San Jose

Free Wi-Fi For All of Los Angeles?

Have ever you dreamed having data streaming through your laptop, iPad or smartphone almost anywhere in L.A. without giving Time-Warner Cable, AT&T or Verizon your lunch money for it? L.A. city Councilman Bob Blumenfield has had that dream too. And he's proposing that the city of Los Angeles study w ... More >>

Coffee Drinking Linked to Lower Suicide Rate

It's a fact Swedes and Seattlites have long depended on: Coffee makes you less likely to kill yourself, a new study has confirmed. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health say that adults who drink two to four cups of coffee a day have a 50 percent lower risk of suicide than adults who ... More >>

5 California Summer Session Beers to Drink Now

Beers built for long, hot desert summers like those we experience in Los Angeles must be moderately low in alcohol (or you'll drop before round two) and incredibly easy drinking. They must be thirst-quenching and so smooth you don't know how you reached the bottom of your glass or bottle in such sho ... More >>

Marijuana Movement Gets Own Super-PAC

The marijuana nation has marched, lobbied and voted. But while legalization has been successful in Colorado and Washington and medical pot is available from California to New Jersey, weed is still an outlaw on a federal level, and attempts to change that have so far been futile. But a pair of Cali ... More >>

How Richard Riordan Blew $800,000 on a Failed Try at Pension Reform

Los Angeles Isn't On Top 10 List Of America's Most Diverse Cities?

L.A. is crazy international. USC has the most foreign students of any university in the nation. There are people in L.A. from island nations you've never even heard of. There are people here whose names are spelled with chemical-element symbols! (We kid. Sort of). So, after Forbes did an "America's ... More >>

Marijuana Dispensaries Challenge L.A. City On State Medical Pot Law

After throwing up its hands and overturning its own ban on medical marijuana dispensaries last month, the L.A. City Council pleaded with the state legislature to clarify its confusing pot laws. L.A.'s Union for Medical Cannabis Patients went ahead and did that for the council. Of course, you could ... More >>

Richard Riordan Pension Reform Surprise

He throws a lightning rod into the 2013 Los Angeles mayoral race

The Wednesday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

You can't replace the feeling of lounging on the couch with a scrunched-up newspaper. But with the web, at least you don't need to worry about getting ink on your hands and bagel. Here's a roundup of some food-related stories from our country's newspapers this week. Lucky for us, it's mostly free. F ... More >>

Former Ms. Pakistan And Husband Accused of Scamming California Families With Home Loan Modification Scheme

By Andra Lim A former Mrs. Pakistan World beauty queen and her husband allegedly scammed Californians out of thousands of dollars and contributed to some losing their homes. Saman Hasnain, who won the pageant in 2008, and Jawad Hasnain have been charged with conspiracy to commit grand theft for o ... More >>

Angela Davis Says Black People Have a Responsibility to Support the DREAM Act

Angela Davis, former Black Panther, is the go-to commentator on any protest or political uprising these days. (And, apparently, the go-to stencil for "street artists" designing nostalgic protest fliers.) So why hasn't anyone asked her how she feels about the DREAM Act -- the national push to grant ... More >>

"Niggas in Paris": We Can Now Tell You With Much Greater Accuracy How Many Times Jay-Z And Kanye Will Play It At Staples Center

Sayre Berman​See also: "Niggas in Paris": Jay-Z and Kanye Will Perform It 13 Times When They're Here. Seriously. On November 29 we published a post containing the results of our "Niggas In Paris" linear regression. During the encores of their current Watch The Throne tour, Jay-Z and Kanye Wes ... More >>

This Dude Rolls on Shabbas

Women Who Are Single in Los Angeles Are in a Top 10 American Mecca For Bachelorettes

Neil Kremer​Turns out the town that inspired Three's Company, Melrose Place and The Hills is a top 10 city for bachelorette life. That according to a rent.com survey unleashed today that looked at top cities for single women. Los Angeles, with all our swimming pools, movie stars, universitie ... More >>

Anonymous Hacker Investigation Nets Two Arrests in Southern California, FBI Says

​Updated at the bottom with details linking the arrests to WikiLeaks. First posted at 2:56 p.m. Two people were arrested in Southern California today as part of FBI raids against the loose-knit hacker crew Anonymous that were conducted in SoCal, New York and other regions, FBI spokeswoman Lau ... More >>

Japan Tsunami Debris Could be Headed to California by Late 2013

Look out.​Debris from Japan's March tsunami could reach our shores by 2013, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury-News. The problem is that scientists aren't sure exactly when or where it will hit: The stuff could strike anywhere from California to Washington late next year. Macabre ... More >>

Top 5 Food Events This Weekend: TOTNLA, Ramen, Wine, Hot Dogs & Roasted Meats

Ramen Bull Kicking off its Popchef series, Breadbar's consulting Chef Noriyuki Sugie debuts Ramen Bull, a menu of five beef-centric ramen dishes: short rib ramen ($11); oxtail ramen ($15), beef tongue ramen ($12); spicy ramen ($14); and corn beef ramen ($13). Available Monday through Saturday, 5 t ... More >>

What Race is a Latino? Some Mexican-Americans in California Aren't Even Sure (Neither Are We)

