Photo © Copyright 2008 by Jonathan Alcorn (Sundogg) via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr One of the gunmen involved in yesterday's Glassell Park shootout has been identified as a member of the Avenues gang. Daniel Ivan Leon was killed by police following his participation in a fatal drive-by shooting that claimed one life. Ok, so there wasn't anyone jumping onto the 110 Freeway today, but there was a police pursuit on the......

Back in 1996, Mary J. Blige provided vocals to the hook of "Can't Knock the Hustle," the second single off of Jay-Z's debut album, Reasonable Doubt. 12 years, 12 Grammys and 70 million records sold later, Jigga Man and MJB are back at it again, co-headlining 25 shows across North America. Being billed as "The Heart of the City Tour," the former CEO of DefJam records and the Queen of Hip Hop Soul will......

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......

Photo by Here in Van Nuys via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency is testifying to a Congress panel that he was not pressured into shutting down California's attempts to create its own global-warming laws: "It was Johnson's first appearance on Capitol Hill since he acted last month, and he drew the ire of not only Boxer, his usual critic, but other Democratic senators whose states......

"He knows, Doctor. He knows." A Flickr user gives us what he calls a "dramatic and gritty view of [his] silly Star Trek action figures." GEEK OUT You know you want to...so you may as well do it. Star Trek: The Tour has docked on the Queen Mary. Beam yourself up and get yourself to Long Beach to see exhibits from all five TV shows and each of the 10 movies, including Captain Kirk's chair.......

The BBQ & Hibachi Marching Grill Team are taking part in the mischief of the Doo Dah Parade, as they did above in '05 Forget the pageantry and regal demeanor of the Rose Parade, the 31st Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade is the ultimate antidote. Billed as being the loud and irreverent twister sister of the aforementioned annual march down Colorado Boulevard, the parade promises to "send up a woolly range of mischiefs, grounded superheroes,......

The Pasadena Star-News is looking for you. Or if there are problems to rant about in general throughout the SGV, then the San Gabriel Valley Tribune might be where you go. Or hey, same goes for Whittier and the Whittier Daily News. "It's a new year and we are on the lookout for letters to the editor. If you have a person that wants to write one, or is expressing an opinion on an......

Here is a self-portrait of Watt braving the frigid January waters off of San Pedro in the 37th annual Cabrillo Beach Polar Bears Plunge on New Year's day. As far back as anyone can remember, an informal New Year's day swim has been led by lifeguards or the Dept of Parks and Recreation at noon off of Cabrillo Beach. In 1953, John Olguin and Jack Cheaney started the Cabrillo Beach Polar Bears. John's wife, Muriel......

Don't forget to donate to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund this month, because you should, and for a chance to win their latest fun gift: a special, one of a kind silk-screened Clash T-shirt designed by bassist Paul Simonon (now of The Good, The Bad, and The Queen). The shirt goes to one lucky person who donates at least $20 to the charity between January 15th and February 26th. Simonon designed most of the band's......

Love it or hate it, tonight's New Year's Eve. And while half of the city has vacated for NYE's in Vegas, there's plenty to do right here in LA to welcome '08. Fireworks Catch the midnight fireworks in Marina Del Rey. At 11:55 pm and 30-seconds, one firework will be shot into the air for each second, counting down to midnight--and then a few more into 2008. The show be seen from anywhere in the......

A suspected drunk driver brough his Sunday to a crashing conclusion when he led officers on a chase from Santa Ana to Glendale late last night. The PIT maneuver was employed on the Colorado Street offramp of the 5 North to bring things to a halt. Kids, don't go spiking Santa's milk tonight with rum; we don't want the cops chasing any reindeer-led sleighs! The LA Times chimes in with their thoughts today on the......

OOOwww! Good evening Los Angeles! Wooo! How you all fee-ull? People. You know! I don't believe the LA Forum has a chimney... so if y'all want Santa Claus to come pay us a visit you're gonna need to raise the roof off this mother!! And I think if all twenty thousand of you flick your lighters in time with the beat we can turn this place into the biggest Christmas tree in the world!......

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their......

Queen Latifah @ Royce Hall Travis, Maximo Park @ Wiltern Correatown, Pity Party, Merrick, Everybody @ The Bordello Suicidal Tendencies, Municipal Waste, Black President @ House of Blues MC Frontalot, Schaffer The Dark Lord @ Knitting Factory Married In Berdichev, Gang Wizard, A++, Transcend this Earthly Shell @ The Smell Whispertown 2000, Michael Runion, Franklin for Short @ Tangier......

New Jersey singer/songwriter Jenny Owen Youngs (MySpace), whose song "Fuck Was I" was on Weeds, is arguably best known for her connection with the controversial and self-described "Queen of All Media" Perez Hilton, whose championing of her music led to visits on her MySpace page reportedly leaping from 2,000 plays a day to a whopping 60,000. Youngs debuted locally in December 2005, "...in front of a rather industry crowd of artists, label dorks, and......

Natalia Fabia tackles the world’s oldest profession in her fun solo exhibit Hooker Safari: A Glamorous Jungle Pageant. Giving new meaning to the term “wildlife”, her oil on panel paintings depict frequently tatted babes in various scenarios alongside safari animals. The seductive works are fantastically original and creative. Appearing at first glance to be photographs, the artists’ skill is the first thing that jumps out at you. Unlike the “honeys” usually seen trolling Sunset......

