Email Author Simone Wilson

Awards

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

  "Culture of Cruelty"

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2011 Stories by Simone Wilson

• Occupy L.A. Eviction: Is LAPD Restricting Coverage With Last-Minute 'Pool Media'r

  published Nov 30, 2011

  [Update, morning after: Awesomely, the "pool" reports turned into a sort of crowd-sourced feed; LA Weekly reporter Gene Maddaus says he received constant email updates throughout the night from news o... More >>

• Judge Blocks L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca's Attempt to Conceal Deportation Stats, ICE Correspondence

  published Nov 29, 2011

  The immigrants rights crowd in Los Angeles may be about to hit a Sarah Palin-sized jackpot of possibly inane, possibly explosive correspondence between the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and immigra... More >>

• 'Occupy' Encampment at East L.A. City College Allowed to Stay Until at Least January

  published Nov 29, 2011

  As the bedraggled Occupy L.A. encampment slowly drains (on its own accord, but under well-planned pressure from the LAPD and City Hall), and attempts to Occupy UCLA have been uprooted by the increasin... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Conrad Murray Gets Four Years in L.A. County Jail for Involuntary Manslaughter

  published Nov 29, 2011

  Update: L.A. Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore says Murray will likely serve "a little less than two years." More dauntingly, the D.A. wants him to pay over $100 million to Michael Jackson... More >>

• WTF: L.A. Community Redevelopment Agency Loses Track of $1.7 Million, Blames Governor

  published Nov 28, 2011

  Of $27 million that the L.A. Community Development Agency was supposed to collect from property owners in blighted areas and redistribute into the community, City Controller Wendy Greuel says she can'... More >>

• Illegal Immigrants Beware: L.A. Sheriff's Deputies Can Now Run Your Fingerprints in the Field

  published Nov 28, 2011

  The L.A. Sheriff's Department is busting with pride over its brand-new fleet of "state-of-the-art mobile data computers" -- the first of which are now installed in the patrol vehicles of a few lucky d... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Occupy Ports: L.A. Occupiers to Halt Sea Commerce for 'Day Without Goldman Sachs'

  published Nov 28, 2011

  Though they've arguably got bigger things to worry about right now -- like where in the world they're going to live, come LAPD eviction -- Occupy L.A. organizers are chattering about another big day o... More >>

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  Shepard Fairey Designs 'Occupy Hope' Poster, Replaces Obama's Face With 'V for Vendetta' Mask

  published Nov 28, 2011

  Updated after the jump: Fairey changes the "Occupy Hope" poster to please occupiers. "Anonymous" hackers, who also rep the Guy Fawkes mask, are likely still unsatisfied. Originally posted November 18... More >>

• Jorge Rodriguez, David Escobar -- Harbor City 16-Year-Olds -- Killed in Sunday Drive-By

  published Nov 28, 2011

  Two teens were shot dead while walking along a Harbor City sidewalk early Sunday evening. The L.A. County Coroner's Office has identified the victims as Jorge Rodriguez and David Escobar, both 16 yea... More >>

• Cassidy Nathan Vickers, Transgender Woman, Murdered in Hollywood; Suspect May Be on Loose in WeHo

  published Nov 18, 2011

  Update: Twitter users are directing their R.I.P.s toward a user called @The1LuxuryBoy, or Nathan "Chase" Vickers. Memorial art, after the jump. The transgender woman who was killed in Hollywood with ... More >>

• Natalie Wood Murderedr Husband Robert Wagner 'Not a Suspect,' Says L.A. Sheriff

  published Nov 18, 2011

  Could Hollywood darling Natalie Wood's fatal drowning in 1981 have been darker than the simple accident it was once ruled to ber Wood and her husband Robert Wagner (truly L.A.'s royal couple at the t... More >>

• David Nernberg, Friend of Dead Agoura Hills Quarterback Griffen Kramer, Arrested for Involuntary Manslaughter

  published Nov 18, 2011

  When 18-year-old Griffen Kramer -- the son of NFL great Erik Kramer -- turned up dead after a party on Halloween weekend, officials at Thousand Oaks High School suspected alcohol poisoning was to blam... More >>

• Hooters Says It's Hurting From NBA Lockout

  published Nov 17, 2011

  Kobe and the gang aren't the only ones out of work amid this ridiculous NBA lockout. The longer they continue to turn up their noses at NBA officials' proposed season contract -- admittedly a pretty l... More >>

