Staci Goodner

Voting may be the hallmark of our Democracy, but it should not be our pastime. It should be reserved for regular elections and the off-chance that there is a special and well deserved occasion. We Californians vote way too much for our own good. We are standing in our own way of progress and need to let our leaders do their jobs so we can lead fuller, richer, more productive lives.

Yho! Laid off some folks recently. Before the holidays. / Photo by m kasahara via LAist's flickr pool. The U.S. economy is in the tank. We all know that. But what we didn't know is that somewhere along the line it became the norm for companies to become Scrooge-like by issuing pink slips, layoff notices, or holding reorganizations, reshuffling, restructurings, downsizings, rightsizings, RIFs (reduction in force, dontcha know) - the week or two before the...

We pulled this screenshot off LATimes.com. The caption is wrong and the photo is a little whacked. See what happens when you lay too many people off?? Now that the Tribune company has filed for bankruptcy, and the L.A. Times has cut its staff to the bone, it's no wonder that they don't have enough staff to keep up with the fast-paced dynamics of news on the Web. So yesterday, when NPR West had...

Did you know that if we stretched all of Downtown LA's parking spaces across one lot, more than 80 percent of downtown would be reserved for cars? But while there's ample space for our cars (for a price), two-thirds of the county's children don't have a park within walking distance of their homes. Tomorrow night, "Park City, L.A." - a panel discussion hosted by the Center for Healthy Communities at The California Endowment -...

Maynard Keenan, frontman for Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifier, loves the grape - especially the wine it produces. He's taken his interest a step further by growing, harvesting and making his own wine. He's owner/part owner of a few vineyards in Arizona (Caduceus Cellars/Merkin Vineyards and Arizona Stronghold Vineyard), and this afternoon from 4:30-7:30 pm, he'll be making an appearance at Whole Foods in Pasadena (465 S. Arroyo Pkway at Bellevue) to sign...

Today some LA Times staffers decided to tell owner Sam Zell what they think of his stewardship -- with a three-story banner. On the LA Times building. Which takes some kind of balls. The website at the bottom of the sign -- tellzell.com -- has been chronicling the paper's downsizing from the inside. This summer 250 jobs will be eliminated, 150 from the newsroom (that's editorial to you and me). Tell Zell's proprietor --...

You may remember Tim Hammer's -- (or should I say, a "blogger who calls himself Tim Hammer"?) recent post on "American Gladiators": "There are no cell phones, cameras, iPods or knives allowed inside [the arena]. These rules not only got in the way of my plans of shanking a Gladiator while listening to my workout mix on shuffle but also required us to walk all the way back to our car to drop off our...

It's a dream date for fans of Canadian songstress Feist and Austin's Spoon. Feist is just now making her break on the world stage, with a little help from Uncle Steve. But anyone with an ear to the Toronto indie rock scene could hear her coming ever since her solo debut, Monarch, was released on the heels of By Divine Right's "Bless This Mess" Tour (she was their rhythm guitarist). For most of this...

Tunng visited The Echo last night for the second time this year. The band was enthused by the turnout this time, coming on the heels of their third full-length and first release for Thrill Jockey, Good Arrows. On the album, Tunng's music has an endearing balance of soft instrumentation over digital percussion and effects with occasional hand claps. Call it "folktronica" if you must. Live, however, it's a bit disconcerting to see three long-haired...

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks of John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band every time I hear The Arcade Fire's "Keep the Car Running," off Neon Bible. I'm used to getting death threats for even suggesting that The Arcade Fire may be the most overrated band of the year but hey, it's not like I'm calling for Eddie and the Cruisers III. They ripped off a band that ripped off...