losangelesculture6

2006-05-09T00:06:00.000-07:00

Lakers to aim higher next season

By JOHN NADEL
AP SPORTS WRITER

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Phil & Kobe reunion worked out well, with no apparent glitches. And outside of an ugly finish, so did the Los Angeles Lakers' season.

As for the future, Lakers fans probably shouldn't expect much roster shuffling or a championship contender very soon. The hope is, a title shot isn't too far away.

"We were all about getting to the playoffs and make some noise in the playoffs. We met our goal," coach Phil Jackson said Monday during a break from conducting exit interviews with his players.

The Lakers went 45-37 for an 11-game improvement over the previous season, and took a 3-1 lead over the Phoenix Suns before losing the last three games to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

"We're pleased. We maintained from day one that was achievable," general manager Mitch Kupchak said of a return to the postseason.

But Game 7 was ugly from start to finish - a 121-90 victory by the Suns.

"They're holding themselves responsible," Jackson said of his players. "I have to make them let go of that. The first four games were pretty good."

And the last three weren't.

"We think our future is very bright," Kupchak said. "The good news, really, is this team is together. You cannot predict a major change.

"This is not a stellar year where you're going to see eight to 10 stellar free agents available. We're in the exact same boat as 25 or 26 other teams are in. We have a big window two years from now."

That that might be when something big happens in free agency that makes the Lakers viable championship contenders.

"I wouldn't discount it a year or two down the road. I'm not prepared to say that, although I think that's a possibility," Kupchak said of returning to elite status.

Added Jackson: "Usually you have to go two or three rounds of the playoffs before you can compete for a championship. "We have some core ingredients that are pretty good."

The Lakers have three legitimate big men in Chris Mihm, Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum. Bryant is a superstar and Lamar Odom is an All-Star caliber player.

The biggest question mark is in the backcourt. Bryant's 35.4-point average was the NBA's best in 19 years, but the youth and inexperience of starter Smush Parker and top reserve Sasha Vujacic hurt the Lakers against the Suns.

"The question is, are we good enough at that position? Are we experienced enough? Both of them made strides this season," Jackson said. "We don't believe we have to have a superstar come in for us to advance (in the playoffs). We know we have enough physical talent, we have enough size, we have enough expertise to compete."

Kupchak said he didn't anticipate a major trade this offseason, but did acknowledge a possible need for an upgrade in the backcourt.

The Lakers, well over the salary cap, have only three unrestricted free agents on their roster - veterans Devean George and Jimmy Jackson and rookie Devin Green. George was a key reserve on this team.

"He's probably the one challenge we have during the offseason," Kupchak said. "Basically, the core of this team is intact."

George said he was going to explore free agency.

"I just let them know that I enjoyed being here and I'm open to coming back," he said.

Jackson, who coached the Lakers to three championships in five years, returned this season after a year off. He wrote a book slamming Bryant while he was gone, so there was intrigue upon his return. When training camp started, all eyes were in the record-setting coach and his star player. But no problems surfaced.

"We worked together really well this season," Jackson said. "It was remarkable, from Hawaii on. I think at first, it was like, `How's this going to work?' He really took to the offense, where he was going to play in it. It was a remarkable year for him."

Jackson said Bryant did an especially good job with leadership.

"Kobe was a lot more personable for us this year, was great as a leader," teammate Brian Cook said. "A lot of people did a lot of growing up. Everybody got along from the standpoint of off the court - just a great group of guys."

Bryant said he believes the Lakers grew up.

"When you go through a season like we went through and a playoff series like we went through, those are big steps in our development process," he said. "When we come back next season, you'll see a team that executes better, understands better, is better in pressure situations, is just mature."

2006-04-16T16:42:00.000-07:00

losangelesculture6 new articles for Sunday, April 16, 2006Los Angeles transit worker dies just weeks after retiring at 100 (WALB News 10)
LOS ANGELES You may remember Arthur Winston from the blitz of publicity and accolades he received last month when he retired from his job on his 100th birthday.

