Carolyn Kellogg

No matter how much bad news we have, at least we're not digging out from a blizzard this morning. For months we've been hearing KPCC's reports of a 2-year-old who was taken from her foster parents and returned to family members, then died in their "care." Allegedly, she was beaten so badly that her intenstine was severed. Now the LA Times finally runs the story, including a photo of the girl healthy and happy...

Last Sunday Venicebeach.org blogger Pamela went to the Hollywood Hills to check out a yard sale. She was looking for the advertised Haitian art — what she found was Howard Hessman. She didn't pay much attention to the Saarenin-like dining room set as she tried to get a shot of WKRP's Dr. Johnny Fever in his garage. She says that he looked tired — but wasn't a little world-weariness combined with a 70s-drug potpourri...

That disturbance at the Convention Center — would you believe it was a Fame-style riot? "Dozens of youths, some wearing gang colors, reportedly began to spar with vendors and dance on cars and disobeyed police orders to disperse," Channel 2 reports. Someone heard a balloon popping and thought it was a gun. The massive rally of police force seems to be, uh, disproportionate to the incident. For the second year running, Taft High School...

An LAist tipster shot this photo outside the Staples Center this afternoon. Sure, it looks like an LAPD convention, but in fact today was the Black College Expo. The event was supposed to feature seminars on financial aid, college prep and the like, with a step show competition and scholarship awards. But the rumor is that today's event also featured some kind of gang fight. Perhaps even a very large gang fight. So far...

Sometimes those Europeans baffle us. Does this look Olympian to you? The Winter Olympics have begun in Torino, Italy; opening ceremonies were last night. SoCal skater Michelle Kwan is saying she may not be able to skate in competition. We hope she can. A special LAist cheer to Michelle and the rest of the SoCal atheletes: Short track skating 20-year-old Maria Garcia, from Carson, at the Olympics for the first time. Figure skater Sasha...

A report released last month by the California Climate Change Center at UC Berkeley says that global warming presents California with valuable business opportunities. "Managing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in California" says that "climate action in California can yield net gains for the state economy, increasing growth and creating jobs." In more simple terms, that spells ECONOMIC BENEFIT. If California is smart, our state could easily become "a leader in the new technologies and industries...

The HGTV show Small Space, Big Style is looking for a few little homes. They plan to shoot in LA in March and April and they're currently looking for people (and their places) to be on the show. If you're living in less than 1,000 square feet and love the design of your place, all you have to do is fill out this form to be considered for a spot on the show. But...

Despite claims to the contrary, the White House knew of the New Orleans levee breach Monday night. As Tuesday began, the NY Times writes, "The federal government let out a sigh of relief when in fact it should have been sounding an 'all hands on deck' alarm, the investigators have found." Here in LA, some Katrina victims are still rudderless. When you left your last job did you give THEM $250,000? Well that's what's...

All the weatherpeople are telling us that temperatures Saturday and Sunday will top 80 degrees. Which isn't all that hot compared to 1971, when February 11th and 12th hit 88 and 91, respectively. But considering our East Coast bretheren are buckling down for a blizzard, we're pretty lucky. What to do to enjoy the great warm outdoors? On Satuday you could start by taking a guided walking tour of Echo Park and then head...

Yesterday an eagle-eyed LAist reader wondered why we were salivating over the Buena Vista Lofts while the developer is in bankruptcy. We followed up with the folks at Curbed LA and they got a curt response, which boils down to the fact that the company's assets exceed their debts. Sigh. Looks like the developer's Chapter 11 filing was in the last days before rules governing bankruptcy changed. Our lofty heaven is earthbound after all....