Los Angeles Times

Dov Charney, founder and chief executive of casual fashion giant American Apparel, acknowledges that he has appeared in his underwear many times in front of male and female employees. And yes, on a few occasions during work meetings, he donned a skimpy garment that barely covered his genitals. But those events, he said, have to be understood in the context of the fashion industry.

The editor of the Los Angeles Times will leave the paper in a dispute over newsroom cuts, becoming the fourth senior executive in less than three years to depart after resisting budget reductions. James E. O'Shea, editor since November 2006, said Sunday that he was forced out after disagreeing with Times Publisher David D. Hiller's plan to shrink the newsroom budget. "We did not share a common vision for the future of the L.A. Times," O'Shea said.

Tribune Co. Chairman Sam Zell on Monday backed Los Angeles Times Publisher David D. Hiller's decision to replace the newspaper's editor. "I've said loud and clear that I am returning control of our businesses to the people who run them," Zell told Tribune employees in an e-mail message. "That means David Hiller has my full support. He carries direct responsibility for the staffing and financial success of the L.A. Times." Hiller said in an interview that he notified Zell last week that James E.

Arthur Silvers, an architect who designed structures throughout California and also worked to end discrimination in housing and employment, died Jan. 18 of pulmonary fibrosis at a hospital in Santa Monica, according to his son John. He was 77. For many years, Silvers worked with Robert Kennard, a prominent African American architect in Los Angeles. The men belonged to a post-World War II generation of architects whose work represented a break from traditional, European-influenced design.

This newspaper typically covers about 10% of the homicides in Los Angeles County each year. They are often the most sensational or shocking: a baby hit by a stray bullet, or a celebrity murder. But for the last year, the paper's website, latimes.com, has recorded every homicide. It was my idea. I reported on crime for the paper, and I wanted readers to see all the killings -- roughly 1,000 violent deaths each year, mostly of young Latinos and, most disproportionately, of young black men.

Re: "The Ranch, Refined," Jan. 24: Though this project may have metamorphosed significantly over its 20-odd years of gestation, it appears that issues of sustainability may have been omitted from the dialogue. Unfortunately, over that 20-year period, it's an issue that has become increasingly pivotal to any responsible discussion of genuine modernism, regardless of whether it is being discussed as a style or a way of living. B.L.

Russ Stanton, a 10-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times who has been in charge of invigorating its website, on Thursday became the newspaper's 14th editor. Stanton will lead a staff chafing from the recent exit of its third editor in less than three years and worried about job cuts. Former Editor James O'Shea and Publisher David D. Hiller parted ways Jan. 21 after a disagreement over whether the editorial budget should shrink.

John Montorio, Los Angeles Times managing editor for features, said Monday that he was stepping down at the request of the newspaper's new editor in the latest shake-up of top management at The Times. Montorio, 59, a seven-year veteran of The Times who was promoted to managing editor for features in July, said in a memo to his staff that Editor Russ Stanton wants to take coverage in a "different direction, with a new leader."