Nonprofits and NGOs

Events: The Earth Day Edition

BlueGreen Earth Party Golden Road is debuting its Heal the Bay IPA at the BlueGreen Earth Day Party in honor of the non-profit organization. The IPA is described as bright and citrus-forward. It will be available for sale in 16-ounce cans at select retailers like Whole Foods Markets by mid-June. WHA ... More >>

Maureen O'Connor Won A Billion, Lost More Than That Gambling

If we were to tell you about a woman who won a billion dollars gambling you might turn green with envy and dream of a limousine lifestyle. Winning, however, is often only half the story: Maureen O'Connor, the beloved former mayor of San Diego, had her jackpot days. But federal prosecutors in San Di ... More >>

Dog Rescue In Palm Springs Caught On Video

An animal rights group says it rescued 15 dogs from a Palm Springs home where unsanitary conditions and close quarters added up to a hard-luck life for the pooches. (See video of the rescue after the jump). Because the Labrador and shepherd mixes were held in a small space, rescuers say, they ended ... More >>

Bernard Parks Responds to Our Coliseum Story -- Plus, Los Lobos

Art Walk Los Angeles' Nasty War: Oops, Food Truck Ban Is Illegal

Did the State Department of Public Health Cook Up a Farmers Market Soup Controversy?

Did the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) cook up a soup controversy this week, when it warned consumers not to eat any soups sold at Los Angeles farmers markets from two different (and unrelated) companies? The health department says the soups, from One Gun Ranch and Organic Soup Kitche ... More >>

Zina Bethune Gets Posthumous PETA Award After She's Killed Trying to Help Animal

Zina.​Following the death of a famed dancer, Zina Bethune (a.k.a. Zina Feeley), PETA today announced it was posthumously bestowing upon her a Compassionate Action Award. Bethune was struck by at least two vehicles after she stopped to help an injured opossum near Griffith Park over the weeken ... More >>

Crissy Moran, Former Porn Star, Has a New Life and Is 'Fasting' From Men

Crissy Moran holds a pair of drumsticks, her long, slender fingers clanking off-rhythm as she looks up at a monitor above, following along to the directions of Guitar Hero.Eyes smoky, lips pouty and dark brown hair flowing over her shoulders, Moran, flanked by an all-girl band, shreds "With or W ... More >>

L.A. City Controller Wendy Greuel Finally Gets to Grit of Housing Authority Probe: Its Profitable 'Non-Profits'

Through the end of 2011, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) received a thorough spanking from press and politicians alike. L.A. City Controller Wendy Greuel scrambled to play catchup with an Earth-shaking investigation by local news station KCET -- revealing swanky dinners, li ... More >>

Occupy L.A.: With Lease Offer, City Hall Hopes To Turn A Movement Into A Non-Profit Group

​L.A. City Hall is taking some heat for its offer to give Occupy L.A. some office space for the low-low price of $1 a year.The offer -- which the Occupiers seem likely to reject -- says a lot about how City Hall views the Occupy movement.Essentially, city officials seem to believe that the movemen ... More >>

Malibu Lagoon Dispute

So You Think You Can Eat

Sunset Junction's Failed Mission

The so-called charity spent $12,000 on lobbyists. Needy kids got $500

Amanda Palmer talks David Lynch and Neil Gaiman

Watch Out, Odd Future, Pitchfork Protestors Are Waiting For You

Marguerite de BourgoingRight in the FACE​Odd Future's accustomed to having bottles thrown at them (watch the video after the jump) and Chris Brown taking Twitter beef to the street. But that's all in the name of anger teenage angst too much 18-year-old boy testosterone fun! When they arrive fo ... More >>

Laugh & Cover

10 Places to Celebrate World Cocktail Day

Guzzle & NoshSo many cocktails to drink, so little time.​World Cocktail Day, the culmination of World Cocktail Week, is tomorrow, May 13th, but in true tippler fashion, we're starting the celebration today. Didn't even know you had an excuse to drink, did you? Why May 13th? Our pal at Thirsty ... More >>

Food Forward's Can It! Preserving Workshop Reservation Line Open

L. Balla​ If you weren't ready to be a Master Food Preserver, or just couldn't get in to the elite canning class, Food Forward has you covered. The non-profit organization that harvests fruit from private gardens and public spaces to give to local food pantries is launching Can It!, a preservi ... More >>

