City News Service

Peter Hartlaub was the only journalist in the courtroom the morning a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered Playgirl magazine to stop distributing its August issue with nude photographs of Brad Pitt. The hearing had been scheduled at the last minute, and none of the reporters swarming the Los Angeles County Courthouse for Carroll O'Connor's slander trial even knew about it.

As an offensive lineman for Oregon, Mark Asper usually does his work out of the spotlight. But the senior from Idaho made a huge pre-Rose Bowl play Wednesday night during the Ducks' trip to Lawry's the Prime Rib in Beverly Hills for their turn at the annual "Beef Bowl. " During the meal, Asper said he noticed a commotion at a table near his. A man, he said, "was giving the universal 'Help me, I'm choking' signal.' " The 6-foot-7, 325-pound Asper said another man attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver but was unsuccessful.

Two news agencies and about 20 other customers were without electricity for about three hours because of a power outage in the downtown area of Los Angeles. The blackout hit the Associated Press, City News Service and a number of industrial and commercial businesses in the area of 11th and Hill streets.

A three-part "CSI" crossover story arc helped CBS become the most-watched network for the seventh time in the eight weeks of the fall television season, edging ABC, which drew its largest audience in more than a year. With all three entries in "CSI" drawing substantially larger audiences than a week before, including a season high for "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS averaged 11.47 million viewers for its prime-time programming from Nov. 9 through Sunday, according to live plus same-day figures released this week by the Nielsen Co. -- City News Service

City News was bringing breaking news to Chicago in the days of streetcar messengers and Al Capone, and it evolved through the teletype era and into the computer age. But it couldn't survive the lightning speed of the Internet, its owner said Thursday.

A three-part "CSI" crossover story arc helped CBS become the most-watched network for the seventh time in the eight weeks of the fall television season, edging ABC, which drew its largest audience in more than a year. With all three entries in "CSI" drawing substantially larger audiences than a week before, including a season high for "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS averaged 11.47 million viewers for its prime-time programming from Nov. 9 through Sunday, according to live plus same-day figures released this week by the Nielsen Co. -- City News Service

As an offensive lineman for Oregon, Mark Asper usually does his work out of the spotlight. But the senior from Idaho made a huge pre-Rose Bowl play Wednesday night during the Ducks' trip to Lawry's the Prime Rib in Beverly Hills for their turn at the annual "Beef Bowl. " During the meal, Asper said he noticed a commotion at a table near his. A man, he said, "was giving the universal 'Help me, I'm choking' signal.' " The 6-foot-7, 325-pound Asper said another man attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver but was unsuccessful.

Three deaths this winter had an impact on Los Angeles journalism. You've heard a lot about two of them, the closing of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and the death of Bill Stout, commentator for television station KCBS. The third was the death of someone less well-known, Joyce Peterson, who had spent many years covering City Hall and the county Hall of Administration for City News Service and the Daily News.

The dean of America's police reporters ended his career Friday the way he started it 56 years ago--in a chaotic police pressroom chasing a story that sent shock waves across Los Angeles. Norman "Jake" Jacoby left his City News Service desk at the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters for the last time after filing dozens of bulletins, stories and updates on Friday's earthquake for area radio and TV stations and newspapers. It was just another day at the office for Jacoby, 75.

Crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department made quick work Sunday evening of a small brush fire near the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, authorities said. Initial reports of structures being burned could not be confirmed by the fire department or police. Firefighters gained control of the three-acre blaze shortly after it began about 5 p.m. Authorities told City News Service that the fire apparently was started by a blown electrical transformer.  The blaze -- near La Cienega Boulevard and Stocker Street in Culver City -- was doused with the help of three water-dropping helicopters, authorities said.

City News was bringing breaking news to Chicago in the days of streetcar messengers and Al Capone, and it evolved through the teletype era and into the computer age. But it couldn't survive the lightning speed of the Internet, its owner said Thursday.

Peter Hartlaub was the only journalist in the courtroom the morning a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered Playgirl magazine to stop distributing its August issue with nude photographs of Brad Pitt. The hearing had been scheduled at the last minute, and none of the reporters swarming the Los Angeles County Courthouse for Carroll O'Connor's slander trial even knew about it.

The dean of America's police reporters ended his career Friday the way he started it 56 years ago--in a chaotic police pressroom chasing a story that sent shock waves across Los Angeles. Norman "Jake" Jacoby left his City News Service desk at the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters for the last time after filing dozens of bulletins, stories and updates on Friday's earthquake for area radio and TV stations and newspapers. It was just another day at the office for Jacoby, 75.

Three deaths this winter had an impact on Los Angeles journalism. You've heard a lot about two of them, the closing of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and the death of Bill Stout, commentator for television station KCBS. The third was the death of someone less well-known, Joyce Peterson, who had spent many years covering City Hall and the county Hall of Administration for City News Service and the Daily News.

Two news agencies and about 20 other customers were without electricity for about three hours, because of a power outage in the downtown area. The blackout hit Associated Press, City News Service and a number of industrial and commercial businesses in the area of 11th and Hill Streets, the Department of Water and Power said.

Nieson Himmel, a colorful newsroom character who covered every major Los Angeles crime story since World War II--including the Black Dahlia murder and the killing of gangster Bugsy Siegel--died Saturday. He was 77. Himmel worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times until he collapsed in February as he was walking through the newsroom on the way to his desk. He died from pneumonia-related complications.