As we reported earlier, the two-month Writers Guild of America strike is nearly over. WGA-East members voted heard about the proposal earlier and West members weighed in at 7 p.m. Some are already questioning the deal, but most expressed relief that the work stoppage is about to come to an end. Stay tuned to LAist for excellent coverage. A man was shot this morning in North Hollywood by an alleged gang member who approached......

Last year's revelers packed the house for Carnaval in Long Beach | Photo courtesy Aries Productions FESTIVAL Okay, so Long Beach doesn't pack the same exotic pull as, oh, say, Rio, but they're going to put on a Carnaval and pull out all the stops. Get out your Carnaval costumes and get ready to samba the night away! This year’s theme is “Preservation of the Planet” featuring green and recycled decorations. At the heart......

WINE TASTING Rock 'n Roll Wine brings exactly those two things at the Santa Monica Bar & Grille tonight. Vegas-based The Bends play live music while guests taste more than a dozen wines throughout the evening. No one will judge if you swallow it all and don’t spit – between wines. 7 pm // Santa Monica Bar and Grille // 3321 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles // $40 at the door. OPERA USC’s Thornton Opera......

Southwest Chamber Music The season opening concert will feature Southwest Chamber Music’s percussionist Lynn Vartan, the Grammy-nominated Tambuco Percussion Ensemble (an LAist pick of the week earlier this summer) and the soloists of Southwest Chamber Music in a colossal program of the "Encounters, part 1" by one of Los Angeles’ most important composers and percussionists William Kraft, who was an LA Phil member (percussion, timpani), composer-in-residence, and conductor for three seasons. Monday, October 15 @......

Next for the New York Times in LA: Gangs "At twilight on Friday, in the heart of the territory of the latest notorious Los Angeles gang, a woman in a passing car calls out a tip to Officer Dan Robbins, sending him racing toward a corner and a man he believes is a member of the 204th Street gang." (New York Times) Occidental College claims Obama "U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is usually described as......

Los Angeles accounted for 25% of the Young America's Foundation's "Dirty Dozen" list, as showcased in the "Current" section buried in Sunday's Times. The YAF site is a joke -- but apparently this feature, published since the '60s, is not. "America’s Most Bizarre and Politically Correct College Courses" (and I'm sure they missed the REAL good ones). Eagle Rock's Occidental College takes two of the top five:......

Monday: The Next Herb Wesson Unless you spent the $225 for the series that includes Al Franken and Ann Coulter tonight at The Gibson, you’re out of luck. Rather, we recommend you check out local celebrity politico Eric Garcetti at the Improv Olympic on The Blank Blank Show in Hollywood. Tuesday: "This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating." The face behind This Modern World, political cartoonist Tom Tomorrow, will present and sign his......

Today is not just any Thursday. It's also the opening day of the The Fellowship Of Reconciliation's 2004 National Conference--"ORGANIZING THE REAL SUPERPOWER:People of the World Choose Peace" Thursday, August 5 to Monday, August 9th. on the Occidental College Campus in Eagle Rock. Attendees from all over the world gather to hear speakers such as Three-time Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, Kathy Kelly; Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop ordained in the Episcopal......