Archive by Date
May 19, 2006
♦ Former VLife writer Steven Kotler, contributing at Hollywood Wiretap, explores the role of local agency Grace Hill Media in marketing "The Da Vinci Code" to Christians. Grace Hill's principal... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
There's been some movement on the mayor's plan to conquer the L.A. Unified School District, some second thoughts about the Coliseum deal for an NFL team and some exposing of... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
May 18, 2006
Hey, this week is LA Observed's third blogiversary. Perfect reason for a fun night on the town—literally. Join us on Saturday, June 3 to kick off summer early with LA... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
♦ Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will preview a gathering of the National Council of La Raza—"the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization"—tomorrow at the Convention Center. Monica Lozano, publisher... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Councilman Tom LaBonge's penchant for handing out loaves of pumpkin bread made by nuns at Hollywood's Monastery of the Angels makes the pages of this week's Los Angeles Independent. Notice... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The founder, editor and publisher of The Argonaut—a useful and newsy community weekly centered in Marina del Rey—died yesterday at age 68. He had suffered from a rare blood disorder.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Attention hill dwellers: It's brush clearance season for you. Los Angeles Fire Department inspectors are out checking all 129,647 parcels in the scarily named Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone,... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
If you thought the Times would put a Da Vinci Code story on the front page, you were wrong. They put two out front. Click the Buzz for a... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
May 17, 2006
Anson Carter grew up in Toronto and has played in the National Hockey League for nine seasons, including an unimpressive fifteen games here with the Kings a couple of years... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
It's not every day that a guy goes home from a bad day in federal court—conviction on twelve felonies—and blogs about life. Former Fleishman-Hillard VP John Stodder, of course, has... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
♦ The 2004 law designed to keep Ron Burkle's divorce details private was thrown out by the California Supreme Court, which denied review without comment. ♦ Life & Times goes... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Wow, lot of response to yesterday's Where in L.A.? challenge. Most who emailed knew (or guessed) that the monument in the photo is a graffitied fragment of the Berlin Wall.... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Franklin Avenue caught Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's appearance on "American Idol" last night, telling finalist Katherine McPhee that she was to sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." She's the first Angeleno to... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Picket lines from Local 33 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees have been up around the Inglewood church-slash-arena still known as the Forum since April. The union's complaint... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The news for Ron Howard and the Da Vinci clan isn't good, higher trash fees slam through the City Council, and the Coliseum remake isn't far behind. Those items and... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
May 16, 2006
Just for fun, who can identify this objet d'art and locate where it is on display? Here's a clue: it's found within the city limits of Los Angeles, and there's... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
♦ The City Council is prepared to dare you to stop and run into Starbucks for a latte during rush hour. Members told their attorney to go ahead and draft... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Fired Fleishman-Hillard boss Doug Dowie and his former deputy in the Los Angeles office, John Stodder, were found guilty today of cheating on billings to the city Department of Water... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Santa Monica, which likes to regulate things, is looking next at the Segway. Kevin Herrera in the Santa Monica Daily Press builds his story around Allen Battino, who commutes from... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
It's hard enough campaigning for state Attorney General against Jerry Brown when no one in Northern California has heard of you or has an opinion. But when you are in... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Question for the day: why would anyone wait in line for two hours for a Tommy's burger, whether they are sixty cents or the usual two bucks or so? Madness,... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
May 15, 2006
♦ U.S. District Judge Gary Feess extended the full LAPD consent decree by three years, over the objections of chief William Bratton and the feds. ♦ The New Yorker has... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Incidents occurred seven hours apart, on the 91 Freeway in Carson Sunday night and on the 710 in Bell Gardens this morning. All three victims, including a 26-year-old man driving... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
JournalSpace blogs, non-existent since a server crash on Friday, finally receive a somewhat reassuring missive from the mother ship: Monday, 0700 GMT: Down, But Not Out... The journals and blogs... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
It's always been a mystery why Highland Avenue through the heart of Hollywood is so poorly engineered—especially the lack of left-turn signals at Hollywood Boulevard, given the number of vehicles... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The Los Angeles Business Journal is out with its annual guess of who is worth what, promoting Kirk Kerkorian ($9.3 billion) to the top spot over last year's champion, Sumner... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Profiling Fat Stefan, Anita Busch takes a consulting gig and a new number two at Christensen, Miller, Fink are just a few of the items awaiting below. Plus it's sixty-cent... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
May 14, 2006
Some LA Observed posts from the past week... LAT loses another bunch of readers USC prof's topless photos...and a backstory Times muscles up in sports LAPD joins the blogosphere Maggots... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
It's not the prices or the unruly crowds this time (or the blown ninth-inning leads.) First, in his Sunday column Bill Plaschke gave voice to fan frustration about longer and... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Robin Abcarian in the LAT observes the dandelions, daisies and bamboo shoots sprouting in the uniquely urban Los Angeles interface where the traffic lanes of the Santa Monica Freeway meet... $MTEntryExcerpt$>
♦ The Clippers tie up their NBA playoff series 2-2, beating the Suns 114-107 at Staples Center on Sunday. ♦ USC basketball freshman Ryan Francis was shot and killed while... $MTEntryExcerpt$>