Christine Pelisek

The Final Moments of Elliott Smith’s Life

Moments before he died, singer Elliott Smith argued with his live-in girlfriend, who said she found him screaming outside the bathroom door of their Echo Park apartment, with an 8-inch kitchen knife stuck in his chest, according to an autopsy report. The report, released this week by the L.A County......

Two Against One

For her senior prom, the most exciting night of her life, Kelly Bullwinkle, just 17 at the time, decided on a knee-length red dress to complement her shoulder-length red hair. Bullwinkle’s date was an older woman — her best friend Kinzie Noordman, then 19. Even in socially conservative Redlands, girls......

Jason Roe, DVD Don

Photo by Max S. Gerber In a sparsely furnished Silver Lake bedroom sits a loaded 17-inch G4 Mac atop the small wood desk of Jason Roe. He’s a modern-day Richie Cunningham who looks like he would be more comfortable on a skateboard than co-editing and designing an edgy national DVD......

The Elliott Smith Mystery

The L.A. County Coroner’s Office said Wednesday that it can’t determine whether singer Elliott Smith committed suicide or was the victim of a homicide in his Echo Park apartment two months ago. Smith, 34, died from two stab wounds to the chest on October 21. "The injuries sustained by Smith......

The Checkout Line

Photo by Ted Soqui Contract talks between the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and Vons, Pavilions, Albertsons and Ralphs remain at a standstill, affecting some 70,000 employees at nearly 900 markets in Southern and Central California. The two sides are at odds over health and pension benefits......

Silver Lake Gang War

Photo by Vince Valladolid On a recent afternoon a Latino woman and her son wearily shuffle past a makeshift shrine in front of a shabby apartment complex on the 700 block of Vendome Street. The shrine, nearly obscured by a discarded mattress and other litter, is dedicated to Valentin Rangel,......
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Special Privileges

When it comes to Special Counsel hearings, President Bush has skated through his presidency. It helps, of course, that Bush isn’t suspected of engaging in oral sex in the Oval Office. But another reason is the expiration of the law that grants special counsels. The law, enacted after Watergate, died......

Love — and Hate — in Iraq

Weeks before the war with Iraq, President Bush and his cronies forecast to the world that Iraqis would open their arms and hearts to U.S. troops. Bush neglected to mention Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency warnings about the armed resistance. The Boston Globe reported last week that in......

Bombs Away

The Bush administration has shut down an independent committee of energy experts that provided oversight on U.S. nuclear-arms development, just in time for Pentagon and Energy Department officials who resumed their talks on nuclear testing and building “mini nukes” and “bunker buster” bombs last week. The decision to ax the......

Sober Justice

Drug reform may go the way of the bong thanks to President Bush’s choice of Karen Tandy as the new chief of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The 49-year-old Texan has spent most of her career prosecuting drug cases. Her repertoire includes busting mail-order bong sellers, including comedian Tommy Chong of......