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

• Studly Astronaut From L.A. County High School To Command NASA's 'Discovery' Mission

  published Nov 05, 2010

  Updated after the jump: NASA has postponed the 39th and final Discovery mission until at least Nov. 30. Well, that was anticlimactic. Originally posted at 11:04 a.m. Venice has Morrison; Long Beach h... More >>

• 50,000-Gallon Load Of Sewage Runs Down Los Angeles River To Long Beach

  published Nov 05, 2010

  Update: The stretch of Long Beach possibly contaminated by the sewage was reopened today. We hear they did tests and stuff, but still -- swim at your own risk. Originally posted on Wednesday, Nov. 4 a... More >>

• Aaron Shannon Jr., L.A. Homicide No. 214: Five-Year-Old Boy In Spiderman Costume Shot In South L.A. Backyard On Halloween

  published Nov 05, 2010

  Update: Two suspects have been arrested for the murder. Known gang members Marcus Denson, 18, and Leonard Hall Jr., 21, are each being held in lieu of $1 million bail. A Black boy fatally shot at abo... More >>

• Could L.A. Murder-Spree Suspect John Wesley Ewell Be Sloppy 'Grim Sleeper' Copycatr

  published Nov 05, 2010

  His name is John Wesley Ewell. He's a 53-year-old handyman from Harbor Gateway, and L.A. County sheriffs suspect he committed four cold-blooded murders during home-invasion robberies from Sept. 24 to ... More >>

• 'Grandparent Scammers' In Arcadia Ask Old People For Money, Pretending To Be Incarcerated Grandkids

  published Nov 05, 2010

  The only thing more twisted than telling a toddler you have candy in your trench coat is telling a nice elderly lady you're her grandson and need money for bail. The Arcadia Police Department warned ... More >>

• Van Wagner Outdoor Sheepishly Removes 'Medal Of Honor' Sniper Ad Across From L.A. Elementary School

  published Nov 05, 2010

  Ever the watchdog of fugly signage in Los Angeles, Dennis Hathaway of Billboard Blight spotted another urban atrocity sullying L.A.'s pastoral coastline a couple days back: A "Medal of Honor" billboar... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Beauty Is Pain: L.A.'s Popular 'Brazilian Blowout' Bashed For Toxic Fumage

  published Nov 05, 2010

  Nicole Richie swears by it. The Olsen twins bathe in it. (Their hair, you perves.) Lindsay Lohan would go back to jail for it. Studio Noi -- a shmancy little salon in Venice -- blasts it on the daily.... More >>

• California Winners Jerry Brown And 'No' On Pot Had Half As Many Facebook 'Likes' As Losers

  published Nov 05, 2010

  Another case for Golden State sovereignty: Facebook 'Likes' may have determined the races in most U.S. states, but Californians should be proud to know that Zuckerberg's popularity meter made no indi... More >>

• L.A. City Councilwoman Jan Perry Supports Tax Exemption For Billion-Dollar Developer To Erect Massive Supergraphic Towers On Wilshire

  published Nov 04, 2010

  While Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa dismantles libraries across the city, City Councilwoman Jan Perry of the downtown district thinks there's still enough money to give a few billionaires a t... More >>

• WTFr Exit Polls Show San Fernando Valley Suburbanites Voted 'Yes' On Prop. 19

  published Nov 04, 2010

  What is this, an episode of "Weeds"r Although L.A. County voted down Prop. 19 overall -- with 47.45 percent 'Yes' and 52.55 percent 'No' -- San Fernando Valley's little boxes on the hillside squeaked... More >>

• New York State Senator Finds 99 Percent Of NYC Commuters See Rats On The Subway

  published Nov 03, 2010

  Rats. Bedbugs. Rats. Bedbugs. Rats. Bedbugs. Rats. Bedbugs. Rats. Vermin reports streaming out of New York City tend to get a little repetitive (with the exception of that one about the snake in a to... More >>

• Shaky L.A. Superior Court Estimate Is Enough To Overhaul LAPD Policy On Ticket Dismissals -- And No One Can Tell Us Why

  published Nov 03, 2010

  It's the only moment of joy in traffic court: when an officer doesn't remember your case well enough to testify. Everyone's happy -- copper doesn't have to make crap up, you get to blow that Popsicle ... More >>

• Benjamin Houghton, L.A. Homicide No. 213: 40-Year-Old Man Shot Dead In South L.A.

