Calling Pulitzer judges ...

As Kaye notes in a comment on the morning news meeting, the photos in the LA Times have been amazing. This shot, by Karen Tapia-Anderson, deserves the attention of the Pulitzer committee. These are eight firefighters trapped by flames, hunkering down in their fire shelters and hoping for the best. Kevin Roderick on LA Observed reports this morning, linking back to a Times story I missed, that the fire suits worked and they made it out OK. Incredible.

LAT photo. Click photo for yesterday's photo gallery, and page through for larger image.

Here's a link to the most recent LAT photos.

Journalism, literature, psychoanalysis

This tight little piece on New York Times editor Bill Keller and "War and Peace" is good. Thank you, New York Observer.

No letup in SoCal

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The fires are far from under control -- at least 1,000 buildings lost now, probably more, with hundreds of thousands evacuating and fire crews, understandably, growing exhausted. It's supposed to be in the mid-90s today in LA, so that won't help.

No word yet this morning from Kaye, but a check of the Long Beach weathercam she featured on NiteNote yesterday looked promising. The sky looks clearer there than it had been.

The Los Angeles Times continues its terrific coverage, and Steve Lopez, for my money the country's best local columnist, found a sorry twist to the story. The fires have smoked out a strain of resentment in the Southland, with many people openly expressing contempt -- or at least a shortage of sympathy -- for those in Malibu taking the worst of it. Writes Lopez: "In times of natural disaster, the best often surfaces in all of us. Donations, warm blankets, sandwiches. Whatever is needed, we're at the ready. Unless it involves Malibu."

Man. Definitely a column worth reading.

Locally, I thought both papers underplayed the news that Republican Dino Rossi has decided to run again against Gov. Christine Gregoire, who defeated him three years ago by 133 votes, the closest election in state history. Insiders have speculated that Rossi would try again, but he's been beyond cagey -- unusually noncommittal, I'd say -- and the Rs didn't have another candidate lined up for next year's race. To me that's news.

I notice the P-I's metro columnist Robert Jamieson has weighed in a couple days late and a dollar short on Seattle's drunk-politicos outrage story. Sorry to say, his effort pales next to Danny Westneat's stellar take in the competition on Sunday.

Acting!

Unlike last week, I not only took Franny to acting class tonight but remembered to pick her up too, right on time at 8 o'clock. And Michelle, world's greatest almost-stepmom, gave Fran a cool book of conversations with great actors.

Franny might have a future: She acted excited by the book and grateful for the ride home. Totally believable too.

How journalism's supposed to be

I just stumbled across this excellent obit written by Bill Dwyre, the Los Angeles Times sports editor who always impressed me during my short time there.

His subject is Shav Glick, a sportswriter at the Times for 54 years who I didn't know but, from Dwyre's column, can tell I would have liked. Here was a reporter.