Fugitive charged in Ponzi scheme extradited back to Los Angeles (WALB News 10)
LOS ANGELES A man charged with running a Ponzi scheme that allegedly bilked 31 (m) million dollars from more than 800 investors has been ordered held without bail in Los Angeles.

Newsmakers | Madonna and hubby heal in Los Angeles (Philly.com)
Could Madonna really have bumps? We're not talking phrenology, but romanceology: In an interview with Closer mag, the Spiritual Mom's father-in-law, John Ritchie, said Madge and hub Guy Ritchie have had bumps - or at least a bumpy period - in their marriage, causing them to pack up from their gazillion-dollar Brit manse and head to a well-known spiritual retreat: Los Angeles.

Demitra's shootout goal lifts Los Angeles over Calgary (The Sports Network)
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Pavol Demitra scored the lone goal of the shootout and also tallied in regulation, as the Los Angeles Kings edged the Calgary Flames, 2-1, at the Staples Center.

Seattle SuperSonics (33-46) At Los Angeles Clippers (46-33), 9 P.m. (KIRO 7 Seattle-Tacoma)
(Sports Network) - The playoff bound Los Angeles Clippers and the disappointing Seattle SuperSonics conclude a home-and-home set tonight at the Staples Center.

MLB: Los Angeles 3, San Francisco 1 (UPI)
LOS ANGELES, April 16 (UPI) -- The Dodgers beat the Giants 3-1 at Dodger Stadium Saturday night thanks to Jeff Kent, who doubled and scored twice. Kent finished the game 2-for-3 to help Los Angeles win its second game in the past three.

NHL: Los Angeles 2, Calgary 1 (SO) (UPI)
LOS ANGELES, April 16 (UPI) -- The Kings marked Luc Robitaille's final game of his career with a 2-1 shootout win over the Flames at the Staples Center Saturday night.

NEXT FOR GIANTS: AT LOS ANGELES (San Jose Mercury News)
NEXT FOR GIANTS: AT LOS ANGELES Site: Dodger Stadium. Dodgers update: The Dodgers (5-5) went 4-3 on their trip to the East Coast, which included stops in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Dodgers lead the majors with 118 hits in 10 games, but they have given up 18 home runs. 3B Bill Mueller's .444 batting average tops the National League. OF Kenny Lofton is eligible to come off the disabled list

Graduate of Los Angeles Film School Had 95 Miles to Go with Comedian Ray Romano (PR Web via Yahoo! News)
LOS ANGELES, CA: April 12, 2006– Graduate of The Los Angeles Film School (LAFS), Roger Lay, JR, appears in and serves as the Associate Producer of Ray Romano’s new film, 95 Miles to Go.

Williams-Sonoma Home store debuts in Los Angeles (Display & Design Ideas)
SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 -- Williams-Sonoma Inc., San Francisco, opened the first Williams-Sonoma Home store Friday on Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood, Los Angeles.

2006-04-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

losangelesculture6 new articles for Tuesday, April 11, 2006'La Marcha' Protest Draws 500,000 in Los Angeles (NPR)
Hundreds of thousands of people supporting immigrants' rights have taken to the streets in rallies and marches that span the country. In California, rallies are happening in the heart of farm country, as well as in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.

Los Angeles: LAX Facelift in the Can (Gridskipper)
While city officials battle environmentalists over plans to reconfigure the runways and terminals at Los Angeles International Airport, officials at LAX are working on a more basic customer service...

Gen. Anthony Zinni Converses With Marjorie Miller and Town Hall Los Angeles (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
On Friday, April 21, 2006, General Anthony Zinni, former Commander in Chief of the US Central Command, converses with Los Angeles Times Foreign Editor Marjorie Miller and Town Hall Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Foreclosures Increase Dramatically in the First Quarter Of 2006, According to Default Research (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
The number of foreclosures in Los Angeles County increased by 63 percent in the first quarter of 2006 compared to 2005, according to Default Research , the rapidly growing real estate research company for foreclosure properties.

Los Angeles Councilman Offers $50k For B.I.G. Leads By EbenGregory Date: 4/9/2006 8:40 pm (allhiphop.com)
A city official in Los Angeles, California hopes a $50,000 reward will provide leads in the unsolved slaying of rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace.

