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

• Chris Benton, Pepperdine President's Son, Facing Two Years in Prison for Threatening to Kill His Dad

  published Sep 07, 2012

  The troubled son of esteemed Pepperdine University President Andrew K. Benton will serve two years in prison, says the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, for threatening his father at the family'... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Bed Bugs Reported at L.A. Central Library

  published Sep 07, 2012

  See also: "Report: Los Angeles Now Has More Bed Bugs Than New York" and "Women Surprised to Find Bed Bugs at $62 Glendale Motel, Sue." At least two bed bugs have been spotted at L.A. Central Library ... More >>

• Joey Danan, Instructor at Valleywide Driving School, Charged With Molesting Teen Student During Lesson

  published Sep 07, 2012

  The LAPD fears that the owner of Valleywide Driving School in Granada hills, a 44-year-old Filipino man named Joselito Valencia Danan (but known locally as "Joey"), may have a habit of coming onto his... More >>

• 3.4 Earthquake Is Beverly Hills' Second in Week

  published Sep 07, 2012

  See also: "8.6 Quake Possible in Southern Californiar Caltech Suggests New 'Mega-Earthquake'." As the Westside lay its collective head to rest last night after a terribly lackluster VMA ceremony, we ... More >>

• Clint Eastwood's Cardboard Cutout in San Rafael Hills Now Accompanied by Empty Chair

  published Sep 04, 2012

  That amusing cardboard cutout of Clint Eastwood, installed by Glassell Park artist Justin Stadel on a San Rafael Hills hiking trail last spring to inspire the cowboy in all of us (and especially freew... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Los Angeles, Inglewood Officials to Sacrifice 400 'Majestic' Trees in Way of Space Shuttle Endeavour

  published Sep 04, 2012

  "Space exploration events are like the Olympics; everyone just feels good," Inglewood Mayor James Butts said at a triumphant press conference on the September 20 arrival of the space shuttle Endeavour... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Darnell and Tania Washington, Bonnie and Clyde of L.A. County, Wanted for Wild Crime Spree in Carjacked Minivan

  published Sep 04, 2012

  An attractive Southern California couple is wanted in two counties this morning for the jailbreak and joyride of a lifetime. San Bernardino County Sheriff's officials say that 24-year-old robbery sus... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Sight, Graffiti Artist on Cover of LA Weekly, Suspended From His Job for Speaking Out Against L.A.'s War on Graffiti

  published Aug 31, 2012

  The star of L.A. Weekly's current cover story -- a talented and gentle young man named Bryant Mangum, aka UPN member "Sight," fresh out of four years in state prison for scratching up the L.A. bus sys... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  How the City of Gardena Turns Every Piece of Graffiti Into a Felony Crime

  published Aug 30, 2012

  In this week's cover story, "Los Angeles' War on Street Artists," we reveal that the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, with the help of city and county prosecutors, figured out how to try all graffiti... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  10 Stupidest California Bills That Legislators Are Trying to Slam Through at Final Hour

  published Aug 30, 2012

  The last possible moment for California's bumbling state senators and assemblymen to nudge their pet bills onto Governor Jerry Brown's desk is this Friday, August 31 at midnight. Needless to say, the... More >>

• L.A. River Now Officially a River, Not a Flood Channel, Says Governor Brown

  published Aug 29, 2012

  See also: "The Los Angeles River Is A 'Navigable Waterwayr' Indeed, According To The EPA." No more jokes about how the Los Angeles River is more just a soggy trash chute than a place of nature, OKr G... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  Los Angeles' War on Street Artists

  published August 30, 2012

  See also: How the City... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Brian Gerber, Film Producer Behind Digital Hollywood Summit, Commits Suicide off Angeles Crest Highway

  published Aug 29, 2012

  Update, 1 p.m.: Gerber's suicide was just confirmed in a post on his Facebook profile. Headline and story have been changed to reflect this fact. Another well-loved member of the L.A. film industry -... More >>

• Michael Vega, 25-Year-Old Cyclist, Left to Die in Inland Empire Ditch by Hit-and-Run Driver

  published Aug 29, 2012

  Not even a bike helmet could save 25-year-old Michael Ray Vega, the Norco resident killed in Rancho Cucamonga yesterday evening by a hit-and-run driver who left him to die along Foothill Boulevard. "... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Chateau Marmont to Lindsay Lohan: Be Out by Noon, Never Come Back

  published Aug 29, 2012

  See also: LA Weekly's print profile on Phil Pavel, "ringmaster of the Chateau Marmont." On July 31, Lindsay Lohan was given until noon the next day to gather up all her crap from Suite 33 at West Hol... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  USC Football Billboard in UCLA Territory Torn Down by Regency Outdoor Advertising

  published Aug 28, 2012

  Looks like Regency Outdoor Advertising, one of the biggest billboard companies in this land of 10,000 billboards, is choosing sides in the epic beef between USC and UCLA. At first, it appeared that R... More >>

• New California Bill Will Let L.A. Squeeze in More Bike Lanes, Sans Environmental Review

  published Aug 28, 2012

  Although they're hard to hear over the impassioned roar of cycling advocates at L.A. City Hall, some local homeowners and car drivers are freaking out over AB 2245, a feel-good state bill pitched by A... More >>

• Tony Francis, Unarmed Compton Man, Shot Dead by Sheriff: Family Files Civil-Rights Lawsuit, Alleges 'Coverup'

  published Aug 28, 2012

  Friends and family of 22-year-old Compton dad Tony Francis are having a hard time believing the L.A. County Sheriff's account of his death last Friday: Sheriff's Homicide Detective Holly Francisco to... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Robert Page-Roberts, Hollywood Prop Guy, Jailed for Chaotic Balcony Shooting on Sunset Boulevard

  published Aug 28, 2012

  Yesterday was a record-insane news day, even for Hollywood: After the LAPD received reports of shots fired on Sunset Boulevard around 3:30 p.m., officers ran in circles for a spell before stumbling i... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  'Southern California Fan Code of Conduct' Unveiled by L.A. Sports Council: No Cussing, Offensive Clothing

  published Aug 27, 2012

  Little-known fact: Los Angeles has its very own Sports Council, a self-described "outgrowth of the success of the 1984 Olympic Games." Although its eight-member executive cabinet and dozens of direct... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Earthquake 'Swarm' in Imperial Valley Still Raging, Could Signal Larger SoCal Event

  published Aug 27, 2012

  An underground thunderstorm of seismic activity, officially called a "seismic swarm," hit a farm town called Brawley in the Imperial Valley yesterday -- gearing up around sunrise with some magnitude 2... More >>

• Big Rig Crash on the 5 Causes Nightmare Traffic Jam for Friday Drive Home

  published Aug 24, 2012

  Could the big rig that just smashed through the concrete divider on the 5 freeway in Burbank have picked a worse possible time to bring traffic to a standstillr Just after 5 p.m. this afternoon -- sm... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Sergio Alvarez, Malibu Bum, Allegedly Strangled Pelican to Death Because 'He Was Hungry'

  published Aug 24, 2012

  Updated at the bottom with Alvarez' horrendously scary mug shot, and the D.A. agreeing to file felony charges. Originally posted August 23 at 9:20 a.m. We can't wait to see L.A. County's equally fie... More >>

• Hollywood Lawyer Fights City Hall's Attempts to Gate off V.I.P. Neighborhoods in the Hills

  published Aug 24, 2012

  Should the posh dead-end streets throughout the Hollywood Hills -- which offer the best views in Los Angeles, and allow access to some of the city's coolest hiking trails -- be gated off to protect ho... More >>

• Paul Mingyu Sang, South Korean Exchange Student, Suffocates in Sand-Pit Collapse at College Beach Party

  published Aug 24, 2012

  A 19-year-old foreign-exchange student at a small Christian college in Santa Clarita reportedly suffered a tragic death at a SoCal beach on Wednesday, when a hole he was digging in the sand collapsed ... More >>