Professional Services Sector

Carmen Trutanich Concedes: Mike Feuer Will Be L.A.'s New City Attorney

Just before 11:30 p.m., while the L.A.'s mayor race remained much too close to call, Carmen Trutanich conceded to supporters that he'd lost his reelection attempt. It wasn't even close. With 22 percent of precincts reporting, plus mail-in ballots, "Nuch" was down 60 percent to 40 percent -- a humbl ... More >>

The Economics of Music Festivals: Who's Getting Rich, Who's Going Broke?

By Chris Parker It's as though the sad, lamentable death of recorded music was accompanied by a kick-ass wake. Sure, label executives have had to sell their fancy homes and put their kids in public schools, but the rest of us have been feasting on a musical smorgasbord. Nothing better exemplifies ... More >>

Brainiac Mayoral Candidate Eric Garcetti Pleads Ignorance On Clear Channel Vote as Rival Emanuel Pleitez Files Ethics Complaint

Read L.A Weekly feature article about inner-city success story Emanuel Pleitez. Los Angeles mayoral candidate Emanuel Pleitez is now getting into the thick of a brewing scandal involving rival Eric Garcetti, who L.A. Weekly reported owned stock in Clear Channel Communications while at the same time ... More >>

Jeremy Fox Ends Old Soul at Square One Dining; New Chefs Announced for the Not-Pop-Up

Last month, Jeremy Fox and his Old Soul project moved into Square One Dining for a short series of dinners. A great time was had by all (morcilla latkes!) -- so great, in fact, that Fox initially planned to return to Square One this month for more of the same. Alas, those plans have been scrapped. A ... More >>

Sixth Street Bridge Design Is Way Cool

City officials today announced that, after an international competition, the firm HNTB has been chosen to design a replacement for the crumbling Sixth Street Bridge. And boy, is their vision cool. (See photos, above and after the jump):

EDC 2012: Coachella or Electric Daisy Carnival: Which One is Better?

Dance music is coming to an arena near you: Kaskade will be the first DJ ever to play Staples Center (July 27). And mainstream concert promoters such as Live Nation are diving into the electronic dance explosion. Electric Daisy Carnival, which is being held this weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speed ... More >>

Mayita Dinos: Much Ado About Water

One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2012 issue. Check out our entire People 2012 issue here. Mayita Dinos' soft hands belie the fact that she's dug through acres of stubborn subsoil on a one-woman crusade to mulch, harrow and hoe as much of Los Angeles as possible. She ... More >>

Laser-Cut Designer Sushi Rolls

How's this for sushi art? Japanese ad agency I&S BBDO came up with these stellar designs for their client Umino Seaweed, who was looking for a way to boost sales after the 2011 tsunami. Their solution -- create a fusion of traditional Japanese and modern design using the latest cutting technology.

Update: Metro Rebuffs Beverly Hills Report on Controversial Westside Subway Route

Update, 12 noon: Beverly Hills Unified School District responds to Metro, after the break. Update, 12:55 p.m.: Metro responds to L.A. Weekly, after the break. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority unsurprisingly gave the thumbs down to a report commissioned by the city of Be ... More >>

Pomona College Caught in 'Wave of Anti-Immigrant Hysteria,' Says Professor

The illegal-immigration debate is on fire at Pomona College in far-east L.A. County. "You'd think that if any place was going to be a safe haven for immigrants, it would be at colleges and universities," says Peter Dreier, a professor at Occidental College in L.A. proper. "But that doesn't seem to ... More >>

Christmas Monster

A Field of Billboards for Farmers Field

Olive Garden Meets Zankou Chicken: Houses That Wish They Were Restaurants

Michael HernandezThe Olive Garden Meets Zankou Chicken Meets KB Homes​ What better place to find inspiration for residential architecture than restaurants? That's just what these proud homeowners did to their L.A. area abodes. Above, the Olive Garden meets Zankou Chicken in this homage to pan ... More >>

What Does Hipster Taste Like?

Huge Subsidy for Stadium Architect

Villaraigosa quietly plans to hand Gensler $1 million meant for the poor

Dodger Divorce: As Bingham McCutchen Sues Frank McCourt, Whom Should Dodger Fans Root For?

