Carolyn Kellogg

Little Lindsay Lohan was popped for drunk driving in Santa Monica early this morning. The story, as TMZ tells it, is that her assistant quit, the assistant's mom came to pick her up (her mom? for reals?), and Lindsay jumped into her Denali SUV to give the two chase. Momma called the cops. Flash forward: Lindsay is arrested for drunk driving and she's got coke in her pocket. Lesson learned: driving after your just-quit...

The facts: Phil Spector, motherf***ingawesome record producer and somewhat legendary kook, is on trial for the 2003 murder of Lana Clarkson, a struggling actress. One Feburary night, Spector ended up at the House of Blues' VIP Room -- oh, sorry, "Foundation Room" -- where Clarkson was working. He picked her up, she went home with him, and about an hour later ended up with a bullet in her head. The prosecution says Phil Spector...

Our "20 Under 30" interview series with the coolest Angelenos under 30 focuses its bleary-eyed stare on the inexhaustible Chris Cruse of Echo Park. He's got a fantastic day job working on visual effects for "CSI:NY" (think bullets whizzing into bodies) but that's just the beginning. He also made a music video for Xiu Xiu, can be found DJing and/or running the projectors with his roommate at parties around town (currently they're at LiT at...

Our "20 Under 30" interview series with the coolest Angelenos under 30 today features Claire Cole. In a way, Claire has never grown up: she designs toys for a living. She's even worked on the uber-toy, Barbie. And when she was living in Chicago, she came in 7th in an apple pie baking contest. Meet toy designer, almost-champion piemaker Claire Cole. You currently design toys that go in cereal boxes. Tell us about the toy...

TV producer Aaron Spelling, who suffered a stroke on Sunday, died at his home last night. He was 83. Spelling made the TV equivalent of junk food: rarely good, entirely irresistable. A quick tour of his imdb credits includes lots of stuff we don't remember, and lots more we do: "Starsky & Hutch." "The Love Boat." "Fantasy Island." "Charlie's Angels." "Hart to Hart." "Dynasty." "T.J. Hooker." "Melrose Place." "Beverly Hills, 90210." Aaron Spelling's productions...

We're flashing a sad peace out to their editor Carolyn Kellogg with one hand and bumping knuckles with our new head typist L.A. blogger king Tony Pierce with the other. Where do ist editors go when they hang up the 'editorial we'? They take on MySpace, apparently. At least Ben Brown does. Austinist reminds of the just rewards of less savory careers this week and then they witness the Arctic Monkeys and We Are Scientists...

the good news - The Valley's Orange Line bus is a big hit: after just 7 months, it carries 22,000 passengers a day. It wasn't expected to reach those levels for another 14+ years. the good news pt 2 - Crime is down! Murder is down 10.8% citywide, overall crime down by 11%. Chief Bratton is smiling. the bad news - South LA accounts for 43% of all the homicides in the city —...

Every week in Living in Sin, Jen Sincero provides advice to LA's sexually curious. You can see her column in print, too, in the LA Alternative Press. Ask Jen your questions: all are posted anonymously. Dear Jen, I'm a straight male in my late thirties who seems to attract bi-sexual women. My most recent girlfriend was older than I am, but I was her first male lover. Another girlfriend was experienced with men, but...

death in venice - The shooting death of 17-year-old Agustin Contreras on the grounds of Venice High prompts the LA Times to look closely at the Oakwood neighborhood in Venice. What does the paper find but rich and poor, gangs and million-dollar homes, crammed together with an understandable dose of anger. Could this be a window into the future of Los Angeles? a new Americana - Or maybe the future of LA looks a...

We're ecstatic that Tony Pierce will be the new editor of LAist. Starting Tuesday. Cheers, Tony! photo by pantasaurus via buzznet...