Connie Duong

Born in Belize and raised in Oklahoma, Chris Flowers came to Los Angeles at the age of 16. Chris was living on the streets of Hollywood with other runaway teens. To earn money, Chris would wash store windows along Hollywood Blvd. Some nights Chris would sleep on sidewalks huddled around other teenage runaways or bounce between shelters such as LAYN. With the help of LAYN, Chris finished high school and eventually went beauty school to be a manicurist. Recently, Chris started his own nail salon in downtown Los Angeles. He also does set work for music videos, movies, and photo shots. And his client list include some of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood. On the side, Chris works also works on his photography and paintings. And once a month, Chris offers free salon services to runaway teens at LAYN to help out teens in the same situation he was in.

Local Hollywood business owners have been battling with the city of Los Angeles over parking laws for the last three years along Cahuenga Blvd. at the corner of Hollywood Blvd.

Panpipes, one of the oldest occult stores in the country, has been in business in Hollywood since 1961 and has been at its current location since 1988.  Jymie Darling, the co-owner of Panpipes, has been fighting with the city of Los Angeles, since they have banned parking along the eastside of Cahuenga Blvd after 6 p.m. and now the valet hoarding parking meters. 

The city of Los Angeles banned parking after 6 p.m. on along the eastside of Cahuenga Blvd when bars, clubs, and restaurants started popping the last few years.  This has angered the owners of Panpipes since their store is open until 7 p.m. and occasionally hold classes and workshops at night. 

There's only one parking lot on that block, which charges a flat rate $8 and $20 after 6 p.m.  This drives away some of Panpipes customers who don't want to spend a lot of money on parking if they are only going to be there for 20 minutes. 




This year a sports bar has opened on their block.  The sports bar's valet has been illegally covering three meter, sometimes up to six meters with Department of Transportation bags and put up tow away signs. 

Over the last three years, Darling has been calling and writing to councilman Eric Garcetti's office and the Department of Transportation, complaining about the street parking problem. 

In addition, they have to deal with loud music from the bars and clubs, drunks vomiting and relieving themselves on the sidewalk in front of their store, which the city doesn't clean up.  Darling and her partner have to clean up the mess left by her neighbor's customers or be fined by the Fire Department for having hazards waste materials in front of her store.

"I don't understand why other streets in Hollywood have signs telling people 'be quiet and respectful of our neighbors' and we don't have any signs on this block.  I'll put them up myself if the city sends us those signs," said Darling.


On the day that I visited the store, Darling spent more than 30 minutes on the phone with Mayor Villaraigosa's office, trying to get something done about the valet hoarders.  Then was told by the Mayor's office that Garcetti isn't their councilman but Tom LaBonge is now their councilman. 

I spoke to someone from Garcetti's office, who told me that they are aware of the valet hoarding street parking spots in the neighborhood but the city has no way of enforcing this problem. 

"It's not that hard for the Department of Transportation to check on the computers if the permits are real and radio someone that's on street already to go take the bags off," said Darling.

One customer, Andra-Nina Davis, told me that she spends 30 minutes looking street parking each time she goes to Panpipes.  Davis, who owns a production company, used to have her office in that neighbor said, "I had to move my office because the parking situation is bad here."

"There only needs to be one consolidated valet for all the bars and restaurants on this block like they have in West Hollywood.  Not one for each bar or restaurant," said Darling.  "There are too may liquor licenses on one block when there's only one parking lot for all the bars and restaurants."

The Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk is an event held every second Thursday in and around the Historic Core's Gallery Row neighborhood.

Runyon Canyon is a 160-acre park in the Hollywood Hills.  Local residents bring the kids and dogs to the park for short hikes or go there if they want a intense workout.  It's a popular area among Hollywood residents so it's not uncommon to run into neighbors and friends there. 

The main trails are easy while some trails can be slippery and dangerous.  There was one recent incident of a jogger slipping half way down the cliff and emergency crews were called to rescue the jogger. 

TV shows and films have been filmed here.  Celebrities can be seen walking their dogs at the park.  And of course, the local paparazzi stalk out the area.

 

 

This is what most Angelinos call hiking. 

 

 

The park has many hiking trails and has a liberal dog leash policy.  It's not uncommon to see packs of dogs running around. 

A friendly dogfight.  No dogs were harmed.

 

Panoramic view of the Los Angeles. 

 

Devon, a personal trainer, who often brings her clients to Runyon Canyon.  It was 4^th time around Runyon that day.  She was exhausted.

 

Parents bring their kids in their strollers, pushing them up and down the trails.  It must be a great workout.

Mediation point.  Wonder what that guy is mediating about. 

Some people carry their dogs in backpacks. 

 

Some make their dogs carry backpacks.

Entertainment news blogger Perez Hilton is best know for his breaking news and exclusive stories on celebrities.  However, sometimes he gets it wrong or posts his own controversial opinions.  In the age of Internet and digital foot printing, nothing can be deleted and forgotten. 

 

Last week, Perez posted on his Twitter page and blog that Jaclyn Smith of the TV show Charles Angels had attempted to commit suicide and was in critical condition, as seen in this screenshot by the Calgary Herald.  Although the rumor turned out to be false and posts were removed, the damaged had already been done.  This was mistake in a long line of other public follies. 

 

In June, Perez said that Michael Jackson going to in cardiac arrest was another publicity stunt and calling Jackson a liar.   Later when other media outlets had confirmed the story of the cardiac arrest, Perez removed story from his blog and made no apologizes for it.  But everyone already seen it and took screencaps of the Perez's post. 

 

On the Internet, nothing is lost forever.  Everything is out there for everyone to see.  Even if you delete a post or a picture, it is still out there somewhere.  And if you are someone like Perez Hilton, you can be sure that somebody has taken screencaps of your story even before you think about removing it.  

Early Sunday morning, President Obama made the rounds on five talk shows, appearing on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and Univision back-to-back.  He is the first president to do so, as he attempts promote an overhaul on the healthcare system.  It's rare for a president to go on one Sunday morning talk shows, let alone multiple shows.  But come on, who has time to watch all five shows Sunday morning?  Even my DVR can only handle two at a time.

 

Without watching all five shows, it easy to get a snap shot of happened of what Obama said on these shows. Many tweeted what Obama said and their responses.  From Twitter, I could see the wide range of topics that Obama talked about on the Sunday morning talk shows, from the economy to ACORN and the CIA investigations. 

There were even jokes about Obama, forgetting his daughter's name.

The main issue of Obama's Sunday morning press junket is healthcare.  Both sides took their opinions on Twitter.  Some of the more moderates took to Twitter to defend  healthcare reform and posted articles. 

The more extreme response was also seen all over Twitter.  Some people even called Obama a well-polished lair.

Another Tweeter even compared the health care bill to Kool Aid, alluding that the country is committing mass-cult suicide. 

Many people are going on Twitter to post their reactions and responses to Obama's healthcare reform and his policies.  After sorting out through the spam, I could find a roundup on what happen this morning on all five shows.  Some reactions are more moderate and some extreme.   Before Twitter there was no way of finding immediate reactions from so many people.  If I missed the shows, I would have to wait for a replay or a recap on a news program. I would have to wait till the next day for polls and articles to get people's reactions and opinions about what Obama said.  With Twitter, all this is found in a matter of seconds or minutes.