West Hollywood

West Hollywood's Ridiculous Fur Ban Met With Lawsuit

Only days after the city of West Hollywood enacted one of the nation's first bans on fur clothing, a local boutique called Mayfair House has filed suit in U.S. District Court. See also: West Hollywood Fur Ban Hits on Last Day of Summer. The store essentially claims that the town has no right to ba ... More >>

West Hollywood Fur Ban Hits on Last Day of Summer

The West Hollywood City Council is masterful at getting attention for making needless laws, from its cat-declawing ban to a prohibition on Circus animals (in a town that rarely if ever sees the circus come through). See also: West Hollywood Bans Circus Animals For No Good Reason. But perhaps WeHo' ... More >>

Circus Animal Ban Considered by West Hollywood

West Hollywood is a bastion of liberal privilege, a place where fur retailing and most pet sales have been banned. See also: West Hollywood Bans Most Retail Dog And Cat Sales. The city is also skilled at banning stuff (like fur and pet sales) rarely seen within its boundaries. It's all about the ... More >>

Art Shaped Like Kidney Beans: A History

West Hollywood just got a lot more colorful. Three shiny, vibrant-hued, kidney-shaped sculptures from local artist Cosimo Cavallaro have been scattered like a giant jelly bean-themed Easter egg hunt across West Hollywood Park near the Pacific Design Center. Part of the city's Art on the Outside pr ... More >>

Is the Sunset Strip Music Festival Struggling?

Now in its sixth year, the Sunset Strip Music Festival attracts sweaty denizens to Sunset Boulevard every summer, many dressed in leather pants and other hair metal-era duds. The entertainments include food trucks, booze, and a long list of bands, who play on outdoor stages and at the indoor venues ... More >>

Is West Hollywood Up For Sale?

See also the L.A. Weekly cover story "West Follywood." Three years ago, longtime community activist Jeanne Dobrin created a stir when she told L.A. Weekly that West Hollywood was "for sale" to big-money developers. West Hollywood officialdom probably scoffed at the notion, but a recent WeHoVille a ... More >>

The Cheapest, Priciest and Most Hipster Eats in L.A. According to Yelp Reviews

When Yelp released its data-driven heat map two weeks ago, it acted as a visual confirmation of our most deeply-held stereotypes about dining in LA: that Silver Lake is full of PBR-swilling hipsters, Westwood -- and to a much-lesser extent, the USC area -- is swimming with frat guys, and that the he ... More >>

West Hollywood Sticks It To Drivers And Extends Parking Meter Hours

Let the hoots and hollers begin! To the frustration of many people, West Hollywood, which is known for its exuberant nightlife on Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards, is extending parking meter hours after also increasing parking meter rates not too long ago. So instead of getting free parking alo ... More >>

West Hollywood Ready To Marry Gay Couples

See also: "In West Hollywood, Thousands of Queer Americans Celebrate a Stone-Cold Truth." Never a city to be outdone when it comes to all things gay, West Hollywood officials will legally marry gay couples today, starting at 1 p.m. And nearly everything will be free! Like many municipalities, West ... More >>

In West Hollywood, Thousands of Queer Americans Celebrate A Stone-Cold Truth

Another blue sky day in West Hollywood, but it was unlike any other. On June 26, one day before the forty-fourth anniversary of the historic Stonewall riots in New York City, queer Americans in the Los Angeles area and across the country celebrated two U.S. Supreme Court rulings that told the worl ... More >>

Pride Sans Prejudice

West Hollywood Lesbian Bar The Palms to Shut Down

West Hollywood's The Palms Bar, a hangout for the local lesbian community since the '60s, will close on June 9. Located on Santa Monica Blvd. at La Cienega, the historic building that houses The Palms will be demolished to make space for a new mixed use development. In late April, the landlord told ... More >>

Sheriff's Car Rear-Ended By Drunk Near West Hollywood, Cops Say

From the Department of Don't Even Try This At Home Kids comes this amazing story from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. Deputies say two of their own who had been conducting a pedestrian stop near West Hollywood early yesterday were inside their stopped patrol car when it was rear-ended by a dr ... More >>

All the Clothes in This West Hollywood Store Cost 2 Dollars. So Dive Into the Pile...

