Monie Love

L.A. Press Club Announces Awards Finalists; LA Weekly Gets 21 Nods

LA Weekly and its journalists comprise 21 finalists in the Los Angeles Press Club's 55th Southern California Journalism Awards. The finalists were announced today and include Gene Maddaus for Journalist of the Year and Hard News story and Simone Wilson, Hillel Aron, and this writer for Hard News as ... More >>

Essential L.A. Weekly Guide to Education Conundrums and Screw Ups: Required Reading for Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti

Update: Greuel discovers education reform after mayoral lambasting, challenges Garcetti to debate. See on next page. Will political twins and L.A. mayoral candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti -- a.k.a. "Greuel-Cetti" -- ever talk specifics, and not just platitudes, about the most serious probl ... More >>

Hit-And-Run Loophole Lets You Walk After 3 Years; Mike Gatto Wants That Fixed

In the wake of Simone Wilson's excellent LA Weekly coverage of the city's hit-and-run crisis, including the revelation that nearly half of all vehicle collisions in town involve people who flee the scene, an L.A.-based state lawmaker wants to do something about it. State Assemblyman Mike Gatto, who ... More >>

L.A. Hit-and-Run Crisis Uncovered by L.A. Weekly Prompts Official Demand for Answers from Charlie Beck and LAPD

Please read L.A.'s Bloody Hit-and-Run Epidemic and Victim Finds Hit-and-Run Driver Citing an L.A. Weekly probe that unveiled a hit-and-run crisis in Los Angeles, with drivers fleeing 48 percent of all crashes, Councilman Joe Buscaino asked the L.A. City Council to require LAPD to explain how it plan ... More >>

Hit and Runs? Readers Are Still Talking About L.A.'s Epidemic

L.A.'s Hit and Run Epidemic and Andrea Alarcon Have Readers Hopping Mad

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Week

Monday, December 10 Lamps PEHRSPACE Lamps are punk (like Chrome? Or Suicide?). They're from space (like Hawkwind?) but also from hell (like Electric Eels!), where everything melts together into a big hot white ball of confusion that's bright enough to give off some sick kind of light but which will ... More >>

L.A. Weekly Talking Hit-and-Run Epidemic With Madeleine Brand Tonight

L.A. Weekly Managing Editor Jill Stewart will make an appearance on KCET's SoCal Connected tonight to talk about the city's shocking hit-and-run epidemic with host Val Zavala and special contributor Madeleine Brand. The program airs at 7 p.m. and will delve into the facts in last week's cover story ... More >>

LAPD Motorcycle Officer Crashes Into Tree In Latest Case Of L.A. Hit-And-Run Madness

See also: *L.A.'s Bloody Hit-and-Run Epidemic. Um. We told you L.A. has a hit-and-run epidemic, with nearly 1 out of every 2 reported traffic collisions in town involving a driver who bolts. If Simone Wilson's excellent cover story, "L.A.'s Bloody Hit-and-Run Epidemic," didn't drive the point home ... More >>

Music Picks: Bloc Party, Metric, KROQ Acoustic Xmas

How To Get Away With A Hit-And-Run In Los Angeles

Nearly one out of two car accidents in Los Angeles involves a hit-and-run. There are 4,000 injury or death-related collisions involving people fleeing the scene in L.A. each year. One-hundred of those cases involved pedestrian deaths. Those facts we know from Simone Wilson's excellent cover story i ... More >>

Swatting Celebrities, Political Enemies Is High-Tech Vengeance

Swatting is officially a thing. It made the front page of the Los Angeles Times today. Not that the Times hasn't covered the phenomenon before, but this time it's real. The report on people who call the police and say horrible crimes are in progress at the homes of celebrities like Simon Cowell, J ... More >>

Readers Love Us! They Really Love Us!

