Last month a program called Project 50 aimed at identifying homeless individuals most in need of immediate housing was begun in Los Angeles, and a similar program kicked off today in the City of Santa Monica. This morning teams began training for safety and census-taking skills, and are preparing to take to the streets early next week in the late night (or early morning) hours, tracking the areas where groups of homeless people congregate and......

Can't muster up the incentive to pay $3.25 for a cupcake? Then head on over to Sprinkles in Beverly Hills to get one for free! For today only, Sprinkles is teaming up with FOX's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles for a promotion. The first 1000 customers will get a free "red eye red velvet" cupcake and according to the store, cupcakes are still available and probably have a "couple hours left" until they hit......

Assorted Cupcakes at Crumbs Bakeshop Crumbs Bakeshop, a New York haven of baked goodies, has staked claim to 9465 S. Santa Monica Boulevard. If that address sounds familiar, it is about two blocks east of LA cupcake mecca, Sprinkles. With flavors at Crumbs like Oreo, Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough, Reese's, Heath Bar, and M&M, the difference in style is clear. Crumbs has the warm feeling of an old-time candy store. Nostalgic childhood favorites Twinkie, Hostess......

Because no one was seriously injured in this afternoon's fire in West Hollywood, it's probably ok to bust with some tasteless jokes. But we wont lower ourselves to that level. In fact we won't even snicker that the fire started at 4:30pm, mere minutes after the infamous 420 which many in WeHo celebrate. (Here in EaHo we celebrate it too) Instead we will simply run this photo sent to us by Scott from Boi......

If there is one thing to be learned from the current Sitham Theater Company production of David Lindsay Abaire’s Rabbit Hole, it is that there is a very fine line between dramatic theatrical realism and overdone Lifetime TV-style icky-ness. Granted I am a part of that jaded, selfish, and not quite old enough to remember the happy Clinton-years crowd, so my perception of bearable and unbearable dramatic palpability is surely skewed in the direction......

Last night I put on a white “I Love WeHo Dykes” t-shirt, merged with the throng of Dyke March 2007 attendees, and paraded down Santa Monica Boulevard, a street coincidentally named in honor of the patron saint of abused, victimized, and neglected women. It may seem strange to some that I would do such a thing given that I am not Dyke, Lesbian, or Queer. But as a woman, a West Hollywood resident, and......

Most great athletes do things to benefit charity. Sometimes their publicist makes them do it. Sometimes it's part of a league sanction for that silly little fight with the referee. Sometimes they just want to. Here's something the philanthropic athlete in you will want to do -- drink beer for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Larry & Cheech's 1st Annual Flip For The Kids is a tournament unlike any LA has ever seen. It'll have red......

While I've always enjoyed shopping and strolling down the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, it's never really been on the top of my list of dining destinations. Most of the restaurants on 3rd Street are overpriced and/or serve mediocre food. Though I'm a fan of Angelato (they boast 100 flavors of gelato, what's not to love?) and usually stop by the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for my usual ice blended drink, finding......

In order to provide more space for drag queen street races, and due to the Annual West Hollywood Halloween Parade, the following streets will be closed from 1pm to 6am: -- Santa Monica Boulevard between La Cienega Boulevard and Doheny Drive. -- Robertson Boulevard between Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. -- San Vicente Boulevard between Cynthia Street and Melrose Avenue. From 6 p.m. through 6 a.m., La Cienega Boulevard will be closed between......

by Sabrina C. Photography as a medium conveys blink of the eye captivity of humanity at its core. The work of Matt Mascaro is no exception as it introduces levels of metaphysical philosophy into his latest art exhibition, Objectification. It incorporates the use of still photographs and video, which are used to counter the typical negative association of objectivity. Mascaro explains, “I am obsessed with the idea of how human being are objectified through......

No more Stalin...you only have two nights left to see a group of earnest actors gyrating under a dirty bedsheet, and singing "U....topia!" like Animal Farm. We pointed to this revival production two days ago, but we saw it last night, and, God, is HOW TO EXPLAIN THE HISTORY OF COMMUNISM TO MENTAL PATIENTS the scariest story on Santa Monica Boulevard. In an fiercely pro-Stalinist mental hospital, with the dictator's portrait overshadowing the stage......

The Cinespia film society screens Detour, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, tonight at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Going to see the final resting places of old Tinseltown names like Rudoph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Peter Lorre, Janet Gaynor and Tyrone Power is cool enough -- but add a flick and music to the mix and how much more Hollywood can you get? Bring food, drinks and blankets. Tall chairs are not allowed. Detour Saturday, May......

The morning starts off typical enough. Snooze three times, a half-asleep rush to get out the door, forgot my lunch on the counter. All of this would be fine if it weren’t for the car I was stuck behind for 8 blocks on Santa Monica Boulevard with the “Charlton Heston for President” bumper sticker. There would be a picture if coffee would have been involved first, but alas. If you only chose to put......

LAist is going on a delicious spree from A to Z. This weekend, we finish up G as we attempt to sober up at Gozar after a few too many at The Abbey a few doors down. When first we heard of the restaurant Gozar, we thought it was “go, zar.” It never occurred to us that this mostly Spanish tapas restaurant, but with heavy Puerto Rican and Cuban influences, was the Spanish verbo......

