Local News

Video: Dog Occupies Tree House at Occupy LA

December 1, 2011
Video: Dog Occupies Tree House at Occupy LA

Four protesters – all part of the group Sovereign Nation – remained in and on top of a makeshift tree house at City Hall Park early this morning until the dreaded cherry picker plucked them from their perches. A fifth furry occupier was also discovered inside – a dog named Lucky. more › Read more here: Video: Dog Occupies Tree House at Occupy LA

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Behind Every Ring Is A Love Story: Share Your Engagement Story With Us!

December 1, 2011
Behind Every Ring Is A Love Story: Share Your Engagement Story With Us!

1930′s Art Deco Engagement Ring There’s one moment no bride or groom will ever forget: the moment they got engaged, which is eternally symbolized by the one and only engagement ring. A couple may exchange all kinds of jewelry throughout a relationship (especially celebrity couples… consider Elizabeth Taylor’s epic collection!) but there is only one engagement ring. Needless to say, the proposal should be just as unforgettable as the ring, since the ring will forever be imbued with the story. This is especially true when it comes to antique/vintage rings, which often carry with them multiple love stories! Do you have an unforgettable engagement story? Share us your story and a picture of your ring, and we may feature you on our blog! Just email us at maryam[at]diamondestatetrust[dot]com. Make sure to Like us on Facebook to find out if you’re a winner! Still looking for a ring? Consider the 1930′s Art Deco engagement ring pictured above. It’s made from rose gold (one of the biggest jewelry trends of the moment) and boasts a 2.57 carat diamond surrounded by a ring of round diamonds and black enamel trim. Pricing available upon request. View original post here: Behind Every Ring Is A Love Story: Share Your Engagement Story With Us!

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The Mighty Santa Ana Winds Will Be A-Blowin’ This Week

November 30, 2011
The Mighty Santa Ana Winds Will Be A-Blowin’ This Week

‘Tis the season to quote Joan Didion and Raymond Chandler : the National Weather Service tells us that for the next two days there will be something uneasy in the Los Angeles air. The gusty, dry Santa Anas will be returning to Los Angeles tonight. more › Link: The Mighty Santa Ana Winds Will Be A-Blowin’ This Week

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Seasonal Eats: Marvelous Meyer Lemons

November 30, 2011
Seasonal Eats: Marvelous Meyer Lemons

For the first time in awhile, I’ve seen Meyer lemons back at the farmer’s market. Meyer lemons are native to China and thought to be a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin or orange. Brought back from a trip to China by Frank Meyer about 100 years ago, they grow well in warm climates in orchards or garden pots as ornamental trees with a winter seasonality in the California climate. more › Original post: Seasonal Eats: Marvelous Meyer Lemons

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Emeril Lagasse Flips Out in New York City

