Popular

The Dutch have an idea that's good for debate here at home. A proposal would tax the miles driven on a car instead of the current taxes levied on roads and new car purchases. Specifically, "the plan proposes an average tax of $.07 per mile, with fees higher during rush hour and for commercial vehicles," says Live Earth. "It would use GPS systems installed in each car to track mileage and automatically bill drivers. The goal, the Dutch government says, is to cut traffic by 15% and reduce transport emissions by 10%."

Shortly after confirming Charlie Beck as the new Chief of Police, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to ban cat declawing within city limits, joining a group of other cities such as West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. A state law that will go into effect in 2010 will ban cities from banning declawing, hence why so many cities are seeing these new laws. "Given all the problems in California and the state taking money and property taxes from us...

Things got a bit nutty this morning when students reportedly "stormed" and "took over" a building at UCLA in protest of the imminent UC Board of Regents' vote to increase tuition up to 32%. About 30 students raided Campbell Hall barricading the doors with chains and bike locks, said the LA Times.

Jared Leto and hundreds of Midnight Ridazz bikers take over the streets of LA in the new 30 Seconds to Mars video, "Kings + Queens". We like watching as they head over the Sixth Street Bridge, through the Second Street Tunnel, around Hollywood and Highland, and finally hit the edge of the Santa Monica Pier as the Ridazz show off LA's unique and growing bike culture. We think it's pretty cool that they name each rider at the end too!

Early this morning as we were driving out of an Albertsons/Starbucks parking lot in Valencia, we spotted an animal pacing in a trailer in front of us. At first, we thought it was a horse or a pig. But noooo. Even before the coffee kicked in, we spotted the king of the jungle checking us out. So we snapped this photo. Even with all the wackiness that we've seen on LA's roads, this is the first time we've seen a lion.

She's that familiar voice--love it or hate it--that appears every six month at KCRW pledge drives asking you to subscribe. First a consultant, but quickly hired as KCRW's General Manager, Ruth Seymour has seen KCRW grow tremendously over the past 32 years. Yet all good things comes to an end. Last night she announced that she's moving on, with plans to retire in February.

Here's a little something something for people (like this LAist poster) heading for the Swell Season concert at the Wiltern tonight. Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) asked for songwriting advice from the band, and Markéta Irglová told him to "write a song from the heart" and "include as much personal information as you can." Here's the result, which he performed at last night's show.

Last New Year's Eve, the San Francisco Area rung in the New Year with a bad start. A police officer working for the BART transit system shot and killed an unarmed man already restrained and facing down on the ground. Now that former cop, 27-year-old Johannes Mehserle stands trial for murder.

This Saturday, crowds and culinarians flocked to the Westfield Topanga Shopping Center to take part in the 1st Annual KCRW "Good Food" Pie Contest. Deep inside the mall was the event's center stage, where the 123 entered pies sat on long tables as a panel of judges comprised of local food writers, bakers, chefs, and gourmands took on the daunting task of tasting and evaluating every single one (not an easy job if you're a little hungover, eh Chef Stefan Richter?). Host Evan Kleiman kept the judges and crowd in check, presiding over this well-received event that served as a sort of culmination of her own months-long personal pie endeavor, the Pie-a-Day Project, as logged on the Good Food Blog.

I get asked more often than I can handle for recommendations for where to eat in Los Angeles. And it's a hard question to answer because there are not only a staggering number of excellent options, but also it's so often a matter of personal taste and finding the right spot for the right occasion. For the past four or five years, however, if you ask me what my favorite special occasion restaurant in Los Angeles is (not counting the epic $500 sushi of Urasawa, mind you) I will without hesitation say The Water Grill.

This Friday night, another long-awaited food truck will hit the streets. Meet Frysmith, a creation of Erik Cho, who loves one of America's favorite foods: delicious, greasy and tasty fries. Yes, fries with meat, with vegan chili, with kimchi, with chicken or with beef. And, oh yeah, there are sweet potato fries, too.

Despite a recommendation from a city council committee (.pdf) to once again run trains into the wee hours of night, late-night subway service this holiday season will not happen. The culprit? The economy, of course.

Galaxy midfielder David Beckham put in a strong performance to help the blue-and-gold capture the Western Conference title for a sixth time in club history and the first since 2002. Veteran defender Gregg Berhalter and team captain Landon Donovan provided all the scoring on the night, literally at the eleventh hour, to take a 2 - 0 victory over the visiting Houston Dynamo.

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" as crooned by the Comedy Death-Ray Xmas Nativity Choir a.k.a some of LA's best comedians a.ka. Paul F. Tompkins, R.O. Manse, Tig Notaro, Rob Huebel, Patton Oswalt, Mike Phirman, Jimmy Pardo, Brian Posehn & Scott Aukerman, Garfunkel & Oates, Aimee Mann, Chris Hardwick, Paul Scheer & June Diane Raphael, Doug Benson, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Nick Thune, "Weird Al" Yankovic...

Today is the long-awaited launch of the Gold Line's Eastside Extension, which links Downtown's historic Union Station via light rail to Little Tokyo, Mariachi Plaza, and heart of East Los Angeles, ending at Atlantic. To celebrate, rides from one end of the Gold Line to the other are free today, and there are four events that include food and music from the communities scheduled to happen at or near stations along the line

There's a new multi-faceted food destination now open in Hollywood. The Mercantile comes from the business mind of relocated New Yorker George Abou-Daoud (Bowery, Mission Cantina and Delancey), who describes the restaurant as "equal parts gourmet marketplace, daytime café and nighttime wine bar." In the kitchen is Chef Kris Morningstar, most recently of DTLA's Casa, who helped the modern Mexican eatery get on its feet before announcing an amicable split calculated to prep him for his new gig in Hollywood.

