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.......

"the road home," by pink_fish13 via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr Boy am I glad I don't live in this Torrance neighborhood, where a cache of machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, assault rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition were found in a house Friday. The residents may be terrorists, police say, but the owner of the weapons said he is just a collector. Do you think he also collects dead bodies in......

How many ways can you say “Today I walked in a circle for three and a half hours”? Thankfully, after 50-odd posts, 100+ days, a 2.5 billion blow to the local economy, and 217 donuts eaten by me, you can finally close the book on “The Writers Strike of ‘07”. Last night, the WGA announced that its members had voted “overwhelmingly” to ratify the new MBA contract. With over 4,000 votes cast, Guild members......

OK so the Oscars are this weekend. Even though the writers' strike is over, the prediction is that this will be a ho-hum (excuse me?) Oscars. First of all, the majority of the films presented for consideration are real downers, secondly, because of the strike, many potential presenters thought that the awards ceremony would be canceled or drastically cut back so they made other plans and are now not available to present at the show.......

Photo by WishByNight via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The neighborhood lock-down in Glassell Park is over after an earlier shoot-out involving police left one dead and other suspects unaccounted for throughout the afternoon. Skateland in Northridge is turning 50! Time to call up the extended family and ask them if they have any good memories of this classic Valley fun zone. (Because my family is FROM here. Babies.) What's with all......

This morning at the Marriott Downtown, Los Angles Development and Economic Corporation (LADEC) financial uber-guru Jack Kyser will be presenting the 2008-09 LAEDC Forecast Results, a 71-page document entailing the region's financial future. Highlighting a recession watch, the crumbling housing market, and growth opportunities such as tourism, one loosely dubbed as "Its NOT business as usual!" talks strike and its ill-economic impacts upon the city. From the Hollywood Reporter: The figure includes lost wages from......

Now that the writers' strike is over and it's full-steam ahead with the Oscars, you can bet that just about every TV channel is going to dogpile on the gala event. Yeah, the Grammys went ahead without interference but the Grammys are nothing compared to the Oscars. E! and CNN already have several shows lined up (look for Oscar host, Jon Stewart, on Larry King this Wednesday night) ready to tackle the exciting topics of:......

a writer's perspective So now that the writers have voted overwhelmingly to end the strike, what next? Well, now we’re in the midst of the contract ratification process. Last week, interested writers were asked to provide the WGA with “camera ready” statements for or against the new contract. Over the next few days, guild members will be receiving ballots along with the pro and con statements, and will have the opportunity to vote as to......

"Lost" fans couldn't be happier to hear some great news this Valentine's Day: the show's producers have promised to complete five more episodes for this season, on top of the eight already on ABC's broadcast slate. The LA Times blog Show Tracker has the story: Now that the writers “have hit the ground running,” they know they will only have time to complete five more episodes, [Carlton] Cuse said. The show runners have a......

Idol-heads and Runway-heads have a lot to celebrate tonight and I'll be damned, look at how busy the schedule is in the 10:00-11:00pm time frame. Since I don't think any of the options are fantastic is it better to have a little or a lot of mediocrity to choose from? In other news, yeah the writer's strike is over, and SNL is finally heading back into production with it's first show scheduled for Feb.......

Writers Strike outside Disney | Photo by Heath Biter/LAist Just moments ago, in a letter to its members, the WGA announced that writers have voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the “restraining order” and officially end the strike. The move comes on Day 100 of the labor dispute. WGA president Patric Verrone is expected to hold a press conference in just a few moments at the WGA Theatre in Beverly Hills, where members......

Lakers 106, Bobcats 97 - The Lakers are 4-1 since acquiring Pau Gasol, playing a little cat-and-mouse last night in Charlotte. After allowing the Bobcats to cut a 13 point lead to 3, Kobe put it away in the closing minutes. He had 31 points, his third game in a row over the 30 mark. Gasol contributed 26 despite a cold ... The Lakers wrap up an impressive road trip tomorrow in Minnesota. Pre-Gasol and......

As was reported today on LAist, the writer's strike, which cost the city about $1 billion, is nearly over. We all know how involved Mayor V has been nudging the two sides back together. Oh, wait. But at least he weighed in today: "This agreement is a blockbuster for the Los Angeles economy. It will put thousands of writers, set designers, caterers, and behind-the-scenes workers back on the job this week." Blockbuster! HA! Election......

a writer's perspective After last night’s WGA membership meeting at the Shrine, it now feels very likely that the end of the strike is here. Over 3000 WGA members turned out to hear the announcement that over the next 48 hours, writers would be given a chance to vote as to whether or not they wanted to call off the strike. This means that writers could be back to work as early as Wednesday.......

Writers Guild members picket in front of Sony Pictures in Culver City, California, November 2007 At nearly 3am last night, WGA members received an email announcing that "we have a tentative deal." I'm told that the language of the deal could have been done earlier, but that the AMPTP attempted some last minute shenanigans - most reprehensible in the fact that it made me use the word "shenanigans." The WGA East will be holding......

