Laguna Beach

Top 3 Weekend Food Events: Common Grains Rice Festival, Homemade Food Info Meeting Edible Plant Hike

Common Grains' New Year Japanese Rice Festival Common Grains is teaming up with the Japanese American National Museum for a free day of Japanese premium rice tasting, demonstrations and onigiri-making contest, hosted by Japanese food writer and home cooking teacher Sonoko Sakai. WHAT: Common Grain ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, December 14 Thrill Jockey 20th-anniversary party with Wooden Shjips, Liturgy, Trans Am, Kid Millions THE ECHOPLEX Back in the '90s, arty Chicago alt/indie warhorse label Thrill Jockey basically drew the map for marginalized music's move into the mainstream, with a roster including Tortoise, ... More >>

Gray Whale Tangled in Netting Off Redondo Beach

Update at 1:51 p.m: City News Service reports that the whale has been freed by rescuers. First posted at 11:53 a.m. A gray whale became entangled off Redondo Beach today, according to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. Rescuers were headed to the mammal in an attempt to free it for the second time ... More >>

Waiter-Free Dining? Umami Expands to the Grove and Westwood With "U-Mini"

Adam Fleischman is a busy man with seven Umami locations throughout California, the launch of Umamicatessen downtown and recent announcements of the chain's expansion to Westwood (this summer) and the Grove. With the restaurateur's roots already established in Westwood Village, 800 Degrees opened ... More >>

LAPD Officer Jeffry Quinton Charged With Stealing $300 Bedsheets on Hotel Night Watch

The LAPD's insane retirement package apparently wasn't bounty enough for veteran officer Jeffry Quinton. Not only did the 48-year-old cop take up a job as night security for the Surf and Sand Resort in Laguna Beach, but -- according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office -- he used his exc ... More >>

White Fence's Tim Presley Moves Retro Rock Forward

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] See also: Top 5 L.A. Garage Rock Bands Not everything needs to sound like the future. Not everyone wants to dwell in the present. In fact, some aim to a ... More >>

Orange County Restaurant Week Begins Sunday

OC Weekly/Kevin Laramilk and cereal at Chapter One in Santa Ana​Calling all Angelenos who need an excuse to trek down to Santa Ana, Laguna Beach, Irvine, Costa Mesa, and other Orange County locales: Orange County Restaurant Week begins this weekend, running from Sunday Feb. 26 to Saturday Mar. ... More >>

Fighteytown: Patrick Davis' New Book About Beating the Crap Out of People on L.A. Streets

With a fit build and a face that's equal parts Ryan O'Neal and Ralph Lauren model, Patrick Davis looks like a dude who'd play beach volleyball, or audition for "handsome" roles in TV commercials. Scratch the surface, though, and you'll find a fearless brawler who can transform in the blink of an eye ... More >>

Spiny Lobster Season Now in Los Angeles

Kathy A. McDonaldLocally caught Pacific lobsters at the Hollywood Farmers Market​Although California in the midst of Pacific lobster season, it's surprisingly hard to find the hyper-local crustacean at area fish markets or restaurants. That's because the bulk of SoCal's most abundant and susta ... More >>

Umami Burger to Open in Hermosa, Laguna Beach

​Umami Burger, which already has so many locations around greater L.A. we've stopped counting, announced it will open two more locations: Hermosa Beach and Laguna Beach. Located within a block of the pier, the Hermosa Beach location will open by the end of 2011. The Laguna Beach location, whic ... More >>

New California Whale Tail License Plate to be Unveiled Today

Don't sue us.​Updated at the bottom with a statement from the Wyland Foundation, which suggests the new plate is a "poor imitation" of the artist's original. First posted at 8:09 a.m. Tuesday. In typical Hollywood fashion, California's iconic whale tail license plate has been retired for a ho ... More >>

Drive Thru by Coffee Commissary to Bring Craft Coffee to Laguna Beach

R.E.~/Coffee CommissaryA cappuccino at Coffee Commissary's West Hollywood location. Imagine this in a drive-thru setting.​ Tyler King, co-owner of Coffee Commissary, wants to bring great coffee to Laguna Beach, one car at a time. That's right, one car at a time: the West Hollywood craft coffe ... More >>

