Teflon

The Taste Debuts Tomorrow with Judges Bourdain, Ludo, Nigella Lawson Brian Malarkey

When a chef sees something he likes, he inevitably wants to make it, but better and with his own twist. Perhaps that was the rationale behind culinary luminaries like L.A. favorite Ludo Lefebvre and Anthony Bourdain of Travel Channel fame, hitching their wagons to The Taste, a new reality competitio ... More >>

L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca Spent Over One Month Outside L.A. Amid Horrific 2012 Jail Scandal

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa isn't the only local politician leaving his municipal duties in the dust, these days, in pursuit of a higher political calling. A records request run by diligent county-watcher Eric Preven earlier this summer shows that L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca -- who we l ... More >>

L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca Writes Angry Letter to NorCal Assemblyman Who Authored Pro-Immigrant TRUST Act

As L.A. City Hall and the LAPD lean further and further left on immigration policy -- following in the footsteps of the DREAMy, Latino-friendly state Legislature -- the L.A. County Sheriff has yanked even harder to the right. Compared to his liberal peers, "Teflon" Sheriff Lee Baca is turning into ... More >>

The 10 Most Depressing Excerpts From Sheriff Spokesman Steve Whitmore's Personal Blog

All of a sudden, every terrifying conversation we've ever had with L.A. County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore makes so much more sense. We just discovered his LiveJournal personal blog -- and it's an absolute minefield of bitterness and morbid regrets and 15-year-old girl tears. (Als ... More >>

VIDEO: L.A. Sheriff's Deputy Brutally Detains 'Mentally Ill' Suspect by Smashing, Stomping His Head Into Pavement

While investigating another story, Telemundo's video team says it caught a brutal L.A. County Sheriff's arrest on tape -- adding to the leaning stack of "excessive force" allegations on some neglected desk at the sheriff's Internal Affairs Bureau. The video (embedded below) shows a young Latino man ... More >>

New Book on Mickey Cohen Shows He Wasn't Just a Notorious Gangster -- He Was a Folk Hero

Here in the breezy capital of bland, blond celebrities, it's hard not to feel a pang of regret after reading Tere Tereba's engrossing new book, Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.'s Notorious Mobster (ECW Press, Toronto), that Los Angeles lost one of its few genuinely colorful personalitie ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Hunting, Gut Stew, and Sex With Your Sister

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] Still in Australia, get used to it! I will be here for quite a while. Things are going very we ... More >>

Supreme Court: L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca Can Be Held Responsible for Jail Violence on His Watch

Like the "Teflon Sheriff" he is, Lee Baca has been doing his darndest to slip his good name off an inmate-stabbing lawsuit that names Baca as a defendant. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals turned him down last summer, but the sheriff didn't stop there. He marched his don't-blame-Baca paperwork all t ... More >>

Supreme Court: L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca Can Be Held Responsible for Jail Violence on His Watch

Like the "Teflon Sheriff" he is, Lee Baca has been doing his darndest to slip his good name off an inmate-stabbing lawsuit that names Baca as a defendant. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals turned him down last summer, but the sheriff didn't stop there. He marched his don't-blame-Baca paperwork all t ... More >>

Toastabags: Or, How to Grill Cheese in a Bag

It's difficult to decide what to say first about this new product, called Toastabags and created by the Dutch company Boska, a toastable sandwich bag that supposedly simplifies the process of making grilled cheese sandwiches. Because, you know, they're so hard to make already. So maybe we'll just qu ... More >>

L.A. Sheriff's Gang 'Jump Out Boys' Reportedly Prides Itself on Officer-Involved Shootings

What happens when the very badges chosen to dismantle and disempower the gangs of Los Angeles County form a gang of their own? It's no secret that the L.A. County Sheriff's Department -- whose reputation with the public has completely disintegrated under Sheriff Lee Baca, in a swirl of scandals inc ... More >>

Mark Berndt Complains That L.A. Sheriff's Deputies Called Him a 'Child Molester' Over the Loudspeaker

KPCCNot a child molester?​L.A. County Sheriff's deputies have been accused of more inmate abuse at their notorious Twin Towers lockup downtown. Yet for once, nobody really cares. That's because the accusations are coming from alleged Miramonte Elementary sex monster Mark Berndt, in whose pos ... 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 >>

