Extra, Extra

Photos, entitled 'fuck you, earthquake' by javier chavez loeza via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

• A new hotel could be headed to Hollywood at Selma and Cahuenga, apparently with a jungle on the roof. Cool.
• WitnessLA is asking high ranking officials what they recommend for people's summer reading lists. LA County Sheriff Lee Baca says "The Denial of Death" By Ernest Decker is the most important book he's read and County Supervisor Yev Zaroslavsky says this book is his public policy bible: "The March of Folly" by Barbara Tuchman.
• Well, okay then: "Three men suing Kid Rock over an alleged assault outside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in 2006 amended their $15 million lawsuit to say they were attacked by the singer and members of the hip-hop group Boo-Yaa Tribe after asking for an autograph."
• Welcome back, Mark Taper Forum! The downtown Theatre space got a $30-million upgrade and blogdowntown visited to see how it's looking.
• Grand Theft Auto is in decline. We're talking crime, not video games.
• Father Gregory Boyle, executive director of Homeboy Industries, will be speaking at Farmlab on Friday at noon. If you're in the downtown/Chinatown area, this Friday lunchtime series is an excellent and enlightening catch.
• The latest Orange County bank robber's given name is the "Chatty Bandit."
• Good timing: Lucy Jones of the USGS, who in our books is one of the most important Earthquake experts today, was talking to emergency planners in Santa Ana when yesterday's 5.4 quake struck. She was talking about how she is frustrated with how hard it is to make the public prepare for earthquakes. Well, there you go, Lucy! You've got plenty of people ready to listen now!