Category Archives: Politics

#cold cases, #history, #museums, #religion, 8|2|2011

Posted on August 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: A previous version of this post had a 1972 headline about another hijacking. Thanks to Dewey Webb for pointing out the error.] Nov. 26, 1971: D.B. Cooper bails out with $200,000. Credit: Los Angeles Times SPOTLIGHT Tera W. Hunter … Continue reading →

Posted in 1972, Art & Artists, History, Museums, Politics, Religion, Television | Tagged #D.B. Cooper, #politics, #prohibition, #Religion, #TV | Comments Off

Nixon Library Releases New Recordings

Posted on July 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

The Associated Press has filed a story on the Nixon Library and Museum’s release of more Nixon recordings. Of course, that’s not good enough for the Daily Mirror, so we tracked them down ourselves. The library has released digital recordings … Continue reading →

Posted in Libraries, Politics, Richard Nixon | Tagged #libraries, #Nixon | Comments Off

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: New, horse-drawn hearse for sale on EBay, $9,500. Credit: Justin Carriage Works Queen of the Dead—dateline July 18, 2011 • All the silent movie stars are long-gone, now we are down to memorializing their children. Rex Bell, Jr., … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Trust, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Politics, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged #Eve Golden, #film, #obituaries, #Queen of the Dead, #TV | 2 Comments

Architectural Rambling – The Van Griffith Estate

Posted on June 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

The Times Sunday Business section featured the former home of Van M. Griffith (d. 1974), the son of Griffith Park donor Colonel Griffith J. Griffith. (For some reason, the early stories in The Times refer to him as “Dan Griffith” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1925, Architecture, City Hall, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Obituaries, Politics, Real Estate, World War II | Tagged #1925, #City Hall, #LAPD, Architecture, architecture, crime and courts, lapd | 2 Comments

Heresy on L.A. Streetcars!

Posted on June 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

My hair (or what’s left of it) stood on end when I read this portion of Tim Rutten’s column on Wednesday about Rick Caruso’s mayoral campaign: Mythology has it that the old Red Cars were killed by a conspiracy, but … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Columnists, Downtown, Politics, Transportation | 7 Comments

Found on EBay – 1909 Mayor’s Race

Posted on June 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

A campaign button for George A. Smith has been listed on EBay. The vendor mistakenly identifies the individual as Mayor George Alexander. Actually, this is onetime Councilman George A. Smith, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1909 against Alexander. The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1909, City Hall, Found on EBay, Obituaries, Politics | Comments Off

Vote for Poulson!

Posted on May 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

May 31, 1961: The Times publishes a Page 1 editorial urging readers to reelect Mayor Norris Poulson because Sam Yorty would “ruin good government.” Despite The Times’ aggressive endorsement of Poulson, voters elected Yorty, who was mayor until … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, City Hall, Politics | Comments Off

Vice President Predicts ‘Long, Costly’ Struggle in Southeast Asia

Posted on May 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

May 24, 1961: Radio and TV comedy star Joan Davis dies of a heart attack and gets a Page 1 obituary with a jump. Raymond Chandler got an six-paragraph obituary on Page 4. Davis was 48 when she died.

Posted in 1961, broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Politics, Raymond Chandler, Television | 1 Comment

Libel Suit in L.A. Mayor’s Race!

Posted on May 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

May 12, 1961: Mayor Norris Poulson accused challenger Sam Yorty of being “backed by the underworld” and Yorty responded with a libel suit. The basis of Poulson's charge was that as an Assemblyman, Yorty supported a … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1961, art and artists, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Politics | Comments Off

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 7, 1941

Posted on May 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

May 7, 1941: Mayor Fletcher Bowron is reelected and another Times endorsement goes down in flames. Still recovering from surgery, Lee Shippey files a column from the hospital, this time on nurses. Tom Treanor, who … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Politics, Tom Treanor | Comments Off

From the Stacks – ‘Dancing Bear’ (1968)

Posted on April 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Out of curiosity, I picked up Gladwin Hill’s “Dancing Bear” at the Southern California Library’s book sale. I never met Hill (d. 1992), the New York Times bureau chief in Los Angeles, but I had heard about him … Continue reading →

Posted in 1968, books, From the Stacks, Politics, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Zombie Reading List | Comments Off

Paul Coates, April 11, 1961

Posted on April 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

April 11, 1961: Mayoral candidate Sam Yorty sues Mayor Norris Poulson for slander! Life is good (if you’re a newspaper)! Al Capp interviews a stewardess for American Airlines – none of this flight attendant stuff in … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1961, Adolf Eichmann, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Politics | Comments Off

Buses Replace Red Cars to Long Beach, April 8, 1961

Posted on April 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

April 8. 1961: Red Cars are being replaced by buses on service between Los Angeles and Long Beach, San Pedro and Compton. Transportation conspiracy buffs please note: The Metropolitan Transit Authority is making the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, art and artists, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock, Paul Coates, Politics | Comments Off

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 30, 1941

Posted on March 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

March 30, 1941: In a classic example of one its attempts to meddle in local politics, The Times publishes a Page 1 editorial about the mayor’s race, sharply criticizing the incumbent, Fletcher Bowron, and advocating … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Lee Shippey, Politics, Tom Treanor | Comments Off

Kennedy Mystery Photo

Posted on March 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador, June 5, 1968, photo courtesy of Howard Decker Robert F. Kennedy in an undated photo by Paul Jacobs L.A. Observed recently posted a photo – from Chip Jacobs’ blog — of Robert F. Kennedy … Continue reading →

Posted in 1968, Mystery Photo, Photography, Politics, RFK | 4 Comments

Geraldine A. Ferraro, 1935 — 2011; ‘Housewife From Queens’ Made Political History

Posted on March 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 13, 1984– The Times’ Karen Tumulty profiles the Democratic vice presidential candidate: “Geraldine A. Ferraro likes to refer to herself as ‘a housewife from Queens,’ the conservative, blue-collar borough of New York where the television … Continue reading →

Posted in 1984, Obituaries, Politics | 1 Comment

Paul Coates, March 24, 1961

Posted on March 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

March 24, 1961: Paul Coates dips into the mailbox for items on the mayor’s race and women’s measurements.

Posted in 1961, City Hall, Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Politics | Comments Off

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 23, 1941

Posted on March 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

March 23, 1941: The Times’ editorial page opposes raising taxes to fund the library. It’s the war, you know, and if we go around handing out money to the library, next in line will be the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Politics, Tom Treanor | Comments Off

Voices: Warren Christopher, 1925 — 2011

Posted on March 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

“When human beings are forcibly abducted from their homes, interrogated incessantly at the pleasure of their captors and prodded with electrodes or held under water to the point of drowning — when such things are happening around the world, as they are, all who truly value human rights must speak out.”
Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, LAPD, Obituaries, Politics | Comments Off

Town Called Hollywood, Feb. 23, 1941

Posted on February 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Feb. 23, 1941: An old hand at writing columns but feeling his way in his new assignment, The Home Front, Tom Treanor writes: "Of all the times in the history of the world to be writing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, City Hall, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Politics | 2 Comments