• Occupy L.A. Pitches Mini Tent City at Bank of America Plaza; Riot Police Move in for Arrests

  published Nov 17, 2011

  Update, 4:45 p.m.: The LAPD is ripping up the tents and trying to push them off the side of the raised plaza -- to shrieks of disapproval from the protesters. Update, 4:30 p.m.: Arrests have begun. H... More >>

• James Fayed Gets Death Penalty: L.A. Gold Trader Who Plotted Wife's Murder Could Cost Taxpayers Over $300 Million

  published Nov 17, 2011

  James Fayed's crime was as heinous as they come: Last summer, the wealthy businessman admitted to a Los Angeles jail mate that he'd paid several men to murder 44-year-old Pamela Fayed, his estranged w... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  LAPD Arrests 23 Occupy L.A. Protesters in Downtown Financial District for Civil Disobedience

  published Nov 17, 2011

  For all further updates, see: "Occupy L.A. Pitches Mini Tent City at Bank of America Plaza; Riot Police Move in for Arrests." Update, 1:15 p.m.: VIDEO of occupiers blocking the intersection of Grand ... More >>

• South Pasadena Police Department Buys Into 'Teens Getting Drunk on Vodka-Soaked Tampons' Story

  published Nov 15, 2011

  At 5:05 p.m. this dark winter evening, the South Pasadena Police Department issued a community press release of the gravest importance. (Its first press release in two weeks, actually. Because South P... More >>

• L.A. City Council Breaks Promise to South Central Farmers, Trades Park for Factory

  published Nov 15, 2011

  We knew L.A. City Councilwoman Jan Perry liked to cozy up to rich real-estate types, but this takes City Hall's sleazy development hounding to new lows. It all started in 2003, when the city sold a S... More >>

• Santa Monica to Ban Late-Night Food Trucks on Main; City Council Apparently Unfamiliar With Drunk Munchies

  published Nov 15, 2011

  Wack! The seven City Councilmembers occupying that gorgeous beachside Hall over in Santa Monica seem to have little idea what keeps the party people going a few blocks south. They've tentatively appr... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Occupy L.A. Clashes With LAPD at Midnight OWS March: Are We Next in Line for Evictionr

  published Nov 15, 2011

  Updated at the bottom: LAPD Chief Charlie Beck is negotiating with protesters, hoping Occupy L.A. will voluntarily dismantle "without confrontation." Last night was a long one for uprooted protesters... More >>

• UCLA, USC Ready the Troops: 'Bruin Bear' Caged in Jigsaw Box, 'Tommy Trojan' Wrapped in Duct Tape

  published Nov 14, 2011

  UCLA and USC are taking extra-early pains, this year, to avoid attacks on their inanimate war heros back at home camp. A full two weeks before their annual opening football game on November 26 -- a t... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Congress Insider Trading: California Senators and 19 U.S. Representatives from L.A. Respond (or Don't) to 60 Minutes Scandal

  published Nov 14, 2011

  As we learned on "60 Minutes" last night, many of the politicians we've elected to U.S. Congress have clearly been using their backdoor V.I.P. passes to gather exclusive intel on when to buy and sell ... More >>

• Stargazing in L.A. Countyr Dark Skies Ordinance to Outlaw 'Light Pollution' in Rural Areas

  published Nov 14, 2011

  Just because we live in the biggest, brightest county on the West Coast -- famous for its neon signage, supergraphic billboards and helicopter searchlights -- doesn't mean we can't fight for our right... More >>

• Kid Waving Toy Gun Reported to Sheriff on Pomona Freeway; Parents Pulled Over, Scolded

  published Nov 11, 2011

  Things got a little crazier than usual on the 71 this afternoon, when a kid in the backseat of one family's minivan reportedly waved a toy gun at another driver. Perhaps spooked by SoCal's rich histo... More >>

• Hollywood Bowl Invites Helicopter Pilots to L.A. Philharmonic Rehearsal, Arranges for Noisy Chopper to Fly Over

  published Nov 11, 2011

  The L.A. County Board of Supervisors picked up the hot-button helicopter noise issue this week, adding their (somewhat meaningless) endorsement to the recently proposed House of Representatives bill t... More >>