Emily Lerman

It's impossible to mention the positive change happening on Skid Row without mentioning General Jeff. LAist met him back in 2008 at the site of his first major project, the Nike-sponsored basketball court in Gladys Park. KCET recently caught up with him as well.

A screen shot from the new LA Bike Map. Cyclist and advocate, Alex Thompson, of Bikeside LA, recently introduced the LA Bike Map (map). The interactive map allows users to track and report collisions, road hazards, stolen bikes, close calls, harassment and more. The map, which is an ever-growing and expanding work in progress, currently includes 2008 LA City data as well as user-submitted incidents. There are many ways to play around with it,...

Warning: This video contains disturbing imagery and language...and it's extremely f-cked up. For the latest installment of the "Vice Guide to Travel" series, filmmakers Shane Smith and Andy Capper of Vice literally went where no one else has been: West Point in Monrovia, Liberia, "one of the worst slums in Liberia, which makes it one of the worst in West Africa, which makes it one of the worst in the world". The result is...

Doctors Without Borders Holiday Tribute E-Cards are one of many gifts that give more. Photo courtesy of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières Another collection of holiday gift ideas that give more...and many of these are perfect for those of you who like to save it last minute...and perhaps not even leave the house! Check out PhiLAnthropist Gift Guide Part I for more... Inner City Arts Support LA's own Inner City Arts School "an oasis...

Dr. Brasher with young child. Photo courtesy of Living in Emergency. A little over a year ago, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières came to Griffith Park and then Santa Monica to set up their "Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City". LAist visited both "camps" and learned a tremendous amount about the organization, the plight of these refugees and specifically how MSF responds to medical emergencies. On Monday, MSF is hosting an one-night...

There is no design without action; We design WITH, not FOR; We document, share and measure; We start locally and scale globally, We design systems, not stuff. - From Project H's Mission Statement. We mentioned Project H's Abject Object in last week's PhiLAnthropist Gift Guide. Project H Design is definitely one of coolest organizations we learned about in 2009. And we're quite certain we'll be hearing about it more in 2010, and beyond.

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...

The holiday season is all about giving. We know that. Somewhere in between waking up at 3am for the doorbuster deals, braving the mall crowds and boycotting consumerism all together, we can maintain our "holiday sanity" by buying gifts that support those organizations working to drive social change and improve the lives of others. We've divided this into two parts. Part I lists those gifts for when you actually need to present the recipient with a tangible good, otherwise, you ruined the Festivus...for everyone. In Part II, you'll find organizations that use your donation to give a gift to someone else less fortunate

The 2008 Thanksgiving sunset in Silver Lake | Photo by sesshin via LAist Featured Photo pool on Flickr It's that wonderful time of the year again. Door-busters, pant-busters, wallet-busters. We've included some ideas for some Thanksgiving volunteer opportunities. You know, so you feel less guilty after eating 14 pounds of stuffing or to prevent you from drinking all day and making things awkward at dinner. Or perhaps you want to take part out of...

So that odd shaped flower-painted tower sticking up behind Beverly Hills High School is not some weird sculpture - it's actually an oil well. And there is one behind the Beverly Center as well. And at the Farmer's Market. And inside a building on Pico. And numerous others.