Extra, Extra: Stick to Basketball Kobe...

"Boombox," by delara-photos via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr.

• A series of unfortunate events, including combustible materials that were too close together, contributed to the severity of the recent Universal Studios blaze, said a report issued Friday by the fire department. A loss of water pressure at key moments also complicated efforts to quash the inferno. The report has given rise to fears that media studios are not prepared to deal with disasters, despite ongoing growth. Bodes well for NBC's plans to move to Universal City next year, eh?
• Mayor Tony has weighed in on a proposed curfew for Burbank's Bob Hope Airport. Despite the fact that he is in Israel, Antonio found time to state his opposition, citing the planned shift of more than 30 flights from Burbank to regional airports. I guess he can cross Burbank and the surrounding region off his list of supporters.
• Hopefully Eric Garcetti and others are poised to capitalize, especially given Tony's plummeting popularity.
• Sacramento police say a 76-year-old man operating an unlicensed chiropractic clinic out of his garage is suspected of killing one of his patients with a neck manipulation. That isn't funny. But remember when Homer Simpson operated a chiro clinic from his garage? That was funny.
• Police are searching for two women today they said repeatedly tortured a 5-year-old boy. The two, one of whom is the mother, are alleged gang members and supposedly subjected the boy to unbelievable pain, like putting out cigarettes all over his body and routinely placing his hands on a stove.
• A multi-million dollar renovation for Pershing Square could be in the works, Blog Downtown said. Hopefully some of the improvements will include providing toilet paper for the homeless people who use the fountains as toilets.
• So, remember when Kobe "jumped" over that Aston-Martin? During a recently filmed episode of Jack Ass, the Laker star was asked to jump over a blow-up pool of snakes and dunk the rock. I think I can make out the harness they used to hoist him up over the pool, toward the basket. I hope the Lakers don't lose tomorrow, mostly because I don't want to be subjected to this crap for a whole summer.