The Daily News has more details on those marijuana vending machines. Besides, you know, the fact that they are TOTALLY AWESOME! A rash of gang violence in Watts since the weekend has led to two shooting deaths and the injury of at least 13 others. Yahoo is not doing so well: a major drop in fourth quarter profits is going to mean layoffs somewhere in the neighborhood of of 7% of the workforce. Four......

Reports are surfacing this morning of a secret memorial service held last night in Westwood for Heath Ledger, who was found dead earlier this week in a New York apartment. Although rumors of an intended public memorial were swirling about the newswires yesterday, no formal announcements were made regarding services to honor the Aussie actor locally. The rainy night gathering took place at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary, and it's being......

Photo courtesy of dmax3270 via flickr While the features and shorts at Sundance are occasionally hit or miss, the documentaries are always strong across the board. Yesterday, I was able to see two that I have had my eye on since the festival schedule was originally released: Made in America by Stacy Peralta and Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden by Morgan Spurlock. Considering all the frantic back-and-forths I've been doing since last......

As Cloverfield set a box office record for a January opening this holiday weekend, we Angelenos should be glad at the local economic boost, but we should also question if it could have been even more successful had the film been set in Los Angeles. Yes, the New York setting drew memories of 9/11 and classic monster movies, but Los Angeles is the city in which this monster would have done so much better......

Want to buy a two-story, four bedroom, two-and-a-half bath house with a view of a local artistic and historic landmark for a price tag of around $400,000? They've got custom cabinetry, marble counter tops, walk-in closets, and two-car garages to boot. Sounds pretty sweet! Do you mind that you're on land that was once a dump, and that you're three blocks from a housing project with bars on its windows? And that landmark? They're the......

Increasingly free of gang violence, it may be getting safer to walk the streets of Watts, the Daily News reports. Homicides in the area have dropped from 24 in 2006 to just 11 last year and many residents are pinning hopes for further neighborhood revitalization on economic opportunities. Hey Magic Johnson, that's your cue! A man died last night after sliding down an escalator at the Hollywood Highland shopping pit of hell today. Apparently......

The community of Watts seems to be undergoing a shift in atmosphere, reports the Daily News, as the area's gang violence has been decreasing, thanks in part to the Watts Gang Task Force. In terms of statistics, homicides were halved last year from the year before--11 in 2007 as compared to the 24 in 2006, and 2007 saw "a three-month stretch without a single slaying. Gang homicides for the approximately 1-square-mile home to an estimated......

Haven't you always wanted to grow your favorite fruit in your own backyard? This month you can have your tree -- for free -- thanks to TreePeople and SEE-LA. Just go to one of the Farmers' Markets listed in the flyer at right or fill out this form and you'll be on your way. * LA Mill Opening - Stop by the long-awaiting opening of LA Mill's new coffee shop in Silver Lake. You might......

We comb through tons of event listings so you don't have to. LA events have come back from its winter doldrums tonight. Big time. Here's what's happening around town tonight -- there's lots of learning mixed in between all the great entertainment stuff. CLASSICAL The LA Phil's Concrete Frequency series -- combining music, film and symposia -- begins tonight. It's a Casual Friday, which means shorter programs with no intermission. On tap tonight is......

New Year's Day, most in LA seemed to be up in Pasadena watching either the Rose Parade or the Rose Bowl, or getting over their New Year's Eve hangover at home watching TV. Why do I think that? Because the roads were EMPTY! It seemed that no one was on the roads. My goal was to head out with a friend, with cameras in hand and hit the roads and drive around LA on......

The City of Los Angeles in 2007 saw a 5% drop in serious crimes, bringing the number of homicides down to the lowest it's been in 37 years. The LA Times reports that, "The Watts area alone last year saw a nearly 50% drop in homicides, according to LAPD crime statistics." The Times goes on to report that LAPD Chief William J. Bratton claims that this drop can be attributed to police officers doing their......

Last night I was casually checking out what various travel websites had to say about the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Most of the summaries in Frommers sounded like this: Silver Lake, a residential neighborhood just north of Downtown and adjacent to Los Feliz (home to the Los Angeles Zoo and Griffith Park), just to the west, has arty areas with unique cafes, theaters, graffiti, and art galleries -- all in equally plentiful proportions. The......

Let's start over, shall we? Disney is investing $1.1 billion into California (Mis)adventure, the ghost town of an amusement park next to Disneyland. The Rose Queen for the Pasadena Rose Parade was announced this morning and her name is Dusty. We just love that name for a girl. Staring now, there is no excuse for anyone of any age to ever go "I don't get blogging." The world's oldest blogger celebrated her birthday this......

There is arguably no other neighborhood that encapsulates LA’s history, its tectonic demographic changes, its reinvention, its promise and potential as does Boyle Heights. Juan Devis wants to document its continued change through “Departures,” a Web digital mural that takes advantage of the neighborhood's subtle beauty to take visitors on an online tour of the people and places in this community. With the upcoming Gold Line extension and the changes occurring in many of......

Rage Against the Machine, Wu-Tang Clan, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, Nas, the Roots, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Sage Francis, Brother Ali @ Hyundai Pavillion John Densmore & Tribal Jazz @ LACMA (5pm) Poison, Ratt @ Gibson Hookah, Saccharine Trust, Ghidra @ Mr. T's Bowl Minnie Driver, Mark Olson, AM @ The Hotel Cafe Cheap Trick @ Hollywood Bowl Very Be Careful @ The Bordello Danger Kitty @ The Canyon Scissors for Lefty, Gran Ronde......

