Guest Contributor

Online shopping offers many benefits: unprecedented selection, effortless price comparison, and the ability to buy that Kobe beef iPod Nano case you’ve secretly coveted without wasting energy on unnecessary chores like putting pants on. Despite the benefits, online shopping is not without its headaches. In addition to the burden of keeping track of different logins and passwords, cybercrime is a growing threat. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, US consumers lost $560 million to online fraud last year.

Senior citizens, hipsters, and high-schoolers rustled among the crowded conference room of UCLA's Hammer Museum, waiting for the Jennifer Knox and Sarah Manguso reading to commence. The event was part of the Hammer’s New American Writing Series, which showcases notable contemporary writers. David Foster Wallace, John D’Agata, and Mary Gaitskill are among past participants. Curated by Benjamin Weissman, the series is hailed as one of the best in Los Angeles.

Concerns were raised this week over Governor Brown’s budget proposal for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Last year, the CDCR overspent its budget, shifted millions of dollars allocated for rehabilitation programs into prison security, and deferred payments to contractors.

A community may not be able to change its history, but as residents of Highland Park are about to discover, it is possible to clean it up. On Saturday, volunteers will work to restore one of the neighborhood’s most cherished murals, “History of Highland Park,” located on the AT&T building on Avenue 56.

Westside foodies will no longer have to pine over the “exotic grilled sausages” of Wurstküche, known to many as the sausage kitchen for its literal German translation. The popular downtown location in the historic Arts District will expand to its own Venice locale. The Westside digs will replace the newly departed Air Conditioned lounge on Lincoln Boulevard.

When you go shopping at the mall, you assume you’re going to remember the exact location of where you parked your car. Well, sometimes that’s not always the case. There isn’t much you can do except to retrace your steps. And if mall security can’t help you, there is now new technology available to help you locate your parked car.

California’s Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) released a report yesterday with recommendations to address budget reductions for the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems. Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposal for 2011-12 includes General Fund reductions of $500 million for the UC and CSU.

A wonderfully diverse crowd filled the convention center this Sunday for the last day of the 16th annual LA Art Show. The event is the largest of Los Angeles Arts Month, with over 100 galleries and museums bringing works from all over the world. Editor's note: Two later images in this collection include nudity, and may not be considered SFW.

There's a new food truck on the streets, but this one slings and sings. Los Angeles country music radio station, Go Country 105 is rolling out the Chuck Wagon, which claims to be "the nation’s first radio station food truck." Food is accompanied by Go Country 105 promotions and giveaways, and the occasional live performance by a "Country superstar."

UCLA’s Chancellor Gene Block recently took part in a video for the It Gets Better project. In the video, Chancellor Block joins students and professors in expressing their support for the LGBT community and discussing resources available at UCLA. On Nov. 29, 2010, USC released its own It Gets Better video. Since no article about UCLA and USC is complete without mentioning the cross-town rivalry, feel free to take this opportunity to share which video you preferred.