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 ... mingled with the Hollywood film crowd last night as Warren Beatty got a lifetime achievement award at AFI. Here's a (somewhat tart) note from Susan, one of our readers, who was at the event:
Maybe we have [his] nephew to thank for Clinton showing up at the AFI Life Achievement Award for Warren Beatty tonight -- those of us in the audience were surprised to see him. A frail but very sharp McGovern was there, so were Jerry Brown and a few others.
Besides of course, Jack and Dyan who raced over from the Lakers' loss. Faye Dunaway and Elaine May looked like they had the same doctor for cheek implants; makes you appreciate Diane Keaton's natural approach to aging gracefully.
More coverage -- actually about Warren -- from Anne Thompsons excellent "On Hollywood" blog, People, The Gossip Girls (where Hugh Hefner and his posse of blonds take center stage), USA Today, the ever-cranky Fox News (Hollywood Left-fest!) and of course, AP.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Getty Images
 The creation of a 150-acre reef to anchor a forest of giant kelp is taking shape in San Clemente.
An interview with "Weeds" creator Jenji Kohan in LAist.
Those reservoir balls the DWP dumped in Silver Lake might not be so safe after all, says Donna Barstow.
Dinner parties gone very, very wrong. Jacket Copy
MTA ridership just keeps going up. Bottleneck Blog
The Olsen twins incur the wrath of PETA. LA Unleashed
Kid fails driving test five times in one day -- video! YouTube via Fishbowl LA
Ride your bike to work in LA -- a how-to guide from LA MetBlogs.
Start planning for the L.A. Film Festival next week.
Compton will get a new skateboard park in September. Curbed LA
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Los Angeles Times
 Though no one's nailed down the cause of that catastrophic fire at Universal Studios, the reason it got out of hand is pretty clear: Water pressure at the site was so low, firefighters reported water streams of just 10 feet, laughably inadequate against the towering flames. Add in a failed sprinkler system and two city blocks of sets built from what amounts to kindling and you're looking at the disaster that was yesterday's blaze.
We've got lots of info: main story here (including the news the studio's re-opening to the public toay)... what, exactly, burned ... the yes-no-yes-no saga as studio heads couldn't decide whether or not to open the park ... some video, of course ... and news that despite the damage, cameras will still roll.
Meanwhile, there's actually other news out there:
Four of the weekend's five homicides are blamed on gangs.
Iconic fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent has died.
 With some prime tourist attractions now in cinders, maybe Universal should look into the gay marriage business. Ever since the state Supremes gave same-sex marriage the nod, all corners of the wedding industry have seen an uptick in business.
I'm sorry to report that the Dodgers lost to the Mets.
And if the long wait for the Lakers-Celtics match-up is getting to you, Kareem Abdul-Jabar's got lots to say about the 1985 Boston-L.A. series.
As long as we're having a fire, why not a couple of earthquakes as well? Two small ones rattled through last night, one in the Salton Sea, the other in San Bernardino County.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photos: AP; Biggayweddings.com
Day One with a bullet. Well, a shell casing, anyway. That's what's been found so far in the excavation of the Barker Ranch, where Charles Manson and his murderous band of followers once lived. Louis Sahagun is following the story.
An L.A. Unified police officer who reported sex abuse at South East High School says he was punished with "freeway therapy" and transferred to another campus for embarrassing school administrators. Richard Winton has the details.
That prison plan to shift low-risk offenders to community-level care? Great idea, says Michael Rothfeld.
West Nile virus has been found in 13 birds in the O.C. so far this month, David Reyes reports.
You're excused! San Diego city workers who don't want to officiate at gay weddings can just say no. AP via LAT.
Profits at Home Depot drop 66% as the housing slump continues.
Steve Lopez waxes nostalgic for the soon-to-be termed-out Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Who gave what to whom? L.A.'s richest residents (Geffen, Spielberg, Redstone, Selleck) spread their wealth all around the political spectrum, Tina Daunt reports.
Are you missing baseball's super-slugger Barry Bonds? Yeah, neither is the city of San Francisco, where he's quickly vanishing from the collective consciousness. John M. Glionna reports on Bonds' post-Giants slump.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photos: Los Angeles Times; Associated Press
Are we back to being bros with Metallica now? After the embarrassing dust-up in the '90s in the wake of Napster, have we decided to embrace the metal masters yet?