Dutch Ovens: 5 Other Kitchen Tools You Won't Need to Buy If You Own One

​I got into an elevator empty-handed one recent morning and by the end of a short two-story ride, was the proud owner of a bright orange Le Creuset Dutch oven. A recently married co-worker who'd likely been inundated with new cookware from the registry was trying to get rid of it, for free. "M ... More >>

Teflon Sheriff Lee Baca Can Now Decide Inmate Sentences: D.A. Steve Cooley Concerned About More Bad Guys on L.A. Streets

D.A. Steve Cooley is not liking 'realignment.'​If you think Sheriff Lee Baca's L.A. County Jails are a mess now, what with years'-old allegations of deputies beating inmates and a reported system of problem cops being assigned to lockup duty, just wait. You see, under California's inmate-redu ... More >>

Lee Baca's Bad Month Gets Worse: L.A. Sheriff's Deputies 'Detained,' Investigated Following Off-Duty Shots Fired in Park After-Hours

Metro​You might call this a bad month for L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca. He's a Teflon law enforcer who's been popular with the voters who repeatedly elected him. But something says these latest allegations -- that deputies beat County Jail inmates, that they tuned-up County Jail visitors, and ... More >>

L.A. County's Private Property War

Grilled Cheese Invitational: We Came, We Saw, We Curdled [Photo Gallery]

Guzzle & NoshScenes from the 2011 Grilled Cheese Invitational. (Photo Gallery after the jump.)​The griddles have grown cold, the butter has congealed. As the 2nd 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational (a.k.a. the 2011 GCI) recedes into memory, the losers bandage their burned fingers and the v ... More >>

Best Music of the Year Lists: Do Pitchfork, Billboard, NME, Vibe Have A Certain Gender Bias?

"Hey bro, we hear you like bros, so we put some bros in your End of the Year Best Music Lists so you can bro while you bro!"​Well, 'tis the time of year for lists and charts! Several mags and blogs attempted to answer the question you've been dying to ask: Who had the best album/"new music"? ... More >>

California Sen. Barbara Boxer Has A Tight Race With Carly Fiorina To Try To Keep Her Seat

​Barbara Boxer is California's own Teflon dona, but it looks like she better hunker down on this one. The latest Public Policy Institute of California poll has California's longtime incumbent Senator up a tight five points against businesswoman and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina as we h ... More >>

Rick Ross Rehabilitates Real Live MC Hammer at BET Awards

Is a Rick Ross doll even available?​Rick Ross had previously rehabilitated the tarnished name of MC Hammer with a boast track called, yes, "MC Hammer." Sample verse: Bitch I'm MC Hammer/ I'm about cream/ I got 30 cars, whole lot of dancers/ I take them everywhere/ I'm MC Hammer/ Started selli ... More >>

DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER THE LAST?

Movie Reviews: Battle for Terra, Il Divo, X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Also, Empty Nest, Newcastle and more

It's a Brand-New Year, so Let's Protest the War, and Drink Solar-Powered Beer

What to do in LA this week

Raising Washington

Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Tween Demo

Bringing smarty back, Nancy Drew returns for another generation of young consumers

A Theater Lover's Lament

Confessions of a critic trying to keep the bottle at bay

The Addled Department

Problems pile up for L.A.’s building czar

Not So Young Frankeneisner

Eisner successor Robert Iger is more like Mel Brooks’ Igor

Reagan Without Tears

Let’s not forget what the Gipper did to America

Reagan Without Tears

Let’s not forget what the Gipper did to America

Lars Attacks!

Von Trier in Trollywood

Brat Brawl

Disney and Comcast fortunate sons need therapy more than this takeover

Send in the Clowns

Eisner’s Embarrassment

Court Records show Disney boss told dumped Michael Ovitz: 'Nobody ever needs to Know'

The Pope on Hope

The 2nd Annual List Issue

Killer Chorines

Chicago's dream world of criminal girls

This Is Called The Show

Eminem returns to rankle

Power Grabs

Dance of hunchback toad

The Year in Music

Willie Williams Rerun?

This police chief also looks like a one-termer

Letters

Remake Remodel

An Orgy of fashion tips ‘n’ ’puter chips

The Shadowers

Out of the forest of convention(al) punditry came the British and the snide: Hitchens, Cockburn, Vidal and Hitchens again, and again.

Them

California takes on the Fire Ant

Hope for Fremont High

New principal named to school after protests by teachers and students

Sunshine Superman

Louis Philippe's music for libertines

Sex and the Single Fruit Fly

If you can't beat them - mate them!