Guest Contributor

This week's edition of Overheard in L.A. features bits of overheard conversation from the writers' room, a nipple-less press conference and Comic-Con.

It's summer, and what better way to beat the infamous San Fernando Valley heat than with a trip to a shaded park where you can not only enjoy a picnic, but see vintage locomotives, learn about the history of transportation in California and actually go on a train ride?

Instead of indulging in some retail therapy online or at the outlet malls this weekend, you can consume to your wallet's content...while supporting your local economy. Saturday, July 14, and Sunday, July 15, the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica will host the second annual Unique LA Summer Show, the largest independent design show in the country featuring 150 designers and artists who make their goods in the U.S., many here in Los Angeles.

California's much-publicized city cash problem has finally hit the Los Angeles area. Last night, San Bernardino became the latest cash-strapped California city to declare bankruptcy. The Inland Empire city of over 200,000 joined Stockton and Mammoth Lakes in declaring Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

Need something to do tonight? L.A. has a lot to offer you. Smashburger opens its first L.A.-area location, Cinefamily will screen a film by the Duplass brothers, Book Soup will hold a signing with the author of an inspirational memoir, and the Hammer will host a comedic literary contest.

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's Circus begins its seven-day Los Angeles visit Wednesday at the Staples Center, and local activists will be out in full force once again to protest the group's poor treatment of its animal performers.

Here's something to think about the next time you're stuck in traffic on the 405. A new Brookings Institution study showed that the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metro area ranked number one in the nation for having the most jobs (96.5%) located in neighborhoods with public transit.

Ever looked at the LA River and wished you could take to it on a kayak? Well, maybe it's not for everyone, but the LA Conservation Corps' kayaking trips on our much-maligned waterway are back this summer.

No one really moves to L.A. for the abundance of jobs, low rents or cheap transportation. Even longtime Angelenos aren’t deluded into thinking their city is an easy place to make a living. But is it really all that bad?

Whatever form your Andy Warhol appreciation has taken over the years, you should know that L.A. has had the distinct privilege of being the city where the "prince of pop" (and pop art for that matter) made his West Coast debut exactly 50 years ago today.