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Selected items of news and notes from the media, our in box and other LA Observed sources. Posted some days, often in the morning.
Developer Geoffrey Palmer's seven-story DaVinci apartment complex under construction in downtown Los Angeles was destroyed this morning by a fire that damaged two nearby buildings and prompted closure of parts of the Harbor and Hollywood freeways. The site took up the 900 block of Fremont Avenue. While firefighters were there, at least two other fires broke out in buildings in or near downtown. DN, LAT, AP
Mayor Eric Garcetti and his earthquake advisor, seismologist Lucy Jones, will unveil a quake preparation and response plan for the city this morning.
Los Angeles County is falling behind in the political representation of minorities and women, a study from Loyola Marymount University's Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center finds. DN/Orlov
An anonymous donor contributed $400,000 to Los Angeles' increasingly popular CicLAvia to help keep the event going next year, organizers said Sunday. LAT
Developer Rick Caruso unveiled plans a major redevelopment of the shopping village in Pacific Palisades. LAT
National Park Service scientists have verified a report of a second mountain lion in the patchwork of open space between Bel Air and Los Feliz. KPCC
Faced with a lack of funding and a dwindling number of employees, City Hall's approach to technology is simply “keeping the lights on,” rather than innovation, a new report says. DN
Hundreds of protesters in Berkeley began peacefully on Sunday night, then a group blocked Highway 24 in Oakland and vandalized cars and businesses. About eight were arrested. SF Chronicle, LAT
Rolling Stone deleted the line from its editor note on the botched University of Virginia rape story that said "we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her [Jackie, the rape victim] was misplaced.” Instead, the line now reads “These mistakes are on Rolling Stone, not on Jackie.” Washington Post
Charles Pierce on "the lingering death of The New Republic." Esquire
Emily Nussbaum on "The Newsroom's" crazy-making campus rape episode. New Yorker
"Trimmigrants" flock to Humboldt County during the marijuana harvest season for work trimming the plants. Photo: Brett Myers/Youth Radio KQED
The Center for Investigative Reporting has posted the names and salaries of public employees in some of California's largest cities and counties, "to give you a better picture of how your money is spent." Payday California
In Los Angeles, a Nimby Battle Pits Millionaires vs. Billionaires. NYT Style
Los Angeles has become, "of all things, a leader in sustainable water management, a pioneer in big-city use of cost-effective, environmentally beneficial water conservation, collection and reuse technologies. Some combination of these techniques is the most plausible path to survival for all the cities of the water-depleted West." NYT Opinion
Airbnb unveiled a study that concludes, among other things, that nearly half of LA users who rent their homes work in the entertainment industry. LA Weekly
Washington Post book critic Jonathan Yardley retired with a personal note after 3,000 reviews. WP
The Pulitzer Prize Board in journalism announced expanded eligibility for two prize categories, Investigative Reporting and Feature Writing, to include many online and print magazines.
