Results tagged “watts”

The Tony Award-winning performer Alan Cumming starts an eight-night stint of his one-man cabaret show tonight at the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse. The show mixes witty banter, hilarious stories and show-stopping songs. Tickets are $55-$65, but a limited number of $30 tickets are available for tonight and tomorrow's show using ACE30. Curtain at 8 pm.

On May 30th of this year, a group of fifteen bright-eyed L.A. students were honored as URBAN TxT's inaugural graduating class. URBAN Teens Xploring Technology (URBAN TxT) is an innovative after school program helping inner-city youth develop leadership and other skills through the use of technology. The program is sponsored by ZeroDivide, a San Francisco based organization that assists low-income communities empower themselves through the use of technology and is the brainchild of Oscar Menjivar -- himself a graduate of Jordan High School and Cal Poly Pomona. The idea itself dates back to Menjivar's high school days who states "the program was created to develop confident and collaborative minded young men equipped with the skills to improve social and economic conditions in their community."

Last Wednesday, GOOD and Knight Pulse partnered up to honor the five individuals they awarded for their involvement in various community projects addressing local and global issues.

Four people, including the suspect, were stabbed earlier this morning on a block of single family homes in Watts. Two of the females victims, aged 68 and 20, were stabbed in the head and were listed in serious and stable condition, respectively. Another 20-year-old female suffered a minor wound. The suspect, a male, was also stabbed and sent to the hospital with unknown injuries, but the LAPD has confirmed he is now in custody. "It's still unfolding," an officer said over the phone speaking to the unknown nature what happened.

The Watts House Project (video) goes way beyond your average neighborhood beautification projects. It is large-scale "collaborative artwork in the name of neighborhood redevelopment" that seeks to engage a variety of individuals, from the residents of 107th street, to artists, to educators and community members. The project, according to artist and director, will Edgar Arceneaux, transform and remodel all 20 residences on the street through a collaboration with an artist, architect and resident of the property.

A 3:35 a.m. rant from Roseanne Barr earlier this week: "I said Israel will attack any boat carrying doctors and medical supplies--they have turned away the red cross already and all medical and food assistance. Israel is a NAZI state. The Jewish Soul is being tortured in Israel. The destruction of the jews in Israel has been assured with this inhuman attack on civilians in gaza. Hamas is the street gangs---this is equivilent to los angeles attacking and launching war on the people of watts to attempt to kill the bloods and the crips." Barr planned to travel with pro-Palestinian activists on a protest boat that was trying sail from Cyprus to Gaza, but it was forced to turn back by the Israeli Navy. (h/t Michael Freund)

Work is underway on the first phase of the Watts House Project, an ambitious and visionary project directed by Edgar Arceneaux and being tackled now by college students representing a wide range of backgrounds, as described by the LA Times: "[Y]oung men and women; white, black, Asian, Latin; some from USC, others UCLA, and still others from Cal Arts and Art Center [who] have set to work in front of a modest, cream-colored stucco bungalow on 107th Street."

A new youth arts center in Watts run by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs will have its grand opening later this month during a weekend when two festivals will be happening. Named after the famous jazz musician and past local resident, the Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center will expand space for youth arts programs. The new building, which is next to the Watts Towers Arts Center, will bring more classroom space expanding the department's educational classes that give children a safe and creative atmosphere for individual expression with guidance and direction from professional artists.

3.85 miles of beach were closed yesterday after 20,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the LA River via the Compton Creek in the Watts area. Long Beach's Health Officer, Dr. Helene Calvet, issued a beach closure specific to Long Beach’s open coastal beaches from Alamitos Avenue to 72nd Place, according to a release issued by the city. This is the 31st sewage spill since January causing the fourth beach closure. This time last year, there had been 41 spills and 7 closures, according to LA Times background work.

"The neighborhood surrounding the Watts Towers presents a stark contrast to the well-maintained aesthetics of this national monument, and currently the residents have limited means to capitalize socially or economically on this cultural currency," reads a pamphlet about the Watts House Project, which self-describes themselves as an an artist-driven urban revitalization project that hopes to be a catalyst for solutions and change in the community.

• 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 people, including one juvenile, were arrested in Glendale for an attempted carjacking in which the suspects are accused of threatening the driver with a shotgun: "A suspect fired at the frightened driver as he took off in his truck, and shotgun pellets hit the back of the truck."
• More on the USC "Riots" and the cops who spoiled the party, from L.A. blogger WitnessLA: "Now, no one would argue against an officer having the right to use appropriate force on a large, drunk, bottle-throwing college guy. But, in multiple instances eyewitnesses insist that they saw an indiscriminate use of Tasers and batons on non-aggressive students."
• This isn't really news...which doesn't stop it from being TOTALLY AWESOME: make your Guitar Hero controllers into actual instruments!
• An asteroid passed by earth today, a mere 334 thousand miles away from us! Close calls, guys!

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.

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: by Morgan Spurlock. Considering all the frantic back-and-forths I've been doing since last Friday, it was a blessing that these two awesome documentaries were screening right after each other at the same theater.

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 – both as a character and as a film. (Note: spoiler alert in generalities.)

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!

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 2,000 gangsters dropped from 13 in 2006 to eight last year." The larger area, known as the South Bureau, which includes 35,000 Watts residents, also saw a marked decrease in homicides from 2006 to last year.

Haven't you always wanted to grow your favorite fruit in your own backyard?

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.

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 one day in the year that you can get from one end of the city to the other in 20 minutes. The city seems almost small and quaint when you can get from Silverlake to Santa Monica at a constant MPH and without going under 45.

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."

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.

Tim McGraw, Faith Hill @ Honda Center

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...

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 of 4 nationally recognized historical landmarks in Los Angeles, Watts is a distinctive community with a unique history.

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....