CalArts President Steven D. Levine invites a distinguished panel of speakers to discuss the need for a downtown district in L.A. A topic equally applicable to many major cities, the panel will examine the value of central downtown districts when we live in such a digitally connected World that seems to negate its need. Ironically, the event takes place downtown at the REDCAT. Discussion starts at 8:30 pm. more ›

Progressive author, cultural critic and feminist Naomi Wolf is in Los Angeles tonight and tomorrow promoting her book Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries. Wolf, who blogs at the Huffington Post, also wrote The End of America which was recently turned into a documentary. There are no screenings scheduled in Los Angeles at the moment, but we thought the trailer was interesting enough to share. more ›

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Famine. Riots. Strikes. Inflation. The repercussions of the world food crisis continue to affect the global mood and economy, and unfortunately the situation does not appear to be getting any better. American farmers, most of whom rely on the core crops of wheat, corn, and soy to bring in a living, are fearful of another poor harvest this year. From the NY Times:

United States soybean plantings are running 16 percent behind last year. Rice is tardy in Arkansas, which produces nearly half the country’s crop. “We’re certainly not going to have as good a crop as we had hoped,” said Harvey Howington of the Arkansas Rice Growers Association. “I don’t think this is good news for anybody.” more ›

">Weekend America report about urban foraging in Los Angeles. That is, can you take a walk in your neighborhood and find and eat lunch without any cooking or prep back in the kitchen? Why, yes, yes you can. more ›

Update, 10:31 p.m.: The jewelry thief was shot dead

Naoko Mori plays science technician/alien-buster Toshiko Sato on the BBC's "Torchwood", the coolest science fiction show to come out of the UK in quite a while. In fact, when put up against a lot of the other science fiction originating on cable, "Torchwood" more than holds its own against "Stargate Atlantis", "Flash Gordon", etc. The production values are great and the stories I think are a bit more unique than some of these other incredibly inbred and convoluted series. more ›

Bob Saget will perform at 4th & B in San Diego on March 7, The Grove of Anaheim on March 8 and The Joint at The Hard Rock in Vegas on March 21 as part of his national theater tour and we're lucky to have another chance at him. more ›

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The Los Angeles Galaxy wrapped a 3-0 win in Shanghai on Wednesday night (yup -- big time difference, folks!) thanks to a hat trick by Carlos Ruiz. Shanghaiist, our sister site, has been covering Beckhamania and has great analysis of the match against Shanghai East Asia Hong Kong United (it's unclear at this time if that fits on a jersey). In fact, they've got a lot more insight than, say, ESPN's Soccernet. more ›

Not that we did not know already, but now it is official: Mike Huckabee announced shortly before 6:30 p.m. PST that he is dropping out of the race. The presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain is expected to hold his victory speech later tonight in Dallas (UPDATE: McCain began his victory speech at 6:48 p.m. PST -- "Stand up and fight for America, the contest begins tonight" MSNBC live on air reports that his teleprompter failed during the speech). more ›

Russian Tatiana Aryasova won the LA Marathon, and the $100,000 "Banco Popular Challenge" with an unofficial time of 2:09:32*, beating out the top "elite" male runner, Laban Moiben of Kenya, who clocked in with an unofficial time of 2:13:50. The petite Aryasova is in peak shape; she recently gave birth and resumed her training rapidly. more ›

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Colourmusic are the rarest of musical rarities- a band from the isolated hinter portions of America's Heartland (Also known as "The Sticks") that not only doesn't suck, but actually turns out to be pretty great. And not in that sort of special olympics, everyone's a winner, "well, they're good for [insert your tiny state here]" kind of way, but actually, honestly, for realsies good. Kind of like how The Flaming Lips are so good you're kind of surprised to find out they're from Norman, Oklahoma. more ›

The Advocate, a pro-life student-run UCLA magazine, released it's quarterly issue (.pdf) this week with an investigative report on sketchy fundraising practices at Planned Parenthood. Their lede reads: more ›

