The July 30 issue of LA Weekly has an article about the loss of Lily Burk, the 17-year-old murdered last week in downtown Los Angeles. What the story doesn’t mention – and I respect the author’s need to maintain journalistic distance in the face of such a horrifying event – is that Lily was once a part of the Weekly community. Her father is Greg Burk, a journalist who worked at the paper for over two decades. As a writer and editor, Burk helped to build and shape the alternative newsweekly; as a friend and mentor – and, on more than one occasion, the lone voice of reason – he helped to foster the community within it.

Greg and his wife, Deb Drooz, used to open their home for staff parties, and that was where many of us at the paper met Lily. Kids were always welcome at the Burk household on these occasions, and Lily was as excellent a hostess to the children as Greg and Deb were to their parents. Lily took the other kids to her room to play, shared her toys and occasionally led them on a rampage through the adult section of the party, screaming and giggling.

The LA Weekly community that attended those parties has mostly disappeared from the building now. After new owners took over the paper a few years ago, the staff was dismantled. But the community, though scattered, still exists. We keep track, we keep in touch, and we’re devastated by the news of Lily’s death. We have no idea what to do for our old friends, no idea how to fathom their loss. Many of us didn’t know Lily very well, but we’ve learned a lot about her in this last week. We’ve learned that she was following in her father’s footsteps to become a writer, that she got a perfect score on the verbal portion of her SATs and had a gift for writing short stories. We may not have known his little girl well, but we know Greg, and we know that if Lily had become half the writer her dad is, she would have been brilliant. The world has been robbed of not just a dear, sweet spirit but a strong and gifted voice.

Anne Thompson writes on her Variety Blog:

This is my last post at Variety.com. I loved my stint here, but I’m moving on, taking Thompson on Hollywood to its new home.

I’m going independent in more ways than one. Sunday night I’m launching a new Thompson on Hollywood, housed at IndieWIRE, the web-savvy, thriving online indie trade founded by Eugene Hernandez 13 years ago. The site has continued to grow since it was acquired by Ted Leonsis and Rick Allen‘s innovative documentary site SnagFilms last year.

Good luck to you Anne!

LA’s marathon was ugly and hilly and elite runners were boycotting it. Then the religious community tried to drown it by brow beating it into a Monday in May. We heard the death rattle.

Then the City Council decided to move it back to Sunday (like how every other city with a marathon does it, save Boston). And now the LAT reports all the cities involved have approved the Stadium to the Sea route starting from Dodgers stadium to the ocean. Scenic and downhill! People could actually travel to Los Angeles to run our marathon.

We’re getting a little misty eyed.

Dan Rather spoke at the Aspen Institute this week and gave an impassioned “state of the media” speech included a plea to the president find a way to help.

“I personally encourage the president to establish a White House commission on public media,” the legendary newsman said.

Andrew Travers at the Aspen Daily continues:

Corporate and political influence on newsrooms, along with the conflation of news and entertainment, has created what Rather called “the dumbing down and sleazing up of what we see on the news.”

It has also thinned the amount of investigative and international journalism. The latter loss of correspondents covering America’s two foreign wars, Rather opined, is both a critical detriment to the nation and a disservice to our troops.

Tears welled in the lifelong reporter’s eyes as he discussed the dwindling number of war correspondents.

Via IWantMedia

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger slashed state funding for domestic violence shelters from the 2009/10 California budget by 100 percent on Tuesday. Zach Behrens at LAist writes about what that will mean for one local women’s shelter:

The Domestic Violence Center in the Santa Clarita Valley is the only agency that provides domestic violence services in the 200-square mile valley. As a result of Schwarzenegger’s cut, which is immediate, they’ve lost 45%, or $207,222.00, of their annual funding, which they say will force them to close their doors later this year unless the community supports them with donations. In 2008, they served over 1,000 victims of domestic violence.

“As the Center’s Executive Director, I think about every client who has come through our doors and their horrific stories of abuse – I cannot help but cry when I think about what the loss of our services will mean to victims,” said Executive Director Nicole Shellcroft in a statement. “Those who walk through our doors have suffered through broken bones, beatings, strangulation, food deprivation, arson, torture, genital mutilation and unspeakable sexual violence. They have been thrown down flights of stairs, have been victim to violent physical attacks during pregnancy and have even faced the prospect of murder. Victims seek our services to escape incredible violence aimed at them and their children.”

In an exclusive interview with NewsOne, Joe Jackson confirmed that 25-year-old Omer Bhatti is Michael Jackson‘s biological son.

Well film and pop culture dorks, now is your time. You thought it was Comic Con – that was so last week. 20th Century Props in North Hollywood one of the biggest prop houses in town is closing its doors and according to the LA Times, auctioning off everything the have.

Auction is here. LA Times blurb is here.

Photos by Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times