Tomorrow night West Hollywood’s trendy O-Bar celebrates their second anniversary by putting you, the customer, in charge of pricing. It's a whole new spin on prix-fixe, because you're doing the fixing! They will be offering the entire food menu for whatever price customers feel they should pay for the evening. Menus will be presented without prices, and the check will be presented with blanks next to the listed items. Guests will simply write in......

It's a given that weekend nights were made for going out, which includes dining. Even though LA is pretty close to a 24/7/365 town (close in some respects, far far from it in others, but that's another issue entirely), some restaurants find themselves with empty tables every now and then. One thing that many hot eateries have come up with to draw folks in are specialty nights, where things are shaken and stirred or......

LAist is going on a delicious spree around la la land from A to Z. This week, we continue with...C is for California Vegan. One of LAist's favorite local Indian restaurants, All India Cafe, is on the second floor of a mini mall at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Bundy. There is nothing else worth eating in the mini-mall, except, perhaps a fast-food Hawaiian barbecue place. But even that doesn't look all......

In today's "Los Angeles Times" Column One, reporter Daniel Hernandez pays a visit to El Congo Manuel on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood and shares the world of Santeria with readers in his article "Little Shop of Santeria." We're not crazy about that title--would a Times copy editor have called Cotter Church Supplies "Little House of Catholicism"? Anyhoo, the article itself is terrific: Charles Guelperin, the Santeria priest, explained the day's aim: "We're doing......

Over the holiday weekend, while most people were watching Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning flee from aliens, LAist visited a new day spa in Santa Monica, and had a very earthly experience. The Willow Spa in Santa Monica is housed in a fully restored and refurbished California style bungalow that at one time was home to both a beauty salon, and a gun shop. At the same time. Only in Los Angeles, right? "Hi......

Poor David Denby. In this week's "New Yorker" magazine, the critic screens "Batman Begins" and "Mr.& Mrs. Smith" and doesn't like what he sees. Regarding the Batman script, he writes Working with a screenplay he [director Christopher Nolan] wrote with David S. Goyer, he has attempted a solemn creation myth... Neeson, wearing a pointy little beard, teaches Bale to be tough by knocking him down as he tells him things like “You fear your......

Before we get into the week that was, there are a few announcements. As should be obvious from what he writes about, Phil Wallace is our Sports editor and the staff page now reflects that. Jessica Ritz is our resident queen of interview and the staff page showcases that now as well. You'll also notice that we've made it easy to print items from LAist now. There's a cool little print link on all items......

For those who think Bingo should be filed with Shuffleboard, think twice. Maybe think it once more, because three times...she's a lady. For seven sensational years now, WeHo's pride and joy, The Fabulous Belle-Aire and her Bingo-boy, have been raising money (and hemlines) for charity through Bingo. What began as a one-night stand (isn't that always the way?) as an APLA fundraiser has become, well, Legendary. Each week they have a special celebrity ball caller......

Only 2 weeks left to indulge yourself before you have to actualize all those resolutions you made for the new year. We recommend breaking your carbo/sugar fast with a piece of Alligator (currently available at Gelson's Markets, pictured above), those delectable pecan encrusted pasteries. Growing up, we couldn't get enough of the flaky, buttery treat enlivened with marzipan and have fond memories of patronizing the bakeries around Robertson and Pico. While rummaging through the......

With the holidays all around us, LAist has noticed that some people aren't fully embracing the "treat your fellow man respectfully and with love" concept. And so, we decided to take advantage of the stress and the chaos and the ill-will around town by seeing just how many annoyed dashboard notes we could elicit by parking in two spaces at once, too close to the driver's side doors, at awkward angles, double-parking and a......

LAist realizes that it is entirely possible, and even mildly enjoyable, to do all of your holiday shopping on-line without bothering to leave the house or change out of your pajamas. You could also head to the local mall, buying gifts from the Gap and Banana Republic. But you don’t have to resign yourself to buying gifts from faceless corporations. You don’t have to give a gift that’s been seen on TV. No one......

Today is World AIDS Day, and our community, along with other cities around the world, will mark this day of remembrance in a variety of ways: - The City of West Hollywood will be commemorating World AIDS Day with a candlelight vigil tonight, on Santa Monica Boulevard at Crescent Heights. After the vigil, the city will present the Paul Andrew Starke Warrior Award, which honors a volunteer or employee of agencies which provide AIDS......

WeHo Ages!...

Today's Sunset Strip entry below reminds this LAist of a Rodger Jacobs piece, "Wrestling with Mariel Hemingway." "I didn’t tell Steve about the dreams until we were well into our second year of marriage. At first he laughed it off as a silly recurring dream but when he realized the serious intensity of the nocturnal wanderings of my mind he opted for some rather unique therapy. This was back in the day when the......

With the redesign and reconstruction of Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood still a fresh memory, West LA residents, commuters, businesses, and a handful of pedestrians are bravely tolerating another major improvement project now taking place along a westerly swath of the Boulevard. A $68.5 million dollar Santa Monica Boulevard Transit Parkway Project attempts to transform the idiosyncratic (some might say disjointed) 2.5-mile long streetscape that follows the spine of the Century City corridor......

Parking just got a lot easier in Los Angeles -- well, for the people who own hybrid vehicles, at least. Starting today, the city of LA begins a pilot program allowing hybrid owners to park at all city meters free of charge. Parking enforcement officers have been trained to recognize the fuel-efficient, environment-friendly cars and not write tickets when their meters blink red. The catch is that even hybrids are still subject to time......