If you are still on the fence, this might make you feel better about the Bay Area headbangers: Metallica plans to headline at the bejeweled Wiltern this Wednesday with proceeds going to the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, the nonprofit founded by Flea in the Sunset Junction.
Today's Quick Takes has the details about the tickets, which go on sale tomorrow morning: Money raised will go toward paying for programs, operations and scholarships for low-income students to the conservatory, which was founded by Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea and the nonprofit's dean, Keith Barry.
General admission tickets are $200 and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Sunday through www.ticketmaster.com. A limited number of $500 VIP tickets will be available at the conservatory or by calling (323) 665-3363.
Consider this a much-more-intimate chance to enjoy the crunching metal assault from Metallica compared with their co-headlining slot next Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, when they join forces with the Raconteurs, the Offspring, Rise Against, Pennywise, Bad Religion, the Bravery and Flogging Molly for the KROQ Weenie Roast. Metallica plans to release its ninth album in September, this time with Rick Rubin producing.
-- Tony Pierce
 The forbidden coffee: kopi luwak. Deep End Dining
A $25-million gift to USC by the Dauterive family. The Sentinel
A Woodland Hills parish donates $1.5 million to help church pay for sex abuse cases. LADN
Video of the fire at Basques, the restaurant and nightclub at Hollywood and Vine that burned today. LAT
Wolves, puppies and a shark attack, at our animal blog, Unleashed. 
Another reason not to travel downtown: Valley awaits its $125-million performing arts center in Northridge. Daily News
San Jacinto fire burns 700 acres. Desert Sun
Can I interest you in a John Wayne coffee table? OC Register
-- Veronique de Turenne & Jesus Sanchez
 Big, big, BIG plans from Frank McCourt to renovate Dodger Stadium (for a guesstimated $500 million) by adding restaurants and shops, club offices and parking, and even a Dodger museum. The upgrades could "give the stadium a chance to remain viable and perhaps see its 100th birthday," a letter to season ticket holders read. Anyone else get a bad feeling from that word, "even"? Bill Shaikin and David Zahniser have all the details.
A sensational killing, a single fingerprint and two Gypsy families at war -- it's a story of murder, traditions and revenge. Hector Becerra and Richard Winton have the story.
Anthony Pellicano says he won't rat out his clients. Trial coverage from Carla Hall.
Pay to ride in the carpool lane? The Feds are dangling $213 million in front of L.A. officials to get them to say yes. Steve Hymon explains.
Cops in Laguna Beach try something new -- making friends with the homeless to get them off the streets, Susannah Rosenblatt reports.
 Don't kill the grizzly! That's the word from friends and colleagues of the animal trainer killed by the bear in what they call a freak accident. Details from David Kelly.
It's all about Kobe as the Lakers take a 2-0 lead over the Nuggets. And the Times' Mike Bresnahan? Still happy.
More record-breaking news from that singer who dethroned Elvis from Randy Lewis.
More music: a hilarious review of Ashlee Simpson's latest, from Richard Cromelin.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photos: Los Angeles Times
 It's been more than a week since the NY Post got worldwide attention with a tale of a sale of a Marilyn Monroe sex tape. A day later, Defamer offered the first debunking, which our own blog, Web Scout, had a bit of fun with. (Web Scout had to close comments on its post, and so did we.)
Then came The Smoking Gun and Radar, and the Philly Daily News, offering a recap of the purported sex tape scam. (The New York Daily News, the Post's arch-rival, seems never to have touched the story.) ... New York collectibles dealer Keya Morgan came forward earlier this week with a wild story involving a 15-minute "French-type" silent reel, the FBI, Marilyn Monroe, a secret $1.5 million sale and the thwarted vengeance of J. Edgar Hoover.
The story as told by Morgan: The film, of a pre-fame Monroe performing oral sex on an unidentified man, was in the possession of the son of a former FBI informant who had worked under Hoover during the Kennedy administration. Hoover obtained the film in the '60s, hoping that the unidentified man in the film was JFK and that it could be used against him.
