Update: Woman, Not Nicole Richie, Rescued from LA River

Not to get all Nikki Finke self-congratulatory, but my blog seems to be the first (and only) media outlet to report the dramatic midnight river rescue in Atwater Village this weekend. Now, official details emerge from the Los Angeles Fire Department, which responded with 27 personnel: A Firefighter was lowered to the [21-year-old] woman, who remained trapped by the cold, churning and debris-laden water... Following her brief medical assessment and donning of a flotation vest and helmet, she was hoisted with the Firefighter aboard the hovering Fire Department helicopter... Though the area near the rescue is known to be a popular homeless encampment, the residential status of the woman, as well as her reason for being in the river, was not determined by Fire Department officials. I guess it will be up to Los Angeles Police Department to determine her "reason," if any, for being on an "island of silt" in the Los Angeles River past midnight. I've changed my previous post to give credit to LAFD for the dual helicopters and Night Suns. As for other LA media outlets, they seemed pre-occupied by wee-hour emergencies like the buzzed man tumbling down a hill. And now that Nicole Richie has been accused of endangering the entire city of Burbank, by driving under the influence - backwards - on highway 134, I doubt any LA news organizations will go out of their way to learn about this day-old river rescue. Besides, how are the city's homeless population and its century-old battle to control water more important than misbehaving drunks?