Work is underway on the first phase of the Watts House Project, an ambitious and visionary project directed by Edgar Arceneaux and being tackled now by college students representing a wide range of backgrounds, as described by the LA Times: "[Y]oung men and women; white, black, Asian, Latin; some from USC, others UCLA, and still others from Cal Arts and Art Center [who] have set to work in front of a modest, cream-colored stucco......

Photo by tomsaint11 via Flickr On October 1st, the city's Office of Community Beautification quietly launched an improved website tool they should have been much louder and much more proud about. The Anti-Graffiti Request System is an easy and quick way to report graffiti in your neighborhood so abatement teams can come out and clean it up. It comes complete with an e-mail confirmation once your report is submitted and once the graffiti is......

Former gang member, now community activist Najee Ali, 45, was sentenced to four years in prison yesterday after pleading guilty for attempting to bribe a witness in a case about his daughter. He normally would have recieved two years, but the doubling was due to a 1992 robbery conviction and a 2004 parole violation, according to the LA Times. Ali has been a consistent figure in local activism, once being appointed to a city commission......

Today, Assemblymember Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank) officially unveiled signs marking the Valley Glen neighborhood along the 170 Freeway. Most signs posted on freeways in the East Valley generalize the area and say North Hollywood, whether you're actually in Studio City or some other community. “I hope these new signs will encourage people traveling along the Hollywood Freeway to explore Valley Glen and enjoy its businesses, restaurants and ambience,” Assemblymember Krekorian said in a press release. Our......

The LA Times profiles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's relationship with the black community leading off with his rallying support and work with presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama. "The mayor's ascension as an Obama pitchman, while intriguing because of Villaraigosa's support of rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during the Democratic primary, is a move that promises to work to the political advantage of both men." Even with that, the results still seem very mixed.......

Today in his LA Times column, Steve Lopez takes a look at Chicago--who beat us out for the 2016 Olympics, no less--and wonders if Los Angeles can use the "Windy City" as a "role model" for a better way of living and running a metropolis. He asks three pointed questions of direct comparison: But why does a city that's under ice half the year have a better system of bike lanes, not to mention a......

Fresh & Easy opened its 62nd US "neighborhood market" this morning in Manhattan Beach which began with a press conference and store tours and a ribbon cutting ceremony before the waiting crowds descended upon the grocery store to fill their carts. (More story after the jump!)......

"The neighborhood surrounding the Watts Towers presents a stark contrast to the well-maintained aesthetics of this national monument, and currently the residents have limited means to capitalize socially or economically on this cultural currency," reads a pamphlet about the Watts House Project, which self-describes themselves as an an artist-driven urban revitalization project that hopes to be a catalyst for solutions and change in the community. Leading the charge is Los Angeles artist Edgar Arceneaux who......

If the rain doesn't deter you from heading out today, there are some weekend-long festivals that might make it worth your time... Or you can hedge your bets and hang tight today and wait for Sunday--or in some cases Monday--to get in on the fun. Photo of last year's Topanga Days by mackenzieeeee via Flickr Topanga Days Topanga Days, a three-day music and arts festival, features The Living Sisters (Inara George, Eleni Mandell, Becky Stark)......

Photo by timsamoff via Flickr Last night, approximately 120 Eco-Village neighborhood residents, friends and family gathered at Virgil Middle School for the LAUSD's 4th site selection meeting and to hear the District's final recommendation on the location of the new school. In a stunning tribute to the Eco-Village's reputation as "problem-solvers" the LAUSD site selection representatives announced that they would be recommending to the School Board that the Eco-Village proposal be accepted, which means......

LA's Transportation Committee met Tuesday and took public comment on CD11 Councilman Bill Rosendahl's motion to close the Ballona Creek Bike Path access gate located along Culver Drive. The motion was made in response to complaints from residents of crime in the area and their claim that it was the Ballona Creek Bike Path gate that allowed the criminal element to "ingress and egress" the crime scene. Five representatives from the community showed up to......

Reporter Leo Stallworth and Chief Bratton have a difference of opinion and at yesterday's press conference about violence in South LA, the no-nonsense East Coast sensibilites of LAPD's top cop came out in front of everyone... and ABC aired it. Stallworth asked about racial tensions, maybe in a more speculative way, based off interviews with community members. Bratton did not like that and responded. "We have to work with fact and speculation... You're a......

A puppet show without Kermit: Concrete Folk Variations at The Manual Archives / Photo by Susan Simpson MEET THE PO-PO The public’s invited to meet the police and talk about safety issues at a neighborhood meeting between the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council, the Glassell Park Safety Committee and LAPD. Senior Lead Officer for Atwater Village Gina Chovan, gang detectives and City Attorney Donna Wong will be in attendance. 4 pm // Glassell Park Community......

Photo by Andrew at Here in Van Nuys A couple weeks ago, Andrew Hurvitz at the Here in Van Nuys blog snapped this photo of the Sherman Way tunnel under the Van Nuys Airport and questioned the state of security. "Is it just my foolish and suspicious imagination that sees this tagged up tunnel as something which raises questions about security at Van Nuys Airport?" he asked. "This is evidence that security right on......

Today the small town of Montrose, known first as "Glendale's first suburb," hits the big 9-5, and the Founders Day Celebration is expected to be a big draw. Founders Day festivities will include awards presented to community members for service, a nine-tier birthday cake, historic photos on display, and "the ringing of the bell from the last of the Glendale & Montrose Railway Cars." The event is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 2......

