A hearing on Proposition 8 today by a joint panel of the state Senate and Assembly judiciary committees became heated when proponents of both sides of the issue spoke on the issue, whether in turn or out of turn. Prop 8 seeks to eliminate gay marriage in California. The most interesting comment from the event was from the Los Angeles Unified School District, whose board voted against the prop last month. "We cannot support a......

Three different news stories are making the rounds today, all of which involve cars and crimes, and all of which are best defined as "things that make you go hmm?" (Are we still allowed to say that?) First, a fiery car crash was the dramatic conclusion to a police chase that ended up in Rosemead last night, resulting in the death of the driver. But what alerted the police's suspicions and led to the chase......

Photo by leochi via Flickr The City Council is voting today on one-year gang prevention contracts for six organizations to work with at-risk youth. But what defines a child as at-risk and likely to join a gang? The Daily News lays it out: lack of parental supervision; early childhood aggression; delinquent beliefs, including acceptance of antisocial behaviors; negative life events; having peers involved in deviant behavior; a commitment to street-oriented peers. If passed, six......

In 2006 and 2007, 400 school children in the City of Los Angeles were injured in traffic collisions while being picked up or dropped off at school. Some of the most significant traffic congestion in our city occurs in the morning and in the afternoon in the immediate vicinity of our schools. Children who walk or ride a bike to school these days must jockey for position with School buses, Mass Transit and family vehicles.......

Submitted and authored by Emily Lerman Photo by Jasmic is back in the building via Flickr Los Angeles is a big city, which means there are lots of ways to get involved in the community and lend a helping hand. Here are just a few ideas... TUTOR A HOMELESS CHILD: Since 1993, School on Wheels volunteers have traveled to homeless shelters, foster homes and libraries around the city tutoring homeless children from Kindergarten through 12th......

Photo by power corruption and lies via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr. FESTIVAL Come out to the 11th SoRo (South Robertson) Community Festival. There will be lots to do for the whole family including food, live music, and vendor booths. 11 a.m. // Between Beverlywood and Cattaraugus, S. Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles // Free SPEAK Artists Danny Jauregui and Rubén Ortiz-Torres are featured today at LACMA’s Conversations with the Artists series. Their......

Photo by Tha_Sco via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Because it’s supposed to be such a beautiful day, I suggest heading out to the beach immediately, and then enjoying some of these free (or close to free) events going on in the evening. But that’s just me… LISTEN Ann Whitford Paul, author of the children’s books If Animals Kissed Goodnight and Snail’s Good Night, will be hosting a signing and reading of......

Downtown Los Angeles is fast becoming one of the city's new "it" places to set up a permanent address and play house. But a new worry is plaguing residents of the high-rises and converted lofts that dot the one-way streets of LA's civic center: What happens when we have kids? The big concern is chiefly becoming options for daycare, which is part of the overall issue of whether Downtown is a good place to raise......

He's gone to Middle Earth and now he's back again: Peter Jackson has finally agreed to executive-produce not one, but TWO films of "The Hobbit." New Line Pictures, which produced the massively successful and critically acclaimed "Lord of the Rings" films, had originally dumped Jackson from the "Hobbit" sequels because of ongoing disputes over profits Jackson claimed he was owed for "The Fellowship of The Ring." But this morning's press release declares that all litigation......

So, you know how MTA is considering ridding our freeways of carpool lanes? One outraged blogger blames Bush because, "local officials in the MTA are being forced to take a more free-enterprise approach to freeway management in order to qualify for federal transportation dollars." In a move designed to empower local Iraqi municipalities, the US Army is planning on concentrating its forces in Baghdad as the army continues to draw down its forces after......

Ahhh, Christmas, carols fill the air along with the aroma of baking cookies. hearts are filled with joy, and Santa sends out obscene mail to good little girls and boys. Here are some stories of holidays gone bad, including some from holidays past. Ho ho ho!!!Author of nasty letters from Santa sought Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:39am ET OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's post office and police are trying to track down a "rogue elf" who......

So most of the shows are either about to run out or have run out of new episodes (raise your hand if you're sad that there wasn't an Office Christmas show this year!) What will you do instead? I could suggest that you knit quilts for poor children, invent a plausible substitute for gasoline, start that novel you've been thinking about. But you're not going to do that. You're going to watch tv. So let's talk about what you can do to not get caught up in the increasingly noxious diet of reruns and reality tv. ...

Ten surprisingly lovely days with a 19-Year-Old Swedish Sex Kitten who turned out to have quite more than Nordic good looks....

Online book retailer Amazon.com announced today that they have purchased an original, hand-written and hand-bound copy of J.K. Rowling's "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," a book of children's stories that plays a major role in the plot of "The Deathly Hallows." The book, one of only seven made, was auctioned off in London at Sotheby's for 1.95 million pounds. Proceeds from the auction are going to The Children's Voice Campaign, a charity that benefits......

For baseball fans under the age of 35, reading the Mitchell report should be like taking repeated shots to the groin without the Nutty Buddy. With 75 names and guys who get shipped all over the country, you know your idols didn't escape. Me? I grew up in NorCal. Matt Williams? He was our hero on the hot-corner. Glenallen Hill? The only pro player from the small town I was growing up in. That's a......