A June Roundup of Restaurant Openings and Closures

Guzzle & NoshPollo with rocoto sauce from Ricardo Zarate's new restaurant, Picca​ With June gloom finally behind us, we begin to kvetch about the heat. Those living in the Valley with no A/C will soon be fleeing to the nearest restaurant, bar, and grocery market ice box. With the emergence of ... More >>

If $110,000 Landed in Your Bank Account, Would You Keep It? SoCal's Stephen Reginald McDow Allegedly Did, And Now He's in Jail

​What would you do if $110,000 magically appeared in your bank account? Thought so. But not so fast. A man in Orange County did just that -- allegedly -- and now he's behind bars. Because this particular $110,000 was a tax refund intended for a woman in L.A. who has only been identified as 67 ... More >>

Music to Pick Up/Download

Jonas Bevacqua Found Dead in L.A. Home: Young Co-Founder of LRG Clothing May Have Suffered Heart Attack

Jonas Bevacqua​Street-fashion entrepreneur Jonas Bevacqua, 34, was found dead in his Los Angeles Laguna Beach home this morning, according to the Twitter account of Karmaloop, an online retailer that sells his LRG apparel [spotted at OC Weekly]. L.A. bling king Ben Baller, Bevacqua's "best fu ... More >>

Will Gay Republican Fred Karger Run for White House in 2012? Something Very Interesting Is Brewing

Gay Republican Fred Karger​Fred Karger, the openly gay Republican who battled Mormons and the National Organization for Marriage during the Proposition 8 campaign, was featured in the Washington Post yesterday, gaining major recognition for his possible run for the White House in 2012. If Ka ... More >>

Today In WTF: O.C. Surf Shop Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. by Giving 20 Percent Discount Off 'Black Products'

Thalia Surf Shop.A 'black products' sale to honor MLK?​We don't make this stuff up folks. An Orange County surf shop actually thought it would be clever to have a "20% Off All Black Products" sale to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., whose federal holiday was Monday. You see, a ... More >>

Orange County Drive-Thru Robber With Plastic Bag On Head Nabbed After Another Failed Stick-Up At Jack In The Box

uncoverage.netWould you give this man your money?​It was one of the Weekly's best-loved robberies: when an unidentified man with a bag on his head tried to rob a Wendy's drive-thru in Fullerton last Tuesday. The man infamously pointed his gun at the employee and demanded money. Her reaction? ... More >>

Operation 'Lost Boy:' Feds Bring Down Child Porn Ring That Had L.A. Ties

The "Lost Boy" ring was shut down.​The alleged pervs apparently thought they had outwitted the long arm of the law. Federal authorities say they set up an almost mob-like system of membership where each new man who wanted to partake had to bring an original photo of a sexually exploited child ... More >>

(Video) DUI Suspect's Car Crashes Into Police Cruiser In Laguna Beach, Then Smashes Into Pole

Orange County RegisterPoor Prius.​It's customary in news stories, even casual, bloggy ones, to assume that one is innocent until proven guilty. It's a good way to go because a) it could be true and b) we could be sued. But here's one guy who's testing the limits of journalistic convention. E ... More >>

HOW TO TAKE ACID, BY MICHAEL SIMMONS

Lily The Whale Is Back In Dana Point

KTLA News​We watched television news coverage of the wayward gray whale inside Dana Point Harbor this week and wondered if marine biologists were right: All they could do is stand by, they said, even as onlookers asked if there was more that could be done. It turned out there was: The whale, ... More >>

Hungry Sea Lion Pups Coming Ashore In Southern California

​The organization Marine Animal Rescue reports that " ... the rescues of sea lion pups in very fragile physical conditions are continuing to increase" on the shores of L.A. area beaches this month. KCAL9/CBS2 reported Friday that some of the rescues have happened on Dockweiler State Beach near ... More >>

Today In WTF: Doc Sentenced For Giving Stingy Doses To AIDS Patients

​An Orange County AIDS doctor who also practiced in L.A. County was sentenced to more than a year in federal prison after he admitted he gave some of his patients smaller -- and sometimes fake -- doses of drugs than what he indicated to insurance companies. George Steven Kooshian, 59, was se ... More >>