Taiwan's CAL to add flights to Los Angeles (Channel NewsAsia)
TAIPEI : China Airlines, Taiwan's leading carrier, said Monday it will add two flights to its Taipei-Los Angeles route every week from mid-May on rising demand.

Los Angeles Official Offers $50K Reward BIG Leads (BallerStatus.net)
A city councilman for Los Angeles has offered a $50,000 reward for leads in the unsolved murder of Notorious B.I.G.

G4 + E3 = 5 Days of Blowout Coverage of the Biggest Videogame Event in the World, as E3 Hits Los Angeles May 9-12 (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
Combining the high stakes of the Super Bowl, the excitement of the Oscars and the mania of March Madness, E3 -- the premiere event in the videogame universe -- hits Los Angeles May 9-12, and G4 will be in the thick of the action with three hours a day of live, up-to-the-minute coverage.

West Angeles City View Will Offer Condos, Townhomes and Single-Family Units to Middle-Class Residents in South Los (Multi-Housing News)
MARCH 31, 2006 -- Los Angeles -- To meet the growing demand for home ownership in urban neighborhoods of South Los Angeles, the West Angeles Community Development Corp. (WACDC) and Phoenix Realty Group (PRG) announced the close of escrow on the site for a 61-unit, for-sale multi-housing community.

Philadelphia 6, Los Angeles 3 (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune)
PHILADELPHIA 6, LOS ANGELES 3 Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Furcal ss 5 1 0 0 0 2 .211 JoCruz lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .350 JDrew rf 3 1 1 1 1 1 .316 JKent 2b 3 0 1 0 1 0 .375 Loney 1b 4 0 2 0 0 0 .267 Mueller 3b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .421 Repko cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .350 Navarro c 4 1 1 1 0 0 .200 DLowe p 3 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Brazoban p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- Kuo p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Saito p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- Ledee ph 1 0 0 0 0 1

2006-04-02T21:12:00.000-07:00

losangelesculture6 new articles for Sunday, April 02, 2006Ed Schultz Profile, Fargo-Moorhead, Los Angeles Times, Sheldon Drobny
In Sunday's Los Angeles Times, that's exactly what's happened for Big Eddie Schultz, ... Carried live in Los Angeles on KTLK (1150) weekdays, noon to 3 pm, ... (In Los Angeles, after a year on KTLK, his number of listeners has doubled ...

Los Angeles Collision Sends 8 To Hospital
On Saturday, April 1, 2006 at 10:16 PM, five Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, ... The cause of the collision is under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. Submitted by Jim Wells, Spokesman Los Angeles Fire Department.

Los Angeles Paying Biggie's Mom $1.1 Million
No substitute for justice, but I'm glad she's getting paid.. and that The Man is taking a much-deserved L: LA to Pay Notorious BIG Family $1.1 Million The Los Angeles City Council approved a $1.1 million payment to the family and estate ...

VJ Fader - Who’s That Asian Boy? [Release]
Los Angeles native James Cui aka VJ Fader has released his first Audio/Video track – a wonderfully campy asian gangsta-boy hip hop track called “Who’s That Asian Boy?” Available for viewing here, and download as MOV, WMV, Google Video, ...

Tijuana, Holbrook, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, Paris, Natchez ...
Natchez, Tijuana, Los Angeles, Denver, Paris, San Diego, and Holbrook, AZ are now up. Also, each page now has a drop-down-breadcrumb-like menu to aid navagaztion and hopefully allow visitors to discover new cities and photos.

Million March for Immigrants Rights in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Times say half a million. People in the crowd were saying that the ... Whichever it was, and, of course, it wasn’t possible to make a count, this was clearly the largest protest of any kind in the history of Los Angeles. ...

Who says Los Angeles doesn't have ancient statuary? Here is a fine ...
Who says Los Angeles doesn't have ancient statuary? Here is a fine example that I happened upon while driving through one of the nicer neighborhoods in the metropolis. Notice the newspaper wrapped in plastic she is holding, ...

