The blog FiveThirtyEight (as in the number of electoral votes) has been going state by state doing electoral projections. Today was California: "Coastally Urban and Maverickily Liberal, California is one of only four majority-minority states (TX, HI, NM) in the nation. It’s a guaranteed 55 electoral votes for Barack Obama, as it has been for every Democrat since 1992. It has the smallest percentage of rural voters in America. Ironically, it's a state both candidates......

Photo by julie wilson world via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr COMPETE IN THE 4-SQUARE CHAMPIONSHIPS Or just sit back and watch. The Nike-hosted event will be happening tonight at The Montalban. Every Sunday night this venue will house a different sport. This week, the L.A. Dodgeball Society is helping out by bringing back the classic game of 4-square. Look out for wild costumes and that giant rubber ball. LISTEN TO SOME......

Photo by GarySe7en via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr PARTY WITH THE DINOSAURS Day two of the Tarfest takes place at the La Brea Tar Pits and the Miracle Mile. Today is the film and music festival portion of this artsy affair. Music videos and short films will be shown at the Korean Cultural Center for free at 1 p.m., while you can listen to some great bands, including a DJ set......

As his running mate Sarah Palin prepares for her Thursday debate (notice how FOX News is already giving her an out?) with Obama VP select Joe Biden, Republican nominee John McCain will be trying to raise a quarter million dollars at a fundraiser tonight. It's at the Century Plaza Hyatt Regency in Century City, so plan ahead for some extra special traffic tonight if you're in the area. Or maybe you're going to the fundraiser......

Via Streetsblog, we find a report from the Brookings Institution (.pdf) that outlines each candidate's positions on transportation. It goes over twelve issues such as transportation earmarks, the gas tax holiday, telecommuting and smart growth. However, what caught our eye was "View on Amtrak / Intercity Passenger Rail." The results show two extremely different points of view, which is a given, but nevertheless a fresh eye opener. “Obama has been a strong supporter of......

Photo by louisathomson via Flickr "I'm going to talk about the un-biblical stands that Barack Obama takes. Nobody who follows the Bible can vote for him. We may not be politically correct, but we are going to be biblically correct. We are going to vote for those who follow the Bible." That's Rev. Wiley S. Drake of First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park in the LA Times speaking about the "pulpit initiative," which......

Richard Riordan, who was Los Angeles' Republican Mayor from 1993–2001, has endorsed Barack Obama over John McCain in the presidential race. “When I was mayor I had dealings with McCain where I didn’t respect him,” he said to CBS per California Faultline. “I think [Obama is] a much more open person. He’s young, he has more energy, more electricity.” Obama was in Beverly Hills last night for a fundraiser.......

Les Moonves says that Katie Couric is not going anywhere. He intends to keep her in the anchor chair despite the Nielsen ratings and any other calls of common sense because he "is proud of her." Lots of premieres tonight but the show to watch is Letterman who will have Barack Obama as a guest. 9:00pm Til Death FOX - Season Premiere 9:00pm Project Runway Bravo - The designers team up to create a garment......

The LA Times got their hands on a recent interview Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger did with a German Magazine, Der Spiegel, last Friday. In the interview, he was very candid, here are some highlights captured by the Times' translated copy: Barack Obama: "He praised the 'incredible' candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama, the Democrat running for president... 'The Germans have no idea how someone like Obama can rise within a short period of time...' Schwarzenegger said......

Joe Greene and the Heavy Steppers will be on hand performing at this Saturday's fundraiser | Photo courtesy their myspace page The nation is two months away from selecting a new leader bean, as Homer would say, which of course means it's rally time. No, it's not the bottom of the ninth with Manny up and runners on the pads, and the monkey hasn't made it's way up the 5 from Anaheim. It's political......

The stage is set for Barack Obama to accept the Democratic Party nomination for president | Photo by Rocky Mountain News via flickr. Unless you've been living underground or roaming the state trying to start fires, you're well aware that tonight Barack Obama will finally accept the nomination as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States after 19 months of campaigning. He'll do so at the 50-yard-line of the elaborately decked-out Mile......

Delegates holding "Kennedy" signs while Ted Kennedy gives an emotional speech at the DNC | Photo by Sommer Mathis/DCist One day down and three more to go here in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. Below are some of the top moments of Day 1 for DCist (and a couple lowlights for good measure). Sen. Ted Kennedy's speech, obvs. The expectations going in were that this would be the senator's final public speech --......

It seems that the ditzy blonde LA County Fair commercials are going wayside this year in lieu of playing off current events (oh wait, nevermind). Above, these ads for the September 5th through 28th event are expected to hit streets on billboards and bus shelters this week. In one of the McCain/Obama ads, McCain is holding cotton candy and Obama has a candy apple. OMG, what does that mean? Analyze!......

Sen. John McCain will appear in Los Angeles later today -- first mucking it up with Jay Leno in Burbank then at a fundraiser in Beverly Hills -- following persistent questions about his noticeable absence from the Southland. The 5:30 p.m. fundraiser is to be held at the Beverly Hills Hilton and will be met with sign-wielding demonstrators just as the Democratic convention gets under way in Denver, according to City News Service. The California......

