Results tagged “2008”

We've spent much of the past few weeks reviewing the year that was, in music, movies, TV, food, and more. We've talked New Year's resolutions but now's the time to get real: What is really gonna go down over the next 12 months? Below are some of our early predictions -- what are yours? MTA installs turnstiles at all Metro subway stations, securing millions of dollars of unrealized revenue from erstwhile freeloaders. Construction begins on...

Something seems to be working, but one is still too many. Los Angeles had 380 murders in 2008, which is the lowest since 1969 and a downward trend from 2004 when there were 518. By comparison, both Chicago and New York City saw their murder rates increase each to over 500 last year.

Officers were attacked 527 times up to December 23 of this year, according to the Los Angeles Police Protective League today. The total is the sum of 168 assaults with deadly weapons (14 with guns), 358 physical assaults and one death. SWAT member Randall Simmons was shot and killed last February in Winnetka when his team entered a home where a barricaded suspect was holding fort.

Moby at Electric Daisy Carnival 2008 | Photo by Drew "Rukes" Ressler/Used with Permission

                            

Although the Undie Run has been around since 2002 (in lieu of the Midnight Yell), major media outlets really didn't start to catch on until a few years ago. Last night, ESPN, NBC, FOX News and four LA Times staffers (Adam Rose produced a great video for them) were seen at the event. LAist has covered the event since 2006 so here is some of last night mixed up with the best of since '06:

                     

We all saw a lot of memorable things yesterday during the historic election. Here's one perspective captured with an Angeleno's camera.

      

People came out in droves to vote early over the weekend at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office in Norwalk. The line on Saturday just before polls opened at 8 a.m. wrapped around the voting tents, down the sidewalk, along the length of the office building before turning the corner.

                           

Day 2 of the out-of-state Monolith Music Festival at Red Rocks this past weekend consisted of American Bang, Tokyo Police Club, The Avett Brothers, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Band of Horses, TVOTR, and Airborne Toxic Event who got their album torn apart on Pitchfork but rebutted. (Thanks a million to BetweenLoveandLike aka Erica for the ATE pics!)

As the gas prices fell last month, so did ridership on public transit. Metro documents show that people are riding less on a daily basis, but numbers are still a lot higher than usual when compared to 12 months ago or even earlier this year.

              

Our previous photo essay from the Warped Tour left some people feeling incomplete. "Where are the pictures from the Old School Stage?", underground music enthusiasts asked. Well, here's the deal. Old School is so cool, it requires it's very own story. In fact, Old School IS the story and many people, young and old understand that. The Old School has a message to send because it speaks to the spirit of DYI culture.

          

There were at least a handful of LAist contributors at this year's Coachella Festival, and as we slowly recover from our Coachella "hangover" we'll continue to upload photos and tell the stories from another epic weekend in the desert... (or at least the parts we can remember)

It's February 29th -- Happy Leap Day! While others are pondering mysteries like "what happens to a baby born on February 29th?" and "Does this have anything to do with last night's episode of 'Lost'?", we're going to take the opportunity to teach you a shiny new word! It's called intercalation, and it's what Julius Caesar did back in the day to fix the wacky Roman calendar system: inserting extra units of time (in our case, one day at the end of February) into the regular calendar to make up for that 1/4 day imbalance in our time measurement system.

Our crack political team is projecting "reason to believe" that both Rudy Giuliani and Gov. Schwarzenegger will endorse John McCain for the Republican nomination very soon.

The eyes of the nation are turning to the Ronald Reagan Library today, where debates for the Republican front-runners will begin. This is the last debate opportunity for the GOP before "Super Tuesday" next week (LAist is throwing an Election Party to celebrate).

For me, the Sundance Film Festival officially ended at the airport in Salt Lake City when I was waiting in line behind Bijou Phillips at the Quizno's in Terminal 1. She was politely arguing with the counter guy about why she couldn't get fresh mustard from behind the counter instead of having to use the the mustard packets by the napkin stand. In a heavy accent, he kept saying that all they had was "runny mustard" and she kept asking, "What is runny mustard?" before finally realizing he was saying "honey mustard" and asking him to give her some. Somehow, that moment perfectly captured the surreality of Sundance.

