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Tony Estrada, a fugitive former Coliseum contractor, did a Skype interview with the Times while wearing a mask and said that for years he reported criminal wrongdoing to his superiors at the stadium. LAT
Julian and Michael Omidi, the owners of the weight-loss surgery centers named in several wrongful death lawsuits and in investigations for medical fraud, have stopped soliciting money online for a charity they’ve started that has not secured non-profit status, KPCC reports.
Former state Sen. Gloria Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat, announced her support for the November ballot measure that would ban the practice of political contribution by payroll deduction, the primary method labor unions use to raise political cash. LAT
Undersheriff Paul Tanaka sent a department-wide memo attempting to clarify that he as not condoning misconduct when he has urged deputies to be aggressive and "work in the gray." Witness LA, LAT
Sheriff’s officials have launched a criminal investigation into the arrest of a sexual battery suspect, who is seen having his head stomped by a deputy in video footage. LAT
City Attorney Carmen Trutanich talked to Warren Olney about his lawsuits trying to force banks to clean up foreclosed properties, and also confirmed that he intends to run for reelection next year. WWLA, DN
The Los Angeles Fire Department has formed a task force to help address lingering questions about how quickly units are responding to fire and rescue emergencies. LAT
DA candidate Jackie Lacey announced the endorsements of Reps. Brad Sherman and Janice Hahn.
That was some car crash former Alameda County Supervisor Nadia Lockyer got into after her husband, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, informed her he was filing for divorce. SF Chronicle
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt took to Tumblr to criticize GQ and cover story writer Amy Wallace for repeating a "factually incorrect" claim that his brother Dan died of a drug overdose in 2010. The Wrap
In the July Atlantic magazine, Caitlin Flanagan on Jackie Kennedy's girl problem and Ed Leibowitz on the last days of foie gras in California.
ProPublica is getting a $1.9 million data journalism grant from the Knight Foundation, the nonprofits jointly announced on Wednesday. Nieman Lab
Sarah Vowell, the author of "Unfamiliar Fishes," talks about the “orgy of imperialism” that led to the Americanization of Hawaii on Jon Wiener's show on KPFK at 4 p.m.
Tyler Green on the mess at MOCA and the "brutal three-week stretch for what was once America’s most respected museum dedicated to contemporary art." Modern Art Notes
So, the key question is: what now? It would be reasonable to hope that such a catyclismic few weeks, effectively a gutting of the heart, soul and brains of an institution, that the remaining MOCA trustees would realize that the last couple years have been a titanic mistake. While none of them is talking about all this with the media — and Deitch’s most recent interview primarily addressed disco — there is no indication that the remaining MOCAns have any regrets. They’re standing by their man, who is stayin’ alive.
Paths to institutional recovery — let alone to redemption — seem non-existent. There’s virtually no chance that Deitch’s program will attract traditional funders, funders to whom intellectual engagement and quality scholarship matter....It’s hard to see this situation getting better any time soon.
SoCal hockey player and Olympic champion Angela Ruggiero talks to Patt Morrison about what she will doing in London as a new member of the IOC's athletes commission. LAT op-ed