Street Art Skirmish: Readers Respond to Our Story

Bath Salts, Synthetic Marijuana Can Now be Drug Tested (Hallelujah)

We here in the medical marijuana capital of the nation think drug testing is, in general, invasive and, frankly, un-American. Freedom also applies to your highness. But ... we'll make an exception for synthetic marijuana and bath salts, two recently outlawed drugs that make ecstasy look like a mira ... More >>

'Parent Trigger' Scores First-Ever Victory at Desert Trails Elementary: Judge Issues Historic Ruling Against Adelanto School District

See also: LA Weekly print stories "California's Parent Trigger" and "Parent Trigger's Second Try." For the first time in American history, parents with kids at an extremely low-performing school -- in this case, Desert Trails Elementary in Adelanto -- have succeeded in filing a petition to seize it ... More >>

Comments: Inking Again

L.A. Weekly Wins Big With 6 SoCal Journalism Awards, 3 AltWeeklies Awards

Last night's SoCal Journalism Awards -- an annual affair put on by the L.A. Press Club -- were more star-spangled than usual. Among the presenters and honorees were Martin Sheen, Ron Perlman (so much shorter in person, but with an even bigger voice), Daniel Pearl's extended family and every journal ... More >>

LA Weekly Nominated for Over 20 National, Regional Journalism Awards: Read the Stories That Got Us Here

It's award season again for America's journalists, and LA Weekly is racking up the noms like a fat chick on Pinterest. On a national scale, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia just released its list of finalists for the annual AltWeeklies Awards, the most coveted alt-plaques around. At that Ju ... More >>

The Manny Pacquiao Misquote: A Timeline

Salon's sometimes media critic Mary Elizabeth Williams just wagged her mighty finger at the rumor mill that has become online journalism -- a system that allowed Manny Pacquiao to be misquoted as saying gay men should be "put to death" yesterday. In truth, Pacquiao's original interviewer deceptively ... More >>

'April Fools,' Says L.A. Weekly

If you visited L.A. Weekly's home page yesterday, you might have noticed a few stories that seemed a little off -- our contribution to April Fool's Day. For those of you who want to relive the moment, click on the image above to see it bigger, and links to all the stories are here:

Andrew Breitbart, R.I. ... P?

L.A. Redistricting: Herb Wesson's District 10 Looks Like a Fat Turkey

Simone Wilson​This is the fifth chapter in a (badly Photoshopped) series on the L.A. Redistricting Commission's gerrymandered new voting districts. Previously: "Eric Garcetti's District 13 Looks Like an Evil Squirrel" "Bernard Parks' District 8 Looks Like a U.S. Army Tank" "Tom LaBonge's Distr ... More >>

L.A. Redistricting: Ed Reyes' District 1 Looks Like a Ridiculous Poodle

Simone Wilson​This is the third chapter in a (badly Photoshopped) series on the L.A. Redistricting Commission's gerrymandered new voting districts. Previously: "Eric Garcetti's District 13 Looks Like an Evil Squirrel" "Bernard Parks' District 8 Looks Like a U.S. Army Tank" "Tom LaBonge's Distr ... More >>

Occupy L.A.'s So-Called Destruction of The City Hall Lawn Cost ... $76,000!? Policing of Occupy, Including Raid, Cost More Than $1.5 Million

​Updated at the bottom: The city is going with a Cadillac plan. First posted at 8:05 a.m. If you were part of the occupation of the L.A. City Hall lawn late last year, prepare to be very mad. Remember when the mayor sent 1,400 officers to clear Occupy protesters from their City Hall encampme ... More >>

L.A. Redistricting: Eric Garcetti's District 13 Looks Like an Evil Squirrel

Simone Wilson​While gazing at the recently proposed boundaries for L.A.'s 15 voting districts -- which is clearly what we like to do in our spare time -- we realized that the gerrymandered City Council District 13 is the spitting image of an evil squirrel. And so begins our (badly Photoshoppe ... More >>

Deputy Elbows Woman on Bus: Teflon Sheriff Lee Baca Starts Campaign Against Her (911 Audio)