Locally based Mahalo Daily hit the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica this week to ask people who they think it will be. It gets off to a scary start... "I don't follow that stuff." For those who do follow it, McCain hasn't announced yet. Same goes for Obama, but the press announced for him tonight.......

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) At 9:50 p.m. I looked at my phone and saw a text message waiting to unveil itself. It was a Friday night and speculation had been swirling like Fay for a week about Obama's partner in crime. Back on Aug. 11, Obama had assured us -- his supporters that turned over emails and phone numbers -- that we would be the first ones to know "the......

Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. with Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, FILE) It's official(ish). Delaware Senator Joe Biden is Senator Barack Obama's vice presidential pick, according to a CNN text message alert. The Obama campaign said nothing is official until a text message is sent out per their plan, but after the Associated Press found out that Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana both said......

In an unprecedented move sure to keep us all (even more) glued to our cellphone and computer in the coming days, Sen. Barack Obama has promised to announce his vice-presidential candidate to supporters through a text message and/or via e-mail, his campaign announced Sunday night. The message, sent to campaign supporters through e-mail, said anyone can receive an instant alert to know "the moment Barack makes his decision," by signing up at http://my.barackobama.com/vp or by......

Join Bugsy Siegel and a host of other dead celebs for a Ramones tribute tonight at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. / Photo by Fire Monkey Fish via LAist's flickr pool. PARTY WITH A PURPOSE*: Obey and Z-Trip are throwing a Barack Obama fundraiser at the Echoplex tonight. DJ Diabetic (Shepard Fairey), Troublemaker and other special guests will also be in attendance. The first 100 arrivals at the 18+ party will receive Fairey’s Obama “Hope”......

Portion of Shepard Fairey poster Tonight, artist Shepard Fairey will DJ under his DJ Diabetic moniker along with Z-Trip, Troublemaker and others in a fundraiser at Echoplex for presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The first 100 arrivals to the $20 show will receive Obey’s Obama “HOPE” poster. Also, if you're downtown right now and near 7th and Figueroa, there's a free lunchtime concert by Seville playing a tribute to Motown. Tonight Seville @ 7+Fig Si*Se......

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.......

Evangelical mega-pastor Rev. Rick Warren of Saddleback Church and author of "The Purpose-Driven Life" has done what nobody else could. No, Warren has not established peace on earth or claimed an end to global poverty, but this morning he announced that he'll be bringing the two major 2008 presidential candidates together (or, rather, back-to-back) on August 16.......

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, is greeted by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Tuesday, July 8, 2008, at the League of United Latino American Citizens in Washington. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Here's Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama pumping fists with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at yesterday's League of United Latin American Citizens convention in Washington D.C. The Illinois Senator wasn't the mayor's first choice, but he's certainly showing "dedication" as......

Mayor Villaraigosa is not in Los Angeles today -- he's in Washington DC. Now that Senator Hillary Clinton is out of the race for the White House, the mayor has put his support behind Senator Barack Obama. And today's supportive move is to "introduce Obama at the annual convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC," according to the Daily News.......

LAist Featured Photos Flickr contributor PRIME IMAGERY >gianni submits this perfect California car backside. Does it get more Cali than this? Welcome to the ObamApplVo, as the photographer calls it.......

This is Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes last night talking up the election. Local issues were not even discussed. The closest to home was them asking about his transition from supporting Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama, and that's a stretch to call it local.........

Presidential candidate John McCain is saying it is now unlikely they will host any town halls with Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. All this could mean California being left out of the mix. Earlier this month, McCain proposed the two of them hold ten town-hall style debates, but Obama said five would be suffice. "That package of five engagements would have been the most of any Presidential campaign in the modern era," wrote the Democrat's......

On the heels of a whirlwind California journey that took him to Santa Barbara and Ventura Tuesday, presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain shuffled off to another campaign stop today, skipping out on the state's biggest city and one of the nation's largest metropolises. Why did John McCain avoid Los Angeles? Going to Santa Barbara and Ventura counties made sense. Santa Barbara, while not majority Democratic, does have a conservative streak and Republicans outnumber Democrats......

The LA Times and Bloomberg just released a poll at 2 p.m. on the presidential race. Obama now holds a 12 point lead over McCain. Perhaps the most interesting part of the poll is that among white voters, Obama and McCain are dead even at 39% each. Also, the Gallup Daily shows a much tighter margin with "Obama winning on key issues." Today, Obama is in Los Angeles at the Music Center fundraising with Hollywood.......

Presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama will be in town this afternoon. And while the man has a plan to move people (not just cars), his visit does come with traffic impacts, however minor: At approximately 2:00 pm the Los Angeles Department at 2:00 of Transportation (LADOT) will begin posting traffic officers at the intersections around the Music Center. They will then close one lane of north bound Hope Street from First Street to Temple......