Tonight is round three of an ongoing David & Goliath battle between LA’s Eco-Village Community and the heavily funded Los Angeles Unified School District. The Los Angeles Eco-Village Intentional Community (LAEV-IC) is an internationally recognized sustainable community and is part of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED-Neighborhood Development pilot program. At issue the fact that in order to build Central Region Elementary School #20 in the neighborhood, the LAUSD wants to raze approximately 40 units......

Louis Allen as Christopher Walken and Amy Kelly as Robert DeNiro/Photo courtesy of Patrick O'Sullivan. COMEDY* All About Walken: The Impersonators of Christopher Walken is back on a new night and new venue (running only on Thursdays until April 3). Conceived and directed by Patrick O’Sullivan, the comedy show has an entire multiracial cast playing the same guy (Chris Walken, duh) picking up his tics and cadences to a tee. Tickets go fast for......

Photo of Jeff Koons' 'Tulips' at BCAM by pink_fish13 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr As reported this morning, the body of a dead woman was left in a van with the windows down in a spot reserved for police in Pomona. The police told the owners of the car to pick it up or it would be towed. Oops. Now, SFist is reporting a similar case where police impounded a van......

The City of Los Angeles is in the process of updating its Bicycle Master Plan, a component of the Transportation Element of the City’s General Plan. For the cycling community, this should be a joyous occasion, the opportunity to participate in the creation of a City Planning Department document that codifies the rights of cyclists and drives the development of a multi-modal city. But critics complain that the BMP Workshop process is obligatory at best......

Photo from inside LACMA's new Broad Contemporary by Sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr In honor of the opening of the brand new Broad Contemporary modern galleries, LACMA is hosting a free community weekend, opening their doors to the public at no charge for the next three days. In addition to full access to the current galleries of the museum, the weekend's festivities are set to include live music; workshops; roving......

In an effort to bring solar power to those who will benefit from it but simply can't afford it, a new partnership created between the nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners and BP donates one solar panel to a low-income residence for every solar panel purchased by a celebrity. As the Downtown News reports, Downtown's St. George Hotel, a housing facility operated by the Skid Row Housing Trust, is the first multi-unit project to receive panels through......

Jobing.com: Employment for Bad Spellers | Photo by Andy Sternberg for LAist This billboard has been bugging me for months and it's all over LA. WTF is "Jobing?!?" Surely it's more than just a website designed to capitalize on typos of the unemployed. But what is this Jobing Community of Greater Los Angeles all about anyway? Is it community in the Eco-Village sense? Is there a secret society that worships the prophet Job? Do......

Yes, kids, Clinton took the state for the Dems, and McCain nabbed a GOP victory here in California, but the rest of yesterday's ballot had some very important propositions and measures on the line. Here's how things shook out:Proposition 91 (Gasoline Tax): DEFEATED Proposition 92 (Community College costs lowered): DEFEATED Proposition 93 (Term Limits): DEFEATED Propositions 94-97 (Indian Gaming): PASSED LA City Proposition S (the "phone tax" prop): PASSED Area-specific Measures: Measure B, a communications......

photo of the 2003 Pasadena Freeway bike ride by Virginia Renner Occidental Professor Robert Gottlieb's latest book -- Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and Community in the Global City -- is going to be awfully tempting to Angelenos who care about urban planning, the environment and social change. Get a taste when he reads today at Dutton's at 2pm -- and then ask the store to order a copy for you. In his book, Gottlieb......

Last Friday I trundled up in the tram at The Getty Center to see a 'sold out', intimate performance. For the mere cost of parking and a little bumper-to-bumper on the 405, I and my brother from another mother, MX, got to sit in a comfy auditorium and listen to the laconic stylings of ex-punk (no pun intended) troubadour, John Doe. Now, ain't yah jealous? Of course, I've always had a crush on Mr.......

Last Friday night at Bordello, Elite Yelpers gathered for drinks and music to wish Stephy S, Community Manager of Yelp.com for Los Angeles (she's like Tom of MySpace, but goddess style), a farewell adieu as she takes on a larger responsibility for the website up at its San Francisco HQ (sister site SFist should feel so lucky). Since May 2006, Stephy has been leading the way for Yelp.com, bringing in the energy for a site......

Have you registered to vote? | Photo by hjl via Flickr There is no doubt that California's role in the outcome of the presidential race is extremely important. The next two weeks leading up to the primary election, Super Tuesday, are going to be crazy and pivotal. The Daily News is reporting that over a half million people have registered to vote just since December. That number is unprecedented. "In 2004, the increase was......

"Ducttape Superhero" by The Eye of Brad via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr With exactly one year to go until a new president is inaugurated (and one more year of Jon Stewart's hilarious Bush headlines), the field of Republican hopefuls just got smaller. After poor showings in, well, every primary, caucus and poll, San Diego Congressman Duncan Hunter is ditching the presidential race. No word on what he will do now, but......

COMIC BOOK ART The gallery named for the year that brought us Hypercolor T-Shirts, Yo! MTV Raps, and Salt N Pepa's single "Push It" (that's 1988 for those who didn't immediately connect) is currently featuring "Under the Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee" in a show that runs until February 1. Preview some of the artwork online and then activate your Spidey webs and crawl over to Melrose Ave. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. //......

While the presidential election is the sexy supermodel on the Feb. 5 California Primary ballot, there are important propositions asking you to say Yes or No when you walk in to that polling place or mail in your vote. Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." Last week we looked at Prop 91, this week, allow us the pleasure of opening your minds to the wonderful......