Ventura

Eight Excellent Reasons Not To Cheat on Your Taxes

Drive, He Sd: Michael Ventura Cruises Down Memory Lane

Sometimes you have to leave Los Angeles to get to its best stories. In his latest Letters at 3 A.M. column, Austin Chronicle writer Michael Ventura remembers one near-typical, almost apocalyptic night in the lives of three ex-New Yorkers. In 1985 Ventura (then writing for this paper), along with the ... More >>

Best Diversion Strategy

Game Empire

Sweet Smell of Secession: Another Move to Split California

To hear Bill Maze tell it, L.A. County takes all the money generated by the rest of hard-working California and squanders it on stuff like "public services and education." Not only that, says the termed-out Assemblyman, but you've got places up north like San Francisco and Marin County that always v ... More >>

Best Literary Mine: Book Cellar

To hear Bill Maze tell it, L.A. County takes all the money generated by the rest of hard-working California and squanders it on stuff like "public services and education." Not only that, says the termed-out Assemblyman, but you've got places up north like San Francisco and Marin County that always v ... More >>

"Fill her up": What a Girl Must Pay to Pump

High-poontang fuel

The Malloy Brothers Conspiracy

They left behind the world of competitive surfing and big-money contracts to get back to the roots of classic surfing. They might just save the sport.

The World on Fire

Something wicked this way will come again

Not With Eddie

Something wicked this way will come again

Rock Picks

For the week of December 21 - 28

Best Way to Spy on the Old Neighborhood (As Long as You’ve Got a Wad of Cash)

For the week of December 21 - 28

Degree of Education

And on the boards

Let Them Eat Film

Tales of wars and misguided youth dominate Cannes 2006

Let’s Go for a Ride!

Car culture on Pacific rims

From Motown to Rimtown

The blinging of Los Angeles

Bugs and Politics

Two culprits for the Southland’s fires

Letters

Two culprits for the Southland’s fires

So Cal-Asian

Two culprits for the Southland’s fires

Blight of Other Days

The end of the trail for the Trail’s End Ranch case

Sweat and Wild

The end of the trail for the Trail’s End Ranch case

Local anti-war groups struggle to mobilize opposition

The end of the trail for the Trail’s End Ranch case

Swine Flu Scorecard: 99 Confirmed State Cases

The state's Department of Public Health says there are 99 confirmed cases of swine flu in Nuke PillsCalifornia, with 119 "probable" cases being tested. One such probable victim is a Fairfax High School student -- the first such case recorded in the L.A. Unified School District. School superintendent ... More >>

It's Record Store Day!

Go out and visit your local independent record store today, if there is still one within 100 miles or so. You know your business model is in trouble when you get a "day" devoted to it. Why, I remember celebrating "Floppy Disc Day" and "Blacksmith Appreciation Day" as if they were yesterday. Ther ... More >>

Villaraigosa Density Hawks Vs. Angry Valleyites

A Valley smackdown is brewing for tonight's 6 p.m. density Town Hall at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn in Studio City, with scores of pissed-off San Fernando Valley residents from five different Neighborhood Councils in the Valley confronting Antonio Villaraigosa's administration over its quiet pla ... More >>

Rock Picks: Electric Daisy Carnival, Explosion in the Sky, Rodriguez

Also, DAT Politics, Mika Miko, Etta James and others

Stone Ground Bakery's Kosher Oatmeal Cookie Recipe: Post-Holiday Baking

Stone Ground Bakery in Agoura Hills, just off the 110 between Calabasas and Ventura, is one of those L.A. shopping mall treasures, a great bakery trapped in anonymous concrete that you find only if you know the happy repeat customers--or have exited to get gas and discovered great bread instead. A ... More >>

Live in L.A.: At the movies with Isaac Brock, Band of Horses, Angus & Julia Stone, Peter Himmelman, the Airborne Toxic Event

