Email Author Dennis Romero

Awards

• 2013 - Southern California Journalism Awards/LA Press Club

  "Shelley Lubben, Pom Reformer or Self-Promoter?"

• 2013 - Southern California Journalism Awards/LA Press Club

  "Los Angeles' War on Street Artists"

• 2012 - Southern California Journalism Awards/LA Press Club, published September 29, 2011

  "Porn Defends the Money Shot"

• 2011 - Southern California Journalism Awards/LA Press Club, published December 30, 2010

  "Death, Money and Megaraves"

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2009 Stories by Dennis Romero

• L.A. City Looking At Near $100 Million Deficit For Fiscal Year

  published Dec 23, 2009

  While Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was jetting around Europe for a $120,000, taxpayer-funded trip this month, City Controller Wendy Greuel was counting the city's money, and what she found isn't not eve... More >>

• Lawsuit To Force County To Control Porn Industry Health Rejected

  published Dec 23, 2009

  A lawsuit that aimed in part to get the county of Los Angeles health department to force the local porn industry to require condom use on-set was rejected by a judge. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, ... More >>

• LAPD Chief Breaking Up Effective Enforcement Unit

  published Dec 23, 2009

  In his announcement this week that he would put 130 officers back on regular patrols, Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck failed to emphasize that the move would break up an effective, mobile, crime... More >>

• Ruling Allowing Felons To Wear Body Armor Should Be Appealed, Officials Say

  published Dec 23, 2009

  The union representing rank-and-file Los Angeles police and the chief of the San Francisco Police Department are urging Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal a state appellate judge's ruling that ove... More >>

• $10 Billion Dollars: The Economy Outside Is Frightful, But In Hollywood It's So Delightful

  published Dec 23, 2009

  Understandably, 2009 will go down as a crap year. Unemployment, sub-prime loans, yada yada yada. But Hollywood is ballin' like it's 1999. Annual North American movie-ticket sales are expected to pass ... More >>

• Report: Brittany Murphy Was Fired From Movie Over Husband

  published Dec 23, 2009

  Brittany Murphy's husband, screenwriter Simon Monjack, was the cause of her firing last month from a movie project being filmed in Puerto Rico at the time, according to a Hollywood Reporter columnist.... More >>

• Lakers Are The Sports Franchise Of The Decade

  published Dec 22, 2009

  Yes, another year-end, top-of-the-decade list, this time from Sports Illustrated. The magazine says the Los Angeles Lakers are the sports franchise of the decade. The Staples Center-based ballers beat... More >>

• 'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Named 'Douche Of The Decade'

  published Dec 22, 2009

  If you haven't noticed, it's that time of year when the best-of lists, biggest-story roundups and top 10 rankings arrive, and it's especially pronounced as the '00s are coming to a close. (BTW, we hop... More >>

• L.A. Coroner's Cremation Of Poor And Unclaimed Increased In 2009

  published Dec 22, 2009

  The Los Angeles County coroner's office cremated more bodies that were unclaimed or had indigent families than it did last year. With nine days in the year left, the number of cremations at the corone... More >>

• Chief Charlie Beck Putting Desk-Jockey Cops Back On The Streets

  published Dec 22, 2009

  New Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck is rising to the challenge of fighting crime in lean times by reassigning 130 officers from desk duty to street patrols. Beck told the Los Angeles Police Com... More >>

• Politician Ridley-Thomas Puts $707,000 Office Renovation, Using Taxpayer Money, On Ice

  published Dec 22, 2009

  After getting hammered on the issue, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas hit the pause button on a planned $707,000 renovation of his office by referring the matter to the county's CEO fo... More >>

• Brittany Murphy's Husband Says She Was Sick, Tired

  published Dec 22, 2009

  Brittany Murphy's husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, told television show Access Hollywood this week that the actress was sick and maybe a bit worn down at the time of her death Sunday morni... More >>

• FBI Once Investigated Michael Jackson For 'Transporting A Minor Across State Lines For Immoral Purposes'

  published Dec 22, 2009

  The FBI on Tuesday released its files relating to pop star Michael Jackson. Most of the seven files, which comprise a total of 333 pages, relate to the bureau's assistance with local cases surrounding... More >>

• Continued Decline For L.A. Crime According To Latest FBI Stats

  published Dec 22, 2009

  It could be a blessing or a curse for new Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck: Rates for major crimes in Los Angeles continued to dip in 2009. With continuing joblessness, a city struggling to find ... More >>

• Teachers' Union Sues Over Charter School

  published Dec 22, 2009

  United Teachers Los Angeles filed suit against the Los Angeles Unified School District over its establishment of a charter campus that would relieve overcrowding at the Eastside's storied Garfield Hig... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  'SNL' Brittany Murphy Spoof Pulled From Website

  published Dec 21, 2009

  NBC apparently pulled the online clip of a Saturday Night Live spoof of Brittany Murphy from a site, Hulu, the network co-owns. The move on Monday came a day after the actress died following cardiac a... More >>

• Mayor V. Has 'Best Year' Ever (If You Close Your Eyes And Ignore Reality)

  published Dec 21, 2009

  They say that sometimes a leader's job is to will optimism in the darkest of times, like a Federal Reserve chairman saying the economy's alright, a president saying wars are going swimmingly or newspa... More >>

• Brittany Murphy Autopsy Inconclusive

  published Dec 21, 2009

  The county coroner's office completed its autopsy on the body of actress Brittany Murphy on Monday but came to conclusions and deferred its decision on the cause of her death until a battery of tests,... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Court Leaves Door Ajar For Polanski To Walk

  published Dec 21, 2009

  A state appellate court on Monday denied director Roman Polanski's appeal to dismiss the sex-with-a-minor-case that has clouded his career and character for more than 30 years, but it left the door op... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Tax A Tan? It's Possible Under Senate Version Of Health Care Bill

  published Dec 21, 2009

  Los Angeles is the capital of tanning. (We know, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hasn't made this declaration yet, but we assure you, he will). Now, hold on to something and breathe steadily, especially yo... More >>

• UCLA Player Threatened Before Victim Was Pushed Into Glass Case, Lawyer Says

  published Dec 21, 2009

  A UCLA basketball player pleaded not guilty Monday to felony assault following a fracas in Hollywood, and his attorney says the dust up was "clearly a case of self-defense" on the part of his client, ... More >>

• County Supervisor Under Fire For Planned, $707,000 Office Renovation

  published Dec 21, 2009

  Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has been under fire for his planned, $707,000 renovation of his office, and at least one report questions whether the matter will come before a meeting... More >>

• Was Molestation Case Against MTV Celebrity 'Extortion, Hollywood Style?'

  published Dec 21, 2009

  As Los Angeles police this week searched for more possible victims of molestation in its case against MTV celebrity Shane Sparks, his lawyer has spoken out, telling TMZ the allegations represent "exto... More >>

• Top Entertainment Stories of 2009 Named; Jackson, L.A. Dominate List

  published Dec 21, 2009

  The death of Michael Jackson topped a list of top-ten entertainment stories for 2009, and headlines emanating from Los Angeles dominated the list. The survey of news editors was conducted by Associate... More >>

• L.A. Police Union Livid After Ban On Body Armor For Violent Felons Overturned; Law Was Inspired By North Hollywood Shootout

  published Dec 21, 2009

  The union representing rank-and-file Los Angeles police was livid over the weekend after a judge overturned California's prohibition on body armor for many of those convicted of violent felonies. Aft... More >>