MLB Team Profiles: Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers. 2005 Record: .438 (71-91), 4 th place in NL West. 2004 Record: .574 (93-69), 1st place in NL West. Who’s Out: Milton Bradley (OF), Antonio Perez (INF), Duaner Sanchez (P), Steve Schmoll (P), Eddie Murray (P), ...

Kevin de León Calls on Candidates to Refrain from Negative ...
The 45th District includes the following neighborhoods: Angelino Heights, Ascot Hills, Atwater Village, Boyle Heights, Chinatown, Cypress Park, East Hollywood, East Los Angeles, Echo Park, El Sereno, Elysian Valley, Glassell Park, ...

Sexual Predator on the Dwontown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council ...
And especiallly if he will be thinking he is going to represent the Artists of Downtown Los Angeles and be a predator of the homeless at the same time . Think again. He was appointed by JAson Waters to be his alternate and sworn in ...

Greetings and Welcome To Each of You!
Its my extreme pleasure to take over this famous blog, and to have the opportunity to introduce all the folks in Los Angeles to the wonderful world of agriculture! Indeed, nature's wonders are bountiful and I hope you all take a bite. ...

Los Angeles Times: "US-Indian Nuclear Deal No Shoo-In"
Subject: **Los Angeles Times: "US-Indian Nuclear Deal No Shoo-In" To: rajeev.srinivasan@gmail.com. http://www.latimes. com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usindia31mar31,0,1575532.story?track=tottext LOS ANGELES TIME, APRIL 1, 2006 ...

Los Angeles: Casbah Cafe
Casbah Cafe is one of the Silverlake neighborhood originals, or at least it feels that way. The insipid waitresses are devoid of personality, but if youÂ’ve been in LA for even five minutes, then youÂ’re well used to that. ...

SAT NIGHT: LOS ANGELES > FILM SCHOOL & CLOUD ROOM
TONIGHT IN LOS ANGELES - FILM SCHOOL + THE CLOUD ROOM @ THE TROUBADOUR april 1 CLOUD ROOM FILM SCHOOL Space Mtn Tickets $10 adv / $12day of show • 8pm TROUBADOUR • 9081 Santa Monica Blvd • HOLLYWOOD, CA 90069 ...

iris, messenger of the gods
Who says Los Angeles doesn't have ancient statuary? Here is a fine example that I happened upon while driving through one of our nicer neighborhoods. Notice the newspaper wrapped in plastic that she is holding. ...

Downtown Los Angeles loft/condo listings added to ultimateLA.com
Take a look at Los Angeles Real Estate, where we have added many Downtown LA ... The Brockman - condo/loft conversion of a 1917-built Downtown Los Angeles building. ... Library Court - new condo/lofts in heart of Downtown Los Angeles ...

CArdinal Mahony urges catholics to pray on Wendesday for Congress
Roger MAhony the Cardinal of the Arch Dicoces of Los Angeles is urging all Catholics to pray and fast on Wedensday for out legisaltors in the Congrees as they debate the Immigraiton legislation. ...

Stealth Bomber to fly over Downtown Los Angeles
To All Downtown Property Owners: > > > > Our friends at Dodger Stadium have notified us that > as part of Opening Day on Monday, April 3rd, a B2 > Stealth Bomber will fly over Dodger Stadium as well > as all of Downtown Los Angeles. ...

UVA Interactive LED Installation
I’ve been working on installation-type projects recently, and this LED project by UVA is right up my alley. Thanks to Jim Olson for the heads-up. UVA LED Installation (3MB QT Mov)

Spiderman Leaves a Parting Gift
A Nice Parting Touch Too many Downtown film shoots come in, disrupt life and then go about their merry way. Sure, they pay their location fees to the building owners and they're well within their rights to do it, but it's not a good way ...

Los Angeles

2006-02-22T17:56:00.000-08:00

The City of Los Angeles IPA: /lɒs.ˈæn.dʒə.lɪs/ (from Spanish Los Ángeles /los.ˈaŋ.xe.les/) also known simply as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the world's most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. It was incorporated as a city in California on April 4, 1850, and is the county seat of Los Angeles County.