Around the World in 80 Minutes

Forescee Hogan-Rowles, Bernard Parks' Challenger, Struggled To Reckon With Non-Profit's Financial Woes

Forescee Hogan-Rowles​One of Councilman Bernard Parks' strongest arguments against his challenger in next Tuesday's election is that she does not have his experience of balancing a $4-billion budget during a recession. That is true. But as the CEO of Community Financial Resource Center, Forescee ... More >>

Burning Issue: L.A. Times Passes on City Medical Marijuana Tax

Green for parks and libraries?​And you say we're the party poopers when it comes to coverage of L.A.'s marijuana scene? Take a look at Sunday's Los Angeles Times. The paper's dead against the March 8 ballot measure that would let the city tax medical pot shops. Just say no, argues the Times. ... More >>

Would Taxing Marijuana Sales In L.A. Be Legal?

Janice Hahn wants you to vote on a city marijuana tax.​L.A. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn has proposed that maybe the city ought to tax medical marijuana sales. After all, there's a lot cash being made, and L.A. has been in constant budget trouble in the last year or so. It could use the money ... More >>

Hollywood Dog Trainer Gimmick: $5 Super-Cheap Tracking Chip So You'll Never Lose Fido or Max Again

Cute puppy​Used to be, when Fido got lost chasing a squirrel across town, you'd nail dozens of little posters with his cute dog mug on it to cluttered telephone poles, hoping someone would buzz you with the good news that your pet had been found. Then along came those tiny tracking chips pl ... More >>

L.A. Has Second-Worst Roads In Nation: We Beg To Differ

​On a day when Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigos was trumpeting a 7.5-mile temporary bike route called "CicLAvia" for Oct. 10 (we don't get it either), a Washington, D.C. transportation group announced that L.A. has the second worst roads in the nation. (This inspired a newscaster on KNX 1 ... More >>

LOYOLAN AND TRUE

Water-Quality Testing At California Beaches Down; Public Health At Risk?

Flickr via irene​ Health officials have reduced bacteria testing at California beaches, a move that has resulted in fewer closures, but one that could also be putting more beach-goers at greater risk when it comes to contaminated water, according to the Los Angeles Times. The number of annual ... More >>

Meatless Mondays: Be a Vegetarian, Just for One Day

Santa Monica Farmers Market​ It's Monday, the grudging beginning of another work week, and the end of a weekend perhaps spent barbecuing or, if you were anywhere in the vicinity of Koreatown, consuming plenty of what others threw on the grill at the Korean BBQ Cook-Off, called, appropriately e ... More >>

Culinary Historians Cookbook Sale

Flickr/Paper Catwall of books​ On August 22nd, you might want to bring a few extra market bags to the Hollywood Farmers Market, maybe even a box or two. Because along with late season fruit, you could be bringing home quite a few cookbooks. The Culinary Historians of Southern California will b ... More >>

California Horse Racing Saved By Wealthy Lunatic

Frank Stronach, making Al Davis look sane and sober​Frank Stronach has been a well-known lunatic in the horse racing industry for many years. But today he added considerably to that reputation with his erratic performance before the California Horse Racing Board.In the space of 20 minutes, the Aus ... More >>

Heal Thy Patient, Heal the Planet

Lila JavanUCLA Hospital Food Today​ Looking to hitch their food carts to the popular trend of sustainability, a growing number of Southern California medical centers have done away with canned goods and processed foods in their cafeterias and are making meals from scratch from locally sourced ... More >>

Lucky Dragons Give Away Exclusive Song for Dublab Fund Drive [MP3]

Lucky Dragons lend a hand (Michael Demeo)​It's been said before: We like to like things. Is that so wrong? Specifically, we like Dublab. We like Lucky Dragons. We like free stuff. And we like good causes. Well, all four come into play as the Dublab radio/events/music collective kicks off its ... More >>

Stage Raw: 7 Local Theaters in Danger of Eviction

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSCURRENT STAGE FEATURE ON THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD and THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO7 LOCAL THEATERS IN DANGER OF EVICTIONAn internal memo to the Los Angeles City Council dated April 16, and co-signed by Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry F. Miller and C ... More >>

Money Raised To 'Save The Peak' Near Hollywood Sign

​Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Monday morning that the final amount of money has been raised to "Save The Peak" around the Hollywood sign, preserving a ridge line and preventing it from being developed. At a morning press conference the governor said the state of California has previou ... More >>

Jerry Brown Steps Into Sarah Palin Controversy At Cal State

​State Attorney General Brown said late Tuesday that he'll look into allegations that the California State University Stanislaus Foundation dumped documents related to its invitation to have Sarah Palin come speak at the school. He also wants to find out why the foundation has refused a Calif ... More >>

Free Mega-Health-Care Clinic Planned For L.A.