​Think of it as an indie rocker with extra butter. Modest Mouse main man Isaac Brock is in town tonight to perform a short set after a screening of a documentary to which he (along with James Mercer, Jack Johnson and others) contributed music. The film is "180º South," which retraces a 1968 t ... More >>

Protecting Southern California Toad Would Cost $789 Million

​According to a study by U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the cost to protect the endangered arroyo toad in Southern California could amount to $789 million over 25 years. The study looked at a proposal to protect more than 112,000 acres of critical habitat for the toad in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, ... More >>

Tonight: The Guggenheim Grotto, Smokey Robinson, Kings of Leon, Sweethead

The Guggenheim Grotto​The Guggenheim Grotto has been making friends and influencing coffee-drinkers ever since 2008, when their song "Told You So" appeared on Across the Pond, a sampler CD issued by a certain beverage company with a twin-tailed siren as its log. Now the Irish folk-pop duo are ... More >>

Heat Wave: DWP Urges Angelenos To Conserve Power As Temps Soar

​The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is urging consumers to conserve power to avoid straining the city's electric grid. The National Weather and Service issued a excessive heat watch for parts of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties from Thursday through F ... More >>

Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie: Eight Months Old and Going Strong

Todd HigginsLadyface Alehouse & Brasserie Beers​ As they approach their eight month anniversary, Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie in Agoura Hills is not only a success but has been since day one. "We tried to open quietly" says owner and manager Cyrena Nouzille, "but we pretty much got run ove ... More >>

Crowds Got Way Too Close To Racers In Lucern Valley Off-Road Tragedy

Dave Conklin / Associated Press​Authorities said there were few limits on how close crowds could be as off-road racers zoomed by at Saturday's deadly California 200 race that saw eight spectators perish when a prerunner-type Ford Ranger truck flipped into the audience. " ... There are no deli ... More >>

Ventura Roadtrip: A & F Country Market for Local Bee Pollen, Pickles and South Dakota Jam

J. GarbeeA & F Country Market​If you're trekking up the 101 to Ventura anytime soon for the last-of-summer surfing, fishing or general beach lounging, one of the best places to donate a few dollars to the local economy in thanks on your way out of town is at A & F Country Market, a roadside ma ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Markets: Raw Peanuts

Felicia Friesema​ The demand for fresh, raw peanuts in the shell used to come largely from displaced southerners from both the U.S. and Vietnam, where boiled peanuts (or dau phon) are a treasured snack. East of the Mississippi, the annual peanut harvests prompt celebrations similar to Ventur ... More >>

Missing: Large, Inflatable Gorilla Vanishes From SoCal Car Dealership

Ventura County Star​Missing: One large, $4,000 gorilla, 350 pounds, 30 feet tall. No he's not Godzilla, and he's not about to terrorize Southern California. He's inflatable. And he actually needs air like the rest of us. According to the Ventura County Star, the gorilla was last seen on Frida ... More >>

Jeff Gorell Wins* California State Assembly District 37 In Election 2010, Beating His Manly Chest To The Tune Of Opponent Ferial Masry's Bitter Tears

​We're calling it: Jeff Gorell (R) of Ventura is your next representative for California State Assembly District 37. He beat opponent Ferial Masry (D) by a landslide. *OK, so we fibbed in the headline. The final results aren't in and the polls haven't closed. But thanks to sleazy incumbent f ... More >>

L.A. Catholic Schools Do Their Part to 'Win the Future' for Obama -- Add 20 More School Days, Raise Tuition

rawstory.comObama wants YOU to win the future​We're no experts, but we think God might prefer that the Catholic children of Los Angeles get a little rest come June-time. Nope. No luck for the weary. Cardinal Roger Mahoney tells City News Service today that "the elementary schools in the Archd ... More >>

New Brewery: Ventura's Surf Ranch To Open This Spring

J. GarbeeVentura's Surf Brewery: Expect A Varied Tasting Flight​Get ready to add another brewery to the growing list of those north of the San Diego County line -- Ventura's Surf Brewery is set to open this Spring. Does it have the requisite SoCal brewery cheesy name? Sure. Will the beers be a ... More >>