See also: *At This West Hollywood Fashion Library, the Prada Dress You Rent Could Save Your Life Nothing at the 2 Dollar Clothing store in West Hollywood costs more than $2. Not the new Marc Jacobs or DKNY tops, not the BCBG skirt or the Michael Kors boots, not the Gucci, Miu Miu, Armani or Jimmy Ch ... More >>

Move Over, West Hollywood -- Silver Lake Is the True Gay Mecca

By Tyler Trykowski Could gays of the 1980s imagine what it would be like to be gay in 2013? From the Supreme Court pondering marriage equality to NFL players weighing how best to come out, the way we're gay today is nothing like it's ever been before. And for that modern gay man, West Hollywood ma ... More >>

West Hollywood Bans Flannel

After weeks of controversy and much public comment, the West Hollywood City Council gave final approval last night to its ban on flannel. This ban comes hot on the heels of West Hollywood's ban on fur sales, voted into law in 2012 and effective earlier this year. One important difference is that th ... More >>

Santa Monica Boulevard Shut Down In West Hollywood After Vault Blows

Santa Monica Boulevard, once a lifeline called Route 66, remained closed in West Hollywood this morning following an electrical vault mishap, authorities said. The problem came up at 6:45 a.m. and prompted the L.A. County Fire Department to respond, officials said. Although West Hollywood sheriff's ... More >>

West Hollywood Municipal Election Results: Voters Defy Political Establishment and Approve Term Limits for City Council

In one of those odd twists on election night, West Hollywood voters gave City Council incumbents Jeff Prang and John Duran another four years, but then solidly approved a term limits ballot measure for the City Council by more than 1,000 votes. The passage of Measure C is a major blow to the West H ... More >>

West Hollywood City Council and Term Limits Races Turn Political Scene Upside Down But Voters Get Last Word on Election Day

After months of political contention, West Hollywood voters will decide today if term limits for City Council members should be approved and if incumbents Jeff Prang and John Duran should be re-elected. Former Councilman Steve Martin, a front-running challenger, wants to replace either Duran or Pran ... More >>

West Hollywood Terms Limits Ballot Measure Wins Big Endorsements from Politicos John D'Amico and Sam Borelli

Will voters finally put term limits on West Hollywood City Council members, who almost never get voted office and only leave until they die or retire? That's the reality of WeHo politicians' strangle-grip on power, and now community activists are pushing forward Measure C -- the term limits initiati ... More >>

More Political Intrigue in West Hollywood City Council Race, But Will Voters Care on Election Day?

Every two years, West Hollywood residents often get a startling look at how their government is actually run via City Council elections, and every two years West Hollywood residents almost always vote for the same people -- if they show up at the voting booths at all. Will this year be any different ... More >>

Humongous Mall Project Sparks Controversy in West Hollywood City Council Race

WEHOville recently broke a jaw-dropping story that's causing a major stir in West Hollywood and could possibly impact any driver passing through that city on Santa Monica Boulevard, which is already a rush hour nightmare. Developer Charles Cohen, who owns the Pacific Design Center and recently adde ... More >>

Are Term Limits Good For West Hollywood? Voters to Decide in Upcoming Election

The Los Angeles Times ran a piece about West Hollywood terms limits today. It's filled with the usual, and very simplified, arguments by City Council members John Heilman and Jeff Prang about why terms limits are bad. "The people in West Hollywood are smart enough to know that if there's a council ... More >>

West Hollywood City Council 2013: Will Comedian Matt Ralston Be a Candidate That Jon Stewart Could Be Proud Of?