  published Nov 03, 2010

  A black man shot dead just before 1:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 25, has been identified as 40-year-old Benjamin Houghton. The shooting took place at South Broadway and West 88th Street in South L.A. Hou... More >>

• Donte Catchings, L.A. Homicide No. 212: 18-Year-Old Man Fatally Wounded By Walk-Up Shooter In Baldwin Hills

  published Nov 03, 2010

  A black man was fatally shot just after 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30, on the 3600 block of Chesapeake Avenue in Baldwin Hills. He has since been identified as 18-year-old Donte Catchings. Detective... More >>

• California Prop. 26, The Morning After: How Did Big Oil Get Away With Thisr

  published Nov 03, 2010

  California enviro-activists never saw it coming. News outlets called the defeat of Prop. 23 early last night, giving Big Green honchos plenty to clank their champagne flutes about. (The Weekly report... More >>

• Twitter Kicks California Secretary Of State's Ass In Real-Time Election Coverage

  published Nov 03, 2010

  On California Secretary of State Debra Bowen's most important night of the year, her prehistoric website was handling the traffic like the 405 freeway at 5 p.m. The standard map and chart features wer... More >>

• Prop. 22, Prop. 24 Election Results: Voters Took Their Best Guess On Two Fiscal-Jargon Props Only Teachers Cared About

  published Nov 03, 2010

  In the shadow of Prop. 19's "to smoke or not to smoke" sex appeal and Prop. 23's Earthy fist pump, there were a couple initiatives -- Prop. 22 and Prop. 24, both riddled in tax talk -- that were compl... More >>

• Prop. 21 Election Results: Californians Give State Parks The Finger

  published Nov 03, 2010

  Update, 1 a.m.: It's a sure thing. The Los Angeles Times has posted their little green check-mark next to Prop. 21, officially killing the dreams of wilderness freaks and baby bunnies everywhere. Cal... More >>

• Prop. 25 Election Results: Breezy Simple-Majority State Budgeting Looks Like A Possibility For Gridlocked CA Politicians

  published Nov 03, 2010

  Update, 1 a.m.: The Los Angeles Times calls it a win for Prop. 25, with 54.8 percent of voters saying 'Yes' and 45.2 percent saying 'No.' Only 40 percent of California precincts have yet to submit the... More >>

• Prop. 26 Election Results: Environmentalists Foiled, Big Oil Gloating As Prop. 23's Evil Twin Sneaks Up, Takes The Lead

  published Nov 03, 2010

  Update, 12 a.m.: The Sacramento Bee has called a victory for Prop. 26. More details after the jump. While environmentalists were hitting California voters over the head with their big-oil-bashing 'No... More >>

• Surprise: Rest Of The Shoo-Ins Win* California State Senate, Assembly And Congressional Districts In Election 2010, Banding Together For Mass Extermination Of Opponents

  published Nov 02, 2010

  *OK, so we fibbed in the headline. The final results aren't in. But -- thanks to sleazy incumbent fixing of elections in California by the Berman brothers -- the new crop of California Senators, Assem... More >>

• Kevin De Leon, Edward Hernandez Win* California State Senate Districts 22, 24 In Election 2010, Wishing They Had Opponents To Conquer

  published Nov 02, 2010

  We're calling it: Kevin De Leon (D) of South Pasadena and Edward Hernandez (D) of L.A. proper are your next representatives for California State Senate Districts 22 and 24, respectively. Both ran uno... More >>

• David Dreier Wins* California Congressional District 26 In Election 2010, Laughing While Opponent Russell Warner Eats Epic Dustcloud Of Defeat

  published Nov 02, 2010

  We're calling it: David Dreier (R) of the northeastern L.A. suburbs is your next representative for California Congressional District 26. He beat opponent Russell Warner (D) by a landslide. *OK, so ... More >>

• Cameron Smyth Wins* California State Assembly District 38 In Election 2010, His Triumphant Warcry Shattering The Very Soul Of Opponent Diana Shaw

  published Nov 02, 2010

  We're calling it: Cameron Smith (R) of Santa Clarita is your next representative for California State Assembly District 38. He beat opponent Diana Shaw (D) by a landslide. *OK, so we fibbed in the h... More >>

• Curren Price Wins* California State Senate District 26 In Election 2010, Dropkicking Opponent Nachum Shifren Into Culver City Gutter

  published Nov 02, 2010

  We're calling it: Curren Price (D) of Culver City is your next representative for California State Senate District 26. He beat opponent Nachum Shifren (R) by a landslide. *OK, so we fibbed in the he... More >>