Emily Lerman

Photo by denisetaylor☼ via LAist Featured Photo Pool on Flickr. Between Unique LA and Divine Design, the weekend is full of great opportunities to do your holiday shopping while also giving back to the community and helping people in need. Divine Design is happening right now in Beverly Hills and continues through Monday night. Featuring over 400 designers, including Diane Von Furstenburg, J Brand, Barbie, Tokidoki, Barney's New York, Oliver Peoples and Me&Ro, shoppers...

Photo by Atwater Village Newbie via via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr In 1993, after reading a book about homelessness, LA-resident Agnes Stevenson started teaching kids in a park in Santa Monica. From this book she learned that hundreds of thousands of children in the US do not attend school due to homelessness. And School on Wheels was born. The organization, which provides one-on-one tutoring to homeless children from Costa Mesa up...

Photo courtesy of Annex Seven, used with permission. Five years ago, Magic Garage was born in an Eagle Rock house when a group of artists and musicians decided to come together to throw a party and show off their work. This weekend, the group will convene once again, but thanks to the growing success of the event, the organizer's mom's house won't cut it anymore, so instead they will take over the Annex Seven...

Photo by GarySe7en via LAist Featured Photos As a group of cyclists were riding through Highland Park last night, they encountered a group of alleged gangster's who approached the cyclists and started throwing glass bottles and vases, some following the riders with shovels. According to witnesses, many participants rode through the area as fast as possible upon hearing the commotion, but when the assailants attempted to take a girl's pushed a girl off her...

Just last week, the LAUSD's Homeless Education Program was at risk of becoming a victim of the many budget cuts. The program aims to "ensure that homeless youth have access to a free public education, equal to that of any other youth". General Jeff, Skid Row activist and founder of Issues and Solutions, sent an email to the director of these programs explaining the importance of these services and asked them to reconsider. In an email from LAUSD's Melissa Schoonmaker, he received word that his efforts paid off:

Over 40 LA restaurants are participating in today's Dining Out For Life to benefit Project Angel Food. The restaurant's, which include O!Burger (seen in the photo here), Chaya, El Chavo, Taste and Barney's will "donate a minimum of 25% of the day’s sales to benefit Project Angel Food, which cooks and delivers 10,000 meals every week to men, women and children struggling with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses." Check out the full list...

AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, Francois Duhame The Soloist, set and filmed in LA's Skid Row, opens nation-wide today. We've written about Skid Row many times with hopes that a continued spotlight on the area will raise awareness and motivate individuals to get involved and work for change, beyond serving meals around the holiday season. The Soloist will certainly brighten that spotlight as it confronts issues of homelessness, poverty and mental illness, and the movie's producer,...

On April 12, two men, Tommie Hayes and Kevin "K.K." Cohen, were, killed at the LAMP Lodge on Skid Row. The 42-year old Cohen had worked on The Soloist. According to Participant Media's blog, "Cohen was an extra in The Soloist and he helped to make the movie an accurate depiction of the day-to-day life on Skid Row". Cohen's death occurred just week before the movie's release and the premiere was dedicated to him....

Tom Andrews/LAist On Monday, NPR began a three-day series covering Skid Row. In Part 1, they discussed the history of Skid Row, the missions and how for some, "Skid Row is for beginnings". Yesterday's piece included a discussion about the Safer Cities Initiative with LAPD Senior Lead Officer Deon Joseph and a narrarted slideshow "tour" by community activist and friend of LAist, General Jeff. Part 3 concluded with coverage of the upcoming film, The...

Photo by S.C. Asher via the LAist Featured Photo Pool on Flickr. As mentioned last week, the procurement of clean and safe water is a big issue. This week, at restaurants all over the city, including El Cholo, Hugo's Il Piccolino, BLT Steak, Hamburger Mary's, AOC, Pasta Pomodoro and many more, you can add $1 or more and pay for the tap water you usually drink for free. This is all part of the...

Tonight's monthly Skid Row neighorhood watch walk will include a trip to the LAPD Central City Division Police Station for a look at just how the district is using these cameras to reduce crime and increase safety in the area. In 2006, the Central City East Association's Downtown Industrial Business Improvement District installed the cameras. The ten cameras have assisted police in reducing crime and in identifying criminal suspects. The system uses fully controlled...

Note: This could be you inspiring and engaging kids. Photo by Emily Lerman/LAist Did you know that Monday, March 2nd is Dr. Seuss's Birthday? Did you also know that in his honor the National Education Association hosts Read Across America every year? It's a nationwide reading celebration and schools throughout LA are participating and looking for volunteers to help. Reading to Kids has a run-down of the times and locations where volunteers are needed...