Friday morning headlines

Zell losing steam: WSJ, NYT and Chicago Tribune report that yet another bid for the Tribune from yet another billionaire might be turned down. Tribune is still likely to go ahead with its "self-help" plan, which involves taking on debt in order to pay a dividend to shareholders - except maybe not as big a dividend as earlier thought, given how poorly the newspaper business is doing. Zell's proposal for an employee stock ownership plan is losing steam because of concerns about the limited amount of equity Zell is putting down. The deal would also mean that most Tribune employees will have their retirement benefits tied up in a struggling company. The Tribune "self-help" would involve spinning off the company's television stations (including KTLA in Los Angeles).

Cable guy fired: Roger Keating is out as the point man for Time Warner Cable's Socal operations - not that surprising given the complaints about poor service following the company taking over much of the local market. More than 10,000 people have canceled their service since October (Internet customers weren't getting e-mail and customer service lines didn't pick up). Thing is, service has gotten noticeably better in recent weeks and the wait times on the phone have dropped to five minutes from nine minutes. Just be careful what you wish for: the two guys replacing Keating are from NY, and one of them will be shuttling to L.A. Isn't Socal important enough to have TW executives here all the time? LAT

Higher OJ prices: We're talking about a 24 percent increase from a year ago - and prices are expected to rise even more later this year. It's a little unclear whether the higher prices are the result of the state's January's freeze (California produces a limited amount of orange juice) or an especially small harvest in Florida, where much of the U.S. juice supply comes from. Whatever the reason, a half-gallon carton of OJ is going for $8 at Ralphs. LAT

Gasoline skyrockets: California pump prices are, on average, almost 80 cents higher per gallon than Wyoming and 60-70 cents higher than most other states. The Auto Club's latest survey delivers the bad news: the average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.096, which is 16.2 cents higher than last week, 45 cents higher than last month, and 48 cents higher than last year. All the usual explanations are being offered.

Inflation up: Not too surprising given the previous two items. Food and fuel are said to be the chief culprits. AP

Air rights debate: City officials seem pretty blase about offering up over 9 million square feet of space to downtown developers without anyone having considered the effects on traffic. The space covers air rights above the Convention Center, which would be transferred to other projects downtown. City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents downtown, told the LAT she doesn't think such planning is needed because the downtown general plan already accounts for the density. Planning Director Gail Goldberg doubted whether much of the 9 million square feet would be sold any time soon. And here's Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's take:

Obviously, there will have to be some traffic mitigations as well. But folks, we're growing already. We could close our eyes, put our head in the sand and say, 'Oh, we're going to stop growth,' " the mayor said in an interview. "What we want is responsible growth."

Speaking of congestion...: They've already started construction on two new office buildings in Playa Vista right next to the hangars where Howard Hughes built the Spruce Goose. The development comes at a time when Westside office space is at a premium - certainly the tightest market since the dot-com boom. More than 2,500 condominiums, apartments and town homes have been built at Playa Vista, most of them erected by home builders. Is there enough room for all these folks on Jefferson and Lincoln? LAT

Burkle hires LAT publisher: Jeff Johnson, who questioned all those cuts the Tribune boys in Chicago ordered him to implement, will be a principal in billionaire Burkle's private investment firm, Yucaipa Cos. Johnson's role centers on Burkle's media interests, which include parts of former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV channel and Source Interlink, a major distributor of magazines and CDs. Sort of makes you wonder where Johnson would have been if the Broad/Burkle bid for Tribune had succeeded. LAT

True Religion departure: Kymberly Lubell, who founded the L.A.-based jeans company with husband and CEO Jeff Lubell, is out the door. Earlier, it was reported that the Lubells were splitting up, but that Kymberly would stay on overseeing women's design. The company, which hasn't quite figured out how to expand beyond premium denim, missed analysts fourth-quarter estimates by a penny. NY Post

Hairstylist's house for sale: Sally Hershberger, whose clients include Meg Ryan, Winona Ryder and Michelle Pfeiffer, is asking $6.5 million for her Bev Hills home. The Modern-style three-bedroom property has walls of glass and views of the ocean and city. There's a fireplace in the master suite, a pool, and an outdoor bar. Hershberger bought the house in 2004 for $2.4 million. WSJ