Carolyn Kellogg

George Bush held a press conference this morning to explain why he's cool with the NSA reading e-mails and tapping phones of Americans. Without warrants. If you guessed terrorism, you're right. If you guessed he'd say "Saddam" when he meant "Osama bin Laden," you'd also be right. Avowedly left-contrarian Martini Republic has pulled some choice quotes. The "Patriot" Act, which among other things made it really easy for the government to spy on you...

Howard Stern signed off broadcast radio Friday and is taking a 2-week vacation before doing his thing, FCC-free, on Sirius satellite radio. We aren't regular listeners, but the LA Times' Meghan Daum, who says she flips back and forth between NPR and Stern in the mornings, sure appreciates him. When we wrote about Stern's decision to jump to Sirius in 2004, one LAist reader was skeptical about the company lasting this long. Well, stranger...

The Small Lots, Smart Designs townhouse design competition was launched by the City of LA this fall. Architects, city planners, design professionals and students are encouraged to submit designs for affordable housing on narrow lots. The grand prizewinner design will be commissioned to build their design on a lot owned by the Enterprise Home Ownership Partners. The LA City Council passed a new zoning rule to allow for housing to be built into "infill...

We've neglected to welcome new brother site Houstonist into the Gothamist universe. Today they look at the NY Times travel section's look at Houston. Speaking of Gothamist, they've got an interview with Ron Hogan, who writes about books on his litblog Beatrice, co-edits Mediabistro's Galleycat, and has written the fab gift-ready coffee table book: The Stewardess is Flying the Plane! American Films of the 1970s. Which features Karen Black on the cover, which should...

Around four o'clock this afternoon, a Southwest Airlines flight getting ready for takeoff at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport stopped on the runway. A passenger -- who may have been in his early 20s, and may have been drunk, may have been with a group of other drunk people -- said something that alarmed the flight attendants and made the pilot stop the plane without even returning to the gate. All passengers were evacuated safely....

At the risk of enraging "clear" Scientologists across the city, today's LA Times has a long story about Scientology's Number One Celebrity, Tom Criuse, and his wooing by the church's head, David Miscavige. The paper tried to make sense of Scientology's theology in a long 1990 story they've put online to accompany this one. Shrouded in mystery, it involves ancient intergalactic souls called thetans, evil tyrant Xenu, engrams and implants. The more you read,...

Seattle is all aflutter about salaries at KEXP, the hallmark indie rock public radio station. As the station struggles to become independent after an initial infusion of cash from Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen, it has made a few financial missteps. But that hasn't stopped it from paying their AM guy, John in the Morning, a $120,000 salary. Which is less than he'd make on commercial radio, but is pretty hefty for a 30-ish indie...

Geurdon Stuckey, head of the LA Department of Animal Services, was handed his walking papers by Mayor Villaraigosa this week. A bureaucrat with no experience in animal services, he'd been appointed by Mayor Hahn over the objections of a broad coalition of animal rights activists. The department runs animal shelters across the county, mobile spay/neuter pet clinics, adoption events, and animal control. Stuckey wasn't able to lower animal euthenasia rates and couldn't please anybody,...

The Los Angeles Fire Department blog (one of the coolest things ever) warns us today to be cautious with our candles. Home candle fires have tripled in the last 15 years, and from 1999-2002 the top two days for home fires started by candles were Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Half of all fires were started because something flammable tangled with the candle. So while it should go without saying, we echo the LAFD:...

The hipster cityguide Not for Tourists is debuting its sassy 5th edition LA NFT just in time for the holidays. If you've got the 4th edition, some changes you'll notice are new sections on Zuma and Pedro, MOCA and sports. And the handy nightlife and restaurant and movie theater listings. All by neighborhood. Whew! It's enough to drive you to drink. Which you can do for free at the Not for Tourist launch party...