Guest Contributor

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.

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."

Los Angeles is home to many things "unliterary." Hollywood celebrities, the porn industry, and paparazzi perpetuate this fact. So, when held against definitive bookish cities Seattle, New York, and San Francisco, LA’s literary credibility falls understandably short. But Central Connecticut State University’s recent list of 75 national literary cities banished Los Angeles to number 61. LA’s literary rating fell behind those of Miami, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. No offense intended toward Sin City, but this can’t be right.

10% of drivers in Glendale engage in distracting and illegal activities according to a survey conducted by the Glendale Police Department, reports the News-Press. Posting a plainclothes police officer at the corner of Brand Boulevard and California Avenue this past Wednesday, Glendale officials found as many as a dozen motorists improperly using their cell phones in the span of just one minute.

Four Los Angeles City Councilmembers co-introduced a motion today that would transform L.A.’s toxic hotspots into “Green Zones.” The first-in-the-nation initiative would grant the low-income and heavily polluted communities of Pacoima, Boyle Heights and Wilmington access to economic assistance for cleanup efforts.

As a follow-up to last year's successful PolaroidParty LA celebrating instant film and the Polaroid 600 Series, ISM: a community project is ready to do it again with the book release of Still Developing: A Story of Instant Gratification. This limited edition compilation of photographs and essays as well as a rare Polaroid exhibition will be on display Saturday night at Deyermond Art + Books, an independent bookstore and gallery in Santa Monica.

Homeboy Industries, the local non-profit that provides rehabilitation and job training for ex-gang members, has experienced some financial turbulence of late, but with help from LA County and other community supporters, they're hanging tough. Today, the organization announced that Homeboy Tortilla Chips and Salsas will be sold at Ralphs stores in Southern California.

The push for a new NFL stadium took another step forward today when the Los Angeles City Council voted to form a committee to discuss the proposal, according to the LA Times. Committee members will meet with representatives from AEG to examine the downtown project’s viability and help to expedite the process.

A portion of the construction at the LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is on hold due to the discovery of skeletal remains. In a statement issued yesterday from LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes President and CEO Miguel Angel Corzo says work in that area has been halted "indefinitely, in light of the unexpected number of human remains uncovered and their great historical significance."

On Saturday night, West Hollywood Sheriff deputies executed a "pro-active" sweep of parking lot partying before the D.R.I. show at the Key Club. The sweep resulted in 14 arrests and 41 citations. The deputies partnered with the Key Club to prevent another punk rock melee, like the one that occurred earlier this month.

The 48 Hour Film Project marks its ninth year in Los Angeles with a kickoff event at Cinespace in Downtown Hollywood tomorrow. The project offers filmmakers the chance to create a quick movie over one hectic weekend and show it to an audience of their peers the next week at Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex in Santa Monica. According to Jimmy Stewart, producer of the festival in LA, “Most ideas never make it out of your head, never mind actually getting developed, shot and projected onto a big screen. Having this kind of structure and deadline can be very exciting and motivating.”

Tomorrow night (April 8) the Hammer Museum in Westwood presents its very own homage to the bicycle with the program Bike Night at the Hammer! The free event will include valet bike parking, vegan food and a screening of the seminal biking classic, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Also in the works is a “super secret guest,” whose identity remains a mystery even to this reporter.