The Marilyn tape may be imaginary, so far there's no way to know, but the men laying claim to the Monroe legacy are very real. Mud slinging, name calling, threats and counter-threats -- reading the comments on Defamer is quite the education. The one media outlet staying mum so far? The NY Post, who got the whole thing started. Hmmm...
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Milton H. Greene
 An Austrian PR firm sure hopes you think so, spinning the briefest of mentions of the fourth "Terminator" film on NBC's puff-fest, "Extra," into a full-blown rumor. A reporter, interviewing Arnold Schwarzenegger, asked whether the governor will have a part in director McG's "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins":
Schwarzenegger: No.
Reporter: Not true?
Schwarzenegger: No, I have never had a dialogue about it.
Reporter: Would you do it?
Schwarzenegger: If they shoot the movie in California, yes.
Somehow, here's what the PR firm heard: He says, "I've never had a dialogue with anyone about it. But if they shoot the movie in California, I would (be a part of it), yes."
Filming starts next month -- in New Mexico.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
A few headlines to get you started on a chilly (41 degrees in Malibu) Monday morning:
Do those anti-gang programs the city's always fighting about actually work? It'll be two more years until you can find out. David Zahniser explains why.
Big increase in suspicious house fires as foreclosures spike, says Ken Bensinger.
Lakers polish off the Nuggets in the playoff opener. Mike Bresnahan sounds mighty happy.
 An incredibly cool collection of 1,200 unusual instruments (a Tibetan temple bell that's 9 feet long, a trombone with a dragon's head, a Moroccan fiddle made from a turtle shell) is being sold by the Claremont Colleges to a museum in Phoenix. Fans of the seldom seen (no funds) collection are aghast. Larry Gordon has the full story.
It's a tough job but somebody's got to walk along SoCal's beautiful coastline, checking for code violations. Tony Barboza has the details.
Fancy schmancy (used) baby gear for sale for pennies on the dollar at an upscale swap meet. Jennifer Oldham hangs with the parents and tells all. (There's a video too.)
State Republicans are trying for an image rehab and George Skelton thinks it's high time they tried to seem less scary.
Is "American Idol" losing steam? Scott Collins looks at Season 7 and sees trouble ahead.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times
Your City Council at work: "If the nipple slips and it's not photographed, that's not going to break anyone's heart," says Dennis Zine, defending Britney's Law.
Thanks, Rick Orlov, for being awake at 5:52 (!) a.m. And remember, people, it's the Daily Show -- a little edgy, a lot sophomoric, and a teensy bit PG-13.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Manhattan Beach ponies up a cool half-million to help its financially squeezed school district. Daily Breeze
Another arrest -- of a 17-year-old -- in the drive-by killing of Ronald "Drifter" Burgess in Tujunga. LADN
Supes say yes to more cameras in the O.C. jail. KPCC
It's the Television Academy's Hall of Fame for Bea Arthur, says Out in Hollywood.
At last! A sex- and profanity-free Ask a Mexican column we can link to.
Prepare yourself for fire season. Daily News
Thousand Oaks on the patrol for illegal Open House signs. Ventura County Star
Culver City approves 12-story tower over opposition from L.A. neighbors. Daily Breeze
Orange County, a national leader in greenhouse gases. Science Dude
A high school pusher confesses. The Home Room
-- Jesus Sanchez & Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
There's toxic cement dust -- lots of it -- in the air in the Riverside area, and the neighbors? Not happy. Janet Wilson has the details.
There's a chemical in plastic that a federal health agency says could be hurting kids and babies. The plastic industry, meanwhile (surprise!) disagrees. Marla Cone tells both sides of the story.
An obsolete Reseda movie theater gets a new lease on life -- and a Spanish accent, writes Amanda Covarrubias.
Fabian Nuñez, the termed-out speaker in the state Assembly, pushes three new bills in a bid to burnish his legacy. Nancy Vogel has the story.
Magic Johnson has the Midas touch, Roger Vincent learns.
Jessica Ortega, believed to be a gang member, is charged in the slaying of a woman on a freeway offramp in South Los Angeles, Andrew Blankstein reports.