Saturday is invariably both the best and worst day of the entire festival. It's the best in the sense that there is no shortage of high-profile movies, events and parties to attend. It's the worst in the sense that everyone--and I include the entire under-25 population of Salt Lake City--knows this. Saturday simply has the most intense crowds of the entire festival. It's the perfect day to avoid Main Street and hole up in press screenings. This is what I had planned to do, but fate decided otherwise. That, however, is a story for later in this column.

Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have spent the past couple days traipsing around the Golden State uncomfortably responding to allegations that their campaign is connected to a lawsuit brought last week by the Nevada teacher's union that would prevent casino workers from caucusing on the job.

Mitt Romney is the consummate, cookie-cutter, robot-like Republican. Forget about eliciting animation or human emotion from this wanna-be prez. Even his campaign henchmen lack the ability to opine on, well, just about anything, as evidenced below.

Happy New Year from LAist and your brand new Food Editor! I've arrived home refreshed from a fantastic vacation in the Philly/New Jersey area, and now I'm revved up and ready for the New Food Year. It was difficult to leave Philadelphia and its fabulous dining options behind (cheesesteaks are only the tip of the iceberg), but nothing beats Los Angeles for its range of offerings. Here's my wish list for places to go, ingredients to cook, and meals to eat in 2008. What's tops on your list of must-eat destinations and recipes this year?

According to a new study by David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah, talking on a cell phone while driving can make a person drive up to 2mph slower that other drivers, the LA Daily News reports.

The New Year's Eve celebration at Little Radio in Downtown LA featured locals The Pity Party (MySpace), Fatlip (formerly of The Pharcyde), and Restaurant (MySpace), as well as DJ Lady Michelle Sinclair (MySpace). Not to mention free alcohol (after a $20.00 admission fee).

Earlier this week, KGRL, "...a [Southern California-based] non-profit non-commercial internet radio station that plays the freshest and the best ALL QUALITY female artist / fronted acts in a wide variety of genres," presented their List of Influential CDs of 2007, which included local residents Inara George (The Bird and the Bee), Charlotte Martin (MySpace), Sara Bareilles (MySpace), and Carina Round (MySpace).

Today's issue of LA Weekly holds their top few picks of the 740 new California laws coming our way in 2008.

California is still a hue of royal blue in the bloody bruise that exemplifies partisan U.S. politics. But with the ludicrous and often homogeneous plans suggested by members of the so-called "right" and "left," California voters have only grown to embrace their right-to-choose in a people's democracy. Californians who choose not to register as a red, blue, or third-party voter -- "Decline to State" voters -- comprise nearly one-fifth of the state's registered voters according...

Those of you who've been following the presidential race as closely as I have (and, really, who hasn't?) are no doubt aware of the conventional wisdom surrounding Hillary Clinton's candidacy – namely that she now appears unbeatable. Pundits and reporters alike have been buzzing about her insurmountable lead – often clocking in in the high double digits – over her next two closest rivals, Obama and Edwards, for what has seemingly been weeks now....

We all hear about the Iowa Caucus, but do we really know, as Californians, what's going on over there? Previously: LAist Interview: Jacob Soboroff of Why Tuesday...

Let's face it, 2007 was a mediocre year for movies. Although there are still a couple months left for 2007 to prove it's cinema value, overall it was a disappointing year. Sure Hollywood gave us "300", "Zodiac", and "Once", but we also got "The Number 23", "Norbit", and "Code Name: The Cleaner". So I have my eyes set on 2008, which seems to have a wonderful slate of features for us to see at...

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is stopping at Chapman University in Orange on Sunday, capping off weekend fundraising dinner rounds elsewhere in OC. The public forum is billed "Ask Mitt Anything," and we've got a few suggested questions with which you can do just that... after the jump. WHAT: Public Forum w/ Mitt Romney WHEN: Sunday 9/23, 2:15 p.m. WHERE: Chapman University Theater, Orange (map). RSVP: Call (857) 288-2667, or email california@mittromney.com. AP Photo...

The 80th Academy Awards (host: Jon Stewart) aren't until February 24 but starting today you can register for a chance at a bleacher seat overlooking the red carpet. Thousands applied for 300 spots last year along the 500-foot-long red carpet, but you're feeling lucky, right? The chosen voyeurs will be randomly selected next Monday at noon, and notified in March. Submit for up to four tickets per person. http://www.oscars.org/bleachers/ Dangerous Liaisons devotees look for...