West Hollywood always gets crazed when election season rolls around, and this one has been no different. In fact, with a term limit ballot measure added to an already combustible City Council race, 2013 could be one for the history books. So it may be good for everyone that comedian Matt Ralston is ... More >>

West Hollywood Gay Men Are Sluttiest In Nation

West Hollywood has come a long way since it was incorporated as its own city on the western fringe of Hollywood in 1984. While its Boys' Town strip along Santa Monica Boulevard can still rival New York's Greenwich Village and San Francisco's Castro district as the gay capital of America, WeHo is a g ... More >>

Party With Porn Stars in West Hollywood

There's another campaign battle going on out there, and it definitely doesn't involve Big Bird. (Or maybe it does). The porn industry is fighting a county ballot initiative, Measure B, that would force performers to use condoms on sets in most of L.A. And the smut biz has one thing that the pro-co ... More >>

West Hollywood Activists Push Hard for Term Limit Petition Drive This Weekend

West Hollywood community activists are pushing hard with their petition drive to place a term-limit measure for the City Council on a 2013 ballot. They have a tight September 25 deadline to get a little over 2,300 signatures from some 23,000 registered voters in the city. If you're a West Hollywood ... More >>

Marijuana Dispensaries Will Stay Open Despite L.A. Ban, Some Say

When Los Angeles' marijuana dispensary ban takes effect Sept. 6, there will still be plenty of pot shops open, and not just in neighboring cities like West Hollywood and Long Beach. After we called several dispensaries this week we found that many in L.A. proper were planning to stick it out, despi ... More >>

West Hollywood Activists Take First Step in Placing Term Limits on City Council

West Hollywood community activists Elyse Eisenberg, Scott Schmidt, and Sheila Lightfoot made it official this week: They've filed the paperwork at City Hall to start the process of getting a term limits initiative placed on the March 2013 ballot. "We are asking the City Council to let the voters h ... More >>

Assembly District 50: Club Endorsements Up in the Air for Richard Bloom and Betsy Butler

In the always interesting California Assembly District 50 race, new developments are once again unfolding that make us wonder what's happening behind the scenes among local Democratic leaders. Last week, as WeHo News reported, both Democratic candidates Richard Bloom and Betsy Butler, who are battl ... More >>

West Hollywood's New Fur Ban Could Be a Model for the Nation. But Opponents Are Still Trying to Strike It Down

'Latent Images': ONE Archive Connects Past Queer Culture with Today's

On Saturday, July 28, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives will have an opening reception in West Hollywood for a new exhibit, Latent Images. It features the contemporary photography of Leah DeVun along with images from ONE's vast collection of gay and lesbian art. The exhibit connects queer culture ... More >>

Pssssst: L.A. -- Your Pride Is Showing

West Hollywood City Council Considers Painting Crosswalks Rainbow

[Update: Lucas John, a well-known power gay about town who runs the WeHo Confidential news/gossip blog, says he's the one responsible for proposing the rainbow crosswalks. On May 15, he did tag multiple City Councilmembers in a post suggesting WeHo copy the Tel Aviv crosswalks. Duvander, however, sa ... More >>

After-Hours Farmers Market Opening on the Sunset Strip

If you're a fan of farmers markets -- and, heck, why wouldn't you be? -- it should come as exciting news that L.A. is gaining yet another market in the coming weeks, this one being an after-hours affair located on West Hollywood's Sunset Strip. Beginning June 14 and every Thursday night thereafter, ... More >>

USC Hosts Weekend Seminar to Educate Current Politicians on Ethics, Transparency; L.A. Mayor Attends Kentucky Derby Instead

The University of Southern California isn't just for strapping young scholars anymore. Today and tomorrow, the USC Price School of Public Policy begins an ongoing series of classes that will school current politicians in "public transparency and ethics, leadership, governance and environmental polic ... More >>

Samantha Scarano Arrested For Allegedly Setting Fire to Ex-Roommate's West Hollywood Apartment

