Harvey Levin/Associated Press photo

The media world has been abuzz recently regarding TMZ founder Harvey Levin — though not for the usual reasons. Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputy investigators recently obtained phone records from the gossip journalist, attempting to find out who provided Levin details about Mel Gibson’s 2006 anti-Semitic rank during a drunk-driving arrest.

First Amendment defenders — if I may be so bold — say this is patently illegal. Law enforcement officials say it’s completely proper. Now, you may virulently disagree with Levin’s ways and methods, but keep this in mind: Most free speech law in this country has been shaped or created by less-than-sympathetic individuals. Besides, TMZ is based in Glendale, and I feel a need to stick up for the locals.

Though I have no idea whether Levin will be speaking about the issue, he will be speaking about something next week at a Radio and Television News Association event. Details are below.

The State of the News Business 2009
10/19/2009 @ 7:00 PM
The Radio & Television News Association of Southern California Presents:

“MAKING OR BREAKING NEWS: THE STATE OF THE NEWS BUSINESS 2009″

Monday, October 19, 2009

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Harvey Levin – Founder of TMZ

PANEL MEMBERS:

* Andy Ludlum – Program Director, KNX-1070 Newsradio and KFWB News/Talk 980
* Jose Rios – VP and News Director, KTTV-TV and KCOP-TV
* Kris Knutsen – Managing Editor, Local News Service

MODERATOR: Frank Mottek

WHEN:

* Monday, October 19, 2009
* Hors d’Oeuvres Reception: 6:00 – 7:00 PM
* Program: 7:00 – 8:30 PM
* Dessert Reception: 8:30 – 9:15 PM

WHERE: Lenart Auditorium, Fowler Museum at UCLA

ADMISSION COST: General Admission – $20, Students – $10, UCLA Students & Faculty – Free with Student or Faculty ID

PARKING: Convenient parking in Lot 4 on the UCLA campus.

Enter UCLA from Sunset Blvd. at Westwood Plaza.
Drive ahead to the Parking Information Booth in Lot 4.

PARKING COST: $10. Automated pay stations accept $1 and $5 bills and credit cards.

SPONSORS:

* Western States Petroleum Association
* City News Service
* UCLA

That’s because it’s the conduit for public records requests. So you’ll have to put up with the occasional post here regurgitating some of the more weird, mundane and absurd records requests that I come across at City Hall (yes, we editors do get out).

Here’s a couple for today:

1) Phyllis Pollack of Northridge requested all permits and documents related to the cost of accommodating Michael Jackson’s funeral at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Glendale.

The Jackson family was billed for the costs, but here’s what the tabs were according to the records: $142,770 for the city, and $4,278 for Glendale Unified.

2) Then there was this one, based on a request filed by Lila Ramirez, an active politico in Glendale (and mother of former Burbank Mayor Marsha Ramos).

Salary payouts to the City Council in 2008 were as follows:

Ara Najarian: $41,542; Frank Quintero: $41,167; John Drayman: $41,167; Dave Weaver: $41,167; and Bob Yousefian: $41,063.

As of September 2009, the payouts were as followed:

John Drayman: $30,915; Laura Friedman: $16,819; Ara Najarian: $31,315; Frank Quintero: $31,330; and Dave Weaver: $30,915.

Getting the rack pilfered offered me an interesting bit of insight into modern police work. I called the non-emergency number (duh) of the Glendale Police Department to report the theft. The woman who answered was unfailing polite — she didn’t even laugh when I told her my, ahem, crime. When the officer came to our offices to take the report, Veronica Rocha (our crime reporter) whispered he had been given an award for valor some years ago.

And then it struck me: Being a police officer certainly will have its moment, but, for the most part, you probably spend most of your time taking reports like mine — Medal of Valor winner or not.

