Photo by LaBellaVida via Flickr Changes could be brewing over at Olvera Street where a Downtown News investigation looks at the cost of rent, which is currently well below market rate. The area, which is run by a City of Los Angeles department not quite self-sufficient yet: El Pueblo, a collection of shops and cultural attractions on the site of the city's birthplace, operates on an annual budget of $4.1 million. The department earns......

Photo by astacia5 via Flickr We've heard before that the sinking housing market would actually serve to increase the rent on apartments in Los Angeles, and we've had a few lively discussions about proposals to undo rent control laws. But who knew the rate increases would be so drastic? Today's LA Times is reporting on the going rates for a four-bedroom, eight-bath (eight???) Malibu beach house: $150 grand. Per month. Alright, granted this is......

Photo by ChazWags via Flickr He already served a month of jail time when he was convicted last Spring, but today, sleazy wannabe slumlord Darren Stern, who also goes by Henry Shalom, was ordered to pay millions back to rent-control tenants that he mistreated in order to get them to move out so he could raise rents, eventually selling the buildings at "inflated" prices, according to CBS2. The money will be split and given......

And you thought your monthly rent was high... TMZ has gotten their hands on some paperwork form Love Shack Trust sent to Britney Spears over her Malibu rental home. Says TMZ: "The documents, dated February 14, states that Brit was more than two weeks late in paying her $35,000-a-month rent. A $2,100 late charged kicked in, which was not paid. The documents state that Love Shack must either pay up or "surrender and deliver up......

Just in time for spring, the LA Times is reporting on something I think would just go marvelously with that recession you've been looking at: Proposal aims to undo rent control laws Before we go any further, jut let that sink in. How pleasantly banal it sounds. Like "Proposal aims to change terms of your relationship from monogamous to yerdumped," or "Proposal Aims to replace your sweet Graphic Design Job with minimum wage position at......

This sounds fun... or not: the Apartment Owners Association Convention is this week at the convention center downtown. Here's another fun fact: they will be discussing how they can get the California rent control laws abolished, according to a number of housing advocate groups, including the locally based Coalition for Economic Survival and Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights, in a press release this week: Dozens of seniors, elected officials, mobilehome tenants and tenants’ rights......

Núñez represents downtown Los Angeles, to the south of, and East LA in the state assembly. It is rumored he wants to run for Mayor. It is not like Democrat Fabian Núñez, Speaker of the California State Assembly, is some bogus politician with bad intentions and total self-serving motives. I am not going to argue with him for looking into universal preschool, high speed rail and global warming solutions for California; in fact, I......

Bills just came in. Rent's due. I made a major and very necessary computer purchase that needs to be paid off right away. My credit cards are tired. I'm poor. There won't be any lavish lunches or fancy foreign cheese purchases from Whole Foods happening for me anytime soon. If I'm not careful, the next few weeks might be Top Ramen City -- what's a budget-minded foodie to do? Luckily, I have two dozen......

Harry Potter is a touchy subject these days. The books have been around for so long, that kids who once loved Harry Potter are growing increasingly embarassed by that fact and now distance themselves from the teen magician. Still older kids -- like, say, ADULTS -- have followed every book with a frenzy and will no doubt join in this week's madness as Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows hits stores all over LA.......

An article in the NY Times advises renters are better off paying that monthly check to the landlord than actually buying property. In “A Word of Advice During a Housing Slump: Rent” writer David Leonhardt takes data from every metropolitan area (including LA) to forecast the benefits of buying vs. renting. Leonhardt writes: “Over the next five years, which is about the average amount of time recent buyers have remained in their homes, prices......

photo excerpt of "Washing Out" by our common - You know you're old and worthless when you close up shop after 20+ years and no one notices for over a week. Buh Bye Hard Rock Beverly Center - Eater LA - How was your Christmas bonus? Howard Stern got $83 million in his envelope - Reuters - The end of LA Rent Control? - Mayor Sam - "We are the modern equivalent of the......

The Silverlake Film Festival is on and, as you might guess, it features new independent films, many from local filmmakers (right on). But if you guessed that the Silverlake Film Festival was taking place in Silverlake, you'd be dead wrong. Most of the films are showing at the ArcLight — one of our favorite movie theaters, to be sure, but it's nowhere near Silverlake. According to GoogleMaps, the ArcLight is 4.6 miles from Spaceland,......

Kudos to California-based* EFF for taking Sony BMG to the mat on distributing CDs with spyware and hacker-friendly software. EFF joins Texas in the courts while The LA Times and The New York Times both discuss how Sony is having the worst year ever. In today's The Big Picture, Patrick Goldstein off-handedly throws out that the movie division has had only one hit (Hitch and that seems like it was ages ago) and a......

Here at LAist, we're all about making the rest of you famous. That's why, if you've ever had an idea that you thought would make a kick-ass book (but not really aware of how to go about it), the recent release Putting Your Passion Into Print might be helpful. Written by Arielle Eckstut (Pride & Promiscuity: The Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen) and David Henry Sterry (Chicken: The Self-Portrait of a Young Man......

After treating ourselves to such high-profile LA musicals like Chicago, The Lion King and The Producers, LAist sometimes likes to venture to the backwoods of Los Angeles to catch some of the quirkier performances that the city has to offer. This week is no exception. For fans of Bewitched and The Hollywood Squares, no thanks to the over-the-top humor of the late Paul Lynde, you may be overjoyed to know that his spirit has been......