Friday morning headlines

Gas prices jump: Here we go! The latest Auto Club survey shows that the average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.857, which is 9.2 cents higher than last week, 4.5 cents below last month, and 11 cents under last year. In many areas, prices are going up a penny a day. Lots of explanations: lost refinery production, higher oil prices, greater demand, etc. Still, gas prices remain pretty low - and close to the national average.

Greenspan on "60 Minutes": No bombshells expected on Sunday, but the former Fed chairman admits that he failed to see early on that the explosion of subprime loans was going to be a problem. “While I was aware a lot of these practices were going on, I had no notion of how significant they had become until very late,” he said in the interview. "I really didn’t get it until very late in 2005 and 2006." Still, he said that there was little the Fed could do. Greenspan has written a book that will be released next week. (AP)

Santa Anita on the block?: Nothing official yet but the track's owner, Magna Entertainment, said it plans to sell several assets in hopes of eliminating as much as $700 million worth of debt. Magma said it would "explore" selling Santa Anita and its stake in Florida's Gulfstream Park. This also could mean that developer Rick Caruso will end up buying the Magna land that will be the site of his $500 million shopping center and office complex adjoining the racetrack complex. (LAT)

Magic hosts Hillary: He and his wife Cookie will throw a big fund-raiser tonight at his home in Bev Hills (Clinton will be in Watts earlier in the day). The event will be co-hosted by Clarence Avant, Berry Gordy and Quincy Jones. About 300 people are expected, with tickets starting at $500. Last weekend, Oprah Winfrey threw a fund-raiser for Barrack Obama at her Montecito home. Obama's support comes from names like Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock. Sidney Poitier and Cicely Tyson. From Variety:

In an interview, Jones cited Clinton's experience and her "knowledge of the world and perspective on the world." "Obama is my brother; he is going to be an absolute winner," Jones said. "But at this time I am going to go with Hillary, because I feel it from the bottom of my soul." But he doesn't see any acrimony between those who endorse Clinton and those who endorse Obama; rather, he sees the split endorsements as a positive sign. "The fact that they are thinking past gender and race is a major step forward," Jones said. "It is a brand new sensibility, and a lot of things have affected that, including what has happened in Iraq."

Playa put on hold: A state appeals court ordered a halt to construction on the estimated $1.1-billion final phase of the development. But the stoppage could only be temporary: the three-judge panel only found that L.A.'s approval of the project's final phase was based on a flawed environmental review. Still, the anti-Playa Vista groups are happy. No word on whether PV will appeal. The phase in question, known as the village, would involve 2,600 additional housing units and 250,000 square feet of office and retail. (LAT)

Bay Area home sales plummet: Misery loves company. August sales fell to a 15-year low, but as with the Socal market, median prices are holding up because most of the action is coming at the high end. Marin County had a year-over-year median jump of 12.4 percent, although sales fell by more than 34 percent. From the San Jose Mercury News:

Deepak Satya, a renter in Cupertino who plans to buy a house there relatively soon, said he has noticed some reduction of list prices recently in that city among homes priced in the $1 million range. He said he and his wife will wait until at least late October to make an offer, because they expect little competition from other buyers at that time of year. In the meantime, he's checking in regularly with his mortgage adviser on rates and availability of jumbo loans. "Right now, what's happening is those 'too many offers' situations are gone," said Satya, who works in marketing for a large tech company.

Suit settled: The city of Lawndale will pay $30,000 to settle a federal lawsuit with a billboard company that was denied applications for new signs. The company, Covenant Media of California, sued on the grounds that the city's code was unconstitutional. Soon after the suit was filed, Lawndale banned new billboards within its borders. Covenant Media companies have brought more than 100 similar lawsuits against cities in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Illinois and Texas. (Daily Breeze)