Under a large Oak tree that was saved from the fire, area residents take a tour of Deukmejian Wilderness Park, the first time since the recent Station Fire, in Glendale on Saturday October 10, 2009. Residents learned what the city is doing to curtail mud flows in the coming rainy season. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

I stepped outside a few minutes ago for lunch, leaving the warm confines of the Glendale News-Press/Burbank Leader world headquarters, and into the downtown Glendale gloom. Almost immediately, I felt something on my face and shoulders I had not felt for what seems like forever: rain. Not heavy rain, mind you. Truly, it was hardly more than a light dusting.

But with moderate to heavy rain in the forecast tomorrow and Wednesday — and perhaps as early as tonight — that sprinkle must be driving fear into the hearts of residents in La Cañada and the Crescenta Valley.

The whole situation is painfully ironic. Due to the Station fire, the burned areas are in real danger of becoming mudslide areas — a disaster that could damage or destroy more homes than the fire itself. But that is not ironic. What makes this ironic is the fact that the fire likely grew as large as it did because of the dense brush — dense brush caused by our 3-years-and-counting drought.

I very much hope the rains continue to be light, and any damaged caused by the mudflows is minimal. I furthermore hope authorities catch the person — or persons — responsible for this horrible fire. Good luck to everyone up in the Foothills.

"Inferno" by Roger Wilson

I want to announce the winners of this month’s internal writing and photography contest. The contest drew from the staff writers and photographers from the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader, and La Cañada Valley Sun. The three papers make up the members of Times Community News, North.

(The other members of our little chain are the Daily Pilot, Coastline Pilot, and Huntington Beach Independent. They make up the members of Times Community News, South.)

The contest features categories: news or feature, sports, photo, and online. And, to make things as fair as possible, I’ve asked my colleagues in Orange County to judge the entries.

The online category has two awardees, both based on the number of pageviews. The story of any type (news, feature, or sports) on any of the three papers’ websites that gets the most hits, or pageviews, wins the website award. In turn, the most popular blog post – also judged by pageviews – receives the blog award.

Congratulations to the September winners!

Most popular online story: Veronica Rocha, “Michael Jackson: Pop icon laid to rest” (Glendale News-Press, Sept. 4) 9,360 pageviews

Most popular blog post: Christopher Cadelago, “Woman jumps to her death at Burbank Holiday Inn” (Following the Leader, Sept. 13) 527 pageviews

Best news story: Melanie Hicken, “Minimizing utility risks” (Glendale News-Press, Sept. 26)

Judges’ comments: It’s pretty difficult to make water pipes interesting, but with sold reportage and crisp writing, Melanie seems to have done it. The hook of the story – that Glendale’s pipes are in better shape than L.A.’s – shows an awareness of current events and a skill for localizing a broad or regional story. The lead puts you right in the office of the engineer for Glendale Water & Power, so the story starts strong and ends stronger (“It’s like painting the Golden Gate Bridge”), which is a telltale sign of good writing.

Best sport story: Gabriel Rizk, “The rise of an Olympian” (Glendale News-Press, Sept. 28)

Judges’ comments: The series is compelling and well written. As you read the stories, it becomes increasingly clear that a lot of reporting went into the project. Gabriel tells this story as an insider, which lends it authority. The details give the reader that “inside” feeling, as if you know Vanes Martirosyan and his family.  The quotes – and there are multiple points of view – provide lively color and move the story along.  For a long piece, it’s well structured and doesn’t lose its way.

Best Photo: Roger Wilson, “Inferno” (Glendale News-Press, Sept. 1)

Judges’ comments: This photo, showing the massive fire looming at the edges of city lights, is informative and impactful. It’s worth, as the cliché goes, a thousand words because of its perspective and framing. The reader gets a feel for the scope and magnitude of the fire, which seems to be poised to rush over the Verdugo Mountains into nearby neighborhoods.

Creative Commons

Every once in a long while, things get so convoluted that they get turned inside out upside down and as a result, create a very frustrating mess.

