Remember the strike? | Photo by Kim Shattuck via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr It's all about last minute campaigning for the Democrats in Ohio and Texas; as of this writing, both primaries are still too close to call (Obama & McCain have taken Vermont). More updates on this morning's story about Margaret Seltzer, the author who fabricated a "memoir" about growing up as a white, female gangbanger in L.A.'s South Central.......

To have a continuous bike path along the LA River, it must pass next to Universal Studios. The maroon line marks the disputed path. Back in an October 2006 interview with the mysterious LA City Nerd, we asked a question of hope: when can we realistically bike commute via the LA River Trail from the Valley to Downtown LA? The nerd was not optimistic saying that "the LA River trail may never connect completely......

It's official, four major studios have canceled writer contracts -- the Spring 2008 TV is repeats and/of reality. Since Friday, 65 writer contracts have been canceled. Now, even if the strike ends in the foreseeable future, "the studios will no longer be obligated to pay the writers... The action saves the media companies tens of millions of dollars in payments, and is the first real sign of belt-tightening caused by the strike," according to......

In the days following the launch of the WGA strike, workers from various departments on Warner Bros.' Burbank lot were issued mandatory Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) notices, informing them that they could be subject to layoff after sixty days as a result of the scribes' strike. This Friday marks the end of that sixty-day period, meaning up to 1,000 non-writing employees could get their pink slips soon. In an article in today's New......

In the photographers own words: "The City of Burbank tries a new method of deterring striking writers from walking the picket line outside of Warner Bros." Photo by movie lover via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr......

This strike photo outside of Warner Bros. was taken last week on November 27. If they waited a few days, it would have been witty to play off the 28 Days Later reference... oh well, maybe they have that new Will Smith movie in mind... or maybe they just like to eat people. That or they have dermophagia (gross!). Photo by movie lover via the LAist Flickr Pool (join and add your own photos!)......

Every Monday morning, Rick Orlov of the Daily News and Steve Hymon of the LA Times write their weekly "what's going on at city hall" columns. Orlov brings an interesting story about City Council Member Dennis Zine, who represents the 3rd District in the West Valley. Zine has been given a cease and desist order from Warner Bros. over a lapel pin he has used for years as a political token to supporters. It......

Since his early twenties, Garth Trinidad has been DJing Chocolate City on KCRW for over 10 years now. He sits on the Grammy Awards R&B board in support of the new ‘best urban alternative performance’ category, created as a direct result of his continued approach to music programming. He is a much sought after music commenter, supervisor and expert in his field. To catch his show, tune in Saturday nights on KCRW from 6:00-9:00......

a writer’s perspective I have a love/hate relationship with the “early shift”. I am not a morning person. Looking for news about the strike on the internet this morning, I am confronted with the genius anti-writer argument "Should a plumber get paid every time a toilet flushes?" People please stop making that analogy. It's really not that clever, and it's flawed. If the plumber created a unique toilet from scratch, and then his bosses......

a writer's perspective As I get ready to join my brothers and sisters in the picket line, I’m flipping the channels, looking for some coverage. Fuckin’ Joe Torre is stealing our thunder. Finally, on KTLA, they break in with footage of Jay Leno pulling up on a motorcycle and handing three boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts to some writers. All writers are being encouraged to give 20 hours a week to the cause. No......

If you see a litter and pack of puppies and dogs walking around Pershing Square tonight, it's a Downtown Dog Walk. Maybe you're downtown right now with your dog... Go, go, go! Speaking of non-humans, the state is considering a special path for animals on the Skirball Center Drive bridge. Environmentalists cheer, residents complain it's a waste of transportation funds. On that note of big spending, California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez is still not......

I know you stay true when my world is false / everything around’s breaking down to chaos Even after a year and a half of following Mute Math, it still feels like I know a huge secret. People still ask, "what math?" You haven't heard of the electronic, ambient, prog rock, jazz and classically influenced rock quartet making headway through the music industry with a sound that resembles a mix of Sting, Radiohead, Mars......

Rilo Kiley played their first concert in two years the other day and LAist was there. Rilo Kiley is now streaming their new cd Under the Blacklight on their Myspace this weekend, and here we are telling you about it. But we're sure that there's more new music that we should be telling the kids about. And we're pretty sure that you might be holding on to that information that we need so badly.......

With three full length albums under their belt, and lyrics that often run the emotional gamut of life in Los AngelesRilo Kiley is as much a fixture on the L.A. music scene as anyone. While their newest album, Under the Blacklight, won't debut until August 21, they are getting ready to kick things off at All Star Lanes for a "secret" show in Eagle Rock in a few hours. After, Rilo Kiley will leave the country and return to Los Angeles, playing the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium October 15. Blake Sennett took some time to sit down with LAist...

The Ditty Bops, Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett, are like perfectly precious paperdolls, and the music they make is nothing short of fresh baked gingerbread. Their fanciful folk harmonies, old fashioned, ragtime-esque melodies, and penchant for the playful are the hallmarks of this utterly unique duo of doe-eyed beauties. With snazzy instrumentation (expect to see a mandolin and a dulcimer), and occasional cabaret moments, these ladies could charm the pants off a prude. In......

Rilo Kiley's new video for 'The Moneymaker', their new single off of their upcoming album, Under the Blacklight....

Sara Bareilles - Little Voice (Epic) Velvet Revolver - Libertad (RCA) Iron and Wine - Boy With A Coin [SINGLE] (Subpop) Various Artists - Transformers: The Movie Soundtrack (Warner Bros.) 2 Many DJs - 50 Million Soulwax Fans Can't Be Wrong [LIMITED EDITION] [IMPORT] (Waxed Soul) Rilo Kiley - The Moneymaker [SINGLE] (Warner Bros.) Queensryche - Mindcrime at the Moore [LIVE] (Rhino) Face the Music - 2007 Encores! Cast Recording (Drg) Widespread Panic- Capricorn......

