SoCal Week in Review 10/1

1. This week's arrest of Director Roman Polanski on charges of rape has Hollywood up in arms, exhibiting a deep and almost bizarre divide between the entertainment industry and Middle America. Should a tarnished career be punishment enough for "great artists" like Mr. Polanski? Or are celebrities receiving unfair preferential treatment in the court of law?
2. Either way, Polanski would be far from the lone sex offender in the Golden State. In fact, California's disturbing number of recently-released sex offenders has become somewhat of a logistical nightmare for law enforcement officials, who annually oversee the discharge of 120,000 inmates--a national high.
3. Unable to get a word in edgewise on that hot button issue, City Council has instead reverted back to the safer issue of tagging, proposing a bill that would require all new buildings to have an "anti-grafitti coating." Any chance they're a little annoyed with this bit of anti-Villarraigosa vandalism?
4. But let's not think that the bigwigs downtown are only going after the little guys, as Federal Judges upheld a ban this week on those hideous digital billboards we saw springing up all over town this summer. A small victory against corporate obstruction.
5. Not all federally-related news this week has been so light-hearted, however, as American Apparel was forced to fire 1,800 employees amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by the Obama Administration. The company's downtown factory had been one of the largest remaining in Los Angeles.
6. Just in case you forgot, the Los Angeles economy is still tanking, with nearly six unemployed persons for every job opening. Can you see a correlation between the dragging economy and UCLA's recent recognition as the most "economically diverse" top-tier university in the nation? We can. And by the way, are you wondering how that stimulus money is helping the city?
7. So yes, the economy is falling apart, but that's not the only thing. As our very own Brian Doherty so eloquently relays, pipes throughout the city aren't holding up either. Potential causes? Too many to count. But isn't that a bad thing?
8. At least MOCA has some elevating news: they'll be staying in business. The contemporary art museum reported that they have raised $60 million since last December, a month when their endowment fell as low as $6 million and they temporarily toyed with the idea of becoming a contemporary foreclosure exhibit.
9. And just in case you thought Los Angeles was running the way of a second-tier city, let's present a power-player counterargument. Google and Microsoft are currently in a (probably fierce, right?) battle to take-on the city's extensive e-mail list, a highly-prized asset thank you very much.
10. Finally, Laker fans--surprise, surprise-- enjoy getting rowdy and illegal when they win championships. Oh mob mentality, when will you ever leave us?

This image was taken by flickr user erjkprunczyk. It was used under the Creative Commons license.