myers. "Provided we meet one key challenge...the main threat in California isn’t about business climate or the types of homes being built. It is about the defunding of higher education and the failure to invest in the next generation of workers, taxpayers, and homebuyers." Zocalo Public Square
Roosevelt High School in predominantly Latino Boyle Heights neighborhood is in what health officials call a teen pregnancy "hot spot," where teen pregnancy rates are two to three times higher than in other L.A. neighborhoods. NPR
The FBI is investigating the apparent disappearance of an estimated $1 million in donations that about 200 nonprofits reported losing when International Humanities Center in Woodland Hills abruptly shut down this year. LAT
Sophia has replaced Isabella as new most popular baby name for American girls, while Jacob remains the top name for boys for the 13th straight year. AP
Kobe Bryant, his father and his mother. Sports Illustrated
Clippers general manager Neil Olshey didn't take a traditional path to the NBA playoffs. ESPN
Tommy Lasorda was the scheduled commencement speaker on Saturday at Marymount College Palos Verdes.
Crenshaw district real estate is "on the upswing." South LA Intersections
George Wolfe was honored for his advocacy of the Los Angeles River. KCET, Echo Park Patch
The United Farm Workers union will hold its 50th anniversary convention May 18-20 in Bakersfield.
