Cranes along Vine St. in Hollywood | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist Today, Councilman Eric Garcetti delivered the annual State of Hollwood address at an event organized by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. He dedicated the address to Johnny Grant, who passed away earlier this month, and spoke about what makes a great neighborhood, at-risk youth tragedies and all that has been great and to be great for Hollywood. Here are excerpts from the address......

Hollywood's honorary mayor, Johnny Grant, passed away Wednesday night. LAist Featured Photos photographer, Jonathan Alcorn, visits his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star:Flowers on the star of Honorary Mayor Johnny Grant beneath the Kodak Theatre during a memorial held by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Honorary Mayor Johnny Grant has died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles on Jan 9,,2008. He was found by police in his room at the Roosevelt Hotel......

Johnny Grant was found dead tonight, around 7 p.m., on a bed at the Roosevelt Hotel where he lived on the 14th floor in a suite.Grant, 84, has been one of Hollywood's most enthusiastic supporters for more than 50 years. Grant got his start in entertainment by hosting a daily radio show in New York City for servicemen and women during World War II, and later co-hosted the first national telethon ever produced to help......

Someone walked off with Gregory Peck's star on Hollywood Boulevard sometime between Nov. 17 and Nov. 22, says Hollywood's honorary Mayor Johnny Grant. Authorities believe the perp (yeah, we know we watch too much Law & Order) used a cement saw to hack off one of the Boulevard's original stars. Begs the question, didn't anyone notice a saw being used? And why didn't anyone notice sooner? According to an Associated Press news report: Peck's......

LAist just returned from that dreaded, onerous chore -- a weekday lunchtime run to the post office. In Hollywood, we’ve got the choice between long lines and grand architecture at Hollywood Station on Wilcox, or efficiency wrapped in corporate design drek at “cheap and tawdry” (in the authoritative words of the most recently updated Gebhard and Winter architectural guide) Hollywood + Highland. The latter’s near secret status helps ensure (for now) super speedy service;......