...or you could hit up Swingers for a late-night bite (LAist did!) | Photo by Stephanie Asher via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr DOCUMENTARY & DISCUSSION Non-profit mentoring group WriteGirl is putting on a screening of Girls Rock! which is a documentary about a rock n' roll girls' camp, and hosting a panel discussion after the film. Scheduled panelists include WriteGirl's founder and executive director, singer-songwriter Keren Taylor; Grammy-award winning songwriter and......

"Sister Cities" | Photo by Stephanie Asher via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr An update on yesterday's Harbor-Gateway shooting of a 6-year-old in a car. LAPD Chief Bratton announced: "We are very confident that we have the people who were involved in the actual shooting in custody." For the Lakers fans out there, LA City Councilman Bernard Parks declared today as "Derek Fisher Day." 1,817. That's the number of teacher layoffs so......

Sometimes too much holiday cheer is a very, very bad thing. Especially the liquid kind. Hence, the lateness of today's column. But here's the down and dirty on what's happening around town tonight: SPECTACULAR: The Super Sexy Christmas Spectacular takes place at El Cid tonight with Terry Beeman's Hollywood Pin-up Girls' burlesque dance showcase. Tapas. Drinks. Flamenco. Sounds like a very dangerous combo. We're in. 10 pm // El Cid, 4212 Sunset Blvd., Los......

Orlando Bloom will not be prosecuted after an October 12th incident in which he injured his two passengers in a car crash involving parked cars. He said he was avoiding a photographer who suddenly changed lanes. Seeing these paparazzi in action, we suspect it was them who caused the crash, most likely on purpose for some higher dollar photo sales. Starting from last week today, the San Jose Mercury News has a great timeline......

While you were minding your own business, Mel Gibson, the LA Sheriff's Department were making sport of their power - arresting people and messing with gang members - simply to rack up points during in-house games and contests. One recent competition, described in an internal Sheriff's Department e-mail obtained by The Times, was called "Operation Any Booking." The object was to arrest as many people as possible within a specific 24-hour period. Other one-day......

In early September, 104 years ago, in a hotel in Santa Monica, the immigrant mining millionaire, Colonel Griffith Jenkins Griffith, aimed a pistol at his wife during a fit of rage and shot her in the head. Because she survived, and thanks to his political connections, Griffith only did three years in San Quentin. After he emerged from prison he still had a wild streak, but he also had an extremely generous side to......

Lindsay Lohan to be jailed. Check. Nicole checks into jail. Check Glendale Galleria is getting in trouble with service unions for alleged illegal interrogations, spying, discrimination, and threats of firing. Check. Car thief found in trash can after foot chase in Wildomar. Check. The fourth freeway closure (the 60 last night) this week due to an accident. Check. Four possible Encino bank robbery suspects arrested. Check. "Britney Spears chopped off her hair back a......

Indiana Pacers star power forward Jermaine O'Neal wants to be traded to the Lakers. Bad. Even Southern California is starting to feel the pinch of congestion and overcrowding. Frustration with a lack of action at the federal level has prompted states to enact a raft of new immigration laws in the first 6 months of 2007 - more than twice the number that was passed during the same period last year. A North Hollywood......

· The 210 freeway's last 7.25 mile stretch will open Tuesday, thus completing its route. · A 17-year-old girl dinged her car when out too late with her boyfriend. Fearing her strict father and his would-be punishment, she told the police a made up story about being kidnapped from Valley College, locked in a trunk and left on a dirt road near Santa Clarita. · "Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says he didn't use a penny......

photo by Stephanie Asher via Flickr This month's “First Friday” found us standing in a lengthy line at the Natural History Museum, having parked at some shady, empty lot behind the stadium (because the major parking entrance was backed up with cars down the street), wondering both if my car would be towed and if we still had a chance to see Autolux and Deerhoof - especially since we’d had the audacity to skip......

- The Police will play Dodger Stadium on July 23. There's that number again - NBC 4 - Gov. Schwarzenegger's killer plan to export California prisoners out of Cali and let other states deal with our problem was declared "unlawful" by Sacto County Superior Court judge - The Merc - "Homeboy Goes to Harvard" founder speaks to Reseda's Cleveland High thanks to people like Fluke Fluker - LA Daily News - Over 28,000 people......

Photo by Stephanie Asher JPL has just uploaded some brand new software to NASA's robot explorers Opportunity and Freedom, a few million miles away on Mars. These little rovers have kicked around for four years, finding evidence of water, watching the formation of clouds and dust devils, and sending back some really stunning images. The new software will help the rovers move about on the surface, more accurately photograph atmospheric conditions, and give them......