Monster Mash: Breaking news and headlines

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-- And then there was one: Spanish tenor Jose Carreras, above, announces his retirement from opera. But is he really?

-- Turnaround by fall?: MOCA slowly moves toward recovery, but more belt-tightening and layoffs are planned.

-- Money for the arts: President Obama’s 2010 budget gives a 4% boost to the NEA.

-- You saw it here first: Woody Allen’s production of ‘Gianni Schicchi,’ which had its premiere at Los Angeles Opera last year, joins Italy’s Spoleto Festival lineup.

-- Money investigation #1: Former accountant indicted in $973,000 theft from Tucson Museum of Art.

-- Money investigation #2: MOCA turns over more information to the state attorney general in probe of finances.

-- Possibly happening in London: Gwyneth Paltrow, right, considers a return to the stage in West End production of ‘Chekhov’s ‘The Three Sisters.’

-- Definitely happening in London: Broadway production of ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,’ with James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad, set for a London run.

-- Guest appearance: Getty Villa puts its Pompeii loan on view.

-- View from above: $25-million sculpture garden atop San Francisco Museum of Modern Art opens this weekend.

-- Oh, bummer: ‘Love Never Dies,’ the sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ may be delayed.

-- Unearthing surprises: Scientists racing to digitize crumbling literary treasures uncover a trove of finds, including a new version of ‘Medea.’

-- Something to sing about: L.A. Master Chorale‘s new season lineup includes works by John Adams, Meredith Monk, Ingram Marshall and Nico Muhly.

-- Victims of the economy: 2 mid-size San Francisco theaters go dark as Nederlander withdraws leases.

-- End is near or wishful thinking?: Some architects see hopeful signs that the industry’s bottom may be in sight.

-- Lisa Fung

Top photo: Spanish tenor Jose Carreras. Credit: Jens Wolf / EPA.