TUES FEB 2 Congresswoman Laura Richardson is appointed Chair of Emergency Communication, Preparedness and Response, which I originally thought was the long-discarded first name for Blood, Sweat and Tears, but have since been informed is a rather critical subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee. The subcommittee is there to monitor FEMA, prepare for terrorism response [...]

‘Street Kings’: An un-thinking man’s cop movie
With its crime pedigree of cowriter James Ellroy (best known for his novels L.A. Confidential and American Tabloid) and director David Ayer (screenwriter of Training Day), you’d hope, maybe even expect, that Street Kings would hit a high-mark for the genre. Instead, it turns out to be a bland [...]

SANDOW BIRK’S “THE LIBERATION OF BAGHDAD”
According to the LA Times, a mural by Long Beach artist Sandow Birk (who we’ve written about here, here and here) has apparently rankled more than a few residents of Boyle Heights. The LAPD-commissioned mural was created for the department’s Hollenbeck station but has yet to be installed because of [...]