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Selected items from the media, our in box and other LA Observed sources. Posted occasionally — often in the morning.
ISIS systematically turns hundreds of girls and women into sex slaves citing the Koran. NYT
Shade balls: They are not primarily a drought measure, they are not new in Los Angeles reservoirs, and the way they "save" $250 million is by avoiding the cost of capital improvements to cover reservoirs as required by law so the sunlight doesn't interact with chemicals. Here's a 2014 video and a DN backgrounder. Added: LA Weekly debunker
Retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s captain William Carey agreed to plead guilty to lying on the witness stand and will cooperate with prosecutors, becoming the highest-ranking official to fall in a jail scandal that has already resulted in seven convictions for obstructing a federal investigation. LAT, CNS
Popular teacher Rafe Esquith sued the Los Angeles school district Thursday as officials released new allegations, including that the inquiry now involves inappropriate touching of minors before and during Esquith’s teaching career and that multiple photos of a sexual nature were found on his school computer. Esquith denies any wrongdoing. LAT, LA School Report, CBS LA, previously on LA Observed
Golf courses that already use reclaimed water received MWD rebates for cutting their water use, in at least once case millions of dollars. DN
The costly, hidden tax on DWP customers. LAT Op-ed
The city of Los Angeles reached a settlement to cap the class-action damages it must pay for illegally levying a telephone tax from 2005-2008 at $92 million. LAT
A 21-year-old woman said she saw Los Angeles police fatally shoot a woman who was running from officers down a Baldwin Hills alley. That differs from the initial LAPD account. LAT
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department provided new details Thursday about what prompted deputies to strike a man face-down on the ground last weekend, an incident that was partly captured in a 15-second video. LAT, LA Weekly
A Westside lawyer beat his parking ticket (but not his towing and impound costs) by successfully arguing that the city of Los Angeles must post signs before towing cars under the 72-hour rule. LA Weekly
Raphael Sonenshein and former City Council member Robert Farrell discuss the Tom Bradley documentary on "Airtalk." KPCC
New episodes of "Sesame Street" will now air first on HBO, then move to PBS as reruns. NYT
Backstory on the difficult post-riots life of Robert Richardson, the advertising messenger who became the only African American reporter to cover the Watts riots for the LA Times. LAT
Ted Rall cartooned his dispute with the LA Times over dropping him as a freelancer. A New Domain, previously on LA Observed
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists board called for an independent investigation of the Los Angeles Police Department’s tape of former AAEC president and member Ted Rall's jaywalking stop in 2001. "An impartial review of the tape of this incident is badly needed in this case." AAEC
Joe Domanick's new book on the LAPD. LAT
President Obama's summer reading list on vacation on Martha's Vineyard. GalleyCat
Sasha Frere-Jones has his first piece as LA Times critic at large: The 'Compton' moment and how Dr. Dre is asserting the dominance of L.A. hip-hop. LAT
The roller rink origins of N.W.A. at Skateland USA in Compton. NYT
Time was, you could claim to be a patriotic Iranian, a supporter of Israel and a lover of the United States all at once and be believed by most Iranians. Gina Nahai in the Jewish Journal
27 Food Stories Nobody Needs to Write Again. Eater
Catherine Green, deputy editor of Voice of San Diego, has been hired by The Atlantic.com as a senior associate editor and assigning editor for the site. Fishbowl DC
Patti Smith, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Salman Rushdie, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Sandra Cisneros are all on the fall schedule for Aloud at the Central Library.
Yes, the signs point to a strong El Niño effect this winter on California's weather, but the whole "Godzilla" meme started with JPL sound-bite provider Bill Patzert. "Strongest ever — but can it match El Niño mania?," the SF Chronicle asks. LAT
Sofia Meznariche's uniform got switched with another Marine’s at a Canoga Park dry cleaners 40 years ago. Now, at age 91, she wants to find her old uniform and get it back. DN
Dozens of rays spotted at Mother's Beach in Marina del Rey. CBS LA
Biologists are hoping to establish a future Frogtown high in the San Bernardino National Forest with the recent release of captive-bred young mountain yellow-legged frogs and tadpoles, one of the most endangered frogs in North America. SoCal Wild
More gay bars are opening downtown. Frontiers
Nudie's Custom Java will open this fall in Old Town Newhall loosely as an offshoot of the once-famous tailor shop to the stars in North Hollywood. KPCC Off-Ramp
Brian Breye, who operated the Museum in Black in Leimert Park for four decades, died at age 79. LAT
So much fun shooting promos with #StephenColbert he is the funniest! 💛 @colbertlateshow @StephenAtHome #CBS pic.twitter.com/4EfoxwUXri
— Jackie Johnson (@JackieJohnsonLA) August 9, 2015
The green-screen adds 45 pounds. Either that, or the Fig Newtons. https://t.co/36cDibHep9
— Brian Lowry (@blowryontv) August 13, 2015
How long until a GOP candidate declares that this El Nino guy illustrates the shambles of our immigration system?
— David Lazarus (@Davidlaz) August 13, 2015
Honored to announce @smithsonian & I agreed for this rare #ShirleyTemple #typewriter to be permanently shared w USA pic.twitter.com/D7YwOqwY5O
— Steve Soboroff (@SteveSoboroff) August 13, 2015A messy desk can do wonders for your motivation, according to new research http://t.co/zbaKVXxcBz #findings pic.twitter.com/E20N4QoMz0
— Pacific Standard (@PacificStand) August 14, 2015