Rick Caruso

Mini Kabob in Glendale: The Best Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurant in Los Angeles

Although Mini Kabob in Glendale looks like a modest house repurposed into a commercial restaurant, describing it as like dining in someone's living room would be far too extravagant. You're basically eating at Ovakim and Alvard Martirosyan's modestly decorated kitchen counter. Mini Kabob meets all ... More >>

Rick Caruso Won't Run For L.A. Mayor; Field Is Set For March Primary

Mall developer Rick Caruso announced this evening that he will not run for mayor of L.A., saying it's "not the appropriate time" to step away from his business career.Caruso's decision means the field is now set for the March 2013 primary, with Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel as ... More >>

Rick Caruso Dips A Toe In Mayor's Race, Seeks Rates For TV Airtime In November

Rick Caruso, the developer of the Grove, is taking some preliminary, behind-the-scenes steps toward running for mayor of Los Angeles.Media buyers working on Caruso's behalf have called in recent days to check on rates for TV commercial time in November, according to three sources familiar with the m ... More >>

Banned From The Grove: 6 Others Who Should Never Step Foot There

Following our story about the Grove shopping center banning Manny Pacquiao as a result of his recent anti-gay statements, people started asking, via Twitter: Since when is the Grove L.A.s moral compass? Fair question. In the land of porn, legal marijuana, and Charlie Sheen, some entity has to step ... More >>

Manny Pacquiao Barred From 'Extra' Interview at the Grove After Bashing Gay Marriage

Update, 6:50 p.m.: "We're canceling the event," says Grove spokesman Bill Reich. "Manny Pacquiao is not coming to the Grove." And thus the backlash begins. See also: "Ten Gays Who Could Beat the Crap Out of Manny Pacquiao." Professional boxer Manny Pacquiao and "Extra" host Mario Lopez were blowin ... More >>

Austin Beutner's Jobs Speech Puts Dick Riordan To Sleep

​In his address at Town Hall Los Angeles today, mayoral candidate Austin Beutner did nothing to change his reputation as an uncharismatic public speaker. In fact, former Mayor Richard Riordan, a strong Beutner supporter who happened to be in the audience, actually fell asleep just a few minutes in ... More >>

Dodgers Auction: Who Should Own the Team?

Joe Torre Wants to Buy the Dodgers With Developer Rick Caruso; L.A. Rejoices

If Frank McCourt is the most hated man in baseball -- and in Los Angeles in general -- Joe Torre might be the most loved. Which makes Torre's surprise resignation as executive vice president of the MLB, and announcement that he'll pursue ownership of the Dodgers alongside major L.A. developer Rick ... More >>

Dodgers Ownership: Top 5 Rich Guys You Wouldn't Want to See Take Over Team (or Maybe You Would)

Thanksgiving is upon us, so it's time to bow our heads and be thankful that at least somebody in the family has a job, medical marijuana is still around (for now) and a bloody presidential election is still nearly a year away. And, after the dreaded Frank McCourt vowed to sell the Dodgers, we shoul ... More >>

Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel Lead in Mayor's Race, Zev Yaroslavsky Trails Slightly, Per Private Poll Results

Zev Yaroslavsky​According to the conventional wisdom, Zev Yaroslavsky is the presumptive front-runner in the race to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.But a private poll, the results of which were obtained by the L.A. Weekly, turns that wisdom on its head.The poll shows Councilman Eric Garcetti and ... More >>

Financial Takeover of Coliseum Proposed by L.A. County Supervisors Ridley-Thomas, Knabe

L.A. County wants to take over the finances of the troubled L.A. Coliseum Commission, which has been rocked by scandal stemming from 2010's Electric Daisy Carnival rave and leading to allegations that a venue official also worked for the party promoter. A unanimous vote by the L.A. County Board of ... More >>

Rick Caruso, L.A. Biggest Critic of Rave Parties, Resigns From L.A. Coliseum Board, But That Doesn't Mean Electronic Fests Will be Back

Developer and likely mayoral candidate Rick Caruso peaced out of the L.A. Coliseum Commission this week. He's the second commissioner, besides W. Jerome Stanley, to have done so in the last month. It seems to us that, in preparation for a possible run for L.A. city's highest office, the well-dresse ... More >>

Rick Caruso Slams Antonio Villaraigosa, Austin Beutner, Bernard Parks And Your Mom In Mayoral Pre-Campaign Speech

​Rick Caruso, billionaire mall tycoon, strode to the lectern at Town Hall Los Angeles this afternoon and gave a blistering assessment of the state of Los Angeles.The schools are terrible -- "an educational gulag." The airport could be in a "Third World country." City Hall is a "roadblock that's ke ... More >>

