Barbara Morrison was celebrating her new center and her new home, Leimert Park, in JazzTimes recently.

Earth Day South LA - music, art, food & culture - is April 16th Normadie Avenue Elementary School, 4505 S. Raymond Ave. The Center : South LA is partnering this year for the Earth Day South LA with Community Services Unlimited (CSU).

"We're all very excited,last year was amazing!" writes Jess of…

Don't let the name fool you - the Brewery Artwalk is focused on showcasing the art in one of the largest art colonies in the world. The cool thing is that it's in the old Pabst Brewery just northeast of downtown Los AngelesOne of the best events of the year in Los Angeles happens this weekend.

This unguided tour is a maze of artists' lofts like you've never see. There's a restaurant on the sprawling campus that serves beer and wine. There's a library and a…

April is National Earthquake Preparedness Month (just in case March didn't scare you into action), according to Orli at Rancho Park Online. 

Do your best to get you and your family as ready as you can…

Expo train testing activities are schedules to start this week and continue in the area for the next several months. Testing will take place intermittently along the light rail alignment.

Safety Tips from Metro:



·        Please obey all warning signs and traffic signals when crossing the tracks.

·        Always look both ways before crossing any street

·        Never walk on the railroad tracks

·        Watch for trains from both directions

·        Use the…

Cory Tyler, an actor you may recognize from his appearances on "Criminal Minds", "Ghost Whisperer", "Sister, Sister", and "Moesha," has changed the direction of his career in the last couple of year and is now the host and creator of www.ThisJustZen.com.

Recently married and now a parent, Cory (…

This ode to the tennis shoe is filmed in the coolest store - but where is this store? Do you see the Crenshaw T's? Gotta have one.



But the coolest thing (besides eating cereal and drinking milk out of hi-tops) is namedropping Earlez Grill on Crenshaw and…

Soon the corner of Crenshaw and Rodeo will be home to a Target, Ross, Ralphs, maybe even a Chuck E. Cheese.

The Rite-Aid was shuttered last month and the Cameo Cleaners is moving across the street. All blocks from the planned Expo Line, West Angeles and Earlez Grill.



CurbedLA reported the the locally owned Charles Company told City…

Erin Aubrey Kaplan of the LA Times takes notice of what's been going on in Leimert Park and all the other things going on in our village.

"The nonprofit Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, named for the veteran jazz and blues singer, opened last month. In December, the Eileen Harris Norton Foundation premiered the Leimert Project, a space for arts…

Skateboarding legend and genius entrepreneur Rob Dyrdek, star of MTV's Fantasy Factory, provided $50,000 toward the $300,000 state-of-the-art skate plaza at the Rancho Cienega Sports Complex, 5001 Rodeo Road near Farmdale and La Brea. The skate spot is meant to replicate street skating with ledges, stairs, and rails. Leimert Park Beat…

I was one of only 62 that made it to my polling place as of this afternoon.

I asked how that compares and the nice poll worker ladies said - There are about a 1,000 registered voters.

I'm no math major but that's about 5 percent. Not enough.

People are dying in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and lots of other places for the right to elect…

There's more on Tuesday March 8's ballot than the Los Angeles City Council. Leimert Park Ballot.pdf -

Measure G - New pension plan for Fire and Police; Measure H - Campaign restrictions; Measure I - DWP public advocate; Measure J - DWP budget rules; Measure L - Increase library funding; Measure M - Tax marijuana; Measure N - Change finance laws; Measures O - Tax oil produced in…

Why does it matter? Why should I vote? I already voted in 2008. I don't know the candidates. I don't know the issues. I don't have access to google. I can't afford facebook. Twitter is useless.

We don't need a revolution to have democracy. We have democracy right now. Vote.…

Sutro Avenue Block Club President Harold Washington (my block!) has invited one of the candidates for the Los Angeles City Council, Forescee Hogan-Rowles, to talk about her vision for the 8th District.

The meeting is at Harold's house, 4176 Sutro Avenue, at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 5. All are invited.

"At the state and local level I am sure that we can all agree that it is imperative for our community to have in government representatives that are active,…

As many of you know, Tuesday March 8th is election day for the 8th district, which includes the communities of  Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, West Adams, Jefferson Park, Chesterfield Square and other areas of South Los Angeles.

In addition to several important ballot measures on the budget, there is our local council race. I don't believe in endorsements - it's your responsibility to make up your own mind.

Here are some useful stories you should read…

Leimert Park Beat photographer L. Watts was there for the show at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza featuring acclaimed contemporary jazz artist, Rachelle Ferrell and GRAMMY nominated R&B/Soul artist Ledisi at the outdoor stage. 

From Jason Lombard of BHCP:

ABOUT Rachelle Ferrell

Pennsylvania native Rachelle Ferrell’s music career began at age six, which many speculate contributed to the “development of…

 



I just talked to the LAPD for an update on the incident near West Vernon and 9th avenues - stolen car - illegally parked - reported by a good vigilant neighbor - fireworks found. Surrounding homes evacuated for a few hours in case the fireworks were bombs. All clear.

We were awakened by helicopters around 6 a.m. so I called 213-485-2600 (LAPD chopper…

Councilman Bernard Parks tweeted and held a press conference claiming that "Demolition to Begin Shortly" but offered few specifics and no time line. Parks held a press at the Buckingham Place senior apartments saying that "Marlton Square has emerged from bankruptcy, with a final settlement reached on December 29th.

In his Twitlonger post, Parks states that Commercial…

Damien Goodmon of FixExpo, who fought against the Expo Light Rail, is leading a Town Meeting on Sunday for the 8th District.

The Hyde Park homowners group that tried to block the Fresh and Easy and Crenshaw and is planning to sue to stop the grocery store from opening will also be there.

Betty Pleasant of the…