Hello! You may have noticed that we've changed the way comments work on LAist and the -ist network of sites. About a month ago, we transitioned to Disqus, a third-party comment provider. They offer a much better commenting experience than we had before- faster, more stable, and secure. Disqus offers three ways of logging in: Their own Disqus account (which works at a lot of different websites), or with Facebook or Twitter. For the last month we continued to allow logins with the old LAist site commenter logins, but this past weekend we discontinued that feature. more ›

Dear Gothamist and Chicagoist, more ›

We made it through another South by Southwest Interactive, Film, and Music Conference and Festival in Austin, TX. After writing out that sentence, we need a nap but stay tuned for more interviews and live footage documenting LA's presence at the 21st annual event. more ›

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New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who rode into office on the high horse of morality after years of spearing Wall Street robber barrons as the attorney general, has been linked to a prostitiution ring that has operated in Los Angeles. more ›

• Gothamist found that an explosive set off outside the Times Square army recruiting center may be similar to five past bombings in New York City.
• Seattlest worried when severed right feet and bottles of rat poison started washing up on local beaches.
• Shanghaiist was surprised by Bjork's rooting for Tibetan independence at her concert (see video), and the political fallout has only just begun.
• SFist debated the merits of new bronze plaques that will be placed in locations where San Francisco's homeless have died.
• DCist was obliged to respond to the worst Washington Post Outlook column ever published, in which conservative writer Charlotte Allen tried to make the case that women are dumb.
• LAist found Satan's ice cream truck trolling the streets, and they recorded the music.
• Some crafty Torontoist readers didn't like the dearth of ski hills in downtown Toronto, so they just built one of their own on their deck and (of course) recorded a video of them all taking turns on it.
• Bostonist knows the city's subway and bus system, the MBTA, has problems. So does this 17-year-old who submitted a report and told the MBTA brass how to fix it.
• Phillyist explored the possibility of an Ivy League prostitute, while their commenters debated the most ethical approach to proving or debunking the story.
• Londonist spent a little too much time looking at airbrushed operatic private parts, and enjoyed an enlightening comment from someone who was there. more ›

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. more ›

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*Update 12:03 p.m.: Hillary Clinton is now the declared winner in Texas according to the LA Times. They also have a complete breakdown, state by state, for all the state primaries including yesterday

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http://seattlest.com/2008/02/28/foo_fighters_da.php">announced his presidential bid.

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href="http://londonist.com/2008/02/air_bound.php"> remove one man from Gatwick.

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. more ›

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I discovered this street art on 8th, just west of Grand in downtown LA last week. more ›

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• Happy 5th Birthday Gothamist!!
• A "possible" security breach at the Department of Water and Power Monday may result in more than 8,300 employees wondering, why are there two me's? The lifted information included stats on active DWP employee's names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth and could result in a massive case of stolen identity.
• The gig is up for all you stingy, free-loading kids who like to use their school's gym for league sports. "Soccer leagues, volleyball clubs and basketball groups that have had gratis access to LAUSD facilities from the Harbor Area to Carson will need to pony up beginning March 1 to defray usage costs and raise revenue," the Daily Breeze said. And it's about time. I'm sick of hearing the joyful laughter of kids who should be out getting a real job or doing drugs. Thankfully, they now might have to turn some tricks to pay for what was once free.
• Yahoo is planning to lay off nearly 500 employees in the next couple of months, including 111 in Burbank and 52 in Santa Monica. Yah-poo is more like it for the jobless.
• The LA Times offers a scathing editorial of the state assembly's efforts to cut down the $14.5 billion deficit. Wait, that's not an editorial at all. That's a news story with sentences like, "their move would not actually reduce spending" and "lawmakers' measures would put taxpayers on the hook for more debt." Most (not all) of the stuff is attributed, but I can find ten people right now to tell me I look great though I have a bag over my head.
• In an effort to clean our smoggy image, Los Angeles officials are proposing tighter green building standards that would require large, privately built commercial and residential projects to use environmentally sound practices. This is a great step, but you know what would actually reduce smog? Less driving! And more public transportation!
• Do you love Los Angeles? Do you want everyone to know how much you love this city? Monopoly is giving you the opportunity as it prepares to unveil its first global board where you can vote for the city (ahem, Los Angeles) of your choice to appear on the coveted square. Right now, Montreal is first, followed by Istanbul and L.A. is sitting not so pretty in the 43rd spot. Vote here.
• One smart bastard from Long Beach turned his collection of 301 rare pennies into a $10.7 million pay day. Dallas-based auction house Heritage Auction Galleries, which held the sale in Long Beach Friday night says that coin and a 1794 cent with tiny stars added to prevent counterfeiters each raised $632,500. People make fun of me for picking up pennies, but this seals it: I am never throwing away anything ever again.
• Hey Momma, you have two more days to enter the Kanye contest on LAist. Who loves you? We do.