November 30, 2011
Emeril Lagasse Flips Out in New York City

SELLER: Emeril Lagasse LOCATION: New York City, NY PRICE: $15,000,000 SIZE: 6,900 square feet, 6 full and 2 half bathrooms YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Today we’ve opted for reasons well not explain to ride the coat tails of New York Post who appear t o be the first to report that celebrity chef and culinary mini-tycoon Emeril Lagasse has flipped his nicely dressed limestone-clad New York City townhouse on the market with an asking price of $15,000,000. Just because Your Mama ain’t never eaten in one of Mister Lagasse’s eateries, made use of one of his numerous cookbooks, watched a single one of his television programs or purchased any of the many products he endorses does not mean he isn’t a very big fish in the culinary world. In addition to the dozen-plus restaurants he owns and executive chefs, the James Beard Award-winning thrice-married father of four, known for his Cajun and Creole spiced dishes, is a prolific cookbook author, television personality and, probably most lucratively, an eager endorser of a slew of products that range from dry goods (pasta sauces and etc.), to fresh produce, kitchen knives, cookware and electrical appliances. In 2008, the multi-tasking foodie sold the rights to all his various Emeril branded and licensed products (but not his restaurants) in a $50,000,000 deal with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, a deal that sorta makes him, with all due respect, one of Martha Stewart’s bitches. BAM! Interestingly and although he paid a pretty penny to own a mansion-sized townhouse in Manhattan, as far as Your Mama knows Mister Lagasse does not own a restaurant in New York City instead opting to plant his mostly eponymous professional feet in places like New Orleans, Orlando, Las Vegas and Bethlehem, PA. Some of the children who have long paid rapt attention to the New York City celebrity real estate scene may recall it was only just over two years ago that the puissant hash slinger purchased the fairly recently renovated six-story (plus basement) residence that had a long and arduous listing history. The fine folks at StreetEasy reveal the approximately 18-foot wide townhouse had been on the market since August of 2006 when it showed up with as asking price of $11,250,000, a figure that over the first couple of years, as the soup-to-nuts renovation progressed, climbed to $14,995,000. After a year at that number, the price tag plummeted to $12,995,000 and three weeks after that it dropped dramatically again to $11,500,000. Mister Lagasse soon moseyed along and paid the full asking price. A quick and entirely unscientific comparison of current listing photos with listing photos from the time of his acquisition indicate Mister Legasse hasn’t made many (if any) significant alterations to the the townhouse so we’re not quite sure what warrants the $3,500,000 increase in price/value but we’ll let all y’all New York City property experts duke that one out in the comments iffin you so chose. The symmetrical Georgian style townhouse, originally erected in 1910, has an all-new Indiana limestone front facade that towers over a small planted garden that separates the busy city street from the front door that opens into a windowed entry vestibule with dual coat closets. The intimate vestibule opens into a grand, marble floored foyer with heated limestone floor and antique marble fireplace. At the rear of the residence on the street/entry level a full-width eat-in kitchen has a radiant heated floor that makes Your Mama’s cold-blooded house gurl Svetlana ache with envy, walls lined with custom walnut cabinetry, a Chevy-sized Carrara marble-topped center island lit by a glitzy chandelier, two side-by-side Sub-Zero fridge/freezers, commerical-grade range with double over, a 150-bottle wine fridge, walk-in pantry, and a wide bank of open and glass-fronted shelves for displaying cook books and other culinary knick-knacks and gew-gaws. The kitchen is open to and steps down to an informal dining room with herringbone patterned oak floors, a built-in banquette opposite a marble-columned built-in entertainment center, and a wall of windows and French doors that open out to a fully landscaped formal garden with outdoor dining table. The fully-finished basement level, accessible only by stair and not by elevator, contains a playroom/gym, full bathroom, laundry room with sink, multiple utility and mechanical closets and a wood-paneled temperature controlled wine cellar that even the fussiest sommelier swoon with oenophilic aphrodisia. The parlor floor, one floor up from the street/entry level, has regal 14-foot ceilings and a discreet wet bar with built-in ice maker tucked off the center all where it’s easily accessible from the both the formal dining and living room. In the north facing dining room, located so far from the kitchen a hot meal could easily go luke warm in transit, there’s an antique marble fireplace, a trio of windows with street view, luscious herringbone patterned oak flooring, a brassy-looking crystal chandelier huge far too high–it should be no more than 36″ from the top of the table–and a beautifully articulated ceiling with wide moldings and quatrefoil detailing that we can only hope was rendered in plaster. The rich-looking herringbone patterned hardwood floors extend into the sizable but not baronial south facing formal living room that features yet another antique marble fireplace plus a wall of windows and French doors that open to a narrow terrace that overlooks the backyard. The full-floor master suite encompasses a sunny south facing bedroom with fireplace and French doors to deep private terrace, two walk-in closets plus a custom-fitted dressing room, and a bedroom-sized bathroom with yummy heated floor, Carrara marble accents, a free-stranding Agape soaking tub, separate step-in steam shower, double sinks, and an enclosed terlit cubicle with window for p.p.p. That is, as so-labeled by one of the children, proper pooper placement. Each of the two floors directly above the master suite encompass two bedrooms with private facilities. One floor has a convenient kitchenette

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Occupy LA Eviction

November 30, 2011
Occupy LA Eviction

Images from Wednesday’s overnight eviction at the Occupy LA encampment. Photo Credit: Getty Images See the original post: Occupy LA Eviction

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Occupy LA Moves Out, Cleanup Begins

November 30, 2011
Occupy LA Moves Out, Cleanup Begins

Protesters are cleared from an Occupy LA encampment outside City Hall. Photo Credit: Jonathan Lloyd Continued here: Occupy LA Moves Out, Cleanup Begins

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City Staffers to Recommend Rejection of Roxbury Park Master Plan Bids

November 30, 2011

City staffers will advise the City Council at its Dec. 6 formal meeting to reject the bids that were submitted for renovating the Roxbury Park Community Center as part of the Roxbury Park Master Plan , according to a city statement.  The Beverly Hills Office of Communications sent out a press release Tuesday indicating that city staffers will seek direction from the council after receiving bids for the renovation project that were “significantly higher than budgeted.” The lowest of the three bids, according to the statement, was just under $14.4 million, which would bring the full cost of the project—including administration and contingencies—to $16.8 million. That amount exceeds the $14.7 million that has been budgeted for the project. According to the prequalification paperwork that bidders must submit to the City Clerk’s office, renovations of the Roxbury Park Community Center would be conducted in three phases: Phase One: The demolition of approximately 50 percent of the existing Roxbury Community Center and a portion of the surface parking lot. Phase Two: Construction of the new community center facility and surface parking lot. Phase Three: The demolition of the remaining existing community center and remaining surface parking lot, and the reconstruction of surface parking in that area. The new community center would feature a sports gymnasium, exercise room, several meeting rooms, a branch library, a commercial grade catering kitchen and an open office area. Renovations would focus on exterior walls with finishes of glass and stone, interior walls, ceilings, floor finishes, duct work, built-in cabinetry, restrooms, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing work. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on  Twitter  and “Like” us on  Facebook . The rest is here: City Staffers to Recommend Rejection of Roxbury Park Master Plan Bids