Was that cat in the O.C. jail killed by a stun gun? A new investigation is launched in the sorry scandal.
The Lakers clinch the West. Mike Bresnahan describes the long -- and surprising -- road to victory.
"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" breaks the full-frontal taboo. For men. Chris Lee has the story.
-- Veronique de Turenne
It's April 15 and the tax man cometh. Unless you file for an extension. Need a post office that stays open late tonight? The answer at (800) ASK-USPS. More tips and resources for procrastinators last-minute tax filers right here.
Speaking of money, that's exactly what Antonio Villaraigosa wants, lots of it, to put 1,000 more police officers on L.A.'s streets. How, exactly? With a 38% trash rate hike, for starters. And maybe a sales tax increase. And that's on top of the DWP hike already on the table. Just how deep into your pockets does the city want to reach? Our man in City Hall, David Zahniser, has the details.
There's a cancer-causing chemical in the air in Riverside, and the South Coast AQMD thinks it's coming from giant piles of clinker dust from a nearby cement plant. More from Janet Wilson.
More mayhem leaves two men dead in East L.A., Francisco Vara-Orta reports.
Listing prices down $130K from their peak. LA Land
A famous freedom fighter joins the cause in Little Saigon and protests a newspaper accused of communist leanings. My-Thuan Tran explains.
Northwest and Delta plan to merge, a move that won't affect us here in SoCal, at least not directly since the two carriers only account for a combined 11% of the market at LAX. But you might see some long-term effects on the airline industry, and we're not talking cheaper flights or better service. Peter Pae has the details.
Her daughter did it! That's the last-minute shift in the defense of one of the two 70-something women charged with taking out big insurance policies on homeless men, then killing them. Victoria Kim is following the trial.
Another high-profile court drama is coming to town -- the tax evasion trial of Joe Francis, of "Girls Gone Wild" infamy fame. Associated Press via L.A. Times.
-- Veronique de Turenne
 Yeah, Hollywood siren Marilyn Monroe made a sex tape. No, you'll never get to see it. According to the New York Post, Marilyn's tape recently sold for $1.5 million to a collector who plans to keep it all to himself. Out of respect, of course.
Who else knew about the tape, shot before Marilyn became famous? None other than J. Edgar Hoover the Post claims, no stranger to the seamy side of life. The footage appears to have been shot in the 1950s. When it came to light in the mid-1960s, then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had his agents spend two weeks futilely trying to prove that Monroe's sex partner was either John F. Kennedy or Robert F. Kennedy, according to declassified agency documents and interviews, Morgan said.
Joe DiMaggio apparently tried to buy the tape, the story says, but his $25,000 offer was turned down. So we could either reach for a Rob Lowe Pamela Anderson Fred Durst Colin Farrell Tonya Harding Kid Rock Paris Hilton joke, or just give you the link to the Post's full story here.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Richard C. Miller
How hot was it this weekend? Record-breaking at the beach, miserable everywhere else. And on Sunday, Anaheim's 102 degrees (in mid-April?) made it one of the two hottest spots in all of the Lower 48. Steve Hymon has more details.
¡Hablamos español! That's the new attitude at City Hall as the cultural mix of the city continues its Latino shift. (And I know how happy this topic made some readers last time around, so please note: No obscenities, websites, or name-calling in the comments.) Ari B. Bloomekatz and Francisco Vara-Orta have the story.
New restrictions on taco trucks? Some restaurateurs say "Si!" and the City Council is thinking it over. But taco vendors aren't saying adios just yet. Jean-Paul Renaud takes a look at the issue.
Oh Britney, you were doing so well. The popster has a teensy traffic accident on the Ventura Freeway over the weekend. No injuries and no damage. So why is this news? AP via LAT.
Rumblings of bad news from within the Screen Actors Guild. Richard Verrier explains.
The bridges of Los Angeles County -- the Conservancy wants to preserve them. David Pierson takes tour and explains why.
Lakers are the Western Conference front-runners. Mike Bresnahan celebrates.
-- Veronique de Turenne
A dubious distinction for California: Gas prices jumped 7.7 cents, the biggest hike leading to the highest average price in the nation. Budget-busting details from Ronald D. White.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says to add his name to the list of patients who got spied on at the UCLA Medical Center. Full story from Evan Halper.
