Obama’s coming to L.A. next week. So clearly, this is a positive.
Quake in L.A. blowing up Twitter. Not a super-strong one though, from the looks of things.
In planning for this closure, we gathered the best emergency around. We tried to think of everything but some of these requests are beyond even what we had anticipated.Cmdr. Andy Smith • Expressing bewilderment at some of the ideas thrown in the general direction of officials planning for this weekend’s “Carmageddon” in Southern California —including a block party on the Santa Monica Boulevard ramp leading to Interstate 405, a group of bicyclists who want to ride down a steep incline, and some marketing dudes who wanted to use graffiti to promote the new “Planet of the Apes” movie. All of these incredibly awesome ideas were nixed due to safety concerns. Bummer. Fly jetBlue instead, dudes. source (via • follow)
zachvaughn asks: So if Pabst moves to LA, is this proof they truly are the hipster beer?
» We say: It’s possible, although I imagine some residents of the Mission District in San Francisco, or perhaps the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, might want a word with you. -Seth @ SFB
Early on in their training, I always tell them, ‘I don’t care if you’re in a bathroom taking care of your personal business…. Whatever you do, assume it will be caught on video.’ We tell them if they’re doing the right thing then they have no reason to worry.LAPD officer and recruit supervisor Sgt. Heather Fungaroli • Offering a fairly fresh assessment on the how the police department now views video. Twenty years ago, a video clip turned their whole view on the matter inside-out. The clip of Rodney King’s beating by multiple police officers, and the subsequent “not guilty” verdict in the case, led to a major riot in the city that drew national attention and led to 50 deaths. These days, the police force is quickly putting more cameras in police cars and even has its own videographers to cover incidents – advances which not only ensure better cop conduct but can help exonerate them in legal cases. source (via • follow)
The L.a. Times has a lengthy article on Bell’s corruption that’s worth reading. We could go into great detail with the piece, but we think we can probably explain the story best through the starting and ending salary of one of the most corrupt members of Bell’s government, one of seven town officials who took advantage of low voter turnout and high amounts of power to bilk a fairly poor municipality out of $5.5 million. Here’s how much Robert Rizzo made when he started working for the city, and when he stopped:
Sadly, the public officials who have the duty to uphold the Constitution have forgotten the basics in their desire for sensationalism and are jeopardizing Lonnie Franklin’s chance for a fair trial.Lonnie Franklin’s attorney, Louisa Pensanti • Arguing that the release of the “Grim Sleeper” suspect’s photos created a sensational environment where it’d be impossible for Franklin to get a fair trial. “The photographs include members and friends of the Franklin family,” Pensanti said, “all now subject to the intense scrutiny of the public as well as the police.” Does that include the ones where the women in the photos are completely naked, by chance? Because those make up a large majority of the photos. source (via • follow)
First off, We’re A little uncomfortable with the way the L.A. times is covering this story. See, the Times put the collection of photos – 180 of them – into a pageview-generating giant slideshow, complete with ads on every page. We’ll let you click through them without posting any ourselves. Anyway, moving on … the photos, collected from suspect Lonnie David Franklin Jr., are disturbing documents – the way they are cropped suggests at least some, but not all, of the women were naked in the original photos. The “Grim Sleeper,” called that due to a long period of dormancy, may have killed many other young girls; there’s nothing to suggest he ever stopped between 1998 and 2002. It’s possible he was just really good at covering his tracks. source
A person who’s been arrested multiple times, you see if he has any outstanding warrants. And he did.LAPD Sgt. Shawn Ruda • On last night’s arrest of Marion “Suge” Knight, who was wanted on a minor traffic warrant, which is a lot less than what he’s been wanted for in the past. Knight, who hasn’t been relevant since his biggest star, Tupac Shakur, died back in 1996, has had a spotty police record ever since. For the current crime, he was released and will have to show up in court in a month or so. source (via • follow)
I can’t add much to what’s already been (and will be) ...
One of the perks of being an early employee...
Over the last 90 days, the Digg...
#FMMDI (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)
Thanks. I guess my thoughts are as follows:
1. I think...
Two Months Ago I set out to interview the principal cast...
What happened to Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen? She’s dead: In case you were in need of a good Hollywood whodunit, the death of publicist Ronni Chasen the other day has the city gripped like a Phil Spector murder case. source
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