Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Curated news, notes and observations most weekdays from LA Observed.
Since Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown took office in 2011, nearly 1,400 inmates with life sentences were released on parole. AP
State Sen. Ron Calderon pleaded not guilty to charges in a federal indictment of him and his brother. State senate leaders said Monday they will give Calderon (D-Montebello) until March 3 to resign or take a leave of absence. LAT, Bee
Fallout from the Calderon scandal may be light for Democrats not named Calderon. DN
D.J. Waldie offers five instant lessons from the Calderon indictments. KCET
While he was in the Assembly in 2012, Charles Calderon pushed for several bills that would have made it easier for mobile home park owners to collect more rent. At the same time his son Ian Calderon, who is now a Democratic Assemblyman representing the Whittier area, worked as a consultant for longtime family friends with relatives who operated mobile home parks. DN
There's a truce in the feud between the Central Basin Water District and the rival Water Replenishment District. LAT
Although first-time congressional candidate Matt Miller "now sounds more like a candidate than a radio host who likes to provocate both left and right, he is not naïve about the challenges in winning over the Democratic base." Daily Beast
Venture capitalist Tim Draper insisted again Monday that he's not just joking about his proposal to split California into six states. SJ Mercury
Former school board member Genethia Hudley-Hayes has the backing of former mayors Richard Riordan and Antonio Villaraigosa to fill the open seat from South LA. Sausage Factory
How New York Magazine's Alec Baldwin interview came about and was written. Capital NY
SportsNet LA launches at 7 p.m. as the new cable home of the Dodgers, but is not universally available and represents the end of Dodger games on free TV. On Time Warner
Cable here it's HD channel 431 or SD channel 249.
Richard Just, the former top editor of The New Republic and Newsweek, has been named editor of National Journal. Just will oversee the print magazine and report to Editor-in-Chief Tim Grieve. Huffington Post
Mary Melton, the editor of Los Angeles Magazine, writes in the current issue about her mother, who passed away in January. Los Angeles
Born in Hollywood, she was my role model, joke supplier, shoulder to cry on, and closest friend. She was also the coolest L.A. woman I knew. Her passing has made me aware of how much she taught me about living, and how those lessons take shape in this magazine.
There are at least a dozen Oscar bloggers, "writers who make a living gaming out the prospects of awards contenders...They’re a motley and contentious lot, comprising shameless advocates, stats-obsessed would-be Nate Silvers, and seasoned journalists sourced up with a few dozen of the 6,000-odd producers, directors, actors, cinematographers, and other professionals who vote in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ...No film buzz is too preliminary or perfunctory to attract the speculation of the Oscar blogger." Vulture
While NBC and Nielsen are expected to release more detailed ratings information Tuesday, preliminary estimates show the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics averaging a strong 21.4 million viewers in primetime. While down 12 percent from the 24.4 million who watched on average during the more time zone-friendly Vancouver Games of 2010, it's up 6 percent from the 20.2 million average for the last European Winter Games in Torino in 2006. Variety
The documentary "Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle" is screening for the first time Thursday night at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington. It has a PBS air date of April 29.
Facebook will retire its email feature that gave users an address ending in @facebook.com. It wasn't just you: nobody was using it. LAT
Andrew McIntyre, the mid-market deals and real estate reporter for the Los Angeles Daily Journal, has left for Law360, where he will be a senior reporter covering real estate. A DJ source emails, "The Daily Journal is currently down to four reporters in its LA office."
The Los Angeles Police Revolver & Athletic Club Cafe at the LAPD academy in Elysian Park is closing for remodeling, but business has dropped and there is no reopening date. Food trucks will fill the void for now. The EastsiderLA
The city of Los Angeles is still issuing tickets at parking meters that are cheating motorists, despite a new California law forbidding cities from ticketing at inoperable or broken meters. NBC 4
David Kopay, the gay former NFL player who lives in Eagle Rock, talked to Tom Hoffarth about Michel Sam coming out before the NFL draft. DN
Updating 97 Downtown development projects from @TheBroad to the @BarkerBlock. Downtown News
Huge apartment buildings planned for the hot DTLA corner of Broadway and Ninth. Curbed
George Harrison (born today 1943) with Lennon & McCartney, in the beginning: #Quarrymen pic.twitter.com/CRHbIFwE3H
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) February 25, 2014