Beverly Hills will lose its last movie rental store when Blockbuster closes its doors on Jan. 22. The corner store at the intersection of South Robertson and Charleville boulevards has been in operation for at least a decade. It is no longer offering rentals and is selling its entire stock of DVDs, video games, snacks and even furniture. Still, several patrons were trying to rent DVDs there Tuesday, despite the red “everything must go” signs. Many Blockbuster stores in California were closed last year after the chain was acquired by Dish Network. Employees at the Beverly Hills location were informed last week about the store’s impending closure and were not given a reason for the decision, Assistant Manager Anthony Ruiz said. The closure comes as the city’s Southeast Area Task Force is looking for ways to revitalize Robertson Boulevard and the surrounding area. There are several vacant storefronts on South Robertson and Olympic boulevards. An often-cited problem is a lack of public parking, although that was not an issue for Blockbuster, which has a sizeable parking lot. Councilman John Mirisch, who is leading the task force, said he did not know if any retailer has made plans to open in the Blockbuster building. “The closing of the Blockbuster probably has very little to do with the local area and much more to do with the evolution of the entertainment business,” he said, referring to the trend of movies being streamed over the Internet. The Beverly Hills Blockbuster will remain open from 12-9 p.m until its scheduled closure. The store is advising its customers to transfer their accounts to one of three nearby Blockbusters: 677 S. La Brea Ave., 4470 Sunset Blvd. and 9201 Venice Blvd. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Read the original: South Robertson Blvd. Blockbuster to Close
Video
Video Review: Samsung Galaxy Nexus
http://www.youtube.com/v/0b022Mg0fo8?version=3&f=user_uploads&app=youtube_gdata The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first 4G smartphone to run on Android Ice Cream Sandwich. LA Times Technology blogger Nathan Olivarez-Giles gives the review. Read the full review on the LA Times Technology Blog: latimesblogs.latimes.com See original here: Video Review: Samsung Galaxy Nexus
10 Ways to Use Patch in 2012
It’s a new year, and we’re ready to serve the Beverly Hills community in a bigger and better way—but we need your help. Beverly Hills Patch is as much your site as it is ours. Here’s how you can use Patch to make an impact. Share the news. When we know about community news, we’re on the case. From important city announcements to power outages and crime, Patch is covering news 24-7. See something you think others should read? All you have to do is click the Facebook “recommend” button above an article or blog to share it with your neighbors and friends. Comment. If you have relevant information to add to an article, jump in and make a comment. We’ll follow up and possibly add it to related articles in the future. Most community stories continue to evolve after they are reported—you can be a real-time source by commenting. Connect with the local editor. Email Beverly Hills site editor Marie Cunningham at mariec@patch.com, or call her at 310-809-4882 if you have any tips or information to share. Follow us on Twitter. When we write an article, we tweet the news out to our followers. Want the info the fastest way possible? Follow @BevHillsPatch . Get the iPhone or Droid app. Your smartphone is an awesome tool for getting the info on what’s going on in your community. Click here to get the Patch app for free on iTunes. Not only can you read news on it, but post photos and videos as well. For information about the Driod app, click here . Take photos. Patch has launched a new community gallery , where you can post any of your own photography. Have a cool photo of something you spotted around town? Share it with us. Shoot videos. The community gallery is not just for photos—send clips of anything around town you think is newsworthy. If you also give us a heads up via email that you’re uploading a video, we can feature it prominently on the homepage. Add to the calendar. Have an event you want to make the community aware of? Don’t be shy. Post it in our events calendar for all to see. It’s free! Volunteer. The same goes for our announcements section on Patch. Are you looking for volunteers for a service project? Share it . Blog. Everybody in any community has a story to tell. Don’t keep them to yourself. Sign up to be a blogger on Patch . Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Read more here: 10 Ways to Use Patch in 2012
10 Ways to Use Patch in 2012
It’s a new year, and we’re ready to serve the Beverly Hills community in a bigger and better way—but we need your help. Beverly Hills Patch is as much your site as it is ours. Here’s how you can use Patch to make an impact. Share the news. When we know about community news, we’re on the case. From important city announcements to power outages and crime, Patch is covering news 24-7. See something you think others should read? All you have to do is click the Facebook “recommend” button above an article or blog to share it with your neighbors and friends. Comment. If you have relevant information to add to an article, jump in and make a comment. We’ll follow up and possibly add it to related articles in the future. Most community stories continue to evolve after they are reported—you can be a real-time source by commenting. Connect with the local editor. Email Beverly Hills site editor Marie Cunningham at mariec@patch.com, or call her at 310-809-4882 if you have any tips or information to share. Follow us on Twitter. When we write an article, we tweet the news out to our followers. Want the info the fastest way possible? Follow @BevHillsPatch . Get the iPhone or Droid app. Your smartphone is an awesome tool for getting the info on what’s going on in your community. Click here to get the Patch app for free on iTunes. Not only can you read news on it, but post photos and videos as well. For information about the Driod app, click here . Take photos. Patch has launched a new community gallery , where you can post any of your own photography. Have a cool photo of something you spotted around town? Share it with us. Shoot videos. The community gallery is not just for photos—send clips of anything around town you think is newsworthy. If you also give us a heads up via email that you’re uploading a video, we can feature it prominently on the homepage. Add to the calendar. Have an event you want to make the community aware of? Don’t be shy. Post it in our events calendar for all to see. It’s free! Volunteer. The same goes for our announcements section on Patch. Are you looking for volunteers for a service project? Share it . Blog. Everybody in any community has a story to tell. Don’t keep them to yourself. Sign up to be a blogger on Patch . Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Read more here: 10 Ways to Use Patch in 2012