When is an elbow to the face an appropriate use of force by a cop? That seems to be the big question surrounding the caught-on-tape confrontation between a "special needs" woman, 42-year-old Julie Nelson, and an L.A. County sheriff's deputy on-board a Metro bus Monday night. Embattled "Teflon Sher ... More >>

Catherine Kieu Becker's Penis Cutting Indictment Could Bring Life Behind Bars

Suspect Catherine Kieu Becker, now unofficially known as the new Lorena Bobbitt, was grand-jury slapped with an indictment for alleged penis cutting so harsh that it could get her life in prison if she's convicted. While we sometimes wonder if the justice system treats the ladies with kid gloves (e ... More >>

LA Weekly's Top 11 News Stories of 2011

And here we thought 2010 was a sexy one for Los Angeles. Our most popular news stories in 2011 make last year's fare -- alleged John Travolta sightings at a gay spa, Vegas broads who sell sex to make rent -- look wholesome by comparison. Los Angeles was a blur of nude pics and racy murders these la ... More >>

Cheating Charter Schools

Occupy L.A. Anti-Bank Measure at City Hall Could Cost Taxpayers $58 Million: All-Bark, No-Bite City Council Kicks Issue Down The Road

Ed CarrascoOccupy sexy.​Ah, how typical of the L.A. City Council to hitch its trailer to a movement then, perhaps, back away when the thing has passed. We're thinking, of course, of the city's boycott of Arizona over its controversial immigration law, exceptions to which are too numerous to me ... More >>

Sand One and Vyal One Paint a Downtown Mural That Gets Buffed Within a Week (VIDEO)

Nanette Gonzales​This week in print, Tony Cella and Simone Wilson look at L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich's war on public murals and the moratorium that has left many artists seeing their sanctioned work get buffed almost before the paint has even had time to dry. Two such artists are San ... More >>

Deputies Made up Good Excuses, Got Away With Beatings in Lee Baca's Jails -- Report

"County."​If Sheriff Lee Baca thought the controversy over L.A. County Jail inmate beatings at the hands of his deputies was going to go away quietly, he better think again. Yesterday we told you how Baca, for the first time, it seems, struck a conciliatory tone by saying he would meet with t ... More >>

Faces of Occupy L.A.: The Student, the Actor, the Addict, the Vet

Walking through the tent city out front L.A. City Hall last night, spirits were high. A man in a ragged suit balanced on a fire hydrant, waving a sign with "Join us, don't be scared!" magic-markered in Spanish. Another man, in dreads, lit up some sage on the lawn next to him. Little kids with "99 p ... More >>

Best Posts of the Week

This week Weekly staffers Chris Vogel and Simone Wilson broke revelations from the new book Murder Rap, in which former LAPD detective Greg Kading cites testimony implicating Suge Knight in the death of Biggie Smalls and Diddy in the murder of Tupac. On our sister blog The Informer, Wilson also brou ... More >>

Four Loko Makes Fun of Hokey TV Journalism via Passive-Aggressive L.A. Billboard

America's assault on alcoholic energy drink Four Loko has been accepted with a surprising amount of maturity by Phusion Projects, the drink's manufacturer. Instead of firing back with truth bombs like "Loko doesn't kill people, people kill people" and "The fun of the many shan't be outweighed by the ... More >>

Farmers Field Downtown Stadium Deal Approved by L.A. City Council

Dennis RomeroWoot-woot.​With reporting from Simone Wilson. The downtown stadium dreams of Anschutz Entertainment Group, the owners of Staples Center and LA Live, are coming true one spineless bureaucrat at a time. The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a deal, negotiated mostly beh ... More >>

Rock & Drool!

