• Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced plans to take over the country’s division of U.S. bottle-maker Owens-Illinois, after charging the company with worker exploitation and environmental damage. [L.A. Times]
• Four city officials from Irwindale, including two councilmen and a city manager, are accused of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on trips to New York where they ate at Peter Luger, Bouley, and River Cafe, where a pre-fixe with poached eggs is $55. [L.A. Times]
• Doctors are worried that too many people are feeding fast food to their pets and making them obese. Sure, but do they know how cute chubby puppies are? [Herald Sun]
• Kristen Stewart: turns out she’s a pretty good cook who makes a mean tortilla soup. [MTV]
• It’s still tough to find a job out there, but restaurants continue to hire “at a considerable clip.” [LAT]
• Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast-member Lisa Vanderpump-Todd owns Villa Blanca in 90210, not the taco shop of the same name. [L.A. Times]
• The first Starbucks at sea is opening on a new cruise ship. Somehow we’re sure it won’t be the last. [USAT]
• The Journal discovers heirloom apples, likes them! [WSJ]
• NBC jokingly predicts a future where “each of us has our ‘own’ food truck, or maybe two.” [NBC]
