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California's highest court gave the green light to more than same-sex marriage Thursday. It fired up opponents, who already had a ballot proposition in the works, and forced the divisive issue back into the presidential race. Phil Willon and Patrick McGreevy take a look at the political fallout.
 The Missouri mom, who pretended to be a 16-year-old boy on MySpace and bullied a girl who later killed herself, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. Scott Glover and P.J. Huffstutter have the details.
And in case you missed it, Anthony Pellicano -- guilty.
Three people are dead and the morning commute is snarled after a wrong-way driver on I-5 downtown causes a catastrophic crash. AP via LAT
How did three girls wind up unconscious in a Chatsworth park? Howard Blume says police have a both a theory and a suspect.
Whittier Boulevard in East L.A. gets a face-lift. Scott Gold looks at its history and future.
Can it be? Good housing news: April starts are the best since January '06. Reuters via LAT.
(Fake) diamonds fit for a (real) diva: the jewelry that Maria Callas wore when she debuted in "Tosca" at the Met in New York City in 1956 will shine on stage in the L.A. Opera's production. David Ng has details about the $85K worth of Swarovski crystals.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photos: Los Angeles Times
 The mayor's "zone" approach to dealing with gangs is off to a somewhat slow start. The policing portion of the plan is up and running in eight areas, but prevention and intervention programs, long a mess, have yet to debut. How will it work, what will it cost, and when will we know if this new plan is working? Joe Mozingo has the story.
L.A. falls to No. 2 in the Top 10 list of U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle Pollution. (We take our victories where we can.) Tami Abdollah examines the numbers.
It's May Day: check out the traffic plans and other info.
Some interesting stuff in the new poll about how Californians feel about education and taxes. African Americans are the most worried about the quality of our schools, while Latinos are the most willing to tax themselves to make things better. More details in Mitchell Landsberg's full story.
How odd were Anthony Pellicano's closing arguments? As odd as the trial itself. Carla Hall was there.
A 4.4 earthquake hit early this morning near Bakersfield. AP via LAT.
But that's nothing compared to Reno -- they've had 1,000 quakes in the last two months. Ashley Powers and Thomas H. Maugh II investigate.
Were those two major contracts at LAX kosher? Laura Chick and Janice Hahn seem to think not, and have  asked for investigations. Dan Weikel has the details.
Casual Fridays come to the L.A. Phil, a perfect match for casual L.A. Donna Perlmutter tells all.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photos: Los Angeles Times
 Private investigator Anthony Pellicano spent nearly 18 minutes this morning explaining to the jury in a soft and friendly tone that his firm was not a criminal enterprise. Facing 77 criminal counts and years in prison, Pellicano, referring to himself in the third person as required by the court, said in his closing arguments:
"Perhaps his business card should have read 'I deliver' because that’s what he did over and over again -- not just for his private clients but for law enforcement ... he kept things to himself and only allowed people to know what he wanted them to know."
Carla Hall, reporting from the federal courthouse in Los Angeles, is working on a full story.
-- Jesus Sanchez
Illustration: Associated Press
 It's time for closing arguments in the Anthony Pellicano wiretapping case, and our own Carla Hall is there:
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Saunders told a federal jury that one of the detective’s co-defendants, former Los Angeles police sergeant Mark Arneson, was “secretly working to dismantle police cases” while on Pellicano’s payroll. Saunders scoffed at Arneson’s contention that he snooped in confidential police databases in exchange for help with his cases from Pellicano, saying there was “not one record of Pellicano as a source.”
“I submit to you that Arneson has no more compunction about lying under oath than he did running those names through police databases,” Saunders said.
Prosecutors say that in addition to wiretapping, Pellicano made use of police records to help his clients, many of them celebs, in their personal and business clashes. He and his four co-defendants say they're innocent of all charges.
--Veronique de Turenne
Illustration: Associated Press
 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
 Seems accused eavesdropper Anthony Pellicano might call himself to the stand in the eavesdropping and racketeering trial after all, says Victoria Kim.
"There are some things that need to be learned and there are some things that need to be resolved," said the former Hollywood private detective, who is acting as his own lawyer. Pellicano cited information received last night as well as "some testimony" as reasons for his possible appearance on the stand.
"Mr. Pellicano may testify," said the PI, who, sticking to court protocol, refers to himself in the third person (when he remembers).
Of course, defense attorney Chad Hummel, representing one of Pellicano's co-defendants, announced he would call entertainment attorney Bert Fields to the stand, then changed his mind. And it would not be unusual for a defendant to promise to tell his story, then get cold feet.
