Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz: Friday 11.22.13

Curated news, notes and observations most weekdays from LA Observed.

Politics and government

Hollywood's Democratic heavy hitters kicked off Gov. Jerry Brown's re-election campaign with a fundraiser that netted $2 million at the Bel Air home of Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn on Thursday night. Hollywood Reporter, LAT

Did Senator Dianne Feinstein, now 80, hint at retirement during the filibuster vote yesterday? KPCC

City Hall officials missed signs in a geological report that suggest a $200-million residential and commercial development now under construction in Hollywood might be located above an earthquake fault, according to city records and interviews. LAT

Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has taken a position as a scholar in residence at Cal Poly Pomona. LAT

A jump in the number of Los Angeles County residents who became homeless in the last two years defied the national trend of a modest decline in the overall homeless population, according to federal estimates released Thursday. LAT

New City Hall websites draw mixed reviews. DN


Media and books

Sony Pictures Entertainment, reeling from several box-office disappointments and facing scrutiny from an activist shareholder, said at a Thursday meeting for investors that it would undergo a “significant shift” away from movies and toward the “higher margin” television business. LAT

Joseph W. Burkett, a former Army sergeant and onetime employee of a private intelligence outfit hired by the Pentagon to plant pro-U.S. stories in the Iraqi media in 2005, is the husband of CBS' Lara Logan and "the most interesting figure in this mystery [and] was never on screen" in the disputed "60 Minutes" piece on Benghazi. Newsweek

Meet Murray Weissman, one of the earliest Oscar consultants: he has campaigned for 35 best picture nominees. LAT

Sosie Bacon, the daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, was named this year’s Miss Golden Globe. The Wrap

The top 10 most read stories on the Los Angeles Daily News website last week. DN


Courts, cops and responders

Four LAFD firefighters were injured Thursday -- two of them seriously -- while battling a fire in a commercial building in South Los Angeles. CNS

A judge is expected to decide Friday whether to grant Irwindale's request to temporarily halt operations at the Sriracha hot sauce plant to address odor complaints. LAT


More news, notes and observations

USC planned to light the Olympic torch on the Coliseum for 24 hours, starting today at 12:01 a.m., in memory of President John F. Kennedy. USC

jfkswim600-uclalat.jpgRetired LA Times photographer Bill Beebe talks about his photo of JFK emerging from the water at Santa Monica Beach surrounded by fans. The Argonaut, LA Observed

Plus: An earlier Santa Monica photo of Kennedy, by Times photog Bill Murphy, became the first postage stamp devoted to JFK. LAT

The only person who knew both JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald. The Atlantic

A.J. Langguth, then a young New York Times reporter, spent a Christmas day with the mother of Oswald. LAT Op-Ed

50 years later, JFK girlfriend Judith Campbell Exner deserves an image makeover. Patt Morrison/Opinion LA

Roger McGuinn of the Byrds reflecting on the JFK assassination at an event for LA Talks LA two years ago. YouTube

Pride evident even if details fuzzy at JFK High School in Granada Hills. DN

Just how much plastic washed onto Santa Monica Beach with this week's rain? This video shows you. Heal the Bay

The Expo Line Construction Authority is planning a full weekend closure of Overland Avenue between Ashby Avenue and Coventry Place/Dunleer Place, from 9:00 p.m. Friday, November 22 to 6:00 a.m. Monday, November 25, 2013. Info

Spice Table in LIttle Tokyo disclosed when it will close. It's still looking for a new location. Eater LA

Fred Kavli, a Southern California philanthropist, physicist, entrepreneur, and founder and chairman of the Kavli Foundation, which promotes scientific research worldwide, died Thursday at home in Santa Barbara. He was 86. LAT


Tweet of the day


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
Recent Morning Buzz stories on LA Observed:
Thursday news and notes
A little bit of mid-week reading
A few links from a few different places
Let's talk about anything but the weather
A few links from here and there
A couple of links from a couple of places
A bit of news from a few places
Morning Buzz: Wednesday 4.16.14