Are our local cities paying the price for legal troubles? A data set compiled and released by the L.A. Times ranks spending on city attorneys in the 88 cities in Los Angeles County. more ›

Los Angeles is second only to Chicago in the number of officials convicted of public corruption. A recent study by University of Illinois professor Dick Simpson looked at convictions won against elected officials, appointees, government employees and a few private individuals in federal courts since 1976. more ›

Sadly, the terms "LAPD" and "corrupt" have been considered synonymous for decades. However, the department has apparently made an admirable transformation over the years, "offering itself up — in a way that not so many years ago would have been unthinkable — as a model police agency for the United States," according to the NY Times. more ›

A bill to dissolve the barely-there city of Vernon was introduced yesterday by Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, and Assemblyman Cameron Smythe, R-Santa Clarita, reports FOX LA. more ›

Her dad didn't die, she was at the Breeders' Cup. Along with the big names and beautiful people, the Breeders' Cup also reportedly brought out the missing juror in the corruption trial of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. According to the Washington Post Marian Hinnant, the juror who was dismissed from the trial after telling the judge that her father died in California, admitted today that her excuse was a lie. Hinnant told the judge today that she really flew to California to be in Arcadia to attend the Breeders' Cup. According to the Post, the judge declined to sanction Hinnant who "gave a rambling statement that involved wiretaps, horses and drugs in Kentucky," allowing her to return to her job as a licensed paralegal at a mortgage company. Rambling about wiretaps, horses and drugs in Kentucky would have surely made her the odds-on favorite for first juror dismissed during the jury selection process, unfortunately, Hinnant waited until after the jury began deliberations to hit her stride. more ›

It's been going on all day as it is: election coverage. Obviously you have your choice to get this news all night: CBS, ABC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, and probably the best news source, Comedy Central. For all other decent viewing options see below. more ›

Science and art rarely mix. And yet, despite the near polar opposite natures of these two fields, there's something that makes a collaboration between science and art undeniably captivating. Perhaps it's because behind the often sterile and calculated shell of the world of science, there lies the same human stories we find in every other area of life. And while we regularly see tales of greed, corruption, triumph, racism, fame, and passion acted out in the political arena, or on the athletic field, or in the celebrity sphere, the scientific world has just as storied a past, rife with conflict, competition and courage. more ›

The man responsible for killing a woman and her two young children in a street-racing accident last month has been tracked down and arrested in Mexico; Martin Marones is expected to be charged with three counts of murder. So many questions! Has "Heroes: Origins" been shelved? Or just "postponed" due to the writers strikes? Will we ever find out who's been offing the group of twelve? And what's up with this ADAM guy??? Two... more ›

Those who believe we shouldn't be covering Orange County, cover your eyes for a few seconds: okay! O.C. Sheriff Mike Carona, his wife, and many others used the Sheriff's office as a cover to accept gifts, loans, and other compensation totalling $350,000. Carona has been indicted on ten separate federal counts of corruption. That big rig crash on the 405 at La Tijera was a real doozy -- the accident wasn't cleaned up until... more ›

In honor of FITLA (International Latino Theatre Festival of Los Angeles), we're doing a mostly Latin theme to our theatre picks this week... En Un Sol Amarillo/In A Yellow Sun (Memories of an Earthquake) A 1998 earthquake in Bolivia ripped apart the country – and the political aftershocks made a terrible situation even worse. This drama features actual testimonies and imagery to shed light on the devestation and corruption that followed. Performed in Spanish with... more ›

Wake up and look around you! There's a war going on. It's not some piddling scuffle over oil in a distant, dusty land. This is a serious battle that's playing out in supermarkets and convenience stores across America. While the mainstream media hypes up fluff like governmental corruption, attorney firings, the collapse of the subprime lending market and the floundering Iraq War, some of us in the blogosphere are covering the issues that truly matter. more ›

What with all the political hubbub brewing this year over issues like The War, immigration, abortion, political corruption, we’re pretty sure the Farm Bill is going to get the shaft as far as public conversation is concerned – just like in 2002, when its passing was totally overshadowed by 9/11 and the ensuing hysteria. Frankly, it’s a damn shame. This is one issue that actually has a chance of raising bipartisan support – even... more ›