O.J. Simpson owes $1.5 million in state taxes, putting him at No. 15 on the list of people who owe California money. AP via the LAT.
Too many riders and too few cabs at LAX. So what does the commission do? Unanimously vote to study things a bit more. Francisco Vara-Orta explains why.
Remember Jamiel Shaw Jr., the 18-year-old football star whose murder near his home made worldwide headlines last month? The funeral is over and the media have moved on. Sandy Banks visits his father and finds a man crushed by grief. Her column is here.
The inmate escaped his Pennsylvania prison in a trash can. He was captured in a Bakersfield park, bragging he'd been featured on Fox's "America's Most Wanted." Yeah, a genius. AP via the LAT.
Charlton Heston, who died Saturday, loved newspapers and wrote dozens of letters to the editor during his 40 years as an L.A. Times reader. Some excerpts (Elia Kazan's Oscar, Clinton is no Lincoln) collected by John Horn.
--Veronique de Turenne
 The rich are getting richer (though a tad more slowly than before), so presumably there'll be plenty of takers for director Cecil B. DeMille's former estate, now for sale. Almost 10,000 square feet and a Hollywood pedigree to boot. Just $26 million.
DeMille bought the Beaux Arts-style estate home in 1916, three years after it was constructed. In 1920, he bought the house to the west so he could have a more private office, a screening room and guest quarters. That home was widely known as the Chaplin House because it was leased for six months in 1918 by actor Charlie Chaplin and his first wife, Mildred Harris.
Lots of polite stuff about DeMille on his official website. And for another look at the man who once said "You are here to please me. Nothing else on earth matters," check here.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Michael McCreary
Charlton Heston died Saturday at age 84, and what a life, from playing heroes like Ben Hur and Moses as a buff and beautiful young man, to a conservative old age in which his passions included the NRA. Six years ago, Heston announced he had symptoms similar to Alzheimer's disease. Just last month, Heston and his wife, Lydia Clarke, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.
Here's more from a Times obit by Robert W. Welkos and Susan King: With a booming baritone voice, the tall, ruggedly handsome actor delivered his signature role as the prophet Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 Biblical extravaganza "The Ten Commandments," raising a rod over his head as God miraculously parted the Red Sea.
Heston won the Academy Award for best actor in another religious blockbuster, 1959's "Ben-Hur," racing four white horses at top speed in one of cinema's legendary action sequences: the 15-minute chariot race in which his character, a proud and noble Jew, competes against his childhood Roman friend.
Heston stunned the entertainment world in August 2002 when he made a poignant and moving videotaped address announcing his illness.
The rest of the obit is here. For a photo gallery that spans Heston's life, check here.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo credit: MGM
It's the 40-year anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A group of Angelenos who heard him speak at Holman United Methodist Church just weeks before he was killed recall a great and complicated man, John Mitchell reports.
California schools stay near the bottom of national rankings of student writing ability, a result of the high number of immigrants for whom English is a second language. Mitchell Landsberg has the story.
Ventura County task force's two years of work lead to the bust of a meth and heroin ring, and one of the state's largest heroin seizures. Catherine Saillant has the details.
More about that dead body found packed in dry ice in an O.C. hotel room, from David Reyes.
The Galaxy win, David Beckham scores, and Kobe watches from the stands -- a trifecta in the Home Depot Center from Grahame Jones.
Roommates.com, which matches housemates by standards such as gender and sexual orientation, can be sued for violating federal fair housing laws, says Maura Dolan.
Lawrence Paul Rael, committed to Atascadero State Hospital against his will 10 years ago, was murdered there this week. His parents want to know what on earth happened. Full story from Lee Romney.
What, exactly, is the U.S. Navy doing to marine animals? The answers are in a report as fat as an L.A. phone book. Kenneth Weiss deciphers the details.
Kirk Douglas ventures into MySpace. Tina Daunt follows, finds a heck of a tale.
-- Veronique de Turenne
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... mingled with the Hollywood film crowd last night as Warren Beatty got a lifetime achievement award at AFI. Here's a (somewhat tart) note from Susan, one of our readers, who was at the event:
