This afternoon, Kamala D. Harris became an elected official of many firsts as she took her oath and assumed to office of California Attorney General. "I am deeply humbled by the trust you have placed in me and I will never forget it is you, the People of California, whom I serve," Harris said in her post-oath speech. more ›

Everything old is new again today in Sacramento, as California officially has a new Governor, the 34th re-inaugurated as the 39th, as Jerry Brown took the oath of office in front of a cheering crowd of dignitaries and supporters. more ›

Oh, awkward turtle! Upland city councilmember Ray Musser was describing his inauguration trip experience to the public when he said some uncomfortable things. By looking at the video posted on LA Times, it even appears that he pre-wrote this: "I came away just appreciating America. A tremdendous change, we're headed for changes that we might even be somewhat scared or frighetned of, however, the change in the crowd was completely different than four years ago. There was a lot of non-whites in the crowd well behaved and that was so gratifying..." Now the Mayor and other councilmembers want him ousted. more ›

During and after the inauguration yesterday, these ads showing gay families acting like any happy family would act aired in 42 of the 58 counties in California on stations and during shows such as Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN and FoxNews. more ›

Here in Los Angeles, we often get satellite images showing smoke cover as wildfires burn across the Southland. But today was a day for Washington D.C. All those black little specks, or "ants" as CNN called them, are people. more ›

There was no way to avoid President Barack Obama's inauguration today if you were anywhere on the 'net, radio, or television - well, maybe if you were watching the Game Show Network you might've missed it. Most media organizations jumped into this inauguration with both feet which was encouraging. Hulu and Facebook streams were reportedly failing, along with several others. Twitter seemed to do OK after doubling capacity in preparation for the day. more ›

Around 2,000 people converged over at LA Live's Nokia Plaza, a use intended for the new downtown space. "The mood on the plaza was clearly one of celebration," wrote Eric Richardson at blogdowntown. "The crowd waved flags and cheered every time the incoming President appeared on-screen. Smaller screens on towers along the plaza alternated between feed shots and images of the local audience." Here's some of what photographers caught... more ›

Here's the full transcript as prepared for delivery of President Barack Obama's inaugural address: My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. more ›

Left the house this morning at 6 a.m. (that's 3 a.m. in California). The streets were already teeming with inauguration goers. There was a palpable sense of excitement, as there has been in DC for days. The swarm walked toward the capitol building in heavy anticipation of... something. No one knew exactly where they were going and security wasn't sure what to tell anyone. It was a mad house, a chaotic scene that was calmed by hundreds of red hatted volunteers who wished all a "happy inauguration day" and gave high-fives. more ›

* 6:45 a.m.: Prayer service at St. Johns ends; Obamas depart for the White House * 7:05 a.m.: Obamas have coffee with the Bushes. * 8 a.m.: Motorcade departs for the Capitol. * 8:30 a.m.: Sen. Dianne Feinstein will issue the call to order and deliver brief welcoming remarks. * 8:35 a.m.: Invocation from Dr. Rick Warren. * 8:40 a.m.: Performance by Aretha Franklin * 8:50 a.m.: Joe Biden is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice John Stevens * 8:56 a.m.: Barack Obama is sworn in as president by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. more ›

With one day left until Inauguration Day, thousands of constituents fanned out among hundreds of congressional offices Monday to collect their prized Golden Ticket to today's swearing in. more ›

LAist's contributing writer Jeremy Oberstein is in Washington D.C. for the Obama Inauguration (see his road trip posts here and here). Today he had pick up his officiall invitiation at the House Office Buildings, compliments of Pasadena's Congressman Adam Schiff. Here's what our invitation, the program for tomorrow and the hours long wait looked like... more ›

There are a lot of events going on tomorrow morning (here's the inauguration schedule in PST) so below are some of the big ones and our picks. You can also find a lot of listings at the Presidential Inauguration Committee website and at MoveOn.org, finds David Markland at MetBlogsLA. Wherever you are, enjoy the moments as you share it with millions of others around the world. Just remember for wherever you are, it all begins around 9 a.m., PST here on the West Coast with festivities beginning at 7 a.m. PST. more ›

Now here's a great use for the criticized TV screens all around LA LIve's Nokia Plaza. Councilwoman Jan Perry invites all to come "celebrate history" at "L.A.'s Biggest Inaugural Viewing Party." It's next Tuesday morning with events beginning at 7 a.m.. Barack will take office around 9 a.m. with post ceremony coverage, entertainment, and the parade to follow. more ›

A group called Californians Against the Hate are focusing a lot of their energies right now on Orange County pastor Rick Warren, who will be giving the invocation at Tuesday's Presidential inauguration, to the dismay of many who oppose Prop 8. more ›