Frank McCourt: ambushed by his own lawyers​The Dodgers are 1.5 games out of first place.While baseball fans are focused on whether they can make it back to their cars after a Dodger game without getting beaten into a coma, Dodger (co-?)owner Frank McCourt is dealing with an ambush of his own.Yeste ... More >>

Behind The James Beard Awards: A Cookbook Judge's Journey

J. GarbeeWeighing In With Salty Opinions​The Husband: Your James Beard books arrived, several boxes. One weighed 50 pounds. James Beard Reviewer: Ha, you're funny. TH: I'm not kidding. I had to help Jerry [our UPS guy] carry them up the stairs. JBR: Seriously? Shit. Those text messages su ... More >>

Rushed and Confused L.A. City Council

Library, weed, DWP measures aimed for ballot all get short shrift

A.J. Duffy's Whopper: UTLA Says It Wasn't Invited To ACLU Talks Leading To Stunning Blow To Teacher Seniority. He's Full Of It

Ordering up a Whopper​A.J. Duffy is all but calling the ACLU, the Public Counsel Law Center and the Morrison Foerster law firm big, fat liars. Duffy, the anti-reformist head of the L.A. teachers union, is histrionically threatening to sue them, and LAUSD, to stop them from ending a "last hired ... More >>

Move Over, Junk Food: Schools Fill Vending Machines With Baby Carrots

Crispin Porter BoguskyCarrots Are Cool​ What comes to mind upon hearing the term school vending machine? If you're like us, you immediately conjure up images of junk food: Funions. Creme-filled Oreos. M&Ms and a plethora of other high-fat, sodium-laden snacks that are not only bad for you, ... More >>

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rules LA's Billboard Ban Constitutional

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled today that the city's ban on billboards is constitutional. ​ The panel of three judges found that the Los Angeles City Council did not violate the free speech rights of World Wide Rush and Sky Tag when it granted exceptions to its ... More >>

Roger Waters Paid Street Artists to Deface Elliott Smith Memorial Mural

This is major-label viral marketing gone wild. Former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters has launched a "viral," "street" campaign for his upcoming The Wall Live tour, which consists of hiring street artists in LA and NYC to strategically place a pacifist quote by Dwight "WTF" Eisenhower on several " ... More >>

KB Home CEO Convicted In Stock-Option Cover-Up

KB Home headquarters in L.A.​The former CEO of Los Angeles-based mega-home-builder KB Home was convicted Wednesday in conneciton with covering up a stock-option backdating scheme that resulted in millions of dollars in extra earnings for himself and fellow company executives, federal authoriti ... More >>

Supergraphics Be Banned: City Attorney Scores Another One Against Billboard Blight

If you're frustrated by the city's inability to control those Times Square/Vegas Strip-like digital billboards and towering, slab-sided "supergraphic" ads, there's a crusader on your side, and he actually works for us -- unlike those other city politicians who seem to work for developers, media comp ... More >>

City Council Votes for Permanent Ban on Digital Billboards

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously today to ban all digital billboards in the city, an action brought before them by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, who feared that an existing "Interim Control Ordinance" that temporarily bans digital billboards and super-graphics may soon be found inval ... More >>

L.A.'s Newest McSupergraphic?

Anti-clutter activists are irked again by the billboard industry's latest affront to good taste. Over the weekend, an office building on Overland Avenue in West Los Angeles put up a five-story supergraphic of a giant frosty coffee beverage as part of McDonald's advertising campaign to break into th ... More >>

Mike Feuer Proposes Statewide Digital Billboard Ban

In a strong rebuke of the Los Angeles City Council, which did not conduct a single discussion of safety issues before approving hundreds of digital billboards that have now begun to sweep across Los Angeles, California State Assemblyman Mike Feuer  (D-Los Angeles) proposed a law Friday to ban L ... More >>

New Foe Against Digital Billboards?

“Supergraphics” Company Continues Attack Against Los Angeles’ Billboard Ban

Last week, attorneys for World Wide Rush filed a motion in federal court asking a judge to permanently block the city from prosecuting building owners who allow “supergraphics” signs on their buildings. The motion was filed after the city began enforcing its sign ordinance against the owners o ... More >>

Sex, Drugs and Minivans

Letters: PSA on STDs

Our readers write us

Worse and Worser

A hothead female firefighter accuses a bombastic boss. She gets $6.2 million � at least.

Mario Beltran�s Strange Bedfellows

A political brouhaha erupts as LAPD seizes documents from a Bell Gardens councilman and the city�s towing company

Tennie Pierce Versus Taxpayers

A firefighter tricked into eating dog food now claims he�s a victim of retaliation

Film Reviews

Including this week's pick, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny

Stars Get Caught in Hirsch�s Hornet�s Nest

Names drop and accusations fly as Barry goes to trial

Uprising in the Water Colonies

DWP board goes in search of peace in Owens Valley

Hirsch�s Hornet�s Nest

�minence grise of Hollywood lawyers provokes pain in parting

Diebold�s Secret Fears

Lawyer memos warn that the voting-machine company may have violated state law

CitySweep

A Tale of Two Belmonts

The school that is safe and deadly at the same time

Belmont Bungling

Auditor links bad decisions that brought us Oil Field High to string of conflicts of interest

As You List It

Behind the AFI's 100 Films