About the above picture: The Rawking Refuses To Stop!, a blog of all things Los Angeles pop culture and MP3, shares with us their best concert photos of 2007. Above, they sneak out of LA to New York to see Les Savy Fav at the Bowery Ballroom (we'll just say they did the same thing when they came here). Don't forget -- you still have today and tomorrow to enter our Rufus Wainwright/Belinda Carlisle......

The Whole 9 is hosting their holiday party tomorrow (Tuesday) night from 6-9:30PM and would like to invite you to come! What started as an online community where creative, entrepreneurial open-minded people can meet and share, showcase their work and get work has turned into a creative space and art gallery in Culver City. The gallery has shows where the artists are selected from portfolios on The Whole 9 website. The host of the most......

Tis the season - for cookies!!! Cookies are one of the most versatile treats you can make. They are perfect for gift-giving, office parties, dessert, or a quick snack. They please children and grown-ups alike. Most cookie batters freeze well so you can make cookies anytime you feel like it. Cookie recipes are easy to make and hard to screw up. You just need to keep an eye on them so they don't burn.......

The Hollow Trees are the best folk band "for families" that you have never heard. By "for families" we mean little kids would love it as much as their parents. Mixing Americana, folk, and pop, The Hollow Trees keep it simple enough for children with the G-rated lyrics. The music, however, is authentic, pure, and as good as anything you'd hear from your grandpa's best bluegrass records. This year the Hollow Trees have gone......

Let's get this out of the way immediately--if you are a fan of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, you will be disappointed by some of the elisions and excisions made in this movie. The degree to which it bothers you will largely determine how much you enjoy The Golden Compass. I won't get into the details too much since it would spoil the movie for those unfamiliar with the novels. Let's just say......

Los Angeles CityBeat's Greg Katz asks Tom LaBonge why cyclists can't ride through the Griffith Park DWP Light Festival and Tom almost completes a sentence before simply dodging and deflecting and offering more hollow promises for the future. Greg asks "You’re a bike advocate, a Griffith Park advocate, and you want to fix gridlock. Why can’t you bike through the Griffith Park DWP Light Festival while there are cars there?" Tom responds "The impact they......

Christmas time is here and the dudes from Cavil At Rest wanted to take a moment to spread some cheer...like peanut butter...by means of renegade street jam. Despite the jovial nature of this video, you might want to refrain from showing this to the children. There's a mighty, big Christmas spoiler at the end.......

Who would have thought Disney could come up with such a great contest? In spite of the danger of TWO Disney and Holiday-related posts today, I just have to throw this one out there for everyone. These pictures are just too good to keep to myself. Not only do they involve scary Santas and tormented children, but parents are the ones exposing their child's darkest moments in the hopes of a monetary prize. I hope......

One of the highlights of holidays past for me has always been getting to taste some of the the delicious chocolate goodies that seem to appear everywhere this time of year. So the idea of checking out and tasting some of our city's finest chocolate makes absolute sense, which is where next weekend's Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon comes handily into play. The event, which is presented by TasteTV, will include speakers and demos, as......

Days after making up with rapper Kanye West, legendary daredevil Evel Knievel has landed himself in the news once again, not for making an improbable stunt landing, but for doing something one day all of us regular folks are going to do. He died today in his home state of Florida at the age of 69. The AP is reporting:Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for......

Rockets 88, Clippers 71 - Just as Corey Maggette and Brevin Knight returned from injuries, Sam Cassell went down with one. He's doubtful for Friday. The battered Clippers hung tough with Houston until the 4th quarter when Tracy McGrady helped Houston blow it wide open. Maggette had 21 points in his return, and Chris Kaman led the team with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Los Angeles has now dropped seven of nine after winning the......

Phew! Today, be thankful this is not you. Apparently, Arnold Schwarzenegger said this at one point: "I love Thanksgiving turkey... it's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts." Parking in Beverly Hills is now a little better, just in time for Holiday shopping. Four parking structures will double their free parking from one to two hours. Residents, merchants and New York City retailers are rejoicing. 167 people in Riverside County......

We told you they were coming to speak on global warming, now here's what happened at yesterday's Presidential Forum in West LA. For the second time this month, fire officials are preparing for more wildfires as dry winds approach. Mission Viejo in Orange County is dubbed safest city in America. Sorry Detroit, you're back at the bottom of this list. However, these numbers came from a private research group and people, including the FBI,......

With one very notable exception, it's a fairly dull weekend in the movie world. That exception, of course, is the sterling No Country for Old Men. After several misfires (Intolerable Cruelty, The Ladykillers, The Man Who Wasn't There), the Coen Brothers are back with their best film since The Big Lebowski. Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones all give superb performances in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name.......

Franklin Ave: photos of striking writers from Lost, Family Guy, Chuck and other shows LA Observed: Daily News gives cartoonist a blog FishbowlLA: Luke Ford is being asked to delete a blog post because it ranks high on Google. Why isn't Google being bothered? TMZ: Of the things the lawyers of Shaq's ex-wife wants the former Laker great to produce are "all reports, cancelled checks, or any other evidence of payments related to expenses......