I'm told Amy Wallace's August departure as Deputy Business Editor in charge of entertainment coverage for the Los Angeles Times has caught her bosses completely by surprise. But her forthcoming jump to Conde Nast's new biz mag, Portfolio, certainly makes sense for her personally if not professionally: it's a high-profile writing gig that doesn't require too much heavy lifting. I defer to Kevin Roderick's LAObserved.com which has the story and memo. (I was out all day, so he got this way first.) But there's no decision yet whether to go outside or stay inside to replace Amy. I'd ask Jim Bates to do it: he's a heckuva guy, very knowledgeable, and extremely respected.