It all started Oct. 7 when Glendale Water & Power ran a “wrap” advertisement on the News-Press giving the incorrect days for outdoor irrigation — Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, a reporter wrote a news brief that was supposed to let residents know about the error, but it only made things worse. The news brief accidently swapped the meanings in the first and second graphs, which meant the mistake on the irrigation days was repeated — only this time, it was the paper’s fault.

So now, this morning, I find myself writing a correction for our error that was supposed to correct Glendale Water & Power’s goof, and meanwhile I’d imagine readers are starting to get pretty confused about now.

In Saturday’s edition, we’ll be running a correction — fully vetted by yours truly — with the correct irrigation days under the city’s water conservation ordinance.

In case you don’t want to wait until then, they are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. There are more on the regulations here.

BLOG STATISTICS

• The 818 Now: 5,290
  
• Following the Leader: 4,000
  
• Jewel City Juice: 2,195
  
• PicBits: 1,847
  
• Going Overtime: 966
  
• Tasty Edits: 882
  
• It Shines for All: 319

TOP POSTS BY BLOG

• Following the Leader: Woman jumps to her death at Burbank Holiday Inn (527)
• Jewel City Juice:
  Tax refund check from California state bounces… (343)
• The 818 Now:FBI investigating Burbank PD (134)
• Tasty Edits:
  Suicide is far from painless (93)
• Going Overtime:
  Inside the Extra Point (35)
• It Shines for All:Firefighter’s widow gives birth to baby girl (25)
• PicBits:
  Dream(ing) on Brand – Part of Park(ing) Day L.A. 2009 (78)

Creative Commons

Steve Lopez is livid. Fed up with Manny Ramirez. Fed up with his lumbering, unapologetic ways and mediocre play. So irked is the Los Angeles Times columnist that he plans on giving away his Word Series tickets to the (anti) fan who writes the best 50-word (anti) pean to the Dodger’s left fielder.

In his words:

So here I am with World Series tickets in my hand and a wave of hysteria sweeping the city. I’m sorry for being the cockroach in the punch bowl, but I can’t bring myself to join the party. The only thing that could get me to the ballpark in the post-season would be if Manager Joe Torre were to staple Manny’s dreadlocks to the dugout wall and play Juan Pierre in his place. I’d rather lose with a scrappy singles hitter like Pierre than win with a loafing slugger like Ramirez.

Maybe I’ll be in a more forgiving mood next year and return to the ballpark — I just don’t know. But I’m giving my World Series tickets this year to the person who writes my favorite 50-word sermon to Ramirez.

So far, there have been a number of pretty good responses. Here’s a few samples:

The hearts of Mannywood have been broken
Because you took Human Chorionic Gonadotropin
With your hitting last summer few rivals could beat us
Thanks to a drug that helps make a fetus
Once caught you couldn’t look fans in the face
Now all you do is leave men on base

- AND -

Just Manny being Manny
Is what the fans do say
Critique is reserved only
For starlets in LA

Win or lose, no matter
It is all about the scene
Even though he struck out
At least Casey played it clean

- AND EVEN -

L ucky you made it this far.
O thers would give anything to be in your shoes.
S o baseball is to high pressure? Challenging? Come Sub in my class!
E veryone makes mistakes but you’re making the same stupid mistakes cheater.
R eturn the Dodger uniform until you decide to play like a professional!

What do we need to do to get comments like that? Man. I’d love that.

OK, I get it, we live in Southern California, where Santa Anas and their destructive powers are known to all, so a pub ed program has a place here.

But then, we just experienced the largest fire in L.A. County history. It scorched the hills mere blocks from Dunsmore Park, forced evacuations and has left open the very real possibility for mudslides this winter.

Hosting a campFIRE  event with “Devil Winds” in the title, when residents there are still coping with ash issues, is at least odd timing, if not totally out of touch.

They’d probably attract more people for an event titled “Here Come the Crazy Mudslides!”