The woman alleged to have started a fire in the apartment of her ex-roommate in West Hollywood this month was nabbed by cops this week, sheriff's officials announced today. They ID'd her as 25 year-old Samantha Scarano, who was booked on suspicion of attempted murder, according to an L.A. County Sh ... More >>

Prop. 8 Ruling: Los Angeles, West Hollywood to Host Celebration Rallies Tonight

Surely you've heard the good news by now: Proposition 8 was just overturned by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. And, though the religious zealots at ProtectMarriage will inevitably appeal that decision, it's definitely time to take this Internet party to the streets. LGBT advocates and city o ... More >>

Abigaile, Kitchen 24 to Open Monday

Monday, Feb. 6, sees two restaurant openings: Abigaile in Hermosa Beach and Kitchen 24 in West Hollywood. Like a phoenix, Abigaile rises from the ashes of Union Cattle Co., which closed in January. Same owner (Jed Sanford), new concept (upscale American brasserie), new chef (Max DiMare of Wood Taver ... More >>

Power to the Poster

Hamburger Hamlet, a West Hollywood Institution, Closes for Good

They ran out of beer the last night the Hamburger Hamlet in West Hollywood was open. They ran out of a lot of things in the final hours on Dec. 19, after 51 years in business.The original Hamlet, a rarity at which African-Americans were hired as waitstaff in the still-segregated '60s, stood just ... More >>

West Hollywood City Council: Will John Duran and John D'Amico Bring Change in 2012?

Ted SoquiWeHo City Council member John D'Amico​We're all for protecting bicyclists, the humane treatment of puppies, reasonably guarding the health of restaurant and bar workers against second-hand smoke, and many of the other feel-good, headline-grabbing ordinances the five members of the We ... More >>

Kitchen 24 West Hollywood Opening

Courtesy of SpacecraftA CG rendition of Kitchen 24 in West Hollywood.​A few more details about the new Kitchen 24 outpost in West Hollywood. Co-owned by Dave Dickerson, who's also a partner in Fairfax coffee shop Commissary (one of our favorite mid-summer affogato stops), the newest Kitchen 24 ... More >>

West Hollywood's Fur Ban: Is it Unlawful?

The West Hollywood City Council banned the sale of fur the other week to worldwide headlines, and now the politically correct city is feeling the backlash. Animal rights activists cooed over the new ordinance, but the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and retailers are enraged, with some merchants ... More >>

West Hollywood Library, an Edward Fickett Artifact, Demolished Days Before Grand Opening of New $64 Million Version

West Hollywood City Councilmembers and their right-hand planning staff have a history of imposing their own architectural desires on the LGBT townspeople. You'd think, in a town of gays, you could find someone with a little taste (and we mean that in the best way possible). But no: In this rapidly ... More >>

The More the Scarier!

West Hollywood Fur Ban Passed by Council: WeHo to Become Nation's First Fur-Free City

Oh no you didn't.​Fancy L.A. ladies looking to add some baby seal to their fall collections, or hipsters sniffing out their own clip-on foxtail in the Burning Man/Wiz Khalifa tradition, won't be welcome in West Hollywood anymore. The city tentatively approved an ordinance last night that will ... More >>

Go-Go Dancer Appreciation Day is Official in West Hollywood

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Fashion's Night Out Los Angeles: A Tacky Evening at the Mall?

Why is L.A.'s Fashion's Night Out event at the Beverly Center? ​Starting tomorrow, September 8, Fashion's Night Out is making a return to Los Angeles, where retailers will keep their doors open late and the fashion forward crowd will be out to party and shop. It's a big deal in New York City a ... More >>

Burger Lounge Looks to Culver City

Guzzle & NoshBurger Lounge in West Hollywood.​San Diego chain Burger Lounge, which is preparing to open its first Los Angeles location, is looking at opening a second location, possibly in the Santa Maria Barbeque space in Culver City. The first L.A. outpost, located on the sunset Strip in We ... More >>