James Beard Semifinalists Announced: The L.A. Edition

James Beard​This morning the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for its 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards. Judges will vote to determine the final 5 nominees in each category, which will be announced on March 22nd. The winners will be announced at the Foundation's award party, ... More >>

Kitchen Chinese: Author Ann Mah in Town for A Book Reading

Ann MahKitchen Chinese​If the Chinese New Year festivities this past weekend left you with an appetite not only for more dim sum but for some fictional discussion of it, you might want to head to Book Soup this Wednesday, February 17th, where author Ann Mah will be reading from her debut novel ... More >>

Autism In L.A. Clustered Around Affluent Areas, Study Finds

UC Davis​Researchers at UC Davis have been studying geographic patterns that correlate to autism perhaps in hopes of coming up with an environmental link. On that front, they came up blank. But the school's recent findings are interesting nonetheless: For the greater Los Angeles region, the ac ... More >>

L.A. Country Club Pays Ultra Low Property Tax Rate; Faces Possible Review

​The Los Angeles Country Club, protected under Prop. 13 limits and loopholes, pays an ultra-low rate of about $200,000 a year in property taxes based on 313 acres of prime Westside property that could be worth nearly $20 billion or even more if it were developed, according to the Garment & Cit ... More >>

Todd Allison Debuts at Checkers With A New Menu Allison's Recipe for Cranberry Pistachio Pesto

Checkers chef Todd Allison​The scaffolding outside the Hilton Checkers this week is just one sign of what has been going on there. The hotel has not only revamped guest rooms and downstairs lounges but has redesigned its restaurant, Checkers Downtown. The idea is to make it a top spot for dinn ... More >>

BEST TREY MACABRE

ROLLING IN THE NILES

BYOB: A Rabbit Café in Japan Lets You Bring Your Own Bunny, Just Don't Eat It

On Top Chef last night, they were cooking rabbits; in Studio at Montage at Laguna Beach, rabbits trim the grass outside the restaurant patio and, thus far, are not on Craig Strong's menu. In Nagoya, Japan, they're the latest thing in themed coffee shops. Pet cafés, which are popular in that country ... More >>

The L.A. Fathomiers: Under Water Hunting & Diving Since 1957

L.A. FathomiersThe L.A. Fathomiers have a long and glorious history.​Sure, you could take bait, stick it through a hook attached to a fishing line, then wait around to see if anything bites. Or you could just dive right in and go get the fish yourself. The L.A. Fathomiers, who have been around ... More >>

Eat What Bourdain Just Ate: Wings, Polish Food and Lebanese Tartar

Another week, another episode of No Reservations. Bourdain, inspired partially by HBO's critically acclaimed series "The Wire", (a fact that seemed to concern some locals), set out on a Rust Belt episode, highlighting the local fare of Buffalo, Baltimore and Detroit. Baltimore "lake trout", which i ... More >>

National Record Store Day in LA and at Coachella: Celebrating Brick, Mortar, Mom, Pop

Patrick O'DellFatbeats' DJ Rhettmatic Celebrating record stores as part of the second annual National Record Store Day, which is tomorrow, should be a no-brainer for Southern Californians. After all, the region is the undisputed center of the vinyl industry, with RTI, Rainbo and Erika all pressing ... More >>

Our Mother's Brief Affair

Update on Sayre Fire in Sylmar: Biggest Arson Investigation in Los Angeles history?

Updated at 4:53 pm and revised number of homes burned Los Angeles police and fire officials are now floating the chilling possibility that they may find bodies inside the Oakridge Park mobile home neighborhood once they get a handle on the Sayre Fire, still only 10 percent contained. By their calcul ... More >>

Michelin Tires

The tour guide’s L.A. detour

Ascots and Madness

What to do in Los Angeles this week

Fashion Weak

Must the show go on at Smashbox?

Ballet NY

Veronica Marred?

Rolling With Venis Envy

Can You See It

L.A.’s underground Visionaries make “honest music for the masses”

Diffrenet Muisc

White Noise

Where race meets the sand: Laguna Beach

Spiritual Living: God Is in the Peacocks

Peripheral Visions

The edge of L.A. in three dimensions

The Power of the Purse