Last Sunday the backlot of CBS Radford Studios in Studio City was filled with some of the biggest names...in food. The 23rd Annual Great Chefs of LA was indeed the promised food and drink filled afternoon of music, swag bags, and auctions, all to benefit the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California. Hosted by comedian and TV star George Lopez, the event drew some celebs (so we hear!) from entertainment and lots of food talent (so we ate!).

We've shown you two secret street art spots (here and here) around the Los Angeles area in the past couple weeks, but today we present you with a place you can actually go and see yourself. It's one of those in-your-face spots that you can easily miss, but Sunset Junction can be a treasure trove. Two parcels south of El Pollo Loco on Sunset at Sanborn is an empty lot.

Glamour was the order of the evening at Bouchon's opening event Monday night. After ascending the staircase, we were greeted by servers offering champagne near a caviar station with caviar quenelle and whipped cream cheese-topped bagel crisps surrounding the biggest ice volleyball in the world. Gliding down the elegant hallway, we came across a full bar on the right serving Bouchon's signature drink of Grey Goose vodka, Lillet Blanc, and Brizard Peche with an Orange Baton/Lemon Twist. A raw bar around the corner was shucking oysters at lightning speed.

It was just a year ago that wealthy philanthropist Eli Broad came to save the day at MOCA by offering the museum a much-needed bailout to help keep it on its feet. By summer, however, the Broad Foundation had begun to chatter publicly about future cultural endeavors, namely a museum of contemporary art of their own. At the time, "Broad said that the museum 'is going to happen' and that it's merely a matter of timing," reported the LA Times. Broad was enthused about having the space in 90210: "Our first choice is the Beverly Hills site."

If the weather cooperates, it's going to be a good night for looking into the skies. "The annual Leonid Meteor Shower reaches its traditional peak between midnight at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 17 as seen from the west coast," explained Anthony Cook at the Griffith Observatory's weekly Sky Report. "About one Leonid every two or three minutes is expected. The earth may pass through enhanced streams of particles during the following afternoon, possibly providing Asia with an even better show, and may make the shower worthwhile to watch again from here between midnight and 5 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the 18th."

A proposed medical marijuana ordinance for Los Angeles has failed to garner a majority of votes. Today, two committees rejected the fifth proposal submitted in a year and a half time, this one drafted by the recently-elected City Attorney Carmen Trutanich. Proponents of medical marijuana threatened to sue if this draft went through and the majority of councilmembers agreed that it was too prohibitive. The full council could still take up the issue as early as Wednesday, says the LA Times. Around 1,000 dispensaries are within Los Angeles city limits.

So that odd shaped flower-painted tower sticking up behind Beverly Hills High School is not some weird sculpture - it's actually an oil well. And there is one behind the Beverly Center as well. And at the Farmer's Market. And inside a building on Pico. And numerous others.

Considering the lines at Union Station yesterday, you would think there was a new death-defying adrenaline-inducing roller coster. That's not even close, but the excitement was just as intense, if not a lot more.

After showing you some amazing street art at a secret location last week, we became savvy to another excellent location. Of course, the deal is that we can't share where, but we hope you can enjoy this as is. Featured here is local artist Vyal, Know Hope of Tel-Aviv and Tony Bones of Texas.

Norway's dance club mastermind Annie emerged on the music scene in 1999, with a Madonna-sampling bit of pop brilliance called "Greatest Hit" that created considerable underground buzz, which she capitalized on by spending... the next 5 years... recording her debut album. Despite the ominous overtones that usually accompany such obsessive tinkering, that record, , was brilliant from start to finish, chock full of songs spanning various dance styles that felt shockingly new and warmly nostalgic at the same time. It earned her the slavish devotion of fans of perfectly crafted pop dance music, widespread critical acclaim, and several minor hits including the bittersweet "Heartbeat", and her amazing ass-shaking ode to the playgirl lifestyle, "Chewing Gum".

13 days ago we wrote about the Parents Television Council boycott of The CW because of advertising for "Gossip Girl" and at Monday's launch party for Mark Liddell's "Exposed: 10 Years in Hollywood" we grabbed the opportunity to ask "Gossip Girl"'s Kelly Rutherford (aka Lily van der Woodsen) about the boycott - please watch the above video for her thoughts. [Also, what a thrill to talk to Megan from the original "Melrose Place"!]

Alexandra Forbes Kerry, 36, was arrested early this morning in Hollywood for allegedly driving while drunk. Pulled over for a traffic stop around 12:40 a.m., Kerry failed a field sobriety test, but refused to take a preliminary alcohol screening test in the field, leading to her arrest and booking at the local area station. "Cops took her to the station and then conducted a formal blood alcohol test which showed a level of .06," explained TMZ.

Up in the Air is a comedy-drama directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking and Juno.) It is an adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name, written by Walter Kirn. According to Reitman, “The movie is about the examination of a philosophy -- what if you decided to live hub to hub, with nothing, with nobody?” Well, what if the “you” was George Clooney? In that case, you would be dressed as dapper as could be, wantonly leaving women in your wake as you fly on to your next destination.

Taking place this Friday at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre is Laughs for Bald Bryan, a night of top-notch comedy and some pretty great music. The special night is to benefit “Bald Bryan” Bishop, Adam Carolla’s former morning radio compliment, who, at 31, is battling an inoperable brain tumor.