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Occupy LA Protesters Prep for LAPD Raid

November 30, 2011
Occupy LA Protesters Prep for LAPD Raid

Protesters at the Occupy Los Angeles encampment prepared Tuesday night for what they believed was an imminent raid by police, with hundreds gathered at the protest site discussing emergency preparations. Click here for live video now. Excerpt from: Occupy LA Protesters Prep for LAPD Raid

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OCCUPY LA RAID LIKELY & APPROACHING

November 30, 2011

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police began surrounding the Occupy Los Angeles encampment Tuesday night, nearly two days after a deadline passed for protesters to clear out, as demonstrators with the movement in Philadelphia marched through the streets after being evicted from their site. Los Angeles police in riot gear holding batons stood in the street facing a line of protesters as hundreds chanted, “The people united will never be defeated.” Someone played the national anthem on a horn as helicopters circled overhead. More than 1,000 officers who staged for the operation outside Dodger Stadium were briefed on the potential for violence and the possibility that demonstrators could throw everything from concrete and gravel to human feces. “Please put your face masks down and watch each other’s back,” a supervisor told them. “Now go to work.” The officers clad in riot gear with helmets and with white plastic handcuffs hooked to their belts were taken aboard 30 city buses downtown. Officers plan to declare an unlawful assembly and give protesters a chance to leave. Those who don’t depart will be arrested. The operation was planned at night because downtown is mostly vacant, with offices closed, fewer pedestrians and less traffic. But it could make officers more vulnerable. “It’s more difficult for us to see things, to see booby traps,” Lt. Andy Neiman, told pool reporters. “Operating in the dark is never an advantage.” Neiman said the force was prepared to deal with demonstrators barricaded in the camp or holed up in trees in the small park. About half of some 500 tents remained in Los Angles after a Monday morning eviction deadline and the remaining protesters showed no sign of leaving their weeks-old encampment, which is one of the largest still remaining in the country. Before 11 p.m., Los Angeles police had closed off streets surrounding the protest encampment. The action in Los Angeles came after police in Philadelphia gave protesters three warning they had to leave and began pulling down tents at about 1:20 a.m. Wednesday. The eviction came more than two days after Philadelphia’s deadline for protesters to remove all structures and belongings from Dilworth Plaza. “This is a symbolic action, but in another sense this has been our home for almost two months and no one wants to see their home taken away from them,” 22-year-old protester Bri Barton said while also acknowledging she and other would have to leave the site. Most protesters participated in the march, but a few watched police take down the tents and chanted, “We are the 99 percent.” Some protesters in Los Angeles shot off fireworks near the camp where Occupy members discussed emergency preparations. “This is a monumental night for Los Angeles. We’re going to do what we can to protect the camp,” said Gia Trimble, member of the Occupy LA media team. She said she thought a lot of people would stay and risk arrest, adding, “We’re really committed to this.” Demonstrators and city officials in both Los Angeles and Philadelphia were hoping any confrontation would be nonviolent, unlike evictions at similar camps around the country. The movement against economic disparity and perceived corporate greed began with Occupy Wall Street in Manhattan two months ago, and police have removed Occupy demonstrators in other cities. Some of those instances involved pepper spray and tear gas. In their anticipation of an eviction, the Los Angeles protesters designated medics designated with red crosses taped on clothing. Some protesters had gas masks. Broadcast footage showed police officers boarding buses that had lined up near Dodger Stadium at what appeared to be some sort of staging area. Organizers at the camp packed up computer and technical equipment from the media tent. Two men who have constructed an elaborate tree house fashioned a ladder pusher out of bamboo sticks tied together with twine. It was intended to push down a ladder that police may erect to get them out of the tree house. Members of the National Lawyers guild had legal observers on hand for any possible eviction that may occur. Pam Noles, a member of the camp media team, said the park is legally closed at 10:30 p.m. ___ Associated Press writer Kathy Matheson contributed to this report from Philadelphia. The rest is here: OCCUPY LA RAID LIKELY & APPROACHING

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Raw Police Video