Unique LA Spring Show: The Green, the Quaint and the Crafty

Paul T. BradleyTyson Smith and Klara Nizki in the Maiden Voyage booth​ For those of us who aren't sure whether the term "hipster" or the stereotype itself is more obnoxious, the daunting task of covering an event dubbed a "Hipster Mecca" has the potential to dampen a whole weekend. Instead, Un ... More >>

Nick Haverland, 20-Year-Old Ventura College Bicyclist, Killed by Hummer in Reckless Hit-and-Run Spree

Ventura County StarNick Haverland in 2007​A giant silver Hummer carved a path of destruction through a seaside community in Ventura yesterday evening -- running over a mother/daughter on their bicycles and wrecking the pickup of a three-person family, all before fatally smashing into 20-year-o ... More >>

Party House Crackdown: New L.A. Ordinance Targets Notorious Ragers in the Hills

Lina Lecaro"Kandyland" at the Playboy Mansion​It's no secret: An almost institutionalized circuit of L.A. house parties has long operated in the sprawling estates above Ventura and Hollywood Boulevards. Druggy, boozy, Sheeny "privates" have become integral to city nightlife for a number of re ... More >>

Best Local Limoncello: Ventura Limoncello

JGarbeeRosanna Zaretti​It's not difficult to make your own limoncello, as Ventura Limoncello owners James Carling and his Rome-born wife Manuela Zaretti-Carling are quick to point out. But if you proclaim yours the best in SoCal (and please not Danny DeVito's namesake version), we will declar ... More >>

What's In Season at the Farmers Markets: Local Eggs Iowa Egg Recall Anniversary

Felicia FriesemaKendor Farms free range eggs at the Hollywood market.​ Eggs? Yes, eggs. This week is National Farmers Market Week, and while the bulk of what you see piled high on tables at your local market is more flora than fauna, here and there you'll likely see neatly stacked cartons of ... More >>

George Christie Jr., Hells Angels Leader And Tattoo Shop Owner, Arrested For Alleged Firebombing Plot Against Other Ink Parlors

NYC Hells Angels: You don't want to park here. Trust us. We tried it once.​A Southern California Hells Angels leader was arrested for allegedly trying to put rival tattoo shops out of business via firebombing. Now, if we were said ink-biz owners we would have scurried to the next town with ou ... More >>

Gilani Taylor, Aspiring L.A. Singer, Loses Daughter, Burns 80% of Body in Fiery Crash on 101 Freeway; Hit-and-Run Driver Sought

Gilani via FacebookThe 27-year-old singer nearly killed on the 101 last weekend​Traffic was backed up for hours on Saturday along the 101 near Calabasas, behind an almost unrecognizable 1995 Chrysler engulfed in flames. The victims inside were 9-year-old Jayla Taylor, who died in the fire; and ... More >>

Nature Mart in Los Feliz to Close

Guzzle & NoshAssorted vegetables.​After 38 years in business, popular Los Feliz health food store Nature Mart will close on November 1st, reports Echo Park Patch. Founded by Matt Huupponen in 1973, the store known for its array of bulk food items, fresh fruit and vegetables and freshly pressed ... More >>

Snow in Los Angeles Region Sends Riders to Mountain High Over Weekend

​Updated at the bottom: Following Mountain High's early opening Saturday, Bear Mountain Resort will open Wednesday, and Snow Summit Mountain Resort will kick in on Thursday. First posted at 12:45 p.m. Friday. Wait, you ask, summer's over? Yeah, look at the calendar. It passed more than 30 day ... More >>

What's In Season at the Farmers Markets: Large California Chanterelles

Felicia FriesemaCantharellus californicus from Tutti Frutti Farms​Our early season rainstorms have yielded two predictable outcomes: angsty tweets from farmers market vendors trying desperately to keep self, customers and produce dry, and a splendid sprouting of mud puppies, a.k.a. California ... More >>