Laying Odds on Mayoral Race

L.A. Mayoral Contender Rick Caruso Drops Out Of Bidding At LAX, Cites City's Hostile Business Climate

Rick Caruso​Mall magnate Rick Caruso has withdrawn from the bidding for a concessions contract at Los Angeles International Airport, citing delays and constraints imposed by airport staff.Matt Middlebrook, Caruso's senior vice president, said the bidding process has become "too cumbersome and too ... More >>

Zev Yaroslavsky Will Replace Antonio Villaraigosa as Mayor, Experts Predict

If Zev runs, he’s the man to beat in 2013

The 42 Most Powerful People in Los Angeles*, According to the Downtown News

AEG CEO Tim Leiweke: He's got downtown Los Angeles in his hands​*Well, technically just in downtown Los Angeles, but that's where all the big players make all their big decisions anyway, right? Just ask a pissed-off Daily News outsider in the Valley. Jon Regardie at the LA Downtown News knows ... More >>

Radio Host Kevin James Kicks Off Mayoral Campaign With Shots At Rick Caruso and Austin Beutner

Kevin James​Updated below, 3 p.m.: James can stay on the radio, as long as he doesn't talk about the campaign.Talk radio host Kevin James kicked off his campaign for L.A. mayor this morning with a couple of shots at fellow contenders Austin Beutner and Rick Caruso.James is a long shot, partly beca ... More >>

'Americana at Brand' Billionaire Rick Caruso Paid Over $4 Million for Historic Brick Building in the Way of His Glendale Mall

Glendale Historical SocietyThe $4 million prize, circa 1940​Now we know why Ray Patel came away smiling and "no comment"-ing from the sale of his Golden Key Hotel last month. The buyer was L.A. mogul Rick Caruso, owner of Glendale's gargantuan Americana at Brand mall and potential mayoral can ... More >>

L.A. Controller Wendy Greuel Says She Wants To Be Your Next Mayor

L.A. City Controller Wendy Greuel​It's not all that unexpected -- we've been hearing this rumor for years -- but L.A. City Controller Wendy Greuel has announced that she'll be entering Los Angeles' mayoral race, according to Rick Orlov of the Daily News. L.A. City Council President Eric Garc ... More >>

[UPDATED] Rick Caruso vs. Ray Patel: Glendale Redevelopment Agency Eager to Flip Mom-and-Pop Hotel Into 'Americana at Brand'

Americana at Brand: No place for a $60 sleepover​The Golden Key Hotel is officially SOLD to Rick Caruso! Details after the jump. As if California lefties needed another reason to side with Governor Jerry Brown on wiping out redevelopment agencies across the state of California once and for al ... More >>

Raves: Electric Daisy Carnival Leaving L.A. Coliseum For Las Vegas

Caesar SebastianElectric Daisy Carnival.​Update: City council candidate Forescee Hogan-Rowles is claiming victory over raves, after the jump. See our piece about how raves could be finished at the L.A. Coliseum and Sports Arena here. After a thorough shellacking over their controversial 2010 ... More >>

Raves: L.A. Coliseum and Sports Arena Parties Such as Electric Daisy Carnival Could be Done For Good

EDC: Massive.​As the most controversial rave pulled out of the publicly owned L.A. Coliseum for June, it seems possible that the parities are finished at the stadium and its sister venue the L.A. Sports Arena. The promoter of the 14th annual Electric Daisy Carnival announced late Thursday tha ... More >>

Raves: Coliseum Commission Calls Special Meeting Over CEO Patrick Lynch Following Coliseum Manager's Double Dipping With Rave Promoter

Electric Daisy Carnival.​You might call it a Lynch mob, at least if the job of Los Angeles Coliseum general manager Patrick Lynch is up in the air tomorrow. The Coliseum Commission has called a special meeting to discuss his employment after it was revealed that the Coliseum events manager, T ... More >>

Raves: Coliseum Commissioner Rick Caruso Says Rave Ban Back on the Table, Electric Daisy Carnival Still up in the Air

The crowd at EDC.​Following revelations that the L.A. District Attorney's office is investigating an L.A. Coliseum official for working on the side for a rave promoter who's been lobbying the public venue to continue his controversial events there, Coliseum Commission member Rick Caruso says a ... More >>

Raves: Rick Caruso Calls for Resignation of Coliseum G.M. Patrick Lynch

Rick Caruso is calling for Patrick Lynch to resign as G.M. of the L.A. Coliseum.​Rick Caruso, the influential developer who also happens to sit on the public Coliseum Commission in L.A., called on Wednesday for the resignation of the venue's general manager, Patrick Lynch. Caruso's demand com ... More >>

Raves: How Do You Get L.A. Politicians to Get Behind Parties and Ecstasy? Here's How ...

