Fireworks

• Nine best places in LA to watch Fireworks | July 4th | Most fireworks start around 9pm - but check each individual listing for day time events or possibly changes | Don’t miss out! No mater where you are in the city there is sure to be a place near you that has great fireworks for you to enjoy!

Dance

• Drop | July 4th and every first Friday of the month | 11:55pm | Cost $10 | Every month at a different loft - this month it’s located at 651 South Anderson St, Downtown LA (Map) | Looking to dance the 4th away? They’ll be spinning reggae, dancehall, mashups, and dubs all night long. E-mail dropafterhours@gmail.com to RSVP and get on the list for $5.

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The 4th of July is a celebration of our independence to be able to oh and ah at sparkly things all we want! And not just any sparkly things, but the biggest and best sparkly things. No matter where you live in LA there is sure to be an over the top fireworks display near you. Here is a list of all the 9 best fireworks displays in and around LA with tips for the best viewing experience.

Just remember, get there early and leave plenty of time for parking! Once the sun starts going down everyone will be crowding to the beaches. So go spend a day at the beach and enjoy some good food before the crowds take over!

• Big Bay Fireworks, San Diego: This is listed as one of the best fireworks displays around, they will have an extraordinary amount of pyrotechnics going off over the bay. The fireworks begin at 9pm, but people will start arriving by 5pm, so pack a picnic and get there early! The best places to watch are North San Diego Bay, Shelter Island and Harbor Island.
  • To accommodate the large crowd expected on San Diego Bay this Fourth of July, the Port of San Diego has set up free parking lots with shuttle service to Harbor Island and Shelter Island. The parking lots will open at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 4. Paid parking lots also are available. More info here.

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Burlesque

• Midsummer Night’s Madness Burlesque | July 3rd | 8pm | Safari Sam’s - 5214 West Sunset Hollywood (Map) | Must be 18+ | Presale general access costs $20, VIP access costs $50 (free booze included) | Want to get a bit naughty with a bunch of pinup girls? Well here is your chance to enjoy music by Luis and the Wildfires, Lil’ Gizzelle, and Lil’ Mo and the Unholy 4, accompanied with performances by Violet Valentine, Masuimi Max, and Laura Byrnes. Then to top it of, a little fashion show with Pinup Couture and Dixiefred Clothing.

The Joy of Giving

• Soles for Souls Shoe Drive Opening Reception | July 3rd | 6pm-9pm | Located at Twenty Two Shoes Los Angeles -  8304 W 3rd Street Los Angeles (Map) | Give and you shall receive 50% off! Starting tonight if you bring in gently worn pair of shoes for donation you will get 50% off a new pair of your choice! The event starts tonight and runs through the entire month of July.

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So much for  Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa “Operation Smooth Ride.” Anyone living in LA knows that this city is full of potholes. No matter what anyone seems to do they just keep appearing. So how can you make a difference? Mark your local potholes! Many of you know your local potholes in depth. Your foot automatically starts to break as you pass certain corners anticipating the minor (or major) thud you’re about to experience. Other times you get caught completely off guard. That’s when you hear the major SCRAPING sound that you’re bound to regret later.

Well here is your chance to help out your fellow drivers by adding your local potholes to a map! You can list potholes you know about or find streets that you may want to avoid. Potholes are not only bad for your car, but often cause traffic, and avoiding a pothole, may save you time and aggravation during traffic.

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Fireworks and Music

• July 4th Fireworks Spectacular: A Ball at the Bowl with the LA Dodgers | July 2nd | 7:30pm | Hollywood Bowl (Map) | Tickets range from $10-$114 - Buy here | Fireworks, Dodger super stars, and music by special guest Randy Newman. Need I say more? Pack some wine and come and enjoy!

Theater

• 1984 | July 2nd-6th | 8:30pm | The Redcat (Map) | Tickets $18-$36 | You can buy tickets online here or call 213-237-2800 | There’s never a bad time to be reminded of what a tool you are. Tim Robbins’ (who was recently interviewed on LA.CityZine) production of 1984 is more poignant than you could ever imagine. It’s a great show, only playing through this weekend that I think everyone should see.

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Happy Hour

• Poolside Happy Hour | Now until December 31st | 5pm | Located at Velvet Blue Restaurant - 750 Garland Ave (Map) | Want act like a super star without having to pay like one. Come just the Velvet Blue Restaurants happy hour Monday - Friday at 5pm and enjoy $5 drinks, dollar a minute massages, complimentary hor d’oeuvres prepared by Executive Chef Jonathan McDowell, and lie by the pool.

Comedy

• Comedy Death Ray | Tuesday, July 1st | 8:30pm | Tickets $5 | Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater (Map) | Tuesday’s suck. So grab a beer and enjoy some comedy. Tonight at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, will be Andy Kindler, Greg Proops, Jen Kirkman, Morgan Murphy, Mike O’Connel, and Dr. Ken.

