A historic piece of property has just gone up for sale: The redwood hangar where eccentric millionaire and aviation icon Howard Hughes (pictured) built and housed the "Spruce Goose." The hangar was set up in the early 40s when Hughes was awarded a wartime government contract, and, according to the LA Times, "is now used mainly for movie and television shoots." It is located in what is now the Playa Vista Development. In 1998, when......

Photo by manmadepants via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The relationship between real estate and the Hollywood Sign is as old as, well, the sign itself. Built in 1923 as a promotional billboard to attract buyers to make their homes in the hills of the burgeoning Hollywood community, the sign that once read "HOLLYWOODLAND" has become one of the most iconic landmarks in LA. Now real estate and the sign have a......

Did you know that residents of Los Angeles County use 6 billion plastic bags a year, and only 5% of bags in the US are recycled? In the state of California the average person uses 552 bags, according to the environmental organization Heal the Bay. These bags are then left to choke up our waterways, landfills, streets, and urban landscapes, causing harm to animal life and our ecosystem. This is why Heal the Bay, along......

Grindhouse - I've already reviewed this movie, so I won't bother rehashing it, but trust me, Grindhouse totally freakin' rocks! Three full hours of beautiful cinematic mayhem. Are We Done Yet? - Ice Cube stars as a beleaguered urban dad who moves with his new wife (Nia Long) and her two kids to their dream house in the 'burbs and is terrorized by a contractor (John C. McGinley from Scrubs). Black Book - Dutch-born......

Blades of Glory - Will Ferrell & Jon Heder (AKA Napoleon Dynamite) star as a pair of rival ice skaters who are banned from men's single competition but discover a loophole that allows them to compete as a pairs team. Look for Amy Poehler and her real-life husband Will Arnett (Gob on Arrested Development) as pairs skating champs. After the Wedding - Danish director Susanne Bier has created a comedy/drama Mads Mikkelsen (the bleeding......

Stuart Alexander, the Sausage King of San Leandro, died in his prison cell today. He was on suidice watch. He was also on Death Row. SFist has his bizarre story. Alexander was a handsome (looks a little like Howard Hughes, huh?) businessman and one-time mayoral candidate who went bezerk when he was visited by four state meat inspectors who had heard he wasn't cooking his sausage at a high enough temperature. Bezerk as in......

Long weekends are relaxing, but they can also be daunting. To assuage the malaise, LAist has assembled a list of musical diversions that are kind to your wallet, while also providing a nice alternative to the crowded beaches. Unless otherwise noted, all performances are free. SATURDAY, 9/3 Joy Burnworth, plays a free concert at The Promenade at Howard Hughes Center. The performance starts at 6pm. Call (310) 641-8073. DJs Michael Stock and Benjamin White......

What goes well with a leisurely stroll after dinner, a post-breakup consolation session, or a hot LA afternoon? Ice cream, of course! And to facilitate these, and many other, person-to-frozen dairy treat relationships, most local Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops are hosting a Free Cone Day tomorrow, between 12:00 and 8:00 p.m. Wrap your mouth around a mound of Cherry Garcia, or get yourself a Chubby Hubby. There might be no such thing as a......

We have a sort of legendary aversion to chain restaurants, and our friends do the best they can to accomodate our (alleged) snobbery. But recently we were craving sushi, and the suggested lunch spot was a sushi place that happened to be one of a chain. (No, not Todai. Don't get us started.) LAist enjoyed a relatively inexpensive and remarkably fresh and well-prepared sushi lunch at the Hastings Ranch (Pasadena) location of the sushi......

With it, your Mondays are full of life, excitement and enthusiasm (at least until lunchtime when the caffeine runs out). Without it, you are useless — inundated with headaches and less-than-stellar attitudes. Let's face it: the buzz is your friend, and without it you may never reach your full potential. But some people make it their life, as LAist found out this week when we visited... Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf #9 829 Wilshire......