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State Senator Sheila Kuehl is at it again, but this time it's not about speed cameras in Beverly Hills, it's about writers and other artists getting their fair share of residuals. In a press release from the Writers Guild of America, they explain the problem of underselling television series and movies and what SB1765, the "Fair Market Value Bill," aims to do:

Since the major media networks in the United States have come to own many cable channels, the practice of selling TV series or movies for less than the fair market value of the content has become more and more prevalent. In many cases, the product is sold or licensed from one entity to another entity within the same parent company. This creates a problem for actors, writers, and performers who rely on the amount of a sale of material for their residuals – payments made to the creators or performers of a work for showings or screenings after an initial use.

The Billionaires for Bush have finally placed their bejeweled slippers into that arena of the peasant, the 2008 election, with this powerful video. These heroes are alerting the mud-farmers and illiterates of this Wondrous Nation that if they believe they can finally get the change in America, No, They Can't. more ›

With even more evidence of the population spending more time with programming and movies online, Lifetime, which I jokingly refer to as the most sexist network on the planet, is now launching programs on the web. If you weren't getting enough reality TV, first verify that you don't have testicles and then check out mylifetime.com and look for "That Magic Moment" which is about couples' first time in the sack and the "Clean Start Challenge” about 10 goody-two-shoes women who are sticking to their New Years' resolutions. more ›

Since February is Black History month, we asked our friends at Eso Won Books in Leimert Park to recommend ten history books that would provide a balanced overview of black history, filling in any gaps in the American educational system. Included are a number of books that specifically focus on the history of African-Americans in Los Angeles. more ›

In what can only be seen as a ratification of Mike Huckabee's belief that Satan actually exists, . more ›

The global day of action was initially announced last month after a video attributed to "Anonymous" coincided with an online effort that managed to temporarily knock out Internet servers belonging to the Church of Scientology. more ›

For over seven years, the Rebels of Comedy have created a warm and welcoming environment in one of America's most notoriously vicious industries. The comedy troop regularly brings Los Angele venues the biggest names and best up-and-coming talent in stand-up. more ›

The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) didn't hold a gala ceremony this year (who can afford a gown when you're not getting paid?) but they did take a break on the East coast from discussing the possible end of the strike to announce the winners of their annual awards. This year's very informal and somewhat unusual gathering "was decidedly looser than past ceremonies and peppered with references to the likely strike settlement. 'WGA on Strike' signs filled the ornate lobby of the Hudson Theatre in Times Square, and writers gathered by the open bars, comparing notes about the membership meeting earlier in the day when they finally heard the details about the tentative deal." more ›

Photo by victoriabernal via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

I'm for feeding birds all year, but as we're celebrating it this month, stop a moment and be grateful that our warm-blooded friends live in the California climate. As the Wild Bird Centers of America reminds us: more ›

What's in a name? Well, for residents and leaders who have won the battle to keep the San Fernando Valley designated as "America's Suburb," it means everything. more ›

Every March in Austin is like Mecca for music and techies. South by Southwest (SXSW) is one of the most popular interactive and music conferences, always hosted in the Texan city that has been honored as one of the creative cities in America. Out of the 1200 or so bands playing from around the world, 109 are from Los Angeles and LA County(give or take a few depending on errors in the list from SXSW, ex: Meiko lives in LA, not Georgia anymore). Add in some other nearby areas and make that 122 bands. more ›

Back in 1996, Mary J. Blige provided vocals to the hook of "Can't Knock the Hustle," the second single off of Jay-Z's debut album, Reasonable Doubt. 12 years, 12 Grammys and 70 million records sold later, Jigga Man and MJB are back at it again, co-headlining 25 shows across North America. more ›

Mitt Romney, a Republican Governor from a Democratic state, quit the presidential race today following huge gains made by John McCain on Super Tuesday. more ›