Arson Suspect Identified as Hollywood Resident, German National
Harry Burkhart, a 24-year-old Hollywood resident and German national reportedly in a dispute with federal immigration officials, was identified at a Monday evening news conference as the suspected arsonist responsible for setting 53 fires in the Los Angeles area. “He is the most dangerous arsonist in Los Angeles County that I can recall,” L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca said of Burkhart, who lives on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Officials were tipped off to Burkhart after he recently made a scene at a Los Angeles Immigration Court hearing, according to the Los Angeles Times . The Times reported that police speculate he might have started the fires because he was upset over his mother’s pending deportation. Burkhart was booked at 1:48 p.m. Monday and his bail was set at $250,000. He has been charged with one felony count of arson, but police said more charges will follow. No date has been set for his first court appearance. Police said Burkhart, a burly man with a ponytail, looked like the man seen in video at the scene of several fires. Police released video of the suspect Sunday night. West Hollywood Sheriff’s volunteer Reserve Deputy Shervin Lalezary detained Burkhart at about 3 a.m. Monday at Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue during a traffic stop, police said. “As we speak, search warrants are being served at this individual’s residence. We will know much more tomorrow than we know today,” Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said. “We have to proceed with caution.” The suspected arsonist allegedly set 11 fires between midnight Sunday and the time he was arrested early Monday, Los Angeles Fire Capt. Jaime Moore said. Property damage totals are estimated to be around $3 million. “There’s so much more work to be done. We’ve got a bunch of clues, a bunch of leads, more people to interview, search warrants to execute,” L.A. Police Commander Andrew Smith said. “Our guys will be working around the clock. They’ll be working for many days on this case.” Los Angeles Fire Chief Brian Cummings asked communities to remain vigilant. “If you see something, say something,” he said. “The information from the public from what they were observing over the past four days—and the tips they called in—were critical in getting us information and being able to respond quickly to these incidents, and to resolve them quickly without further loss of life or property damage.” This report was compiled with information from City News Service. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . View post: Arson Suspect Identified as Hollywood Resident, German National
‘Person Of Interest’ Detained In LA Car Arson Case
LOS ANGELES — Twelve more suspected arson fires broke out early Monday in the Los Angeles area, and a “person of interest” was taken into custody for questioning in connection with the dozens of suspicious car fires that have hit the city since last week. The developments came a day after police distributed DVDs featuring footage of a man, between 20 and 30 years old with a receding hairline and a shoulder-length ponytail, whom they described as a person of interest. He was seen on grainy surveillance video Saturday after emerging on foot from inside an underground parking structure on Hollywood Boulevard where a car fire was reported. Fire department spokesman Capt. Jaime Moore said he couldn’t say whether the person of interest detained early Monday was the man seen on the video footage. “It’s still too early to say whether or not this person has any direct correlation with the number of fires that we’ve been responding to this evening,” Moore said. No arrests had been made. Early Monday, firefighters battled 12 suspected arson fires at carports and garages. Ten occurred in Los Angeles and two were in West Hollywood, Moore said. They broke out shortly after 1:30 a.m. Moore said authorities believe the latest fires were connected to the earlier ones. The number of suspicious fires now stands at 55, he said. Detectives spent Sunday analyzing security video camera footage and following up on other leads after a half dozen more vehicles were set on fire on New Year’s Eve. The outbreak of arson fires has left a trail of smoldering debris in Hollywood, West Hollywood, North Hollywood and the Fairfax district of Los Angeles since Thursday. Most of those fires were set in parked cars. In several cases, flames have jumped to carports and apartment units. A reward of $60,000 has been offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the arsonist. Detectives served a search warrant at a home in the San Fernando Valley, Det. Gus Villanueva said Sunday. Several interviews were conducted, but no arrests were made. “They are working on hundreds of clues, interviewing dozens of witnesses, picking up countless pieces of evidence,” police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said of the detectives. Authorities haven’t said how the car fires were sparked or what was collected at the crime scenes. They were unsure if the rash of fires were the work of one arsonist or multiple people or copycats. There have been no injuries. Extra patrols were out in force on New Year’s Eve. One of Saturday’s attacks occurred at the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex, a popular tourist destination and hotspot for holiday revelers. Firefighters responded to a report of a small car fire in a parking structure that was out by the time they arrived. Firefighters routinely are called to put out burning cars, but this recent spate has been unusual because of the frequency and location of the fires. Crews have been responding to other emergencies despite the focus on solving the fire arsons, fire spokesman Erik Scott said. Police urged residents to check their cars for any signs of tampering and take simple precautions such as locking their cars, keeping garage and carport lights on at night and reporting suspicious activity. “We are not going to rest,” Los Angeles Fire Department assistant chief Pat Butler said Sunday at a joint police-fire news conference. “We are going to work tirelessly.” Police officials were working with Sheriff’s Department detectives, city and county fire investigators and members of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Read more here: ‘Person Of Interest’ Detained In LA Car Arson Case
Lakers Coach Mike Brown on becoming a Denver video coordinator
Metta World Peace: Kobe is King of LA, I’m a servant
Holidays in LA
This is a video tonight from the top private patio of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills California. Read more: Holidays in LA