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Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell was elected to the open seat in the 26th state Senate district, with 80 percent of the vote. Democrat Matt Dababneh will face Republican Susan Shelley in a Nov. 19 runoff in the 45th Assembly district. LAT, DN, KPCC
Hillary Rodham Clinton will extend her November visit to the Los Angeles area by one day to accept an honor at USC. LAT
A raucous political fight is brewing between Lancaster and Palmdale about a power plant on their border. Capitol Weekly
Driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants: the graphics issue. LAT Opinion blog
City Hall buckled to the film industry and began to remove the green stripe from the Spring Street bike lane in Downtown. The lane will be marked in some other way. Streetsblog LA (LAO file photo)
California could become the first state to regulate ride-sharing services, but will they cause reduced service in low-inciome areas? KPCC
Nikki Finke and the Penske side are both talking to the media, and it doesn't sound like they are close to fixing the broken relationship. Finke's try to find a partner to buy back Deadline failed, says Brooks Barnes. NYT, LAT
Ms. Finke has at times taken to answering her phone weeping; at least one studio executive said he privately pressed Mr. Penske to resolve the matter.
Ms. Finke said on Wednesday that she hoped a resolution could come by Sunday, when she is scheduled to “live snark” the Emmy Awards for Deadline.
HIV-positive porn performer Cameron Bay complained about safety conditions on a set for Kink.com, and the site says it will reevaluate its procedures but insists no virus was transmitted that day. LAT, DN
Sheriff Lee Baca touted lower crime rates and his charitable giving in an appearance at the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association Thursday night, while skirting the biggest problem facing his department: two federal investigations into his sprawling jail system, which houses nearly 20,000 inmates. KPCC
A Beverly Hills police sergeant responding to the scene of Whitney Houston's death made "inappropriate comments" about the singer's appearance after lifting a sheet covering her naked body, according to a claim filed by a former Beverly Hills SWAT sergeant. LAPD
The 400-square mile Rim fire burn area includes a solid 60 square miles that burned so intensely everything is dead, researchers said. Said Jay Miller, senior wildland fire ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service: "If you asked most of the fire ecologists working in the Sierra Nevada, they would call this unprecedented." AP
There's a report that at least two National Football League teams have spoken with the owner of Hollywood Park as the site for a stadium that would house two teams, plus provide studios for NFL Films and a West Coast arm of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. National Football Post
‘Grand Theft Auto’ creator thrives by breaking the law. DN
Art critic Christopher Knight says it's nonsensical for Santa Monica to consider removing the Paul Conrad sculpture, Chain Reaction. LAT
Venice Is the best neighborhood in Los Angeles, but I'm leaving. LA Weekly
The Dodgers lost ugly again last night, 9-4 in Arizona, with Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig in the lineup. Puig hit his 17th home run. The Dodgers are now 7-10 in September. ESPN
Cecil Fergerson, described by artist J. Michael Walker as "one of the most indispensable pillars of the greater arts community in Los Angeles," died Wednesday at age 81 after a long illness. Here's a 1999 story in the LA Times Magazine about Fergerson. [Fixed spelling]
Choreographer and dance instructor Patsy Swayze, who trained her late actor son Patrick Swayze in Simi Valley, has died at age 86. LAT
City Hall's cockroach problem has reached a new level: there is a cockroach living in the paper towel dispenser in the ladies' room.
— Alice Walton (@TheCityMaven) September 18, 2013