A striking writer outside Disney Studios in Burbank, CA | Photo by movielover via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr In an interview on CNBC's "Fast Talk," ex-Disney CEO Michael Eisner said the writers strike is over but was noted "to hesitate initially about whether it was possible that the writers could still reject the agreement," yet finally suggesting the acceptance of the deal was inevitable."A deal has been made, and they'll be......

a writer's perspective As rumors that the writers strike is going to end begin to morph into a reality. I have been spending way too much time every day trying to differentiate between the truths, the rumors, and the half-truth/half-rumors. (AKA truemors) At this point, here is what I can tell ya. The WGA has scheduled an “important” membership meeting for this Saturday evening at the Shrine Auditorium. Without even knowing exactly what the......

a writer's perspective With rumors flying fast and furious that The End Is Near, picketing resumed this morning with increased media scrutiny, and with healthy skepticism amongst the writers. I know everybody is anxious for this thing to be over, but there’s no point in listening to the rumors before they become a reality. I know Fox CEO Peter Chernin allegedly told his buddies at the Superbowl yesterday that “the strike is over”, but......

The 3-month-old WGA strike could end as early as Friday if the new contract is completed and approved It's still in the outline phase, but a new contract has been drawn for striking writers, and may meet with approval as early as Friday. The new deal is said to including resolutions to fundamental concerns, like compensation for work done for and distributed on the Internet, all of which led to the walkout and picket......

a writer's perspective Today was buzzing on the line – in no small part because Thursdays at Warner Brothers are now officially “Teaching Thursdays at Warner Brothers”. Wannabe writers, students, and fans are being encouraged to show up and learn about the craft from the experts. Each week there will be a different theme, and today was “Multi-Camera Sitcom Day”. Those of us who have worked on multi-cam shows were asked to wear nametags......

a writer's perspective Returning to Warner Brothers to picket yesterday and today felt like a bit of a homecoming. Between Monday’s SAG unity day at Fox, and the last holiday-shortened week that saw me putting in appearances at Paramount, WGA headquarters, and, of course, Xena Appreciation Day at NBC, it seemed like I’d been working out of the office for ages. It felt good to be home. I don’t know what they’re putting in......

Today was "Xena Picket Day" at NBC. The event was timed to coincide with a Xena conventon this weekend. Fans turned out in droves - giving me a reason to use the word "droves". One fan was offering free fencing lessons to the strikers. This could come in handy if the strike ends up being settled by a duel.......

a writer's perspective I know this isn’t what anybody wants to hear, but… The DGA deal is not a sign that the writers strike is close to ending. Over the last few days, you might have heard a lot of people speculating with giddy glee that the WGA and the AMPTP have entered the endgame. You might have heard industry insiders talking about how the DGA deal is revolutionary and groundbreaking – setting historical precedents......

It seems that if you want to pick up on hot men, you apparently need to check out the WGA strikes -- those men in red t-shirts are sizzling. Radar has the exclusive scoop:The scheme, according to a striking Fox scribe, goes something like this: "The first step in the 'picket pickup' is picking who you want to picket behind. You don't even have to worry about looking like a stalker, because you're supposed to......

a writer's perspective Walked the 5am beat this morning. One problem. There is no more 5am beat. Last week, the WGA shifted the shift times on me. These days, the morning crew is working 6-9. It’s a stupid mistake. I should have known better. Is it possible that I screwed up the times because I’m dizzy from walking in a circle several hours a day? I wonder if anyone has every done a study......

People are always there for you in the midst of crisis. But eventually they have to get back to their own lives, and on to the next crisis. Unfortunately, that is when you really need someone. I was running errands early this morning and realized I was only a block away from the studios, and right next to an open bagel shop. I thought about Heath measuring their support in dwindling Twizzlers. When I pulled......

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......

a writer's perspective On the heels of last weeks announcement that Warner Brothers would be laying off as many as 1000 people this week, the WGA hosted Employee Solidarity Day at the studio today. All picketers, barring those at NBC, were asked to report to Warner Brothers instead of their usual posts. As a result, my usual gate was the place to be today. I think it was a pretty savvy move on the......

Real Time with Bill Maher returned to HBO Friday night sans Maher's talented staff of writers (nominated once again by the WGA for outstanding achievement in a TV Comedy/Variety Series). Following a somewhat contentious panel discussion with Tony Snow, Mark Cuban, Matt Taibbi and Catherine Crier, Maher delivered an emotional critique of the strike, now heading into its 10th week.......

As you know, the Golden Globes will not be so tony this year. Instead, it's a press conference. And as boring as a press conference is, what's even more, is superfluous picketing.The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced that instead of the usual televised three-hour gala on NBC, the HFPA will take complete control of its 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards Announcement and host a press conference open to all media to announce the winners......