Yet McKay eventually turned the Bucs around, as they reached the NFC Championship game under his leadership. A generation later, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl with John's son, Rich McKay as the team's GM. more ›

William H. Parker joined the LAPD on August 8, 1927. After serving 15 years with the Department, Captain Parker took a leave of absence to serve his country in Word War II. After the war, Captain Parker returned to the Department where he rapidly ascended through the ranks. He was appointed Chief of Police on August 9, 1950, and served as such until July 16, 1966, when he died as a result of a heart attack. Chief Parker is credited with bringing the LAPD to the forefront as a world renowned law enforcement agency. more ›

Tom Berman, LAist's original editor, launched this site, a year ago today, with the following words:

we've decided to try something novel: focus on the city itself, and leave that Hollywood stuff to everybody else. We love this place, and we think it deserves a news source that covers its news with all the energy of the people who inhabit it. We'll be commenting on local news, media, sports, and arts on a daily basis.

The big day is here--municipal election day. Hertzberg, Villaraigosa, and Hahn are the front-runners, as we said a few moons ago. Whether you pick one of those three or the two longshots (Parks and Alarcon) the important thing is to get out and vote. The level of civic engagement in this city is pathetic, and don't let yourself be a part of that disgrace to democracy. more ›

You can now check out his new blog, Killer Boots. The blog is vintage Berman, offering his take on just about everything that matters, from music to politics to other, lesser blogs. If you're an LAist reader, then Killer Boots is a must-add to your daily blogroll. You'll definitely enjoy it. more ›

In the wake of Tom Berman's departure from the LAist staff, we've been hard at work gathering new contributors to fill the hole in our roster. Thankfully, LA is a city brimming with talent, so we face the end of Tom's editorial tenure with the addition of four new writers: Mark, Scott, Jerry and Paul. more ›

My name's Tom Berman and I'm the editor of LAist. Thanks for the visit. more ›

Today marks the beginning of public beta for LAist.com. If all goes well, after a week or so we'll take off the beta label and launch the site officially. We're thrilled to be bringing the Gothamist brand of optimistic, city-centric blogging to the West Coast. Los Angeles means a lot to Gothamist- in fact, we're moving the whole Gothamist operation over to LA for two weeks in August, when one of us will be getting married there. We've spent a lot of time all over LA- downtown, in the Valley, in West Hollywood, up in Malibu, down in Culver City- the city never ceases to amaze us. more ›