George Avalos of the Contra Costa Times reports: “A federal judge said today that she was inclined to deny a request for a temporary restraining order that seeks to stall the sale of four newspapers, including the Times, to MediaNews Group Inc. But she didn’t issue an immediate ruling. Clinton Reilly, a San Francisco developer and political player, filed the lawsuit July 14 in U.S. District Court. In the suit, Reilly accused MediaNews, Chronicle owner Hearst Corp., and three other business organizations of colluding to fashion a newspaper monopoly that would dominate the Bay Area. The hearing was conducted in San Francisco federal court by Judge Susan Illston.” [Reuters version] [Bloomberg version]