Monster Mash: L.A. Music Center’s costly renovation; World Trade Center museum; Oakland could slash arts funding

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-- Pricey: Renovations to downtown L.A.’s Music Center would cost more than $250 million, according to a report. (Los Angeles Times)

-- Piece of history: A piece of damaged steel from the Twin Towers will be installed at the New York World Trade Center’s museum, where it will be used as a screen to display projected images related to the 9/11 attacks. (New York Post)

-- Something’s gotta give: City administrators in Oakland have proposed halving the money for arts grants to help the city bridge a $42-million shortfall in its $400-million budget. (San Francisco Chronicle)

-- You be the judge: A painting once disowned by Pablo Picasso will go on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (New York Times)

-- Hauling it in: Sotheby’s said it sold $258 million in art, antiques and other valuables at a recent five-day auction in Hong Kong. (Bloomberg)

-- Giving back: Mel Gibson is said to be donating sets from his current movie to a future museum in Mexico. (Associated Press)

-- Rumor has it: Is the Broadway-bound production of Neil Simon’s ‘Promises, Promises’ in need of script doctoring? (New York Post)

-- Large-scale nude: Work has begun on a giant outdoor sculpture of a naked woman in Britain. (BBC News)

-- Postponed return: Conductor Seiji Ozawa canceled more concerts to concentrate on his recovery from cancer. (Agence France-Presse)

-- Also in the L.A. Times: Music critic Mark Swed on the Metropolitan Opera and Leonard Slatkin; Sarah Jessica Parker’s new art-themed reality show will debut on Bravo in June.

-- David Ng