Saturday is going to be huge. more ›

A Word or 14: Check out all the crazy bands performing tonight on late night shows(??) Bolded below. Tonight - Friday - April 27th, 2007 Angels @ White Sox (KCOP, 5:00 p.m.) Ghost Whisperer/Close to Home/NUMB3RS (CBS, 8-11:00 p.m.) Melinda meets another ghost whispererer!/Anabeth discovers police corruption!/Death-row inmate wants to reveal location of bodies Bill Moyers' Journal (PBS, 8:00 p.m.) The Daily Show's Jon Stewart! Henry Rollins Show (IFC, 8:00 p.m.) John Waters visits;... more ›

Spector jury includes TV producer, film VP, mayoral staffer Apparently the producer, who works for Dateline NBC had to do research on Spector's story for months but hadn't formed an opinion on whether the Puff Haired Svengali was guilty or innocent. Maybe the producer will write a tell all book when the trial is over and the film exec will option the rights for a movie. American Black Film Festival relocating from Miami to... more ›

Grindhouse The week begins with a pair of 70s actions flicks. The Lady in Red, which has one of my favorite taglines of all time "She's made of bullets, sin & bathtub gin!" is a gangster film starring Robert Conrad as John Dillinger and Pamela Sue Martin as his moll. (Bonus: it was written by John Sayles.) In Bare Knuckles a Los Angeles bounty hunter tracks a psychopath who murders women by using kung-fu. Then... more ›

Somehow, the world of -ists managed to make it through the week despite news that Jen & Vince broke up. more ›

unhappy trails The Donald is ruffling feathers in Rancho Palos Verdes with a request to rename the street that leads to his new development Trump National Drive. So far, city officials are sticking with the current Ocean Trails Drive. more ›

DCist helps us make more sense of the world this week. Posts like this concert review are the reason for Scott Stapp. DCist also enumerates the reasons for playing ultimate frisbee, Condi's tight buns, their love of a local convenience store, and their jealousy of a person in Seattle calling the city. more ›

There is something distasteful that in the week before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Los Angeles Times has decided to run a four-part series that maligns the legacy of one of California's greatest civil rights leaders, Cesar Chavez. Of course, if the foundation is bad, if there is graft and corruption, it should be exposed. There's just something about the timing. more ›

This morning authorities announced that Jack Abramoff will plead guilty to fraud charges in Washington and Miami, allowing him, as the AP writes, "to cooperate in a massive government investigation of influence peddling involving members of Congress." more ›

So, when you go see Syriana (and, really, just go. It's smart and complex and detailed and worth at least a great conversation with your movie date in the car afterwards) you should try and bring Stephen Gaghan with you. You'll have questions. Thankfully, Arianna Huffington hasn't lost our email address yet so we got to spend some quality time with the writer/director after the flick last night and hear his interesting but wordy explanations about the film and the process of making it. more ›

- Who needs Harriet Miers? Our local Japanese American Citizens League thinks the next US Supreme Court Justice should be Asian-American. more ›

Well, the “fit’s hit the shan,” the storm has hit, whatever metaphor you’d like to use–the mayor’s race has taken the long-predicted turn to the negative, as detailed in today’s Times. Hahn’s come out with his first attack ads, while Villaraigosa and Hertzberg have responded with their own (credit Parke Skelton and John Shallman with the pre-packaged response ads; they knew it was coming). Though we haven’t seen the ads (we don’t have time to sit in front of the television to see them), the Times gives fairly detailed descriptions, and so we will review the strategies and histories behind the ads below. more ›

Bob Hertzberg released his first campaign ad to a variety of reviews. Boi from Troy says “Message gets an "A" but the imagery gets a kinda-spooky "C",” while there are a variety of comments, positive and negative, on Mayor Sam’s Sister City blog. more ›

Some Angelenos assert that the 88 disparate municipalities that make up Los Angeles County serve to further fragment the region. This might be the case, but this huge number of independent cities also creates friendly small towns within the metropolis, and sometimes provides us with idiosyncratic drama. Not to mention gambling venues, the presence of which has stirred up trouble in the sleepy City of Commerce. more ›

Oh yeah, this oughta be good. more ›