KCRW's L.A. Observed

Saving MOCA

podmaster@kcrw.org (Kevin Roderick) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:44:00 EST

There's a real civic sadness looming in the reports that LA's Museum of Contemporary Art is reeling in financial trouble. If MOCA were to disappear -- and it might â our culture would be infinitely poorer...

LA's Era in DC

podmaster@kcrw.org (Kevin Roderick) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:44:00 EST

Because Los Angeles is a city that mainly elects Democrats, the Bush years have not been especially good ones for LA's clout. But with the election of Barack Obama, and the added strength of the Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, the city's political fortunes should be on the rise...

Prop 8 Aftermath

podmaster@kcrw.org (Kevin Roderick) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:44:00 EST

We -â and by that I mean all of us in California -- have had a week and a half to absorb all that changed in the election...

Obamamania

podmaster@kcrw.org (Kevin Roderick) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:44:00 EST

The lobby of the Century Plaza Hotel is usually a pretty quiet place. Sedate comes to mind. You could fall asleep there and probably nothing would disturb you. Downstairs, the ballrooms had hosted many Republican celebrations through the years. But on Tuesday night, my image of the Century Plaza changed. With ten seconds to go until the polls closed at 8pm, hundreds of Barack Obama supporters who were crowded around TV's in the lobby began to count down -- out loud...

No Endoresments Here

podmaster@kcrw.org (Kevin Roderick) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:44:00 EST

So â finally -- it's almost over. The longest, most expensive and in many ways ugliest political campaign season most of us have ever seen. I'm not going to tell you how to vote, or even talk about how I voted...

History Lives On

podmaster@kcrw.org (Kevin Roderick) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:44:00 EST

So Angelina Jolie is in a new Clint Eastwood movie about a Los Angeles historical episode. I can already hear the cynicism dripping all over town...

Digital Billboards

podmaster@kcrw.org (Kevin Roderick) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:44:00 EST

Just when we have nearly conquered the plague of television commercials thanks to Tivo and the web, we now have giant commercials staring us in the face. All over Los Angeles, the traditional flat billboards that were easy to ignore are being replaced by big digital screens that dare you to not look...

Natural History

podmaster@kcrw.org (Kevin Roderick) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:44:00 EST

As a lifelong Angeleno, and someone who appreciates the natural history of L.A., I must confess that I enjoy it when something in the news reminds us of our wilder past...

Text Messages

podmaster@kcrw.org (Kevin Roderick) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:44:00 EST

It's been three weeks now since the disastrous train collision in Chatsworth that killed 24 passengers and the engineer who was driving the Metrolink train. Those three weeks have been an eternity, of course, for the families affected. And for the dozens of victims who are still recovering from injuries...

Playoff Fever

podmaster@kcrw.org (Kevin Roderick) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:44:00 EST

You don't have to be much of a sports fan to appreciate the story possibilities that are out there as a result of both local baseball teams making the playoffs...