Caesar Sebastian / InsomniacRavers at 'EDC.'​It was a day of magical thinking Wednesday at the L.A. Coliseum, where officials essentially said yes to another edition of a two-day rave that saw 60 mostly drug-related arrests, more than 200 medical emergencies and the ecstasy-related death of a ... More >>

Electric Daisy Carnival Cut To 75,000 Ravers

EDC ravers.​By Dennis RomeroThe officials who control the publicly owned Los Angeles Coliseum on Wednesday gave the green light to a controversial annual rave, Electric Daisy Carnival, with the caveat that only 75,000 ravers are allowed per day.That's down from the 100,000 who crammed into the Col ... More >>

Raves: Controversial 'Electric Daisy Carnival' Planned for June to Get a Look-See by L.A. Coliseum Officials

The crowd at 'EDC.'​Los Angeles Coliseum officials will take a look at plans for June's Electric Daisy Carnival rave next week. The Coliseum Commission will likely give the plans a thumbs up or down. The two-day party, which drew about 160,000 people to the publicly owned venue last year, dre ... More >>

L.A. Coliseum Commissioner Rick Caruso Likely To Ask For Ban On Raves

Rick Caruso.​Rick Caruso, developer of the Grove mall and a member of the public commission that oversees the L.A. Coliseum and Sports Arena, told the Weekly Wednesday that he'll likely ask his fellow officials to ban raves at the venues in coming months. Caruso has been the biggest critic of ... More >>

Rick Caruso's Greedy Land Grab

A Glendale family must sell him its motel near Americana at Brand or face eminent domain

Death, Money and Megaraves

Why Los Angeles politicians embrace a growing Ecstasy phenom that kills

The Next Electric Daisy Carnival Rave At The Los Angeles Coliseum Will Have To Be Approved By Politicians

Electric Daisy Carnival.​We reported how the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission made a sneaky move and voted to lift its temporary ban on raves earlier this month when no one was looking (and when some of its more rave-wary members were clearly unable to attend). Well, the body on Wednesday gave ... More >>

Valley State Sen. Alex Padilla 'Looking At' L.A. Mayor's Gig In 2013

Mayor Alex? Maybe.​Looks like state Sen. Alex Padilla is throwing his hat into the ring as L.A.'s mayoral race for 2013 begins to awaken. Already rumored to be interested in the gig are City Council President Eric Garcetti, Grove shopping center developer Rick Caruso, county Supervisor Zev Yar ... More >>

Raves Back On At Los Angeles Coliseum, Sports Arena

Coliseum CommissionElectric Daisy Carnival brings big money to a public venue.​Looks like the taxpayers might have been snookered on this one: The Los Angeles Coliseum Commission unexpectedly voted Wednesday to allow raves to be held at its venues -- the Coliseum and the Sports Arena included ... More >>

Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner Being Floated As Possible L.A. Mayoral Candidate

​With little political or policy background businessman Austin Beutner has gotten some plum leadership assignments within the administration of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, including interim chief of the powerful Department of Water and Power. His name is now being floated as a poss ... More >>

Will Budget Crisis Play A Role in Deciding LA's Next Mayor?

After reading a recent Huffington Post column by Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, where he writes that "all eyes are on...Los Angeles leaders" as they "grapple" with financial disaster, we couldn't help but wonder how L.A.'s budget crisis will play some kind of role in the 2013 mayo ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Mayor Levels With Base Antonio Villaraigosa painted a bleak economic picture for one of his largest constituencies, organized labor. The mayor suggested shorter work weeks and increased employee retirement contributions as ways to avoid city worker layoffs that could climb to seven percent of the mu ... More >>

The Caruso Factor: October 15, 2008

The question was, Would the mall king run for mayor?

Schwarzenegger Elevates Former Mayor Hahn

Judge Jimmy's 'rehabilitation' is now complete

Caruso's Faux Americana, and Michelin Guide Falls Flat

Rick Caruso's Aria: L.A.'s Mall King Mulls a Mayoral Run

Does he have a shot?

Down and Out at the Americana

Matthew Fleischer goes undercover in Carusoland

Neat and Messy

Two guys who will police the police

The Rampart Verdict

The deeper meaning of LAPD’s biggest scandal may never be known

A Fail to the Chief

Verdict in on Parks, but the jury's out on police reform

The Bernie Blow-off

Secret meetings on police chief's future could have been open to the public

The Realm of the Open-Ended

Farmers Market in the shadow of “The Grove”

City of Status Quo

Two unreassuring moves by the new Hahn administration