Judges, Queen Hopefuls, and ALL the Doo Dah Parade Entries! Let’s PACK the place for a blast of a party and COME AS YOU ARE to the… DOO DAH DAY PARTY AND QUEEN TRYOUTS! SUNDAY, November 18th from 1:00pm till ? TRYOUTS begin at @ 2:00pm, Crowning @ 5:30pm. Your Gracious Hosts and Performing LIVE! SNOTTY SCOTTY AND THE HANKIES HORSES ON ASTROTURF Your Host, ANDREW DUKE OF DOO DAH Queen Hopefuls and Judges, please......

SONICS - The Witch &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/16 The Witch.mp3"> CREAM - Strange Brew &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/Cream - Strange Brew.mp3"> DONOVAN - Season of the Witch &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/Donovan - Season Of The Witch.mp3"> KINKS - Wicked Annabella &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/Kinks - Wicked Annabella.mp3"> SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS - I Put A Spell On You &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/Screamin' Jay Hawkins_Choice Rock Cuts_09_I Put A Spell On You.mp3"> FUNKADELIC - March To The Witch's Castle &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/03 March to the Witch's Castle.mp3"> LEON REDBONE - Witch Queen of......

Monday Edmund White presents Hotel de Dream: A New York Novel 7pm @ Central Library Patricia Hampl presents The Florist's Daughter 7pm @ Dutton's Red Hen Press poets read their work 8pm @ Boston Court Main Stage, Pasadena Tuesday Oliver Sacks presents Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain 7pm @ Central Library Roger Director presents I Dream in Blue 7:30pm @ Barnes & Noble, The Grove Francisco Goldman presents The Art of Politcal......

These days, the Roosevelt Hotel is all about partying. After the painstaking restoration of its Spanish-Moorish lobby, with its hand painted beams, tiled floors and leaded glass windows, the hotel is home to the Tropicana Bar, where guests get in free till 9pm (How generous!) and long lines develop of the young and the beautiful. They don't hold a candle to the older residents of the hotel though. The Roosevelt is rumored to be......

Let's start over, shall we? Disney is investing $1.1 billion into California (Mis)adventure, the ghost town of an amusement park next to Disneyland. The Rose Queen for the Pasadena Rose Parade was announced this morning and her name is Dusty. We just love that name for a girl. Staring now, there is no excuse for anyone of any age to ever go "I don't get blogging." The world's oldest blogger celebrated her birthday this......

Tomorrow morning at 10am, all these sweet concerts will go on sale except for Queen Latifah which will go on sale at noon. You're welcome Bjork, Ratatat @ Nokia Theater, 12/12 Ozzy, Rob Zombie @ Staples, 11/30 ZZ Top @ The Greek, 11/9 Queen Latifah @ Royce Hall, 11/21 Puffy AmiYumi @ House of Blues, Anaheim, 11/18 Deborah Harry @ Henry Fonda, 12/7 Lamb of God & Killswitch Engage @ Long Beach Arena, 12/15......

It's a strong weekend for new releases. After a long break, Jim Gray is back in the director's chair with We Own the Night. Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix star as brothers on opposite sides of the law. Reviews have been 50/50, but critics were equally blase about Gray's last flick, The Yards, which I loved. Cate Blanchett is back as Queen Elizabeth in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Reviews have been weaker than those......

So is anyone NOT buying Knocked Up this week? There's something like 5 different versions in Amazon's top 25 bestsellers right now. Wow. The TV Set is a great movie that about 400 people saw when it was in theaters. I had a near-private screening one afternoon at the Santa Monica Laemmle. Next is really only interesting if you're a Nicholas Cage hairpiece connoisseur (like myself). Evening has an incredibly raunchy nude scene with......

There was an urban legend floating around after 9/11 that certain songs were banned from radio airplay, including the classic, "What a Wonderful World." Somehow the following song is not only eerily prophetic, but sums up the arc of my emotions. The opening riff seems relaxing, but is fraught with droning tension. The lyrics lead us into an awareness of the mass confusion and ennui that surround us all. The song builds to a crescendo......

One of the enduring myths of Western culture is that of the amateur who triumphs against insurmountable obstacles. From Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to Rocky II, it is a myth that has informed cinema for decades. Deep Water, a fantastic new documentary from Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell, reveals it for the absurd fantasy it is. The fate of the novice, when matched against the might of an uncaring universe, is typically oblivion.......

See the 1995 60 Minutes segment about the horrendous Red Line subway construction. Apparently, in democracy you cannot run against your boss' political allies without getting fired. That's what happened when city councilman Ed Reyes fired his office manager after she lost the 2005 election to Jose Huizar. She sued. She won. All the Wilshire Blvd. bus lane info you could want. The Zaca wildfire has been going for a month and now Governor......

Arrested Development - "Mr. Wendal" Arrested Development @ Santa Monica Pier (free) The Bloody Hollies, Restaurant, Muso @ Spaceland The Redwalls, Bang Lime @ The Roxy Sierra Swan, Carina Round @ Largo The Most Powerful Hand, The Young Sixties @ Mr. T's Bowl Potential Pillows, Grid, Safe Haven, Brutal Force, Last Hours @ The Whisky Emily Wells, Queen V, Fishtank Ensemble, Dawn Landes, The Maldives @ The Hotel Cafe Summers End, Rosemary's Billygoat, Dead......

Ziggy Marley @ Pacific Amphitheatre Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars @ Malibu Inn Queen Ida and her Zydeco Band @ Santa Monica Pier The Shys, Grand Ole Party, The Procession @ The Roxy Reel Big Fish. Less Than Jake @ The Wiltern Marnie Stern @ The Echo Volto @ The Knitting Factory The Big Believers, Baker London, The Kris Special, The P. Lacquers @ Mr. T's Bowl......

Doom hangs over the new Arcade Fire album. A nameless dread, omnipresent and consuming, from the oceans and the skies, by infernal means and by human hands....