How does it work -- he questions himself? Delivers a monologue? Can he object?
We'll wait for Victoria's full story to get some answers.
--Veronique de Turenne
Drawing: Associated Press
How crazy did things get during the U.S. leg of the anti-China protests Olympic torch relay in San Francisco today? Crazy enough that at about a zillion police were at the scene, CNN covered it like a sporting event and, at one point, the runner disappeared. Full story here. And pix, of course.
Man dies in a wood-chipper accident in Inglewood. LAT
Two landscapers in Cerritos found $140,000 in cash last month. You're reading about it, so yes, they turned it in. And got a $2,000 reward from the bank whose ATM machines the money was meant for. Daily Breeze
Think the Pellicano trial is dull? Try Nikki Finke's Technicolor take on things. Deadline Hollywood
Voters in more than a dozen cities from Long Beach to Lancaster cast ballots on everything from phone utility taxes to mayor. Robert Greene has a rundown and results. Opinion LA-LAT
Sad about the Dodgers at Dodger Blues.
Two men sentenced for Claremont hate crime. SGV Tribune
LAPD's highest-ranking Asian American officer promoted to deputy chief. LAPD blog
Meet me under the strawberry arches: Garden Grove approves new landmarks. OC Register
Off-trail hikers trampling pristine sections of Griffith Park. Daily News
--Veronique de Turenne & Jesus Sanchez
 More Hollywood heavies take the stand today, while FBI agents who act as escorts execute a deft minuet to make sure witnesses don't have to see one another. Carla Hall has the scoop:
Today at the Anthony Pellicano trial, Michael Ovitz, the one-time Hollywood power broker and co-founder of Creative Artists Agency, makes a long-awaited appearance on the witness stand. On what could be the day the government rests it case, prosecutors are expected to ask Ovitz about hiring Pellicano.
Prosecutors say Ovitz wanted the private eye to look into former L.A. Times reporter and freelancer Anita Busch and former New York Times reporter Bernard Weinraub. Both the journalists and two CAA agents that Ovitz feuded with were the subject of unauthorized confidential data base searches, says the government. Prosecutors say that Busch was followed, harassed, and wire-tapped at Pellicano's direction. Ovitz has denied he knew about any illegal tactics.
After Ovitz leaves the stand, depending on how quickly he gets to the elevators, he could bump into his alleged adversaries, Busch and Weinraub, who are expected to testify as well. However, the FBI agents who escort witnesses in and out of the federal courtroom are pretty good at timing. Like a psychotherapist who allows patients to enter one door and exit another to prevent unwanted encounters, an agent sometimes waits for one witness to disappear into the elevator before signaling to another agent down the hall to bring on the next witness.
We'll have updates and a full story as the day -- and the trial -- progress.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Illustration: Associated Press
 Another funny man is set to solemnly swear to tell the whole truth in the Anthony Pellicano trial today, but you better look fast. There's a plot afoot to keep him out of sight, Carla Hall reports:
Chris Rock is scheduled to testify today in the Anthony Pellicano trial and, arguably, will be the biggest and funniest (sorry, Garry Shandling) celeb so far to grace the sleek marble courtroom where the private detective and four codefendants face various federal counts related to wiretapping or racketeering.
Rock will be the first witness up, and U.S. attorneys plan to spirit him in and out of the courtroom quickly. Not even billionaire Alec Gores, who allegedly wiretapped his cheating wife, got that treatment. He was forced to cool his heels in the hallway outside the courtroom Thursday as he waited his turn to testify. But the government ran out of time, and Gores is expected back today.
The media have been eagerly awaiting Rock's appearance. And maybe the comedian will spice up -- and speed up -- proceedings that Judge Dale Fischer saucily declared had "bored" her. (She made her remarks after the jury had been dismissed for the day on Thursday.)
Fischer, who misses little in the back and forth of the questioning, presides over quite a crew -- two U.S. attorneys, four defense lawyers and Pellicano representing himself. She admonished all the attorneys to get to their points faster and not all ask the same questions.
Some of the trial drama trickled down to the press box yesterday as Allison Hope Weiner, who's been blogging the trial for the Huffington Post, got served with a temporary restraining order (over audio files she posted) as she left the courtroom, Daily Variety reports.
As for wiretapping, Will Vaus says his gangster dad, "Big Jim" Vaus, was the original wiretapper back in the 1940s.
* UPDATE:
Rock testified for about 15 minutes about hiring Pellicano when a woman claimed she was pregnant with his child, Carla Hall reports.
"In late 1998 did you meet a woman named Monika Zsibrita?"