Pete Thomas, a drummer since he was a kid in Sheffield, England, joined Elvis Costello to form the Attractions and continues as the drummer for the Imposters. He has also played as a session musician with countless artists including Johnny Cash, Sheryl Crow, Neil Finn, John Wesley Harding, Joe Jackson, Los Lobos, Joan Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt, Squeeze, Richard Thompson, Rufus Wainwright, and the Waterboys. In 2003, Thomas was inducted into the Rock......

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The Watts area of Los Angeles is located in South LA, and is fighting to change the infamous reputation the area has for gang violence, and riots. Named after Charles H. Watts, the area has always been a haven of affordable housing that attracts mostly the working class. With small single story one or two bedroom houses, and housing projects, the Watts community is tightly knit. And being home to the Watts Towers, one......

The LA Times has definitely had its fair share of scandals in the near past with firings and hirings. Yet recently, content wise, the watchdog coverage of scandalicious politicians has been riveting. There is Mayor V and then there was the daily pounding of Rocky Delgadillo. The newest politician in the ring is 74-year-old 2nd district county supervisor Yvonne Burke who represents Watts, Culver City, Compton, South LA, Hollywood, Marina Del Rey, Inglewood to......

LAist Editor Tony Pierce has blogged here non-stop for more than a year deserving a well-earned vacation (and did he ever earn it). While out of town, we decided to have a little fun and bring some guest day editors in from around the blogLAsphere. Monday we had Green LA Girl and Tuesday saw Fred Camino of MetroRiderLA. Yesterday was Zuma Dogg and today is the official nerd him/her/itself, the LA City Nerd. 1.......

...now I've tried speed-dating -- or HurryDate, as this particular service is called. It's like Match.com with previews. You can go online and meet people, but if you want to get a look at them before you have to go on a real date, nothing beats a quick four-minute conversation at a speed-dating party. So fellow LAist contributor Lindsay Watts and I infiltrated a HurryDate "Party" to see how this whole thing goes. The......

Here's the LAist Mix for June 2007 - an audio summary of only a fraction of the bands and music events we mentioned or reviewed last month. Powered by Podbean.com Peanut Butter Wolf - Casio[LA Tour heads up by Kemp Powers] the Misfits - Static Age [Punk Rock cover bands concert review by Elise Thompson] Keren Ann - Sailor and widow [concert preview by Michele Reverte] the Killers - Sam's Town [Street Scene preview......

- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls the Scooter Libby commutation "a betrayal of trust of the American people" - The Gavel - "Bush is to Libby as Baca is to Paris Hilton", says AnnieH - LA Times - Three Dodgers (Saito, Martin, Penny) make the NL All-Star Team - Daily News - Even the most generous forgiving man must admit that 3.21 inches is seriously lacking - LA Times - Unrelated, even scheduled Rain......

"I'm not trying, nor would I want to, to bring down the entire Hollywood filmmaking system or all of capitalism. And if I did, I'd probably get assassinated long before then," says Matt Hanson with a laugh, as he shows me around the gallery space for The Creators Series, a multi-media and performance event that visits Los Angeles this weekend. Unlike a traditional art exhibit or film festival, The Creators Series serves as a showcase......

Thousands of people, legal and illegal, marched for immigrant rights yesterday through LA. Lindsay Watts reports for LAist from yesterday's immigration rally to see what people had to say about the all-day event.......

Year of the Dog's Laura Dern and Molly Shannon with writer/director Mike White OK, so we were invited to the Paramount lot -- but wouldn't it be more dramatic if we crashed it? Could additional drama even be necessary at the premiere of a movie about relationships, work, death, and dogs, with a tagline begging the question: "Has the world left you a stray?" Year of the Dog hits theaters next Friday, the 13th.......

Anya Marina is a chick we’d like to hang out with. Not only is she an awesome singer (kind of a cross between Jewel and Liz Phair), she’s funny, doesn’t take herself too seriously and is totally cute. The singer/songwriter performed Wednesday night at Hotel Café. The crowd was small but engaged, and appreciative of Marina’s sweet and folksy vocals. What was really refreshing about the show was Marina’s quirky sense of humor and......

You'd think working on a film with pros like Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, and Naomi Watts would make for a totally chill and fun environment. But according to these outtakes that were uploaded onto YouTube this weekend, director David O. Russel seemed to be having a very difficult time. And even though we realize that many things can go on during the years that it takes to put together a......

Friday was the 50th birthday of Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat. A few area schools honored the occasion with special events including the release of "THE SEUSS IS LOOSE!: Young Lil' Hats, Writing All That," at The Watts Learning Center charter school. Cabrillo Elementary in Hawthorne went all out for the good doc with a Read-a-Thon and a Green Eggs and Ham Cookoff, and the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library served birthday cake while hat-wearing......

A Word Or 62: I hope to get a hold of at least a couple pints of this new Ben & Jerry's flavor. I am perennially pissed that I can never make it to the local B&J store to get the Pumpkin flavor so I know that this is all a conspiracy. Hopefully this will make red staters boycott B&J which just means - more for me!!! [Note that a lot of late night......