Email Author Simone Wilson

Awards

• 2011 - Southern California Journalism Awards/LA Press Club, published December 16, 2010

  "Culture of Cruelty"

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2012 Stories by Simone Wilson

• Javier Arrioja, Soccer Coach for the Los Angeles Misioneros, Charged With Molesting Teen Player

  published Feb 22, 2012

  ​A former soccer coach for the Los Angeles Misioneros, a private under-17 club team based out of Inglewood, has been accused of molesting one of his young players. The Los Angeles District Atto More >>

• L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Hires Two Former Journos Onto His Huge PR Team

  published Feb 22, 2012

  ​We just lost two soldiers to L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's bulging press office. Whoever predicted that L.A.'s best journalists might all soon be working for the enemy, tempted by a secure More >>

• 'Parent Trigger' Petition Rejected by Adelanto School District After Teacher-Backed Rescission Campaign

  published Feb 22, 2012

  ​A group of parents at Desert Trails Elementary, located two hours east of L.A. in the dusty desert town of Adelanto, saw months of hard work thrown back in their faces last night. The "parent More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Hypocrisy in Hollywood: The Rich, White Males in the Film Industry Are the Real Pirates

  published Feb 22, 2012

  ​It's no secret -- rich white guys in Hollywood were the No. 1 reason why scary copyright bills SOPA and PIPA almost made it through Washington this year. Yet the film industry is sort of the o More >>

• Car Crashes Into Pizza Buona on Sunset Boulevard, Sends One to Hospital

  published Feb 21, 2012

  ​A maroon Acura just plowed through the two front doors of Pizza Buona in Echo Park, a well-loved pizzeria located on Sunset Boulevard at a busy intersection with Alvarado. The car barreled int More >>

• Jeffrey Minifie Charged With Murder: He Allegedly Kidnapped Girlfriend, Killed Her in High-Speed LAPD Pursuit

  published Feb 21, 2012

  ​An insane car crash in Westlake last Thursday was overshadowed by two other big L.A. crime stories that day: the guy who shot up a Hollywood apartment before setting it on fire, and the ICE-off More >>

• Mark Berndt Complains That L.A. Sheriff's Deputies Called Him a 'Child Molester' Over the Loudspeaker

  published Feb 21, 2012

  ​L.A. County Sheriff's deputies have been accused of more inmate abuse at their notorious Twin Towers lockup downtown. Yet for once, nobody really cares. That's because the accusations are com More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  New California Law Would Allow You to Show Proof of Insurance, Registration Via Smartphone

  published Feb 21, 2012

  ​California drivers should be able to store proof of insurance and vehicle registration on their smartphones, says Mike Gatto, a state assemblyman for Los Angeles, in his proposed Assembly Bill More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Oscars Street Closures: Where in Hollywood to Avoid This Week (Unless You're Brad Pitt)

  published Feb 21, 2012

  ​Obama traffic got nothin' on Oscars traffic. When the president breezes through town for some big Hollywood campaign cash, we get stuck on Wilshire or Santa Monica for a little longer than no More >>

• 'Parent Trigger' School Reform Effort in Adelanto Attacked by Charter-Fearing Parents, Teachers, L.A. Times (Deja Vu)

  published Feb 20, 2012

  ​Update, February 22: "'Parent Trigger' Petition Rejected by Adelanto School District After Teacher-Backed Rescission Campaign." A historic first for K-12 school reform might be chronicled tomo More >>

• Police Impersonation in WeHo: Car of Girls Reportedly Arrested for Playing 'Song With Loud Sirens in It'

  published Feb 20, 2012

  ​Doesn't the West Hollywood Sheriff's station have anything better to do than hassle a carful of revelers for playing their gangsta rap too loudr Protect the streets from drunk celebrity drivers More >>

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  Federal Judge Says Chicks Can Slam Cheating Exes on Web; Gloria Allred Declares 'Victory for Women's Rights'

  published Feb 20, 2012

  ​Gloria Allred, L.A.'s biggest name in celebrity litigation, has long fallen on the sexier side of women's rights. She's gone after pervy politicians like Herman Cain and Arnold Schwarzenegger f More >>

• L.A. Redistricting Commission's Final Map: Still a Mess of Gerrymandered Land Grabs

  published Feb 20, 2012

  ​At an exasperating L.A. Redistricting Commission meeting last Wednesday night that lasted into the wee hours, commissioners tried to address a whopping 75 community complaints, re: their hilari More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  KFI Radio Suspends John & Ken for Calling Whitney Houston a 'Crack Ho'

  published Feb 17, 2012

  ​Update: The KFI boys apologize. See below. John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, inflammatory KFI radio hosts with a reported audience of over 1 million, have finally gotten themselves suspended, repo More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Dog Attempts Suicide off West Hollywood Balcony, Gets Stuck on Railing (Insane Photo)

  published Feb 17, 2012

  ​On one of the scariest days for L.A. crime in recent memory, a less publicized (but still very insane) little life-death drama was playing out in West Hollywood. Around 2:45 p.m., master Twitp More >>

• Study Shows 90% of Gen Y Uses Phone on Toilet; Dudes With Androids Are the Worst

  published Feb 16, 2012

  ​Did you know that a little over 90 percent of Generation Y does the smartphone while sitting on the toiletr This survey says so! (We realize we're like two weeks late on this, but our favorite More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Obama's Speech at Holmby Hills Mansion: President Admits 'It's Not Quite as Cool to Be on the Obama Bandwagon' as in 2008

  published Feb 16, 2012

  ​While Occupy 90210 protested along Sunset Boulevard, Obama wooed a crowd of celebs and big Hollywood money at a $40K-per-plate fundraiser last night, hosted by some soap opera producer at his g More >>

• 'Occupy 90210' Protester on Bicycle Hit by Car Along Sunset Boulevard (VIDEO)

  published Feb 16, 2012

  ​The Occupy 90210 protest last night, to call out President Obama for accepting big campaign cash from Hollywood donors, got a little chaotic when a protester was thrown from his bicycle by a Sm More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Newt Gingrich Gets Flat Tire in West Hollywood

  published Feb 16, 2012

  ​Warning to GOP homophobes: This is what happens when you compare gay marriage to paganism, then have the balls to roll your campaign bus through West Hollywood. Newt Gingrich's red-white-and-b More >>

• Gerhard Becker, German Architect, Charged With Manslaughter After His Hollywood Mansion Collapses on L.A. Firefighter

  published Feb 15, 2012

  ​Almost exactly one year ago, Los Angeles was stricken by the death of veteran firefighter Glenn Allen. While fighting a midnight mansion fire in the Hollywood Hills, the roof collapsed under 61 More >>

• UCLA vs. USC: The Meme War

  published Feb 15, 2012

  ​Surely, by now, you've heard of the "college meme" trend that has America's university kids trying their hand at campus-specific Internet humor -- and OG 4chan nerds crying a "forever alone" ri More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  'Occupy 90210' to Protest Outside Obama's $40K-per-Plate Campaign Fundraiser in L.A.

  published Feb 15, 2012

  ​Unlike the people's beloved First Lady -- who stops by Inglewood groceries when she's in town; so humble! -- President Obama is notorious for never letting his limo stray beyond L.A.'s lavish W More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Valentine's Day Balloon Pops, Shuts off Power to 15,000 SoCal Edison Customers

  published Feb 15, 2012

  ​A mylar Valentine's Day balloon reportedly popped over (update: or floated into) utility company Southern California Edison's substation in Fontana last night, taking a nosedive straight into t More >>

• L.A. Redistricting: Herb Wesson's District 10 Looks Like a Fat Turkey

  published Feb 15, 2012

  ​This is the fifth chapter in a (badly Photoshopped) series on the L.A. Redistricting Commission's gerrymandered new voting districts. Previously: "Eric Garcetti's District 13 Looks Like an Evil More >>

• UCLA Scientists Invent Cheap, Bendy Solar Panels That Could Charge Your Car, Phone

  published Feb 14, 2012

  ​This is the handiest thing to come out of UCLA since those stretchy, glowing devices that can "move with the body." (Aka, a raver's dreamwear.) Now, UCLA is expanding its stretch-nology into t More >>