Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks still falling: Let's call it low-grade anxiety, along with the pre-holiday sluggishness that tends to exaggerate price movements. Dow is down more than 150 points.

Holiday buildup: LAX was starting to crowd up early this morning and the freeways will surely follow as the day unfolds. (Tuesday night rush hour seemed especially intense.) This Thanksgiving should see a 4.1 percent jump in travel compared with a year ago, according to the Auto Club.

Jobless claims tick up: After several weeks of steady declines, weekly filings rose 2,000 to 393,000 - not horrible, but a sign that the job market remains soft. (AP)

L.A. draws a crowd: The city is expected to top last year's 25.8 million overnight visitors and surpass the 2007 record of 25.9 million. Credit is being given to overseas traffic and an increase in convention bookings. From the LAT:

Downtown Los Angeles hosted 20 conventions and conferences so far this year, up from 17 events last year. And most of those gatherings drew bigger crowds than previous years. One of the largest events held at the Los Angeles Convention Center this year was the Electronic Entertainment Expo, an electronic games and gadgetry event that drew 65,000 attendees, compared with about 41,000 attendees when the event was held in Los Angeles in 2010.

Occupy L.A. update: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants the protesters out of their current location by Monday, and the city's offer of office space is off the table, the LA Weekly is reporting.

The mayor's office can't quite grasp why the Occupy folks need unanimous consent to approve an agreement. For their part, the Occupy folks don't seem to have a complete grasp of the political cross-currents affecting the mayor. To make a deal, the Occupy folks need to negotiate in public, and their General Assembly meetings. But the mayor has to worry about council members and department heads, and so his office has to negotiate in secret. That's a pretty fundamental conflict. Doesn't seem like there's much room there to make a deal.

Council considers banning all pot shops: At least until the state Supreme Court determines whether the city can permit the sale of marijuana - even for medicinal purposes - when the federal government still considers it illegal. From the LAT:

The motion would be the second to propose an end to the city's troubled attempts to regulate storefront marijuana sales. Council members Bernard C. Parks and Jan Perry introduced a motion last month to ask city officials to make recommendations on how to eliminate dispensaries. Medical marijuana activists, many of whom have attended council meetings for years to cajole and berate the city into adopting a workable ordinance, will strenuously oppose a ban.

Ron Burkle moves into hostels: The L.A. billionaire is forming a partnership with a NY developer to introduce a chain of premium youth hostels in L.A., NY, SF, and Washington. From the WSJ:

The partners say amenities--including bars, restaurants, swimming pools and stylized lobbies--will distinguish their properties from other youth hostels, although they will pale in comparison with luxury hotels. Roman & Williams, the firm behind interiors at New York's Ace Hotel and Standard Hotel, will be the designer. Most rooms will include four to six beds, a signature of youth hostels that appeals to guests looking to meet fellow travelers. Prices will top by 30% or more those for bare-bones hostels in the same cities.

New president at ESPN: John Skipper replaces George Bodenheimer, who will become executive chairman of the sports programming giant. Skipper is a long-time ESPN executive. (Multichannel News)

Two firms drop out of PR contract: Dakota Communications and Cerrell Associates withdrew their proposals soon after the LAT reported on their lobbying activity at City Hall (creating an obvious conflict of interest). A third candidate was disqualified. (LAT)

Cash crunch at CNBC?: Sources tell the NY Post that new owner Comcast is putting the pressure on the financial news network to cut costs (apparently some remotes are being canceled). CNBC says everything is fine.

Incentives for shippers: The Port of Los Angeles is putting together a plan that would offer reduced docking fees and other incentives for operators who reduce cargo vessel emissions. (Daily Breeze)