The new GRAMMY Museum, set to open on Saturday in downtown's $ 2.5 billion LA Live complex, is not necessarily about history, even though you'll find those elements. Rather, it looks at the now and the creative process of music. Think along the lines of engagement and interactivity. Los Angeles is very fortunate to have this museum. "AEG, developer of L.A. Live, played a major role in making the museum happen. The Recording Academy, which......

The ESPN Zone in LA Live is the newest establishment in the entertainment complex adjacent to Staples Center that continues to evolve. As the adjoining massive Ritz-Carlton high rise is being covered with mirror-like glass, the various clubs and eateries in it's shadow are opening one by one. The Nokia Theater was first, and more recently Club Nokia and the chic Lucky Strike bowling lanes opened their doors. ESPN Zone sits on a prime location......

Photo by retro traveler via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr An "urgent weather message" from the National Weather Service at 2:45 a.m. warns of a dense fog advisory throughout portions of the Los Angeles region including downtown, coastal areas in LA County, San Gabriel Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, Ventura and Santa Barbara. It could reduce freeway and roadway visibility to "one quarter mile or less through mid morning," the service says. The advisory officially......

Firefighters have responded to at least seven fires in the past month to the Broadway Trade Center, formally the Hamburger/May Company building, in downtown. There is a concern since multiple sets of fires in multiple locations have occurred in recent weeks, according to LA Fire Department Spokesman Ron Myers. Battalion Chief Greg Gibson told KNX1070 this morning that the arson unit has been on scene several times. "Someone is lighting these fires off and they're......

The 30,000 square-foot museum, estimated to house a collection of sports memorabilia and real estate worth $30 million combined, is a product of years of collecting and a wife who said to get it all out of their house. That makes sense since the 10,000 pieces were overflowing. So Gary Cypres, who made his money in the finance, mortgage and travel agency businesses, took the challenge to an extreme and opened a museum. It's safe......

Reverend Maurice Chase, best known as Father Dollar Bill, often can be seen throughout the year handing out dollar bills to those in need. And Christmas and Thanksgiving are no different, except a bigger wad of cash. Today he handed out $15,000, mostly in dollar bills in amounts up to $20. The first ten people he saw in wheelchairs received $100 bills. Chase has been criticized for giving money to people who might spend it......

If you're in need of an escape from the forced awkward conversations with relatives that turkey and a day off from work brings, head downtown to the Convention Center and check out the LA Auto Show. All of the manufacturers you've heard of and a bunch you've never heard of, found enough money in their budgets to make the trip and fortunately they brought some of their best new cars with them. Ford premiered the......

Blogdowntown has begun to profile coffeeshops that carry wireless internet in the downtown area. This is especially good for those of us who don't live downtown, but still need the occasional hook up to get some work done. Other than the obvious Starbucks option, Ed Fuentes visits Lot 44 Coffee, a secret hideaway to him, but also one of his top spots to go get some work done with a cup of joe. The WiFi......

You don't have to roll like Jesus Quintana to take advantage of the latest 18 pine lanes now thundering at 800 Olympic Boulevard in Downtown LA. Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge opened its newest location in the upscale chain of bowling alleys and cocktail lounges in the LA Live! entertainment campus in downtown LA last night. LAist can't promise that random celebrities like Paris and Nicky Hilton will be jamming up the wait list for......

Downtown Los Angeles has been going through a massive period of renewal and development over the last several years in what can be thought of as an attempt to revive what was once the true core of our city. From high rise high-end condos and lofts to the entertainment "campus" of LA Live, there are more reasons now than in recent memory to live or visit Downtown. However, if we flip through the pages of......

Takami Sushi & Robata Restaurant in downtown LA is trying to get into the holiday spirit by combining its fusion motif (Japanese Tacos, Deep Fried Cheese on a Stick with Shrimp, anyone?) with Thanksgiving. Their special roll has fresh roasted turkey with avocado, asparagus, cucumber, and Daikon Sprouts wrapped in soy paper and rice seasoned with dill and chives and drizzled with gravy. It's $20 and served with cranberry sauce, grilled vegetables, mashed potatoes and......

With much excitement, the six-week late-night Metro Red Line subway service begins tomorrow. Every Friday and Saturday night until the end of the year, you'll be able to ride the train until 3 a.m. And not only that, the city announced this afternoon a free downtown DASH that will compliment the late-night Red Line service (map of route above). It will run from 6:30 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights serving......

Photo by TomorrowGirl via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr SERVE DINNER IN THE PARK Every year, on Thanksgiving Day, the Union Station Homeless Services sponsors Thanksgiving Dinner-in-the-Park held in Pasadena's Central Park. How you can help: -Volunteer at the event (Thanksgiving Day; especially needed between 1pm and 4pm). -Volunteer the day before the event. -Donate prepared food; items needed (pdf). Call 626.240.4550 x542 or email for more details; families and children welcome. GOBBLE GOBBLE GIVE......

A huge column of smoke from the "Freeway Complex Fire" rises into the sky near Diamond Bar over an empty 57 Freeway (AP Photo/Mike Meadows) As fires continue to burn, offshore and onshore winds are expected to push smoke throughout the region. The South Coast Air Quality Management District says you should exercise caution and avoid unnecessary outdoor activities in areas directly impacted by smoke. What that means is if you can see it......