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 BOOZE

• Poolside Happy Hour | Monday, June 30, 2008 | 5:00 pm | Blue Velvet Restaurant - Map | Enjoy $5.00 drinks, complimentary h’or doeurves, and an ambiance catered especially to take the edge off the ill-effects of everyday stress. For more info, call (213) 239-0061.

DANCE

• JAM Sessions: Bollywood in Hollywood | Monday, June 3o, 2oo8 | 7:00 pm | Free | Ford Amphitheatre - Map | Anyone can bump and grind on the dance floor, but can you Bhangra? Blue13 Dance Company will gladly instruct you in this dance of celebration, rebirth, and new beginnings. For more info, call (323) 461-3673.

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You know the Washington Mutual building at Sunset and Vine? The one with the sculpture of a lady riding the bull in front? The one with Mary Poppins on the side? I bet you didn’t know that in the basement level of that bank is a vast collection of Harry Houdini’s props and secrets. I bet you also didn’t know that those artifacts are currently being held hostage by a high concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls.

On December 13, 2004, a LA Dept. of Water and Power transformer exploded, contaminating the Washington Mutual building with the carcinogenic PCBs. The branch manager who opened that morning said her eyes and nostrils burned for weeks after coming into contact with the toxic chemicals.

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TV

• LA Ink Casting Call | Thursday, June 26, 2008 | 5 p.m. | Red Rock - Map | If you love Kat Von D and her crew, consider heading down to Red Rock in West L.A. today to get a chance to have your tattoo done at the shop, on the new season of the show.

FASHION

• Runway Magazine Fashion Show | Thursday, June 26, 2008 | 8 p.m. | $20 | Boulevard 3 - Map | Fashion line Key Closet will debut their diamond studded $10,000 Jeans at Runway Magazine’s Summer Splash Fashion Show. If you’re a slave to fashion, you won’t want to miss this. As an added point on your karma meter, all proceeds benefit the Cops Care Cancer Foundation.

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If you’ve landed on this post expecting a recap of the winners, speakers and honorees of the 50th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards Gala, then you’ve come to the wrong place. That information can be easily accessed through their website. I was all set to recap the evening when a series of unfortunate events prevented me from doing so.

Instead, I am here to tell you that for an organization whose main purpose is to honor ‘working journalists,’ the Los Angeles Press Club (LAPC) has quite a horrible way of treating them.

This might be a sweeping generalization of the whole of the club, so let’s focus in on the culprit: a Miss Diana Ljungaeus, the executive director of the LAPC and self-proclaimed “international journalist” with a chip on her shoulder and “rude” as her middle name.

The night began simply enough. LA.CityZine was invited as press to cover the So Cal Journalism Awards Gala at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. I should have known the night was going to be a bust when right before I began to get ready, the electricity spontaneously combusted for about 2 hours. Stuck in 105 degree weather, and forced to dress up, all the while driving in traffic to Downtown was not an ideal way to spend a Saturday, however I mustered up the energy to attend an event that honored everything I had a passion for: Southern California and Journalism.

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Business

• Nerds, Rich People & Influencers Business Mixer | Wednesday, June 25th | 6pm- 9pm | Costs $20 - RSVP Here | Located at The Gaslamp Restaurant - 6251 E. Pacific Coast Hwy (Map) | Are you a nerd? Are you or do you want to be rich? Well come and join others just like you to network. Apparently, unlike other events like this the “network to help each other. By taking a proactive approach to exchanging resources, everyone benefits.” So Small Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, and Venture Capitalists, come pick one another’s brains and have a cocktail!

Music/Club

• Club Moscow presents Repeater | Wednesday, June 25th | 7pm- 2am | Cost: $10 cover if you’re 18-20 years old, and free if you’re 21+ (although that really depends on how much you drink!) | Located at Boardners - 1652 N Cherokee Ave Hollywood (Map) | If you haven’t been to Moscow, and you like to wear skinny jeans and cover at least one eye with your hair then this is the place for you. They’re got great depressing dance music, good drinks, and overall it’s a fun place to get wasted on a Wednesday and dance your troubles away.

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“We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” ~ Immanuel Kant

With all the homeless animals in Los Angeles, you’d think it would be crazy easy to find one to adopt. I was under that impression when I decided I wanted to rescue a dog. After spending a couple of months filling out loads of applications online, scoping out animal rescue agencies and trekking to adoption fairs far and wide every weekend (I mean, I even drove to the South Bay!), it finally dawned on me. No one was going to give me a dog to love. The reason? I had never been a dog owner (in my adult life anyway) and these dog rescue fanatics were not willing to take a chance on me. I respect that but I wasn’t one to give up so easily. I knew I had a lot of love to give and I was certain there was a dog out there that needed me. That’s when my friend suggested the Burbank Animal Shelter. What a brilliant idea! I adopted my cat from there 10 years ago so I knew it was a good shelter. I also knew where it was (bonus) so my friend and I ran over one afternoon. There, sitting in a cage shivering was my soon-to-be best friend.

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