LAist likes to think of Democratic National Committee member Ed Espinoza as LA's Superdelegate. We chatted with him last week. more ›

The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery this week announced that they have acquired Shephard Fairey's collage portrait of Obama that was a defining image of his campaign. "This is the original collage that the prints and campaign materials were based on," museum spokeswoman Bethany Bentley said in an email to Jesus Sanchez at The Eastsider LA, a blog devoted to the city's region where Fairey's studio and gallery resides. more ›

OC Pastor Rick Warren has been in the headlines recently thanks to his upcoming participation in the inauguration of Barack Obama as President. Warren's support of California's Proposition 8 has tarnished Obama's message of hope for many, and now Warren's past statements about same-sex marriage are receiving even more scrutiny. Today CBNNews.com published a series of quotes taken from two video messages Warren put online in October and December, respectively, for his parishioners at the Saddleback Church. more ›

A rollercoaster ride may resemble Democratic National Committee member Ed Espinoza's 2008 but it doesn't paint the whole picture. Rollercoasters don't quite peak like Espinoza's year. He was part of the process which saw his party’s historic candidate elected to the country’s highest office. more ›

Local R&B group Brutha [MySpace] has a very good reason to be merry this holiday season, since they were just asked to perform at President-elect Barack Obama's upcoming inauguration. The call came while the cameras were rolling for their new BET reality show, and Fox followed up with a story. The group is comprised of the five Harrell brothers from Los Angeles, and according to the staffer who called up the guys to give them the invite, Obama is a huge fan of their work. Brutha is signed to Def Jam and their album--coincidentally?--comes out tomorrow. Brutha is obviously a far less controversial selection for inclusion in Obama's inaugural ceremony than at least one of his other invitees. Unless of course Boyz II Men are back together. more ›

President-elect Barack Obama's selection of Orange County's infamous evangelical minister Rick Warren to lead his inauguration's invocation has met with much objection, mostly from the gay community, who believe Warren is homophobic. According to Top of the Ticket, "Obama has said he doesn't agree with some things Warren says and vice versa," but the two have agreed to disagreed rather congenially since this summer, when Warren invited Obama to speak at his Saddleback Church. Warren insists he is "not at all homophobic." more ›

A largely known Prop 8 proponent has been selected to do President-Elect Barack Obama's inauguration invocation on January 20. Rick Warren of Lake Forest's Saddleback Church was chosen by the Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which is causing the LGBT community to go a little nutsy on the blogosphere. more ›

At the cost of $1.6 million, Washington DC's Metropolitan Police Department has asked the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department send 340 sheriff's deputies to the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama next month. It's a nice honor, but in this recession, LA County Board of Supervisors are not happy, especially since the reimbursement may be a million dollars short. "A report presented today at the Board of Supervisors meeting estimated that only about $630,000 of the cost would be recouped," found the LA Times. more ›

If you're willing to brave the chill of DC in January to see some warmth injected into the White House and to rep LA in the crowds, there's only one way to get tickets: Ask your local Congressional rep. LAist's sister site DCist explains the process via a press release:

Tickets to the 56th Inaugural Ceremonies will be provided free of charge and distributed through Members of the 111th Congress. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies does not provide tickets to the public. Members of the public interested in attending the Inaugural Ceremonies should contact their Member of Congress or U.S. Senators to request tickets.

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. more ›

Blood on the Sand is the new Apple-tini. British-born Muslim extremist Abu Izzadeen (AKA Omar Brooks) declares that the Prophet Mohammed would want nonbelievers to know, "I come to slaughter all of you." Militant + thirsty + batshit crazy = "We are the Muslims. We drink the blood of the enemy..." Yum. -CNN Bill Moyers gives our spineless politicos (and that includes Bill Clinton) a long-overdue verbal spanking for their willingness to bend over and... more ›

Do you have State Farm Insurance? Your rates might be finally going down. (SFV Biz Journal, Registration Required [but worth it, it's free]) more ›

This has been a rough week for your -ist pals, though you wouldn't know it from the great posts all over the network. Plagued with server problems, our tech team (led by the great Neil Epstein) toiled around the clock to solve the glitches as they arose. Seriously, we've said, typed, and thought the phrase "server problems" more in the past week than we have for the last 35 years combined. Why not say it a few more times, just for fun? For example, SFist is sure the San Francisco Chronicle wishes they could blame server problems for this error. But this San Francisco man that appeared on "The Daily Show" is, sadly, no glitch in the system. more ›

Cardinal Mahoney and Mitch Buchannon...inspirations to us all. more ›

Today, July 1, Los Angeles gets a new mayor. more ›