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Selected items from the media, our in box and other LA Observed sources. Posted occasionally — often in the morning.
Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby ruled the death of Freddie Gray in police custody was a homicide and said there is probable cause to file charges against six officers involved. Baltimore Sun, NBC
Ronald Jerome Boyd, chief of the Port of Los Angeles police force, was indicted Thursday on charges of wire fraud, making false statements to federal agents and tax evasion in connection with business links to a software developer he was helping win a contract at the port. LAT, AP
Those two nonprofit trusts created by the Department of Water and Power and its union, financed with more than $40 million from ratepayers, paid millions to vendors without competitive bids, overpaid top managers and let them charge personal travel, gasoline and other items without filing expense reports, Controller Ron Galperin said in audits released Thursday. In five years, a handful of trust employees charged more than $660,000 for things such as steak dinners and trips to Las Vegas, Hawaii and New Orleans. Union head Brian D'Arcy had resisted the audits and blasted the results. LAT
A judge on Thursday halted the Millennium Hollywood development, ruling that the city of Los Angeles failed to fully take into account Caltrans concerns about the traffic impact. A new EIR would be required to move the skyscraper project forward. The judge had no issues with the nearby earthquake fault. LAT
Gov. Brown scaled back the $8 billion plan to restore more than 100,000 acres of fish and wildlife habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and said two tunnels for water diversion must be built. LAT, Bee, AP
People who record police encounters on their phones will be able to automatically transmit the video to their local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union using a smartphone app launched Thursday. LAT, Reuters, LA Weekly
The state Senate must release the calendars, appointment books and meeting schedules of indicted former Democratic senators Ron Calderon and Leland Yee in response to a lawsuit by the Los Angeles News Group and its Bay Area sister group, a huge ruled tentatively. Sacto Bee
Stevie Wonder headlined Mayor Eric Garcetti's no-press-allowed reelection campaign fundraiser last night at the Avalon in Hollywood. LA Weekly
State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León claims that his lavish swearing-in event at Walt Disney Concert Hall was singled out for media atte tion because he's Latino and the media is not. The $50,000 celebration was paid for by special interest contributions to the Legislature’s Latino Caucus and cost taxpayers an additional $28,000 in travel expenses. La Opinión, Bee
Democrat Lou Vince, a police lieutenant and memberof the Agua Dulce Town Council, said Thursday he will challenge freshman Rep. Stephen Knight (R-Palmdale) in next year's election. LAT
UC Irvine Law School dean Erwin Chemerinsky expects the Supreme Court will decide there is a constitutional right to marriage equality. ABA Journal
A federal appeals court Thursday unanimously upheld a Santa Monica law that ended the tradition of displaying Nativity scenes in Palisades Park. LAT
Floyd Mayweather reportedly vowed that if he beats Manny Pacquiao in their Saturday match, he will put up Suge Knight's $10 million bail. LAT
Agent Andy Ross: "I’m so angry I could spit!" about the PEN - Charlie Hebdo award controversy. Ask the Agent
Jon Wiener: Defend Charlie Hebdo’s publishing of disgusting cartoons about Muslims? Yes. Give them an award for It? No. The Nation
How not to report an earthquake: lessons from Haiti for reporters in Nepal from Jonathan M. Katz. NYT Magazine
The New York Times Company posted a $14 million net loss for the first quarter of 2015, driven by a pension settlement charge and a drop in lucrative print advertising. NYT
KPCC senior managing editor Kristen Muller was named one of 12 John S. Knight Journalism Fellows at Stanford University for the 2015-16 academic year. Release
Former KTTV anchor Carlos Amezcua is freelancing for San Diego FOX affiliate KSWB. TVSpy
Financial writer Charles Duhigg, formerly at the LA Times, will move to be in charge of live events for the New York Times. Romenesko
Variety hired its first Silicon Valley correspondent: Janko Roettgers, formerly a senior writer with GigaOM. Fishbowl NY
Following the lead of KPCC's John Rabe, the LA Times opinion section is doing its own dumb poll to "name" the mountain lion in Griffith Park tagged as P-22. LAT
Thousands of immigrants, civil rights activists, laborers and clergy plan to march Friday in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire to mark May Day. DN
Was the Nepal earthquake twice as big as we thought? A graphic explanation of the differences in magnitudes. Quartz
Hiking trails to Yosemite's Half Dome opened three weeks earlier than usual due to the lack of snow. LAT
A lot of organized walks have gone the length of Wilshire Boulevard through the years. Now there's another one. KPCC
ArcLight Cinemas Culver City opens today, where the Pacific Theatres were.
Ed Wood's "Plan 9" Studio Is for Sale: http://t.co/7PQ1GXyKyP pic.twitter.com/2rzfqGh6l0
— L.A. Weekly (@LAWeekly) May 1, 2015A brief history of the well-loved but oft-forgotten brethren of LA's Red Cars: its Yellow Cars http://t.co/VsFRCVY7kC pic.twitter.com/gBBkBA7LFv
— Los Angeles magazine (@LA_mag) April 29, 2015