County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.​Even as President Obama celebrates passage of his universal health-care plan, the need for medical services for Los Angeles' uninsured and under-insured is as great as ever. With that in mind, county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas on Monday announced that a ... More >>

THE MOST PC OSCAR PARTY WE COULD FIND

PICK THE WEEK FOR SOMEBODY OUT THERE

Suit To Stop Construction At Site Of L.A.'s Birthplace Rejected

City Project​A nonprofit group's legal attempt to stop the city's construction of a war memorial at the site of L.A.'s birthplace, El Pueblo de Los Angeles, was rejected by a Superior Court judge Monday, according to Associated Press. We told you last week how parks, recreation and transit ad ... More >>

Wise Move Or Copout? King Hospital Given To Private Hands

​The deal to reopen the troubled Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital will take it from county management and put it private hands. And while you might be scratching your head justifiably, wondering why a public institution is being given away, we would point to evidence that this might just be a g ... More >>

City Legal Payouts Enough To Hire 1,200-Plus Cops

Here's a doozy: The city of Los Angeles paid out as much money in legal fees and lawsuit settlements as it would have spent to hire of 1,271 much-needed Los Angeles police officers.​The calculation comes from the nonprofit group California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, which states that Los Ange ... More >>

Dave Alvin Leads Tribute to Amy Farris at McCabe's (11/08)

Rick Braverman via FacebookAmy Farris at McCabe's​Next Sunday at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica a veritable constellation of roots music stars will be paying tribute to one of their own: much-beloved fiddler, all-around strings virtuosa, singer and songwriter Amy Farris, who passed away ... More >>

Farmer's Kitchen Grand Opening in Hollywood: Market-Driven Food, Really

A reminder that this Thursday, October 8th, is the grand opening and dedication of the Farmer's Kitchen, a community kitchen, café and retail space that serves as a permanent addition to the Hollywood Farmers' Market. The Kitchen is operated by the Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (S ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Talks Regional Cuisine at the Mark Taper Auditorium

Photo credit: Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, incognito​This Saturday morning LA Weekly restaurant critic Jonathan Gold will be giving a talk, "The Rise of Regional Cuisines in the San Gabriel Valley," at the Los Angeles Central Library's Mark Taper Auditorium. The talk is presented by the Culinary His ... More >>

Mayo Clinic Scores Over Cedars-Sinai

The lesson for Los Angeles residents from a recent Rochester Post Bulletin story, carried by AP, might be, "Don't hold the Mayo Clinic." When President Obama touted the nonprofit clinics as a health-care provider he'd like to imitate nationwide as part of his health-care reform plans, the Post Bulle ... More >>

Sister City Act: Tom LaBonge, Our Man in the U.K.

Petra Fried at Mayor Sam's Sister City took umbrage today twice -- over City Councilman Tom LaBonge's absence from the council and the fact that he's apparently junketing in Northern England, doubtlessly impressing locals there with his plenipotentiary powers as District Four's man in the U.K. What ... More >>

Murder was the Case: L.A. Homicide No. 161, Son of a Los Angeles Police Officer Shot Outside Baldwin Hills Party

The 21-year-old man who was shot to death after being denied entry to a party in Baldwin Hills was identified as the son of a Los Angeles Police Department officer.  View Larger Map According to police reports, Stinson Brown was denied entry to a party taking place in the 4200 block of Don Tapi ... More >>

Villaraigosa & Garcetti Backed the Arrested Anti-Gang Expert Alex Sanchez

In a shocking development in the gang world today, the FBI has arrested high-profile anti-gang expert Alex Sanchez at his Bellflower home on federal racketeering charges, according to the Associated Press. Homies Unidos Executive Director Alex SanchezAs executive director of the Los Angeles-based, n ... More >>

Has the Fat Lady Sung for Rebel Healthcare Union?

Yesterday an outside arbitrator hired to sort out the accusations, counter-charges and bad blood in general between the United Healthcare Workers-West and its parent union, the Service Employees Union International, issued his report. It fell an inch or two short of calling for the rebellious UHW to ... More >>

Frankenstein (Mortal Toys): Small Wonder

Movie offers the world on a string