Bakersfield

How to Win Friends and Piss Away an Acting Career

Feds Back Off Controversial Threat To Deport Barking Dog Owner Ruth Montano

There are some bad immigrants out there, from ecstasy dealers to robbers to murderers, and deporting them is probably the least we could do. But being booted out of the country for barking dogs? That's what faced Southern California resident Ruth Montano. At least until the ACLU stepped in:

The Best Concerts to See in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, March 15 The Black Ryder THE ECHO The Black Ryder come from Australia but sound like they're from 13th Floor Elevators' own personal Texas, a land of endless desert where the guitars echo to eternity and where it's too hot to move fast. The Black Ryder concoct psychedelia that bleeds and bo ... More >>

The 20 Worst Albums Of The '90s: 10-1

The 20 Worst Albums Of The '90s: 20-11 Sure, you had the Bill Clinton blowjob scandal, OJ, Pakistan and India going nuclear, mad cow disease, the Rodney King decision, and Titanic. But what made the '90s truly awful was its music. That's not to say that there weren't bright spots -- early Beck, say ... More >>

The Ten Best Country Albums of 2012

By Alan Scherstuhl This list of the year's best country albums is assembled with two important premises in mind: First: If the people who record and listen to these records consider them country, than they're damn well country. Purists who argue that country should still sound like '68, '76, '84 o ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Week

Monday, December 31 Redd Kross, The Melvins ALEXANDRIA HOTEL Despite the myriad achievements of the human race throughout history -- moonshots, pyramids, penicillin and the late-night food truck -- one never-realized dream haunted civilization: getting Redd Kross and The Melvins to play on the same ... More >>

Inside L.A.'s Chemtrails Community, a Group That Thinks We're Being Sprayed By Toxic Chemicals

On a recent Saturday morning, a small buzz of activity emanates from the stately Wilshire Ebell Theatre abutting Hancock Park. This is not a theatrical production but rather "Consciousness Beyond Chemtrails," a conference for those sharing belief in "chemtrails" -- a theory alleging that the gov ... More >>

California Bullet Train to Nowhere Gets $6 Billion Via State Lawmakers

California's bullet train dreams have had a nightmare of a year, including lagging public support and a need for billions in a bad economy. But supporters eked out a dreamy victory today: The state Senate approved an $8 billion package to fund the first leg of the train (from nowhere to nowhere):

What's In Season at the Farmers Market: Sequoia Cherries USDA SNAP Access

The big news at farmers markets this week had little to do with actual fruits and vegetables as much as our access to them. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced $4 million in awards to help states expand availability of wireless technology in farmers markets so they can particip ... More >>

Shawndeeia Bowen, Young Mom, Spotted Texting While Driving on 405 -- With Infant in Her Lap

On the third day of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Torrance Police Department hit the distracted-driving jackpot. Not only do cops say that 29-year-old Hawthorne resident Shawndeeia Bowen was texting while driving on Tuesday afternoon, but she was allegedly doing so while carrying her baby ... More >>

Know Your Farmer: Marketing Agriculture A New Farmer Series

We've consistently maintained that the best way to understand where your food comes from and to know what it is you are eating is to get to know your local farmers. Making that connection isn't difficult -- head to your local market and say hi, ask questions, and develop relationships -- but it doe ... More >>

Jason Wilmert Arrested for Allegedly Skinning, Grilling and Eating Stray Cats

Updated at the bottom with some gory details. First posted at 5:01 p.m. Wednesday. In today's edition of WTF, we bring you one Jason Wilmert. Authorities allege the 35-year-old was nourishing himself with dead stray cats. Not only that, but reports indicate he might have even killed and skinned th ... More >>

Top 10 L.A. Theater Experiences of 2011

Korn - Hollywood Palladium - 12/6/11

Daniel Kohn​See also: Wait, Now Korn Invented Dubstep?! Korn Hollywood Palladium 12/6/11 Better Than...going to a Brian Welch book reading. To mark the release of their latest album, The Path of Totality, veteran hard rock outfit Korn took over The Palladium with an assortment of guests las ... More >>

Lassen's Protest Tomorrow

​It doesn't have the critical mass of the Occupy movement, but tomorrow at 1 p.m., Los Feliz locals upset at gay-unfriendly Lassen's, the store that took over Nature Mart when it closed, will stage a protest outside the health food store at 1 p.m. Some locals are boycotting Lassen's because of ... More >>

Teen Cellphone Photos, Texts, Contacts Being Searched at School: ACLU of SoCal Says It's Illegal

ACLU​Those pesky bleeding-heart liberals at the ACLU actually want teachers and school administrators to keep out of your kids' cellphones. A report issued by the ACLU of Southern California lists some anecdotal evidence that school authorities are searching the contents of students' phones w ... More >>

Video: Porn Star's Skydive Sex Stunt North of L.A. Gets Authorities Interested

KGET​The mile high club was taken to a new high recently when a couple north of L.A. had sex while skydiving and apparently videotaped it. The cops in Taft, California were investigating the stunt, reportedly conducted to get the attention of radio shock-jock Howard Stern, and the FAA was awa ... More >>

Jennifer Bonner's 'Watermarks' Exhibit Floods the WUHO Gallery in Ankle-Deep Water. No Stilettos, Please!

Nils Timm"No Stilettos, Please": architect Jennifer Bonner flooded a gallery and warned visitors to watch out for their shoes​ Sometimes art leaks. Or so architect-turned-installation artist Jennifer Bonner might tell you. For "Watermarks," an ephemeral meditation on life in the time of gl ... More >>

Mildred Baena and Schwarzenegger's Love Child, Joseph, Upon Learning His Dad Was the Terminator: 'Cool!'

Hello MagazinePhoto shoot!​Of all possible media outlets, Schwarzenegger mistress Mildred "Patty" Baena has chosen to speak with England's Hello Magazine for her much-anticipated coming-out interview. (She's been hiding out since news of her love child with the former California governor broke ... More >>

Marvin Gapultos: Adobo Road

L.A.'s Best Cocktails

Our 55 favorites and where to find them

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

​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 we fibbed in the headline. The final results aren't in and the polls haven't closed. But than ... More >>

'Fake Nursing School' In Koreatown To Pay Half-Million Settlement

PoramapornN via Flickr​ A "fake nursing school" in Koreatown agreed to pay a half-million-dollar settlement to students who authorities say were tricked into paying thousands of dollars in tuition to become registered nurses, according to a statement from the office of California Attorney Gene ... More >>

Movie Reviews: The City of Your Final Destination, Oceans, Five Easy Pieces

Also, Paper Man, Handmade Nation, Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D and more

The Key to Perfect Sauerkraut: Gigantic Cabbage

Jenn GarbeeNBA regulation cabbage If you're on a summer produce pickling binge, listen up. When you sort through the cabbage bin, steer clear of the lightweights - unless you're into kraut that is a bit on the scrawny side. A tightly wound, linebacker-size dicotyledon is what you want, says Gre ... More >>

FRINGE BENEFITS AND OTHER ODDLY REWARDING CHOICES

Kurt Elling, Frank Marocco, Bob Sheppard

Pollution Report: The Choke's on Us

For all the talk about America's "greening," 60 percent of us still live in areas with dangerously high pollution, according to a new American Lung Association report. Basing their conclusions on state and local statistics gathered by the Environmental Protection Agency between 2005 and 2007, the AL ... More >>

Movie Reviews: The Great Buck Howard, Perestroika, Knowing, Sin Nombre

Also, Explicit Ills, Virtual JFK and more

Born Again Korn: Guitarist Fieldy Does Book Soup, Plays a Little Bakersfield Country

Adam GropmanFieldy: Every Dreadlock is numbered, like every grain of sand By Adam Gropman Last Thursday night, some of the gnarly, tattooed, hard-rock world often associated with the western Sunset Strip invaded the higher-brow literary/intellectual world of Strip oddity Book Soup. Korn bassist Fi ... More >>

Milk's Chocolate Milk Shake: Better Than Yours

Shaking L.A., from Lucky Devil to Disney and Twohey's too

California Prisons' Big Group Hug

Under court order, races must co-exist

Erotica LA's Vanilla Flavored Expo

By Pandora Young and Guelda Voien 2008's Erotica LA bills itself as an opportunity for couples to "express their sexuality." In reality, it seemed like an opportunity to buy cool stuff, see porn stars, get marginally creeped out, and then find some salvation in the booths and vendors you would lea ... More >>

Christmas in June

Stripes on the Strip

Smarting Over Growth

Letters from our readers

Country & Folk Listings

The Child in Hard Time

Meet Alonza Thomas, first-time juvenile offender, now superpredator

Letters

Sour Grapes

California’s farm workers’ endless struggle 40 years later

Fight of the Condors

Can the giant birds survive Tejon Ranch development?

American Idolatry

The Doctor of Shirts

Feelings of Insecurity

Inside the U.S. roundup of Muslims

A Killer’s Plea

Clarence Ray Jr.’s defense wants California’s highest court to spare his life because he’s mentally retarded

California Dreamin’

Running Riordan: A modest proposal

Angel in Spurs

Hang On

Let’s not do away with the summer ritual of drag racing

Tactical Embarrassment

The subversive cyber actions of ®™ark

California Country

It ain't what it used to be

Baile Otra Vez

The life and laughs of Lalo Guerrero

Letters