Jason Toney

The shooting death of a baby in Los Angeles isn't only a national story , it's global. The AP article keeps gettting picked up by more and more outlets and, thankfully, there hasn't been a knee jerk reaction to blame the police for the outcome of this situation. After a long standoff with three different shootouts and an officer wounded, it is a wonder there isn't more tragedy. We are very curious to read...

We talked about Lisa's Walk LA With Me project back at its launch...and then promptly forgot about it. It's hard keeping all this cool LA stuff straight. Well, she's still walking and we remembered and decided to check out her video blog today. Come to find out that she was in our neck of the woods, Sherman Oaks, this week and spent a long time talking with a guy named Courtney who she meets...

Londonist has minute by minute coverage of the suspected terrorist blasts in London today. Included in their bird's eye view of the event is a link to the incredibly comprehensive (and constantly updated) wikipedia entry about the transport explosions. Update: Locally, we moved to modified tactical alert and a heightened alert at LAX but not for any specific threat. Update II: For even more minute by minute coverage, check out europhobia. From bloggers in...

It was a bad traffic day in Los Angeles yesterday with two different unexpected street closures in main thoroughfares between the valley and the rest of the city (not to mention the wildfires which congested the 101). LA Observed points to the I Hate LA Traffic messageboards where presumably one can go vent his or her road rage online. At present, the boards only have 4 members and very few posts. We prefer Beat...

The judge declared the Notorious B.I.G. civil suit a mistrial yesterday and the prickly problems of Rampart just refuse to stay buried. The trial seemed doomed from the start with witnesses getting "amnesia" and other ailments that would limit their testimony. It came to a head last week when the Wallace family attorney got an anonymous phone call that he was missing several key pieces of evidence from the LAPD. Detective Steven Katz, who...

NextAid, a Los Angeles based non-profit with the goal of "creating sustainable solutions for children in Africa orphaned by AIDS", is having a benefit tonight at the Mor Bar in Santa Monica. The benefit is in support of the Children's Residential Support Center they will begin building in South Africa later this month (PDF). NextAid represents the international Dance music community's response to the pandemic and their parties reflect that. DJ Dan and Valida...

Tom Berman, LAist's original editor, launched this site, a year ago today, with the following words:we've decided to try something novel: focus on the city itself, and leave that Hollywood stuff to everybody else. We love this place, and we think it deserves a news source that covers its news with all the energy of the people who inhabit it. We'll be commenting on local news, media, sports, and arts on a daily basis. Since...

...So maybe that's why everyone is so interested in whether or not we broke the cumulative rain fall record. Newsflash: We didn't. No matter what different parameters we want to play with if the National Weather Service didn't track it with their equipment, it doesn't count. And while we really do need more rainy seasons like the last one to battle our drought, the increased storm activity didn't come without a cost. A hefty...

Ambitious-Outsiders has a more complete lineup than the official site (how'd that happen) but what jumped out at us on this year's Sunset Junction Street Fair lineup is all the old school soul showing up on the Edgecliffe Stage. Freda Payne, The Supremes not named Diana Ross and Richard Street all perform on Saturday while 80's R&B songstress Jody Watley shows up on Sunday. We might be most excited about Watley performing. She put...

We know David Hasselhoff is awesome. How could the driver of K.I.T.T. and the head lifeguard on Baywatch not be? Besides that he's a musical superstar and so locked into our cultural fabric that some even think he's the anti-christ but luminary? As in an inspiration to others? Well, former Governer Jerry Brown seems to think so. He writes of his experience at Mayor Villaraigosa's inauguration:On Friday I attended the inauguration for Antonio Villaraigosa,...