The White Stripes and Warner Bros. Records have transformed our beloved Tower Records on Sunset into Icky Thump Records, named after the Stripes' new cd. As we showed you in this photo essay on Monday, people stood in line for days to not just get the new album, but to also get to see Jack and Meg perform tonight inside the former record store. The first 200 people who bought cds Monday night at......

The White Stripes - Icky Thump (Warner Bros.) The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army (TVT) Art Brut - It’s A Bit Complicated (Downtown) The Aliens - Astronomy For Dogs (Astralwerks) The Moony Suzuki - Have Mercy (Elixia) David Vandervelde - Nothin' No (Secretly Canadian) Dimitri From Paris - Cocktail Disco (BBE) Nouvelle Vague - New Wave (District 6) Bon Jovi - Lost Highway (Mercury Nashville) Van Morrison - Best Of Vol.3 (Manhattan/EMI) But......

If you drive home past the former Tower Records on Sunset you'll see that it looks slightly different. And you'll also see about 200 to 300 people melting in the hot parking lot. Warner Bros. Records has turned the classic record store into Icky Thump Records, which will sell the new White Stripes cd Icky Thump tonight at midnight, about 10 hours earlier than most record stores. But then the band will play Wednesday......

Ocean's Thirteen Music from the Motion Picture David Holmes Warner Bros./ WEA There's no way I thought I would like this cd. There's no way I wanted to like this cd. But it's good. I've been listening to it all day. And I hate myself for it. Clooney, Pitt, Damon... none of them need any more love. They're more handsome and rich than anyone deserves to be. And making a trilogy of films starring sharp-dressed......

- Paris Hilton dropped by Warner Bros. - The wrongful death suit over Natalee Holloway, the teen who disappeared at Caribbean island resort, has been dismissed in an LA court. - California ranks second in total carbon emissions, trailing only Texas. But the country's most populous state is one of the lowest carbon emitters on a per-person basis. - A federal complaint filed in Los Angeles yesterday could bring a Chicago man who uploaded......

1. Disturbia - $23 million - Paramount/Dreamworks 2. Blades of Glory - $14.1 million - Paramount/Dreamworks 3. Meet the Robinsons - $12 million - Disney 4. Perfect Stranger - $11 million - Sony/Columbia 5. Are We Done Yet? - $9.2 million - Sony/Columbia 6. Pathfinder - $4.8 million - Fox 7. Wild Hogs - $4.6 million - Buena Vista 8. The Reaping - $4.5 million - Warner Bros. 9. 300 - $4.3 million -......

Word is that 16-year-old Emma Watson, who's made her mark in Hollywood playing Harry Potter's galpal Hermione Granger, is sick of the role. She's balking at signing on for the last two Harry Potter movies. Matters probably didn't help much last week when a 20-something stalker approached Watson at school to chat about the films. According to a Guardian article: It seems to have been Grint [Ron Weasley] himself who sparked off the speculation......

You'd think a guy who in one breath says that he reaches "over 70 million terrestrial radio listeners in over 125 countries around the world" and has just built a new studio, wouldn't say in the next breath that he has no money left over for the help. Bro doesn't have $8 an hour to pay a struggling college kid to answer the phones and fetch a Diet Coke for JoJo? Has the man......

In a tight vote, the Burbank city council chose not to allow a Whole Foods Market sell their organically grown foods, beverages, and vitamins in the city. Claiming it would add too much traffic and disturb the unique equestrian style around the proposed location at 901 W. Alameda Avenue, the council basically told health-conscious shoppers that they will have to continue to drive east to Glendale or west to Sherman Oaks to pay and......

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together in the sight of Rock and in the face of Roll, to join together you, dear LAist reader, and this New Music Tuesday in holy Matrimony. This mystical union is not to be entered into lightly, or unadvisedly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly (ha), and in the fear of the reaper. More cowbell. L'chaim. OUT TODAY: .38 Special - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: (A&M)......

Though we’re not doctors (we only like to watch them on TV), LAist would venture to guess that it’s the height of cold and flu season. And there seems to be a particularly nasty bug thingy (you like our medical terminology?) that’s making its rounds in LA and the rest of the country. This particular poster, unfortunately, has been privy to random acts of spewing by her significant other. What we originally thought was......

Because drinking and driving is beyond passé: This week, local bartenders strutted their best Tom Cruise-in-Cocktail skills, but without any "proof" in their puddings. It was the annual Mocktail contest held at Universal CityWalk, where ten expert mixologists threw their best non-alcoholic mixes into...well, the mix at the annual "Battle of the Bartenders". The event was designed to promote awareness of the dangers of DUIs. Your turn to be the designated driver? Try one......

Ciara - The Evolution (comes with limited-edition DVD; LaFace) Billy Cobham's Glassmenagerie - Stratus (MVD Audio) Danny Elfman - "Charlotte's Web" soundtrack (Sony Classical) Dreamgirls soundtrack (two-CD deluxe edition also available; Columbia/ Sony Music Soundtrax) "Fast Food Nation" soundtrack (Park the Van) James Horner - "Mel Gibson's Apocalypto" soundtrack (Hollywood) Lil Scrappy - Bred 2 Die, Born 2 Live (Reprise) Brian McKnight - 10 (Warner Bros.) Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape (Interscope) Eminem......