RCALatina? White? Both?​Have you ever looked at your light-skinned, green-eyed Latino neighbor -- or perhaps he's kinky haired and the color of cinnamon -- and asked, What the hell are you? It's a question Latinos even ask themselves, apparently, especially when filling out a U.S. Census form ... More >>

1,000 L.A. Rats Kept By 'Hoarders' Show Subject Saved By San Jose Animal Rescuers

San Jose Mercury NewsL.A.'s rats go up north. So what else is new.​When neighbors discovered that a nearby L.A. resident had a serious rat problem they didn't call animal control. They called producers of the television show Hoarders. What the show's people found was 1,000 rats. Turns out the ... More >>

Nicky Diaz Gets $5,500 From Meg Whitman

Photo by Ted SoquiNicky Diaz appears at a news conference last month with Gloria Allred​At a labor hearing today in San Jose, Nicky Diaz was awarded $5,500 in back pay from her former employer, Meg Whitman.Thus ends the only storyline that most people will remember from the 2010 gubernatorial camp ... 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 >>

What This Governor's Race Needs Is A Good Municipal Land-Use Dispute

​On the campaign trail, Meg Whitman has been telling a story about how it took eBay two and a half years to get a permit for a new building in Sunnyvale.She cites this as an example of California's burdensome regulatory environment, which she would streamline if she were elected governor.The folks ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 8/16-8/20

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "Also, all of Takosher's food, including the brisket, which is slow-cooked for six to eight hours, must be prepared on the truck rather than in a prep kitchen." Takosher: Nation's First Kosher Truck Dishes Up Brisket & Latke ... More >>

Tats and Prawns

Xino by the bay

First Bite: Tats and Prawns, Xino by the Bay

Christie BishopJonagold apple, minus first bite​The top-level Dining Deck of the new Santa Monica Place mall seems almost custom-designed to make native Angelenos grumpy. The redesign scooped out all that was pleasant about the old mall, one of Frank Gehry's breakthrough projects, with all the ... More >>

Officials To Consider Four High Speed Rail Stations In The Valley

​According to the Burbank Leader, officials are set to meet next week to hear reports on possible high-speed rail locations in the San Fernando Valley. California's planned 800-mile high-speed rail system will include one station in the Valley. Representatives of the California High-Speed R ... More >>

Severed Finger Found in Food: Top 5 Real-Life Incidents

​The thumb in that hotdog bun looks real, doesn't it? Thank god, it isn't. The "fast food finger" is one of our culture's most enduring urban legends. Here are a few real-life incidents, involving real-life (or real dead) fingers, presented for your grossification: 1. Wendy's Famous Finger Ch ... More >>

Getting It Wrong: The Budget Mess

Nine things L.A. could have done to avoid it

L.A.'s Economy? It's Not So Bad

​Los Angeles' struggling economy and comparatively high unemployment rate has been cited in the debate over hiking Department of Water and Power rates by as much as 28.4 percent. The metropolitan area's jobless number, about 13.2 percent, indeed outshines the national figure of 9.7 percent. B ... More >>

Tonight: Xiu Xiu Bring Their Art-Shock to The Echo

The Doctor Will Spritz You Now: Xiu Xiu​Dear God I Hate Myself is the latest provocation from Xiu Xiu, the San Jose band formed by Jamie Stewart and assorted collaborators (former Xiu Xiu agit-prop includes albums called Knife Play, Fabulous Muscles and Fag Patrol, songs with titles like "Ian ... More >>

Newsom Seeks Crackdown on Texting During Public Meetings

​San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, soon to take on Janice Hahn in the lieutenant governor's race, is proposing a crackdown on lobbyists texting the Board of Supervisors during public meetings.Apparently this is a common practice, and Newsom argues that it lacks transparency. Lobbyists get to say t ... More >>

Report IDs Tesla Employees Killed In Plane Crash

The Tesla Roadster.​The San Jose Mercury-News on Thursday identified all three people who died when a small, Los Angeles-bound plane they were in crashed Wednesday morning in the East Palo Alto fog. According the paper, the trio of Tesla Motors employees on board included Doug Bourn, 56, a se ... More >>

The Plastic Bag Lives On In Manhattan Beach

​A state appellate panel dealt a setback today to Manhattan Beach and to other cities that have sought to ban plastic bags, ruling that the city should have done an environmental impact report before imposing its bag ban in 2008.In this case, the plastics industry -- under the name of The Save the ... More >>

AFGHAN HOUND?

L.A. City Council Clings to Stunning Perks and Pay

They can't bear to give up those record-high $178,898 salaries

Amazing Los Angeles City Council Salaries: $171,648 plus goodies

Rebel Central

The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making

Santa Monica or Saigon?

A tale of two brothers

Flat Line, Bottom Line

Is a hospital chain cutting corners for profit?

Theater Reviews

A Hater Takes Stock of L.A.

8 complaints about the place I love

Anytime, Anywhere

Hardcore provocateur Eugene Robinson searches for the almost-perfect punch

High on Justice

Lessons from drug court

Calculating Moves

Latino Caucus can’t come up with alternative budget

The Little Company that Can

Revolving-Door Renter

Wealthy visitors supplant tenants in Santa Monica

OFFBEAT

Corridos Prohibidos

Los Tigres del Norte, Idolos del Pueblo

Local anti-war groups struggle to mobilize opposition