A new judge has been assigned to the copyright infringement suit that the News-Press brought against the Independent.
The colorful and controversial Manuel Real will be handling the matter from here on out.
Every lawyer who regularly appears in the federal district court in L.A. probably has a "Mean Manny" story to tell. He is the ultimate "no nonsense" judge.
The 84 year old jurist is known for telling lawyers who appear in his courtroom "This isn't Burger King. We don't do it your way here."
Of course after he reads the allegations of the News-Press' copyright infringement claim he's likely to be heard uttering another fast-food slogan; "where's the beef?"
The transfer of the matter to Real was necessitated by the passing of Judge Edward Rafeedie, to whom the case had originally been assigned.
And there is no news of any settlement in the case. The lawyers for each side were to have reported back to the court on Tuesday on the status of their efforts to resolve the matter without a trial.
The producers of NPR's On Point have canceled the segment on Citizen McCaw that they had planned to air on Friday.
In an e-mail to director Sam Tyler, they explained that they had come to the conclusion that the story was "too unique" to Santa Barbara and didn't have "enough resonance for our national audience."
Of course if you haven't already caught it, you can see Citizen McCaw this weekend and decide for yourself how well it might "resonate" outside of Santa Barbara.
It is being shown Saturday April 5 at 8 pm and Sunday April 6 at 3 pm at the Marjorie Luke Theater. Tickets are on sale at the Lobero Theater Box Office at 33 E. Canon Perdido Street or by calling 805.963.0761 or online at Lobero.com.
I'll be out of town for a long weekend so I don't plan on having a new post Friday.
Enjoy the weekend.
