SAG's 'Solidarity' Rally on Monday (see more photos here) | Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist Screen Actors Guild members outside of Los Angeles are reportedly fuming over Monday's rally, which was billed as a pro-SAG "solidarity" event, but ended up having anti American Federation of Television and Radio Actor tones. Around 500 actors and supporters of the movement rallied outside SAG's Wilshire Blvd. headquarters chanting "Vote No!" "We were told this would be a pro......

The May Day 2008 marches and rallies are underway and thousands of people have converged on downtown LA:You can expect massive traffic troubles through downtown during Thursday's events. Marchers will stage at 7th Street and Parkview at MacArthur Park, Olympic and Broadway, and Alameda and Central. All will converge at 1st Street and Broadway for a rally that is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. -- ABC7See our May Day Travel Guide for tips on......

Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist Whether you are attending a rally or just going to work, using Metrolink or Metro Rail (Red, Blue, Gold) are your best option for entering downtown, but expect more crowded than usual trains. Below, you will find information on the Marches, Traffic/Street Closures, Metro, DASH and Commuter Express. Marches & Rallies Sources: Downtown Center BID (via e-mail), blogdowntown, LADOT Map (pdf), LADOT ASTAC The first three marches listed here will......

The Bus Riders Union singing (see the video) | All Photos by Zach Behrens/LAist Saturday's Anti-War March in Hollywood, organized by the ANSWER Coalition was amazing (their acronym stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). Thousands walked down Hollywood Blvd, down Schrader, then onto Sunset, eventually ending in front of the CNN building. Many LAist Featured Photo Contributors have been contributing photos to the Flickr pool an we'll feature them in......

Caption this in the comments section. All photos by Kelly C. Gallamore for LAist Stevie Wonder was the first of two surprises led to the Pauley Pavilion floor by Michelle Obama at yesterday's Get Out the Vote for Obama Rally. After a short explanation of his history as a Clinton supporter turned Obama believer, Wonder led the crowd in a rather difficult vocal exercise based on the candidate's name (see video below). Caption #2......

(l-r) Caroline Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, Maria Shriver, Maria Elena Durazo, Michelle Obama "If Barack Obama was a state," California's First Lady said, "he'd be California." The ecstatic crowd at the 3/4-full Pauley Pavilion punctuated each of Maria Shriver's follow-up descriptors with a resounding "YEAH!" "Diverse, open, smart, independent, bucks tradition. Innovative. Inspirational. Dreamer. Leader." Michelle Obama's lengthy introduction for Maria Shriver had everyone looking around. The crowd erupted when Shriver appeared (see the video......

LAist News Editor Andy Sternberg is inside the Barack Obama rally which is scheduled to kick off at 1:30 this afternoon at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus. The event will feature Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Caroline Kennedy, but will be missing Mister Obama himself. In warming up the crowd, California Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero has declared to the gathered supporters: "YOU are the real Giants and Patriots of America today!" (Get......

Arnie and Johnny Mac had their little love-in this morning with Rudy G looking on. But Gov. Schwarzenegger's public endorsement of McCain was sandwiched by an abundance of pandering. Even the host CEO of Solar Integrated Technologies, took full advantage of the hundreds of journalists in attendance to pimp his company. "This is an example of how much excitement solar energy can create," said Schwarzenegger. "I love it." But the excitement had little to......

"Paper or Plastic?" is the somewhat innocuous and expected question we're faced each time we check out at the grocery store. But what if that question came with a price tag, like 15 cents for every plastic bag we required when making a purchase? Or what if we banned the bag altogether? If a Van Nuys man's proposal becomes law, shoppers might have to pony up the cash in order to carry out in plastic.......

About 500 support and production workers marched down Hollywood Boulevard to urge an end to the strike that has paralyzed the movie and television industry. The "Strike a Deal" march brought together workers who are not on strike themselves but who have been laid off or are losing business as a result of the WGA strike, which appears far from over as it enters its sixth week. Today's rally and march -- from Grauman's......

The ever talented and lovely Alicia Keys performed just before the massive 4000+ strong march down Hollywood Blvd. Keys, with the #1 album in the country As I Am, said "As a SAG member and a writer, she was there to support the cause." After the mini-concert of two songs, "No One" and "Go Ahead", the red army took to the street. March and chanting from Vine to right in front of the Chinese......

Yesterday, September 20th, was the day that Mychal Bell was to be sentenced after being found guilty as an adult on the charge of aggravated battery. Prosecutors were asking for a sentence of 22 years at one point, then reduced it to 15 years. Last Friday the appeals court overturned his conviction. The court determined that Bell, who was 16 at the time, should not have have been tried as an adult. In spite......

The only one of the accused 6 to not post bail, Mychal Bell, is expected to receive his sentencing today in Jena, Louisiana. Local officials tried to impede the traveling march from entering the small town of Jena (population: 2,971) by limiting 5 buses to enter the city limits per 12 minutes. Most locals have fled the city, businesses have closed down. While the arrest stems from the fact that 6 black teens beat a......

To some, Elvira Arellano is a leader among pro-immigration rights activists who think the federal government' immigration and trade policies are unfair. To others, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Arellano is just another attention-grabbing, "criminal alien and immigration fugitive," unfairly using her American-born son as an Elián González-like prop for pro immigration activism . Arellano spent an entire year inside Adalberto United Methodist Church on Chicago's West Side, defying a federal order to report......

Wilshire & Alvarado - May Day The presence of a police force lined up with riot gear presupposes trouble. And when someone supposedly threw a bottle near MacArthur Park Tuesday evening, it was a call to action. Or as Chief Bratton later rationalized: "Missiles were being thrown at the officers, and officers [were] responding." Last year's May Day march down Wilshire featured amiable members of LA's finest police and fire squads lined up on......

More than fifty local communities and sixty local schools & colleges will come together this Saturday to mark the fourth anniversary of the ground invasion of Iraq. This massive anti-war protest will be one of more than two hundred nationally coordinated protests, rallies and marches this weekend. Saturday, March 17 @ 12 NOON ~ GATHER with thousands of like-minded people at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. ~ MARCH at a leisurely (but outraged)......

Thousands attended the Obama 2008 rally yesterday at Rancho Cienega in Crenshaw. We spoke to several Barack Obama supporters and found a variety of interests and goals bringing people together. To nobody's surprise, we found one common theme: Hope. Watch the video for more from the crowd and from Senator Obama himself.......

Last month, after watching the two videos (shown after the jump) of LAPD at the Hollywood Minuteman March, we were curious what was to follow. LAPD's blog offered no immediate reasoning, but today, LA City Beat has the story: “We were trying to get back on the sidewalk, and the police guy with the bike comes and rams into us. So they hit us, she’s falling over, and I’m trying to not let her......