Although 25 Now Confirmed Dead, Metrolink Disaster Remains a Local Story

Time to once again rate the front pages. Two days after the Friday evening Metrolink disaster, 25 people are now confirmed dead — and the story rightfully still dominates the headlines in the region’s newspapers. But if you pull back and look at the rest of the country, it’s Hurricane Ike that’s dominating coverage. Actually, that’s even true in the rest of California. The Metrolink tragedy doesn’t even warrant a front page mention in the San Francisco Chronicle, strangely enough. (Perhaps because it’s day two… but with so much news coming out on Saturday about what might have happened, you’d think SF readers would be interested enough for it to warrant a tiny mention on P1).

Above, for a second day, the LA Times goes with a powerful image of the destruction of the Metrolink train. The Daily News, however, opts to go with a dull shot of… the train tracks. This picture doesn’t convey any of the tragedy or even make you pay attention. Quite a dull choice. And that headline? “Point of No Return” — really, we gotta go with a cheesy cliche this soon?

The Bakersfield Californian asks the question on everyone’s mind: Why didn’t the engineer stop? It’s quite a busy front page — kudos for managing to get a regional, national and local story all out there, but with so many refers it’s impossible to count, and even an ad, it’s a mess. Meanwhile, I’m surprised that La Opinion — with its snappy headline — put the actual story inside.

The Santa Barbara News-Press may be a mess behind the scenes, but they at least can put together a smart-looking front page. The Ventura County Star goes the most emotional of the bunch — a shot of LAPD officers saluting their fallen comrade, combined with a list of the 25 who died. (I would have expected the Daily News to go this route.)

The Daily Breeze, interestingly, plays up the USC game bigger than any other local paper — and in a way, provides a nice, upbeat contrast to the pics of destruction also on the page. I approve — good way to provide some relief. And then there’s the Orange County Register… which I guess figured the San Fernando Valley isn’t local enough for them. 

Did You Hear the Boom?

The Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at Edwards AFB, here in Southern California, at 12:49 p.m., complete with trademark sonic booms:

Atlantis crossed the Pacific and glided to a stop at 12:49 p.m. on a runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California. NASA managers had hoped to land the shuttle in Florida, but bad weather forced them to abandon that plan.

“Welcome back,” Mission Control told Atlantis. “Congratulations on a great mission.” Controllers praised the crew for providing a “stepping stone to the rest of NASA’s exploration plan.”

Atlantis’ return from NASA’s first manned flight of the year was marked by its trademark twin sonic booms that were heard from San Diego to Los Angeles. After deploying its parachute, the shuttle came to rest on the concrete runway under mostly sunny skies.

Damn — how did I miss the booms?! In past Edwards landings, the sonic booms have shaken the windows here in the office.

BREAKING NEWS: Paris Hilton Back to Jail! Local TV News Teams Overwhelmed with Breaking News!

Covering the coverage:

KNBC/NBC4 wins the top RED ALERT prize for employing not one, but two red “Breaking News” bars to cover the turn of events. Even the eventual nuclear holocaust would only garner one red bar, methinks.

KABC/ABC7 comes up with the best, and most effective headline: “Screaming Paris Sent Back to Jail.” It’s simpler than KNBC/NBC4′s wordy headline, and much more descriptive/fun/tragic/evil than KCBS/CBS2′s or the surprisingly tame KTTV/Fox11 one.

KCBS wins for best photo. That closeup of teary-eyed Paris, combined with those slew of slide shows (I especially love “Hot Billionaire Heiresses” — dude, that’s gonna triple CBS2.com’s web stats today, guaranteed).

C’mon, KTTV/Fox11, there’s no time to watch Fox shows online when I want for free — didn’t you hear? Paris Hilton is back in f’ing jail!

BREAKING NEWS: Bomb Scare, Across the Street from Variety

Above, a lone bomb squad officer prepares the scene in front of O to Go, the organic eatery located right across the street from Variety (in Museum Square, also known as the SAG headquarters).

Apparently a suspicious package — probably just someone’s briefcase — was found on a chair in front of the restaurant. As a result, several blocks of Wilshire Blvd. has been shut down. And getting back into the building was a hassle.

Hit hardest: Frazzled B-list celeb publicists. I already witnessed one, leaning out her Lexus SUV and screaming at a Wilshire Courtyard security guard: “HELP! My client is inside and supposed to do an interview at E! How do I get in there? It’s crucial!”

Yup, the terrorists have already won, at least when it comes to neutralizing the town’s celeb p.r. mavens.

Meanwhile, the scare actually began around noon — but strangely, down the street. I was hopping over to the Miracle Mile Ralph’s (to purchase some new contact solution) when I encountered police tape. The block in front of Ralph’s was closed, and the supermarket temporarily shut down. I turned around, headed back to the office, and a group of us headed to the Grove for lunch (With “Lost” superstar Damon Lindelof! Geeks, begin jealous fits now).

When we returned, at least six or seven blocks of Wilshire were shut down, and the attention had turned down the street — to O to Go, right smack across from Variety Central. The streets prevented us from getting anywhere close to Variety, so I hopped out and criss-crossed through the La Brea Tar Pits, thinking I could make it through there.

Nope, the gates to the Tar Pits were closed. But it gave us a great view of the bomb squad, wearing their kevlar jackets — and just standing there. Apparently the package was to be x-rayed, but there was no rush.

Eventually we took a huge detour past the LACMA and down 8th, then entered the Variety HQ through the back.

More shots of the empty scene in front of O to Go, as a lone member of the bomb squad tapes some sort of contraption up:

UPDATE: As expected, briefcase empty. Traffic back. Nerves calm. Seacrest safe.

And the view on Wilshire: