July 7 news and notes

News, notes and observations from LA Observed and selected media sources. Sometimes daily, often in the morning.

LAPD chief Charlie Beck has a majority of the police commission behind his bid for a second term, but it took some behind-the-scenes work to get there, says Joel Rubin. LAT

Jim Newton writes that for those who joined the Bobby Shriver bandwagon when it looked unbeatable, the challenge has gotten a lot tougher since he finished a weak second to Sheila Kuehl in the race for Board of Supervisors. LAT op-ed

Civil rights groups will meet with the CHP over that videotaped incident on the Santa Monica Freeway showing an officer tackling and repeatedly slugging a woman who had been trying to walk in traffic lanes. The CHP is conducting its own investigation, and the woman's daughter calls for "justice.". LAT, KPCC, LA Weekly

Members of the LA 2020 Commission are frustrated that their report on what's wrong with Los Angeles landed with such a thud. DN/Rick Orlov

LA political consultant Michael Trujillo could be pivotal to a Hillary Clinton campaign, argues blogger Tony Castro. Voxxi

The accidental bite of a swimmer by a thrashing, hooked great white shark has raised tensions between swimmers, surfers and the fishermen on Manhattan Beach pier. LAT

David Simon takes on a Huffington Post blogger for saying, in error, that he was fired from the Baltimore Sun before starting "The Wire." His blog

Correction of the day: The LA Times says its review of "Big Little Man:
In Search of My Asian Self" by former staffer Alex Tizon got a few things wrong: "Also, the review described Tizon as an avid consumer of porn, but the book says the viewing was for research. It also describes Tizon's friend's embarrassment about the size of his endowment, whereas the book states that 'he liked being average.'" LAT

Actress Scarlett Johansson sued French novelist Gregoire Delacourt -- and won 2,500 euros in damages -- over his "hurtful and demeaning" of her in a novel about a Johansson look-alike being a sex object. BBC

Participant Media has been quietly working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Knight Foundation and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism to answer a question vexing those who would use media to change the world: Do grant-supported media projects incite change, or are they simply an expensive way of preaching to the choir? NYT

"This American Life" after PRI. NYT

Lucas Shaw is leaving The Wrap to report on the television and music industries for the Los Angeles bureau of Bloomberg News. He starts Aug. 18. Via memo

The Hollywood Reporter announced today the hire of Jon Frosch as Reviews Editor and Bryan Bishop as News Director, THR.com. Both begin July 14 in Los Angeles. Via email

Dana Chinn, a faculty member at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, has been named Director of the Norman Lear Center's Media Impact Project there. Via release

10 Best Take-Out Restaurants in Los Angeles: Mozza 2Go makes the number one spot.
LA Weekly

@LAObserved -- Yet another. pic.twitter.com/5MvfEXd7Dy

— Lynell George (@lynellgeorge) July 6, 2014