Tom LaBonge vs. Stephen Box and Tomas O'Grady: Los Angeles City Council District 4 Election Results

The good news: Stephen Box can grow his goatee back​By Simone Wilson Update: LaBonge squeaked out a win with 55.09 percent; O'Grady came through with 30.93 and Box with 13.98. A total of 16,257 voters participated in the District 4 election. Update: The vote for O'Grady has risen to 29.37 pe ... More >>

West Hollywood 2011 City Council Election: Challenging Candidates Cast Ballots, Urge Voters To Do Same

​UPDATE: Voter turnout may be much higher than in 2009. Polls in WeHo are closed. More after jump. UPDATE: Steady flow of voters at WeHo polling stations, with turnout expected to pick up after 5:30 p.m. More after jump. West Hollywood City Council candidates Mito Aviles and Scott Schmidt h ... More >>

Security Guard Class Instructor Fatally Shot by Student Downtown, LAPD Says

coastcareer.comA generic photo of security guard training from Coast Career Institute.​By Dennis Romero and Simone Wilson Updated after the jump: The victim has been identified; the suspect has been charged. An instructor who was teaching the finer points of how to be a security guard was fa ... More >>

Compton School Board Rejects 'Parent Trigger' Petition, Cites Insufficient Staples, Typos

Simone WilsonA McKinley Elementary student looks up at the CUSD Board of Trustees​Updated after the jump: We've got the PDF -- and a lot more questions. Finally, over two months after it was filed, Compton school board members responded to a parent petition at their meeting last night: After ... More >>

Welcome To 2011: Worst Potholes Ever, Los Angeles?

The year of the pothole: 2011​Are these the worst potholes in Los Angeles in modern times? We had the second wettest December on record (leading to some pretty deep craters), the city budget is on thin ice (leading some to wonder who will fill the holes), and friends are starting to post photo ... More >>

(In)elegant Density: Hollywood Farmers Market Fight Still Not About Parking

Simone Wilson​Parking has been the red herring brought up over and over during the still-simmering fight between the LA Film School and the Hollywood Farmers Market. We've said it before, and we'll say it again: This is NOT a minor scuffle about parking. This is an all-out land-use war, and th ... More >>

FILM SCHOOL VS. FARMERS MARKET

Kobe Bryant, Drop This Turkish Airlines Deal Already

Kobe.​Not since a guy named Joseph Coors opposed Chicano studies classes at the University of Colorado, thus denying Coors beer a very thirsty Latino market for decades, has someone shot himself in the foot in such a d'oh way. Yeah, we're talking about you Kobe. We forgave you for that, er, s ... More >>

World Cup Soccer Skips L.A. Again: Do You Care?

FIFAViva Qatar.​Who gives a flying f--- about World Cup? Well, you do, obviously. L.A. lost out on the possibility of hosting the 2022 big dance of soccer when it was announced this week that the small Middle Eastern country of Qatar will get to host this futbol fest. It's kind of a big deal ... More >>

Nicki Minaj vs. Lil Kim (And Five More Potential Combatants) (NSFW for Beef)

Nicki Minaj recently set the record for female rapper with the most singles on the Billboard Charts at once; her single "Your Love" hit number one this summer, making her the first female rapper with a number one single since Lil Kim's "Jump Off" in 2003. The Queen Bee was not amused, accusing M ... More >>

Energy-Alcohol Beverage Four Loko Bows To Government Pressure: Don't The Feds Have Better Things To Do?

Four Loko is making the FDA crazy.​The economy is lower than Andy Dick on hangover day, Congress might let unemployment benefits for two million Americans expire this month, and the country's deficit is at $1.3 trillion. And the feds find time to crack down on ... energy-drink alcoholic bevera ... More >>

'Dancing With The Stars' Election 2010: Is Bristol Palin The Beneficiary Of A Right-Wing Coup?

ABCThis Palin isn't nailin' her moves: And still she gets votes.​Bringing us flashbacks of Al Gore's 2004 loss to George W. Bush (the horror), there's another controversy brewing over the Republicans' alleged, vote-bending ways: That's right, Palin-gate, 2010. And it doesn't involve Tea Party ... More >>