Emily Lerman

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...

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....

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,...

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 Don Garza, used with permission Last Tuesday, Leslie Taplin, a Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (DLANC) volunteer and founding member, was tragically killed in a freeway accident. blogdowntown first reported on the story and a read through the comments tells the story of a remarkable woman who dedicated countless efforts to bringing positive change to the downtown community. Those who knew Lesley described her as a "tireless volunteer" and a "tireless friend"....

"This dish emerged from a combination of two of my favorite flavors. The rich flavor of the roasted salmon and vegetables pairs so perfectly with the sharp flavor of the goat cheese. Stacking a dish is a quick and not too difficult way to show off the different colors and components of this dish." Photo courtesy of Freshman In the Kitchen. Check out the recipe below. "I'm making pork belly tacos and fresh orange...

What happens when you travel to Argentina to learn how to play Polo? You start a sustainable and socially conscious shoe company. Of course. Well, that is exactly what happened to Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes. After visitng the country in 2006 and witnessing the mass amounts of children without shoes and its detrimental effects, he returned to the US determined to eradicate this problem. And for the last 3 years, he has...

Photo courtesy of charity:water Back in February, we told you about Twestival, a worldwide "tweet-up" in the name of raising money for charity:water. Over 200 cities, incuding Los Angeles and Anaheim hosted their own Twestivals. What madeTwestival and the partnership with charity:water so great, in addition to the fact that thousands of people came together to make this happen in a matter of weeks, is that 100% of the proceeds raised from Twestival goes...

Can you "freeze" for five minutes to raise awareness about human trafficking? Photo by susan catherine via LAist Photo Pool. Take the concept behind Improv Everywhere and their guerilla style gatherings in public places (like the no pants subway ride) and add an element of activism and a desire to fight social injustices, and you have The Freeze Project. On Saturday, at 4:30pm, participants will gather at Hollywood and Highland to 'freeze' for 5...

Riding from SF to LA for AIDS. Ballers! AIDS Lifecycle 2008, day 6. Photo: GarySe7en via Flickr. In just 8 weeks, 3000 cyclists will pedal up San Vicente Blvd. in Santa Monica after a 7-day and 545-mile ride that begins in San Francisco. This year marks the 8th Annual AIDS Life Cycle Ride, a benefit for and co-produced by the LA Gay and Lesbian Center and the SF AIDS Foundation. Join the fight this...