"Yes," Rock answered.
"And she is a model?"
"Yes," Rock answered.
"In 1999, did she make a claim she was pregnant with your child?"
"Yes," said Rock.
See Carla Hall's full story here.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Illustration: Bill Robles / Associated Press
Santa Ana third-graders find a gun in their classroom -- their teacher's gun. (Yeah, she was arrested.) LAT
Canadian heiress to her former nanny: Hush! It's the latest twist in the Pellicano trial. Fishbowl LA. (More Pellicano musings at Defamer.)
Former LAT reporter (now at NYT) arrested while covering the election in Zimbabwe. Romenesko
It's National Poetry Month! Jacket Copy
Two bank employees wind up in the hospital after touching a 100-dollar bill. Drug residue, the hazmat team speculates. LAist
LAPD ready for May Day protests. Merc-News
Reporter has a story to tell after covering Wilmington shooting. Daily Breeze
29-year-old Riverside man dies from skateboard accident injuries. Press Enterprise
Coffee, tea or jail time? Police might have captured the South Bay coffee house burglar. Easy Reader
Forget the Dodger Dogs and beer. The Padres are serving up Tequila lime shooters and saffron potato tacos. Union Tribune
Would you like some feng shui with your fast food? Fast Food Maven
--Veronique de Turenne & Jesus Sanchez
Funny man Garry Shandling played to one of his toughest -- and smallest -- crowds at the Anthony Pellicano trial today, where he opened with a joke and got heckled by the judge. Our own Victoria Kim has the report. Prosecutors started out by asking Shandling what he does for a living and he answered, “That’s a bad sign.” Pause. “I’m a comedian.”
Everyone in the room laughed, but the judge admonished him, “Not today sir.”
Shandling then turned somber tones as he described a falling out with Brad Grey, his former manager of 18 years, who now serves as chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Group.
After suing Grey for a series of alleged improprieties, Shandling claims his former manager waged a campaign of character assassination against him. Shandling told the court he learned from reporters that Pellicano helped generate the negative spin.
Shandling wasn't alone in getting scolded by the judge, Kim reports. Pellicano once again came in for some sharp comments from U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who admonished him for a somewhat rambling cross examination. At one point, the lawyer for Kevin Kachikian, a co-defendant in the case, asked and received permission to huddle with Pellicano and, presumably, offer a few tips.
More as the story develops.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Corruption fueled by greed: that's at the heart of the Anthony Pellicano case, Kevin Lally, a federal prosecutor, declared during opening arguments today. So it won't be the snooze-fest the pundits were predicting?
It's a somber courtroom, our own Victoria Kim reports (once she gets over the shock that I want to know what people are wearing.) About two dozen reporters, a couple of sketch artists, and two rows of FBI agents, all dark suits and tidy haircuts.
Pellicano, who is acting as his own attorney, has already been scolded by the judge, Dale S. Fischer, a tiny white-haired woman known for her no-nonsense demeanor.
"You chose not to be represented by counsel," she said when the one-time private eye spoke out of turn. "There are a lot of dangers ... in representing yourself."
Lally, meanwhile, launched into opening arguments that lasted more than an hour and verged on purple prose.
On former L.A. Times reporter Anita Busch: “Left on her windshield was a dead fish, a red rose, and a sign, ‘stop.’ But it didn’t stop.”
More as it happens.
--Veronique de Turenne
 Plenty of Hollywood celebs and power brokers will face the cameras bound to gather in the trial of one-time private eye, Anthony Pellicano.
Chris Rock, Farrah Fawcett and Sylvester Stallone top the witness list, Greg Krikorian reports from L.A.'s federal court today, where jury selection has begun. Keith Carradine and Garry Shandling are expected to show up as things progress.
It'll be more of a hot seat than a red carpet, though, as the case centers on Pellicano's alleged wiretapping and witness intimidation. Noticeably missing from the list: now-retired FBI agent Stan Ornellas, who might still be called. Also on the list -- super-agent Mike Ovitz and studio execs Ron Meyer and Brad Grey.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Illustration: Bill Robles / Associated Press
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Veronique de Turenne
Veronique de Turenne is a journalist, essayist, book critic and blogger, and has been a staff writer at virtually every newspaper in Southern California. One of the highlights of her career was interviewing Vin Scully in his broadcast booth at Dodger Stadium, then receiving a handwritten thank you note from him a week later. She lives in Malibu.
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The Missouri mom, who pretended to be a 16-year-old boy on MySpace and bullied a girl who later killed herself, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. Scott Glover and P.J. Huffstutter have the details.
