Extra Extra: Less Fire, More Donuts!

• As firefighters sought to contain the smoldering remains of California, officials are keying in on how the fires started. One of the largest fires, the Santiago fire that burned 22,000 acres was, reportedly set by an arsonist.
  
• President Bush touredparts of California and declared, "We're not going to forget you in Washington D.C." I guess he didn't visit anypoor children.
  
• There's at least one good story to come out of this tragedy. It looks like the avocado crops will not be as affected as previously thought. Early estimates said as much as 33 percent of California's famed fruit would be lost. It turns out that only about 10 percent burned. No you can have that guacamole and not feel guilty!
  
• On to other news. How did AT&T secure the iPhone? Turns out it may be paying Apple $18 per phone per month. That's $565 profit per iPhone over a two-year period. Bejesus, that's more than retail.
  
• Could Dunkin' Donuts be making a returnto the Southland? Listen, I guess because I'm from Los Angeles I don't get the DD craze, but if you're really hurtin' for a delicious bit of fried dough, take a walk down K-Town or head on over to Randy's.
  
• And speaking of delicious food, if you don't know Scoops, the great and inventive ice cream shoppe on Heliotrope, Blogging LA has a great article about the place and an interview with the owner, Tai Kim. "One customer brought some Absinthe from the Czech Republic, and I made a sorbet out of that. It was pretty good," he recalls. Mmmmm.
  
• Who's the most powerful actor in Hollywood? Here's a hint: he's come a long way since West Philadelphia, where he was born and raised on the playground where he spent most of his days.
  
• It's still baseball season and though your Los Angeles Dodgers have long been sitting on their asses wishing they remembered how to hit and pitch near the end of the season, plans are in the works for the boys in blue to play in China next year. Nothing like playing America's pastime in Communist China.
  
• If you live on the Westside and are concerned about traffic, want your voice heard and want bad coffee, then do I have a meeting for you. The City of West Hollywood is sponsoring a community meeting to discuss the Westside Extension Transit Corridor Study next Monday, Oct. 29 from 6-8 p.m. I haven't ruled out live-blogging the event...
  
• Lastly, LAPD Police Chief William Joseph Bill Bratton made history today as he was sworn in for a second term. Some have praised his efforts to bring reform to a department reeling from the Rampart scandal, while others have been outraged by his no-nonsense, shoot-protesters-with-rubber-bullets, kick-homeless-people's-ass style. At least he's better than Daryl Gates.
  

Photo by C-Monster via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr