Email Author Simone Wilson

Awards

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

  "Culture of Cruelty"

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2010 Stories by Simone Wilson

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  FEATURED STORY

  Brigitte Burdine, Top Video Game Director, Killed By Hit-And-Run Driver In Marina Del Rey

  published Dec 30, 2010

  Updated after the jump with another picture of Burdine, a video clip and messages from friends, family and co-workers. Originally posted Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m. R.I.P. Brigitte Burdine. She was a legen... More >>

• California Asks Obama To Declare Weather 'Disaster,' Cough Up $111.5 Million

  published Dec 30, 2010

  Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado is taking his post as acting governor dead serious in this cold, cold time. Yesterday, he wrote a letter -- yes, an actual letter -- to the POTUS himself. And it was... More >>

• Power Outages, Black Ice, Unruly Trees And Tumbleweeds Wreak Havoc On Los Angeles

  published Dec 30, 2010

  Just because the puddles are gone this morning doesn't mean Mother Nature is done having her fun with SUV nation. In the mad dash from our living room to our car this morning, we couldn't help but no... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Highest-Paid University of California Bosses Throw Tantrum Over Lowly $250,000 Pension Cap

  published Dec 30, 2010

  The University of California has been just barely scraping by in this economic depression, consistently raising tuition for students and slashing course offerings like weeds. Everyone employed by the... More >>

• Compton's Parent Trigger Feud

  published December 30, 2010

  McKinley Elementary School in Compton will set a precedent in California — one that will affect children throughout the... More >>

• Rose Parade Rules: No Tents, Fires, Horns, Pets, Alcohol, Drugs, Fireworks, Throwing Things, Unsupervised Minors, Suspicious Packages Or 'Unoccupied Chairs' Allowed

  published Dec 29, 2010

  Boy, the annual New Year's Eve campout along the Rose Parade route in Pasadena sounds like a barrel of fun this year! Police are warning they'll be stricter than ever on the exhaustive list of parade... More >>

• Is Wearing A Helmet While Snowboarding Worth Looking Like A Total Nerdr

  published Dec 29, 2010

  The San Bernardino coroner announced last night that the Fullerton snowboarder who died at Mountain High resort on Monday was not wearing a helmet. A Weekly reader called Mt High Local commented on t... More >>

• Long Beach Man Who Set Self On Fire, Potentially IDed As Richard McGee, Dies In Hospital; Parents Haven't Heard From Him In Over A Decade

  published Dec 29, 2010

  Yesterday morning, we reported that a badly burned Long Beach man had been discovered by firemen and paramedics on Monday night -- he was engulfed in flames next to the concrete channel that cradles t... More >>

• 25-Year-Old Kashmier James Shot Dead In Front Of Three-Year-Old Daughter On Christmas Night; L.A. City Council Offers $50,000 For Info

  published Dec 29, 2010

  There was a devastating string of fatal L.A. shootings this Christmas -- including Kevin Wooten in Watts, Cesar Guerrero in Echo Park and Kashmier James in South L.A. What makes the murder of 25-year... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Top 10 LA Weekly News Stories Of 2010: Sex, Drugs, One Absurdly Long Tongue And The 'Attempted Lynching' That Shook Los Angeles

  published Dec 29, 2010

  How better to determine the Top 10 news items of the year in our wonderfully fucked-up, always aggravating but certainly never boring City of Angels than by raw click countr The following stories ma... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  (VIDEO) Gas To Reach Five Dollars Per Gallon By 2012, Says Ex-Prez Of Shell Oil

  published Dec 29, 2010

  Former Shell Oil president Jon Hofmeister, who likes to dole out scandalous dirty-energy news items now that he's not trying to run a scandalous dirty-energy corporation, had something very scary to t... More >>

• (UPDATED With L.A. Road Closures, Rain Aftermath) L.A. Readies Itself For West Coast Rainpocalypse To Rival SnowLoko

  published Dec 29, 2010

  Updated after the jump: Here we go again. Pacific Coast Highway closes, the I-5 floods and more. Originally posted Dec. 28 at 8:30 a.m. We were gloating yesterday as the East Coast took a beating fro... More >>

• SoCal Snowboarder Crashes, Dies At Mountain High Resort

  published Dec 29, 2010

  Updated after jump: Coroner confirms that boarder was not wearing a helmet, and more details, including the exact slope where he died. Originally posted Dec. 28 at 12:20 p.m. Yesterday evening at 6 ... More >>

• Shwasted In 2011r Not To Fear -- AAA Will 'Tipsy Tow' Your Car Home New Year's Eve

  published Dec 28, 2010

  Update: We know which L.A. bars will be crawling with undercover cops this New Year's Eve, and we're going to tell you in the good faith that you won't use the tip-off unwisely. Tow-truck drivers do ... More >>

• 61-Year-Old L.A. Woman Dies At Hands Of Beverly Hills And Encino 'Plastic Surgeon' Ehab Mohamed

  published Dec 28, 2010

  Updated after the jump: Did Dr. Mohamed try to perform a hernia repair on himselfr Originally posted at 10 a.m. It's a "Nip/Tuck" episode come horrifyingly to life: Los Angeles gynecologist turned pl... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fullerton Man With Plastic Bag On Head Tries To Rob Wendy's Drive-Thru; Server Shuts Window, Walks Away

  published Dec 28, 2010

  Update: Long Beach police catch the man behind the plastic bag! There are probably way more important things to talk about today, like the hundreds of Angelenos stranded at U.S. airport gates, why Wi... More >>

• (UPDATE From Snowed-In Newark International Airport) For Travelers Stuck At LAX, Weather Continues To Make Life Suck

  published Dec 28, 2010

  Updated after the jump: The Weekly's Patrick Range McDonald live-blogs from the snowed-in Newark International Airport, where Continental employees leave stranded passengers to the guesswork. All nigh... More >>

• Long Beach Man Sets Self On Fire In Los Angeles Riverbed, Burns 90 Percent Of Body

  published Dec 28, 2010

  Update: The Long Beach man has died, and been potentially identified. For the full story, click here. One reckless Long Beach man's near-suicide last night is still shrouded in mystery. Long Beach fi... More >>

• #Snowpocalypse Replaced By #SnowLoko As Official Hashtag Of New York Blizzard; Sweet Time-Lapse Video; Rare 'Thundersnow' Sighting

  published Dec 27, 2010

  Hey there, New York. How's the weatherr Hehe. Anywho, while we were collectively kicking it by the pool out here in Los Angeles -- half scoping Twitter for real-time updates on your misery and half g... More >>

• Gang Homicide In Echo Park: 18-Year-Old Cesar Guerrero 'Could Have Just Stayed Home For Christmas'

  published Dec 27, 2010

  Updated after the jump: Is Echo Park the new Venice -- where art meets crimer The Weekly asks the gentrification question; police officers and a bar manager weigh in. Originally posted at 11:58 a.m. ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Miami Man Tries To Smuggle 14 Pounds Of Colombian Cocaine Through LAX In Candy Easter Eggs

  published Dec 27, 2010

  Esteban Galtes, the 23-year-old Miami resident due in L.A. federal court today for smuggling blow, could have at least waited until springtime to disguise his stash in little pastel candies shaped lik... More >>

• Hugh Hefner Can't Stop Tweeting About Engagement To 24-Year-Old Playmate Crystal Harris

  published Dec 27, 2010

  The horniest old man in history has never let age be more than a number, and his youthful Twitter account -- clocking in at 21 Tweets yesterday -- is further testament to the man's utterly ageless, uh... More >>

• LAPD Officers Kill 23-Year-Old Bicyclist Kevin Wooten On Christmas Morning

  published Dec 27, 2010

  Updated with correct name of victim. Originally posted at 10:30 a.m. Kevin Wooten, a young black man (according to the coroner's report) from Watts, was riding his bicycle at 4 a.m. on Christmas morn... More >>

• L.A. Road Closures, Wednesday Edition: Where Not To Drive

  published Dec 22, 2010

  Updated after the jump: The beginning of the end FLASH FOOD warnings until 6 p.m. (this includes downtown L.A.). Constantly updated with traffic conditions, evacuations and the best in emergency resc... More >>

• Hollywood Farmers Market Dispute Mushrooms Into Land-Use War

  published December 23, 2010

  The Hollywood Farmers Market on Ivar Avenue is safe until mid-April under a moratorium hastily hammered out between the market... More >>