Danielle Directo-Meston

To prepare for the upcoming March 8, 2011 elections, LAist has contacted each candidate on the City of L.A.'s Official Candidate List to participate in a Q&A. In this edition of "Meet the Candidates," we hear from Council District 10 incumbent Councilmember Herb Wesson, Jr.

Her whole life, hair stylist Kristin Best dreamed of opening her own salon. After 18 years of working in high-end, Beverly Hills salons and catering to the rich and famous, the 34-year-old single mother had always wanted a place that would primp and pamper everyday women like herself. With her life's savings in hand, Best was torn between spending it on a new home for her and her four children or taking the risk of...

The pull to shop for yourself is likely going to prove irresistible once you enter the penthouse of the California Market and drink in your first moments of Unique LA, the craft, art, and gift show that is in its second day of a weekend-long "pop-up" today. However, if you're shopping for anyone who happens to appreciate handmade, creative, local, quirky, innovative, and charming items ranging from plush toys to plush bathrobes and quite possibly everything in between, Unique LA's bountiful stalls will be a glorious sight.

Despite the ridic weekend heat wave, over 12,000 made it to the first Dodger Stadium L.A. Flea Market Sunday. Brought to us by the same folks behind the Melrose Trading Post, think of it as the Pasadena Rose Bowl's hip little sister who's not nearly as overwhelming, has awesome food trucks in tow (hello, non-expensive flea market food!) and will even make some space for local bands to show off their stuff...All for only $5....

By the time Ruby returns home sometime between midnight to 2 a.m., she's easily served well over 500 sandwiches throughout her day to hundreds of hungry Angelenos. Her home - just west of downtown L.A. - is an overnight shelter for many like her in need of a place to stay for the night. The following morning, she and others will be picked up and they'll repeat the cycle all over again: Roll out, feed...

In more prison news, turns out the state footed the bill for 12 inmates' lawsuits over the past 12 years - to the tune of $108 million, according a report by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's inspector general. That number exclude's California's "own legal costs or the amount needed to fix problems that led to the class-action suits alleging violations of inmate rights, including poor medical, dental and mental health care," says the...

California prison guards forced to take unpaid leave days came out victorious today as an Alameda Superior Court judge ruled the furloughs illegal, SacBee reports. In their March court filing, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association maintained that it would be impossible for "every employee to utilize the 34 deferred furlough days each will accrue during the time allotted" as prisons are already understaffed, says SacBee.

Over the past year, friends Katie Stratton and Jayde DiVita had been on a nation-wide search for the best clothing to stock the store they planned to open together. The pair went everywhere: Arizona, Colorado, New York, and North Carolina were just some of the states they traveled to during their hunt. Twenty-two-year-old Stratton, whose day job is a photographer and editor at Getty Images, said she and DiVita (who works estate sales on the...

The community showed its support (and its money) for local artists at Sunday's Monster Drawing Rally at the Center for the Arts in Eagle Rock. About 500 people attended the non-profit Outpost for Contemporary Arts' event, which raised $12,000 and sold 100 paintings. The multi-talented Highland Park-based indie popsters Artichoke played a bumblebee-themed set just after a few of their members participated in the rally by drawing up a storm in one hour. While artists...

Michael Markowsky goes head-to-head with another artist at last year's Monster Drawing Rally. Photo by Anita K. Marto/Outpost for Contemporary Art With the exception of sidewalk caricature sketch masters, very rarely an artist's creativity is put on the spot in front of curious eyes. Nine years ago in San Francisco, the Monster Drawing Rally did exactly that as a way to bridge the art community with their supporters while raising money for a cultural...