We haven't seen a Sunday like this since the summertime. We've got Athens-based new wave rock band the B-52's performing at Club Nokia in Downtown. Seattle's own experimental rockers Minus the Bear will be coming through the Henry Fonda Music Box with our favorite Raleigh-based indie pop group, the Annuals. LA locals Tigers Can Bite You are slated to rock at the Alterknit Lounge at the Knitting Factory. And, lastly, singer-songwriter Charlie Wadhams will be continuing his month-long Sunday Night Residency at Tangier. Word on the street is that Tangier will be closing its doors soon due to financial woes. But how could anyone turn down the Part Time Punks Festival at the Echo and Echoplex compound? Not only will some of LA's prominent fringe acts be playing (The Muslims, Mika Miko, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti), but living legends like Manchester's A Certain Ratio will be headlining the predominantly punk-tinged extravaganza. It will be the band's first performance in the US since 1985—the year I was born....

Photos taken around town by our LAist Featured Photos contributors on Flickr.......

Jenny Lewis blushes during "Rabbit Fur Coat" after a fan in the audience yells "Gorgeous!" Last Thursday, Rilo Kiley frontwoman and Silver Lake "Pioneer Woman" Jenny Lewis (MySpace) returned to Southern California, headlining at The Orpheum Theatre with support from openers Pierre de Reeder (MySpace) and the recently-reunited Beachwood Sparks (MySpace). It was the second-to-last stop on Lewis' Acid Tongue Tour, which began in mid-September at Spaceland (MySpace) -- see reviews at Web In......

Photo by Sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr TAKE A WALK It was a historic night indeed; Americans joined together to demand change and Obama eloquently answered, reminding us that this victory is thanks to commitment and dedication on the part of the American people. While the election is over, the momentum must continue; we must continue to work together to truly bring change to our lives, our city and its people.......

Following the gruesome discovery of two bodies in a shallow grave in the backyard of a home near Downtown*. The two men "appear to have been killed by blows from a blunt instrument," reports abc7.com. Police are working to locate Ronald Mendez; the 21-year-old lives at the home where the bodies were found, which is on the 2800 block of London Street. Authorities believe the victims may be Mendez's father and uncle, and "are calling......

Eric Richardson from blogdowntown was lucky enough to win a little lottery that allowed him to travel the construction elevators up the 26th and 45th floors of LA Live's 56-story hotel and condo tower. Not bad, save for the parking lots below. All housed in the same building, the JW Marriott Hotel, Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton Residences are scheduled to open in March of 2010.......

Street vending may be illegal (well, for the most part), but the food porn it produces is always quite a treat. On Flickr, LAist Featured Photos contributor bscott224 submits this colorful display of onions, peppers and mustard atop a hot dog bought near Maple and Olympic in downtown's Fashion District. Enjoy, it's almost dinner! Submit your Eye Nosh food 'porn' photos and mini-reviews to LAist via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr.......

"If Bin Laden wants to engineer a late-October surprise in 2008, an attack on a significant American economic target may be one of the most tempting opportunities he has had in recent years," wrote LAPD Chief Bratton in a New York Daily News op-ed today. Co-written with R.P. Eddy, former director of counter-terrorism at the National Security Council, they say Bin Laden may be seeking to sway the election towards the McCain/Palin camp since they......

If you liked the Jim Hensen directed, David Bowie/Jennifer Connelly classic 80s movie, Labyrinth, then you're in the same boat as local band, The Happy Hollows, who just released their new music video, appropriately named after the flick. "There is a scene where Connelly comes to two doors guarded by two guards," the band explains in an e-mail to LAist. "The guards tell her a riddle (one guard always lies, ones guard tells the......

Last week, it was a garment manufacturing business on the 9th floor of the large and historic Broadway Trade Center that lit on Fire on its Hill St. facade. Today, the LA Fire Department said that another fire, this one confined to a single unit on the 6th floor of the building on the Broadway Ave. facing side, was reported at 1:44 p.m. and quickly knocked down 34 minutes later. 115 firefighters responded to the......

Photo by the toe stubber via Flickr Kevin Bronson at his Buzz Bands blog reports on the next music venue to go under. "Safari Sam’s, the east Hollywood nightclub that opened in April 2006 with grand plans and big dreams, closed quietly last week." He says that the owner has been rumored to be in debt and "the club never found its niche in booking acts that would consistently fill the venue. Last week,......

The first of Metro's regional connector meeting for a proposed line that would let the Gold, Blue and future Expo light rail lines to combine for longer trips (think Pasadena to Long Beach without transfer) was held this afternoon. Blogdowntown reports the majority of attendees at the packed meeting voiced support for the underground option, the most logical option considering one auto vs. train accident on the above ground plan could halt a regional transit......

Over at Central Library, there's a new exhibit on historical maps of Los Angeles worth checking out. The LA Times looks into it and ends on this interesting note: "And what happened to the early downtown streets named Faith, Hope and Charity? Faith became Olive Street and Charity was renamed Grand Avenue. As Los Angeles grew and thrived, people didn’t want to live on faith, Creason said. And they certainly didn’t intend to live on......

A conceptualized regional connector map | Download the full size here (.pdf) Imagine a day when the Gold Line Eastside Extension to East LA and the Expo Line to Culver City are completed (2009 and 2010, respectively). But if you're traveling from Culver City to Little Tokyo, you'll have to take the Expo Line to the Red Line to the Gold Line. Headache, right? That's what Metro's Regional Connector project is seeking to fix.......

Efforts by mainstream media and Hollywood to use a Saint Bernard to replace Beethoven in our hearts and minds have failed, despite numerous attempts. As part of the Colburn Celebrity Series, Andras Schiff is halfway complete on his journey to perform all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas. 16 were performed last year in four concerts and he starts again this Wednesday for our classical pick of the week. This week includes some of Beethoven's greatest......

When the second Thursday of the month comes, so does the Downtown Art Walk. As usual, the streets fill with people crawling from gallery to restaurant to gallery to bar. Here's a little slice of what went down through the lens of LAist photographer Tom Andrews:......